Chai Cream Cheese Frosting with Greek Yogurt & Honey

Healthy homemade chai cream cheese frosting is the perfect addition to cakes, cupcakes, and cinnamon rolls! Made with cream cheese, Greek yogurt, a little butter, honey, vanilla, and chai spices. It is easy to make and way lower in sugar than your average buttercream frosting. If you’re looking for a healthier alternative that is lightly sweetened, this is your recipe!

Chai Cream Cheese Frosting with Greek Yogurt & Honey

Cream cheese frosting is my favorite type of frosting, and now it’s even more delicious with chai spices!

Pair that with honey as the sweetener and added Greek yogurt and you’re left with the most delicious, sweet, and tangy cream cheese frosting.

I love taking traditional recipes (like frosting) and putting my own twist on them. Today we’re making a lower-sugar option that is still just as delicious!

You may not think that a little honey can perfectly sweeten this creamy frosting, but it works wonderfully. The chai spices that are added were inspired by my honey-sweetened chai spice hot cocoa. 

The warming spices add that special something that really makes this frosting unique.

Why you’ll love this chai frosting recipe

All the chai flavor – Chai tea lovers will be just as obsessed with this frosting as I am. It has the perfect balance of spice while not being overpowering. I highly suggest pairing your chai frosting-covered dessert with a chai tea latte and enjoying all the flavors together!

Low sugar – Unlike most traditional frosting and buttercream recipes that call for tons of powdered sugar, we are only using a little honey to sweeten this frosting. Honey is a natural sweetener that blends beautifully into frosting and gives it the perfect touch of sweetness.

Better ingredients – We’re using a very small amount of butter with the cream cheese, and then adding Greek yogurt + honey into the frosting mix for a creamy and delicious frosting made with better ingredients! It’s tangy, slightly sweet and has that wonderful unique flavor from the chai spice.

What you need for cream cheese chai frosting

Scroll down to view the full recipe card below for the full ingredients list, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions.

• full fat cream cheese
• plain greek yogurt
• unsalted butter 
• honey
• vanilla extract
• cinnamon
• cardamom
• allspice
• clove
• ginger

How to make perfect chai spice frosting

Step 1: To make the frosting, add the cream cheese, yogurt, room temperature butter, honey, vanilla, and all the spices to the bowl of a stand mixer. 

Step 2: Using a whisk attachment, turn the mixer on at medium speed to begin mixing the cream cheese mixture. After 1 minute, increase the speed to medium-high and continue to mix for 5-8 minutes or until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed.

Step 3: To frost cupcakes, add the frosting to a piping bag. To frost a cake, spread the frosting on the top of the cake and sides of the cake using a knife or spatula. Top with a star anise or cinnamon stick and serve with black tea or a chai latte!

Note – You can also use a paddle attachment instead of a whisk attachment. A hand mixer will work as well!

Watch me make cupcakes topped with chai cream cheese frosting

The full how to video can be watched below, or on my YouTube channel!

Uses for this chai frosting

I originally developed this frosting to accompany my gingerbread cupcakes, and it did not disappoint! The combination is absolute perfection.

​Don’t let yourself be limited to just that pairing though, it goes well with lots of different cake recipes!.

Try it on carrot cake, sweet potato sheet cake, pistachio cake, pumpkin cupcakes or pumpkin cake, chai spice cake, or chocolate cake.

You could also spread it over cinnamon rolls or use it in homemade matcha whoopie pies!

How to store

If you love getting ahead and prepping in advance, you’ll be happy to know that this frosting keeps well for a few days!

After your frosting is made and you have leftover frosting to store, add it to airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also cover the frosting bowl with plastic wrap for storage.

When it’s time to use the frosting for your cake layers or cupcake topping, remove the cream cheese frosting from the fridge 1-2 hours in advance to bring it to room temperature.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, re-whip the frosting to make it creamy again, or simply use it without extra whipping for a thicker frosting.

Recipe success tips 

This frosting recipe works best when you use room temperature ingredients.

Cold cream cheese does not mix as well as cream cheese that has the chill taken off.

Substitutions, optional variations & dietary adjustments

Below you’ll find a list of substitutions that will work well in this chai spice buttercream recipe. 

If you try something different out, please leave a comment below letting us all know how it turned out!

Cream cheese – Mascarpone and neufchâtel are both great alternatives for cream cheese. If you’d like to make this recipe dairy-free, follow the other suggestions and use a dairy-free cream cheese.

Plain Greek yogurt – Sour cream is a good alternative to plain Greek yogurt. Look for a full-fat sour cream since it will be thicker than light sour cream. You can also swap the Greek yogurt for extra butter to give it a more chai spice buttercream flavor. It will lose some of the tanginess but will create a more creamy result. If you’d like to make this frosting recipe dairy-free, follow the other suggestions and use a thick dairy-free Greek yogurt.

Butter – A few alternatives to butter include vegan butter, heavy cream, coconut oil, or opting to use extra Greek yogurt in place of the butter to keep this recipe butter-free just like my healthy cream cheese frosting recipe. If you’d like to make this recipe dairy-free, follow the other suggestions and also use vegan butter here.

Honey – A great substitute for the honey is maple syrup. You’ll get a delicious maple frosting taste, and it pairs really nicely with the spices added to the creamy frosting. Agave nectar will work as well!

Individual chai spices – Instead of the individual spices listed in the recipe, you can use a masala chai spice mix you’ll often find in the bulk section of grocery stores, or in the spice aisle.

More healthy frosting recipes you’ll love

• No butter cream cheese frosting
• Vegan sweet potato frosting
• 3 Ingredient chocolate frosting – dairy free

If you try this masala chai frosting recipe, I’d love it if you left a star rating and comment below letting me know how it turned out!

XO

Heather