12 Recipes To Use Up The Heavy Cream Carton In Your Refrigerator Door

If you’ve got heavy cream, powdered sugar, and a little vanilla extract in the pantry, you can make homemade whipped cream in, like, a few minutes. Brown Eyed Baker’s recipe increments are easy to adjust depending on how much cream you’re working with (love), and now is the season to plop a big dollop of whipped cream on top of summer strawberries for dessert.

Alternative idea: Use that last cup of heavy whipping cream to make a salted caramel sauce for your morning lattes and evening ice cream sundaes this week. A Cookie Named Desire walks you through every step in detail, with tips on making it thinner or thicker and how best to store it.

While we’re running through quick, easy toppings to make with heavy cream, you should know that you don’t have to go to Starbucks for a good cold foam. Budget Bytes’ recipe calls for just two tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, plus a little whole milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Shake vigorously, and voilà.

Not a caramel fan? Hot fudge it is. Follow Averie Cooks’ recipe and you’ll have homemade hot fudge sauce in just 10 minutes, with very little effort on your part. Note that you will need some ingredients that aren’t guaranteed to already be in your pantry, like light corn syrup and a few ounces of dark chocolate.

Princess Pinky Girl’s mason jar ice cream is a great way to use up the last cup of heavy cream and crush up whatever cereal, candy, or cookies you have lying around for a delicious frozen treat. Her recipe yields a simple vanilla ice cream base that will go with quite literally anything.

For a hot summer evening on the patio? Hell yes. Princess Pinky Girl’s boozy creamsicle milkshakes only take five minutes to blend together, but they deliver all the sherbet-y, vanilla goodness you want (with a kick).

Marry me chicken had a viral moment on TikTok a few years back, and if you never tried it then, you ought to now. Foodie Crush’s recipe is ready in under 30 minutes, and it’s a perfect weeknight dinner when you’re craving something hearty but only have chicken breasts thawed out.

Moving on to food, two tablespoons of heavy cream is all you need to make Averie Cooks’ perfect twice-baked sweet potatoes. It’s kind of like a personal serving of sweet potato casserole, but you don’t have to make a massive 9×13 pan or wait until Thanksgiving to enjoy it.

If you’ve been craving Indian food, you have to try Damn Delicious’ easy homemade chicken tikka masala recipe. It’ll use up your carton of heavy cream to make a delicious sauce you’ll want to pour over all the rice, naan, anything.

Need to use up that massive bag of potatoes you bought, too? Scalloped potatoes, like this version from Family Fresh Meals, can help with those and the heavy cream. They only take about 15 minutes to prep, and then you get to smell all the brie and gruyere cooking in the oven for the next hour and a half. Drool.

Want to serve an impressive meal for a date night or dinner party? Family Fresh Meals’ homemade creamed corn topped with seared sea scallops is not your typical weeknight dinner fare, and your guests never have to know you were inspired to make it because you didn’t want to waste a bit of heavy whipping cream.

Finally, my very favorite thing to make at home with heavy whipping cream that needs to be used up: fettuccine alfredo. Foodie Crush’s version takes about 25 minutes from start to finish, so it’s fast enough to get on the table on a school night or right after bedtime for a romantic dinner for two.