This strawberry dream dessert is just as amazing as its pineapple cousin and if you’re a fan of desserts with strawberries like I am you’ll definitely want to try it today!
Honestly, I thought I had hit the mother load of potluck desserts when I posted Pineapple Dream back in the summer of 2013. But this is one of those strawberry desserts you’ll want to have in your arsenal!
Strawberry Dream Dessert
I’ve always been big on strawberries. We even pick our own at the local strawberry farm! While strawberries are available all year you have to get them when they are in season if you want the plump, juicy, sweet ones.
Here in southeast Wisconsin strawberry season is early to mid-June. I’ve made quite a few strawberry desserts over the years. In fact this Strawberry Jello Pretzel Salad is one of my favorites! But this strawberry dream is definitely at the top of my list!
I’ve always wanted to try different flavors with my pineapple dream dessert, and a strawberry version was definitely on that list. Then one day Amanda’s Cookin’ reader Jennifer LaRue left a comment saying she tried it with strawberries and it was a big hit.
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So I chatted with Jennifer to find out what changes she made and they were pretty minimal. Imagine my excitement when I found that out! So special thanks go out to Jennifer for testing this before I got to it, and giving me that little extra push to get it done.
How to make strawberry dream cream cheese dessert
First, some tips to help you make this easy recipe:
- You can use a food processor or a blender to crush up the graham crackers, but honestly, it’s just as easy to dump two sleeves of graham crackers into a gallon zipper plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
- While you might be thinking about just chopping up the strawberries, a quick whirl in the food processor or blender breaks the strawberries up and gives you just the right amount of juice and all that amazing strawberry flavor.
- This recipe calls for a square baking pan. A metal or glass pan is fine, but since you’ll be serving this dessert in that same pan, a glass pan with a lid is a nicer choice!
- Let this dessert chill in the refrigerator for at least four hours to allow everything to set up. If you have time, plan ahead and make it the day before to give is a chance to set up overnight.
- When garnishing the top with sliced strawberries you might want to hold off until an hour or so before serving. Even when covered, if the dish sits in the refrigerator overnight (as it should) the sliced strawberries could begin to look a little dried out.
- This strawberry dream dessert should be good in the refrigerator for up to four days. Though I highly doubt that you’ll be able to keep it around that long!
Ingredients you will need:
- 2 1/2 cups graham crumbs (2 sleeves)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (for crust)
- 2 cups of powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (for filling)
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 8 oz container Cool Whip
- 2 cups hulled and halved strawberries
Helpful kitchen tools:
When it comes to summertime desserts, this creamy, delicious strawberry dream dessert is a must try. I promise you, if you are a strawberry fan you will love it!
More Strawberry Ideas
- And speaking of strawberry lovers, try this Strawberry Icebox Cake which has been really popular lately, my favorite recipe for Strawberry Shortcake, and this classic Strawberry Jello Salad!
- My fresh strawberry muffins are over the top delicious and oh so pretty!
- Some other strawberry desserts I’ve had my eye on include this Strawberry Shortcake Cake Roll (oh my!), this beautiful Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake, and of course this stunning Strawberry Pie!
- It would be a crime not to mention my amazing strawberry shortcake as well.
- This Strawberry Lasagna is creamy, dreamy, and bursting with strawberry bliss.
- These strawberry shortcakes are a delicate dessert for spring and summer parties!
And I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you about my Chocolate Lasagna dessert. It’s the second most popular dessert on this blog so you’ll definitely want to join the masses and try it out!
More Strawberry Recipes
- Strawberry Salsa
- Strawberry Lemonade
- Strawberry Shortcakes
- Strawberry Icebox Cake
- Strawberry Bundt Cake
- Strawberry Sweet Tea
- Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries
Strawberry Dream Dessert
IMPORTANT - There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Pin It Rate ItIngredients
CRUST:
- 2 1/2 cup graham crumbs 2 sleeves
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter for crust
FILLING:
- 2 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened (for filling)
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 8 oz Cool Whip 1 container
- 2 cup strawberries hulled and halved
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 F.
MAKE THE CRUST:
- Melt butter in the microwave and allow to cool. Combine the crumbs and butter and toss together until incorporated. Press 2 cups of the crumb mixture firmly into an 9×9 square pan and bake for 8-10 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool. Reserve remaining crumbs for topping.
MAKE THE FILLING:
- Place strawberries in a blender or food processor and pulse a few times just to break them into chunks.
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy. Turn the mixer down to low and add the powdered sugar one cup at a time until incorporated. Turn up and beat well for a minute or so. Add a heaping tablespoon of the strawberry chunks and stir in with a rubber spatula. Spread the cream cheese and strawberry mixture over the crust.
- Fold the remaining strawberry chunks into the Cool Whip and spread on top of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle graham cracker crumb mixture on top (you may not use it all).
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on this blog on Jun 22, 2017.
Amanda Davis
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Rockbie says
nice for dessert strawberry, yummy
deb says
Love it and all my taste testers loved it also….. YES it is a five Star recipe!!
Sandra Richardson says
Absolutely the best. My husband is super picky and he devoured it.
Karen Lanier says
Can u make this with peaches ?
Amanda Formaro says
I haven’t tried that, but I would think so. Let us know how it turns out if you decide to try it!
Vig says
Have you ever tried pineapple/strawberry in this recipe,,
Do you think it would work?
Amanda Formaro says
I have not tried the combination of the two fruits. But since this recipe was created from my pineapple version, I’m sure combining the two would work!
pamela K marshall says
This is simple to make and DELICIOUS !
Jasmine Perez says
Best cheesecake I have ever had!
Betsy Frost says
It is delicious!!
Lisa says
Great recipe! I used a glass 11 x 7 baking dish however as 9 x9 would have been too small. Other than that it was super delicious using fresh Ontario strawberries!
Johanna says
If strawberries out of season can you use frozen?
Amanda Formaro says
You should be able to, but I would thaw them on paper towels first and let the excess moisture drain off.
Margie Jacobs says
Would it be okay to use a readymade graham cracker crust!
Amanda Formaro says
Do you mean in a pie pan? That should be ok!
Maryanne says
I used a pre-made Graham cracker crust for the pineapple dream recipe and it worked perfectly!
Heather Pierce says
I made this recipe for the first time years ago for a BBQ in the Summer, everyone loved it & there was none left! However, I followed this recipe exactly & served it on Easter Sunday, but my crust came out so hard that I couldn’t even serve it. My Mother even asked if I had frozen it, which I hadn’t! Not sure why this happened?? I did everything step by step with no changes whatsoever. I would strongly recommend to anyone who tries this to take it out of the refrigerator at least 30 mins before serving, otherwise you’ll have rock hard bottom crust like I did. Other than that, it taste absolutely delicious & once we finally managed to take out pieces for everyone, I did receive many compliments. My Uncle even suggested it would have been even better without the graham cracker crust.
Amanda Formaro says
Did you allow the butter to cool before combining with the crumbs?
Bonnie says
Made this for my strawberry-loving father-in-laws’s birthday dinner desert earlier this month. Not only did he love it, EVERYONE loved it! So much so, in fact, that it has been unanimously requested as the Father’s Day celebration desert this year.
I do have one question….I’m assuming it’s a typo but what did you mean when you said, “A metal or glass pan is fine, but since you’ll be serving this dessert in that same pan, a blender is a nicer choice!” I can’t imagine you’re suggesting serving this in a blender. Did you have another suggestion for service?
Amanda Formaro says
Oh my gosh, that is so funny! It was meant as a follow up to the point right before it:
– While you might be thinking about just chopping up the strawberries, a quick whirl in the food processor or blender breaks the strawberries up and gives you just the right amount of juice and all that amazing strawberry flavor.
– This recipe calls for a square baking pan. A metal or glass pan is fine, but since you’ll be serving this dessert in that same pan, a blender is a nicer choice!
So what it meant was a blender is a nice choice over chopping. Sorry for the confusion and i’m so happy you guys loved it!!
Kris says
I love your recipes. Please keep them coming.
I was wondering if this one could be made with bananas? Please let me know.
Thank you
Amanda Formaro says
Oh interesting, I haven’t tried that! I’ll have to add it to my list ;)
Kathleen Sullivan says
My daughter made it for the 4th of July and it was light, creamy and delicious .
Amanda Formaro says
So glad you loved it!
Stacey says
I only have already sweetened frozen strawberries. Can I cut back on the confectioners sugar?
Amanda Formaro says
Yes!
Rachel Fowler says
Gone in 60 seconds.
Amanda Formaro says
Awesome! We love it here too :)
Tami O says
I made this but with blueberries. This is so good. I added about 3/4 a cup of blueberries to the Cool Whipamd the rest to the cream cheese mixture. The pan didn’t quite so much graham cracker base. Other than that I fixed the recipe as is.
Amanda Formaro says
Oh blueberries sounds delicious!! YUM
Mary S says
I made a strawberry pudding using pureed strawberries, but now im wondering if i could use it on a graham cracker crust? Will it thicken in refridgerater, or is cream cheese a must?
Amanda Formaro says
I’m not really sure I understand your question Mary. Did you use this recipe, just without the cream cheese? Or are you saying you made your own pudding and are wondering if you can make something similar?
Leanne says
It says to use graham crumbs I cannot get graham crumbs in my country what type of biscuit are they please
Amanda Formaro says
I’m not sure what country you are in so I can’t search a replacement for you, but you can use any sort of shortbread cookie or sweet biscuit.
Dena Holland says
Might I suggest Digestive cookies? Hobknobs in the UK? Perfect Frean brand shortcake cookies.. shortbread .. flour icing/powdered/confectioners sugar and butter cookies
Like the author suggested. Good luck 👍
Dena Holland says
“Peek” Frean brand .. cell typo
Noon says
Hi,, I loved this recipe and i would do anything to try it. But unfortunately we don’t have fresh strawberries in my country, would frozen ones do the job?
Or any fruits other than strawberries and pineapple?
Would like to try it with banana but not sure if they would look fresh when served. any tips?
Amanda Formaro says
You could try it with frozen strawberries. I’m not positive how it will work, but I think if you thaw the strawberries it should work.
Leanne says
Did you try it with frozen strawberries I would also like to try it as strawberries are out of season here at the moment
Amanda Formaro says
I haven’t tried with frozen berries, but I’m sure it would be fine. I would thaw them on paper towels first.
Fern says
I made this for Valentine’s Day dessert. I changed out the crust using chocolate wafers. This is most delicious! Would make it again. Excuse me while I go back for a second piece!
Amanda Formaro says
ohhh chocolate wafers, I bet that was awesome!
Deb says
Hi Amanda,
I just made your Strawberry Dream Dessert which I haven’t tasted yet but KNOW will be fabulous. The only thing I did differently was using a metal spring form pan instead of the 9X9 square pan. My question is this, can I freeze this dessert leaving it inside the spring form pan, and if so, for how long?
I just found out about a party in the next 2 weeks that I’d like to bring it to and need to know now if its OK to freeze it and BTW how would it be if I left it frozen, or should it be defrosted in the fridge for a couple of days?
Hope to hear back from you soon!
Thanks.
Deb
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Deb!
I cannot say for sure as I haven’t tried it, but I believe it should be fine for about a month in the freezer as long as you wrap it well. I would probably remove it from the freezer a couple days ahead. Please do let me know how it works out. Crossing my fingers!
Court says
Could you use frozen strawberries for this?
Amanda Formaro says
I haven’t tried it with frozen berries, but I would say yes as long as you thaw them first. If there’s a lot of liquid, I would drain them first.
Mel says
So the garnish, is that part of the graham crumb/butter mixture reserved? or just crumbs?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Mel!
In the recipe instructions it states to combine all the crumbs with the butter, then press 2 cups of that into the pan and reserve the rest for topping. Hope that helps!
“Melt butter in the microwave and allow to cool. Combine the crumbs and butter and toss together until incorporated. Press 2 cups of the crumb mixture firmly into an 9×9 square pan and bake for 8-10 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool. Reserve remaining crumbs for topping.”