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Peanut butter cup ice cream

Peanut butter or chocolate ice cream packed with chopped peanut butter cups, sometimes with a fudge ripple running through it.

Easy to find Common in most grocery freezers. What the badge means

Peanut butter cup ice cream is peanut butter or chocolate ice cream with chopped peanut butter cups folded in. Some versions add a fudge ripple. You can find it in most grocery freezers.

This page covers what it tastes like, how to make peanut butter cup ice cream at home, what to serve with it, how common it is and what the nutrition figures show.

What peanut butter cup tastes like

Peanut butter cup tastes salty-sweet and rich. The base is either peanut butter ice cream or chocolate ice cream. A peanut butter base gives a pale tan scoop. A chocolate base gives a darker brown one. Either way, chopped peanut butter cups are spread through it, so most bites have a soft chunk of chocolate and peanut butter candy. Some versions add a fudge ripple, which brings dark streaks and a deeper chocolate note. The texture is creamy, with soft candy pieces and, where there is a ripple, ribbons of thick fudge. Since the candy cups are both chocolate and peanut butter, the flavor works on either base.

Where peanut butter cup comes from

The sources we use do not record who first made peanut butter cup ice cream or when.

What they do show is how hard it is to measure on its own. IDFA’s 2026 and 2024 surveys list one combined line, “Peanut Butter/PB cup,” so they cannot separate peanut butter cup from plain peanut butter ice cream. The two flavors share a base and a fan base, and the surveys treat them as one.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists peanuts as a major food allergen. If you make this flavor for a party, ask every guest before you serve it, and keep your scoops and spoons apart from any peanut-free flavors on the table.

How to make peanut butter cup at home

Peanut butter cup suits a Philadelphia base, which has no eggs. A no-churn base made with condensed milk and whipped cream works too. The Base Builder sets up the Philadelphia style for you and sizes the base to your machine. It gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.

For a peanut butter base, whisk smooth peanut butter into the warm base so it melts in. For a chocolate base, the Guelph e-Book says acceptable chocolate mixes can use 3% cocoa powder, 2.5% cocoa powder plus 1.5% chocolate liquor, or 5% chocolate liquor, and that the cocoa goes into the mix early.

Chill the peanut butter cups, chop them, and fold them in at the end of churning. The Guelph e-Book explains that factories add candy pieces when the ice cream is about as soft as soft serve, which is why you wait until the end. For a fudge ripple, spoon it in layers as you pack the container. If you already have a recipe, the Recipe Scaler resizes it to your machine.

Base formula

Open the Base Builder: Philadelphia (no eggs)

Other styles that suit it: No-churn (condensed milk and whipped cream)

The Base Builder gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.

What to serve with peanut butter cup

Peanut butter cup goes well with hot fudge, which adds more chocolate to the candy pieces. Sliced banana works nicely too. It turns a scoop into something close to a banana split, and the fruit lightens the richness. For crunch and more salt, add pretzels on top or on the side. Any of these toppings makes a simple sundae bar for a group.

  • hot fudge
  • sliced banana
  • pretzels

How common peanut butter cup is

Our badge gives peanut butter cup 4 of 5, a waxing gibbous moon labeled "Easy to find": common in most grocery freezers. The badge shows how easy it is to find, not how much people like it.

In IDFA's April 2026 survey of 2,205 U.S. adults, the line "Peanut Butter/PB cup" ranked 16th of 40, with 11% picking it as one of up to five favorites. In that same survey, 3% named it their single favorite. In IDFA's April 2024 survey of 2,203 U.S. adults, the same line ranked 10th of 40, with 15%. That line also covers plain peanut butter.

How it ranks in surveys and order data

SurveyResult
IDFA survey, April 20262,205 U.S. adults, online, April 7-9, 2026, margin of error +/-2 pointsRanked 16th of 40: 11% picked it as one of up to five favoritesThe survey's line: Peanut Butter/PB cup
IDFA survey, April 20262,205 U.S. adults, online, April 7-9, 2026, margin of error +/-2 points3% named it their single favorite
IDFA survey, April 20242,203 U.S. adults, online, April 16-18, 2024, margin of error +/-2 pointsRanked 10th of 40: 15% picked it as one of up to five favoritesThe survey's line: Peanut Butter/PB cup
  1. Rare Rare enough that you would most likely make it at home.
  2. Hard to find Look for it in specialty shops and seasonal runs.
  3. Sometimes found Found in some shops and some grocery freezers.
  4. Easy to find Common in most grocery freezers.
  5. Classic A classic you can buy almost anywhere.

Nutrition, roughly

FoodData Central has no record for peanut butter cup itself. The figures on this page are for a plain vanilla base, regular to rich: 207 to 249 kcal per 100 grams. A 1/2 cup (66 g) portion of regular vanilla is about 137 kcal, 7.3 g fat and 14 g sugars. Peanut butter, candy cups, fudge and sweeteners will change these numbers.

Nutrition per 100 grams

FoodData Central record Calories Fat Saturated fat Sugars Protein
Ice creams, vanilla FDC 167575 1/2 cup (66 g): about 137 kcal, 7.3 g fat 207 kcal 11 g 6.79 g 21.2 g 3.5 g
Ice creams, vanilla, rich FDC 167573 249 kcal 16.2 g 10.30 g 20.6 g 3.5 g

FoodData Central has no record for peanut butter cup itself: these are the figures for a plain vanilla base, regular to rich. Mix-ins and sweeteners change them.

Questions people ask

What base should I use for peanut butter cup ice cream?

A Philadelphia base with no eggs works well. A no-churn base made with condensed milk and whipped cream also works. The Base Builder can set up the Philadelphia style as a base formula built on standard food-science ranges.

When do I add the peanut butter cups?

Fold them in at the end of churning. Chill and chop them first. At that point the ice cream is about as soft as soft serve, so the pieces spread evenly instead of sinking.

How do I get peanut butter flavor into the base?

Whisk smooth peanut butter into the warm base so it melts in. If you prefer, use a chocolate base instead and let the chopped peanut butter cups carry the peanut butter flavor.

Is peanut butter cup ice cream safe for everyone?

No. Peanuts are a major food allergen, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Check with every guest before you serve a peanut flavor.

Chocolate and candy ice cream flavors · All flavors

Plan and make it with these

Sources

  1. Ice cream preferences of U.S. adults, topline results (Morning Consult for IDFA, April 7 to 9, 2026) International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
  2. Food Allergies: What You Need to Know U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  3. Ice Cream Technology e-Book: Chocolate and Cocoa H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
  4. Ice Cream Technology e-Book: Freezing/Whipping of Ice Cream H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
  5. Ice cream survey of U.S. adults, topline results (Morning Consult for IDFA, April 16 to 18, 2024) International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
  6. Ice creams, vanilla (FDC 167575) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
  7. Ice creams, vanilla, rich (FDC 167573) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service

Every data source the site uses is on the Sources page.