This Keto Cream Cheese Frosting is the perfect topping for low carb cakes and muffins, but also makes a delicious filling for keto crepes, fat bombs, truffles, etc. This low carb cream cheese frosting is easy, delicious, and versatile!
Raise your hands if you think the best part of any cake is the frosting! ? Seriously though, cake without frosting is a missed opportunity amirite? My first frosting love is chocolate, but it’s followed very closely by cream cheese frosting!
First – it tastes amazing. Second, and more importantly, it’s super versatile and pairs well with any spice cake, red velvet cake, quick breads, etc.
Since I have some Keto cake recipes coming up soon that feature this Keto Cream Cheese Frosting, I figured I’d post the recipe here separately for quick reference.
If you don’t feel like making a cake to go with this Keto Cream Cheese Frosting it’s no problem. You can literally eat it with a spoon whenever you have a sweet craving or need some extra fat in your diet!
Actually I wonder if you could blend this into coffee? I’m just riffing here but it could technically work – almost like bullet proof! As soon as I make a fresh batch imma try it, but if you beat me to it let us know if it works!
Keto Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe Video ??
Ok, that’s all I’ve got for today! Stay tuned for the Pumpkin Spice Sheet Cake later this week that features this Keto Cream Cheese Frosting – together they are ???!
Keto Cream Cheese Frosting – Low Carb
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Description
This Keto Cream Cheese Frosting is perfect on low carb cakes, but also makes great fat bombs, crepe filling, or even truffles!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 2/3 cup powdered erythritol (I used Swerve)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (no sugar added)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together with a mixer until fully combined.
- Add the sweetener and vanilla extract and beat slowly until the sweetener is incorporated so it doesn’t get blown into the air.
- Once the sweetener is incorporated, beat on high for 2 minutes or until fluffy.
- Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Then bring to room temperature before using.
Notes
The organic cream cheese I used when making this originally has less than 1g carbs per ounce so the entire recipe whipped came out to less than .5g per serving. Since most people are using Philly or other store brands with 2g carbs per ounce, I’ve updated the nutrition info to show 1g carbs per serving.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Keto Desserts
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 Tbsp
- Calories: 100
- Fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 1g
- Protein: 1g
New to the low carb lifestyle and need some help? Try my free 3 day kickstart plan to get into ketosis fast! Then follow it up with any of my 12 free weekly menu plans – complete with shopping and prep lists!
Jackie Dennis says
How many cupcakes does this frost?
Mary says
My frosting came out somewhat tart, lemony. Does anyone have any idea why? Could I use powdered Monkfruit as the sweetener?
Laura R Setter says
Was wondering if MonkFruit can be used?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes, as long as it will dissolve in the frosting!
Norma says
Can I use xylitol?
Mina says
Hey, I’m so happy to have found this recipe! But….can I use Xylitol?
Thanks!
Ana says
Hi Melissa, can the cupcake sit unrefrigerated after frosted or will it melt / go bad? Thanks!
Rose Budda says
Can I freeze leftover frosting?
Karyl says
The icing is very good and easy to work with. Thank you for a quick easy recipe for frosting and much needed addition to red velvet keto cupcakes.
★★★★★
Karyl says
Hi!
Can you use shortening instead of butter?
Thanks
Mellissa Sevigny says
I think the flavor would be different but theoretically yes.
Kari says
Just made this today and put it on my zero net carb cinnamon bagel. So good! Thank you for making such an easy, delicious sweet treat recipe. I will be using this quite often!
★★★★★
Tonia Williams says
Is the butter salted unsalted?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Either will work but unsalted if you have it.
JT says
Why is it so liquidy? How much exactly is 8 ounces ='(
it is not fluffy at all. Why can’t you do measurements in cups or tbsp instead of ounces?
Make it easy for viewers. Why Why why ??!!!!!! I put in cream cheese (1 cup) and then 1/2 cup butter as described with 2/3 cup sweetener. Yet its not fluffy. Its like LIQUID. WHAT DID YOU DO? Why are you WASTING my time? =(
★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Butter is meant to be softened, but not liquid. If your frosting is too soft then put it back in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so and then try whipping it again. Ounces is standard measurement for cream cheese. 8 ounces would be one block, and usually the ounces are marked on the side of the container. I don’t know the exact cup measurement but 8 ounces of cream cheese is probably closer to 1 and 1/3 cups.
Kay says
@JT Why are you so rude, why why why? weight measure is so much more accurate, faster with much less clean up. If you really need to convert, it’s easy to google. nothing in the recipe is liquid so how can it be liquidy if there is no liquid to begin with unless you melted the butter which you are not supposed to do.
Mira says
If you used low fat cream cheese instead of regular full fat, it has more water than regular cream cheese. Also, the sugar in the frosting reacts to the cream cheese, making the finished frosting more watery. If you used low fat or Neufchâtel cheese, try making the frosting again with full fat cream cheese.
★★★★★
Mary Anna says
Talk about rude! Don’t blame Melissa for your inability to read a recipe. Follow it properly, and it comes out perfectly.
Zae says
Wooooooow… so rude.
For the record, weighing ingredients is the proper method when baking. If you don’t like it, go somewhere else.
Marissa Bubbenmoyer says
Why are you so rude?
Mariss says
JT, I can understand your frustration, although many do not. But we can’t be yelling at the uploaders for using measurements we con’t understand. I’m ‘old school’ Canadian and still do all in cups and ounces lol, never was able to convert to the metric even though it has been used in Canada for quite a long while now. I have to ask my adult daughter to weigh a pound of something for me when shopping. I just looked at my cream cheese box and it says 250 g. Well I know that ‘g’ is grams, but then I have to find a converter to convert grams to cups. I end up looking at a few online converters for an answer that don’t agree on the outcome even though there is supposed to be a foolproof way of doing it. To make life a little easier on myself I like sites that have a video involved and then watch very closely the amount of whatever they are putting into the bowl and ‘guess’ at how much. Sometimes a large measuring cup will also have ounces written on it. People write depending on what country they are from. Heat will often affect the outcome also. Butter melts when it’s very warm in the kitchen or what ever country you are in, unless you are using Dairlyland butter in Manitoba now as it never gets soft anymore. I understand that the dairies are putting ‘palm oil’ into it. I can leave the butter on the stove with the oven on for hours and it won’t melt. Actually, it just occurred to me that the butter will be great for piping because the piping will hold its shape. I’m glad I chose to answer you because I settled my own problem.
Jacqueline Forbis says
@JT, absolutely rude and totally uncalled for! Follow the recipe as is and you recipe will come out wonderful. Basically the same recipe for standard cream cheese frosting only you’re not using sugar.
★★★★★
jessica says
I love this frosting a little TOO much! I like to dip pecans into it. Wow. It is dangerously good!!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
That does sound amazing, and dangerous! I’m going to try to unsee this and make sure I don’t have any pecans in the house ha ha!
Tara says
Love it! My husband is doing Keto with me and his favorite frosting is butter cream. He’s going to love I found your recipe. I had to sample it first of course. It’s pretty awesome on low carb cream cheese cookies! Thank you for creating and sharing.
★★★★★
Deb Butler says
Love this recipe. How can I make it chocolate?
★★★★★
JADE KUHN says
You could add half cup of cocoa powder!
That’s what I do!
Amanda says
Would this work with a dairy free butter ?
Holly says
Have made this several times and it’s my go to when I need something sweet!
★★★★★
Irene says
This recipe was phenomenal! I use Anthony’s granulated erythritol and ground it in my coffee grinder to a powder. I’ve also used it in my Lil Ninja and it works well, too. The coffee grinder is best, though, or a very strong blender. I added a few drops of liquid stevia to balance the flavor and try to keep it from crystalizing. Room temperature cream cheese and butter really helped in that regard.
I also used 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp maple extract as I was adding the pecans and thought the combination would be perfect for your Pumpkin Spice Sheet cake – and it was!!
★★★★★
Lizy says
So easy, so tasty, so keto! Love this, will be using it for future recipes where I need some tasty fat. Thank you for making keto easier for all of us.
★★★★★
judi coleman says
I just made this to put on top of my zucchini bread and it was delicious
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sounds amazing! ?
Dawn says
Thank you for this recipe, it was great! I only had about 1/4 cup of Swerve left so I added a couple Stevia packets. Still tasted good. Think more will end up on a spoon than the muffins though :)
★★★★★
Jennifer Sampson says
Taste great! But any suggestions on how to not make it be gritty? I used the swerve powdered confectioner sugar. I can’t get it to mix smoothly. Any suggestions?
★★★★★
Christie says
I have found that the butter being completely soft is the key to reduce the grittiness.
★★★★★
Cindy says
To alleviate grittiness, I melt the powdered sweetener slowly in butter on the stovetop.
Anna says
Cream cheese has carbs how can you say zero?
★★★★
Aly says
It says 1g carbs per serving. Although if you count sugar alcohols it would be more due to the erithritol. I prefer the frosting with a little less erithritol, like 1/2 cup to taste more like cheese cake and make a swirl with my keto chocolate bombs
★★★★★
Madlyn says
I love this frosting! It has become a staple for me (and has salvaged quite a few otherwise recipe “fails”).
Sometimes, I have just a dollop of frosting with berries on top for dessert! So good!
Elora Forshee says
This is my go-to keto frosting recipe! I’ve used it on fruit, cupcakes, cinnamon roles, and a spoon and it never fails me!
★★★★★
MOONYEAN C LEFEVRE says
Made this yesterday….taste just like the REAL deal except without the GI effect from real sugar…love it. I made them into freezer fat bombs. WIN WIN!
Beckey Lee says
Love this recipe! I like to use it for fat bombs – but it’s pretty great on any “sweet” that needs frosting.. I have even put it on top of coffee.
★★★★★
Courtney Benton says
My favorite frosting!!! ❤️
★★★★★
Cynthia M says
What brand of cream cheese did you use and what brand of butter did you use to come up with Cal 100 and carb 0 for 2 tbsp. Even if I use Fat Free Great Value Cream Cheese (the lowest) and organic butter I come with cal 165 and 2 carb. Can you substitute butter or anything else? And instead of Swerve can I just use Stevia? Your recipes sounds delicious, appreciate any help you can give. Thank you!
Helen says
Used this on avocado brownies. Sooooo yummy. The ULTIMATE fat bomb!!! Thank you so much. Will use this for a variety of things!!!
Hanna says
Awesome recipe! Adapted it for a single serving and had it with strawberries! Yumm!!!
★★★★★
Jo says
@anna can you share your amounts for single serve? :)
Viv says
How do I convert this into a chocolate cream cheese frosting?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Add chocolate? Haha, couldn’t help myself. I think 1/3 cup of good quality cocoa powder should do the trick (although you can play with it until you get the amount you want) but you may also need to adjust the sweetener to offset the bitterness. Let us know how it turns out!
Pauline says
Would this frosting work for piping decorations?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes it should work great for that!
Suzie Q says
I’d love to make this this weekend but all I have on hand right now is Sweet Leaf stevia drops. Do you think that would work?
Dani says
Can you share what cream cheese you use? I have never found any that are careless…thanks!
Jessica says
Super yummy!! My question. I ran the recipe through My Fitness Pal, and the carbs are insane per serving. But you show 0 carbs. Any thoughts/help??
Mellissa Sevigny says
MFP is notoriously inaccurate – perhaps it’s your sweetener of choice? Or a problem with their database.
Viviana says
The reason I think it’s because erythritol is sweet, but it doesn’t raise the blood sugar level ad it is not absorbed by the body, so they are not considered calories as part of a low carb lifestyle. Also, keto buttercream means it’ll be high fat which in fairness it’s lots of calories, but they push your body into ketosis, and so it’s low carbs but high calories from fat.
Ryan says
Looking at MFP on my own, I found that there are two kinds of Erythritol: regular, and zero carb. The regular you’re looking at a massive amount of carbs, but if you get the zero carb, it’ll be…0 carbs. Other than that, the only thing with carbs was the cream cheese at 9 carbs for 8oz, which is basically nothing. The only downside I’m finding is that it’s 1600 calories for the two cups of prepared frosting.
Mellissa Sevigny says
MFP is wrong and that’s why people get hugely inaccurate numbers when they use it. There are not two kinds of erythritol – MFP just has it listed both ways because it contains sugar alcohol which is where the carbs come from but they don’t impact blood sugar and are not generally counted in the net carbs in a recipe.
Sam says
Can this frosting be frosted on a cake and left out over night? I’m wanting to frost a cake the night before the party.
Jill S says
I used this recipe for icing low carb chocolate cupcakes–but I added unsweetened baking chocolate! I thought I was going to die from happiness!! I think I’ll try it as far bombs next. Thanks for all you do to keep us low carbers happy and healthy!
Nancy says
I cannot wait to get your cookbook!
I just found the recipe for Pierogies!!! Oh, you have no idea how my heart raced!!!
Do you think you’ll do a pre~ Sale? My name needs to be first! ???????
Lindsey says
My whole life I hated cream cheese frosting, but this is AMAZING!! Made it to go with the pumpkin bars & it’s perfect together. I followed the recipe but mixed everything by hand. This is the only frosting I’ve ever made that was a success😊 going to freeze some fat bombs & will definitely use this recipe again. THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!!
★★★★★
clg says
Does it work to take a granulated sweetener and run it through a processor or mortar/pestle to make it “powdered”? Our shops here in Aus never seem to have powdered. I read somewhere you could do this, but it failed to produce a proper frosting when I tried :/
Mellissa Sevigny says
I think you’d have to do it in a blender or food processor to get it fine enough, I haven’t tried it though.
Tara says
This recipe is the bomb. I just made it tonight on half of my husband who is making me a birthday cake tomorrow. I fell in love immediately. I do my best to just stay away from anything “sweet” but hey, it’s my b-day! Thanks for this!
★★★★★