Our make-ahead whipped cream recipe is light and fluffy and lasts up to several days in your fridge. It is the best stabilized whipped cream for pies, cakes, hot chocolate, and more! Gluten-free.
My daughter eats the whipped cream off of pie and leaves the pie behind. My son loves a scoop of whipped cream from the freezer as a sweet treat. To say my family loves their whipped cream is just the start.
It’s easy to do taking less than 10 minutes and just 3 ingredients. This recipe can be made ahead of time because one of the ingredients stabilizes the cream, helping it stay together and not deflate into mush after an hour.
Can Whipped Cream Be Made Ahead Of Time?
Yes, it can! The following recipe doesn’t use unflavored gelatin as other recipes do but rather cream cheese – the extra fat and acid help keep the whipped cream stable for longer.
Kitchen Tip: You could use full-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream in place of the cream cheese.
Before You Get Started
To make the best-whipped cream in the shortest amount of time, chill the cream, mixing bowl, and beaters from your kitchen mixer until they’re very cold.
Kitchen Tip: For a quicker chill time, put the bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes, and keep the chilled cream refrigerated until you’re ready to use it. The colder the cream, the faster it will whip up.
Use a mixing bowl large enough to allow the whipped cream to expand as you mix and tall enough to keep the cream from splashing out.
Kitchen Tip: A cup of cream will make about 2 cups of whipped cream.
How To Make
- Place mixing bowl and beaters (use the whisk attachment if available) into the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill. Keep the cream in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.
- Bring cream cheese to room temperature
- Once the bowl and beaters are chilled, add the heavy whipping cream to the mixing bowl and mix on low, gradually increasing the speed as it starts to thicken.
- Add powdered sugar and blend on medium-high speed.
- Once the cream is thick enough to turn on high without splashing out of the bowl, add cream cheese.
- Continue blending until you reach your desired thickness of soft peaks, medium peaks, or stiff peaks
After the bowl and beaters are chilled, add the heavy whipping cream to the bowl. Start mixing on low.
Keep the mixer on low until the cream starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Once it starts to thicken, increase the speed to medium.
Add the powdered sugar and continue mixing. At this point, the stabilized whipped cream will still be quick liquidy, but this will quickly change so keep an eye on it.
As the mixture continues to thicken add the cream cheese. Take care to add it slowly so the mixture doesn’t splash everywhere. Softened cream cheese blends in easier than cold cream cheese. At this point, the stabilized whipped cream is almost ready.
Continue whipping until soft peaks start to form. If you want stiffer peaks, beat a little longer, but check frequently to make sure it’s not getting too thick.
Kitchen Tip: Soft peaks fold over when you lift the whisk out of the cream. Medium peaks keep their shape when you lift out the whisk, but the overall texture is still soft and pillowy. Stiff peaks have the firmest structure.
Stop mixing when the cream is just right for how you want to use it. If you want light and fluffy, go for medium peaks, if you want a nice firm dollop on top of your pie, go for firm peaks.
FAQ
Use stabilized whipped cream within 2-3 days for best quality.
Yes. Simply place an airtight container of whipping cream into the freezer. Once you’re ready to use it let it defrost in the refrigerator.
You can keep it in the refrigerator, freeze in a container, or portion out scoops of whipped cream onto a baking sheet to freeze. Once frozen, remove the individual-sized whipped cream portions from the baking sheet and place into a ziplock bag to keep in the freezer for later use.
This individually frozen whipped cream works great for individual cups of hot chocolate!
CKC Features both Gluten-Free Guidance and Kids Cooking Instructions: If you’re new to eating gluten-free we understand it’s overwhelming trying to figure out which foods may contain gluten and which ones don’t. All of our gluten-free recipes marked with this symbol ✅ represent foods that need to be checked for gluten or cross-contamination.
The ⭐️ symbol in the recipe below denotes the steps in which kid cooks may need a helper (depending on age). If there is no ⭐️ symbol, that step (or recipe) doesn’t require a helper.
Make-Ahead Whipped Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon full fat cream cheese, room temperature ✅
Instructions
- Chill the beaters. Place mixing bowl and beaters (use the whisk attachment if available) into the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill. Keep the cream in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.
- Whip the heavy cream. Once the bowl and beaters are chilled, add the heavy whipping cream to the bowl and mix on low, gradually increasing the speed as it starts to thicken a little. Add powdered sugar and continue to blend on medium-high speed.1/2 pint heavy whipping cream, 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- Add the cream cheese. Once the cream is thick enough to turn on high without splashing out of the bowl, add cream cheese. Continue blending until you reach your desired thickness: soft peaks, medium peaks, or stiff peaks.1 tablespoon full fat cream cheese, room temperature
- Serve or store. You can keep the whipped cream in the refrigerator, freeze in a container, or portion out scoops of whipped cream onto a baking sheet to freeze. Once frozen, remove from the baking sheet and place into a ziplock bag to keep in the freezer for later use.
Notes
Nutrition
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Jackie says
I LOVE that this recipe can be made ahead of time. What a time saver!
Terri says
I’m looking for something to replace Cool Whip in so many refrigerator pies and desserts. Is the length of time this will last because of the “whipping” factor or will adding more powdered sugar or cream cheese make it last longer for those refrigerator desserts? Thanks!
Jodi Danen, RDN says
Hi Terri! The whipped cream holds longer due to the cream cheese. It’s amazing how well it works! I’d love to hear if you give it a try. 🙂
Arlene says
Do you store it in a plastic bowl with the lid
Jodi Danen, RDN says
Yes, that works great!
Fran says
How long will it last in the refrigerator? Can I use sour cream instead of cream cheese?
Jodi Danen, RDN says
Hi Fran, the whipped cream can keep in the fridge for 1-2 days. I would stick with using cream cheese rather than sour cream. I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Joni says
Just wondering how much whipped cream this recipe recipe makes?
Jodi Danen, RDN says
Hi Joni – it makes about 2 cups of whipped cream. I hope you enjoy it!
Debra Hickman says
I really like this recipe….. it really works…very stable
Thanks so much for the recipe
Nichole says
Can I use this recipe to frost a cake and how long will it be fresh on the cake?
Jodi Danen, RDN says
Hi Nicole! This recipe is the consistency of cool whip. If that is the icing you’re going for you could use it. I would frost it and use it within an hour or two so that the cake doesn’t get soggy. I’ve never tried it so I’m not sure that would happen, but just in case? Let me know if you do try it!