Skip to Content

5 Minute Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake Dream

Okay, sometimes you just hit that wall, right? You need something incredibly decadent, something that screams indulgence, but you absolutely cannot turn on the oven or wait forever for dessert to chill. That’s exactly when my ultimate craving hits—for creamy, tangy cheesecake and sweet, bright strawberries all at once.

Seriously, the first time I mixed this up, it was purely an accident. I had leftover strawberries and a block of cream cheese staring me down. I threw everything meant for a regular milkshake into the blender, added the cheese, and WOW. What emerged was the Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake. It’s rich beyond belief, unbelievably easy, and ready for drinking in under five minutes. Trust me, this creamy, dreamy blend is about to become your new favorite way to satisfy that sweet tooth without any fuss!

Why This Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake Recipe Works

There’s no complicated baking involved here, which is half the joy! This recipe is designed for instant gratification. Why wouldn’t you want this combination? It’s simply the best way to get that cheesecake flavor!

  • It’s ridiculously fast—seriously, five minutes from fridge to glass.
  • The texture is spot-on: thick, cold, and creamy, just like a proper milkshake.
  • It perfectly balances the tartness of the strawberries with the richness of the cream cheese.
  • For more quick, creamy fixes, you should definitely check out my recipe for the peach cobbler milkshake!

Essential Ingredients for the Perfect Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake

When you’re making something this decadent, you can’t just throw random stuff in there! The list is short, but every ingredient needs to pull its weight. Remember, we’re going for richness here, not watery sugar water.

You absolutely must start with good quality vanilla ice cream—about two heaping cups. Make sure your cream cheese is truly softened; pulling it out of the fridge 15 minutes beforehand helps tremendously. Here is exactly what you need:

  • 2 cups vanilla ice cream (I keep mine slightly soft, not rock hard!)
  • 1/2 cup milk (Whole milk gives you the best body, by the way)
  • 1/2 cup fresh or even those great frozen strawberries
  • 2 oz cream cheese, softened completely
  • 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (These are crucial for the crust flavor!)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (Use the real stuff, please!)

Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake

This guide is so simple, anyone can do it, even if your blender isn’t the strongest on the market. Just follow my lead, and you’ll have liquid gold in your glass before you know it. If you’re looking for another fast, sweet treat, you might enjoy my recipe for the killer strawberry shortcake frappuccino copycat!

Combining the Base Ingredients for the Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake

For the smoothest blend, I always load my blender strategically. Pour in your milk first—the liquids always go down first to help everything move. Next, drop in your softened cream cheese, the sugar, the vanilla extract, and those lovely strawberries. Finally, top it all off with the two cups of vanilla ice cream. We save the crust until the very end, I promise!

Now, turn it on! Blend this mixture until it’s completely smooth and creamy. You want zero lumps of cream cheese left hiding anywhere. It should look unified and gorgeous.

A tall glass filled with a thick, pink Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake, showing condensation on the glass.

Achieving the Right Texture in Your Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake

This is where we tweak things. If your blender is struggling to mix, that means it’s too thick. Just pour in another splash—maybe a tablespoon or two—of extra milk until it spins freely. You want it thick, but not cement! Don’t forget that the quality of your ice cream really makes a difference here.

Once the base is perfect and smooth, it’s time for the crust flavor! Add those graham cracker crumbs, but here’s the trick: just pulse the blender a couple of times. Don’t blend it normally! We want those little bits textured, not completely pulverized into dust. That bit of texture is what makes you think you’re eating a slice of actual cheesecake!

Tips for the Ultimate Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake Experience

Even though this milkshake is super easy, taking just a couple of extra seconds on the prep makes all the difference between a good shake and an absolutely spectacular one. I’ve learned a few things over the years making this, and I want to make sure your experience is top-tier. For more ways to integrate summer fruits into your desserts, you have to check out this irresistible strawberry shortcake recipe.

Ingredient Quality Matters for a Great Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake

Seriously, don’t skimp on the cream cheese here! I only use full-fat cream cheese. If you try to use fat-free or light cream cheese, the texture just gets sad and watery, and we aren’t here for sad textures, are we? It needs that fat to give our shake that signature, dense, velvety mouthfeel.

And my big secret? The vanilla extract. You can use the imitation stuff if you absolutely must, but if you have any good, pure vanilla extract lying around, use that instead. That little bit of real depth makes the strawberry flavor really pop against the creamy background.

Troubleshooting Thickness in Your Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake

I know I mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating because it happens to everyone once in a while! If your shake comes out too thick—maybe your ice cream was harder than mine, or maybe you went a little heavy on the strawberries—don’t panic. Just add a tablespoon of milk, blend it once, and test it again. Stop adding milk as soon as it will spin freely on its own.

Now, the opposite problem: too thin? This usually happens if you used fresh, room-temperature strawberries instead of frozen ones. If that’s the case, just toss in one or two more scoops of ice cream. If you are out of ice cream, you can always add four or five ice cubes, but be warned: ice can sometimes dilute that intense flavor we worked so hard to build up!

Variations on the Classic Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake

While I truly believe my basic recipe is the pinnacle of easy indulgence, I’m all for tinkering once you’ve mastered the base technique! When you start making this Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake regularly, you’ll want to switch things up just to keep it interesting.

The best part about this recipe is how easily it adapts to different textures and little bursts of flavor. You can totally switch out the ‘crust’ element if you’re feeling adventurous. It’s just as wonderful if you swap those graham cracker crumbs for finely crushed vanilla wafer cookies. Wow, that adds a totally different aromatic note!

If you’re looking for something extra special, try adding just a tiny bit of brightness to cut through all that creamy richness. Don’t go overboard, but a tiny squeeze—maybe about a teaspoon—of fresh lemon juice into the blender when you add the strawberries changes the whole game. It really wakes up the strawberry flavor and makes it taste even more like real cheesecake filling.

And hey, if you’re obsessed with autumn flavors but still want that tangy cheesecake base, you can pivot this completely! I’ve seen people swap the strawberries for cooked, seasoned apples and use a cinnamon cookie crumb instead of graham crackers. For a dessert that’s completely cheesecake but uses different fruit, take a peek at how they do it in this irresistible apple crisp cheesecake recipe. It gives you ideas for future adjustments!

Remember, the base framework is perfect, so any little change you make is just adding your own signature touch to my discovery. Have fun with it!

Serving Suggestions for Your Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake

Okay, we did the hard work—the blending, the tasting, the fighting off family members who wanted a sip! Now, you have to serve it right, because presentation is everything, even if it’s just for us on the couch.

Listen, this Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake absolutely has to be served right away! I mean it. The moment those graham cracker crumbs hit the chilled mixture, they start softening up, and the ice cream definitely doesn’t wait for anyone. If you leave it sitting for five minutes, you’re going to end up with a soupier texture than you bargained for, and we need that perfect, thick chill factor.

Close-up of a tall glass filled with a thick, pink Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake topped with graham cracker crumbs.

For the full cafe experience right in your kitchen, you need toppings. You just do! I always keep a can of whipped cream handy because it adds a beautiful visual contrast. Top that swirl of white cream with one perfect slice of fresh strawberry right on the edge of the glass. That little bit of red tells everyone exactly what delicious thing they are about to enjoy.

Close-up of a thick, pink Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake with a graham cracker rim.

If you’re feeling extra fancy, you can crush up just a few more graham crackers and sprinkle them lightly over the whipped cream right before serving. It mimics that crumble on top of a baked cheesecake, and it looks fantastic.

As for pairing this dreamy drink? Honestly, it’s a meal in itself! But if you absolutely have to serve something alongside it, keep it very light. A small, unsalted pretzel stick works great for dipping and gives you that salty-sweet crunch everyone loves. If you are looking for a dessert that’s slightly less intense but still hits that strawberry cheesecake note, you have to look at this amazing irresistible strawberry cheesecake recipe for a baked option later!

But for the milkshake? Serve it tall, serve it immediately, and enjoy every single glorious, thick sip!

Storage and Reheating Instructions for Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake

Alright, let’s talk storage, and I need to be perfectly honest with you here. This is a rule I live by when making any kind of fabulous, thick, blended drink like our Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake: it simply cannot wait for leftovers!

If you manage to have any leftover—which I highly doubt, because who can stop after one glass?—you need to consume it basically right then and there. Milkshakes are temperamental things. The cold starts to melt, the texture changes immediately, and those delicious graham cracker crumbs you pulsed in become soggy almost instantly. That’s just the sad reality of dairy and blending!

If you are making a double batch and you know you won’t drink it all in five minutes, here’s my best, albeit temporary, advice. Quickly transfer any excess mixture into a sealed container—a small Mason jar works great—and pop it straight into the absolute coldest part of your freezer. Don’t leave it on the counter! I mean it!

Now, about reheating? Forget about it! You absolutely cannot reheat this. Reheating this would just melt the ice cream and leave you with a strange, warm, strawberry-flavored, slightly cheesy milk puddle. Trust me, that’s not the experience we want. If it has been frozen for a little while and is now basically a solid block of strawberry stuff, the only way to ‘save’ it is to thaw it on the counter for about 15 minutes until it softens slightly, then put it *back* in the blender with a fresh splash of milk to get it moving again. But honestly, for the best flavor and that perfect frosty texture, you should always aim to make exactly what you plan to drink fresh!

Frequently Asked Questions About the Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake

I get tons of questions about this recipe once people try it—which is weirdly wonderful! It seems like once you taste this perfect Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake, you immediately want to experiment. Here are some of the things I hear most often in the comments. Don’t forget, if you’re itching for more cheesecake goodness without the blending, I have a whole irresistible cheesecake recipe you can dive into!

Can I use different types of ice cream in the Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake?

You certainly can, but everything changes a bit! If you swap the suggested vanilla for strawberry ice cream, you’ll get a much more intense strawberry punch, but you lose that creamy contrast provided by the vanilla. If you use a cheesecake-flavored ice cream, you risk overdoing the tanginess unless you really cut back on the cream cheese. My favorite tip? Stick to vanilla. It lets the fresh fruit and the cream cheese really shine through as the stars of the show.

How do I make this Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake dairy-free?

Yes! This is totally doable, although I will warn you, the texture won’t be *exactly* the same because the richness of dairy fat is hard to replicate. For a fully dairy-free version, swap the regular milk for unsweetened almond or oat milk. Then, use a high-quality, full-fat vegan cream cheese substitute—the texture of that substitute is key! Finally, use your favorite plant-based vanilla ice cream. It works beautifully!

Just remember to blend a little longer if you are using a frozen dairy-free alternative base, as they sometimes freeze harder than traditional ice cream.

Nutritional Estimates for Your Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake

Now, I know when we’re talking about things loaded with ice cream and cream cheese, we aren’t exactly aiming for a health food here! But sometimes, it’s nice (and responsible!) to have a general idea of what we are sipping on. I ran these ingredients through a few standard calculators so you can have a rough estimate.

Remember this is strictly my best guess based on standard measurements because what kind of strawberries you use or the exact brand of ice cream can shift things around! Think of this as a fun guideline, not a strict diet plan. If you’re looking for science-backed recipes designed for gains, you might want to check out this chocolate strawberry protein smoothie instead!

These numbers are calculated for one serving, assuming you split the recipe exactly in half (Yield: 2 servings):

  • Calories: Roughly 450 per serving
  • Sugar: About 55g (That cream cheese cake craving is real!)
  • Fat: Around 22g total
  • Protein: Around 9g
  • Carbohydrates: 60g

It’s definitely a splurge. The fat content is mostly from the full-fat cream cheese and butterfat in the ice cream, and wow, is it worth it for that texture! Just promise me you’ll enjoy every last drop because this indulgence is earned after a long week!

Share Your Perfect Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake Creation

Well, that’s it! We’ve blended, we’ve dreamed, and you now have the secret to the easiest, most decadent Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake known to humankind. I truly hope you loved making this just as much as I love sharing it with you.

Now, it’s your turn to be the star of the kitchen! I really, really want to know how it turned out for you. Did you use fresh strawberries or frozen? Did you sneak an extra sprinkle of graham cracker dust on top? Tell me everything!

If you tried out this little trick and it instantly became your new go-to Friday night treat, please leave a rating for me below. Five stars, if you felt transported straight to a cheesecake factory! Your feedback helps me know if I need to write more quick desserts like this one.

And if you ended up doing something totally wild—maybe you added a tiny swirl of lemon curd or used vanilla wafer crumbs instead of the graham crackers—please drop that modification in the comments too. I love seeing how you all take these core recipes and make them your own signature style. It’s so much fun to watch our little cooking community grow and share ideas!

If you’re curious about what else is happening behind the scenes here on the blog, you can always peek at our About Page for the whole story on why I spend so much time dreaming up these quick, amazing treats for you!

Happy blending, and I can’t wait to read your reviews!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
A tall glass filled with a thick, pink Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake, showing condensation on the outside.

Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake


  • Author: recipebychefs.com
  • Total Time: 5 min
  • Yield: 2 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

A rich and creamy milkshake blending the flavors of fresh strawberries and cheesecake.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups vanilla ice cream
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
  • 2 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Combine ice cream, milk, strawberries, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract in a blender.
  2. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add more milk if the mixture is too thick.
  3. Pulse in the graham cracker crumbs briefly to mix them slightly, leaving some texture.
  4. Pour the milkshake into glasses.
  5. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • For a thicker shake, use less milk or add a few more scoops of ice cream.
  • Garnish with whipped cream and a strawberry slice if desired.
  • Use frozen strawberries for a colder, thicker result without adding ice.
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 0 min
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Blending
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 450
  • Sugar: 55g
  • Sodium: 150mg
  • Fat: 22g
  • Saturated Fat: 14g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 8g
  • Trans Fat: 0.5g
  • Carbohydrates: 60g
  • Fiber: 2g
  • Protein: 9g
  • Cholesterol: 65mg

Keywords: strawberry, cheesecake, milkshake, dessert, ice cream, sweet drink

Recipe rating