A simple homemade strawberry cream cheese pie made with an easy graham cracker crust, a sweet cream cheese layer, and topped with fresh strawberries. This pie uses no Jello, gelatin, or artificial add-ins, and a quick strawberry sauce serves as a sweet glaze for the berries.
When it comes to sweets, it’s pretty well-known in my household that I have a complete and utter lack of restraint. Cookies, cakes, and pies (particularly strawberry cream cheese pies) need to be removed from the premises posthaste, or else it’s just a matter of time before I no longer fit through our doorways. Zach must take care to monitor the ice cream in our freezer closely, otherwise I’ll whittle it down to nothing, one sneaking spoonful at a time (he’s actually really bad at this, there’s a carton of ice cream in our freezer with a single spoonful of chocolate ice cream left because I’ve eaten nearly all of it).
But my inability to control myself is possibly most evident during strawberry picking season.
Because when it comes to strawberry picking, I just cannot stop myself. I will pick, and pick, and pick (and maybe sample a few, for, you know, quality control) until my arms are aching from the weight of my berries. Zach and I brought home more berries than two people can be realistically expected to eat in a year, but within a week we’d worked our way through all of them — mostly courtesy of this Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie.
Strawberry picking is a tradition with Zach’s family that I’m grateful to have been absorbed into, and each year for the past three years I’ve shared a strawberry dessert with you. First it was my Strawberries & cream daiquiris (I know, the photos could use a re-shoot), my homemade strawberry pop-tarts last year, and now this strawberry cream cheese pie.
Originally this year’s recipe was going to just be a plain Strawberry Pie, but when Zach’s mom mentioned that she’d had one before with a layer of cream cheese, I made the quick decision to re-route, and a fluffy layer of whipped cream cheese filling was the first thing to go into my homemade graham cracker crust.
It’s just four ingredients, and actually served as the inspiration for my no-bake cheesecake, which I shared with you last week.
We are using no Jello or gelatin in this strawberry cream cheese pie — no artificial flavors, just the pure juicy taste of fresh berries. However, that means that we have to get to work making a simple strawberry sauce, and while this pie is no-bake, you will have to whip out a saucepan for that — don’t worry, it will only take a few minutes.
We’re going to cook the berries with some sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch (a thickener), releasing the fresh juice of the berries and reducing the amount of liquid for a strawberry sauce that we will toss even more fresh strawberries into. Allow it to cool completely (once it’s finished cooking I usually pour the jam into a new heatproof container, that seems to speed up the process a bit since you don’t have to wait for the pan to come back down to temperature) and then stir in your berries.
And that’s it!
Super simple, isn’t it?
Enjoy!
I used some of these strawberries to make a strawberry icebox cheesecake, that I shared over on TheSpruce.com, make sure you check that out, too! 🙂
Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9-10" graham cracker crust prepared and baked (click on link)
Strawberry topping
- 5-6 cups (840 g) quartered strawberries, stems removed divided
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
Cream Cheese Layer
- 8 oz (225 g) cream cheese softened
- ½ cup (65 g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (235 ml) heavy cream
Instructions
- In small saucepan, combine 2 cups (280g) strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice over medium-low heat.½ cup (100 g) sugar, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- Stir frequently until strawberries release their juices.
- Use a potato masher to crush the strawberries until mostly liquid (it's fine if small pieces are remaining).
- Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Boil (still stirring constantly) for 1 minutes and remove from heat, place in new heat proof container to cool faster. Set aside while you prepare your cream cheese layer
- In a medium-sized bowl, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until combined.8 oz (225 g) cream cheese, ½ cup (65 g) powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, clean bowl, beat 1 cup heavy cream to stiff peaks1 cup (235 ml) heavy cream
- Fold into cream cheese mixture -- the resulting mixture will be thick and fluffy.
- Spread evenly into prepared graham cracker crust and place in refrigerator while your strawberry mixture continues to cool.1 9-10" graham cracker crust
- Once strawberry mixture has cooled completely, add the remaining srawberries and stir well.
- Pour over cream cheese layer, piling/mounding strawberries towards the center.
- Return to refrigerator and allow to set at least 4 hours (preferably overnight) before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
You Might Also Like:
Joann
Excellent recipe! I’ve made others similar to this and my strawberry loving husband and I enjoy the blend of tastes and texture.
Like that you don’t have to have hello in hand to make it.
BTW you can skip a few steps and a bowl by adding the heavy cream directly into the beaten cream cheese mixture then beating for a few more minutes till light and fluffy.
Your gracious reply to the unnecessary criticism was an added sweet bonus. God bless you!
Sam
Thank you so much, Joann! I am so glad you enjoyed the pie so much. I typically have my husband clean all of my dishes so a lot of times I don’t think about it. 🤣
Laura Charlton
So I love the way the separate parts taste so far. I didn’t have Heavy Cream (never do when I need it – But I have a BUNCH of fresh picked ohio strawberries and little motivation to have to run to the store) So I subbed 1 cup of sour cream and added a little extra sugar to cream cheese filling. It tastes amazing so I can’t wait to see if it holds up. I’m certain we’ll eat it either way 🙂 🙂 Thanks
Sam
I think you are going to love them together even more! 🙂
Ellen
Made as directed (I did blind bake the crust for a bit) and it was absolutely the very BEST strawberry pie that I have ever had! Love it!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Ellen! 🙂
Jody Moser
Absolutely delicious!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jody! 🙂
Margaret
Haven’t tried this yet but I’m trying to find recipes for my bounty crop of strawberries tht can be frozen. How will this stand up to being in the freezer for one to two weeks? Thank you.
Sam
Hi Margaret! I haven’t frozen this myself, but I think it should work just fine. 🙂
Sylvie
Do you bake the crust or freeze the crust to use for this recipe?
Sam
Hi Sylvie! You just make the crust and use it. No need to freeze or bake. 🙂
Andrea Parker
This is the second time in two weeks that I’ve made this pie. It’s easy and delicious and a big hit in my house.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Andrea! 🙂
Adrienne
Came together nicely and really was delicious. Unfortunately I used store bought crust but next time I’ll try your recipe for that. Thanks for the recipe. I will definitely make this again.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Adrienne! I think you’ll like it even more with a homemade crust. 🙂
Adrienne
Just wondering – could this be made with fresh blueberries or cherries?
Sam
I think it would probably work, but those fruits are a little less juicy so you may need to add a little bit more liquid. 🙂
Lexi
This pie is always a hit and is so easy! Love it!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoys it so much, Lexi! 🙂
Peggy Fields
Excellent, Easy Pie. Served for Memorial Day party and there was not a drop left. Would definitely make this again.
Sam
Thank you so much, Peggy! I am so glad everyone enjoyed it! 🙂
Wanda
Where has this recipe been all my life?
You hit it out of the park with this one!
Thank you!
I love trying new recipes and I have often had to throw away so many.
This is the first time I’ve ever felt compelled to write a review.
Now I can’t wait to try additional recipes from you!
Thanks again!
Sam
Thank you so much, Wanda! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, and I really, really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. I hope you love everything you try. 🙂
Ximena
Really good! Probably the best strawberry dessert I have had.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Ximena! 🙂
Gr8ty
What’s with this whole story telling. Just share your recipe. You don’t see the whole life story in Five Roses cookbook
Sugar Spun Run
I really appreciate your feedback, April. If you don’t wish to read MY blog and only wish to see the recipe there is a LARGE teal button just under the title that says “JUMP TO RECIPE” that takes you directly there. Alternatively you could just buy that cookbook 😉
Vickie
I like your stories : ) and I’m excited to try this recipe tomorrow!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Vickie! I hope that you enjoy the pie. 🙂
Alice
I appreciate your stories as well! Most blog recipes have stores in the beginning! I’m just grateful that I get these awesome recipes for free! Please don’t let the negative comments ruin your day! I promise there are lots of grateful people that appreciate you! Thank you very much!!!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Alice! I greatly appreciate your kind words and support. I am happy to hear how much you have enjoyed my stories and FREE recipes. 😉
Dottie
I don’t see my comment on here but I like this recipe! I used Cool Whip instead of heavy cream, fresh Strawberries and it came out good. I tried to put a picture up but I don’t see that either 😢 Thanks for the recipe 🥰
Sam
Hi Dottie! I’m so sorry, I don’t know what happened to your comment. I am glad you enjoyed the pie. Unfortunately you can’t add pictures here, but if you have a facebook account, I have a Facebook Group and I would love to see it! 🙂
Sarah Gautam
Going to make this today but I think your Calorie calculations Are off? 2,000 calories per slice? Lol
Sam
Good catch, Sarah! I just updated and corrected the calorie calculation.