This Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Tart is a no-bake dessert recipe that combines a buttery chocolate sandwich cookie crust, a layer of chocolate ganache, and a light and creamy peanut butter filling topped with a hot fudge swirl! It’s seriously indulgent and perfect for when you need an easy, go-to dessert made with commonly used grocery staples!

Round chocolate peanut butter tart swirled with chocolate syrup and cut into slices with a bowl of chocolate sandwich crumbs next to it on a white speckled background.

It’s no secret that I love a good chocolate-peanut butter dessert! I’ve used this fabulous tasting combo in my Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies, Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies, Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting, and—where this recipe is inspired from—my late Grammy’s Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Eggs recipe!

The peanut butter filling in the eggs is very similar to this chocolate peanut butter swirl tart recipe. It’s very creamy, has a nice light and airy texture, and not overly sweet.

The melted chocolate used to cover the peanut butter eggs was swapped out for this recipe, which has a rich chocolate ganache layer and a cookie sandwich crust made with chocolate sandwich cookies!

Round chocolate peanut butter tart swirled with chocolate syrup and cut into slices with a bowl of chocolate syrup next to it surround by a few chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs on a white speckled background.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients Needed
How to Make the Recipe
Variations
Helpful Tips
More Chocolate Peanut Butter Desserts
Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Tart Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

No oven needed!
Looks super fancy, but it is easy to make.
Easily customizable from a 9 1/2 inch tart pan to a 9-inch pie plate, 9-inch springform pan, or six mini tarts (4 inches in diameter).
Tastes like chocolate peanut butter cups!
Light and creamy in texture.
Rich and chocolatey taste—the perfect dessert for any chocolate-peanut butter lover!
Seriously indulgent but not a heavy dessert.
The chocolate ganache is optional.
Switch up the chocolate syrup for hot fudge adn/or a border of crushed peanuts.

Ingredients in various size bowls labeled as peanut butter, chocolate sandwich cookies, chocolate syrup, vanilla extract, unsalted butter, cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and powdered sugar on a white marbled background.

Ingredients Needed

The ingredients shown in the image below are used to make this no-bake chocolate peanut butter swirl tart. Items noted in the bulleted list are key ingredients that need more explanation. Substitutions are also noted below.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. I used Benton’s Original Chocolate Sandwich Cookies from ALDI, but you can use whatever brand you prefer!
Heavy Whipping Cream. For the peanut butter filling only, you can swap out the heavy whipping cream with 1 1/2 – 2 cups from a tub or can of whipped dairy topping you might already have in your refrigerator. The method of how it’s added to the peanut butter mixture is the same.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels. Use good-quality chocolate chips that melt down nicely with the warm, heavy whipping cream! Brands I recommend are Ghirardelli, Callebaut, or Guittard. You can use milk chocolate morsels as well!
Creamy Peanut Butter. One of the key ingredients to make this chocolate peanut butter swirl tart. Creamy, no-stir peanut butter is best for this recipe!
Chocolate Syrup. This is an optional ingredient used to drizzle over the top of the peanut butter filling. You can also use hot fudge sauce as a substitute.

For quantities and instructions, please see the recipe card below.

How to Make the Recipe

Below is a brief overview of how to make this no-bake chocolate peanut butter tart. For the full printable recipe, which can be made using US customary or metric measurements, visit the recipe card below.

Chocolate sandwich cookies in a food processor, then processed with melted butter on a white background.

Step 1. Pulse the chocolate sandwich cookies into fine crumbs (Image 1). Add the melted butter (Image 2) and pulse until the mixture forms. It should be soft, mushy, and easily moldable.

Quick Tip: If you don’t have a small food processor, you can place the chocolate sandwich cookies in a sealed plastic storage bag and break them up into fine crumbs using a rolling pin.

Chocolate cookie crust being pressed into a tart pan placed on a white background.

Step 2. Transfer the chocolate sandwich cookie mixture to the tart pan (Image 3). Using a spatula, the bottom of a measuring cup, or clean, dry hands, press the cookie crust mixture into a 9 1/2-inch tart pan (Image 4). Place your prepared crust in either the refrigerator or freezer to chill.

Chocolate Ganache

Heating heavy cream in a saucepan over a induction cook top then covering chocolate chips and heavy cream with aluminum foil.

Step 1. Heat the heavy whipping cream in a saucepan over medium heat (Image 1). You can also use a microwaveable measuring glass. Pour over the top of the chocolate chips, then cover the bowl loosely with aluminum foil (Image 2). Let it sit for 4-5 minutes.

First image is a glass bowl filled with heavy cream and chocolate chips on a white background. Second image is a glass bowl with whisked chocolate ganache on a white background.

Step 2. Remove the foil, then whisk together (Images 3 and 4). When whisking the chocolate ganache together, it’s best to do it slowly to avoid getting air bubbles.

Chocolate ganache poured into a chocolate cookie crust tart then spread out in an even layer on a white background.

Step 3. Pour the chocolate ganache over the chilled chocolate cookie crust (Image 5). Use an offset spatula to smooth out the chocolate ganache over the bottom of the cookie crust (Image 6). I highly recommend placing this in the freezer while you prepare the peanut butter filling. It will set much faster this way.

Peanut Butter Filling

First image is whisking heavy cream in a large glass bowl on a white background. Second image is beating cream cheese until light and fluffy in a large glass bowl on a white background.

Step 1. Whisk the heavy cream on medium-high speed until soft peaks form (Image 1). Place it in the refrigerator to chill. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes (Image 2).

First image is adding peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to the cream cheese in a large glass bowl. Second image is adding whipped cream to the peanut butter filling in a large glass bowl on a white background.

Step 2. Add in the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract (Image 3). Beat in 1/2 of the chilled whipped cream, then fold in the rest (Image 4). The peanut butter filling should be uniform in color (no white streaks from the whipped cream), light in color, and creamy in texture.

Quick Tip: It’s important to have the cream cheese at room temperature to avoid any lumps in the peanut butter filling. For powdered sugar, sifting is best for the same reason—lumps. They will show up in the peanut butter mixture if not done.

Assembling

First image is adding peanut butter filling to a sandwich cookie crust in a round tart pan on a white background. Second image is chocolate peanut butter tart with chocolate syrup swirled on top.

Step 1. Add the peanut butter filling to the tart (Image 1). Top with either hot fudge sauce or chocolate syrup (Image 2). To make the swirls, gently use a knife, a palette knife, or a wooden skewer. Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. Alternatively, you can place the tart in the freezer for 1 – 1 1/2 hours. Set it out on the counter at room temperature about 10 minutes before serving.

Sliced chocolate peanut butter tart swirled with chocolate syrup surrounded by a few chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs on a white speckled background.

Variations

If you don’t have a 9 1/2 inch non-stick loose bottom tart pan readily available, you can also make this chocolate peanut butter swirl tart the following two ways:

Variation 1. No-bake chocolate peanut butter pie. Swap out the tart pan for a 9-inch pie plate or springform pan! For the spring form pan, increase the number of chocolate sandwich cookies to 30 and add one extra tablespoon of melted butter. Having just a little extra cookie crust for the sides is helpful.

Variation 2. No-bake mini chocolate peanut butter swirl tarts. This recipe will make 6, 4-inch size mini tarts, and man, are they the cutest! They make great little surprise gifts for your chocolate-peanut butter dessert-loving friends!

When adding the peanut butter filling to the mini tarts, you can use a large pastry bag. No piping tip is needed. Just snip the bottom off when you’re ready to pipe. Pipe on a good mound of the peanut butter filling, then smooth out with an angled spatula.

Helpful Tips

It’s not required to spray the tart pan with baking spray. If you would like to do so lightly.
When shaping the cookie crust in the tart pan, I like to start with the sides; then, I fill in the bottom. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to smooth and level out the bottom and sides of the crust. You can also use any flat-bottomed object like a glass, or you can go with just a rubber spatula.
As an alternative to using your stovetop, you can heat the whipping cream in the microwave for 1 minute using a microwaveable measuring glass.
For clean slices, run the knife under hot water and dry off with a kitchen towel after each cut.