Made with either fresh strawberries or freeze-dried strawberries, this strawberry frosting is the perfect finishing touch for so many desserts. It’s creamy and full of flavor, perfect for piping on cupcakes or frosting layer cakes, and comes together with just a handful of ingredients.
I would say that of all the flavors of frosting, I get the most questions about strawberry frosting. It’s a bit elusive. Strawberry puree alone often doesn’t lend enough flavor, and if you add too much, you thin out your frosting beyond where it’s pipe-able. And if you add chunks of strawberries, it really throws things off. So what’s a strawberry lover to do?
This easy strawberry frosting recipe cracks the code. It’s based on my classic vanilla buttercream and can be made in two ways – either with fresh strawberries in a strawberry reduction or with freeze-dried strawberries. Both incorporate a beautiful pink color and strawberry flavor without thinning the frosting or throwing the texture off.
I’ve used this frosting in so many ways, including on my popular fresh strawberry cupcakes and strawberries and cream cupcakes. The bright color and flavor are extra nice for Valentine’s Day and spring and summer, too.
Why This Is The Best Strawberry Frosting Recipe
- Two ways to make it. As noted above, this recipe can be made with freeze-dried strawberries or fresh strawberries. Both options result in a beautiful frosting with great strawberry flavor, so use whichever one works best for you.
- Endless ways to use it. Strawberry frosting pairs with chocolate, vanilla, AND strawberry cakes and cupcakes. It’s a fun way to add a pop of flavor and color to a classic chocolate layer cake or vanilla layer cake.
- It’s easy! Whether you opt for the strawberry reduction or the freeze-dried strawberries, this strawberry buttercream frosting is easy to make. It’s a bit quicker with the freeze-dried strawberries but not time intensive in either case (the reduction just needs time to cool). Anyone with a mixer can make this frosting!
Key Ingredients
This easy strawberry buttercream is made with just five very basic ingredients. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Strawberries – This strawberry frosting can be made with fresh or freeze-dried strawberries. See below for the pro’s and con’s of each.
- Butter – I always use unsalted butter for my frosting recipes to ensure control over the flavor. It should be at room temperature.
- Powdered sugar – Adds volume to the buttercream and helps thicken it. You could always reduce it if you prefer a thinner buttercream.
- Water – You can also use heavy cream or milk. Just note that water and regular milk thin out the buttercream more quickly than cream does.
- Vanilla extract – Just a splash to add a bit of extra flavor to complement the strawberry.
- Salt – A pinch of salt helps enhance the overall flavor of the frosting.
Freeze Dried vs Fresh Strawberries
There are two ways to make this strawberry frosting – with freeze-dried strawberries ground into a powder or with fresh strawberries pureed and cooked down to a strawberry reduction.
If fresh strawberries are in season, I like to opt for the strawberry reduction. But the freeze-dried strawberries are quicker and easier to work with and have the bonus of being available all year-round.
The only difference between using them is that, when using freeze-dried strawberries, you’ll need to add water or cream to the frosting to get the right consistency. Because the reduction adds liquid to the frosting naturally, you don’t need any extra. But with this version, the dry powder doesn’t do the job on it’s own and a little liquid is necessary to thin out the frosting a bit.
Flavor-wise, while the freeze-dried strawberries add some intense flavor, the strawberry reduction does a great job of keeping up and I could hardly tell a difference between the two.
Can I Use Frozen Strawberries?
I have received several questions from readers asking if they can use frozen strawberries to make strawberry frosting. In short, yes…but it’s not my preferred option.
I personally don’t like to use them because you can’t tell prior to buying and thawing them if they have good flavor or not, which will impact the final flavor of the frosting. The other thing about frozen strawberries is the water added, which can mute the flavor. Yes, you’ll cook them down and intensify the flavor, but again, I just prefer knowing I’m getting the best and strongest flavor.
If you can’t get your hands on fresh, ripe strawberries, I recommend using the freeze-dried strawberries option.
Tips for the Best Frosting
Here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind when making this frosting for the first time.
- Let the strawberry reduction cool. The strawberry reduction needs to cool to room temperature before being added to the frosting. Otherwise, it will just melt the butter.
- Don’t add too much reduction. I typically add about three to four tablespoons of strawberry reduction so that my frosting doesn’t thin out too much. If you prefer a thinner frosting (which is often okay for cupcakes and sheet cakes, but less ideal for layer cakes), you can add a little more.
- Strain the puree. I recommend straining the pureed strawberries to remove any seeds. This isn’t completely necessary but the frosting is likely to have more of a texture to it if you don’t, which I don’t love.
- Use room temperature butter. The butter should be softened to room temperature. If it’s too soft or too hard, it won’t stir up nicely into a smooth, creamy frosting.
- Get the perfect consistency. If using the freeze-dried strawberries, the added milk or cream will help get the right consistency for the frosting. Add only as much as needed. If using fresh strawberries, the strawberry reduction doubles as the liquid to thin the frosting. Check out my post on How to Get the Right Frosting Consistency for more tips.
Why Is My Strawberry Buttercream Grainy?
There are two reasons for this – the strawberry puree wasn’t strained (if using fresh strawberries) so the seeds are in the frosting or the powdered sugar is clumpy.
If you live in a humid environment and notice lumpy powdered sugar, simply sift it before adding it to the bowl to prevent this issue in the future.
Ways To Use Strawberry Frosting
- Cupcakes: This strawberry buttercream would be fantastic piped high on top of vanilla cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, white cupcakes, and strawberry cupcakes. I also used it on my chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes.
- Cakes: Strawberry frosting works great on both sheet cakes, like vanilla sheet cake, and layer cakes. A few of my favorite layer cakes to use with this frosting include strawberry crunchy layer cake, strawberry champagne cake, and strawberry layer cake.
- Other desserts: There are lots of other ways to use this frosting, such as piped onto brownies for a decadent twist or as a filling in sandwich cookies.
Proper Storage
- Room temperature: The frosting can be stored at room temperature for up to 48 hours.
- Fridge: Strawberry frosting can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It’s best enjoyed within a week. Bring it back to room temperature before using.
- Freezer: For longer storage, freeze the frosting for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge before using.
Homemade Strawberry Frosting – Two Ways
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Ingredients
- 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries (OR 1 1/2 cups (200g) chopped fresh strawberries)
- 1 cup (224g ) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 4 cups (460g) powdered sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons (45-60ml) water or cream (if needed)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch or two of salt
Instructions
- If using fresh strawberries, add the strawberries to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. You should have about 3/4 cups of puree.
- Add the puree to a small sized saucepan and cook over medium heat. Allow the mixture to come to a slow boil, stirring consistently to keep it from burning, until it has thickened and reduced to about 6 tbsp, about 10-15 minutes. To measure, pour the puree into a measuring cup. If it’s more than 6 tbsp (between 1/4 and 1/2 cup), add it back to the pan and continue cooking.
- When the puree has thickened and reduced, pour into a large measuring cup and allow to cool to at least room temperature. This strawberry mixture can be made ahead, if you like, and stored in the fridge.
- If using freeze dried strawberries, add them to a food processor and grind into a fine powder. Set aside.
- Regardless of which version you're making, add the butter to a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
- Add about half of the powdered sugar and beat until well combined and smooth.
- If using the strawberry reduction, add about 3 tablespoons of the reduction and beat until well combined and smooth. If using the freeze dried strawberries, add the powder and about 3 tablespoons of water or cream and beat until well combined and smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract and slowly add the remaining powdered sugar and beat until well combined and smooth.
- 9. Add additional strawberry reduction/milk or cream until your frosting is the right consistency. Use your frosting on cakes, cupcakes, etc. Frosting can be left at room temperature for 1-2 days, but if you aren't using it right away, I recommend refrigerating it for up to a week or freezing it for about a month.
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Categories:
Cakes and Cupcakes, Easter, Frosting Recipes, Holidays, July 4th, Recipes, Sweets and Treats, Valentine's Day,
This frosting was a lifesaver!!! I made some really good gluten free strawberry cupcakes and frosted them with strawberry buttercream. Didn’t work. I am not a fan of buttercream. So I scraped it off and found this recipe and it was just what I was looking for! This was my first time using freeze dried strawberries, and I learned a good lesson. Loved the strawberry flavor and so did my guests!! I froze the leftover frosting in its piping bag and used it to frost the next batch a week later. It was perfect!! I will use this recipe as a base for my margarite cupcakes, and many more flavors to come. Thank you Lindsay!
Awesome! So glad you love it and it worked well for you!
Could I use frozen strawberries? I have been using a different recipe but it hasn’t been sticking to the like cake I want.
That should be fine.
Ive never made homemade cupcakes and previosly only had store bought if your looking for something rich in flavor and the perfect balance of strawberry and vanila this is for you! To be honest these are the best cupcakes ive ever eaten no joke thankyou for sharing this recipe
Should I double recipe for a two layer cake
It depends a little on how much frosting you like. I tend to be heavy handed with it. I used 2 1/2 recipes worth for this strawberry moscato cake that’s 3 layers. I imagine for a cake that’s 2 layers, you could probably just double it (or less if you really don’t use much frosting).
Delicious! My birthday boy isn’t a huge fan of icing so I cut the recipe in half but kept 1cup freeze dried strawberries. Made with lemon cupcakes and there are so good!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I used fresh strawberries and although they weren’t very flavorful, cooking them down created a great flavor! Thank you for your great tips and explanations.
Awesome! So glad it was helpful!
This recipe was so good! Would it work as well with blueberries?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Yes, it should work well with blueberries.
I love 💕 💕 this recipe 😁👍🙌sooooooooooooo much!!!!
Great recipe! I made too much strawberry reduction. How long will it last in the fridge or is there another way to store it?
It should be fine in the fridge for up to a week. You could also freeze it for about a month.
I bought a bag of freeze dried strawberries (20 grams). Do I really need to get 10 bags (200 grams)? Each bag is $4.49. Thanks
200 grams is the weight for fresh strawberries. If using the freeze dried, one bag should be fine.
This is very delicious, however, I got a little over zealous with the strawberry reduction and my frosting looks curdled. Is there anyway to fix it after it has curdled?
Thank you for the recipe and your time
You could try adding a touch more powdered sugar. If you don’t want it to get too sweet, you could also add more butter and just end up with more frosting.
that happened to me using another recipe with similar instructions. I made the strawberry reduction the day before and added it to the creamed butter and it curdled. I thought maybe because it was cold from the refrigerator? I didnt know what to do and ended up throwing it out and starting over. I remade the butter cream frosting and just used the strawberry reduction as a sauce. I didnt realize you could just add more butter or sugar to take away the curdleness. Thoughts anyone?
How much shortening will i add. i like doing butter/shortening
You could use as much as you like, but I recommend half and half.
anyone tried strawberry jelly or jam? If som how much?
You’d use the same amount as the strawberry reduction. So about 3-6 tablespoons. I think the flavor from jam and jelly is different but you could use it.
Hi there I would love to use this for some cupcakes, how many cupcakes will this recipe do pls?
It heavily depends on how much frosting you like to put on each cupcake. I pile it pretty high, so for me it would cover about 12 cupcakes.
Looks fabulous! How long after making frosting can you store it, and how best to store?
You can store it right away. I would store it in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to a month and freeze for up to three months.
Can I use freeze dried strawberries powder instead? If so, do you know about how much powder I should I use?
I don’t know that exact amount of powder, I’m sorry. I’d try adding a few tablespoons, taste it and then see you need more or not.