This homemade Cream Cheese Frosting is fluffy and pipes beautifully. We’re sharing our tips for a perfectly thick and whipped frosting. Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is.
We love this frosting on cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. It’s especially good on Red Velvet Cake, Carrot Cake Cupcakes, and Pumpkin Cake. If you’ve been looking for that perfect and versatile frosting recipe, this is a must-try!
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Cream Cheese Frosting Video
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The Best Cream Cheese Frosting
Hands down, this is our favorite cream cheese icing. Here’s why this will become your go-to recipe:
- Texture – it’s thick enough to pipe onto a cake or cupcakes and isn’t runny like many cream cheese-based frostings tend to be.
- Sweetness – this has just the right amount of sugar and isn’t overly sweet.
- Flavor – the proportion of butter and cream cheese is balanced and it doesn’t taste too much like cream cheese. The vanilla and salt also add great flavor.
- Freezer-friendly – you can make it ahead and freeze or even pipe it onto cakes and cupcakes and freeze an entire dessert (see make-ahead instructions below)
Ingredients
The key to making great cream cheese frosting is in making sure your butter and cream cheese aren’t overly softened.
- Unsalted butter – use an inexpensive, light-colored butter for a lighter-colored frosting.
- Cream cheese – 8oz adds just enough cream cheese flavor and lightens up the frosting.
- Powdered sugar – sweetens up the frosting without being too sweet like many storebought frostings, but you can add more if you prefer.
- Vanilla extract – use a real extract or homemade vanilla for the best taste.
- Fine Sea Salt – a little goes a long way to balance the flavor.
The Best Cream Cheese for Frosting
Make sure to use full-fat, block-style cream cheese. Avoid cream cheese sold in a tub as those can make frosting runny and are intended to be used for spreads rather than frosting.
How long to soften butter and cream cheese? Keep at room temperature (70˚F room) for about 1 1/2 hours, or until you can indent the butter with your fingertip. It should feel cool to the touch and should not feel too soft or squishy.
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat butter with an electric hand mixer until smooth and creamy then beat on high speed for 1 minute until lightened in color.
- Beat in cream cheese pieces just until combined, scraping down the bowl.
- Add vanilla and salt and beat to combine.
- Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and mix at low speed until incorporated. Increase to high speed and beat another 2-3 minutes until whipped, thick and spreadable, scraping down the bowl a couple of times to ensure everything is really well blended.
Common Questions
Yes, since it has cream cheese and is dairy-based, it should be refrigerated. See instructions for refrigerating and freezing in the “Make-ahead” section below.
Add more powdered sugar if an even thicker frosting is desired.
Yes, it is a sturdy frosting and perfect for cookies. You can even use gel food coloring at the end to tint the frosting.
It can sit out at room temperature for 6 hours. In a warmer or more humid climate, refrigerate until ready to serve.
Yes, use a spatula to fold in a gel food coloring to the finished frosting to reach the desired color. Gel colors are less likely to thin your frosting.
We love it with butter because it is thicker and easier to pipe and decorate with. It also keeps really well in the refrigerator when using butter.
Use Cream Cheese Frosting for
We love to serve this recipe for cream cheese frosting on all kinds of desserts. These pair really well with the balanced sweetness of this frosting.
- Red Velvet Cake
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Strawberry Sponge Cake
- Sugar Cookies
- Fudgy Brownies
- Vanilla Cupcakes
I hope this becomes your go-to Cream Cheese Frosting recipe. The texture is impressive, it pipes beautifully, and best of all, it freezes and keeps really well.
Make-Ahead
- To Refrigerate: Cover frosting and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or until ready to use. To use, let sit at room temperature for about 1 hour or just until spreadable or pipeable. If you frost and refrigerate your cake, let it soften at room temperature for 1-2 hours before serving.
- Freezing: Transfer frosting to a freezer-safe zip bag and shape it into an even thickness in the bag. Freeze flat for 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight then keep at room temperature for 30-60 minutes just until spreadable. You can pipe the frosting over cakes and cupcakes then just thaw the dessert in the fridge overnight before serving.
More Frosting Recipes
These frosting recipes every baker should have in their collection. You will use these again and again.
- Vanilla Buttercream – classic American buttercream
- Chocolate Buttercream – richly chocolatey
- Cupcake Frosting – light, airy and fluffy
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream – wedding cake worthy
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting – silky smooth
- Chocolate Ganache – perfect for glazing or frosting
- Homemade Whipped Cream – 3 ingredients
Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened and cut into pieces
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Place butter into a large mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth and creamy then beat on high speed 1 minute until lightened in color.
- Beat in softened cream cheese, just until combined, scraping down the bowl.
- Beat in vanilla and salt until incorporated.
- Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and mix on low speed until incorporated. Once all the powdered sugar is in, Increase to high speed and beat another 2-3 minutes until whipped, thick and spreadable, scraping down the bowl a couple of times to ensure everything is really well blended.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
It is just delicious! Soft, spreadable and yummy!
Thank you for your good comments and feedback!
Which piping tip do you use for cupcakes? Thank you!!
Hi Jan, These 3 piping tips are the only ones I use for frosting cupcakes
I make cream cheese frosting all the time and thought I would try your recipe. Mine is 1 block cream cheese to 1 stick butter. Yours is 3 sticks of butter, is that correct? It was kinda greasy.
Hi Mary, that is correct. We believe we found the perfect balance for this recipe.
This was the best cream cheese frosting we’ve made and tried so far. It wasn’t too sweet, it just had the right amount of sweetness in it. It was perfect on top of your red velvet cake. Thanks for the recipe Natasha!
You’re welcome, Zoie! I’m so glad you enjoeyd this with your red velvet cake.
Wonderful website and videos, thanks. If this frosting needs to be refrigerated then does that mean that a frosted cake needs to be stored in the fridge?
Hi Robert, that’s right. Since it has cream cheese, it will need to be refrigerated.
Made this cream cheese frosting today…its ABSOLUTELY yummy!! Loved it!!! I am a great fan of yours Natasha, always follow your recipes which are so easy and great 🙂
Thank you for making cooking so much fun 🙂
Thank you for your awesome review, Sue. I’m so glad you loved it!
Hi Natasha, Your recipes are just amazing!! I just loveeee them. Quick question. I wanna try the red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.. but I live in the UK and I have not seen unflavoured cream cheese nor cream cheese sticks 🙁 .. Any substitutes I can use. Thank you loads.
Hi Dee, you might try our buttercream frosting instead.
You could try making your own. Just Google ‘how to make cream cheese.’
What about plain Philly, Dee?
I just love all your recipes. Thank you. My happy place is in my kitchen. Been 👩🍳 my 60 years and still learning. You’re fun to watch🤗
Lovely to hear from you JoAnne. Same here, my kitchen is my favorite and happy place at home. Thanks for watching my videos and I hope you’ll love each recipe that you will try.
This frosting is perfect for just about anything! I frosted some cupcakes with it. Then I just couldn’t resist eating the leftovers on graham crackers!
Glad you are enjoying the frosting! Thanks for your great feedback.
This is our go-to frosting! Adding the cream cheese gives it such great flavor!
I’m happy to hear that, Suzy!
Adding at least one or 2 tablespoons of frozen orange juice into your cream cheese frosting makes it a little better.
Thank you for sharing that suggestion with us, Bob!
I use lemon juice instead vanilla
Thank you for sharing that with me.
I have enjoyed many of your recipes! Thank you for being there for us. There are many more I want to try! Once I made this cream cheese icing I will never make any other! It is creamy and delicious! Keep on giving us your awesome and delicious culinary miracles!
I’m so happy to hear that, DaWanda! Thank you for that wonderful feedback.
Try using brandy instead of vanilla. I would use 2 tsps
That sounds really yummy using brandy instead of vanilla. Thanks for sharing!
This is the type of frosting that you really are tempted to eat by the spoonful! It’s so delicious!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Jen!
Hi Natasha,
Thanks for the amazing recipe!
I live in a country where cream cheese is only sold in tubs and not brick-style. I tried a frosting recipe once but it turned out runny. Any suggestions on how to mitigate this problem? Maybe you have an alternative or a few tricks to get a thick fluffy form?
Thanks for the help and all the delicious recipes!!
Hi Khaled, you might stick with the Buttercream frosting that we have posted. That is a common problem with tub cream cheese. Also, it definitely helps to make sure the butter is still cool to the touch and softened as instructed above.
Under “Ingredients” you mention that 1/2 cup of cream cheese adds just enough flavour yet the recipe calls for 1 cup (8 ozs). Can you clarify?
Hi, 8 oz is correct. I corrected that in the written portion above. Thank you for pointing that out and I hope you love the frosting and the cake that is coming tomorrow to go with it.
I think waiting for me next Friday hehehe waiting for your cake 😂😂😂
WOW! This frosting is SO delicious!!
Thank you for your awesome feedback!
This is the perfect cream cheese frosting!
Thank you for your great feedback!
Cream cheese frosting is my absolute favorite! I will add it on so many desserts! This recipe makes the creamiest frosting!
Thank you Kristyn, I’m so glad you enjoy our Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe.