Strawberry Frosting

by Danielle Rye on Jul 27, 2022 (updated Oct 7, 2024) 3 comments »

5 from 2 ratings

Just a few basic ingredients are needed to make homemade strawberry frosting! This is the perfect summer frosting for cakes, cupcakes, and more.

A vanilla cupcake topped with strawberry frosting and garnished with a fresh strawberry half.

This is a no-frills strawberry buttercream frosting that delivers perfect results every time.

My secret? Freeze dried strawberries! They don’t have to be cooked down on the stove like fresh strawberries, won’t curdle the buttercream, and are easy to find at any major grocery store chain.

You can make a big batch of frosting to use on cakes and cupcakes, or freeze some for future baking projects. It pipes like a dream and pairs well with white, yellow, and chocolate cakes.

Keep this frosting recipe on hand for your summer baking. It’s incredibly versatile and so easy to prepare!

Ingredients for Strawberry Frosting

This recipe calls for just five basic ingredients, plus a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness of the frosting. Here’s what you’ll need to make homemade strawberry frosting:

Freeze-dried strawberries: Regular strawberries are acidic and tend to cause buttercream to curdle. I prefer to use freeze-dried strawberries because it prevents this from happening and gives you a delicious concentrated strawberry flavor. If you can only find a .8 ounce bag instead of a 1-ounce bag, that will work fine too!
Butter: I always use unsalted butter when baking because the amount of salt in salted butter varies between brands.
Powdered sugar: Sweetens the frosting without masking the strawberry flavor.
Heavy whipping cream: Makes for an ultra rich and creamy frosting. If you don’t keep heavy cream on hand, you may substitute it with regular milk or half and half.
Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract is best.

Freeze dried strawberries blended into a fine powder in a food processor.

An overhead view of creamed butter in a glass mixing bowl with a hand mixer.

How to Make Strawberry Frosting

If you’ve never worked with freeze-dried strawberries before, let me assure you that they’re very easy to work with! You simply have to grind them into a fine powder before starting the recipe.

Blend the freeze-dried strawberries: You can do this using a blender or food processor. You’re looking for them to have the texture of a fine powder.
Beat the butter until smooth: You’ll want to do this in a separate bowl using either a stand mixer or a handheld mixer.

An overhead view of creamed butter and sugar in a glass mixing bowl with a hand mixer.

Strawberry frosting mixed together in a glass mixing bowl.

Mix in the powdered sugar: Add the sugar to the butter 1 cup at a time. Mix well after each addition, and start the mixer on low speed so you don’t toss powdered sugar everywhere.
Add the remaining ingredients: To the butter-sugar mixture, add the strawberry powder, vanilla, salt, and heavy cream.
Mix until fully combined: I recommend stopping a few times to scrape around the sides and bottom of your bowl to ensure that everything is well combined.

Uses for Strawberry Frosting

Strawberry buttercream pairs beautifully with a variety of desserts. Almost any cake or cupcake that has a chocolate, vanilla, lemon, or fruity base would likely pair well with the frosting.

Try pairing the frosting with:

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the Frosting Be Made in Advance?

Yes! The frosting can be frozen for up to three months or refrigerated for up to three days, so make a big batch as far in advance as needed.

Where Can I Find Freeze-Dried Strawberries?

I can usually find freeze-dried strawberries at Walmart or Target, but you can purchase them on Amazon too. You can usually find them in the grocery store close to other dried fruits like raisins.

How Much Frosting Will This Recipe Make?

This recipe will make about 2 and 1/2 cups of frosting, which is enough to frost 12 to 14 cupcakes or a 6-inch cake.

For a two layer 8 or 9-inch cake, I recommend increasing the recipe by half. For a three layer cake, I recommend doubling the recipe.

Baking Tips

The strawberry powder will give this buttercream a beautiful pink hue like the pictures in this post. You can add a drop or two of red food coloring to enhance the color, if you prefer.
Make sure your butter has been softened to room temperature before making this recipe. This will ensure a smooth and creamy frosting!
I don’t typically sift my powdered sugar when making this frosting. However, if your powdered sugar is lumpy, you may want to sift it before adding it to the frosting.

More Easy Frosting Recipes to Try!