This healthy cream cheese frosting recipe is light, fluffy, and naturally sweetened. You will love the soft, whipped texture and tangy cream cheese flavor!
Table of Contents
- What makes this the best healthy cream cheese frosting?
- Step by step recipe video
- Key ingredients
- Cream cheese frosting health benefits
- How to make yogurt cream cheese frosting
- Turn it into different flavors
- Frequently asked questions
- More healthy frosting recipes
- Healthy Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
- Ways to use healthy cream cheese frosting
What makes this the best healthy cream cheese frosting?
- No butter, no shortening, and no powdered sugar.
- One simple trick makes the frosting so much thicker and fluffier than similar recipes.
- It tastes like cheesecake you can eat with a spoon.
- Perfect for topping carrot cake, cupcakes, red velvet cake, or cinnamon rolls!
- You need just four ingredients, with low calorie, dairy free, gluten free, sugar free, low carb, vegan, and keto options all included.
Try it on this Carrot Cake Banana Bread
Step by step recipe video
This frosting is amazing!!! I am really surprised at how little sugar I needed to add to it for it to taste awesome. Most cream cheese frosting recipes call for a TON of powdered sugar, margarine, and cream cheese so I’m very happy that this is so healthy and decadent.
Key ingredients
Yogurt or Tofu – Greek yogurt or soft tofu both work well to add thickness and creaminess. As a bonus, low fat yogurt and tofu are high in protein and low in saturated fat. For vegan cream cheese frosting, use dairy free yogurt or the silken tofu option.
Cream Cheese – You can buy block or whipped Philadelphia cream cheese (reduced fat or regular), soy free cashew cream cheese, or store bought or homemade vegan cream cheese.
Unrefined Sugar – Many healthy cream cheese frosting recipes call for pure maple syrup or honey. While you can use one of those here, the consistency of the icing will be thinner. For the best fluffy texture, I like to start with raw cane sugar and pulse in a blender or food processor until fine and powdery. Voila! An easy, healthier alternative to processed powdered sugar.
Vanilla Extract – A teaspoon of pure vanilla extract balances the tanginess of the cream cheese.
Ground Cinnamon (optional) – Add up to a half teaspoon of cinnamon for cozy warmth and sweetness without a ton of extra calories. A pinch of chai or pumpkin pie spice is also lovely.
Above, healthy cream cheese frosting tastes delicious spread on Easy Cinnamon Rolls.
Cream cheese frosting health benefits
- No trans fats, artificial flavors or colors.
- Unlike store bought frosting, this one has no corn syrup.
- An equal size serving of Pillsbury cream cheese frosting contains more calories, more fat, no protein, and over four times the amount of sugar!
- Close to two grams protein in just one tablespoon.
- Provides calcium and iron.
- Yogurt or tofu takes the place of all the butter in traditional frosting, adding creaminess and texture without all the unhealthy fat.
How to make yogurt cream cheese frosting
Step 1: Soften the cream cheese. Let the cream cheese sit out on the counter for up to an hour ahead of time. This step is especially important if you are using blocks, because it will blend more easily and smoothly when soft.
Step 2: Make healthy powdered sugar. If you are using granulated sugar, blend it alone in a food processor until it turns to fine powder.
Step 3: Combine all ingredients. Add the tofu or yogurt, softened cream cheese, powdered sweetener, pure vanilla extract, and optional cinnamon to a food processor or stand mixer. It also works in a large bowl with hand beaters.
Step 4: Blend until smooth. Process on high, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the machine. Continue blending until the mixture is thick, whipped, and super fluffy.
Step 5: Chill if desired. You can serve the healthy cream cheese icing straight away, or refrigerate until cold if you prefer a firmer texture. It will also be much more firm after sitting loosely covered in a bowl overnight in the fridge. If time permits, I love making the recipe a day in advance.
Turn it into different flavors
In addition to the aforementioned cinnamon, and chocolate and lemon variations (below), you can create endless custom frosting flavors from the base recipe.
High Protein Frosting: Blend in two tablespoons of your favorite flavored protein powder.
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting: Add two drops of maple extract. Taste, then slowly add more drops if you want a stronger maple flavor.
This idea works for peppermint, coconut, or almond extract as well.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting: Replace a fourth cup of the Greek yogurt or tofu with canned pumpkin puree. Include the optional cinnamon, as well as a fourth teaspoon of ground pumpkin spice.
Peanut Butter Frosting: Replace at least one fourth cup of the Greek yogurt or tofu with creamy peanut butter. Almond butter, pecan butter, or cashew butter work too.
Coffee Cream Cheese Icing: Blend in a teaspoon of instant coffee or espresso powder.
Frequently asked questions
While the frosting is thicker than similar healthier frostings, it contains no shortening or butter and is therefore not ideal for piping.
This one is easy. Just blend one third cup sifted cocoa powder into the recipe, and increase the vanilla extract to one and a half teaspoons. Thin with a teaspoon or two milk of choice (or brewed coffee!) if needed.
Sure. You can try blueberry, strawberry, or lemon yogurt too. If using vanilla Greek yogurt, omit the vanilla extract in the recipe.
Cover leftovers tightly and refrigerate for up to five days. The icing is free of preservatives, so it shouldn’t sit out at room temperature for more than a few hours.
In general, I do not recommend freezing homemade frostings, because the texture after thawing is never as creamy.
Healthy Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese or vegan cream cheese (225g)
- 3/4 cup Greek yogurt or silken tofu (180g)
- 1/2 cup unrefined sugar (80g) or 2/3 cup powdered monk fruit (can also sub 1/3 cup pure maple syrup)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (5g)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Let cream cheese sit at room temperature for up to an hour to soften, so it will blend more smoothly.
- 2. If using granulated sweetener, blend it alone in a food processor until it turns fine and powdery.
- 3. Process softened cream cheese, tofu or yogurt, sweetener, vanilla extract, and optional cinnamon in a food processor or stand mixer, or with hand beaters in a large bowl. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides, and blend until smooth and fluffy.
- 4. Serve right away, or refrigerate until cold for a thicker texture. The healthy cream cheese frosting is also much firmer after sitting loosely covered overnight in the refrigerator.
- 5. Store any leftovers after a day in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Video
Notes
Ways to use healthy cream cheese frosting
looks amazing…so white! that might sound odd but most of my white frostings made in a similar way never look so white! i have also tried using tofu quite a lot but i can always make out a slight tofu taste no matter what i mix it with….hmmm, i will persevere!
I don’t necessarily worry about transfats, but that’s because I try and eat all natural food, where trans fats don’t exist in the first place!
Same here 🙂
Me too
But doesn’t butter contain like a trace of trans fat. Actually, I hear that the “trans fat” in butter is sort of beneficial.
Chemically, trans fat is a molecule with double bonded carbons. Trans (meaning opposite) is the most stable form this molecule can be in (as opposed to cis). That means that our body finds it hard to metabolize the fat (because it is so unreactive) so it remains solid, leading to clogged arteries and other complications.
I have never heard that trans fats are beneficial.
If anyone wrote/said that trans-fats are healthy, that person is receiving a sizeable check from Big Food/Big Ag.
Pity, just once I would like to see a sub cream cheese frosting/icing that does not rely on packaged non-dairy cream cheese. It all has trans-fats or palm, and I think we would all be better off avoiding those.
If you have Katie’s cookbook, try the cream cheese frosting recipe listed on the page with the carrot cake bars. It is fabulous, and no cream cheese subs required! https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/faq-page/chocolate-covered-katie-cookbook/
Whoa, I just read Kath’s blog post this morning and was craving a pumpkin muffin because she had one for breakfast, and then I clicked onto your post and the first thing I see is a pumpkin muffin! And a single-serving one, at that! I’m pretty sure that’s the universe telling me it’s time to bake a pumpkin muffin 🙂
oh it definitely is. seeing as I just bought pumpkin, I think it’s telling me the same thing. 😉
mmm frosting…
How do you do it???! You always manage to go inside my head and figure out exactly what I’m craving. How did you know I was craving a healthier recipe for my favorite creamy, luscious cream cheese frosting? 😉
I am definitely going to have to make this ASAP!
Yum! Looks wonderful!!! This is perfect just for me!! But I bet I’ll make two!! I can’t wait to try it!!
That first photo is just WOW!
Then again, they’re ALL wow! 😉
Katie, it sounds so good! I am one of those people who could eat cream cheese frosting by the spoonful, so I appreciate this healthy alternative SO much! Thank you!!! I think you made this recipe just for me :).
Also, how did I miss that chocolate chip cream cheese dip?!
Wow, this looks amazing. I’ve never tried tofutti cream cheese yet (mainly because they don’t have it at my local small health food store lol). But I can just imagine how good it would be. I haven’t had regular cream cheese in so long (I went vegan back October, 2011, and can’t remember the last time I ate ‘reg’ cream cheese before that anyways!), so I don’t think it’d be a huge taste adjustment for trying tofutti. I clearly need to get to a bigger city to get some of that stuff! haha
Yum out of tofu but gonna buy some and make some…..I usually buy Traders cream cheese alternative…. I like it better than tofutti..so im gonna try it with that……looks so good….
I definitely read labels since I have kids and try to avoid trans fat but its there every once in awhile…
Thx for the recipe
Oh my goodness, that looks delicious. I could eat this by the spoonful.
ok. i would totally be caught eating this with a spoon. great vegan subsitute for frosting Katie 🙂
I don’t think anyone should worry about trans fats if he or she is eating a natural diet. That being said, it’s hard to completely eliminate them. Roasted nuts contain a small amount of trans fat, and also, if you’re not vegan, there ruminant animals and their products also contain trans fats. It is not yet clear whether or not the trans fats coming from natural animal products is unhealthy.
That part about roasted nuts containing trans fats isn’t true, surely? Not unless hydrogenated oils are added. It’s a process oils go through to make them “hard” – not liquid, that is – and that doesn’t happen when just roasting nuts. I do agree, though, that if you’re eating a whole foods diet, it’s not even an issue.
Well, I’m pretty sure that poly fats are really heat-unstable, and they go rancid when they are heated really high and form trans fat. That’s why I try to eat my nuts raw.
I do agree about transfats as well. I don’t normally worry about them because I’m not eating a lot of food that has them in it. I mean sure-it’s nearly impossible to avoid completely but I’m not going to fast food places or cooking with them most of the time and over eating them (like most of the population).
Katie, do you have any ideas about what do replace the cream cheese/tofutti with? I can’t have regular sugar or dairy AT ALL. I wonder if soft goat cheese might work. I do eat that. Maybe I’ll give that I try. I really miss being able to have cream cheese frosting!
From Katie’s post: See nutritional info link below, for substitution notes.
I do my best to avoid any and all foods with partially hydrogentaed oils in the ingredients list. That said, most of my food doesn’t come with an ingredients list, but it’s still rather difficult to dine out because of how many places use them. Plus the whole “less than .5g = 0” thing is a bunch of BS in my mind; given what I’ve learned about them on my own and in school I could equate them to smoking cigarettes – no useful benefits at all and harmful for the body.
Ok, I’m off my soapbox now. 😛 Have you ever considered trying this with like, a cashew cream versus the tofu? I’m not concerned about soy or anything, but for those who are (or are allergic), that might be something worth trying.
Where would you find cashew cream?
But there’d still be the tofu in the cream cheese, so maybe it’s a moot point to try and replace the tofu.
I am wondering what to sub this with as I avoid all soy, especially tofu…. It looks yummy, I just don’t want the phytoestrogens… :/