If you’ve seen my cake recipes, you know that I LOVE a really good frosting. I haven’t been putting them on the site separately, but figured it’s about time to do so because there’s endless ways to use frosting.
This recipe was specifically made for my chocolate strawberry cake (coming tomorrow!) but it would also be delicious on your favorite brownie recipe, cakes, cupcakes, cookie sandwiches and more. Check out all my ideas below. xo!
What is buttercream?
Buttercream is a type of frosting made with, of course, butter, plus sugar and milk or cream. It’s super fluffy and great for decorating cakes & pastries because all of the ingredients are whipped together until smooth but hold a nice shape.
Unlike “icing,” which is made from mostly powdered sugar and a liquid fat like milk, traditional buttercream recipes use about a 2:1 ratio of sugar to butter. Some recipes use other fat sources like margarine or shortening as well. In this recipe, we’re infusing a delicious vanilla buttercream frosting with wonderful strawberry flavor.
Ingredients in strawberry buttercream
This easy strawberry buttercream recipe uses just five simple ingredients for a perfectly fluffy, strawberry frosting you’ll make again and again. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Butter: our fat source in this recipe is good old fashioned butter. I prefer to use salted butter because it has more flavor, but unsalted works perfectly.
- Powdered sugar: we’ll use plenty of powdered sugar to sweeten the buttercream.
- Freeze dried strawberries: to get that delicious strawberry flavor, you’ll actually blend up freeze dried strawberries into a fine powder.
- Vanilla: for an extra boost of flavor.
- Milk: feel free to use any milk you’d like to thin the strawberry buttercream just a bit.
Why use freeze dried strawberries?
I tested this strawberry buttercream recipe many different ways and found that using freeze dried strawberries, as opposed to strawberry jam or even fresh strawberries, gave the frosting and even deeper strawberry flavor (and color!) Unless you have very ripe, sweet strawberries, fresh ones potentially won’t give your buttercream the strawberry flavor you’re looking for.
Bonus: you can make this easy strawberry frosting all year round, even when strawberries aren’t in season!
Easy ingredient swaps
- Make it dairy free: feel free to use vegan butter.
- Use unrefined sugar: feel free to try using my homemade paleo powdered sugar or your powdered sweetener of choice in this strawberry buttercream recipe and let me know how it turns out! I have only tested it as is though.
How to make strawberry buttercream frosting from scratch
You won’t believe how easy this strawberry buttercream recipe is!
- Blend the strawberries. You’ll first blend your freeze dried strawberries in a blender or food processor until they become a very fine powder.
- Cream the butter. Next, whip your softened butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until it’s light and fluffy.
- Whip everything together. Add the freeze-dried strawberry powder, powdered sugar & vanilla extract to your electric mixer and beat for 2-3 minutes more. Add in a few tablespoons of milk to thin the frosting out, beat again until smooth.
How do you make buttercream frosting fluffy?
The key is to whip together all of the ingredients slowly and increase the speed of your electric mixer as you go. This will create beautiful peaks in the frosting and make it super easy to frost your favorite treats. Don’t forget to add a little bit of milk at a time as needed, this will also help to make the frosting easier to spread.
Ways to use this strawberry buttercream
The options are truly endless. Here are some of my favorite ways to use this frosting:
- Double the strawberry fun with this Almond Flour Strawberry Shortcake Cake
- Add a layer to my famous Grain Free Tahini Brownies or my Flourless Almond Butter Brownies.
- Did someone say strawberry banana? Put a dollop on these Healthy Soft Banana Bread Cookies
- Decorate one of these Almond Flour Chocolate Sugar Cookies or make a fun cookie sandwich for Valentine’s Day.
How to store homemade buttercream
- At room temp: this strawberry buttercream will stay good at room temp for about a day on a cake.
- In the fridge: feel free to keep the frosting in the fridge for up to a week if you’re looking to prepare it ahead of time. Let the frosting come to room temp before using it. After you’ve frosted your cake or another dessert, I also recommend storing the cake in the fridge after one day.
Can you freeze buttercream frosting?
Actually, yes! You can freeze this strawberry buttercream frosting for up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer-friendly bag. When you’re ready to use it, simply let it thaw in the refrigerator, let it come to room temp, and then re-whip it in your electric mixer.
I hope you love this easy strawberry buttercream frosting recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment & a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 heaping cup freeze dried strawberries*
- 1 cup butter (I prefer salted, but unsalted also works!), at room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons milk of choice*
Instructions
- Add your freeze dried strawberries to a high powered blender (or a food processor) and blend until they become a fine powder.
- Next, in the bowl of an electric mixer, add the softened butter (or vegan butter) and whip on high until light and fluffy.
- Next, add the freeze-dried strawberry powder, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and beat for 2-3 minutes more, starting on low speed and slowly increasing to high.
- Add in a few tablespoons of milk to thin the frosting out, beat again until smooth. Spread on your favorite cake, cookies or whatever your heart desires!
Recipe Notes
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
genuinely delicious
Glad you enjoyed!
This buttercream frosting is next level! When I was kid my mom would make heart cakes with pink frosting every valentines day. The cakes were from a box mix and the icing was from a can. I have continued the cake making tradition with my child. Even though we use the King Arthur GF cake mix, we elevate things with THIS strawberry buttercream frosting. It’s so good, it makes a boxed cake mix taste homemade.
Love that! Agreed – this homemade version is the BEST 🙂
Can you substitute the freeze dried strawberries for another fruite. (i.e. dried blueberries)?
I haven’t tried it so I’m not 100% sure how the flavor will turn out! Let me know if you give it a try 🙂
AMAZING!! Made this for my daughter’s birthday and it taste so good!
So happy to hear that!!
Is it okay to cut the powdered sugar in half or more than half? I would prefer a frosting that is a lot less sweet? Thanks
That might work, but you’ll want to adjust the liquid as well or it’ll be too watery.
Dangerously good! I made this with Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks and freeze dried strawberries from Trader Joe’s. It’s sweet, fluffy, packs a delicious punch of strawberry flavor, and is a pretty pink color. By far the best – and first ever homemade – frosting I’ve ever had. Will be making this a staple for baked goods.
Prior to the winner batch I tried making a batch with paleo confectioners sugar. Cornstarch + coconut sugar. It was pretty bad in comparison. I blame the ingredients, not the recipe. I do not recommend a coconut sugar substitution in this buttercream.
Ah thank you SO much for sharing, glad you’re loving this recipe and it turned out great for you ❤️
I just made this and it is downright delicious! The buttercream has a great balance of tarte and sweet. Also, this was my first time making buttercream and it turned out great. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
AH yay! I am so excited to hear that you are loving this frosting and it turned out great for you 🙂
Hi Monique! I’m a regular Ambitious Kitchen fan and make your incredible recipes on repeat! However, I am lactose intolerant but also trying to watch my consumption of seed oils in products like earth balance. I would so LOOOOOOVE to make this strawberry buttercream and am most def making inside out strawberry cake today for my son’s 11th bday….I even bought the freeze dried strawberries! (they were hard to find here in Toronto, Canada) Ok, all this to ask, is there anyway I can make this frosting with coconut cream or coconut oil? And if so, what would be your suggested ratios? Any guidance would be so wonderfully appreciated. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your recipes….they have so helped me and my family eat healthier while still ENJOYING the decadence of these wonderful treats!!!
Hi! So happy to hear that you’ve found lots of great recipes! Unfortunately, I haven’t tried out this recipe using coconut products and I’m not 100% sure if the texture will hold up. I do have a chocolate frosting made with coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk here that would be great on a cake, but the chocolate chips are what give it a nice sweetness and I’m not sure if the freeze-dried strawberries would work out well. Let me know if you give it a try!
Monique! I made the whole cake just as you instructed in your recipe and it came out BEAUTIFUL, mind you, not as beautiful as yours! Will post a pic on IG soon and tag you! (I didn’t want to risk using coconut cream so I just wolfed a whole bunch of digestive enzymes to enjoy the buttercream frosting) The cake was a hit with the whole familia! I will venture to try with coconut cream one day and let you know how it turns out. The cake was so divinely delicious! Thank you!!
YUM! I am so excited to hear that you are loving this cake and it turned out great for you, Paula!
Made this is icing for my devils food cake. Next time I will double the recipe so there is enough to do full cake and sides. The icing is very good and will make again
I made this icing and I haven’t served the cake yet it tastes delicious and I can only imagine the cake will be amazing. Not sure though if I did something a little different (didn’t think I did) but mine is a much deeper pinkish/red color than picture here. It taste exactly like a very sweet strawberry.
Hi. I was looking for a great strawberry buttercream frosting recipe to use between layers of lemon cake for my daughters birthday. I have no idea where to get, or how to make freeze dried strawberries. Can I just use frozen/thawed strawberries I buy at the store in a bag? They always have a great strawberry flavor. If you would advise, how much would I use?
Thanks!
If I want to use freeze dried strawberry powder (already in powder form when purchased) how much do I need?
Another follower has said about 3/8 of a cup!
The strawberry is very strong and packs a punch. I only ended up using maybe 3/4 cup and it was just right anymore and it wouldve been almost sour. If you are icing a 2 layer 9×13 cake you will need to double or even triple the recipe as this was only enough to crumb coat. No worries as I picked up some strawberry oil as backup bc I had a feeling I didn’t have enough Strawberry powder. Always make sure to taste as you go. But it was great! Thanks. Will definitely keep in my pocket.
Good to know! I haven’t found that so I’m wondering if the brand you used was a little more tart? Thanks for the feedback!
Would you happen to know the weight of a cup of freeze dried berries? All the ones I’ve found go by grams and I’m wanting to try this weekend.
So sorry, I don’t! I just measure out a heaping cup from the bag.
The package I have says a cup of dehydrated strawberries is 20 grams (0.7 ounces).
Hi! I was wondering, about how many cups does this make? I need something a little more specific than “Serves 16”. Thanks!
Hi! I haven’t measured it out but I think it makes around 2 cups 🙂
Thank you!
Nevermind, please delete this comment
Nevermind again 😅
I love the 3 tbsp of milk consistency for the batter. This was so good and easy. Thanks for sharing, Monique!
This the absolute best strawberry buttercream out there. I went the route of using vegan butter and it worked great! (I was also about half a cup short on powdered sugar and it still worked out, so if you failed to plan ahead like me rest assured this recipe will still be your favorite!!)
Nice!! I’m so happy you loved it, and good to know about the powdered sugar 🙂
I’m so glad that I found this recipe! Can you tell me how much this recipe, as is, will yield in cups. I plan on pairing this with a pink champagne cake for my niece’s wedding. There will be 3 9″ layers in the tier. I want to make sure that I make enough but not over do it, lol.
Thanks!
Nevermind 🙂 I found the answer
I didn’t love this recipe. I actually added a cup and a half of butter because I love buttery buttercream, but I should’ve added even more because it still doesn’t taste buttery at all. I also ended up putting more like 3-4 cups powdered sugar and two tsp vanilla. Even after those changes it has an overly strong strawberry flavor and is not really sweet (which some people may like). Personally, I don’t love it- especially because I’m pairing with a chocolate cake that is also not sweet. I would add just half a cup of strawberry powder if I made again
Sorry you didn’t love this one, and thanks for the feedback! Did you use salted butter? That should help bring out the flavor. Totally fine to adjust the amount of strawberry powder 🙂
I didn’t want to make the entire Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake so I made a small batch of this recipe to put on the famous almond butter brownies and WOW is all I can say! I used powdered coconut sugar and a tad too much almond milk so it was more like a thick glaze – a mistake that totally worked on brownies, especially straight from the fridge. Might have to try making this as a cream cheese frosting next!
Oh nice!! I’m so glad you loved it 🙂 And glad the thinner glaze texture worked well on the brownies.
This sounds delicious, and want to try making it, but I was wondering if you can use the pre-packaged dried strawberry powder. Do you think the flavor would be compromised? I see only an organic brand being available so it made me wonder about the flavor…
Hmm I’d have to see the brand/product to see what’s in it! I also linked the ones I use above in the blog post, which can be found at Trader Joe’s or on Amazon through that link 🙂
Hi, do you know around how many cups of frosting this makes?
I’ve never actually measured it so I’m not entirely sure, sorry! Maybe close to 2 cups?
Another amazing recipe from AK! The strawberry flavor is so unreal and this recipe is so easy to make. I doubled the recipe for a 2 layer 9 inch chocolate cake and it was terrific. Thank you!
YAY!! Happy you loved it, Emily!
It worked exactly how she described!
Yay!! So glad to hear that 🙂
This is my absolute go-to for strawberry buttercream. It tastes just like biting into a fresh strawberry! It pairs perfectly with a chocolate, vanilla or even lemon flavored cupcake! Big hit with my friends and family!
Right?! So much yummy strawberry flavor 🙂 Glad you guys loved it!