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If you’re looking for a frosting that’s easy to make, tastes amazing, and holds up like a pro, this cool whip frosting with pudding mix is a total winner. Over the years, I’ve tried a lot of frosting recipes, and this one has become a go-to.
It’s stable enough for piping, super simple to customize with food coloring, and not overly sweet—perfect for birthday cakes or anyone who doesn’t love super-sweet icing. Trust me, once you try it, you’ll be hooked!
I was looking for a Cool Whip recipe with less powder sugar. I followed your directions as written, even went a smidge over 2 minutes. It tasted sooo good. Frosted my butter pecan cake, yum!
-Carol
Once you make this frosting with cool whip one time, it will probably become your favorite frosting! Once you know that cool whip makes such a good frosting, you’ll be hooked for life!
Unlike traditional frosting or standard buttercream, this cool whip frosting uses instant pudding mix, which makes for a perfectly fluffy frosting perfect for everyday cakes.
The light, yummy vanilla flavor makes this the perfect topping for sheet cakes. This seriously might be my favorite topping because it’s so versatile.
It’s stable for piping, and can easily be made into colored frosting by adding a few drops of food coloring. It also isn’t as sweet as other frostings, so it can be a great alternative for birthday cakes and for people who don’t love super-sweet icing.
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Why you’ll love this Cool Whip Frosting
- 5 basic ingredients
- Easy recipe
- Make it in 5 minutes
- Stable for piping
- Dye it with food coloring to make different colors
Cool Whip Pudding Frosting Ingredients
This whipped cream frosting only requires 5 simple ingredients. Get the full measurements in the recipe card below.
- Instant vanilla pudding mix
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Cool whip
If you love cream cheese in your frosting, make cool whip cream cheese frosting.
How to make Cool Whip and Pudding Frosting
This cool whip pudding frosting is ready in just 5 minutes, making it a great frosting for last-minute cakes and cupcakes. Get the full instructions in the recipe card below.
Combine. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pudding mix, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.
Cool Whip. Add in the cool whip and beat on medium until combined. Use frosting on cake or cupcakes. If storing for later, put it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Cool Whip Frosting Recipe Tips
If you decide to make this cool whip frosting at the last minute and didn’t thaw your cool whip ahead of time, there is a way to thaw it quickly without ruining it.
Simply move the frozen cool whip into a microwave-safe bowl. Using the defrost setting, microwave for 30-second intervals, being careful not to mix too much in between (this can make your cool whip watery).
Alternatively, you could leave the tub of cool whip closed and run it under room temperature water until it starts to soften. If you want a more in depth tutorial reference How To Thaw Cool Whip.
How do you make cool whip frosting thicker?
Cool Whip Frosting Recipe Variations
- Flavor. You can make different flavors of this frosting by simply changing the flavor of the pudding mix that you use. Use chocolate pudding mix for chocolate frosting, or cookies ‘n’ cream pudding mix for an oreo frosting.
- Dye it. Use food coloring to dye the frosting various colors.
- Sugar free. Use Sugar Free Cool Whip in place of regular Cool Whip.
How to store Cool Whip Icing
Cool whip frosting can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 hours before serving.
More Recipes
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Cool Whip Frosting With Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix, 3.4 oz
- 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
- ½ cup (118ml) milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 oz container cool whip, thawed
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the pudding mix, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.1 package instant vanilla pudding mix, 2 Tbsp powdered sugar, 1/2 cup (118ml) milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Add in the cool whip and beat on medium until combined. Use frosting on cake or cupcakes. If storing for later, put in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. Store leftover cake or cupcakes in the fridge because of the frosting.8 oz container cool whip
This worked! I was worried after reading the reviews. The trick is to beat the pudding mix into the half cup of milk a lot longer than you would think. It looked like putty but mixed into the cool whip beautifully in the next step. It was thick enough for me to pipe shells on my cake too. Other recipes I’ve tried had me adding powdered sugar to the cool whip and it was way too sweet. This was delicious. I used a cream cheese pudding mix. It was the bomb.
I was looking for a Cool Whip recipe with less powder sugar. I followed your directions as written, even went a smidge over 2 minutes. It tasted sooo good. Frosted my butter pecan cake. Thankyou. Yum.
This turned out really good! Almost like that whipped icing in grocery store bakeries. I found the consistency was better after leaving it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
This recipe is amazing 😻
My Grandson Nicholas says Granny (me) makes the Best cake ever 🥰
And He said the frosting makes the cake 😊(He’s 6 yrs old)