This simple, 4 ingredient Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting uses fresh berries to bring vibrant color and flavor to your bakes!
As a time-strapped mom who doesn’t settle for bland, I love whipping up frosting from scratch to elevate even the easiest bakes.
Whether it’s dressing up store-bought cake or giving a boxed cake mix a glow up (check out my tips in How to Make Boxed Cake Mix Better!), homemade frosting is the quickest way to bring that special touch that transforms something simple into something spectacular!
And the balance of sweet and tang in this cream cheese frosting with fresh strawberries brings so much dimension to the flavor, not to mention the gorgeous, naturally pink color (see also: Raspberry Buttercream!).
Naturally Pink Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredient Highlights
This cream cheese frosting with strawberries uses the fresh berries to give you a beautiful pink color naturally.
However, if you decide you want to ramp up the pink color, you can add a few drops of oil-based red food coloring (I did not add any artificial color to the frosting pictured, but the saturation of red may vary depending on the strawberries you use).
I tested this recipe first without butter, just cream cheese, and unfortunately with the extra moisture from the strawberries did not allow the frosting to easily stabilize without butter.
Both the butter and the cream cheese should be softened. For help, see my article on How to Quickly and Easily Soften Butter. Unsalted butter is preferred, but salted will work in a pinch.
Cream Cheese Frosting with Strawberries Tips and Tricks
How I Make Cream Cheese Frosting with Strawberry Reduction
Start by cleaning your strawberries and chopping off the leaves. Then, dice the strawberries and add them to a pan over medium heat with about 3 tablespoons of water.
Cook down, stirring occasionally, and adding more water as needed. The goal is to get the strawberries to break down and resemble a jam.
The water may cook off before this is achieved, so just keep adding more about 1 tablespoon at a time until you’re satisfied that the strawberries have broken down and will easily integrate into the frosting. Set the strawberry reduction aside to cool.
While it’s cooling, add the softened butter and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until well-combined. Then, add the room temperature strawberry reduction and about half of the powdered sugar.
Mix to combine again before adding the rest of the powdered sugar.
Serving and Storing Silky Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
This pink frosting uplevels cupcakes, cakes, cookies, brownies, and so much more! It’s great for either piping or spreading, whichever you prefer!
Cream cheese frosting is safe to store at room temperature for around 2 hours. So, if you’re making this ahead of time for an occasion, make sure you refrigerate it until it’s time to serve!
When stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, it will last for about 2 weeks.
You can also freeze this frosting for up to 6 months in a freezer safe bag. Allow it to thaw naturally in the fridge overnight or for a few hours at room temperature before you use it.
Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
SAVE RECIPE TO COLLECTION PIN PRINT RATEIngredients
- 5 ounces fresh strawberries (5 oz = ~1 cup diced)
- water as needed
- 2 ounces block cream cheese, softened (2 oz = ~4 tablespoons)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (½ cup usually = 1 stick)
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Clean the strawberries and chop off the leaves. Dice them and add them to a frying pan over medium heat with about 3 tablespoons of water.5 ounces fresh strawberries, water as needed
- Continue to heat the strawberries, stirring occasionally and adding water as needed (about 1 tablespoon at a time), until the strawberries break down and resemble a jam. This usually takes about 10-15 minutes. Then, set the strawberry reduction aside to cool.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese and butter. Beat on high until well-combined.2 ounces block cream cheese, softened, ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- Add the room temperature strawberry reduction and about half of the powdered sugar. Mix on high to combine. Then, add the rest of the powdered sugar and mix again until well-combined. Add to a piping bag or spread on cupcakes, cakes, brownies, cookies, and more!4 cups powdered sugar
Pro Tips
- Depending on the size of your bowl, you may want to start out with your hand mixer on low and gradually increase the speed to avoid the strawberry reduction and/or powdered sugar splashing out of the bowl.
Video
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