Goodbye runny whipped cream! This easy Stabilized Whipped Cream recipe holds its shape for days and tastes way better than Cool Whip. Perfect for frosting cakes, topping pies, or dolloping on desserts. Learn how to make this foolproof recipe that’s the perfect Cool Whip substitute!
Have you ever whipped up cream only to watch it collapse into a puddle hours later? I have, and it’s beyond frustrating—especially when you’re trying to finish a cake or impress guests. That’s where stabilized whipped cream becomes a lifesaver! Light, fluffy, and sturdy for days, it’s the perfect alternative to Cool Whip—but so much fresher and more flavorful. Whether you’re topping a pie, layering a trifle, or frosting cupcakes, this recipe will completely change the way you think about whipped cream.
I first discovered stabilized whipped cream when I needed something that wouldn’t melt at a summer birthday party. I’ll admit, I used to rely on Cool Whip for that job, but when I found out how easy it is to make stabilized whipped cream, I never looked back. A little gelatin (don’t worry, it’s simple!) ensures your whipped cream stays firm yet creamy. And guess what? This recipe is the perfect substitute for Cool Whip in any recipe—it’s fresh, homemade, and tastes amazing.
One of my favorite tips? Chill your mixing bowl and beaters before whipping—it speeds up the process and makes the cream extra fluffy. And don’t skip blooming the gelatin—it takes just a minute and guarantees a smooth, lump-free texture. Whether you’re making pies, trifles, or cakes, stabilized whipped cream will be your go-to. Once you try it, you’ll never want to go back to store-bought again!
Table of contents
- Why you’ll love Homemade Cool Whip
- Stabilized Whipped Cream Recipe Ingredients
- How to make Stabilized Whipped Cream
- Stabilized Whipped Cream Variations
- Homemade Cool Whip Recipe tips
- Storing Homemade Cool Whip
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Ways to Use your Stabilized Whipped Cream
- Use stabilized whipped cream frosting for cake decorating!
Why you’ll love Homemade Cool Whip
- Homemade Cool Whip is tastier and healthier than store bought.
- 3 Ingredients! Nothing nasty, all-natural!
- No Gelatin | Many stabilized whipped cream recipes use unflavored gelatin, corn starch or even a small amount of pudding mix to help stabilize the whipped cream. My method uses all natural ingredients, whipped until extra stiff peaks form, then chilling.
Stabilized Whipped Cream Recipe Ingredients
Ingredients are easily found at the local grocery store, with easy instructions in the recipe card below.
- Heavy Whipping Cream | Use the good stuff, pure cream; I used organic whipping cream, make sure it’s really cold cream with a minimum 30% fat content, preferably higher.
- Powdered Sugar | Also called confectioners’ sugar, icing sugar, you could also use a sugar-free powdered sugar replacement for Keto Cool Whip or Low Carb Whipped Cream!
- Vanilla Extract | Use good vanilla, like my favorite Rodelle or make your own!
How to make Stabilized Whipped Cream
- Chill mixing bowl in freezer for 15 minutes prior to whipping and make sure your whipping cream is really cold!
- Pour heavy whipping cream into a clean and chilled mixing bowl or bowl of stand mixer with a whisk attachment.
Pro Tip
To keep the whip cream from splattering everywhere, place a clean tea towel over the electric mixer or cut a hole in the center of a paper plate and place around the whisk attachment on the electric hand mixer and on top of the large mixing bowl.
3. Beat cream on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Then reduce the speed to low and add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
4. Increase the speed (covering again to prevent splatters) to high and whip until stiff peaks form. You want it really thick, but not so thick that it turns into butter, keep an eye on it at this point.
5. Place in fridge until ready to use, covered if not using within 15 minutes. The whipped cream will pipe and spread a bit better if it rests in the fridge for a few minutes.
Make your own Heavy Whipping Cream
Opened the fridge only to find out your whipping cream is bad? Or you thought you had some and you don’t? Try this substitute!
Substitute for 1 cup (237 ml) of heavy cream
- Mix ⅞ cup (232 grams) of half-and-half with
- ⅛ cup (29 grams) of melted butter.
- No substitutions here, if you want it to whip up, you need to use higher fat contents. (Source)
Stabilized Whipped Cream Variations
- Chocolate Whipping Cream or Cool Whip | When you add the powdered sugar, add ¼ cup of cocoa powder along with the vanilla extract.
- Coffee Whipped Cream | Add 2 teaspoons of espresso powder to the mixture.
- Strawberry Whipped Cream | 2-4 tablespoons of strawberries pureed in a blender (fresh or frozen). Or try a couple tablespoons of your favorite jam.
- Bailey’s Irish Cream Whipped Cream | Add 2-4 ounces of Irish Cream Liqueur to whipped cream mixture along with other ingredients, to taste.
- Lemon or Lime Whipped Cream | Zest from one medium lemon or lime (or both) to the mixture
- Peanut Butter Whipped Cream | Add 2-4 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter, you could also use Almond butter or try Cookie Butter!
- Kahlua Whipped Cream | Add 2-4 ounces Kahlua liqueur and mix with other ingredients.
- Cinnamon Whipped Cream | Add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the whipped cream.
- Toffee Whipped Cream | Crush 2 Heath bars and fold in after whipped cream is all whipped.
- Maple Whipped Cream | Add ¾ teaspoon maple extract or 1-2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup.
- Lavender Whipped Cream | In a small pot heat heavy whipping cream until just simmering. Remove from heat and add 1 ½ teaspoons culinary lavender let steep for 25 minutes. Strain and chill for a minimum of 6-8 hours, then whip as directed.
- Peppermint Whipped Cream | Add 1 teaspoon peppermint extract at the end of the whipping process.
Homemade Cool Whip Recipe tips
- Use cup for cup in recipes that use store bought Cool Whip, as a substitute, this is my favorite way to use it
- Chill your bowl! For best results place the mixer bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes before you start whipping and make sure your whipped cream is really cold.
- Immediately store this healthy Cool Whip substitute in the fridge, this is the best way keep regular whipped cream
- Stable whipped cream is perfect when used in a pastry bag with an icing tip, super easy recipe to use for the budding cake decorator.
Storing Homemade Cool Whip
Stiffly whipped whipped cream will last covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days, this stable whipped cream might last a day or two longer in refrigerators that keep foods colder.
Can you freeze whipped cream? Yes, you sure can, this is a great way to use leftover whipped cream.
If you are planning on using it for a recipe, I would not recommend freezing it, just make fresh whipped cream.
However if you are looking to use up leftover whipped cream, then line a tray with parchment or silpat and spoon or pipe dollops of whipped cream onto the tray. Freeze for one hour, then peel and store in an airtight container.
Frozen whipped cream is great to use on hot drinks like hot chocolate, coffee, white hot chocolate, or this Hot Buttered Rum or even on top of a warm piece of pie or cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have you looked at the list of ingredients on the tub of Cool Whip? I am going with a big fat NO! With ingredients like hydrogenated vegetable oil, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, skim milk, light cream and less than 2% sodium caseinate (a milk derivative), natural and artificial flavor, xanthan and guar gums, polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate and beta carotene (as a coloring).
Not that I don’t occasionally use Cool Whip. Guilty! But I am trying to eat cleaner on a regular basis!
Many of these ingredients are toxic to our bodies, check it out this article.
Accidentally beat the whipped cream too much? Been there, done that! It might get a wee bit grainy, almost butter like.
To fix: Add a couple tablespoons of chilled whipped cream and whisk it in by hand. This will thin it out and bring it back to soft peak consistency.
Yes! Depending on the size of your blender, be sure you have enough room in the blender for double the volume.
Freeze blender container for 15-30 minutes before blending. Add cold whipped cream, cover and blend on high speed for about 30 seconds.
Check and scrape down sides, it should be slightly thickened. Blend again on high until you hear a change of speed in the motor. Stop and check, adding powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
Return lid and continue blending on high speed until whipped cream reaches stiff peak stage. Chill for 15 minutes to allow stabilized whipped cream to rest.
Yes! You can easily use stabilized whipped cream frosting for cake decorating, but note that this frosting will not hold up in hot weather. Try this vanilla buttercream frosting if your cake needs to be outside. The good news is, it’s still a great way to frost a layer cake.
Heavy cream is the richest type of liquid cream with a fat content of at least 36%, while whipping cream contains between 30% and 36% fat. You can however; use them interchangeably in recipes, but for whipping, it’s best to use whipping cream.
In general, the more fat in the cream, the more stable it will be for whipping and for sauce making. The final difference is that heavy cream has 5 more calories per tablespoon than whipping cream, and it costs 5 to 10 cents more per pint. (Source)
Ways to Use your Stabilized Whipped Cream
Any dessert that calls for Cool Whip or whipped topping can be substituted with this stabilized whipped cream. Use it on any dessert recipe, from pies, chocolate cake, crisps — any time you need a healthy substitute for Cool Whip.
- Oreo Dessert Pudding (Oreo Pudding Pie Recipe)
- The Best Key Lime Pie
- Easy Chocolate Shortcake
- Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake
- Lemon Cream Cheese Pie (Lemon Icebox Pie Recipe with Condensed milk)
- Easy Chocolate Loaf Cake
- Pumpkin Pie Dump Cake
- Easy Old Fashioned Apple Crisp {Gluten-Free Option}
Use stabilized whipped cream frosting for cake decorating!
This is really a fun way to frost an Ice Cream Cake too! If you try stabilized whipped cream frosting for cake decorating, let me know! The possibilities are endless! Let me know how you use it by commenting below!
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Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream 1 pint (very cold), the higher the fat % the better, do not use any fat free substitutes here.
- 2-4 tablespoons powdered sugar regular or powdered sugar substitute
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Freeze bowl for 15 minutes prior to pouring in heavy whipping cream.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, pour in heavy whipping cream and attach whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
- With the mixer on low, add in the powdered sugar a little at a time. Keep in mind if you are using it in a recipe that already has a lot of sugar, you can cut back on the sugar, just add to your taste.
- Add the vanilla extract and whip on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. The key is in the whipping, you want to whip it until it's super thick, right before the butter stage, which will stabilize it. Watch it; it can go from whipped cream to butter in a jiffy. Store in the fridge until ready to use, best within the first 30-60 minutes of whipping. However; it's stayed stable for me for days in a cold fridge, in an airtight container.
- Refrigerate for 15 minutes prior to using.
Notes
PRO TIPS
For more information and tips, with images, visit the original post.- To keep the whip cream from splattering everywhere, place a clean tea towel over the electric mixer or cut a hole in the center of a paper plate and place around the whisk attachment on the electric hand mixer and on top of the large mixing bowl.
- Use cup for cup in recipes that use store bought Cool Whip, as a substitute, this is my favorite way to use it
- Chill your bowl! For best results place the mixer bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes before you start whipping and make sure your whipped cream is really cold.
- Immediately store this healthy Cool Whip substitute in the fridge, this is the best way keep regular whipped cream.
- Stable whipped cream is perfect when used in a pastry bag with an icing tip, super easy recipe to use for the budding cake decorator.
- Chocolate Whipping Cream or Cool Whip | When you add the powdered sugar, add ¼ cup of cocoa powder along with the vanilla extract.
- Coffee Whipped Cream | Add 2 teaspoons of espresso powder to the mixture.
- Strawberry Whipped Cream | 2-4 tablespoons of strawberries pureed in a blender (fresh or frozen). Or try a couple tablespoons of your favorite jam.
- Bailey’s Irish Cream Whipped Cream | Add 2-4 ounces of Irish Cream Liqueur to whipped cream mixture along with other ingredients, to taste.
- Lemon or Lime Whipped Cream | Zest from one medium lemon or lime (or both) to the mixture
- Peanut Butter Whipped Cream | Add 2-4 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter, you could also use Almond butter or try Cookie Butter!
- Kahlua Whipped Cream | Add 2-4 ounces Kahlua liqueur and mix with other ingredients.
- Cinnamon Whipped Cream | Add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the whipped cream.
- Toffee Whipped Cream | Crush 2 Heath bars and fold in after whipped cream is all whipped.
- Maple Whipped Cream | Add ¾ teaspoon maple extract or 1-2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup.
- Lavender Whipped Cream | In a small pot heat heavy whipping cream until just simmering. Remove from heat and add 1 ½ teaspoons culinary lavender let steep for 25 minutes. Strain and chill for a minimum of 6-8 hours, then whip as directed.
- Peppermint Whipped Cream | Add 1 teaspoon peppermint extract at the end of the whipping process.
Storage
Stiffly whipped cream will last covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days, this stable whipped cream might last a day or two longer in refrigerators that keep foods colder. Store in an airtight container so it doesn’t absorb fridge smells. Can you freeze whipped cream? Yes, you sure can; this is a great way to use leftover whipped cream. If you plan on using it for a recipe, I would not recommend freezing it, make fresh whipped cream. However, if you want to use leftover whipped cream, then line a tray with parchment or silpat and spoon or pipe dollops of whipped cream onto the tray. Freeze for one hour, then peel and store in an airtight container. Frozen whipped cream is great to use on hot drinks like hot chocolate, coffee, white hot chocolate, or this Hot Buttered Rum, or even on top of a warm piece of pie or cake.Nutrition
jill
how much does this make?- my recipe calls for 8 oz cool whip
Hi Jill — I always use this amount to replace an 8-ounce carton of Cool Whip. An 8 ounce container yields about three cups. This recipe will make a little over 4 cups, so if you want it exact whip about 1 ½ cups of whipped cream, sweeten to taste (start with the lower amount) and add ½-¾ teaspoon of vanilla.
Debbie
I’m a little confused on the freezing. Could I use this recipe as a layer in a frozen dessert? Thank you.
Hi Debbie,
Absolutely, the freezing is just meant mostly if you have some leftover, but yes, you can use it just like you would cool whip in a frozen layered dessert. Hope you love it!
mcm
Powdered sugar contains cornstarch…
Shera
I’m allergic to corn and use “Wholesome” brand of powdered sugar that is made with tapioca instead!!! Yayyy!
Thank you for that tip Shera!!
Dawn
Kathleen, does this recipe provide a similar volume as the 8oz. Container of Cool Whip?
It does! I’ve used it as an exact replacement many times!
Julia
Must try this recipe! Love that I can freeze it!
Hope you love it!! It’s the only thing we use now!
Meg
Hello! Would this work to layer in a trifle that calls for cool whip? Or would it get liquid and soggy and ruin the below layers? I live somewhere where coolwhip is unavailable.
Hi Meg, yes, any recipe that calls for cool whip you can use this, just make sure you whip it really good. Not traditional stiff peaks, but much firmer, almost the butter stage, it will be really thick. Of course all whipped creams will eventually weep, but this stays good for several days in a recipe! I hope you try it and love it! Let me know how it turns out. Kathleen
Jill
Homemade whipped cream is the best! And thank you for all the flavor suggestions. It for some reason has never occurred to me to flavor my whipped cream – now I can’t wait to try!
Thank you so much!
Suja md
One of my favorites! These looks absolutely great! can’t wait to try!
Hope you love it!
Sarah James
It’s so much better to stabilize your own cream, I don’t like all the added extras you get in store bought. Love all the different flavours, can’t wait to try the coffee variation.
Thank you, hope you try some of the flavors!!
Kechi
Just the perfect recipe that I needed; I love that it uses only three Ingredients. Thanks for sharing all the usage tips/ideas!
You are welcome!
Beth
Great recipe! The importance of stabilized whipped cream cannot be overstated. It’s so much easier to work with than regular whipped cream.
Indeed! Thanks Beth!