Review: Culver's Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie Is A Bold Addition To The Custard Lineup

According to Culver's, the "dessert specialists" at your neighborhood location may serve over 1,600 scoops of fresh frozen custard on a summer day. Yesterday, the Midwest's best chain restaurant brought a brand new Flavor of the Day to the counter: Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie. This rich addition to the monthly rotation pairs Culver's everyday chocolate custard with chunks of brownies, ribbons of Reese's peanut butter sauce, and hot fudge. 

According to a company press release, the new Flavor of the Day was "developed through the same research-driven process behind its rotation of more than 30 flavors." To me, this combination sounded like a must-try. No brainer. 

Okay, I did have one worry: Would the new Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie be too much of a good thing?  Slow-churned and crafted in small batches, Culver's frozen custard is already made with a super-rich base of milk, cream, and pasteurized egg yolks — that's what makes frozen custard different from regular old ice cream. Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie also arrives as part of a bigger menu shakeup, including a new pub burger, fried pickles, and plenty of desserts inspired by Wisconsin's comfort-food roots. Since there's a fine line between delightfully decadent and downright excessive, I set out to find out where Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie lands in the mix.

On launch day (August 5), I stopped by the Culver's in Glenview, Illinois, to pick up a quick summer lunch for my family. For dessert, I treated us all to two dishes of the new Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie frozen custard — one straight up and one topped with whipped cream.

Though we're not exactly regulars of the family-owned fast food restaurant, we do spend a lot of time in Milwaukee, which just so happens to be the unofficial frozen custard capital of the world. That's all to say this review won't be comparing Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie to Culver's 30-plus other Flavor of the Day creations. That would be a month-long project, and honestly, what could top the Mint Explosion, anyway?

Instead, our goal was to answer one deliciously simple question: Does Culver's new flavor serve up that signature frozen custard experience Wisconsin does best? We were looking for dense, velvety texture, fresh, milky flavor, and those chewy, crunchy, salty, sweet mix-ins. A good frozen custard offers layers of richness and contrast without losing its balance.

When ordered at the restaurant, Culver's frozen custard comes in your choice of a cake cone, waffle cone, or dish. Since it was a hot, melty day, we got ours in takeaway cups. 

It was clear Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie was going to be a rich, chocolatey experience from the get-go. Peering through the lid, I saw a heap of brownie bites atop a mound of creamy, swirled custard. But the real surprise came with subsequent spoonfuls: There were many more brownie chunks mixed throughout, and even more waiting at the bottom of the dish. These weren't dry, crumbly bits either. These brownie pieces were moist, chewy, and cakey with a texture that suggested they had just come out of the oven.

The Reese's peanut butter sauce, on the other hand, was somewhat harder to find. While scant ribbons appeared here and there, they didn't deliver a particularly strong peanut flavor. It was so mild that one of my family members mistook it for caramel. Considering the proportions of mix-ins, Culver's could have flipped the name of this new Flavor of the Day to Fudge Brownie Peanut Butter. But we didn't spend too much time mulling over semantics. The custard itself was smooth, dense, and dreamy, and the mix-ins offered plenty of interest from one bite to the next.

Although Culver's is hardly a regional chain anymore, the new Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie Flavor of the Day hits all the sweet spots you'd expect in a Midwestern treat. It's generous, comforting, and just a little over the top. Despite my initial concerns, the combination of chocolate custard, brownies, peanut butter, and fudge turned out to be surprisingly balanced and composed. 

Yes, the peanut butter flavor is fairly subtle; PB lovers may wish to order more sauce as an extra topping. But as is, I think this creation scoops up pretty close to perfect. It's made fresh in small batches right in the restaurant, and it's noticeably thicker and richer than ordinary ice cream or soft serve — yet another reason Culver's is better than In-N-Out. Culver's also serves all of its frozen custard at a slightly warmer temperature (around 18 to 21 degrees Fahrenheit), so the fresh milky flavor melts right into your taste buds. For a fast food offering, the Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie Flavor of the Day feels luxuriously creamy and homespun. There is one potential problem: You can't get it every day.

Culver's Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie debuted at restaurants nationwide on Wednesday, August 5, 2026. If you missed it, don't fret. The offering will be back on repeat as part of the chain's expanded Flavor of the Day lineup, alongside these other best menu items at Culver's. The rotating menu of 30-plus custard creations already includes Raspberry Cheesecake, Andes Mint Avalanche, Georgia Peach, and the No. 1 fan favorite, Caramel Fudge Cookie Dough. 

At my Culver's in Glenview, Illinois, one scoop of fresh frozen custard (any flavor) sells for $3.59, two scoops for $4.59, and three scoops for $5.59. Additional toppings — everything from bananas and cashews to wild cherries and whipped cream — cost between 50 cents and $1.30 each. 

On Wednesday, September 2, we'll be back to review another new Culver's flavor: Oreo Reese's Cheesecake. In the meantime, search for Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie or your local Flavor of the Day by zip code on the Culver's website. You can also sign up to receive your restaurant's monthly flavor forecast to see what other deliciousness lies ahead.

Chocolate frozen custard, the base ingredient of Culver's Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie, is made with milk, cream, skim milk, sugar, whey, corn syrup, egg yolk, cocoa processed with alkali, guar gum, mono and diglycerides, locust bean gum, and carrageenan. Full ingredient details for the brownie pieces, Reese's peanut butter sauce, and hot fudge can be found on Culver's Nutrition and Allergen Guide. This new Flavor of the Day contains gluten, milk, eggs, peanuts, and wheat. One scoop has 340 calories, 17 grams of fat, and 34 grams of sugar.