The 5-Ingredient Dolly Parton Dessert I’m Making From Now On—It’s So Delicious

Dolly Parton’s famous line goes, “It takes a lot of time and money to look this cheap, honey.” But it barely takes any time or money to make her divinely decadent Peanut Butter Pie. 

I recently stopped by the cool, dive-y Dino’s Bar & Grill in Nashville, Tennessee, a local haunt-slash–unofficial shrine to Dolly. The bar boasts a giant Dolly portrait, there’s a Dolly’s Lemonade Stand out back, and her cardboard cutout was smiling at me the whole time.

I was reminded of how country music’s most quintessentially Barbie-like star couldn’t seem more down to earth. (Of course, there’s nothing like a basket of seasoned fries and local draft beer at 2 a.m. to bring everything into focus.) Dolly’s peanut butter pie celebrates the sweetness of the simple life, where a budget-friendly treat feels like a luxury. 

Why Dolly Parton’s 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Pie is So Good

Are there desserts in the Country Music Hall of Fame? Because at my house, this recipe’s going Platinum by the slice. Like the song “9 to 5,” it hits right every time.

With just five ingredients to mix, pour, and chill (including—bless her heart—Cool Whip and store-bought graham cracker pie crust), you can prepare Dolly’s dreamy dessert faster than you can sing the chorus of “I Will Always Love You.” Sugary and a little tangy without overwhelming your taste buds, the filling is velvety, rich, and yet somehow also light. It feels like peanut butter’s truest destiny. 

Tips for Making Dolly Parton’s 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Pie

All you do to make this pie is mix peanut butter with powdered sugar, cream cheese, and Cool Whip, pile it all into a couple of crusts, and chill. Easy-peasy. But I did find some ways to perfect what already feels like perfection.

Pick Your Peanut Butter: I’d skip the natural stuff, as it can be too gritty or oily for this pie, but any creamy, no-stir brand will do the job. Creamy Skippy peanut butter gave my pie vintage vibes. 

Change Up the Crust: I made a super-easy Oreo pie crust like you’ll find in a grasshopper pie. It offered more structure and complementary chocolate punch (Chocolate+PB=4EVR) than the wallflower-ish graham cracker version. I forgot that I meant to drizzle chocolate syrup over the top. Realize my dreams for me!

Double Up: This recipe calls for pie crusts, plural. I might be the only person to say this, but for me, that equaled two Depression Era pies instead of one big, beautiful, old-school, diner-style show-stopper. (This is a Dolly thing—Ya gotta be a little extra to be on point, y’all.) I scraped the filling out of my store-bought graham cracker crust, piled everything into my Oreo crust, and I have zero regrets.  

Garnish It: I also dolloped on whipped cream and sprinkled chopped peanuts from Nashville’s own Tennessee Peanut Company on top for texture. (Double dog dare you to find more perfectly salted and extra-crunchy, roasted peanuts than these. They’re my favorite.)

Get Set: I say chill the pie overnight for the best-set filling, but you do you. If you need to gobble it down right away, go for it.

With its copious amount of cream cheese, this pie recipe reads like a peanut butter cheesecake, but I’d still recommend it to my sister. Although she hates cheesecake (and Oreos … she might be adopted), she loves peanut butter. And Dolly’s pie is a guaranteed winner in any home where the Skippy jar is almost always empty.