Simple and easy strawberry delight recipe with berries, cream cheese, whipped cream, powdered sugar, and a pecan crust. Dreamy no bake dessert recipe!
Strawberry season is right around the corner, and I’ve got strawberries on the brain. While I love a good strawberry cream pie, my sweet tooth also loves strawberry delight with its strawberries and cream like filling.
Two of my favorite ways to make this dessert are by making a strawberry delight with vanilla pudding or strawberry angel delight. They're both cool, refreshing twists to this dessert.
This is one no bake strawberry dessert that’s super easy to make, though. It doesn’t take a lot of time.
It also requires no baking, depending on what type of crust you go with. Personally, I love making it with our favorite nutty pie crust, but you can also make it with an easy graham cracker crust.
It does require just a few minutes of stove time to prepare the strawberry filling, but trust me when I say, it’s so worth it.
Love Dream Whip Desserts and want another flavor? Try blueberry delight or cherry yum yum! And for the fall season, make this pumpkin delight recipe.
WHERE CAN I FIND THE ACTUAL RECIPE CARD?
If you’d rather skip all of my tips, important info for this recipe, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to the recipe – just scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll find a printable recipe card and longer how to video.
START WITH THE CRUST
So, first things first, you have to lay a foundation for your dessert. And that means, you need a crust.
If you choose to make my favorite pecan crust recipe, it’s so simple and easy and requires just a few minutes of bake time.
I like to make it ahead of time, and that way it's ready to go when I need it. And yes, you can freeze it for later.
- First, melt the butter. Then mix together the melted butter and flour, forming a dough.
- If your pecans aren’t chopped, finely chop them. Then stir the chopped pecans into the dough until they’re all mixed in.
- It’s a press in pie crust, so just press the dough into a 13″x9″ baking dish.
- Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes, or until the edges of the crust begin to turn a nice golden brown (baking times can vary).
- Let the crust cool before adding any filling.
Here's the link to the full recipe for my favorite pie crust with pecans, ingredient amounts and all.
You can also just buy a store bought crust and press pecans into it, although this will likely make a smaller pie.
PIE CRUST ALTERNATIVES FOR STRAWBERRY DELIGHT
- Graham cracker crust
- Pecan Sandies crust – Make it like you would a graham cracker crust.
- Press in pie crust without nuts
- Vanilla Wafer crust
- Line a graham cracker crust with sliced bananas.
- Press crushed pretzels into the pie crust instead of pecans.
AND THEN THE DREAM WHIP FILLING
Now some people do make this filling with Cool Whip, but I’ve carried on my mom’s tradition of a creamy Dream Whip filling. I like to call it angel fluff.
When you mix Dream Whip with cream cheese, it becomes this amazing dreamy filling with all that cream cheese goodness. It makes an excellent strawberry no bake dessert.
Just a few tips for how to make the creamy filling…
- Beat the cream cheese separately first thing. This will help it soften up more, and it will blend in better with the Dream Whip, once you’re ready for that step.
- Mix the Dream Whip according to the package directions (also included in the recipe card below).
- You can split the Dream Whip filling in half to make 2 smaller pies (also, the strawberry filling above).
- You can save back just a little bit of whipped cream for a whipped topping on the final dessert.
Once your Dream Whip is mixed up, you’ll layer it on top of the crust.
NEXT STEP: MAKE THE FRESH STRAWBERRY PIE FILLING
The strawberry pie filling is probably my favorite part of this dessert, besides the cream cheese. It’s quick and easy to make too.
Just a few tips…
- Use fresh sliced strawberries. They don’t have near the amount of water that frozen berries will have. And they have better flavor.
- Bring the puréed strawberry mixture to a boil, and boil for a good 3 to 5 minutes, or until it really thickens up and becomes a deep red color.
- Once your strawberry sauce has cooled, mix it together with the sliced strawberries.
- And then you’ll add the strawberry pie filling on top of that dreamy whipped cream cheese layer for the most scrumptious dessert ever.
The ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below. It’s strawberries and cream at its best!
CAN I FREEZE STRAWBERRY DELIGHT?
Yes, you can freeze it. In fact, you can freeze it either before or after you add the berry topping.
Just be sure it’s in a sealed container or covered really well so it doesn’t get freezer burnt.
It should last up to 6 months in the freezer.
WANT MORE STRAWBERRY DESSERTS?
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberry Filled Cupcakes
- Fresh Strawberry Pie Recipe
- Strawberry Jello Poke Cake
- Strawberry Rice Krispie Treats Recipe
- Gluten-free strawberry rhubarb crisp
SHOP KITCHEN TOOLS FOR THIS RECIPE:
13″x9″ Baking Dish – You’ll need this size baking dish for this recipe. I find myself using this size for so many recipes, not just desserts.
Blender – for puréeing the berries.
Spatula – Where would I be without my spatulas? I have a whole slew of them because we’re ALWAYS using them.
Mixer – You’ll need a mixer to mix together the ingredients for the creamy filling.
GET THE PRINTABLE RECIPE
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Find my original recipe for this strawberry dessert over at Adventures of Mel!
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Strawberry Delight No Bake Dessert
Ingredients
Strawberry Topping:
- 2 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup pure cane sugar
- 1 cup strawberry purée
- 6 cups sliced strawberries
Dream Whip Filling:
- 16 ounces cream cheese
- 2 envelopes Dream Whip
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Pie Crust:
Instructions
- Have the pecan crust baked, cooled, and ready to go.
- Whisk the corn starch and water together in a small glass measuring cup.
- Add the corn starch mixture together with the sugar in a medium to large saucepan.
- Mix in the strawberry purée.
- Bring the mixture to a boil on low to medium heat, constantly stirring with a spatula to avoid scorching.
- Once the mixture boils, cook it for 3 to 5 more minutes, or until it thickens and turns a deep red.
- Remove the strawberry sauce from the heat, and allow it to cool.*
- Meanwhile, using a mixer, beat the cream cheese well.
- In a separate mixer bowl, whisk together the Dream Whip with the milk and vanilla, according to package directions. Whisk it until it begins to form soft peaks, about 4 minutes.
- Add the cream cheese and powdered sugar to the Dream Whip mixture, and whisk for 3 to 5 minutes, or until it’s smooth and creamy.
- Spread the Dream Whip cream cheese filling onto the prepared pie crust.**
- Once the strawberry sauce has cooled enough, mix the sliced strawberries into the sauce.
- Spread the strawberries and sauce mixture over the Dream Whip filling.
- Cover your no bake strawberry dessert and allow it to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight if possible.
- When it’s ready to serve, you can top it off with a dollop of whipped cream or serve it as is. It’s so delicious!
Where is the card recipe for the instructions? I went to the bottom and nothing was there!
Hey Sandra, you have to scroll all the way down. The card is right above where the comments go.
I’ve made this two times in the last month and I have had a problem with the cream cheese dream whip mixture not firming up. It turns into a runny mess even after 24 hours in the fridge. What am I doing wrong?
Allison, that’s really odd! I’ve never had that trouble before.
Where do you get the Strawberry purée? I didn’t see a recipe. Do you use a jar of jam? Or do you use fresh berries. I’m confused.
Cheryl, this is at the bottom of the post on the recipe card. You’ll find instructions for making the strawberry puree in the notes for the recipe card, below the recipe instructions. I hope this helps!
Where do you find the actual recipe with amounts of cream cheese, coolwhip, strawberries, cornstarch, sugar to use??
Ferna, this is at the bottom of the post on the recipe card. I hope this helps!
I hate to be critical….but it would be great to give a complete recipe. Include the pie crust recipe. Do you need 6 cups of strawberries in addition to purée or is it 6 total. I am not a newbie by any means, but have never puréed the berries before, how much is needed for a cup of purée? Or is it one cup sliced puréed? We love a good strawberry dessert, and have always used pretzels for this type and jello for the strawberry filling, I am intrigued by your version. It sounds amazing!
The recipe card at the bottom of the post links to my pie crust recipe, and in the card notes below the recipe instructions, it also explains how to make the strawberry puree. I hope this helps!
I make a very similar dessert but using the pretzel crust because my 4 year old loves smashing the pretzels in a zip baggie! Great way to involve the little ones! Also instead of dream whip I make a cream cheese cool whip sugar mixture and I’ve never had a problem with it before for everyone wondering how the cool whip turns out. And for the topping I love your idea I’ve never tried a puree! I use sliced strawberries mixed with jello (recipe directions on the box) and pour it over the cream cheese mixture before it sets and it makes such a pretty layer and easy to cut. I’ll have to try yours I love this dessert!
Those are some great ideas that I will certainly try for myself, Chelsea! Thanks for the feedback.
Hi
The I can’t find amounts on the printable card and tips section for the pecan crust. How much flour, pecans, butter?
Never mind I found it!
No problem, Crysta. Enjoy the recipe!
So I just made this for an event on Saturday, only because my fresh strawberries would not have lasted til then. I put it in the freezer…. How long will it take to thaw? Should I thaw in the fridge or room temp?
Mitzi, I’d probably take it out the afternoon/evening before and let it thaw in the fridge. Hope you enjoy!
I made this yesterday to use up some strawberries. Didn’t find it hard at all. I halved the recipe, used an 8×8 pan. I used cool whip, 8oz. Tub. It was delicious, love the pecan crust. Everyone had seconds. Thanks.
Thank you, Rebecca. So glad y’all enjoyed it!
Just finished making this strawberry dessert. I have a feeling it will be delicious. But honestly. It was so much work. So many ingredients. .it added up to be very expensive and time consuming.. lots of bowls. Don’t know even if it great whether I would bother again. And the back and forth with the ingredients and instructions was crazy. Sorry I’ve been cooking for a long time. But this was over the top
Susan, thank you for the feedback. This gives me things to work on.