When strawberry season hits, it’s all hands on deck to visit the local U-pick strawberry farm and fill flat after flat with those luscious ripe-red berries. And while we’re apt to freeze strawberries, plenty more berries are kept out to enjoy immediately. One creative and easy way to use them up is this recipe for cheesecake-stuffed strawberries.
There are myriad recipes for fresh strawberries, but it’s the simplest ones which catch our attention. Cheesecake-stuffed strawberries kind of have it all. You need just four ingredients for this no-bake dessert and a few minutes to pull it together.
The strawberries you use should be firm and just ripe—the larger and most uniform in shape, the better. The tangy, sweetened cream cheese filling resembles your favorite classic cheesecake, but with zero fuss. You can add toppings to the filled strawberries to make them your own.
One warning, though. Be prepared for your cheesecake-filled strawberries to disappear from the dessert table in seconds. They’re truly that good.
Ingredients for Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries
- Strawberries: Use large, just-ripe red strawberries for this recipe. If they’re too small, they won’t fit much filling. If they’re too ripe, they will be too mushy to fill. The Albion variety is perfect. It’s a large, uniform, conical-shaped strawberry, begging to be filled.
- Cream cheese: You can never go wrong with cream cheese desserts! For the best results, use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese. Make sure to let the cream cheese soften at room temperature before using it. Doing so will make beating the ingredients together much easier.
- Confectioners’ sugar: This recipe calls for confectioners’ sugar. You can also use powdered sugar (the only difference between the two is that confectioners’ sugar contains cornstarch to keep the sugar from clumping over time). No confectioners’ sugar in your pantry? It’s easy to make powdered sugar with your blender! Add granulated sugar to your blender until it forms a fine powder.
- Almond extract: A little almond extract goes a long way to add depth to the cheesecake filling. For a nut-free alternative, use vanilla extract. (Have you ever made homemade vanilla extract? It couldn’t be easier.)
Directions
Step 1: Prep the strawberries
Remove the stems from the strawberries. Cut a deep “X” in the tip of each berry. Gently spread the berries open.
Editor’s Tip: Line a baking sheet with parchment, and stand each berry on the hull end while making the creamy filling. This is also how you’ll present the cheesecake-stuffed strawberries for serving.
Step 2: Make the cheesecake filling
In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and extract until light and fluffy. Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling into the cut side of each berry. If desired, sprinkle with grated chocolate. Chill until ready to serve.
Recipe Variations
- Dip it: After filling the strawberries, dip or drizzle the strawberries with melted chocolate (milk, dark or white chocolate would all be delicious), and let harden in the refrigerator. Here’s how to melt chocolate for all your dessert needs. For a fun Valentine’s or Sweetest Day variation, add a couple of drops of red food coloring to melted white chocolate for a pink-hued decoration.
- Top it: Instead of topping the cheesecake-filled strawberries with chocolate shavings, you could top them with graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips or, if you’re feeling truly decadent, edible gold leaf flakes.
- Flavor it: Add a pinch of lemon zest or a dash of fresh lemon juice to the filling. That little touch of acid and citrus flavor will really complement the strawberry.
- Take it to Italy: For an Italian take on this recipe, replace the cream cheese with full-fat or part-skim ricotta cheese to make cannoli-stuffed strawberries. Follow the rest of the recipe as written. Top with crushed pistachios or mini chocolate chips.
How to Store Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries
Loosely cover these cheesecake-filled strawberries, and store them in the fridge up to one day after assembly (although they’re best served fresh!).
Can you make cheesecake-stuffed strawberries in advance?
If you have a few minutes to assemble them right before serving, prepare the strawberries and the filling ahead of time, and store separately in the fridge. Then pipe the filling into the berries right as guests arrive. If you need to have the dessert fully assembled and complete before the gathering, store them in the fridge, loosely covered, for up to one day.
Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries Tips
How to you clean strawberries for cheesecake-stuffed strawberries?
To prevent mold growth, it’s best to wait to clean strawberries until right before you use them. A quick rinse in water should suffice. If the berries are a little extra dirt-covered, you can also rinse them in a diluted vinegar mixture. Drain them, and pat them dry very gently.
How do you prepare strawberries for dessert?
To prepare the strawberries, we slice the stem end off so the berries can stand up nicely on the cut side. It looks great on any table for a party or potluck. If you want a simpler, shorter way of preparing the berries, you can hull them with a paring knife and pipe in the filling. Or push a stainless-steel drinking straw through the bottom of the berry to the top. Our guide on how to hull strawberries has more tips for you.
How do you fill cheesecake-stuffed strawberries without a pastry bag?
Knowing how to use a pastry bag makes quick work of filling the strawberries, but there are plenty of alternatives if you don’t have one. The easiest option is to use a spoon to put the filling in the strawberries. You can also use a resealable bag instead of a pastry bag. Simply fill the bag with the filling, then snip off a corner, and you have an instant pastry bag.
