Creamy, healthy cream cheese frosting…
It’s both fluffier and creamier than Pillsbury cream cheese. And if you’re counting calories: you could eat the entire recipe for just 200 calories. Who wouldn’t want to eat an entire container’s worth of frosting in one sitting?
For more healthy frosting recipes: Over 50 Healthy Frosting Recipes
But the following recipe is better than store-bought frosting for a reason much more important than the calories: it’s free of unhealthy trans fats.
Many packaged frostings contain your entire day’s worth of trans fats in just two tablespoons. I posted a similar frosting recipe, my Cheesecake Frosting, around three years ago, and I modified the recipe yesterday and think this new healthy cream cheese frosting recipe is even better than the original!
Healthy Cream Cheese Frosting
(makes about 3/4 cup)
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, such as TJ vegan or homemade cashew cream cheese
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp powdered sugar OR stevia to taste
- 1/4 cup silken tofu OR more cream cheese (For soy-free: Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese Frosting)
- up to 2 tbsp milk of choice, as needed for desired thickness
Blend everything together in a small food processor (I used a Magic Bullet). If you’re using this recipe to top cupcakes, I’d recommend frosting them just before serving, or frosting earlier and then storing the cupcakes in the fridge, due to the perishable nature of the ingredients. Leftover frosting can be stored for a few days in the fridge, covered. Variation ideas: Add pumpkin, or shredded carrot and pineapple for a carrot cake dip, or cinnamon and walnuts…
Or you can go crazy: Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Dip.
Do you worry about trans fats?
Do you think they really are as bad as all the hype says they are? I don’t “worry” about them, but that’s pretty much because I don’t have to—most of the foods containing trans fats are pre-packaged snack foods (often not even vegan) I wouldn’t seek out anyway. Sure, every now and then I’ll grab a handful of chocolate Teddy Grahams if I’m at a friend’s house and they’re sitting out. But for the most part, I don’t buy anything with “partially-hydrogenated oils” listed in the ingredients (a really easy way to tell if a food has trans fats).
By the way, I just noticed: You can totally see my head and camera in the reflection of the spoon in the photo above 
.
yes I avoid trans fats for the most part but not really consciously. Like you, my diet is predominantly real foods so trans fats don’t find there way into my mouth quite often. I also avoid soy though, not sure this recipe would work for me, but just a personal preference!
BHT, corn oil, aspartame, soy, transfats…There is so much research from all sides it’s hard to know what to believe!!
I just avoid all processed food unless I can pronounce everything on the ingredient list, like larabars.
mmm..creamy! Creamy is definitely one of my fav textures in foods! I pay pretty close attention to what type of fat I am eating..I like to get all the good stuff! 🙂
I’d hate to eat trans fat, but like you and many others, I don’t really buy store-bought food anymore so I don’t worry about them anymore! I do buy wasa crackers though ;]
Hm…I wonder if there’s a replacement for cream cheese; I don’t buy cream cheese or else I’d be constantly making the unhealthy frostings out there in the blogosphere.
http://milk-and-tea.blogspot.com
Let me start by saying that I FINALLY found mor-nu silken tofu, and WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! love it.
I made this dip to put on some chocolate muffins I made last night (not vegan unfortunately, but probably easy to make vegan…) and it is SO AMAZINGLY yummy! I may never eat regular frosting again! It truly would be a declicious fruit dip as well! yum!
I must find a better blender because Im having a hard time getting things to be super creamy like yours is! I had a magic bullet, but it just didnt seem to move things too well for me so I got rid of it…. maybe Ill have to try another one! Thanks for your very yum creativity and creating so many healthier dessert things!
Aww yay! I’m so excited you tried it… plus, on chocolate cupcakes ;).
Hmmm… I adore my Magic Bullet! Maybe you needed to fill it less? Or pulse more? Or maybe you got a defective one! That happened to me once… the blade stopped working :(.
Yum, yum, yum! Eating frosting (if even slightly healthy) would be one of my favorite pasttimes. My favorite part of baking is licking the frosting off of the beaters and out of the bowl. As far as transfats go, I’m not too worried because I really don’t eat that many. Most of my food is homemade and rarely do I ever eat packaged goods. Since transfats are hardly a percentage at all of my diet, I’m not too concerned! 🙂
Mmm me too. Mmm frosting…. mmmmmmmm 🙂
Only 200 calories for the entire recipe?! Impressive! Looks delish, too. 🙂
And now I’m off to make a CCK snack: cream cheese frosted pumpkin muffin! Love you and your recipes!!!
lol, I never would have noticed you in that spoon, but there you are. Hi! 🙂
Haha hi back, Amber!! 🙂 🙂
Made this today, and it was AWESOME!
I definitely DID eat the entire thing in a serving. Just couldn’t help myself! And only 200 cals? I am struggling to lose the baby weight, and your blog is a LIFESAVER!!! It’s gotten my whole family healthier. You should get an insurance break for making everyone so much healthier ;).
Katie,
I’m not a vegan, but every single one of your recipes I’ve tried has been outstanding, even to my non-vegan palate (and that of my non-vegan family as well)! This recipe was no exception. I frosted some homemade doughnuts (also from your site!) and they are almost all gone already!
Thanks for another great recipe :).
Im glad to see this comment!! Im not vegan either but the couple things I have made have been delicious ! As I am a chronic dieter for physique competitions these recipes are a life saver! This one had me a little worried about the tofu? But glad to hear someone else not used to eating it likes it! I won’t tell my boyfriend or he won’t even try lol
lol that’s how I got one of my ex boyfriends to try–and like!–tofu. I made a chocolate pie and didn’t tell him what was in it until after he said he liked it ;).
Tofutti is a’goin on the list. Just in time for Easter! I see carrot cake in my future!!!
yummmy Katie! Looks devine.
Not soooo super worried about trans fats, but they sure are awful that is for sure and they are so sneaky too but I most def try to avoid them.
Oh, Katie…
I didn’t make the frosting because I didn’t have any silken tofu in the fridge–but I did make the pumpkin single-lady muffins (with chocolate chips of course!) for me and my daughter for a quick and DELICIOUS dessert. I used Pamela’s flour and it came out perfect!
Thanks so much for allowing me to eat healthy but not give up treats!
Aw, thank YOU for trying the recipe. I’m so glad it worked with the gf flour!
Wow, this looks beyond amazing! I want to try it one day even though I’m not vegan myself. However, I salute you!
I’m not a vegan either, but I just made this and was surprised that I LOVE it! Who knew?!
Bye bye Pillsbury!
If I had tofu in my fridge, I would have already made this. This looks INCREDIBLE Katie! I love your recipes — if I need cream cheese frosting, I am SO making this! 😀