Somewhere in 2019 (right before Covid), I saw whipped feta on a menu. I don’t remember what restaurant or even where I was eating but the idea of whipping feta just sounded amazing. At the time, I was struggling with the concept of getting that hard, block of cheese into a whipped consistency but I ordered it and my world changed forever (Didn’t mean to be so dramatic!). It was phenomenal…light and fluffy and served with toasted bread, veggies and olives; this was a whole new taste experience.
First, to be clear, I love feta cheese to begin with. But the idea of changing it’s consistency into more of a spread was just genius. So I sought out ways to make it (recipes are everywhere) and kept playing with it until I got a light and fluffy whipped feta that I now serve all the time. The thing I realized was that I loved that texture and knew I could probably get it with all kinds of foods. I started whipping everything from Ricotta cheese to butter. This had me playing with my blender, food processor and hand mixer a lot more. Each of those kitchen tools were used over and over. This project just had me using them non-stop. I’ve listed my favorite pieces of equipment at the bottom of the post. I was whipping up all kinds of things and by changing the texture, I was able to use foods in a whole bunch of new ways. All of a sudden a traditional mashed sweet potato had new possibilities. When whipped with some cream and butter, it gets lighter and fluffier and just sits on your tongue differently. It’s not mashed and there are no lumps. Now, I’m planning on using whipped sweet potatoes as a spread on my leftover, Thanksgiving turkey sandwich! All these new options and ideas started popping. Whipped ricotta spread on toast with a drizzle of lemon honey and a pinch of pepper flakes was rocking my world. Regular avocado toast? I don’t think so. My avocado was now whipped with all kinds of flavorings and had the consistency of mousse. One of my morning favorites is topping real thin whole wheat crackers with whipped avocado and everything bagel seasoning. Who needs the bagel when you can have this?
I’ve now whipped up fruit in a blender to get instant sorbet or the frozen base to a cocktail. I can whip up Hollandaise sauce in my blender in a pinch. Did you know you could whip coconut milk and get coconut whipped cream? This is a game changer for you coconut lovers.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, whipped garlic has taken my taste buds to a whole new level of ecstasy! I use to think roasting garlic and using it as a paste was absolutely amazing (It still is, will always be, and now I want some!!!) but whipping it is another whole thing completely. That recipe deserves a post of it’s own so check out the recipe and details HERE.
And while I’m at it, I looove me some whipped cream. I could eat a bowl of that as my dessert (Cake not needed.). However, since I was on this whole “whip trip”, I started playing with different flavors of traditional whipped cream and just hit on a ton of great flavors that have upped my dessert game. So, without further ado, here are 7 of the best savory and sweet whip recipes. See how I used them in different dishes and look for more as I continue to build on my whipped collection.
WHIPPED ROASTED SWEET POTATOES
I told you, I love roasted garlic and here is a good place to use it. This will definitely be making it to the holiday table this year.
BASIC WHIPPED CREAM (plus BONUS recipes for raspberry & chocolate)
This recipe isn’t rocket science. Follow a couple of basic rules of thumb and you are good to go.
Keep the bowl and the beaters from your hand mixer in the fridge for at least 30-minutes to get real cold.
Be sure your cream is really cold.
That’s it. Do those two things and you are going to get light and fluffy whipped cream every time.
INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp. Confectioner’s sugar, granular sugar or sugar substitute
1 Cup of heavy whipping cream (yes, that is the same as plain ‘ole whipping cream)
INSTRUCTIONS
Put the sugar and cream in the chilled bowl and using a hand mixer, beat until you get still peaks. Use right away or store in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. Just rewhip for about 20 seconds before serving if you have stored it.
Confectioner’s sugar will blend the best but regular sugar works fine. And for those cutting back on sugar, Swerve or Lankato sugar substitute work just fine in this too.
Raspberry Whipped Cream
To turn it into raspberry cream, just add ½ teaspoon of raspberry extract or oil to the mix and whip it up. If it is not pink enough for your liking, add a drop of red food color to give it brightness. When I first made this, I had a hard time finding raspberry extract. I got mine at Amazon and it is called LorAnn Raspberry and it has a great raspberry flavor. I also used it to make Raspberry Marshmallows.
Chocolate Whipped Cream
To turn your basic whipped cream into chocolate whipped cream, just add 2 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to the mix.
And there you have it, three ways to make whipped cream and it is simple, easy and fun.
Whipped ricotta goes both sweet and savory in my house. I’ll whip up a couple of cups and add swerve sugar substitute and keep it in the refrigerator for easy breakfasts. A drizzle of honey, some lemon zest and a few chili flakes and WOW I love breakfast! Add a little salt, pepper and garlic powder and you can add it to cooked pasta or smear it on garlic bread!
Ok, so for you coconut lovers (you know who you are), this is going to rock your world. Whipping coconut milk into whipped cream is not only possible but highly recommended. A couple of simple tips will get you light and fluffy coconut whipped cream in minutes.
I love Greek food and I love Feta cheese. This debuted last Thanksgiving and has remained in regular rotation all year. Check out how I used it with a cucumber salsa. There is no going back after you whip feta and serve it as a dip. Fabulous!
WHIPPED HERB BUTTER
I’d hardly call this a recipe but one of my favorite things to do is “doctor up” butter. You can add all kinds of things to butter and get fabulous results. Whip it and all of a sudden it is light and airy and comes with a lot less guilt!!! Once whipped and at room temperature, you can forget about tearing your bread when buttering it and you’ll have a lot more control over how much you use.
For my whipped herb butter, just mix one stick of unsalted butter with 2 Tbsp. of mixed, chopped herbs and 1/4 Tsp. of salt. I like soft herbs in this so any mix of thyme, basil, oregano or parsley work. If you want to add rosemary, just be sure to chop it very fine so you don’t have any hard pieces in your butter. There you have it…easy, fast and such a nice boost to regular butter.
I love avocado toast…such a great way to start my morning. You can top it with anything from cheese to eggs and get a really healthy start. So, when I whipped up my really ripe avocado and got this mouse like consistency, I thought I died and went to heaven. It makes the perfect spread on sandwiches, wraps and toast. I’ve made some great appetizers using this as a base. I recently topped it with fresh crab, lemon juice and lemon zest and I was a very happy camper. Take a look at that recipe and then decide what you are going to use your whipped avocado for. Did I mention, it makes a great salad dressing when mixed with a little vinegar and seasonings? Awesome!
And there you have it; seven great whipped recipes plus a couple of bonus ideas to keep you whipping all year long. If you decide to start “whipping”, I used three different tools to make my whips and all three have different purposes in my kitchen. I can’t imagine cooking without any of them. My “work horse” for just about everything from mixing, whipping, chopping, shredding and slicing is my KitchenAid food processor. I’ve had mine for over 20 years. It is an investment but that thing does everything. It’s high quality and it will last for ever. It also has all these great attachments that do other things like spiralize and make pasta. I just got the pasta attachments and can’t wait to get started using those. (You will definitely see future posts on pasta making.) My only regret is that because I bought mine so long ago, it is basic white. I don’t remember having any of the amazing choices you have today. Now you can get tons of different colors and really make a statement (I’ve had my eye on the royal blue one and the copper one for years.) I’ve also seen smaller versions if you have limited space in the kitchen. One note, I had tried Cuisinart stand mixers and I had no luck. I broke two of them trying to make pizza dough. I switched to KitchenAid and haven’t looked back. If you are ready to make the investment, check them out here: KitchenAid Stand Mixers.
The second mixer that I have in the house is my hand mixer. These are really inexpensive but so great for whipping up the butter, whipped cream or avocado mousse. You can grab one for under $25 at Target or at Amazon.
The last item that I have in my kitchen that is used for whipping and the one I probably use the most when cooking for two is my blender. This was a gift from my brother and I can’t believe how much use I get out of it. I hadn’t had a blender in years and when this showed up, all of a sudden, I had a million reasons to use it. It has enough power to do a lot of what my KitchenAid mixer does, put it is smaller, lighter and gives me the ability to pour. So, If I’m whipping up drinks, dressings, dips and marinades, this is my go to tool. I use it for smoothies and whipping up waffle and pancake batter too. My gift was a Ninja so I’d recommend that too. Hopefully, that gives you all the information you need to get whipping! Be sure to drop me a line if you try any of the recipes or recommended products.