If I had to pick my favorite desserts, strawberry shortcake would be near the top of the list. There’s just something about homemade shortbread combined with fresh strawberries and whipped cream that has me drooling for days. I’ll be sharing the best strawberry shortcake recipe soon but for now, I thought I’d add to my dessert dips collection with this yummy strawberry dip recipe. It starts with a little cream cheese and sour cream (for the ultimate creamy flavor), and that gets combined with fresh strawberries and strawberry topping for the ultimate strawberry shortcake flavor – that you can dip into! It’s the perfect dish to bring to a spring or summer party or maybe even Mother’s Day! And it’s not a traditional fruit dip so even if someone is bringing one of those, you can still bring these! And while I’m calling this a strawberry shortcake dip, you could also call it a strawberry cheesecake dip – it really has that cheesecake flavor going on as well!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy – it doesn’t get much easier than this dip where you literally just mix ingredients together then pour some strawberry topping on top! The dip is technically ready in just a few minutes, but I recommend chilling to let the flavors mesh together! No-bake – if you don’t want to or don’t have time to bake, a dessert dip is a great option! And this one takes the cake, the shortcake that is! Creamy – this recipe uses three different types of creamy base – cream cheese, sour cream, and Cool Whip. When I say it’s creamy, it’s creamy! It definitely reminds me of the homemade whipped cream you’d eat on strawberry shortcake!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Cream cheese – I recommend a full-fat cream cheese, and you want to make sure it’s softened to room temperature. I typically take it out 30-45 minutes before I’m going to make the dip. If it’s not soft, you’ll end up with little chunks of cream cheese, and no one wants that. Whipped topping – I used Cool Whip but you can use a generic or you could even try it with a homemade Cool Whip alternative. Sour cream – you can use either sour cream or plain Greek yogurt. Similar to my spinach artichoke dip, these are pretty interchangeable and just give you a nice creaminess to the dip. Strawberries – I recommend using fresh strawberries that are diced into small pieces. I don’t recommend frozen strawberries because they tend to hold a bit of liquid content once thawed, and it can mess with the consistency of the dip. Strawberry topping – this can be any strawberry ice cream topping you want, just make sure it’s the liquid/gel kind and not something with big chunks of strawberries in it.
You’ll also need things to dip into the strawberry dip – graham crackers, animal crackers, shortbread cookies, Vanilla wafers, fresh strawberries (or other fruit), are all great options. Or just choose your own favorites.
How to make strawberry dip
If you’ve made any of my dessert dips before, you’ll know how easy they are to make (and if you haven’t, start with this hot chocolate dip). To make this yummy dip, start by combining the cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat with a hand mixer (or a stand mixer – but hand is easy for this one) until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture until fully incorporated. This should give you a really fluffy dip (Cool Whip does that to a dip). Add almost all the chopped strawberries and mix just enough to evenly distribute the strawberries throughout the mixture. Then add the rest of the strawberries right on top (just because it looks prettier). To finish it off, generously drizzle strawberry ice cream topping over the dip and gently fold it into the mixture. Then finish it off with one final drizzle of the ice cream topping, again for presentation purposes! Eat immediately or chill for 30 minutes (recommended) because it tastes better chilled than at room temperature! If you do chill, I recommend either just placing in the fridge uncovered or lightly covering with foil, not plastic wrap, so you don’t end up losing all that topping when it sticks to the plastic wrap. Or alternately, if you know you’re going to be chilling this for a while, do everything other than topping it with the final strawberries and strawberry topping and place it in a larger bowl. Wrap with plastic wrap to chill. Then when you’re ready to serve, transfer to your actual dip bowl and add the finishing touches for presentation.
Expert Tips
Refrigerate any leftovers and keep in the fridge covered with plastic wrap for up to five days. Throw away after five days. Use up the softer strawberries in the carton to put into the dip and keep the more firm ones for dipping. No one will notice that strawberries are a bit soft when they’re mixed into a dip. Top with graham cracker crumbs if you want more of that strawberry cheesecake flavor. They add a nice bit of sweetness and crunch to the dip!
More Easy Strawberry Recipes
If you like strawberries, you need to try these other delicious strawberry recipes!
Strawberry fluff salad – this dessert salad makes the perfect spring or summer side dish! Strawberry cheesecake bars – layers of graham cracker, whipped cream, and strawberry filling make these my go-to summer dessert! Strawberry cream cheese danish – a super easy, semi-homemade strawberry danish that’s perfect for brunch!Strawberry scones – a quick and easy homemade scone recipe filled with fresh strawberries! Strawberry poke cake – a light and fluffy cake filled with homemade strawberry syrup and fresh strawberries!
