Friendly’s Peanut Butter Sauce
Friendly’s warm peanut butter sauce is one of those restaurant-exclusive toppings that makes you rethink what ice cream can be. This copycat recipe recreates that smooth, rich, peanut-forward sauce with butter, cream, and just enough sweetness to balance every scoop. Making it at home means you can pour it over vanilla, chocolate, or any flavor you like, any time you want. The whole sauce comes together in one saucepan in about 10 minutes and stores well in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
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Friendly’s Peanut Butter Sauce is a warm, pourable ice cream topping served at Friendly’s restaurants, which are located mainly in the northeastern United States and Florida. It has a smooth, cohesive texture that coats each spoonful of ice cream without freezing solid on contact.
This copycat version uses seven pantry-friendly ingredients: butter, heavy whipping cream, corn syrup, sugar, salt, peanut butter, and vanilla. The method is one pan and one stir with no candy thermometer required.
Because the sauce firms up when refrigerated, you can make a full batch ahead of time and reheat individual portions as needed. One batch yields approximately a pint and a half of sauce.
Why this recipe works
Butter and heavy cream form a rich, emulsified base that keeps the sauce smooth rather than grainy. Corn syrup contributes body and prevents sugar crystallization, which is what allows the sauce to stay pourable at warm temperatures rather than setting up like a candy. Salt heightens the peanut flavor and cuts through the sweetness so the sauce tastes balanced rather than cloying. Adding vanilla after the heat is off preserves its aromatic compounds, which would cook off if exposed to prolonged heat.
Smooth natural peanut butter blends most cleanly into the sauce because of its higher natural oil content and the absence of hydrogenated fats that can affect texture.
Ingredients for Peanut Butter Sauce
- Butter – Creates a rich fat base that emulsifies with the cream and peanut butter for a smooth, cohesive sauce.
- Heavy whipping cream – Adds body and a silky texture, keeping the sauce pourable.
- Corn syrup – Prevents sugar crystallization and contributes a smooth, glossy consistency.
- Sugar – Provides the sweetness that balances the salty, savory notes of peanut butter.
- Salt – heightens the peanut flavor and balances the sauce’s overall sweetness.
- Peanut butter – The primary flavor component; smooth natural peanut butter gives the cleanest result.
- Vanilla – Rounds out the flavor with a warm, aromatic note added off the heat to preserve its character.
If you don’t want to use corn syrup, I recommend Golden Syrup – it’s just like corn syrup but made with sugar cane.
How to Make Friendly’s Peanut Butter Sauce
- Melt butter in a medium-sized pan over medium heat.
- Add cream, corn syrup, sugar, salt, and peanut butter. Stir until the sauce is uniform in color.
- Cool the sauce to room temperature.
- Stir in vanilla.
Enjoy this delicious peanut butter ice cream topping.
How Do You Thin Peanut Butter for Drizzling?
There are three ways you can thin out peanut butter for drizzling:
The fastest and easiest way is to use your microwave. Place the peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high, pausing as follows. Heat for 30 seconds, remove from the microwave, and stir. Repeat until the peanut butter reaches your desired consistency. (You might want to cover the bowl with a microwave-suitable lid or paper towel to avoid messy splatters.)
To use your stove, place the peanut butter in a saucepan. Using low heat, gradually heat the peanut butter, stirring gently and constantly to prevent the peanut butter from sticking to the pan and heating through unevenly. It takes approximately five minutes for the peanut butter to melt sufficiently.
You can also thin peanut butter in your food processor or blender. Add two tablespoons of water for each tablespoon of peanut butter. If you want a creamier consistency, you can use milk in place of water. Blend on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase the speed until the peanut butter is thin enough.
CopyKat Tip: Spraying your measuring cup with cooking spray before you begin gets the peanut butter out more easily.
What is Meant by Natural Peanut Butter
Natural peanut butter makes the best peanut butter drizzle. When peanut butter is not natural, it means stabilizers have been added to prevent it from being its natural, oily, and runny self.
These stabilizers may include various oils, such as coconut, hydrogenated, palm, or vegetable oil. Crunchy peanut butter, although delightful to eat, will not drizzle as well as the smooth and silky kind.
You might also want to read more on how to get the perfect peanut butter drizzle from the National Peanut Board.
How to Store and Reheat Peanut Butter Sauce
- Refrigerator Storage: Store in an airtight container or canning jar for up to two weeks. The sauce will firm up considerably when cold — this is normal.
- Reheating Method: Microwave in 15- to 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until the sauce reaches a pourable consistency. Alternatively, warm over low heat on the stovetop, stirring constantly. Do not overheat or the sauce may separate.
- Freezer Storage: Not recommended. The cream and fat content can cause the sauce to separate when thawed, affecting the texture.
Best Ice Cream Peanut Butter Sauce
You can’t get this famous peanut butter sauce anywhere but at Friendly’s Restaurant. But you can make it at home, and it’s very easy.
Please let me know how much you enjoy this sauce and if you have tried it in other ways than on ice cream. One reader told me that the sauce is so good, it’s even great cold when you spread it on Oreos!
Love peanut butter? Check out these recipes
- Peanut Butter Frosting
- Homemade Peanut Butter Ice Cream Recipe for an Ice Cream Maker
- Reese Peanut Butter Balls
- How to Make Your Own Peanut Butter
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Pie
- Peanut Butter Party Mix
- Peanut Butter Lovers Reese’s Snack Mix
- Really Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peanut Butter Delight Recipe
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Friendly’s Peanut Butter Sauce Copycat
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream ( you can use half and half)
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup natural peanut butter smooth is recommended
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, add heavy cream, corn syrup, sugar, salt, and natural peanut butter. Stir continually until the mixture is uniform. Cool off sauce, and then add vanilla. Store left over sauce in the refrigerator.
Great recipe. This sauce is so good! The picture is not flattering and looks gobby but the sauce isn’t at all. Creamy and delicious!
Really disappointed in this. I live near a Friendly’s and they once told me they just melt butter and peanut butter together. I made this hoping it was actually the peanut butter sauce. It is not. Way too sweet and thin. Friendly’s is not sweet at all. I just wasted a lot of peanut butter.
I am sorry you are disappointed, the sauce is sweet, it’s not just a savory peanut butter sauce.
Yes, YEs, YES
Hi,
I am making an ice cream cake and want to drizzle some of this sauce inbetween ice cream layers. Does it harden when chilled?
Thank you!
No, it does not harden.
Never heard of Friendly’s, but my family loves getting peanut butter sauce at the local frozen custard spots. This was amazing! Super easy and every bit as delicious!
My second time making it and again it’s very good. I used half and half last time but used heavy cream this time, and I think it came out better…can I freeze this for future use? I made a double batch….
So delicious!! Thank you!
How long can it store in the refrigerator?
I have kept it in my fridge for 2 to 3 weeks.
Has anyone made this yet? I’m a little baffled because the picture looks like a very thick caramel sauce and absolutely nothing like any peanut butter sauce I’ve ever seen… nevermind what Friendly’s sauce looks like. Can anyone tell me if it at least tastes like it even if it is a very different texture?
I prepared a video for you so you can see exactly what it looks like. This makes a smooth and creamy sauce that looks a lot like caramel.
I thought it looked like pasta sauce, like red sauce! It doesn’t remind me of peanut butter, by the way, it looks at all. And I don’t know why but it looked extremely thick and chunky! I’m going to give it a shot because my son loves ANYTHING peanut butter. I am going to try it on a cheesecake.
Very good recipe and the instructions are very clear.
So happy to have found this. I used to live up north, and I miss this peanut sauce. So good, it’s even great cold when you spread it on Oreos.
Oh my goodness, I grew up eating ice cream at Friendly’s at least three times a month. I always ordered the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup sundae. And their hot dogs with the butter-grilled flat-bottom bread buns. My childhood just came rushing back. Now I’m diabetic and can’t eat any version of this sauce, but I will keep this recipe for when I serve ice cream! I’ve told people about this through the years but no one believes me. Thank you!
I would modify this recipe somehow so it is diabetic friendly. It may even be fun to.play with to get somthing you really like that you can have.
I, too, am a diabetic. I take insulin 3-4 x day, and I count carbs to know how much to take. This makes it easier to splurge on occasion! I just figure the carbs in what I am eating and adjust my insulin accordingly. I do not have a weight issue so I can pretty much eat what I want, from a caloric point.
This looks so yummy! when I have free time, I’ll make it
Friendly’s right up the road from where I live in south Florida!! And you are right, The food is awesome!! Can’t wait to make my own peanut butter sauce!