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 I’ve ever had. I love all of your recipes. ★★★★★“
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 moisture—yuck! 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 cookbook—they’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 from—you guessed it—ground 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 Joe’s, 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)
- Piñata 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
For blueberry frosting, see how we use freeze dried blueberries in the frosting for lemon blueberry cookies.
Print
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 1–2 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 it’s 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 Joe’s, 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 12–18 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
Hi Sally I love and trust all your recipes. You are my go to for baking. Would a strawberry freeze dried powder work just as well? I see they sell it on Amazon. Just saves one step of having to grind down the freeze dried strawberries?
Hi Joanne, yes, that should work. Hope you enjoy the buttercream!
Way too much powdered sugar. I tasted as i slowly added sugar and stopped 130g shy of that the recipe called for and wish I’d stopped sooner.
Compare this sugar butter ratio >2:1 vs a standard butter cream 1:1.
Also no need to sift the strawberries- you can process powdered sugar with the strawberries to break them down more effectively.
This frosting is delicious! I am making it to frost vanilla cupcakes for my mother-in-law’s birthday.
My niece does not like strawberry. Is it possible to make the frosting, take out enough to frost one cupcake and then add the freeze dried strawberries?
Yes, you can definitely take out enough for your niece before adding the strawberry.
The taste is great but I am struggling with the texture. I mixed and sieved the freeze dried strawberries but the texture feels different from normal buttercream, as if the powder doesn’t blend in the same way as the confectionar sugar does. Is there a way to solve this? Fingers crossed, thank you!
Hi Tess! It is normal for this strawberry buttercream frosting to have a little more texture, but shouldn’t be gritty. Did you pulse the freeze dried strawberries to a powder?
I have made frosting learned by mom this way: make sure butter is soft, put all ingredients in stand mixer with whisk attachment. Start slow until mostly combined then increase to high for five minutes. Voila. Perfect frosting! Works well using heavy whip cream.
Sally, Can I use freeze dried strawberry powder in the recipe? The sort one would use in shakes, etc?
Hi Shirley! Yes, that should be the same thing as grinding up freeze-dried strawberries like we do here.
thank you for this recipe! I was just wondering if it adding pink food coloring would help in making the frosting pink? I need to do pink frosting and want to use this recipe but if this doesn’t work, I will use it just for the filling and then regular vanilla buttercream for the frosting,
Hi Joana, yes, you can certainly add a few drops of pink food coloring for an even more vibrant pink color.
I’m making this on Sunday and serving on Monday. Should I refrigerate the frosted cake or keep out at room temp? Currently it’s 65 degrees.
Hi Catherine! The cake will be fine at room temperature overnight. Cover tightly.
I love this recipe. I made the strawberry cream cheese frosting and the strawberry cake
This recipe worked out super well. I needed to make a vegan strawberry cake, so I used your recipe for the frosting, but subbed vegan butter and lessened the sugar a little. It was superb! Thank you!
Love your recipes.. I’ve tried so many with super results each time. I live in the Caribbean and all products aren’t easily available. Freeze dried strawberries are not an available option and I don’t have the time to order them online. What can you recommend as an option for strawberry buttercream. I also want to make strawberry cake , can I use frozen strawberries instead of fresh? Fresh stock in the local markets are sometimes of questionable quality.
Thanks so much!!
Hi Renu, we recommend using the frosting recipe in our chocolate cupcakes with raspberry frosting. Use the reduced down strawberry puree in place of the raspberry preserves/jam for an alternative to this frosting recipe. The strawberry flavor will be more subtle. You can use frozen strawberries in our strawberry cake recipe, see Notes after that recipe for details. Let us know how it goes!
I put the strawberries in a gallon bag and crushed them with a rolling pin. Gets them down to a fine powder. This is how we grew up crushing things. Works great!
This is so so Gooood thank you!!! I even added a little extra freeze dried strawberries. So yummy.
Easy and absolutely delicious!
Perfect!
This was exactly what I wanted for a pink Valentine’s Day cupcake frosting.
I was sort of worried when I opened the bag of freeze dried strawberries because they smelled pretty sour, but it worked out fine. My only issue is that my strainer didn’t catch a lot of seeds but it’s fine.
Thanks!! This is a keeper!
This turned out so great! Made it with yellow cupcakes and it was a hit.
Would this be good on red velvet cupcakes?
We can’t see why not!
How long can these frosted cupcakes stay unfrigerated?
(I made your double chocolate muffins. Came out delicious! This frosting would make a great topper for Valentine’s Say.
Hi Cassandra! Cupcakes can be stored at room temperature for a day. Leftover cupcakes keep well covered tightly in the refrigerator for 3 days. Frosted or unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen up to 2-3 months.
This makes a great buttercream. It’s sweet but not cloying. The pinch of salt is helpful! I needed 2 Tbs of milk to thin it enough to feel like it was the right cake frosting consistency. 3 cups was enough to have a generous filling for two 9″ layers with about 6oz leftover (I used a different frosting all over the outside of the cake). I will be using this recipe again!
The frosting was anazing! I used it on your strawberry cake recipe and it was a great combo
Would this consistency work as a filling between layers of a cake?
Absolutely!
Hi, I would like to try the freeze dried strawberries in your strawberry cake. Do you think that would work in place of the fresh strawberries puree?
Hi Bonita! We really recommend sticking with fresh strawberries for our strawberry cake.
If I make this the day before I assemble the cake, should I leave it out or refrigerate it (and if so, do I do anything special when I take it out in the morning)? Planning to use this with two recipes of your vanilla cake to make a rainbow surprise cake for my daughter’s 8th birthday for my first homemade cake in a very long time… Wish me luck!
Hi David, we recommend refrigerating the buttercream overnight. You may need to add an additional splash of milk and rewhip it the next day before using. Hope it’s a hit!
This recipe is so good! I made your strawberry cake and put this frosting on it for a friend today. She said it was “out of this world”! The freeze dried strawberries are key! I so love the baking education I get from your site.
I can’t wait to make this for my sister’s birthday cake, but I’m wondering if it’s a 1/2 cup of strawberry powder or a full cup. In the ingredients list it says 1cup but in the instructions it says 1/2 cup. Thanks!
Hi Erin, the recipe calls for 1 cup freeze dried strawberries that you then process into a powder in step one. This should leave you with about 1/2 cup of strawberry powder. Hope this helps!
OMG!!! This is the BEST recipe ever!! I couldn’t stop eating it and hadn’t even frosted the cake yet! I tweaked it a little bu adding 1 1/2 cups of butter and a bit more milk. Thank you!!!
I can’t believe this recipe!!! OUTSTANDING!! I used it to frost strawberry cake using
My oldest wanted a Neapolitan cake for his birthday… vanilla cake, strawberry icing, chocolate drizzle.
This is, WITHOUT ANY DOUBT, the best strawberry icing I’ve ever had in my life. I can not wait to try it with other fruits… mango is calling to me already.
This strawberry Frosting is amazing. I added 4 oz of Philadelphia Cream Cheese to mine and it turned out very well, not too sweet.
Hello! I’m going to make this with your strawberry cake recipe, but I would love to do a strawberry chocolate buttercream frosting instead. Could I just add the freeze dried strawberries to your chocolate buttercream recipe or could you recommend the proper ratio? Thank you so much!
Hi Deb! It would take some recipe testing to properly incorporate freeze dried strawberries into our chocolate frosting. You’d need to tinker with the amounts of cocoa powder and/or confectioners’ sugar to make room for the strawberries. What we would recommend is using chocolate frosting and this strawberry buttercream separately, either swapping the different flavors within the layers, or even swirling some together like we do for these Valentine’s Day cupcakes. Let us know what you try!