Table of Contents
What is cool whip?
Cool whip is a popular cream topping for many desserts. It is regarded as the imitation of whipped cream and its maker, Kraft, is branding it as ‘whipped topping’.
It has grown more popular through the years because of its creamier, sweeter taste and longer shelf life compared to other cream-based toppings. Cool whip is a favorite topping for pies, chocolate pudding, and other no bake desserts
What is cool whip made of?
If we are going to be objective about cool whip, most of its components are not healthy. It is made of the combination of water, hydrogenated oils, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame. You can find the complete breakdown of what cool whip is made of in the next section.
Cool whip ingredients
Fact, pre-2010, Cool Whip is actually labeled Kosher, which means that it is made of ‘better ingredients.’ So, down to the crucial information about Cool Whip, this famous pie topping is made of the following:
- Hydrogenated oils
- High fructose corn syrup
- Skim milk
- Light cream
- Sodium caseinate
- Artificial flavorings
- Xanthan and guar gums
- Beta carotene
- Polysorbate 60
- Sorbitan monostearate
Cool whip calories
This is another crucial information that you should know about Cool Whip: it contains 25 calories per serving. This means that it has 15 more calories compared to the real whipped cream. Other nutrition information for Cool Whip would be:
- 8% saturated fat
- 1% carbohydrate
- 2% sugar
Is cool whip gluten-free?
Based on Kraft’s disclosure statement on all of their products, yes, Cool Whip is gluten-free. Although it does not have a gluten-free certification, Kraft asserts that this product is made in exclusive facilities and is not gluten contaminated.
Is cool whip dairy-free?
Unfortunately, Cool Whip is not dairy-free. The ingredients clearly mention light cream, skim milk, and caseinate. These are all screaming dairy so if you are thinking of adding Cool Whip to your food but you are dairy sensitive, you have to think again and consider other options.
Is cool whip vegan?
The answer to this is a resounding no for many reasons. First, it has dairy contents. Second, it has hydrogenated oils and although they are plant-based, they are an underrated source of harm for animals (and this ultimately defeats everything vegan). As such, while Cool Whip is gluten-free, it is not vegan friendly.
Is cool whip keto-friendly?
This question renders both a yes and a no. The original version is definitely not keto because it has 2% sugar on it. But since Cool Whip expanded, now featuring Extra Creamy, sugar-free, Lite, and the new favorite Season’s Delight, you can now choose keto-friendly Cool Whip.
But then again, you have to remember that Cool Whip is not considered as a whole food. If you want a surer keto-friendly cool whip, you can make your own.
Is Cool Whip lactose-free?
No. Cool Whip is not lactose free. Again, because it contains ingredients such as milk, cream and caseinate, Cool Whip might pose adverse effects to lactose intolerant people. There are a lot of substitutes which you can use for Cool Whip, nonetheless.
Is cool whip bad for you?
With the existence of 12 product variants of Cool Whip, this question becomes more pressing than ever. Looking at the ingredient’s breakdown, you do not need a science degree to understand that most of them are unhealthy.
For instance, high fructose syrups and hydrogenated oils have been declared as two of the major risk factors for diabetes and early onset cardiovascular diseases. Natural and artificial flavors might also have gluten contents and well, caseinate can have an adverse reaction to people with dairy allergies and who are lactose intolerant.
Cool whip vs whipped cream
To square the difference between cool whip and whipped cream, we have to look at two aspects: the ingredients and nutrition information of the two.
First, whipped cream has more saturated fat compared to cool whip. However, cool whip contains more sugar than whipped cream. In terms of ingredients, whipped cream has more dairy ingredients out of its seven main ingredients while cool whip has ten ingredients but most of them are artificial sweeteners and harmful chemicals.
There is also a considerable difference in taste when it comes to these two. Whipped cream has a more solid creamy taste compared to cool whip.
Substitute for cool whip
Given what we have just covered about cool whip, are there substitutes for it? Fortunately, there are and here is some of the better substitutes for cool whip:
- Whipped cream fraiche
- Italian meringue
- Whipped sour cream
- Silken tofu whipped cream topping
- Coconut cream
- Cashew whipped cream
- Matcha whipped cream
Is Kraft cool whip gluten-free?
As have been previously mentioned, all Kraft products are regarded as gluten-free because of their disclosure statement as well as their ingredients label. However, because they do not have an official seal which certifies that Kraft cool whip is gluten-free, you still must take it with caution and in moderation.
Can I use cool whip for a gluten-free rice pudding?
Although whipped cream will always be a tad thicker than cool whip, the latter could still be used as a substitute. However, you have to add more volume of cool whip to your rice pudding for it to reach that desired creaminess in it. At the downside, this also makes the rice pudding more sugar packed.
Is Walmart’s cool whip gluten-free?
Walmart’s version of cool whip would be Great Value cream topping. Like Kraft, its claim is that it is gluten-free.
However, like Kraft too, it does not have any seal that will certify that it is indeed gluten-free. Other than this, there are also worries about cross contamination due to shared facilities.
How to make homemade dairy-free cool whip
If you ever find yourself in bad footing with a commercialized cool whip because of what you learned here, you can always turn to homemade cool whip. In this section, we will give you a dairy-free cool whip recipe from Go Dairy Free that you can make in a few minutes.
Ingredients:
- 1 can coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Thickener (this is optional)
Instructions:
- Chill your whisk and bowl in the fridge for at least 30mins.
- Never shake the coconut cream. When you open it and you do not find a scoopable cream on top, you will have to refrigerate it overnight.
- Pour ¾ of the coconut cream in the chilled whisk and bowl and beat it for a minute or until creamy and fluffy in consistency.
- Add sifted powdered sugar and the vanilla extract. Whisk slowly for the flavors to be incorporated in the mixture.
- If the product is watery or gooey, you have to add a thickener. Whisk it again for a few minutes until the thickener is fully incorporated in the mixture.
- Cover the mixture. Make sure that everything is airtight.
- Place the covered mixture in the fridge and let it sit there for at least three days. The cream will thicken with the cold temperature.
For other dairy-free and gluten-free homemade cream topping, you can find notable recipes from Yummly. There are also a whole lot of homemade vegan whipped cream recipes which you can follow in the net so just explore and be inventive.
Conclusion
Purpose-wise, cool whip has really lived up to its posturing as a more affordable substitute to whipped cream. However, there are a lot of issues surrounding its nutritional value due to the ingredients that it is made of.
Other than this, while it is gluten-free, it could pose a lot of restrictions to people with dairy allergies, celiac disease and who are lactose intolerant. It is not also a recommended vegan food. With all of these, one thing is reverberating: cool whip can be consumed but always in moderation and with extreme caution.
You might want to check these out!
- Is Couscous Gluten-free?
- Is Worcestershire Sauce Gluten-free?
- Is Jell-O Gluten-free?
- Is Whey Gluten-free?
- Is Peanut Butter Gluten-free?
Easy 10-Minute Dairy-free Cool Whip Recipe
If you ever find yourself in bad footing with a commercialized cool whip because of what you learned here, you can always turn to homemade cool whip. In this section, we will give you a dairy-free cool whip recipe from Go Dairy Free that you can make in a few minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 can coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tbsp Powdered sugar
- 1/2 tbsp Vanilla extract
- Thickener (this is optional)
Instructions
- Chill your whisk and bowl in the fridge for at least 30mins.
- Never shake the coconut cream. When you open it and you do not find a scoopable cream on top, you will have to refrigerate it overnight.
- Pour ¾ of the coconut cream in the chilled whisk and bowl and beat it for a minute or until creamy and fluffy in consistency.
- Add sifted powdered sugar and the vanilla extract. Whisk slowly for the flavors to be incorporated in the mixture.
- If the product is watery or gooey, you have to add a thickener. Whisk it again for a few minutes until the thickener is fully incorporated in the mixture.
- Cover the mixture. Make sure that everything is airtight.
- Place the covered mixture in the fridge and let it sit there for at least three days. The cream will thicken with the cold temperature.
