Berries and Cream Recipe (with Yogurt!)

Make this easy dessert with just a few ingredients for a perfect ending to dinner or summer holiday parties. Macerate the berries in sugar (or Gran Marnier), whip up the cream-yogurt combination, and you’re all done.

You can even make this dessert up to 4 hours ahead. Just cover the glasses with plastic and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve them.

Jump to Recipe

Want to make this recipe perfectly the first time? I want to help with that. So, check out this Table of Contents to see which sections of this post will help you the most.

Summer desserts that put berries in a starring role are always popular. They’re perfect in a crumble or crisp, like this Strawberry and Blueberry Crumble and these Mini Strawberry Rhubarb Crisps. Or keep it simple with a Skinny Yogurt Cheesecake Dip and serve it with strawberries.

This Berries and Cream dessert is another winner I modified from a recipe I saw in the New York Times Cooking app. I made it for a very fun dinner party we recently went to and it was a solid hit. It’s easy to make with very few ingredients, and combining yogurt with whipped cream makes it healthier and results in a fantastic flavor.

If you keep vanilla bean paste on hand, this would be an excellent way to use it: Substitute an equal amount of vanilla bean paste for the extract. But for the best appearance, wait until just before serving to add the final layer of berries on top.

❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe

• Few ingredients: You only need 5 ingredients to make this dessert.
• Minimal meal prep: If you use strawberries in the mix, you’ll need to slice them. And using a mixer to whip up the yogurt cream mixture takes only a few minutes.
• Flexible: Use Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt if that’s your preference, and use various sweeteners instead of sugar. Maple syrup, agave, and honey all work great.
• Make-ahead friendly: Make this dessert up to 4 hours ahead and keep covered in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.

📝 Instructions Overview

Below are photos of the four main steps when preparing this Berries and Cream dessert.

🎯 Why This Recipe Works

• Macerating juicy berries in sugar and/or Gran Marnier softens the fruit and creates a fruit syrup that’s added to the dish.
• Combining yogurt with whipping cream punches up the cream for a unique fantastic flavor that reminds me a something between sour cream and creme fraiche.

👩‍🍳 Tip for Success

Be sure to whip the yogurt-whipping cream mixture long enough that it creates a defined shape when scooped into each glass.

💡Ideas for Possible Variations

• Swap out the sugar in the cream for maple syrup or honey.
• Greek yogurt is fine in place of regular yogurt.
• Macerate the berries in Gran Marnier for a boozy dessert.
• Add a layer of pound cake that’s cut into cubes.

🙋‍♀️ FAQ

📇 More Berry Desserts You Might Like

Berries are the ideal dessert whether you serve them with a skinny yogurt cheesecake dip, a crumble, or crisp.