Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (Thick + Silky!)
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting is quick and easy to make and turns out thick, silky, and bursting with real strawberry flavor…thanks to a special secret ingredient!
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Cream cheese frosting has long been my favorite type of frosting. I love it for its silky, creamy texture and its underlying tang from the cream cheese, which prevents it from being cloyingly sweet. As a bonus, for a little variety, classic Cream Cheese Frosting can be further flavored into Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting, Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting, and -- one of my most popular incarnations of all -- this Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting!
Once upon a time, I knew a certain little 4-year-old girl who adored all things strawberry. Strawberry smoothies, strawberry ice cream or popsicles, strawberry muffins, strawberry cake...if it started with strawberry, she was a fan.
She requested strawberry cupcakes for her birthday from the time she could talk, and back then, I typically just topped them with my standard cream cheese frosting recipe with some fresh strawberry puree blended in...thereby coining it Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting.
Well...the problem was that fresh strawberry puree tends to be pretty watery.
And that meant that adding too much strawberry puree always made for thin, runny frosting.
But adding too little meant that the strawberry flavor got overpowered by the cream cheese.
So what was a cream cheese frosting-loving mom with a strawberry dessert-loving daughter to do???
The Secret Ingredient!
Well, I'll tell ya what she did.
She procured a bag of magical, freeze-dried strawberries.
And she dumped 'em into her mini food processor and pulverized 'em into a bright red, strawberry-packed powder.
And then she whipped that powder into her tried-and-true cream cheese frosting recipe for the ultimate Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting!
This Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting recipe is super easy to make and it's good enough to eat with a spoon.
It's thick and silky.
It's bursting with big, bold strawberry flavor.
And take a gander at that gorgeous color!
Ingredients
Now that I've let you in on the most important ingredient for Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting success, I bet you can guess most of the other ingredients! But I'll give you some extra details about them below... 🙂
- Butter. Salted and at room temperature. Make sure your butter is completely softened or your frosting may turn out lumpy. And if you don't have any salted butter, no problem...just add a tiny pinch of salt to your Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting to make the flavors pop!
- Cream cheese. Again, make sure it's at room temperature and be sure that it's a regular, full-fat block of cream cheese. Cream cheese from a tub may have extra water/air/ingredients whipped into it for easier spreading, and this can be a negative when you use it to make frosting. Similarly, light or reduced-fat cream cheese will have a different flavor and texture than regular cream cheese and may yield frosting that's less rich and decadent.
- Powdered sugar. If your powdered sugar is lumpy, you should sift it first. You can add more or less powdered sugar to taste.
- Pure vanilla extract + pure almond extract. Use high-quality, pure vanilla extract and real almond extract. You only need a tiny amount of almond extract because, while it contributes a lovely undertone, it's also pretty potent and you don't want too much of it to dominate the flavor of your frosting. However, if you don't have any almond extract on hand, the frosting will still be delicious if you leave it out.
- Freeze-dried strawberries. As already mentioned, this is the secret ingredient to thick, potent Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting! Just make sure your freeze-dried strawberries are pulverized into a fine powder before you incorporate them into your frosting.
Keep in mind that how much powdered sugar you use will affect not only the sweetness but also the consistency of your frosting. That being said, you can always add extra freeze-dried strawberry powder to make up for using less powdered sugar and still end up with a thick, sturdy frosting.
How to Make Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)
- Pour freeze-dried strawberries into a small food processor (or a powerful blender). Process until crushed into a fine powder (although it's fine if some small lumps are remaining). Set aside.
- Use an electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment) to beat together the softened butter and cream cheese.
- Slowly and gradually blend in the powdered sugar until smooth.
- Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat until smooth and well-combined, scraping the bowl as necessary.
- Slowly blend in the freeze-dried strawberry powder, and then beat on high until it's fully incorporated.
The longer you whip this frosting, the lighter and fluffier it will become!
Other Flavor Options
Can I let you in on a little secret?
The beauty of this Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting recipe is that you can take the general concept and flavor your cream cheese frosting with different types of freeze-dried fruits!
Peaches, cherries, mangoes, pineapple, bananas, blueberries, blackberries...a wide variety of freeze-dried fruit is readily available these days.
Just be sure you're using freeze-dried fruit -- which can be easily crushed into a fine, dry powder -- as opposed to dried fruit -- which is chewy and leathery and won't turn into a powder now matter how much you beat on it. 😉
Also, since freeze-dried fruit is always available, you can make fruit flavored frosting year-round, without worrying about what fruit happens to be perfectly sweet and in-season!
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting is a beautiful, scrumptious complement to strawberry cakes, cupcakes, or cookies.
But it's equally delicious on vanilla or chocolate treats!
I mean, how good would this stuff be slathered on a chocolate cake or a rich, fudgy pan of brownies???
Cupcake Piping Tip
As depicted in the photos below, I like to scoop my Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting into a gallon-sized, zip-top plastic bag, snip off the corner of the bag, and pipe the frosting onto my cupcakes in a spiral, starting from the outside perimeter and working towards the center.
However, be aware that piping requires a lot more frosting than spreading it with a knife. So in that case, plan on doubling the recipe for 24 generously-piped cupcakes.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting will make your desserts happy.
It'll make your family, friends, and bake sale recipients happy.
And I can guarantee that it'll make any and all 4-year-old strawberry lovers verrrry happy. 🙂
More Strawberry Treats
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Sparkling Strawberry Floats
- Easy Strawberry Cream Cheese Pastries
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (Thick + Silky!)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups sliced freeze-dried strawberries, about 1 ounce
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar, depending on your desired consistency & sweetness of frosting
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon pure almond extract, optional
Instructions
- Pour freeze-dried strawberries into a small food processor (or high-powered blender). Process until crushed into a fine powder (with some small lumps remaining). Set aside.
- Using an electric hand mixer (or stand mixer with paddle attachment), beat together the butter and the cream cheese. Slowly and gradually blend in the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat until smooth and well-combined, scraping the bowl as necessary. Slowly blend in the strawberry powder, then beat on high until it's completely incorporated. The longer you whip the frosting, the lighter and fluffier it will become.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- BUTTER: If you use unsalted butter instead of salted, add a small pinch of salt to your Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting.
- CREAM CHEESE: Use a block of regular, full-fat cream cheese in this recipe. Cream cheese from a tub, or light/low-fat cream cheese, may have extra air or extra ingredients added that can negatively affect the ultimate texture of your frosting.
- POWDERED SUGAR: If your powdered sugar is lumpy, you should sift it first.
- ALMOND EXTRACT: If you don’t have any almond extract on hand, you may leave it out.
- SWEETNESS + CONSISTENCY: How much powdered sugar you add will affect not only the sweetness but also the consistency of your frosting. For thicker frosting with less powdered sugar, increase the amount of freeze-dried strawberry powder that you add instead.
- OTHER FLAVORS: Other freeze-dried fruits (such as peaches, cherries, blueberries, etc.) may be substituted for the freeze-dried strawberries in order to achieve different flavors of cream cheese frosting. Just don’t try substituting dried fruit, which is chewy and leathery and won’t turn into a powder.
- YIELD: This recipe will frost 24 cupcakes (spread with a knife) or a sheet cake. For 24 piped cupcakes or a layer cake, you’ll want to make 1.5X or double the recipe.
- PIPING: For a shortcut piping bag, scrape your frosting into a gallon-sized, zip-top plastic bag, snip off the corner of the bag, and pipe the frosting onto cupcakes in a spiral, starting from the outside perimeter and working towards the center.
- STORAGE: Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting must be stored in the refrigerator. I typically apply it to my cake/cupcakes immediately after making it and then pop the cake/cupcakes in the fridge. I set them out about 15 to 30 minutes ahead of time to come to room temperature before serving. But keep in mind that this frosting will become soft/melt if it sits out on a very hot day.
- MAKE-AHEAD: Alternatively, you can make this Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting up to a week ahead of time, cover tightly, and refrigerate. Allow it to come to room temperature and give it a good stir before using it to frost your cake/cupcakes.
Nutrition
Post originally published on June 15, 2017, and updated on July 17, 2021, and February 21, 2025.
Hi, this frosting will be great, cant wait to make them. I can use unsalted butter instead to salted butter and add 1/2 tsp of salt?
Thank you
Hi Lourdes! You can definitely use unsalted butter in this frosting, but I'm afraid that adding 1/2 teaspoon of salt would be way too much. A pinch of salt (no more than 1/8 teaspoon) will probably be plenty. 🙂
Omgeeeee.. this is the best frosting. So much strawberry flavor I'll never mess with fruit puree.. cooking straining. Cooling .. when freeze dried is amazing real strawberry flavor.
Yay, Tiffani! Isn't using the freeze-dried fruit such a great shortcut?! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
This frosting is absolutely delicious especially on devil’s food with dark chocolate chip cake. Tasted like a dark chocolate covered strawberry. Everyone raves about them. I did however, modify the recipe since I do not like overly sweet frosting. I used only two cups of sugar and 2 packages of cream cheese instead of one ( the rest of the recipe stayed the same). The color of the frosting is a beautiful shade of Mauvey pink. Truly a hit and a do over.
Hands down, the best strawberry icing recipe that I've been able to find. Thanks!
I made this frosting tonight for my daughter's first birthday smash cake, the only difference is I used less powdered sugar and I did a combination of freeze dried strawberries and banana chips. It came out a little too thick with the banana chips so I added a tsp at a time of whole milk to thin it out, I believe I added 3-4 tsp but for future reference I'll try less banana chips. The end result, it tastes like a thick yogurt. I iced a mixed berry muffin mix that I baked in a mini cake pan and topped it with fresh slices of strawberries and bananas. Very pleased with this recipe even though I altered it a bit, I wanted the color without dying the baby pink with food coloring and this was perfect, freeze dried strawberries is a genius idea!
Found the strawberries at aldis. What a recipe. Delicious. Thank you for the recipe and hints on finding the freeze dried berri÷.
This did not work out for me. My frosting came out super runny and more was on the cake plate than on the cake. Totally bummed.
Hi MaryCris! I'm sorry to hear that. Did you use FREEZE-DRIED strawberries (NOT regular frozen strawberries)? Incorporating pulverized/powdered freeze-dried strawberries will actually make the frosting thicker. However, fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries add moisture, which would definitely result in runny frosting.
Can I use frozen strawberries instead of freeze-dried or will the recipe not work out?
Hi Katie! Frozen strawberries would contribute liquid to the recipe and would probably make for a much looser frosting. Freeze-dried strawberries are what keep this frosting stiffer. So I'm not sure of the results using frozen, but good luck if you decide to experiment! 🙂
How long does this hold? Do you think I could make it the night before?
The frosting will get pretty firm once chilled. So as soon as you make it, I recommend using it to frost your cake or cupcakes. And at that point, yes, the already-frosted cake/cupcakes could be refrigerated overnight and they would hold just fine.
On the other hand, if you make the frosting the night before and pop the bowl it in the fridge, you'd need to let it come to room temperature again the next day before you'd be able to spread it on anything.
Hope that answers your question either way! 🙂
It is a must try! I used this recipe for my daughter's birthday cake and it worked beautifully. Delicious!
Strawberry cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting has been long-time, often-requested favorite at our family and social gatherings. I'm making one for a weekend get-together and decided to look for a solution to the ubiquitous "runny strawberry cream cheese frosting" problem. I found this tip in a search and decided to give it a shot. I put it together last night and it immediately proved much more sturdy than my usual concoction. After a night in the cold box, the flavor has ripened to taste as good or better than frosting I've made with fresh or frozen berries. I'll bake the cake later this afternoon, , and if anything, I may need to stir in a touch of milk or strawberry puree to make it more easily spreadable. Thanks for a great tip!
I'm so glad this frosting worked out for you, Greg! 🙂
Can I use less powdered sugar? So it won’t be that sweet and will it melt if cup cakes are left outside the fridge . Can I do it a night before using it ?
Hi Maribel! Yes, you can definitely use less powdered sugar, though the consistency of your frosting may turn out a little looser. This frosting definitely softens at room temperature, and especially in the heat. You can make the frosting and frost your cupcakes the night before, but after frosting them, I'd recommend keeping your cupcakes refrigerated until just before serving. Hope that helps!
Yummy! Even better when made the day before. Aldi's sometimes has the freeze dried strawberries.
So glad you enjoyed it, Mary!
My consistency came out nice and thick but holy cow this frosting was sweet. I only did 3c of powdered sugar instead of 4...my strawberry powder was the culprit I think. Next time I may try sweetening only with the strawberry powder as I prefer a more cream cheesy taste.
You can definitely cut back on the powdered sugar and add more strawberry powder for a less sweet frosting, Denise! 🙂
Just a question, this recipe calls for "freeze dried" strawberries. I have strawberries that I have dehydrated (not freeze dried) I am assuming I can use those?
Hi Gayle! Freeze-dried strawberries have a very different texture than dehydrated strawberries, as you can see in the photos in this post. Freeze-dried strawberries can be ground into a powder, which is what gives this frosting its flavor, color, and smooth texture. (If you do a quick search on Amazon, you can see some of the brands available...I'm able to find Karen's at my regular grocery store and additional brands at natural foods stores.) Dehydrated strawberries (more along the line of raisins) are more leathery, so I don't think this frosting would turn out the same, though you could certainly try using them. The strawberry flavor would be there, but I'm guessing the color and texture of the frosting would be different. Hope that helps!
Did you try the dried strawberries? If so, how did everything turn out? I was also thinking of trying dried. Im having a hard time finding freeze-dried locally.
Well.....I'm not sure what I did or didn't do. I tried this recipe and the frosting was waaay too thin. I even tried adding extra confectioners sugar and chilling it for a brief time. Against my better judgement, I attempted to frost my cake with it, and it all just went running down the sides of my (cooled) cake. So bummed and frustrated. It was meant to be a homemade cake for my son's first birthday tomorrow.
I'm so sorry to hear that, Renee. I'm honestly perplexed, as there's nothing in this frosting to turn it runny. The only thing I can guess is that perhaps you made a modification to one of the ingredients? If you used real strawberries instead of freeze-dried, the moisture in the strawberries would thin out the frosting too much and cause consistency issues (ground-up freeze-dried strawberries actually make the frosting thicker). The consistency of the frosting also could have been altered by using low-fat/fat-free cream cheese or alternative butter. I know when I made my kids' first birthday cakes, I was avoiding dairy and I used a vegan butter in my homemade frosting, which made it turn out very slimy and runny...my little one was hesitant to even dig his fingers in it when it came time to smash it -- ha. Made as directed, however, this frosting recipe should be thick and glossy, as it is in the photos. Adding more confectioners sugar and chilling it should have thickened it further. At any rate, I'm sorry that this recipe didn't turn out for you and I hope some of these tips help you figure out what may have gone wrong. 🙂
This frosting Is awesome!! My whole family loved it on white cake and cupcakes for my daughter's 12th birthday. Especially her. 🙂
To the poster looking for the strawberries, I found mine at Target in the snack- bag dried fruit and raisin area.
Your cupcakes are beautiful and I totally want to grab a hunk of that frosting and taste it!
This may be a dumb question but where do you get freeze dried strawberries? Im thinking they are different than a regular bag of frozen strawberries? This looks delicious!
Whole Foods has them - the 365 brand sliced freeze-dried strawberries in 1.2 oz bags. They are $4.49 in CA so they aren't cheap (because Whole Foods) but there ya go.
Target carries them. I made this frosting, using the 4 cups powdered sugar. I also piped it on, using a #4FT tip, and one recipe was enough to frost 24 cupcakes. Wish I could post my photo!
Walmart has them too.