Quick, fresh, and simply heavenly! You’ll wonder why you’ve never made this Strawberry Cream Cheese before.
There are so many types of cream cheese in grocery stores these days. You can buy strawberry, honey-pecan, garlic, French onion, brown sugar-cinnamon, and “everything” cream cheeses, plus the low-fat and whipped styles. But why let a factory do it for you when you can customize your own cream cheese quickly, without any filler ingredients or thickeners, and without spending extra money on the ready-made stuff? That’s why this simple recipe for strawberry cream cheese is such a game changer: it puts the ingredients in your control.
Something about fresh strawberries just makes everything happier, doesn’t it? Perhaps it’s because they’re so bright and sweet; they invoke feelings of late spring and summer warmth. Their tanginess, along with the creaminess of the cheese and the sweetness of the honey, work together to spread a little happiness onto your cream cheese ‘vehicle’ of choice.
You can spread it on graham crackers, vanilla wafer cookies, or bagels; or you can even use it as a dip for a fruit, like apples. (I’m told if you eat it by the spoonful over the kitchen sink, the calories don’t count.)
Is Strawberry Cream Cheese Healthy?
Cream cheese is not particularly healthy and should be used sparingly in most diets. Strawberries, however, are naturally low in fat and high in antioxidants. They provide fiber, manganese, and folate, among other nutrients. The strawberries in this recipe do not cancel out the downsides of cream cheese, however, so this spread will still have saturated fat and a high caloric load.
You can use low-fat cream cheese (or even Neufchâtel cheese) instead of regular cream cheese for a bit less fat. You can also substitute vegan or dairy-free cream cheese, if you like. To make this recipe fully-vegan, substitute agave nectar or maple syrup for the honey.
Can I Use A Different Kind Of Fruit?
Looking to swap out the strawberries for something else? Use whatever is in season. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, or even gooseberries. If you use cherries or other very firm fruit, it makes sense to use a food processor to get them chopped small enough to blend in well.
One thing to note if you’re using a different fruit: fruits have different sweetness levels, and using a different type of fruit may require less or more added honey. Add the honey one teaspoon at a time, then taste the mixture to see if more is needed.
How To Make Ahead And Store
This can be made up to 3 days ahead. Simply store it in an airtight container in the fridge. The same applies to leftover strawberry cream cheese. I don’t recommend freezing it because the texture will likely change.
Serving Suggestions
A little smear of this strawberry cream cheese is heavenly on these Breakfast Cookies With Banana And Pomegranate, and would work for any special occasion (or just a random Wednesday). These Cinnamon Crunch Bagels are just crying out for a dollop of strawberry cream cheese, too! Personally, I love spreading this stuff on a simple slice of whole-wheat toast, or even Cinnamon French Toast, and a spoonful goes wonderfully with Fruit Salad.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup fresh strawberries hulled and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the softened cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy.
- Add the chopped strawberries and honey to the cream cheese, and continue to beat the mixture until the strawberries are well incorporated and the spread is uniformly pink.
- Taste the strawberry cream cheese and adjust sweetness if necessary. Transfer the spread to a serving dish, or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
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