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 
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I’ve just found this recipe and it sounds absolutely delicious! However, I’m wondering if you Katie, or anyone else knows whether it’s possible to freeze this frosting? With a toddler in the house, I rarely have time to prepare desserts on the day but rely very much on foods that I can make ahead of time and freeze. Thanks in advance to anyone who replies :)!
I would not recommend it.
I’m guilty of making frosting recipes from the amazing Katie’s blog and eating it as a full meal. Or a second breakfast. Or a “taste test” it into oblivion.
Is there a possible substitute for the cream cheese style-tofutti or would it work without it? I just….want to move on and forget about this recipe because i can’t find this single ingredient in sweden, but. I can’t. I need this frosting in my life
Hi . Katie!
Can’t wait to make this frosting, but how much powdered sugar do I need?
Thanks. …Sheila
Loving your post! Didn’t notice your spoon photo til u mention it.
Hi. Can someone tell me how much sugar to use in this recipe? Can’t find it anywhere. Thanks!
Sweeten to taste, so maybe start with 2 tbsp and go from there.
How much sugar do you use?
on your healthy cream cheese frosting….. can you use regular or 1/3 fat cream cheese in place of the cream cheese spread or tofu?
This was actually really gross. The cheese-like flavor was overpowering, and couldn’t really go with anything sweet; HOWEVER, I’m sure it’s a good recipe because I executed this one differently. First of all, I didn’t use any tofu; I used Tofutti cream cheese, and 2 tbsps less than recommended (but for some reason the flavor was sill to strong/strange). I used vanilla soy milk, and I’m unsure of how much stevia and vanilla extract I used because I kept having to add more to make it sweeter.
Hi Becca,
What brand of stevia did you use?
Making a carrot cake tomorrow and this is the healthiest frosting recipe I’ve found so thank you! Would honey work as the sweetener? Xx