Strawberry Buttercream Frosting – Made with Fresh or Frozen Berries

By FionaPublished Mar 24, 2023

Reader Rating

Total Time 40

Servings 18 cupcakes

I may receive compensation in the form of payment or products to supplement my posts, but all opinions remain my own. Read our disclosure policy.

Learn how to make the best strawberry buttercream frosting. This frosting can be made with fresh or frozen berries and turns out extra creamy with a delicious, real strawberry flavor. It pipes beautifully on cakes or cupcakes and tastes delicious on vanilla, strawberry or chocolate cake. **This post was updated March 24, 2023 with new photos and recipe tips**

This strawberry frosting will transform any cake or cupcake into the most delicious treat. It’s bursting with fresh strawberry flavor without being too sweet. It’s creamy, smooth and holds its shape when piped – making it the perfect strawberry buttercream recipe.

Some strawberry frosting recipes use jam, and some use freeze-dried strawberries. I find jam doesn’t provide a true strawberry flavor, and freeze dried strawberries are pretty hard to find in the grocery store. So for this recipe – we’re using real strawberries. No artificial flavors here. It does mean that there’s a little extra work involved to get that delicious, natural strawberry flavor – AND thick, creamy consistency.

But the little extra work is totally worth it. I keep coming back to this recipe over and over again – whether I’m making chocolate cake, vanilla cupcakes or a tray of brownies – because it take every dessert to the next level.

How to Make Strawberry Frosting

There are 2 components for making this frosting. First, you need to make a strawberry puree and reduce it down to a thick consistency. And then you make the frosting using the cooled puree.

To Make the Puree

To get started, first, we’ll core the fresh strawberries. I always cut out the white part in the middle because it doesn’t add any flavor and getting rid of the white part makes the frosting a deeper red color. Then you’ll puree the berries in a food processor or blender. You can’t simply add chunks of berries to the frosting, because it will make the frosting too watery.

Then you’ll push the puree through a sieve to remove the seeds. This isn’t 100% necessary, but I prefer my frosting without the seeds.

Then it’s time to boil down the strawberry puree. Boiling down the puree concentrates the flavor and removes excess liquid/water. This is absolutely necessary so that the frosting has a strong strawberry flavor and doesn’t separate. If you simply add the puree as is to the butter – it will end up watery. The mixture is boiled over medium heat while stirring occasionally until it’s a thick consistency, like jam. At this point, it should be much darker in color (think a dark red-ish pink) and you should only have a few tablespoons left. You can see the puree before and after it’s been boiled down below.

Then the thick strawberry sauce needs to be cooled. This step is 100% mandatory. If the reduced strawberry puree is even the tiniest bit warm when you add it to your frosting – the frosting will separate and it won’t work.

Making the Buttercream

Once the puree is boiled down and cooled, making the frosting is just like any classic, American-style buttercream.

Beat the butter until it’s fluffy (about 2 minutes).
Then mix in about 1/2 of the powdered sugar.
Beat in the reduced strawberry puree, vanilla extract & salt.
Then mix in the rest of the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time, adding in a little cream if necessary.

Tips for Making Strawberry Frosting

Use fresh or frozen berries to make this strawberry frosting. The more sweet and flavorful your berries are, the better your frosting will taste.
If using frozen berries, you’ll need to boil down the strawberry puree for longer to get rid of the extra water from the ice crystals.
Push the strawberry puree through a sieve using the back of a spoon or rubber spatula – if you don’t get all the seeds out, don’t worry.
Make sure to boil the puree down for at least 15 minutes – it should be thick and look like jam when you’re done.
Make sure to cool the reduced strawberry puree fully. It should be cold before adding into the frosting.
The brighter red your strawberries are – the more vibrant color it will have and more flavorful your frosting will be. You can also add a few drops of red food coloring for a brighter pink color.

***If your strawberry frosting separates or is too watery – this is either caused by not boiling down the strawberry puree for long enough to remove the water, or because the reduced puree was too warm when it was added to the butter.

How Much Does it Make?

This recipe makes enough for:

12-18 cupcakes piped with frosting
18-24 cupcakes frosted with a thin layer, using a knife
one 9×13 inch sheet cake with a thick layer of frosting
for an 8×8 or 9×9 inch cake or pan of brownies – cut the recipe in 1/2
for an 8 inch 3-layer cake, double the recipe
for an 8-inch 2-layre cake, multiply the recipe by 1.5

This strawberry buttercream frosting is so perfect on vanilla cupcakes, chocolate cake, or thick sugar cookies. I love the natural strawberry flavor and the color is just way too pretty.

This strawberry frosting tastes incredible on:

Or for more frosting recipes, try these other favorites:

5 from 15 votes