Homemade Strawberry Cream Cheese

This simple DIY strawberry cream cheese is easy to make and absolutely delicious. All you need for homemade strawberry cream cheese is fresh strawberries, plain cream cheese, vanilla, and a touch of something sweet if you prefer.  Why make it yourself when you can buy it at the store?  Well, let me tell you, there is a very good reason why.

My daughter is absolutely in love with the Philly Strawberry Cream Cheese. She wants me to buy it every week so she can make a strawberry cream cheese and strawberry jelly sandwich. Can you tell she has a thing for strawberries?

I decided to look at the ingredients on the strawberry cream cheese and compare them to the regular Philadelphia cream cheese. There are a ton more ingredients in the flavored cream cheese and one of those is the dreaded red food dye. I really detest artificial colors in my foods! I decided to try making strawberry cream cheese spread at home and skip the artificial stuff.

Simple is Always Better!

How hard can it be to make flavored cream cheese? Just add strawberries to cream cheese with a touch of extra sweetness maybe? If I can get my daughter hooked on the homemade version I will happily leave the Red Dye #40 behind forever! If you are looking for an easy strawberry recipe this summer, this one is certainly one you should try! 

Ingredients for Homemade Strawberry Cream Cheese

With this easy strawberry cream cheese recipe, you can make your own cream cheese at home for a fraction of the price of store-bought. Not to mention, you can skip all the artificial additives. This recipe only requires three (or 4) simple ingredients:

• Plain cream cheese
• Fresh strawberries
• Vanilla extract
• Sweetener if desired.  Sugar, powdered sugar, or honey are all good options.

How to Make Copycat Philadelphia Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread

This is really a 2 step recipe so I won’t go into much detail.  Place the softened cream cheese, strawberries (cleaned and hulled), vanilla, and sugar in a food processor. Mix until smooth. You may have to scrape the sides a few times. 

Scrape the fresh strawberry cream cheese into a glass container with a lid and place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (or overnight). Once chilled, slice and serve as desired. Enjoy!

I would not recommend making this with frozen strawberries.  They tend to be much more juicy and soft.  You may end up with very thin cream cheese using frozen strawberries.

If you want, you can add a splash of lemon juice when mixing.  It can act as a natural preservative and give your strawberry cream cheese a slightly more tangy flavor.  However, lemon juice is optional and I chose not to use it.

How does it taste?

So, how did it turn out? Let me just say that the flavor of this strawberry cream cheese is so much fresher than the store-bought stuff! I added a bit of sugar to mine along with a smidge of vanilla and it was heavenly.

You can see the tiny little seeds in it and the bright pink color is amazing. I used my Cuisinart food processor and it literally took less than a minute to make this completely smooth. I seriously don’t know how people live without a food processor!

So, if my strawberry cream cheese came out so vibrantly PINK with nothing but real strawberries and cream cheese….why does the store-bought stuff have red dye in it? If you love strawberries (and easy recipes!), make this cream cheese spread for your toasted bagels!

 

DIY Strawberry Cream Cheese Recipe

How do you make easy strawberry cream cheese? Well, it takes about 5 minutes and one good food processor.  What is in strawberry cream cheese that you buy at the store?  WAY TOO MUCH STUFF!  This strawberry cream cheese spread is rich and creamy, with a light, fruity flavor. It’s perfect for spreading on your morning bagel!

If you love this DIY strawberry cream cheese recipe, check out my other strawberry recipes:  Strawberry Cheesecake Topping or my Strawberry Chia Seed Jam.

Yield: 8 to 12

DIY Strawberry Cream Cheese

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This homemade strawberry cream cheese is a vibrant and fresh tasting way to liven up your bagel!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 to 2 TBSP sugar, depending on taste

Instructions

1. Put all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process on HIGH until smooth.
2. Adjust sweetness to the desired level. You can leave bits of strawberries in the cream cheese if you prefer it a bit chunkier.
3. Scrape into a bowl and cover.
4. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 122Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 89mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 1gSugar: 6gProtein: 2g

Nutrition information not always accurate