Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

These cream-filled strawberries have a secret: They're filled with a subtly sweet mixture that tastes just like cheesecake, but are way quicker and easier to make than a traditional strawberry cheesecake. These bites are a clever way to enjoy those gorgeous, giant strawberries that appear in our markets each spring. No baking is required, and there's just a little thinking ahead needed since the cream cheese needs to be softened for it to be easy to work with.

How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

Strawberry cheesecake bites are not only delicious, they're also easy to make. The recipe requires minimal prep and few ingredients, many of which you may already have on hand.

First things first: You'll need fresh strawberries, about about 1½ pounds, which ends up being roughly 24 whole strawberries from two standard strawberry containers. The filling consists of one package of cream cheese (softened in advance) mixed with a couple tablespoons of sour cream—though if you happen to have creme fraiche or mascarpone cheese lying around, either of those can be substituted to great effect— plus, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla.

Hulled out strawberries are then filled with the sweet, luscious cream cheese mixture using either a pastry bag (a star tip makes it extra pretty but is not necessary) or a repurposed plastic freezer bag. Simply spoon the filling into a zip-top plastic freezer bag, and without sealing it, snip a hole in one of the corners.

Dip the strawberries in melted white chocolate if you're feeling fancy and want to add a little more oomph, and don't forget the crushed graham cracker finish, an essential component regardless of what you decide about the optional chocolate dip.

Note that these Strawberry Cheesecake Bites need about an hour to set.

How to Wash Strawberries

When it comes to cleaning strawberries, there are just a couple of things to keep in mind. Using a colander, gently place whole strawberries in the base and rinse with cold water from the tap for a few minutes. If you notice any dirt that's not coming loose from the cold water rinse, use your fingers to rub dirt specks gently until they loosen.

Remove strawberries from the colander—a paper-towel lined baking sheet works well—and pat dry.

Other ways to clean strawberries include:

White Distilled Vinegar
In a large bowl, combine four cups of water and one cup white distilled vinegar. Submerge the berries in the solution, and use your hands to gently agitate the water, making sure the strawberries have some room to move.

Baking Soda
After rinsing berries under cold water, stir one teaspoon baking soda into two cups of water and completely submerge the berries in the solution for five minutes.

Salt
The ratio is 1 tsp:1 cup, so for the strawberry cheesecake bites recipe, you'll probably end up using three teaspoons of salt mixed into three cups of warm water. Make sure to let the water cool before soaking the berries.

When to Clean Strawberries

Whatever method you choose, wash the strawberries just before coring and hollowing them out for the Strawberry Cheesecake Bites. Why? Cleaning porous fruit like strawberries ahead of time can make them mushy and even moldy. It's the excess water on the surface of the berry that causes it to break down quickly.

How to Store Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

Similar to the way excess water can impact the texture and quality of the strawberries if you wash the fruit several days (or even hours) before you plan to make the Strawberry Cheesecake Bites (or other strawberry-starring recipes), the soft filling can make the berries soggy.

Preparing the tray of bites one night before you plan to serve them is OK, but these are best eaten the day they're made. And if you do decide to prepare the cheesecake bites in advance, don't add the crushed graham cracker crumbs until just before serving if you want to avoid soggy cracker pieces.

More Ways to Use Cream Cheese: Strawberry Cheesecake Salad

Why We Love This No-Bake Strawberry Recipe

This dessert takes advantage of fresh strawberries and couldn't be easier to make. There's no baking required, and minimal clean-up is involved. Most ingredients are probably already in your pantry or fridge, and the only sort of "fancy" part is optional.

The strawberry cheesecake bites are a showstopper with or without the optional white chocolate dip. Just don't forget the graham cracker crumbs! They add texture, crunch, and a nice color contrast to the red strawberries and pale white filling.

Editorial contributions by Stacey Lastoe.