It’s the season for cozy mugs of hot cocoa, pumpkin pies, and other delectable desserts, all of which are made even better with a heaping spoonful of fluffy, cloud-like whipped cream. And not just any whipped cream, homemade whipped cream. If you’ve been using pre-made whipped cream your whole life, you need to know how to make whipped cream at home. It’s too easy and too good not to. This homemade whipped cream recipe requires only three ingredients, takes minutes to make, and is the smoothest, creamiest dream you’ve ever tasted. Please promise me you’ll try it, at least once!
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Ingredients for Whipped Cream
Making homemade whipped cream is incredibly fast and easy. In fact, you’ll only need these three simple ingredients:
- Heavy Cream: Use cream labeled “heavy cream” or “heavy whipping cream” which are 36% fat. “Whipping cream” can be as low as 30% fat and may not whip up as well. Keep your cream chilled for the best results.
- Sugar: Simple white sugar is all you’ll need to add just the right amount of sweetness to your homemade whipped cream.
- Vanilla Extract: For an extra creamy flavor, we add a little bit of vanilla extract. You can play around with different flavored extracts to make more fun flavors of whipped cream.
Do I Need a Mixer to Make Homemade Whipped Cream?
Homemade whipped cream can easily be made with nothing more than a bowl, a whisk, and about five minutes of intense tricep work. That being said, it’s a lot easier if you have a hand mixer or stand mixer. It takes me about five minutes to whisk heavy cream into whipped cream by hand, but only about two minutes to do it using a basic hand mixer.
How Long Does Homemade Whipped Cream Last?
Homemade whipped cream is best when whipped fresh just before serving. Luckily, it’s so fast and easy to make that this is usually doable. If you can’t use it right away, you can refrigerate it for a day or so, but it will slowly deflate over that time. There are ways to stabilize homemade whipped cream and make it last longer, usually by adding additional ingredients. Here’s a great article from Food52 about ways to stabilize whipped cream.
Can You Freeze Whipped Cream?
Another option for saving leftover whipped cream is to freeze it! Simply add dollops of your whipped cream to a parchment lined baking sheet, freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag for long term storage. The frozen whipped cream dollops can be stored for about three months in the freezer. To use the frozen whipped cream, add the dollop directly to the top of a hot mug of coffee or cocoa, or let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to thaw.
Tips for Making Whipped Cream
Making whipped cream is pretty fast and easy, but here are a few tips and tricks to make sure it turns out perfectly every time!
- Use heavy whipping cream, not just whipping cream, because it has more fat and will whip up more easily.
- Use a chilled glass or metal bowl to whip the cream. The cream will whip up faster when the proteins and fat are kept cold while whisking.
- Don’t over whip. If you keep whipping past the point of stiff peaks, the proteins will begin to clump and your whipped cream will separate (that’s how you make butter!). I usually stop when the cream is whisked to medium or medium-stiff peaks. Leaving it slightly soft makes for pretty dollops.
- If you accidentally over whip the cream, it can be recovered by folding in a tablespoon or two of fresh cream until it becomes smooth once again.
What to Serve with Whipped Cream
Everything is better with a dollop of homemade whipped cream, IMHO! But here are some of my favorite desserts that are traditionally served with whipped cream:
- Hot Chocolate
- Pumpkin Pie or Pumpkin Pie Bars
- Chocolate Cream Pie
- Sweet Potato Pie
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Vanilla Pudding, Chocolate Pudding, or Banana Pudding
- Your favorite coffee drink!
Medium peak whipped cream pictured above.
Homemade Whipped Cream
Servings 8 ¼ cup eachIngredients
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar ($0.04)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.30)
- 1 cup heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, chilled ($0.78)
Instructions
- Add the sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream to a glass or metal bowl. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer* to whip the cream on high until medium or stiff peaks form (depending on your preference, about 2-3 minutes). Stop the mixer occasionally to test the stiffness of the peaks, to avoid over whipping.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Homemade whipped cream goes perfectly on a mug of homemade hot chocolate!
How to Make Whipped Cream
Add 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1 cup cold heavy cream to a bowl. If you’re going to be whipping by hand, pre-chilling the bowl in the freezer will make the task a lot easier.
Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to whip the cream on high for about 2-3 minutes, or until medium or stiff peaks form. Whether you want the whipped cream to be softer or stiffer is a personal preference. I like mine slightly on the soft side for pies, a little more stiff for hot cocoa.
As you whip the cream, occasionally lift the whisk or beaters out of the cream to see how stiff the peaks are. If they slump over, they are soft peaks, if they bend slightly they are medium peaks, if they stand straight up they are stiff peaks. Do not whip past stiff peaks or the cream will begin to separate and you’ll make butter.
If you want to freeze your leftover whipped cream, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then drop dollops of the whipped cream on top (about the size that you’d use for serving). Freeze the whipped cream on the baking sheet until the little mounds are solid.
Then once frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer bag for air-tight long term storage. You can keep them in your freezer for about three months. Either pop them directly onto a hot mug of cocoa or coffee, or let them thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
I’m tellin’ y’all. Homemade whipped cream is where it’s at!! Try it in my Blueberry Lemon Curd Shortcakes, Apple Crisp, Strawberry Shortcake, No-Churn Balsamic Peach Ice Cream, Jello Salad, or Peanut Butter Fluff Cups. It’s also great on pies, cakes, flan, and other desserts!
I’ve made ones like this before, but I have lactose issues. Any alternatives for non-dairy? I’ve made it with coconut milk before, but it’d be nice to find an almond milk version with no weird ingredients.
The only non-dairy whipped creams I’ve seen have been with coconut cream. I don’t think almond milk would work because it doesn’t have nearly enough fat and is far too watery. You really need a thick, high fat substance to be able to trap the air as it’s being whipped. My best suggestion would be to Google “non-dairy whipped cream recipe” to see if anyone has found any other alternatives.
We’ve made homemade whipped cream my whole life. Sometimes with granulated sugar, sometimes with powdered sugar. I don’t know that we really notice a big difference. But we do often add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Always a hit, especially this time of year on pumpkin pie! I hadn’t thought shot freezing it though. Thanks for that information!
Oh cinnamon added is so good!
How about 1 ingredient whipped cream? That’s the way I make it and it’s delicious.
Do share!
My family also grew up with “one ingredient whipped cream that Christ mentions – you just whip up the cream itself and that’s it – simple!
Lately I’ve also started rotating in stabilized whipped cream for certain recipes (basically like a homemade cool whip) – this is great when you need whipping cream to stand up in recipes for longer periods of time. (usually the recipe involves adding some cream cheese, plus sugar and vanilla to taste)
Yes, so easy. I usually use powdered sugar instead of granulated though. Thanks for the tip on freezing as I had never thought to do that.
You’re welcome!
Before I had a stand mixer, I used a Mason jar with a wine cork (real, not foam) it to make small quantities of whipped cream. Shake the jar and surprisingly after a couple minutes you get whipped cream.
Yes! Works great!
Homemade whipped cream is always the way to go! Last week I had just a bit of heavy whipping cream left over from a recipe. I didn’t want to dirty a ton of dishes, so I just put the heavy whipping cream, cinnamon, and vanilla into a mason jar and just shook it up for a while. It worked so well! Bonus, the whipped cream was already in a container for storing for later. Whipped cream is a great treat for coffee, put in the mug before you add coffee and it’s great!
Hooray! Thanks for sharing Kathryn.
My favorite discovery this year was that you can make a single serving of whipped cream really quickly with one of those little battery powered frothers/whisks. I have one I normally use for matcha, but it’s way easier for me to use it than to pull out a hand mixer. And it still only takes a minute or two.
Oh yes! Those are great and CHEAP!
I make small batches using a mason jar. Just add in the cream, screw on a lid, and shake! This is convenient for a few servings but would probably be too hard for much more.
Great tip Carla!
This is one of the simplest ways I know to feel like I’m fancy in the kitchen. It tastes so good and the kids love it! Never thought about freezing them before but adding that to the mix right now!
Love it!
When I was in college we had a special tool for hand whisking whipped cream: Freshman.
Ha!!
Like others, I use powdered sugar. I also whip the cream before adding sugar and vanilla. As Ruthie Sellers mentioned, other flavorings such as almond or rum extract are delicious, but I mostly stick with vanilla. I usually purchase “heavy” cream instead of “whipping” cream–with slightly more butterfat the finished cream is slightly more stable. The real deal is much more delicious than cans or frozen products and costs less for little effort. While I usually make it as a dessert topping, it’s lovely on hot chocolate or coffee. A hand mixer takes little space and is very inexpensive, many under $20. If you don’t have one, you will be surprised at how often you use it–I grab mine at least a couple of times a week for baking, whipped potatoes, sauces, etc.
Thanks Janet!
I’ve never seen heavy cream in Canada and I’ve always assumed the states version of whipping cream was heavy cream… does anyone know where to buy heavy cream in Canada?
Do you have heavy whipping cream? It can be called that as well. It’d be in the dairy section near the half and half and buttermilk.
Hi Joanne,
I’m in Canada too and I think our percentages are a bit different. Whipping cream is 35% here (in ontario), and I usually just whip mine by hand with no problem at all. Hope that helps.
Hi Joanne – Heavy cream is sold as Whipping Cream (35%) here in Canada. In Atlantic Canada it usually comes in a purple carton – not sure if that’s standard across the country. I grew up close enough to the border that we occasionally shopped for groceries there; I always found the name differences interesting (half and half in the US vs cereal cream in Canada; Whole Milk vs Homogenized etc).
We rarely used anything but real whipped cream and I agree, it’s the best. I never thought to freeze it though. So smart. :)
Clarification: I grew up near the American border. I’m in Canada too. *waves from the East Coast*
This is pretty spot on. I use powdered sugar instead and a few squirts of almond extract along with the vanilla.
Yum!
I’ve also made smaller quantities of whipped cream in a blender. I make it with just cream and icing sugar although you can just whip the cream on it’s own.
Oh great tip!
I prefer using powder sugar to granulated
Good to know Deb!