Best Recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting (2024)

This rich, tangy, spoon-lickable Best Cream Cheese Frosting is the only cream cheese frosting recipe you'll need! Made with just 4 ingredients, it takes only 10 minutes to whip up! This easy frosting recipe is perfect for carrot cakes, red velvet cupcakes, and even chocolate cupcakes too. Make it ahead and freeze it for later!

We love to frost our cakes and cupcakes with new and exciting flavors! For something a little more exotic, check out our fruity Guava Frosting or Dragon Fruit Buttercream Frosting. And for something a little more traditional, our Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is light, fluffy, and perfect for chocolate lovers!

Best Recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting (1)
Table of Contents
  1. The BEST Cream Cheese Frosting
  2. Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe ingredients
  3. How to make Cream Cheese Frosting
  4. How to store the Best Cream Cheese Frosting
  5. Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe FAQs
  6. How to use Easy Cream Cheese Frosting
  7. More Frosting Recipes Like This
  8. Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

The BEST Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream Cheese just seems to make desserts taste AMAZING, right?! Whether it's my No-Bake Cheesecake, Cream Cheese Brownies, or my Award-Winning Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie, I'm always experimenting with adding this savory spread into sweet baked goods. Can't stop, won't stop, it's just delicious!

This is the BEST Cream Cheese Frosting, and you'll love it for several reasons. First off, it requires just 4 (F-O-U-R!) ingredients, most of them you'll already have in the pantry or fridge (powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla extract) and you may even already have the cream cheese on hand as well! I always buy it in bulk so I have some on hand for sweet or savory recipes, and since it freezes well you can keep it in the freezer for 2-3 months and just thaw it as needed. I love recipes that don't need special trips to the store to throw together. Life is busy, and that's just another thing I don't need to fit into my day!

Second, this cream cheese frosting is made so quickly, you'll wonder if you've missed something. You haven't! It took me about 5 minutes of creaming the butter and cream cheese together first, and then tossing in the other ingredients...and just like that, we have cream cheese buttercream, ready to pipe and eat!

Best Recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting (2)

Pro Tip: if you'd like your cream cheese frosting to be a little firmer for piping, stick it in the fridge for about 30 minutes, or add a little cornstarch. These two techniques together hold the piping shape beautifully!

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe ingredients

It's just four ingredients to rich, delicious, homemade frosting that is the perfect topping for cakes, cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and bars! I recommend using high quality ingredients, especially in a recipe like this where the ingredient list is short because you will really notice a difference in taste.

  • Cream cheese: Full-fat cream cheese, softened will make the best cream cheese frosting! It's extremely rich and tangy. I have done this with reduced fat cream cheese and it's still good, just not quite as good as with full-fat.
  • Butter: Plenty of softened butter makes this Cream Cheese Buttercream even richer! There's nothing like a buttery frosting.
  • Sugar: Powdered sugar is the best for this icing recipe as it melts easily into the rest of the ingredients.
  • Vanilla extract: Just a little extra flavor, the vanilla complements the cream cheese deliciously! You can use store-bought, or make your own with my Homemade Vanilla Extract recipe.

How to make Cream Cheese Frosting

  1. Beat the cream cheese and butter. Firstly, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth using a hand mixer or a stand mixer. This is much easier if your ingredients are room temperature to begin with. Mix them really well to make sure there aren't any lumps of cream cheese.
  2. Mix in sugar and vanilla. For the last step, add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat again until creamy and smooth. That's really all there is to it!
Best Recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting (3)
Best Recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting (4)

How to store the Best Cream Cheese Frosting

You can make this cream cheese frosting up to 3 days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When you're ready to use it, let it sit on the counter to take off the chill before beating it back into its fluffy state and piping it or spreading it over a cake.

Can you freeze Cream Cheese Frosting?

Yes! This frosting can be frozen for up to about 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, then let it sit out on the counter to come to room temperature before beating well and using. I like to make a double batch and freeze half just to have some on hand.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe FAQs

How do you firm up Cream Cheese Frosting?

If you want a cream cheese frosting with even more stability for piping, the best way I've found is refrigerating it for 15-30 minutes and/or mixing in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. If you're making cupcakes but aren't going to serve them immediately after piping, stick them in the fridge to retain the piped shape as well.

What is the difference between icing and frosting?

Frosting tends to be fluffier and is perfect for topping cupcakes with, or spreading over and in between cake layers. Icing is usually glossier and is great for decorating finer details on baked goods like cookies. Check out my Easy Royal Icing Recipe for Sugar Cookies tutorial and video for more information on icing!

How to use Easy Cream Cheese Frosting

CAKES:

  • Best Carrot Cake Recipe
  • Best Red Velvet Cake
  • One-Bowl Chocolate Cake Recipe
  • Vintage Cherry Chip Layer Cake

CUPCAKES:

  • Best Ever Moist Vanilla Cupcakes
  • Lemon Cupcakes
  • Gingerbread Cupcakes
  • Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
  • Best Ever Moist Chocolate Cupcakes

COOKIES & BROWNIES:

  • Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
  • The BEST Homemade Brownie Recipe
Best Recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting (5)

More Frosting Recipes Like This

  • Homemade Rainbow Chip Frosting Recipe
  • Lemon Buttercream Frosting
  • Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
  • Easy Salted Caramel Frosting

Did you make this recipe?

Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.

Best Recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting (9)

PrintPinRate

Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting

4.97 from 106 votes

Amy Nash

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Course Frostings

Cuisine American

Servings 3 cups

This rich, tangy, spoon-lickable Best Cream Cheese Frosting is the only cream cheese frosting recipe you'll need! Made with just 4 ingredients, it takes only 10 minutes to whip up! This easy frosting recipe is perfect for carrot cakes, red velvet cupcakes, and even chocolate cupcakes too. Make it ahead and freeze it for later!

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • ½ cup salted butter softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth using a hand mixer or a stand mixer.

  • Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat again until creamy and smooth.

Notes

  • Stiffer Frosting: If you want a cream cheese frosting with even more stability for piping, try refrigerating it for 15-30 minutes and/or mixing in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch.
  • Yield: This recipe makes about 3 cups of frosting, which is enough for 1 dozen cupcakes (if you are piping it on like in the photos) or a 2 layer cake.
  • Make Ahead and Storage Instructions: This frosting keeps in and airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days if you want to make it in advance. Let it sit for a while on the counter to take off the chill before beating and using.
  • Freezing Instructions: This frosting can be frozen for up to about 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then let it sit out on the counter to come to room temperature before beating well and using.

Nutrition

Serving: 2Tablespoons | Calories: 145kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 65mg | Potassium: 15mg | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 245IU | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @HouseOfNashEats or tag #houseofnasheats!

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About the author

Best Recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting (14)

Hi, I'm Amy

I enjoy exploring the world through food, culture, and travel and sharing the adventure with mostly from-scratch, family friendly recipes that I think of as modern comfort cooking.

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Best Recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting (2024)

FAQs

Why add butter to cream cheese icing? ›

An equal ratio of butter to cream cheese yields a super smooth, spreadable frosting, while still maintaining the distinctive tangy flavor.

What can you add to cream cheese frosting to make it thicker? ›

There are a few ways you can increase the stability of this frosting or make it a bit thicker. – Add in more icing/powdered sugar (if you don't mind a little extra sweetness). Add in a tablespoon at a time and taste test as you go. – Secondly, you can add in some cornstarch to thicken up the frosting.

Should I refrigerate cream cheese frosting before using? ›

Yes, cream cheese frosting needs to be refrigerated because it is prone to spoiling. However, cream cheese frosting can last up to two hours at room temperature, so you don't have to worry about eating cold cake.

Is cream cheese frosting better with butter or heavy cream? ›

the BEST cream cheese frosting uses heavy cream instead of butter – trust me on this, it's a game-changer 🤯🙌 the heavy cream makes the frosting lighter & fluffier, and it also gives it structure & stability, so you don't have to add huge amounts of powdered sugar ✨️ #creamcheesefrosting #creamcheese #frosting # ...

How to stop cream cheese frosting from going runny? ›

How to thicken cream cheese frosting. If the consistency is too thin or runny you can put the frosting mixture in the fridge for up to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it's still too thin, take out some of the runny mixture and beat in some more cream cheese.

Is it possible to over whip cream cheese frosting? ›

Overbeating cream cheese frosting can make it too runny. When all the sugar is incorporated into the frosting, don't beat it for much longer to avoid overbeating. If the frosting is too soft, pop it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to harden before piping.

How to make store bought cream cheese frosting more fluffy? ›

Whip it until fluffy: To make frosting fluffy, it needs to be aerated. Add the container of frosting into a bowl and use a hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment to whip it for 3 minutes.

How do you doctor up canned cream cheese frosting? ›

Add a little dairy. If you want to take it to the next level, fold in some freshly whipped cream (whipped cream from a canister will turn to liquid, so make sure you whip the cream yourself) for an ultra delicate texture. If you want to add a little bit of tanginess and creaminess, whip in some softened cream cheese.

What is the best store-bought cream cheese frosting? ›

And in the supermarket baking aisle, Duncan Hines Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting is the best on the shelf. It should be noted that, being a shelf-stable frosting, Duncan Hines Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting does not contain any cream cheese; instead, it uses flavorings and additives to (sorta) replicate its flavor.

Does a cake with Duncan Hines cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated? ›

From Paula's Pumpkin Bars to Giada's Spiced Apple-Walnut Cake With Cream Cheese Icing to the classic Red Velvet Cake, it's hard to escape cream cheese frosting's creamy goodness. So does it need refrigeration? Food Network Kitchens: Yes, you should always refrigerate any cake or cupcake that has cream cheese frosting.

Do cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated? ›

Do you need to refrigerate cinnamon rolls? Unfrosted cinnamon rolls do not need to be refrigerated and will keep best at room temperature. Iced cinnamon rolls, and especially rolls with cream cheese frosting, should be stored in the fridge.

Can I eat cream cheese frosting that was left out overnight? ›

At room temperature, cream cheese frosting only lasts two hours, which is why it needs to be refrigerated if you don't want to waste leftovers. Cream cheese frosting will usually last in the refrigerator for up to a week, which gives you plenty of time to use it on various baked goods.

Does carrot cake with cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated? ›

Due to the cream cheese in the frosting which has a high moisture content, this cake needs to be refrigerated. The good news is that since the cake layers are made with oil (not butter), they will remain soft even when cold. Cover the cake well and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

What is the purpose of butter in frosting? ›

As the name implies, butter is meant to be the main ingredient in this sweet frosting. It's what gives buttercream its structure, so it can be easily piped or spread over the cake. When you opt for a substitute, like margarine or shortening, it will alter the flavor, mouthfeel, and structure of the buttercream.

Does butter thicken cream cheese frosting? ›

Unsalted butter – It gives the frosting buttery flavor and a texture that's thick enough for piping. Allow the butter to soften to room temperature before mixing up the frosting.

What is the function of butter in ice cream? ›

Act as a stabiliser: fats have the ability to form air bubbles and infuse the ice cream mixture with them by reducing the sur face tension between air and water. Convey flavour: fats absorb and retain the aromas in your ice cream mixture.

How to get cream cheese icing not lumpy? ›

Fixing lumpy cream cheese frosting

Let the butter and cream cheese sit out for at least an hour before making your frosting. Once the lumps are there it is hard to get rid of them, but you can. Let the frosting sit for an hour or so at room temperature so the ingredients soften, then mix again.

References

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