Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie

In This Recipe

The Peanut Dough
The Peanut Butter Mousse
The Jelly
Building the Pie

Why It Works

Blitzing roasted peanuts into the dough builds a buttery, nutty crust with deep peanut flavor.
Whipping peanut butter and cream cheese with folded whipped cream yields a light, fluffy mousse.
Cooking Concord grapes into a quick jelly—or melting down a good-quality jarred one—creates a glossy, tangy topping that balances the rich peanut butter mousse.

I know my way around a pie. I've cooked hundreds—maybe thousands—professionally, and even developed entire chapters of pie recipes for a pie book. Which is why I don't say this lightly: This peanut butter and jelly pie is my absolute favorite pie.

I know that sounds like the sort of exaggerated claim a pie person makes every other week, but this one truly earns the badge. It's playful, nostalgic, and a little over the top—basically the lunchbox of my childhood given a glow-up dessert treatment. It also happens to be gorgeous. The silky sheen of grape jelly sitting like a jewel atop a billowy layer of peanut butter mousse is an undeniable showstopper. And the salty, savory peanut butter paired with sweet, jammy jelly is a flavor combination that never, ever gets old.

A peanut butter jelly pie topped with whipped topping and chopped peanuts on a checkered tablecloth with a pie server — Serious Eats / Debbie Wee

But I'll admit that this is not the kind of dessert you casually throw together on a Tuesday night when you realize you have guests coming in an hour. It's a recipe that you need to carve out time for, giving each layer the space it needs to chill, set, and become its best self. It's an edible reminder that good things really do come to those who wait.

The Peanut Dough

All great pies need a solid foundation: the crust. I could've told you to make this pie with a classic butter-and-flour dough, or even to grab a shrink-wrapped grocery store crust, and honestly, you'd still wind up with something pretty good. But I wanted to go all out here to create a buttery, flaky dough that tastes like roasted peanuts.

The method is straightforward: Flour, sugar, and salt go into the food processor with chopped peanuts. The nuts get pulverized into the mix, releasing fat and flavor, creating the dough's toasty, peanutty backbone. The trick is that peanut fat is softer and less structured than butter fat, so this dough is looser and more fragile than a standard crust. The solution is to chill, chill, and chill again.

A hand holding a pie crust filled with a peanut butter mixture prepared for baking — Serious Eats / Debbie Wee

This starts by making sure the peanuts are ice-cold before blitzing them into the flour blend. After mixing, the dough needs at least two hours in the fridge to firm up before rolling. And once you've shaped the dough into the pan, it goes back into the refrigerator again, because if the peanut dough shell is warm when it hits the oven, it will immediately slump and sag instead of holding its shape. The payoff for the care put into this dough is huge, though: Crisp, golden, flavorful crust that tastes like butter-basted peanuts.

That said, if you're short on time (or peanut enthusiasm), you can swap in your favorite pie dough recipe, or yes, even store-bought. It'll work just fine, but you'll miss that unique nutty depth. And if you're making a peanut butter and jelly pie, why not go all in?

The Peanut Butter Mousse

The heart of this pie is the mousse, and it's exactly what you think it should be: fluffy, rich, and peanut buttery enough to make you want to lick the bowl. The base is a mix of peanut butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and a splash of cream. It's whipped together until smooth and creamy, then lightened with freshly whipped cream folded in by hand. The result is a filling that's thick but airy, like a peanut butter cloud.

A hand spreading filling in a pie crust with a spatula — Serious Eats / Debbie Wee

For the best texture, stick with a creamy supermarket brand like Skippy or Jif. This is not the place for natural peanut butter with separated oil—the mousse won't whip up as smoothly and can end up grainy.

The technique here relies on restraint. Overwhip the mousse and it'll deflate into something grainy. Rush the chill time, and the mousse won't set properly, turning into a sloppy peanut-butter puddle. Once nestled into the baked pie shell, give it the hour it needs in the fridge, and it'll firm up just enough to hold the weight of the jelly layer without losing its creamy, mousse-y texture.

The Jelly

Now for the part that makes the pie sparkle: the jelly. If you're making this pie in August or September, when Concord grapes are in season, do yourself the favor of starting with the real fruit. Concords have that classic, almost candy-like "grape flavor" most of us grew up associating with grape juice and jelly. Cooking them down into a quick stovetop jelly produces a topping that's tart, floral, and intensely grapey—the perfect foil for the richness of the mousse.

Hand pouring jelly onto a peanut butter pie in progress — Serious Eats / Debbie Wee

Making jelly from scratch can sound intimidating, but this version is about as straightforward as it gets. Grapes are simmered until they burst, strained to collect the juice, which is then cooked with sugar, pectin, and lemon. The key is patience: Let the jelly cool just enough so it's thickened but still pourable before spreading it over the chilled mousse. Too hot and it'll melt the mousse; too cool and it'll clump instead of spreading.

If you're not up for sourcing Concord grapes, or it's February and you've got no hope of finding them fresh, you can absolutely start with a high-quality store-bought jelly. The one thing I beg of you: Please don't reach for a squeeze bottle of Smucker's grape jelly. You're better than that. This pie is better than that. Go for something with real fruit and depth of flavor.

Building the Pie

Each component of this pie—the crust, mousse, and jelly—needs time to chill and time to set before you can slice into it. And while the impatient part of you might grumble at the hours ticking by in the fridge, future you will thank you. The layering is what makes this pie spectacular: the snap of the crust, the creaminess of the mousse, the cool, silky finish of the jelly. Rush any one of those, and the whole structure collapses.

A peanut butter and jelly pie slice on a plate topped with whipped cream and chopped nuts — Serious Eats / Debbie Wee

When the final layer of jelly has firmed up, the fun part begins: topping. I like to crown it with a billow of whipped cream and a sprinkling of salted peanuts (or candied peanuts) for crunch. It's a nod to the pie's roots in PB&J, but dressed up just enough to make it dinner-party worthy.

This pie is for the kid in me who smeared PB&J on Wonder Bread, and for the adult who owns a food processor, fakes patience, and counts down every year to Concord grape season.

Keep Screen Awake

For the Peanut Pie Crust (see notes):

8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes, divided
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (3.8 ounces; 110 g), divided
1 tablespoon (13 g) sugar
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt use half as much by volume
1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts (2.5 ounces; 70 g), roughly chopped and frozen
1/4 cup (60 ml) ice water, divided

For the Peanut Butter Mousse:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (2 ounces; 57 g)
1/2 cup (120 ml) creamy peanut butter such as Skippy's
4 ounces (113 g) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (150 ml) heavy cream, divided

For the Grape Jelly (If Using Fresh Grapes):

1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces; 198 g), divided
2 tablespoons low- or no-sugar-needed fruit pectin
1 1/2 pounds (680 g) Concord grapes or your preferred purple grapes, stemmed
1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon (15 ml) juice
3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt use half as much by volume

For the Grape Jelly (If Using Store-Bought):

1 cup good-quality store-bought grape jelly

For Serving:

Homemade or store-bought whipped cream
1/4 cup roasted salted chopped peanuts or candied peanuts (1 ounce; 28 g), for garnish

For the Peanut Pie Dough: In a food processor, pulse 6 tablespoons flour, sugar, salt, and nuts until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add half the cubed butter and process until a homogeneous paste forms, about 30 seconds. Using your hands, carefully break paste into roughly 2-inch chunks and redistribute evenly around processor blade. Add remaining flour and pulse until mixture is broken into pieces no larger than 1 inch (most pieces will be much smaller), 4 to 5 pulses. Transfer mixture to bowl. Add remaining butter cubes and toss until butter pieces are separated and coated with flour, then use fingers to press gently to flatten butter cubes into small pieces no larger than the size of a pea.

Serious Eats / Debbie Wee
Sprinkle ice water over mixture. Toss with rubber spatula until mixture is evenly moistened and well combined. Press dough with spatula until dough sticks together (dough may be sticky at this point). Wrap dough in plastic and form into a 5-inch disk. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly (about 10 minutes) before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)

Serious Eats / Debbie Wee
On a well-floured work surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand.

Serious Eats / Debbie Wee
Trim overhang to 1/2 inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F (175°C).

Serious Eats / Debbie Wee
Line chilled pie shell with a double layer of aluminum foil, covering edges loosely to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights. Bake on rimmed baking sheet until edges are set and just beginning to turn golden, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Remove foil and weights, rotate sheet, and continue to bake crust until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer sheet to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 45 minutes or up to 1 day.

Serious Eats / Debbie Wee
For the Peanut Butter Mousse: Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip sugar, peanut butter, cream cheese, and 2 tablespoons cream on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high and whip until fluffy, about 1 minute. Transfer to large bowl; set aside.

Serious Eats / Debbie Wee
In now-empty mixer bowl, whip remaining 1/2 cup cream on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Gently fold whipped cream into peanut butter mixture in 2 additions until no white streaks remain. Spoon filling into cooled crust and spread into even layer with spatula. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Serious Eats / Debbie Wee
For the Grape Jelly (If Using Fresh Grapes): While mousse chills, whisk 1/2 cup sugar and pectin together in bowl; set aside. In a large saucepan, bring grapes to a simmer over high heat. Off heat, coarsely mash grapes with a potato masher or whisk. Return to simmer over medium-high heat and cook until pulp has separated from skins, about 5 minutes.

Serious Eats / Debbie Wee

Working in batches, strain grapes through fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl, pressing firmly on solids to extract as much liquid as possible (you should have about 1 1/2 cups); discard solids. Return strained grape juice to now-empty saucepan. Bring grape juice, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, lemon zest and juice, and salt to boil over medium-high heat. Whisk in pectin mixture, return to boil, and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Let cool off heat until just warm but still fluid, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Serious Eats / Debbie Wee
For the Grape Jelly ( If Using Store-Bought Jelly): In a medium saucepan, heat 1 cup store-bought grape jelly over medium heat until melted and fluid. Let cool off heat until just warm but still fluid, 20 to 30 minutes.
Slowly pour grape jelly evenly over peanut butter mousse, spreading into even layer with a rubber spatula. Refrigerate until filling is set, about 2 hours or up to 3 days.

Serious Eats / Debbie Wee
To serve, spread whipped cream attractively over pie and sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Serious Eats / Debbie Wee

Special Equipment

Food processor, rolling pin, stand mixer with whisk attachment, large saucepan, fine-mesh strainer, potato masher

Notes

For the pie dough, you may substitute with your preferred homemade pie dough or use a store-bought dough.

Make-Ahead and Storage

The baked pie shell can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day before making the pie.

You can refrigerate the assembled pie for up to 3 days before topping it with whipped cream and nuts.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
4995	Calories
248g	Fat
672g	Carbs
72g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories	4995
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 248g	318%
Saturated Fat 106g	530%
Cholesterol 397mg	132%
Sodium 3294mg	143%
Total Carbohydrate 672g	245%
Dietary Fiber 45g	162%
Total Sugars 413g
Protein 72g
Vitamin C 49mg	245%
Calcium 568mg	44%
Iron 12mg	65%
Potassium 3072mg	65%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Ingredients

Special Equipment

Notes

Make-Ahead and Storage

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