Easy Strawberry Parfaits

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword easy-strawberry-parfaits, no-bake-strawberry-parfaits, strawberry-parfaits

Prep Time 20

Chill time 2

Total Time 2 20

Servings servings

Calories 476kcal

Ingredients

1 1/2 quarts strawberries hulled and cubed (Reserve 6 whole berries for garnishing)
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 cups vanilla wafer or graham cracker crumbs
4 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
12 oz Neufchatel cream cheese
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (regular or low fat)
2 tsp vanilla
1 8 oz frozen whipped topping, thawed i.e. Cool Whip divided

Instructions

Macerate Strawberries: In a medium size bowl, toss cubed strawberries with 2 Tbsp sugar. Stir and set aside for 10 minutes. (You could add a teaspoon of lemon juice, too.)
Vanilla Wafer Crumbs: In a separate small bowl, toss together vanilla wafer crumbs with melted butter until evenly moistened. Set aside.
Cheesecake Layer: Using an electric mixer whip together cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 whipped topping and vanilla extract until smooth.
Assemble Parfaits: Start with 2 heaping Tbsp cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with 2 heaping Tbsp vanilla wafer crumbs and 2 heaping Tbsp strawberries. Repeat layers ending with cheesecake layer. (Reserve a small amount of vanilla wafer crumbs to garnish the top.)
Garnish: Sprinkle the top of each parfait with a reserved crumbs, and divide the remaining whipped topping evenly among the parfaits. Decorate with one whole berry or strawberry slices.
Chill strawberry parfaits for 2 hours then serve.
How to Make Homemade Whipped Cream:
Chill a large mixing bowl and beaters for 15-20 minutes.
Add one pint of heavy cream to the bowl with one teaspoon vanilla extract.
Whip on medium-high speed, gradually adding 1/4-1/3 cup granulated sugar or powdered sugar.
Continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Chill until serving.
Lighter Strawberry Parfaits:
Use reduced fat graham crackers or vanilla wafers.
Use light butter for the crumbs.
Use low fat or fat free sweetened condensed milk for the cheesecake layer.
Sweeten strawberries with alternative sweetener of choice.
Use lite, sugar free or fat free whipped topping

Notes

Fruit Variations - You can make this parfait recipe with fresh raspberries, blackberries or blueberries.
Vanilla Wafer Substitution - You could use graham crackers for a more traditional cheesecake taste with a graham cracker crust.
Cheesecake Layer - You could adapt the cheesecake filling using instant cheesecake pudding mix and Greek yogurt.
Strawberry Jam - You could swirl a small amount of strawberry jam through the cheesecake layer.
Flavoring Substitutions - You can add alternate flavorings to the the cheesecake layer by using lemon extract or almond extract in place of, vanilla extract.
Citrus - You could add lemon zest to the cream cheese mixture for a citrus twist.
Garnish - You could use white chocolate shavings or chocolate curls as a garnish.
Adjust the Size According to Servings - Depending on the size of the parfait glasses. mason jars or glasses used, the yield can vary. The parfaits in the images are made in 8 ounce parfait glasses.
Use Fresh Strawberries - Can I use frozen strawberries for parfaits? Frozen strawberries have a tasty flavor, but the texture isn't the best choice for this particular recipe for parfaits. Even after thawing, they're more likely to saturate the crumbs and make them soggy.
Timesaving Tip - You can make the crumbs, macerated strawberries and cheesecake layer in advance then assemble the parfaits just before serving.
Layer Your Way - The vanilla wafer crumb layer can soften just a bit from the macerated strawberries. If this bothers you, layer them apart from the berries.

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