Peanut Butter Cottage Cheese Pie
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This no-bake Peanut Butter Cottage Cheese Pie is the ultimate summer treat! A creamy peanut butter and cottage cheese filling is layered over a pretzel crust to give you the most decadent salty, sweet, and creamy bites.
Why you’ll love this family recipe:
- Growing up, my mom made a very similar recipe using cool whip and heavy cream, so I decided to make a similar version with cottage cheese and heavy cream to lighten it up a bit.
- A no-bake pie that layers a cool, smooth, and creamy peanut butter and cottage cheese filling in a homemade pretzel crust.
- Mouthwatering salty-sweet flavors in every bite!
- Just like my no bake cottage cheese cheesecake, it’s a sweet treat with a little extra protein.
- After chilling in the freezer for 4 hours, this cool and refreshing dessert is ready for your summer celebrations.
Table of Contents
This Frozen Peanut Butter Pie Recipe has got you covered for the summer. It’s cool, creamy, and brings salty and sweet together in the best way. More importantly, it’s an easy no-bake dessert that’ll always save you from melting in the heat.
Here’s the kicker: the peanut butter filling is made with cottage cheese instead of cream cheese. Just like in my cottage cheese pancakes and cottage cheese lasagna recipes, the cottage cheese gives the pie an incredible tangy flavor, a nice creamy richness, and a bonus: extra protein! You won’t even notice it’s there, trust me.
- Just like in my cottage cheese brownies and cottage cheese cookie dough, it’s a great way to make something a little bit healthier, but you’ll never even know it’s there.
Ingredients for Cottage Cheese Pie
Pretzels – Use either salted or unsalted pretzels for the no-bake pie crust. I like using salted pretzels because they give the pie the perfect balance of salty and sweet flavors.
Butter – Use unsalted butter if your pretzels are salted or salted butter if the pretzels are unsalted. Melted coconut oil should also work.
Heavy cream – A 1:1 mix of heavy cream and cottage cheese keeps the pie filling silky smooth and sturdy.
Cottage cheese – A lot of frozen peanut butter pie recipes are made with cream cheese in the filling, but I opted for small curd cottage cheese instead. Just like in my healthy-ish cottage cheese cheesecake, it gives the filling a tangy flavor and some sneaky protein!
Peanut butter – The star of the filling! Use natural peanut butter with only peanuts (and maybe salt) listed in the ingredients. If you use peanut butter with added sugar, you’ll need to reduce the cane or white sugar in the filling.
How to Frozen Make Cottage Cheese Pie
Step 1: Make the crust. Pulse the pretzels and sugar in a food processor. With the motor running, stream in the melted butter until the mixture is sandy and stays together when you pinch it between your fingers.
Step 2: Press the crust. Dump the pretzel crust into a greased pie pan and press it down evenly with your hands. Transfer it to the freezer.
Step 3: Whip the filling. Whip the heavy cream and sugar together in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Add the cottage cheese and peanut butter and whisk until combined.
Step 4: Assemble. Transfer the filling to the pie pan with the pretzel crust and smooth it out with a spatula. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.
Step 5: Freeze, then serve. Freeze the cottage cheese pie before slicing and serving.
Erin’s Tips
- You can make this pie in a 9-inch pie pan or cake pan.
- Open a fresh jar of peanut butter for this no-bake peanut butter pie. It’s smoother, creamier, and easier to combine with the rest of the ingredients.
- The pie should set after about 2 hours in the freezer, but for the very best texture and presentation, let it chill for at least 4 hours.
My Pro Tip
Recipe Tip
If you don’t have a food processor, crush the pretzels by hand (add them to a ziplock bag and whack them with a rolling pin) before combining them with the sugar and melted butter in a bowl.
Variations
- Pretzel crust substitute: Instead of a pretzel crust, make the pie with a store-bought or homemade graham cracker crust.
- Chocolate peanut butter pie: Turn this into a chocolate peanut butter pie by swapping the crust for an Oreo cookie crust and the chocolate chips for crushed Oreo cookies. Before serving, add a drizzle of melted chocolate, ganache, or homemade Nutella on top.
- Gluten-free option: Make the crust with gluten-free pretzels if you need it to be gluten-free. You can find these in most grocery stores these days, or check online or at your local health food store.
- Topping ideas: Decorate your pie with chocolate chips, coconut flakes, pretzel pieces, peanuts, chopped peanut butter cups, cookie crumbles, whipped cream, or a drizzle of chocolate sauce.
Cottage Cheese Pie FAQs
You do not need to bake the pretzel crust since it will harden in the freezer. However, baking the crust in a 350ºF oven for 10 minutes will caramelize the sugars and make the crust even sturdier. Let the crust cool completely before adding the filling.
This pie is pretty much a perfect make-ahead dessert. It can stay in the freezer for as little as 4 hours or up to 4 months. To prevent freezer burn, wrap the pie in the pie plate with plastic wrap and then in a light layer of aluminum foil.
The crust can also be frozen on its own if you’d like. Once it’s frozen solid, cover the crust with a layer of plastic wrap and foil, then freeze for up to 4 months.
Storage
Freezer: Store the pie in the freezer for up to 1 week uncovered; then, if you want to store it for longer, wrap it in plastic wrap for up to 4 months.
More no bake desserts
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Peanut Butter Cottage Cheese Pie
Video
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 4 1/2 cups pretzels
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 12 tbsp butter, melted
For the filling:
Instructions
- Start by making the crust: Add pretzels and sugar to your food processor and pulse. With the motor running, pour the butter in through the top and continue pulsing until the mixture is combined and you can easily pinch it together with your fingers.
- Grease a 9” pie pan, then transfer the crust to the pan and use your hands to press it down and along the sides. Place the crust in the freezer while you make the filling.
- Next, whip the heavy cream and sugar together in a large bowl until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Then, add the cottage cheese and peanut butter and whisk for 1 minute.
- Scoop the filling out into the pie crust and use the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula to smooth it out. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top, gently pressing them down.
- Place the pie back into the freezer and allow it to set for 4 hours. Remove it from the fridge 10 minutes before you want to serve. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in May 2021. It was updated with new text and photos in May 2025.
My whole family adores this pie!
Butter is just as healthy as coconut oil! (As long as it’s good quality butter.)