Name: Homemade Cool Whip Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 cups Heavy whipping cream (, very cold); 1/3 cup superfine sugar (, or pulse granulated sugar in the blender a few times. You can use up to 1/2 cup if you like it sweeter); 1 1/2 teaspoons instant pudding powder (, vanilla or any light color); 1 teaspoon vanilla

Quick and easy, this homemade Cool Whip doesn't break down when mixed (gently) with other ingredients or at room temperature for an extended period of time. You can hold it in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 3 days. Keep in mind that whipped toppings are sweeter than whipped cream so you may want to add a bit more sugar to get a sweeter result.

Total time 5 minutes

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So many summer desserts call for Cool Whip that it's almost an essential ingredient to have in the freezer this time of year. If it isn't available where you live or you prefer to stay away from it you'll be glad to know that homemade Cool Whip is easy to make and works as well in nearly every recipe. This particular recipe does not call for gelatin so is fine for vegetarians.

For this recipe you'll need: heavy cream, sugar, instant pudding mix (vanilla, white chocolate, coconut - a white color is preferred), vanilla - clear will keep the color lighter

a white drift of homemade Cool Whip billows out of a jadite colored container - title image

Cool Whip Was a Basic Ingredient in the 1960s!

I grew up with a constant supply of Cool Whip in the freezer, especially in summer. It went in Jello salads, frozen pies, on top of strawberries, and hundreds of other recipe that my mother came up with. It often went into my mouth on a spoon, to be honest.

When I had my own kitchen I moved away from many of the ingredients of my mid-century childhood - things like cream of mushroom soup, margarine, and ... yep... this stuff.

The thing is whipped cream, while certainly rich and luscious, doesn't hold up well for any length of time. In fact, it's often deflated and watery by the next day.

Boo!

Why this Recipe IS Simply the Best

This homemade Cool Whip won't do that. It will hold up for several days and can be gently mixed into many different desserts. A big plus for me is that it doesn't contain gelatin and can be thrown together in seconds. Store it in the refrigerator tightly covered.

Heck, you can even store it in an old Cool Whip tub. I've been making this recipe since sometime in 1980 and it's my favorite for when I'm not using plain whipped cream.

The ingredients for homemade Cool Whip placed on a counter.

What Are the Ingredients for Cool Whip?

If you were to read the ingredients on a tub of Cool Whip they'd look something like this -

Water, hydrogenated vegetable oil, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, skim milk, light cream and less than 2% sodium caseinate (a milk derivative), natural and artificial flavor, xanthan and guar gums, polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate and beta carotene (as a coloring).

When this easy dessert topping was first invented in the mid-1960s it didn't contain milk products and was truly dairy free. Luckily homemade Cool Whip has ingredients that you can actually find in the store and even pronounce.

A green bowl of homemade Cool Whip is ready to serve with a silver spoon

Tips for Homemade Cool Whip

This is likely one of the easiest recipes on Restless Chipotle so no need for extensive instructions but there are some tips that will make it even easier AND some cool (whip - get it? cool whip?) variations.

Cool Whip has a heavy vanilla flavor. Adjust the flavor of your homemade version by adding more or less vanilla.
You can add a little almond flavoring.
If you are using it in a tropical or coconut dessert use coconut flavoring.
While you can keep this in the refrigerator for several days I wouldn't recommend freezing it. The texture will change just a bit.
Use extra fine sugar to ensure a creamy texture. If you don't have extra fine sugar blend sugar up in the blender.

When you know how to make Cool Whip you'll have a fresh version any time you happen to need it!

You May Need

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The main thing you'll need for this is a good mixer. When it comes to whipping cream or egg whites nothing works better than a Kitchen Aid.

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