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Get It NowI originally created this keto cream cheese frosting for my keto carrot cake (my favorite spring cake!), but since then, it’s become my go-to for so many treats. It’s so versatile! You can pipe it on low carb cupcakes, spread it on keto cakes, and even use it as a keto icing for cookies… all without any powdered sugar. Grab your hand mixer and make this sugar free cream cheese frosting with me in just 5 minutes!
Why You Need My Keto Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
- Creamy, tangy, and sweet – I know many of you love my keto buttercream frosting, but I think this keto cream cheese frosting is even better. And unlike many frosting recipes, mine uses more cream cheese than butter! It’s extra creamy, with a tangy flavor that brightens up any keto dessert.
- Keto friendly and gluten-free, with no aftertaste – I firmly believe you don’t have to compromise between taste and eating better. Even my friends and family (who aren’t low carb) love this stuff.
- 5 ingredients, 5 minutes – My sugar free cream cheese frosting is quick and easy! Just as easy as the regular kind.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my sugar free cream cheese frosting recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Cream Cheese & Butter – For smooth blending, make sure both are softened at room temperature. I recommend unsalted butter, although you can add a pinch of salt if you like.
- Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – Making cream cheese frosting without powdered sugar is pretty much the same as the regular kind, but the problem is that many sugar substitutes can leave a gritty texture. I used to make this keto cream cheese frosting with powdered erythritol, and when it did manage to dissolve (which wasn’t always!), it would crystallize later. That’s why I always use Besti now — it dissolves completely and won’t crystallize. You can also use Wholesome Yum confectioners allulose, but increase the amount to 2/3 cup. I don’t recommend any other powdered sweetener, as other brands of monk fruit and stevia typically contain erythritol.
- Heavy Cream – This thins out the frosting for a creamy consistency. Full-fat coconut milk works as a substitute if you’re out of cream. Avoid regular milk, which isn’t keto friendly.
- Vanilla Extract – I like this brand.
How To Make Keto Cream Cheese Frosting
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Beat the butter and cream cheese. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together the cream cheese and butter, until fluffy.
- Add powdered Besti and vanilla. Beat them in until the sweetener dissolves.
- Add the cream. Blend again, until your keto cream cheese frosting reaches a smooth, creamy consistency. Adjust the cream as needed to get just the texture you want.
My Recipe Tips
- Forgot to soften your butter and cream cheese? This usually takes 30 to 45 minutes at room temp, but it depends on your kitchen temperature. For a shortcut place both on a plate, and fill a large stainless steel bowl with boiling water. After 5 minutes, empty and dry the bowl, and place it inverted over the plate. Your butter and cream cheese will soften from the residual heat!
- Feel free to adjust the cream cheese to butter ratio. I like a 4:1 ratio, which makes it very tangy. If you prefer it milder, reduce the cream cheese to 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) and add an extra 4 tablespoons of butter (for 6 tablespoons total). You can play with any ratio you like — you just need 10 tablespoons total between the butter and cream cheese combined.
- Your kitchen temperature and humidity can play a role. If it’s very warm or humid, this can make your frosting runny as well.
- Don’t beat too long. You want the butter and cream cheese to become fluffy, but beating too long can warm them up so much that your frosting becomes runny, or introduce air bubbles.
- Want to add flavors? Try mixing in a dash of cinnamon or pumpkin spice, lemon or orange zest, or a few spoonfuls of cocoa powder (you can experiment with how much — I use the same amount as my keto chocolate frosting).
- Don’t have a piping bag? I have this set, which includes reusable bags, a variety of tips, and a box to hold them all. But you can easily scoop the frosting into a zip lock bag, snip off a corner, and you’re ready to pipe.
- How to pipe this sugar free cream cheese frosting: For cupcakes or round shapes, start in the center and spiral outward, then spiral back in to finish in the center.
Ways To Use It
You can use cream cheese frosting without powdered sugar in the same ways you would the regular kind! Here are some of my favorite ways:
- Cakes – Like I mentioned earlier, I first whipped it up for my keto carrot cake, but I also use it for my keto yellow cake and keto red velvet cake. You can even spread it on keto chocolate cake for something different!
- Cupcakes & Muffins – I originally made a raspberry frosting for my sugar free cupcakes, but I end up using this one just as often (as pictured on this page). You can also make your keto muffins feel more dessert like with a swirl of keto cream cheese frosting on top.
- Cookies & Bars – I think this frosting pairs particularly well with pumpkin, like my healthy pumpkin bars and keto pumpkin cookies. It also works well on keto sugar cookies and sugar free gingerbread cookies. If you really love cream cheese, spread it over my low carb cream cheese cookies!
My Tools For This Recipe
- Hand Mixer – I’m obsessed with mine! It’s powerful, has great storage for all the attachments, and has many speeds.
- Piping Bag & Tip Set – I love the variety of tips, but what I love even more is they come with a storage box and reusable bags.
Keto Cream Cheese Frosting (Sugar Free)
Make my sugar free, keto cream cheese frosting without powdered sugar in 5 minutes! It’s creamy, sweet, & perfect for your low carb desserts!
Instructions
[ See step photos See my tips ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together the cream cheese and butter for 2-3 minutes, until fluffy.
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Beat in the sweetener and vanilla, until the sweetener dissolves. (Note: You can use powdered Besti or powdered allulose, but most other sweeteners won't dissolve well.)
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Add the heavy cream and beat again, until creamy. You can adjust the amount of cream to get the consistency you like.
Did You Like It?
Leave a rating to help other readers (this also helps me continue to provide free recipes on my site), or get the recipe sent to your inbox.
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 2 tablespoons
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you prevent runny frosting, my hack to soften the butter and cream cheese fast, several ways to adjust the flavor, and piping tricks.
- Store: Keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature before spreading or piping.
- Freeze: You can freeze this sugar free cream cheese frosting for up to 3 months. I recommend using a zip lock bag — just squeeze out all the air. Thaw in the fridge overnight, bring to room temp, then give it a quick beat before using.
- Recipe yield: This recipe makes 3/4 cup of frosting. Feel free to double or triple it if you need more.
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Keto Cream Cheese Frosting
317 Comments
darra
0this.is.so.dang.good.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy you liked it, Darra! Have a great day!
Hoa
0Hi, can we freeze the cake to eat later?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0The cream cheese frosting will freeze just fine. As for the cake, it depends on which one you made!
Caroline
0Hi, happy to have found your recipe. Can I use this recipe for a little girl with diabetes?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Caroline, Yes, absolutely! My kids love this frosting (while they are not diabetic, we limit sugar in our family). As always I don’t give medical advice and recommend consulting a doctor for any medical questions, but in general a low carb diet is great for diabetes. And, this sugar-free frosting is made with a natural sugar-free sweetener.
Caroline El Nagar
0Thanks for your answer. Can I change the erythritol to stevia?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0If you change to pure/concentrated stevia it might work but the consistency would be a bit different. If you use a granulated stevia blend, you’d need to powder it first using a coffee grinder or food processor, so that your frosting isn’t grainy. You can use my sweetener conversion chart here to determine how much to use.
Dondra
0This is incredibly good!!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy you liked the frosting, Dondra!
Karyn M.
0This frosting has an amazing flavor- it takes exactly like the non-sugar free version. I loved it!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Karyn! I’m so glad you loved it.
Donna
0Hi, I’m GF, DF and Refined SF, Can I Use DF cream Cheese? And what can I use to replace the heavy cream?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Donna, Yes, dairy-free cream cheese should work. Not sure about replacing the butter, though. You can replace heavy cream with unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk, but would need less since those are thinner than cream.
Esther Erlich
0I can’t get powdered erythritol where I live in Australia. Is there any substitute? I can only get erythritol granules. There are no powdered artificial sweeteners at all.
Dondra
0I used xylitol with no problem. I’d probably use a little less than the recipe though.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Esther, You might be able to powder the granulated erythritol in a coffee grinder yourself. Also, erythritol is not artificial at all in case you wanted to know – it’s a natural sugar-free sweetener. 🙂
Natalie
0Hm, I don’t like the sweetener so is it possible if I make this without the sweetener? I think it’s still sweet with the butter and cream. Also, we will use it with cake, cupcakes or muffin so it would be delish in any case, isn’t it?
Rita
0I used Total Sweet pure natural Xylitol from supermarket & it was delicious. I only blitzed a cup for the frosting & used straight from packet for creaming butter for cake. Really worked well! No aftertaste some sweeteners leave. Product made from European birch & beechwood.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Natalie, From a consistency standpoint you probably could, but personally I think a frosting needs some sweetener. Up to you, though! If you omit the sweetener, you’d probably need less heavy cream.
Marcia Little
0Carrot cake is my all time favorite, please??
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Marcia, Carrot cake is coming soon!! 🙂
Ann
0Instead of using so much sweeter I sometimes use powdered milk. It helps to gives it the icing a little more volume.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Ann, That’s a great idea! That does add some carbs from the lactose, but I bet heavy cream powder would also work the same way. I do use a lot less sweetener in my recipe than traditional powdered sugar frosting recipes.
Jen Gosnell
0Hi Maya! This recipe came at the perfect time, as I’m about to have a kid birthday here. From reading, it sounds like the sweetener has to be powdered. I’m wondering if this is to the exclusion of other sweeteners like liquid stevia. Is there a consistency reason that it needs to be powdered?
Thanks!
Jen
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Jen, Yay, I love this for birthdays! Yes, the reason for the powdered sweetener is consistency. A granulated sweetener would make the frosting gritty, but a liquid one would make it runny. The powdered sweetener works to add not only sweetness but also bulk and adjusts the consistency.
Victoria
0This looks delicious! However, my body will only tolerate pure stevia, not any of the other sugar substitutes. I have powdered stevia that is very sweet. instead of 1/2 cup of sugar or erythritol, I would use 1 tsp. of my stevia. would that work for this recipe???
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Victoria, I haven’t tested it with pure stevia powder so am not 100% sure. I know granulated and liquid sweeteners will not work well, due to texture issues. Powdered pure stevia will not have the issues of being grainy or runny that granulated or liquid sweeteners would. But, it also would lack the bulk that using powdered erythritol provides. It would probably work ok but the texture would be a little different. Let me know how it goes if you try!
Linda Sutley
0My favorite way to use cream cheese frosting is atop a carrot cake with raisins and pineapple in the batter! Do you have that kind of magic up your sleeve, Maya?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Yum, sounds amazing! I’m actually planning a carrot cake recipe next month! It doesn’t have raisins and pineapple due to the carb content, though. But, adding raisins will be really easy to do if you decide to do that.