Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Pie

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This no bake chocolate peanut butter pretzel pie is perfect for anyone who loves a bit of savory with their sweets! A pretzel crust is filled with 2 layers of peanut butter and topped with a rich chocolate ganache and more pretzels! You can make this no bake pie in advance, making it a great dessert recipe for entertaining.

slice of peanut butter pie with fork above

Note: this post was originally published in 2019 and updated in 2021 with new photos and improved instructions. The recipe was also modified slightly to improve the texture of the crust.

There is no combo more alluring than salty and sweet. That’s why chocolate covered pretzels are so tempting! This no bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Pie is even more irresistible and will definitely satisfy all of your salty and sweet cravings. (If you really love salty and sweet things, you also have to try my recipe for Chocolate Potato Chip Pretzel Mix!)

This pie has a salty and just a bit sweet pretzel crust. It’s got a thin layer of peanut butter on the bottom that gives an intense jolt of peanut butter flavor. Then a smooth, fluffy, creamy peanut butter filling. All of this deliciousness is then topped with a velvety smooth chocolate ganache. And then more pretzel pieces on the top for another salty, crunchy bite. I promise you will not regret making this pie! Your guests will thank you.

Recipe ingredients

Ingredient notes

Chocolate chips: you can use any type, I like using semi-sweet.
Peanut butter: for best results you need to use “regular” creamy peanut butter to get the right texture (i.e. not natural peanut butter, where the only ingredients are peanuts and salt).
Pretzels: You can use pretty much any shape you like! The pretzels for the crust are measured by weight to account for variances in the pretzel size and shape. Just avoid using pretzels that are oversized; stick to regular-sized sticks, knots, squares, etc.

Step by step photos

1. Make the ganache by heating the cream in the microwave and then adding in the chocolate chips. After sitting for 2 minutes, whisk the mixture together until it's smooth. Set aside while you go on with the next steps.

2. Now make the pretzel crust. First, blend up the pretzels in a food processor until you have fine crumbs.

3. Then, add in 1 stick melted butter and the granulated sugar.

sugar being poured into crumbs in food processor

4. Pulse again a few times to combine these ingredients together with the crumbs.

pie crust ingredients mixed in food processor

5. Dump the moistened crumbs into a 9 inch pie plate and press them in with your hands. I like to use the side of my hand to go around the edges. Place the crust in the fridge to start to firm up while you go on the the next step.

6. Now turn to the first peanut butter layer. Mix together 2 tablespoons of the powdered sugar, the remaining softened butter, and ½ cup of the peanut butter until smooth.

collage of peanut butter, powdered sugar and butter being mixed together

7. Then spread it onto the bottom of the pie crust. Put the crust back in the fridge.

bottom peanut butter layer being spread on crust

8. Ok, now we will make the final peanut butter layer. The first step is to beat the remaining cream to stiff peaks. Stiff peaks mean the cream stands up firmly and doesn’t flop over when you take the whisk out of the bowl, like this:

beaters with whipped cream on them over bowl of whipped cream

9. Then you beat the softened cream cheese, remaining powdered sugar, and remaining peanut butter together until slightly fluffy.

beaters mixing peanut butter and cream cheese

10. Stir about ⅓ of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture. You don't have to be careful at this stage, just mix it in to help lighten the peanut butter filling.

spatula mixing whipped cream into peanut butter cream cheese mixture

It will look something like this once that first batch of whipped cream is mixed in:

whipped cream mixed into peanut butter in bowl

11. Then, go about carefully folding in the rest of the whipped cream. You will want to be more delicate now to avoid deflating the whipped cream too much. If you need more instructions on how to fold in whipped cream, here is a nice guide with step by step photos.

If there are a few streaks remaining, that’s fine, and actually better than overmixing and deflating the whipped cream!

finished peanut butter cream cheese layer in bowl with spatula

12. Once your filling is done, spread it evenly on top of the first peanut butter layer.

collage of spreading peanut butter filling into pie crust

13. Then, add the ganache on top (it should no longer be warm at this point!). Spread it evenly across the top of the pie and then place the pie in the fridge to set up for at least 3 hours.

14. Right before you are ready to serve the pie, take it out of the fridge first for about 15 minutes. This will help the ganache to soften a bit so when you add the pretzel crumbles on top they will stick better. It will also help the crust to soften up to make it a little easier to get the slices of pie out of the dish.

hand sprinkling crushed pretzels on top of pie

Tips and tricks

When making the ganache, if the chocolate hasn’t melted into the cream completely even after whisking, you can microwave the ganache again in 10 second increments, stirring in between, until the chocolate has melted. Try to avoid overheating the ganache however, because there is a risk it may separate!

To melt the butter for the crust, you can use my favorite method: cut the butter into chunks first and microwave in 15 second increments on high, checking in between. I use this gradual method now because I have exploded butter all over my microwave more times than I’d like to admit.

If you don’t have a scale to measure the pretzels, you are looking to end up with about 1 ¼ cups of crumbs.

Having trouble removing that first piece of pie from the pan? You can carefully dip the bottom of the pie in hot water first to help soften the butter in the crust; this should make it a bit easier to remove the slices.

Recipe FAQs

What type of peanut butter should I use for Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Pie?

I discussed this a bit in the Recipe notes section above, but just to reiterate, you will get the best results by using a creamy peanut butter that is not "natural." This means it has additional ingredients besides just peanuts and salt that keep the peanut butter from separating. In my experience, this type of peanut butter will give the pie the most smooth, silky texture!

Can I make this peanut butter pie ahead of time?

Yes, you can make this pie recipe up to 2 days ahead of time, stored in the fridge. After the ganache sets up a bit, just loosely cover the pie with plastic wrap or a lid to keep it fresh. When you are ready to serve, let the pie sit out at room temperature for about 15 minutes to let the ganache soften up, and don't forget to garnish with more pretzel pieces on top!

Can I use Cool Whip instead of making my own whipped cream?

If you want to save time on prep, you can substitute Cool Whip for the homemade whipped cream. You will need to use 2 ½ cups of the Cool Whip and just follow the same steps for folding it into the peanut butter cream cheese mixture.

Just to note however, you will still need to use the ¾ cup heavy cream called for in the recipe to make the ganache layer!

pie with pretzels on top with pie server on the side

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