Strawberry Cream Cheese Pudding Pie
Strawberry Cream Cheese Pudding Pie is an easy no-bake dessert made with cream cheese, strawberry pudding, strawberry kefir, Cool Whip, and a graham cracker crust. Freeze it until firm, then top it with fresh strawberries for a cool and creamy dessert that’s especially good during strawberry season.
There’s no gelatin glaze and no baking required. The cream cheese gives the filling richness, while the strawberry pudding and kefir add plenty of strawberry flavor without requiring a long list of ingredients.
Best of all, this is a dessert you can make ahead and keep in the freezer until you’re ready to serve it – a handy little trick when company is coming or you need something sweet waiting in the wings.
Recipe at a Glance
Top with fresh strawberries just before serving
- No baking required
- Uses a prepared graham cracker crust
- Made with strawberry pudding and cream cheese
- Can be prepared ahead and frozen
- Top with fresh strawberries just before serving
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup strawberry kefir or yogurt drink
- 3.4 ounces JELL-O Strawberry Crème instant pudding mix
- 16 ounces Cool Whip thawed
- 1 large prepared graham cracker crust
- Sweetened sliced strawberries, for serving
Ingredient Notes
- Cream cheese: Let the cream cheese soften to room temperature before mixing. This makes it much easier to blend into a smooth filling.
- Strawberry kefir: Kefir provides the liquid for the pudding mixture while adding even more strawberry flavor. If you can’t find strawberry kefir, a drinkable strawberry yogurt is a good alternative.
- Strawberry pudding: Be sure to use instant pudding rather than cook-and-serve pudding.
- Cool Whip: Half goes into the filling, while the remaining whipped topping is used to decorate the top.
- Graham cracker crust: A prepared crust keeps this dessert completely no-bake. You can use a homemade graham cracker crust if you prefer.
- Fresh strawberries: Add the strawberries shortly before serving. Sliced berries release juice as they sit, which can make the top of the pie watery.
How To Make Strawberry Cream Cheese Pudding Pie
- Beat the softened cream cheese with an electric mixer for about 1 minute, until creamy.
- Add the strawberry kefir and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then continue mixing until incorporated.
- Add the strawberry instant pudding mix. Beat on low for 30 seconds, then increase the speed and beat for 1 to 2 minutes, until thick and creamy.
- Add 8 ounces of Cool Whip and mix on low just until combined.
- Spoon the filling into the prepared graham cracker crust and smooth the top.
- Place the remaining Cool Whip in a pastry bag fitted with a large decorating tip and pipe rosettes around the edge of the pie. If you don’t want to pipe the topping, simply spoon or spread it over the pie.
- Freeze for at least 2 hours, or until the filling is firm enough to slice.
- Garnish with sliced strawberries shortly before serving.
Tips For the Best Strawberry Cream Cheese Pudding Pie
A few simple tips can help ensure your pie turns out smooth, creamy, and full of fresh strawberry flavor.
- Start with softened cream cheese. Cold cream cheese is much more likely to leave lumps in the filling.
- Don’t use cook-and-serve pudding. This recipe is designed for instant pudding mix.
- Give the pie enough time to freeze. Two hours is the minimum. Depending on your freezer, it may need a little longer to become firm enough for clean slices.
- Wait to add the strawberries. Fresh berries release moisture as they sit, so they’re best added shortly before serving.
- Make it pretty – or don’t. Piped Cool Whip rosettes dress up the pie, but spreading the topping over the filling tastes exactly as good and requires considerably less ambition.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Pudding Pie
Ingredients
Method
- Beat the softened cream cheese with an electric mixer for about 1 minute, until creamy.
- Add the strawberry kefir and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then continue mixing until incorporated.
- Add the strawberry instant pudding mix. Beat on low for 30 seconds, then increase the speed and beat for 1 to 2 minutes, until thick and creamy.
- Add 8 ounces of Cool Whip and mix on low just until combined.
- Spoon the filling into the prepared graham cracker crust and smooth the top.
- Place the remaining Cool Whip in a pastry bag fitted with a large decorating tip and pipe rosettes around the edge of the pie. If you don’t want to pipe the topping, simply spoon or spread it over the pie.
- Freeze for at least 2 hours, or until the filling is firm enough to slice.
- Garnish with sliced strawberries shortly before serving.
Nutrition
Video
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Make-Ahead and Storage Notes
This Strawberry Cream Cheese Pudding Pie is a great make-ahead dessert because it needs time in the freezer before serving anyway.
You can prepare the pie the day before, cover it, and keep it frozen until you’re ready for dessert. For longer storage, wrap it well to protect it from freezer burn and unwanted freezer odors.
Wait to add the fresh strawberry garnish until shortly before serving.
If the pie is very firm when you remove it from the freezer, let it sit briefly at room temperature to make slicing easier.
Troubleshooting
The cream cheese may have been too cold. Letting it soften to room temperature before mixing helps it blend smoothly with the other ingredients.
It probably needs more time in the freezer. Freezers vary, so consider the 2-hour freezing time a minimum rather than a guarantee.
Fresh strawberries release juice after they’re sliced, particularly if they’ve been sweetened. Instead of adding them before freezing, use the berries as a garnish shortly before serving.
Not at all. The rosettes are purely decorative. Spread or spoon the remaining Cool Whip over the top if you’d rather skip the pastry bag.
Easy Variations
A chocolate cookie crust would be delicious with the strawberry and cream cheese filling if you want a chocolate-covered-strawberry sort of vibe.
You can also change the fresh fruit on top. Try strawberries with blueberries or raspberries for a mixed-berry version.
More Easy Strawberry Desserts
If strawberries have taken over your kitchen, that’s not exactly a bad problem to have.
Strawberry Bread puts fresh berries to work in an easy quick bread, while Easy Strawberry Cake is another sweet way to enjoy strawberry season.
For another cool dessert you can make ahead, try Frozen Lemonade Pie. It’s another easy option when turning on the oven sounds entirely unnecessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. This recipe uses a prepared graham cracker crust and instant pudding, so there’s no need to turn on the oven.
Yes. In fact, this particular strawberry pudding pie is designed to be frozen for at least 2 hours so the cream cheese and pudding filling becomes firm enough to slice.
Yes. It’s a good dessert to prepare the day before serving. Keep it covered in the freezer and wait to add the fresh strawberries until shortly before serving.
Because the pie contains cream cheese and whipped topping, it needs to be kept cold. For the best flavor and texture, keep the pie covered in the freezer and only remove it when you’re ready to serve it.
A drinkable strawberry yogurt is the best substitute because its consistency is closer to kefir. Regular spoonable yogurt is considerably thicker and may change the consistency of the filling.
Absolutely. If you bake your homemade crust, allow it to cool completely before adding the cream cheese pudding filling.
I prefer using the fresh strawberries as a topping. Berries release liquid as they sit, which could affect the consistency of the pudding filling.
Last Bite
A cool, creamy pie waiting in the freezer is never a bad thing – especially when strawberry season rolls around. With cream cheese, strawberry pudding, a graham cracker crust, and plenty of whipped topping, this one keeps dessert decidedly uncomplicated.
Have you tried this Strawberry Cream Cheese Pudding Pie? Leave a comment below and let me know what you thought – or tell me your favorite way to use fresh strawberries while they’re in season.
I cannot find strawberry creme pudding mix. Is there any other pudding you can use?
I think you could probably substitute any flavor of instant pudding. If you do that, then use half-and-half in place of the kefir.
@Lynda, thanks.