Out of Cool Whip, one case
Can you substitute whipped cream for Cool Whip?
4 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Sweetened whipped cream
1 ½ cups cream for every 8-oz tub
Yes. Whip 1 ½ cups of cold heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla to replace one 8-ounce tub of Cool Whip, which holds about 3 cups. Real whipped cream is less sweet and starts to weep within a day, so stabilize it for no-bake pies, layered desserts and anything made ahead.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Whip cold heavy cream with 2 tbsp powdered sugar per cup, plus vanilla, to medium-stiff peaks.
- Best for —
- topping pies, shortcake and hot chocolate
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
One casethe full Cool Whip card
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of Cool Whip | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweetened whipped creamtopping pies, shortcake and hot chocolate | 1 ½ cups cream per 8-oz tubTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Stabilized whipped creamno-bake pies and icebox cakes | 1 ½ cups cream per 8-oz tubTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Coconut whipped creamdairy-free and vegan desserts | 1 cup whipped per cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 4 | Aerosol whipped creamtopping a slice of pie or a mug of hot chocolate at serving | 1 cup per cupYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Sweetened whipped cream
fresh dairy flavor, less sweet
Heavy cream doubles in volume when whipped, so 1 ½ cups of cream gives the 3 cups in an 8-oz tub. When a recipe gives Cool Whip in cups, swap whipped cream cup for cup, measured after whipping.
- Best for
- topping pies, shortcake and hot chocolate, desserts served the same day, trifles and parfaits eaten within a few hours
- Prep
- Whip cold heavy cream with 2 tbsp powdered sugar per cup, plus vanilla, to medium-stiff peaks.
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- It softens and weeps after several hours, so a no-bake pie or layered dessert made the day before slumps. Overwhipped, it turns grainy and then to butter.
Stabilized whipped cream
the same as whipped cream
The same whipped cream with a little gelatin, which lets it hold its shape for days the way Cool Whip does.
- Best for
- no-bake pies and icebox cakes, fluff salads and dessert dips, frosting a cake, anything made a day ahead
- Prep
- For each cup of cream, sprinkle 1 tsp unflavored gelatin over 4 tsp cold water and let it stand 5 minutes. Warm it until liquid, let it cool but not set, and pour it in slowly once the cream reaches soft peaks. Finish whipping to stiff peaks.
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- Gelatin is not vegetarian. Added hot, it cooks into strings; added cold and set, it leaves lumps.
No gelatin in the house: powdered sugar helps a little on its own, because it contains cornstarch. About 1 tbsp of instant vanilla pudding mix per cup of cream also works.
Coconut whipped cream
clearly coconut
The dairy-free option. Cool Whip itself contains milk ingredients, so this is the swap when the dessert has to be free of dairy.
- Best for
- dairy-free and vegan desserts, topping pies and fruit, tropical and chocolate desserts
- Prep
- Chill a can of full-fat coconut milk overnight, scoop off the solid cream, leave the liquid behind and whip the cream with 1 to 2 tbsp powdered sugar.
- Suits
- vegan, dairy-free
- Where it fails
- It softens fast at room temperature, and some cans do not separate enough to whip. Fold it gently: it deflates more easily than dairy cream.
Aerosol whipped cream
light and sweet
Cream from a pressurized can. It is fine as a topping added at the table and nothing more.
- Best for
- topping a slice of pie or a mug of hot chocolate at serving
- Contains
- dairy
- Where it fails
- It collapses to liquid within minutes, so it cannot be folded into a filling, layered into a dessert or spread on anything ahead of time.
Tips for substituting Cool Whip
5 tips- Tub sizes: an 8-oz tub is about 3 cups, which takes 1 ½ cups of heavy cream. A 16-oz tub is about 6 cups, which takes 3 cups of cream.
- Chill the bowl and beaters for 15 minutes and use the cream straight from the fridge. Warm cream does not whip well.
- Stop at medium-stiff peaks. If the cream turns grainy, stir in 1 to 2 tbsp of unwhipped cream by hand to smooth it.
- Fold whipped cream into pudding, gelatin or cream cheese mixtures in 2 or 3 additions with a spatula, and only once the base is cool.
- Keep desserts made with real cream in the fridge and do not leave them out more than 2 hours. Plain whipped cream is at its best the day it is made; stabilized cream holds 2 to 3 days.
Questions
5 questionsHow much heavy cream replaces an 8 oz tub of Cool Whip?
1 ½ cups of heavy cream, whipped with 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. That makes about 3 cups, the amount in an 8-ounce tub. For a 16-ounce tub, whip 3 cups of cream with 6 tablespoons of powdered sugar.
Can I use real whipped cream in a no-bake pie or a fluff salad?
Yes, if you stabilize it. Plain whipped cream loosens and leaks liquid within a day, which turns a no-bake filling soft. Whip in 1 teaspoon of gelatin, bloomed in 4 teaspoons of cold water, for each cup of cream, and the dessert holds in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
Can I freeze a dessert made with whipped cream instead of Cool Whip?
Yes. Whipped cream freezes well inside a dessert, such as an icebox pie or a frozen fluff. Stabilized cream thaws in better shape than plain. Thaw the dessert in the fridge, not on the counter, and expect it to be a little softer than the Cool Whip version.
Can I use whipped cream from a can?
Only as a topping at the moment of serving. Aerosol whipped cream deflates into liquid within minutes, so it cannot be folded into a filling or spread over a dessert ahead of time. For anything that has to hold, whip heavy cream yourself.
Is whipped cream as sweet as Cool Whip?
No. Cool Whip is noticeably sweeter. Two tablespoons of powdered sugar per cup of cream gives a lightly sweet whipped cream; add another tablespoon per cup if the dessert counted on the tub for sweetness.