Strawberry Delight with No Bake Cream Cheese Filling

How to make strawberry delight, a layered dessert with a pecan crust, no bake cream cheese layer, and fresh strawberries. It’s so dreamy and easy to make, and perfect for any occasion, be it a holiday, potluck, or special gathering!

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 cheese filling.

Two of my favorite ways to make this dessert are by making a strawberry lush cake or strawberry angel delight. They’re both cool, refreshing twists to this great dessert.

The creamy filling requires no bake time, but the crust will, depending what type of crust you decide to make. Personally, I love making strawberry delight dessert with my favorite pie crust with pecans; however, you can make a completely no bake strawberry delight with an easy no bake graham cracker crust, just like the one used in this no bake lemon icebox pie recipe.

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. This chocolate delight dessert is perfect for all the chocolate lovers reading this post!

Occasions Perfect for This Amazing Dessert

Strawberry delight with pecan crust is the perfect dessert you can make ahead for all sorts of special occasions, including…

• Potlucks. Make it ahead and take it to church potlucks. It’ll be the talk of the crowd.
• Holidays. It’s especially suited for holidays like Easter and Valentine’s Day, even Thanksgiving and Christmas, for those who grow weary of pumpkin and gingerbread.
• Birthdays. Once you make this no bake strawberry dessert, cake may be out of the picture. It’s that good.
• Picnics. Oh yes, the summer picnic, or the 4th of July picnic. Talk about a beautiful dessert for the dessert table!
• Family Gatherings. Whip up this amazing dessert for family dinner!

Ingredients and Substitutions Notes:

You’ll need a few simple ingredients to make this strawberry delight dessert.

Crust –

• Salted Butter – I recommend using real butter; margarine will change the texture of the finished crust.
• All-Purpose Flour – This is a press-in crust, so it’s very easy to make gluten-free by just subbing a good all-purpose gluten-free flour.
• Chopped Pecans – You can make the crust without pecans, but the pecans really make this crust what it is. If you just don’t like nuts, you can also press crushed pretzels into the pie crust instead of pecans.

You can also just buy a store bought crust and press pecans into it, although this will likely make a smaller pie, so you’ll need 2 crusts.

Crust Alternatives for No Bake Strawberry Delight

To make this a completely no bake dessert recipe, you have a few alternative options…

• Graham cracker crust – Use graham crackers, or graham cracker crumbs, to make a no bake crust or graham cracker base. One reader suggested lining a graham cracker crust with sliced bananas. Yum!
• Pecan Sandies crust – Make it like you would a graham cracker crust.
• Vanilla Wafer crust – Use Nilla Wafers to make a very yummy no bake crust.

Strawberry Topping –

• Corn Starch – This acts as a thickening agent for the strawberry topping.
• Water
• Cane Sugar – You can also use granulated sugar.
• Fresh Strawberries – You’ll need fresh sliced strawberries, and you’ll also need strawberry purée. You can use frozen strawberries. Just be sure to slice them up while frozen; then allow them to thaw and completely drain before using, so they don’t add unnecessary moisture to the topping. I do recommend fresh berries, though, if at all possible, for better flavor.

Cream Cheese Filling –

• Cream Cheese – I recommend full fat cream cheese.
• Dream Whip – You can sub Cool Whip and make this a Cool whip strawberry delight dessert.
• Whole Milk – You can sub 2% milk or skim milk, but I highly recommend whole milk for a really creamy texture.
• Pure Vanilla Extract
• Powdered Sugar – or confectioners’ sugar.

How to Make Strawberry Delight

First things first, we’ll start with the crust. Then we’ll make the topping, so it can cool. Then finally, we’ll make the Dream Whip filling.

How to Make the Pecan Crust

I like to make the my favorite nutty pie crust ahead of time, and that way it’s ready to go when I need it. And yes, you can freeze it for later.

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the melted butter and flour, forming a soft dough.
2. Stir the chopped pecans into the dough until they’re all mixed in.
3. Press the dough into a 9×13 baking dish.
4. Bake at 350° F for about 20 minutes, or until the edges of the crust begin to turn a nice golden brown (baking times can vary). Then let the crust cool before adding any filling.

How to Make Fresh Strawberry Topping

The strawberry topping, or strawberry pie filling (cuz that’s really what it is), is probably my favorite part of this dessert, besides the cream cheese. It’s quick and easy to make too.

1. First make strawberry purée by adding 1-2 cups fresh strawberries to a blender and blend into a liquid purée; you’ll need 1 cup strawberry purée. Set the rest of the sliced strawberries aside for now.
2. Whisk together the corn starch and water in a small glass measuring cup or bowl.
3. Add the corn starch mixture, strawberry purée, and sugar to a medium sauce pan and whisk ’til combined.
4. Bring the strawberry mixture to a boil over low to medium heat, and boil for a good 3 to 5 minutes, or until it really thickens up and becomes a deep red color. Then remove it from the heat and allow it to cool completely.

Make the Dream Whip Cream Cheese Filling

Now some people do make this no bake strawberry dessert recipe with cream cheese and 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.

1. Using an electric mixer, 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.
2. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the Dream Whip envelopes with the milk and vanilla, according to package directions. Whisk it until it begins to form soft peaks, about 4 minutes.
3. Add the cream cheese and powdered sugar to the Dream Whip mixture, and whisk for 3 to 5 more minutes, or until the cream cheese mixture is smooth and creamy.
4. Spread the Dream Whip cream cheese filling onto the prepared pie crust. You can save back just a little bit of whipped cream for a whipped topping on the final dessert if you want.

Layer the Strawberry Topping

1. Once the strawberry sauce has cooled, mix it together with the rest of the sliced strawberries you set aside earlier.
2. Then spread the strawberry layer on top of the Dream Whip filling.

3. Cover the assembled dessert with plastic wrap, and allow it to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight if possible, before serving.

When it’s ready to serve, you can top off strawberry yum-yum with a dollop of whipped cream or serve it as is. It’s so delicious! It’s strawberries and cream at its best, a most refreshing dessert!

Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ’s

Recipe Variations

There are a few ways you can tweak this recipe to make it a little bit different…

• Use more berries than just strawberries. Add blueberries or blackberries, for instance.
• Drizzle chocolate on top of the final dessert.
• Serve it with a garnish, like fresh mint leaves or a dollop of extra whipped cream.

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

Find my original recipe for this strawberry dessert over at Adventures of Mel!

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