Let me teach you how to make naturally flavored (and naturally colored) strawberry buttercream frosting. The secret is to replace some confectioners’ sugar with freeze-dried strawberry powder. This strawberry buttercream is ultra creamy and smooth, with loads of real strawberry flavor.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and a few more success tips.
One reader, Kristen, commented: “I made a variety of cupcakes for a wedding. I made this frosting and I have to say it was easy to make and hands down the best frosting Iโve ever had. I love all of your recipes. โ โ โ โ โ “
Let’s talk about how to make naturally flavored, naturally pink strawberry buttercream frosting.
Have you ever tried making frosting with fresh strawberries? I have, and the results were disastrous. I chopped up the strawberries, even blotted the moisture a little bit, pureed them, and then added it to a vanilla frosting. The buttercream instantly curdled as a result of the excess moistureโyuck! Same thing happened with strawberry jam, which also made the frosting too sweet.
Instead of relying on artificial strawberry flavor, I tried a trick I learned while writing my cookbook Sally’s Candy Addiction. Use freeze-dried strawberry powder!
I have a recipe for strawberry buttercream candies in that cookbookโthey’re actually the pretty pink striped candies you see on the cover. The filling is creamy and smooth with lots of concentrated strawberry flavor, which comes fromโyou guessed itโground freeze-dried strawberries. I decided to make actual strawberry frosting the same exact way. It’s really easy.
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting (6 Ingredients)
- Freeze-Dried Strawberries: You’ll grind these into a powder. Want to make a raspberry buttercream? Use freeze-dried raspberries instead.
- Unsalted Butter: Start with room temperature butter. Room temperature butter is actually cooler than you think. If the butter is too warm, the frosting will be greasy.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Confectioners’ sugar is the bulk of this frosting, sweetening it and binding the ingredients together.
- Heavy Cream or Milk: Liquid thins out and adds creaminess to the frosting. You can use heavy cream, milk, or even half-and-half.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds incredible flavor.
- Salt: A pinch of salt offsets all the sweetness.
That’s it! No artificial flavoring or food coloring in this pretty pink strawberry frosting.
Grind the freeze-dried strawberries into powder using a food processor or blender:
Success Tip for Super-Smooth Strawberry Buttercream:
If you prefer a smoother strawberry buttercream, with none of the teeny-tiny seeds, you can sift out the seeds and larger pieces of the ground freeze-dried strawberries with a fine mesh sieve, and use just the super-fine strawberry dust. If I have an extra minute, I usually do this.
The rest of the recipe is similar to making regular vanilla buttercream or chocolate buttercream. You’ll need a handheld or stand mixer.
Where Can I Buy Freeze-Dried Strawberries?
I always find freeze-dried strawberries in my regular grocery store in the dried fruit aisle. Trader Joeโs, Whole Foods, Target, and Amazon all carry them.
Do not use “dried strawberries,” which are chewy like raisins or dried apricots. They have a gummy texture and don’t grind into a powder. You need freeze-dried strawberries, which have all of the moisture removed. There’s also freeze-dried raspberries, which is an ingredient we use to coat these chocolate raspberry crinkle cookies.
What Tastes Best With Strawberry Buttercream?
The dessert flavor-combo possibilities are endless! This recipe makes enough for a dozen cupcakes, a 3-layer 6-inch cake, or a 9×13-inch quarter vanilla sheet cake. I would 1.5x the recipe for a 2-layer cake.
- Vanilla Cupcakes
- Pistachio Cupcakes (pictured below)
- Confetti Sprinkle Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Strawberry Cupcakes
- Peanut Butter Cupcakes (for a PB&J flavor combo)
- Piรฑata Cupcakes
- Vanilla 6-Inch Cake
- Fruit Pizza
- Lemon Cupcakes (pictured below)
I also halve the recipe and use it to fill these chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes.
Strawberry Frosting Variations
If you love strawberry buttercream frosting, you’ll also love these delicious variations!
- Strawberry cream cheese frosting from this strawberry cake
- White chocolate strawberry buttercream from these white chocolate strawberry cupcakes
- Nutella-strawberry swirl buttercream from my Valentine’s Day cupcakes
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: about 3 cups
- Category: Frosting
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Freeze-dried strawberries are the secret to adding real flavor and natural color to strawberry buttercream frosting. Rich and creamy, this flavorful frosting pairs perfectly with an array of confections including chocolate cupcakes, lemon cupcakes, and/or a vanilla sheet cake.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (about 25g) freeze-dried strawberries
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 and 1/2 cups (420g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream or whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Using a food processor or blender, process the freeze-dried strawberries into a powdery crumb. You should have around 1/2 cup. If it’s not grinding down fine enough, you can sift it with a fine mesh sieve to rid larger seeds/pieces. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, strawberry powder, heavy cream/milk, and vanilla. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. Taste. Add 1โ2 more Tablespoons of heavy cream/milk if needed to thin out, if desired. (I usually add at least 1 more.) Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.
- Use immediately or cover tightly and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. After freezing, thaw in the refrigerator then beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so itโs creamy again. After thawing or refrigerating, beating in a splash of heavy cream or milk will help thin the frosting out again, if needed. (It stiffens in the refrigerator.)
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor | Fine Mesh Sieve | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer)
- Where to find freeze-dried strawberries: I always find freeze-dried strawberries in my regular grocery store in the dried fruit aisle. Trader Joeโs, Whole Foods, some dollar stores, Target, and Amazon carry them.
- Do not use fresh, frozen, or dried strawberries. Fresh and frozen strawberries add too much moisture. Dried strawberries are chewy like raisins or dried apricots. They have a gummy texture and don’t grind into a powder. You need freeze-dried strawberries, which have all of the moisture removed.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream produces an extra creamy frosting, but whole milk or half-and-half work too. Lower fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch, but the frosting won’t be as creamy.
- Quantity: This recipe is enough to frost 12โ18 cupcakes, or a thin layer on a 9×13-inch quarter sheet cake. 1.5x the recipe for a 2-layer cake. (Doubling the recipe would be far too much.)
Reader Comments and Reviews
A delightful recipe! It turned out perfectly. Thank you ๐
I used freeze dried strawberry powder โ measured by weight and skipped the processing step. If youโre lucky enough to have found this recipe, use it immediately โ itโs that good!
Can I replace freeze-dried strawberries with freeze-dried raspberries?
Hi Georgia, absolutely!
This frosting is amazing! Creamy, excellent strawberry flavor – it’s perfect and a definite keeper! Thanks!
Wow, this recipe is amazing!
I topped Sallys Vanilla Cupcakes with this. I didn’t sift it after processing in it in my mini food processor, kind of liked that there was a little texture. I used TJoes freeze dried strawberries, did 1 1/2x the recipe, would’ve easily frosted 2 dozen cupcakes. I love that your recipes are well written and I never worry that they won’t be delicious!
Can this be frozen ahead of time?
Hi Ez, frosting can be frozen for up to 3 months. After freezing, thaw in the refrigerator then beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so itโs creamy again. After thawing or refrigerating, beating in a splash of heavy cream or milk will help thin the frosting out again, if needed. (It stiffens in the refrigerator/freezer.)
This is incredibly sweet but I shouldn’t be surprised with it being a buttercream frosting. I’ve also done the strawberry cream cheese frosting. If you prefer sweet make this! If you prefer less sweet, do the cream cheese frosting! It’s in the strawberry cake recipe. Both are tasty.
Hi there, Iโll be using this recipe for a friends party. Iโm making 100 cupcakes. What do you recommend when it comes to making a bigger batch?
Hi Kasey, This recipe is enough to frost 12-18 cupcakes, so you’ll want to make a few batches!
Loved these. Only problem I had is I never used an icing bag with a tip. Found out real quick that when you refrigerate icing you need to let it come to room temperature first. However, I didnโt and added milk and the result was too soft icing that did not hold the shape. I am still trying to learn to cook in my 60โs.
This was my first time using freeze dried strawberry and the result was delicious! I used it to ice your white cake and the combination was a crowd pleaser.
This frosting is absolutely the best I have ever tried and it got loads of compliments!
I made this strawberry frosting for a neighborโs daughter and her 3 rd bday party. The neighbor requested I use the dried strawberries from Trader Joeโs. It was a 25 gr bag so perfect ! I ground them, strained the bigger pieces out. The frosting was brilliant and like someone wise mentioned , the next day the flavor and color intensified. The cupcakes looked adorable and the taste was really nice! My 11 yo approves too.
Hello! Could I swap out the strawberries for raspberries to make a raspberry buttercream?
Hi Chloe, you definitely can! Or you can try this raspberry frosting thatโs made with jam.
Hi – I am going to give this icing a try when making cupcakes on Friday for my grand daughter’s 5th birthday. But I am starting with freeze dried strawberry powder (not freeze dried whole strawberries) that was made at a local strawberry farm . . .I want to make sure I am reading the recipe correctly – is it 1/2 cup of the powder that I should use (had hoped for a gram measurement but I don’t see it)?
Thanks in advance and thanks for having a fabulous website – I love your sweet and savory recipes!
Hi Sandie! You’ll need 1/2 cup powder, yes. The weight will be the same, about 25g.
Hey Sally.. Appreciate you are sharing so much lovely recipes with us. I want to make this frosting for my 1 year old daughter birthday. Is there any recommendations for substitute the Confectionersโ sugar ?
Hi Maya, while you can certainly try reducing the sugar, the sugar is what gives the frosting its structure and reducing the sugar will make it thinner in consistency. If you’d like to try a frosting with less sugar, our not-so-sweet whipped frosting might be a better option. You can turn it into a whipped strawberry frosting by replacing 1/4 cup (30g) confectionersโ sugar with 1/4 cup freeze-dried strawberry crumbs/dust, just like we do with the strawberry buttercream.
Should I halve the frosting recipe if I want to use it on a single layer 8-inch square cake?
Hi Mel, half of the recipe should be plenty for that size. Enjoy!
I’m slightly obsessed with this frosting. Right after making it, it was a little too sweet for my taste, and the strawberry flavor was weaker than I wanted. It waited in the fridge overnight with plastic wrap on the surface and a airtight lid over that. When I used the frosting the next day, the color was brighter, it was less sweet, and the strawberry flavor was authentic and intense. Absolutely delicious, and easy too.
Hello Sally! Can you use fresh strawberries in place of the dehydrated? If so, how much purรฉed strawberries would I use?
Thank you!
Hi Cindy, we don’t recommend using fresh (or frozen) strawberries to make buttercream, as the frosting always curdles. If you’d like to try using jam/preserves, we recommend looking at this recipe for raspberry lemon cupcakes, which uses raspberry jam in the frosting. You can try using strawberry jam instead. If you decide to try it, please let us know how it goes!