Vegan Buttercream Frosting (Only 4 Ingredients) - Easy Vegan Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the best vegan butter substitute for frosting? ›

Two good options for this recipe would be Earth Balance sticks and Country Crock Plant Butter (my personal preference). If you have another butter that's at least 79-80% oil/fat though, it should be fine.

The two main differences between traditional and dairy-free buttercream frosting are: The dairy butter is replaced with vegan butter. The whipping cream or milk is replaced with non-dairy milk.

Most frostings contain powdered sugar, and the most common way to thicken a runny frosting is by gradually mixing in a bit more powdered sugar to offset the liquid ingredients. Only add the sugar a little at a time. Sprinkle an additional 1 to 2 Tbsp (15 to 30 ml) into the frosting and mix well.

Violife Salted Plant Butter

They really understand how to mimic the delicious qualities of cheese and butter without using dairy products. This big brick of butter is salty, creamy, and delicious. It's made with canola oil and sunflower oil, but thankfully doesn't taste like low-rent margarine.

That's right - you NEED the vegan butter to be room temperature before you start working with it. If you've ever made vegan buttercream and it's split or gone grainy, this is most likely the reason why. Get it nice and soft, then whack your vegan butter in the stand mixer and beat like crazy until smooth.

If you're not adding enough sugar, your buttercream won't be stable enough to hold its shape for long. If you're adding a little plant-based milk to thin the buttercream when frosting a cake, you might be adding too much of it, again, making it too unstable.

Your ingredients were too cold or too hot

If you use vegan butter straight from the fridge, you might end up with small lumps of it throughout your buttercream. This can also happen if you add cold (vegan) milk at the end. Similarly, adding fat or milk that is too warm can cause buttercream to curdle.

Can I use water instead of milk to make buttercream? ›

Gradually add small amounts of cream or milk or water at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Continue to beat at a medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl once more and beat again to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated.

In order to get the perfect consistency for your buttercream, a liquid ingredient may need to be added. While you can use water, we suggest using milk, heavy whipping cream or half-and-half to add extra flavor and creaminess to your frosting. Nut-based milks will also work, but may add a light flavor as well.

Betty Crocker Icing

Betty Crocker frostings are made with dairy-free ingredients, such as vegetable oil and natural sweeteners. Their vegan options include: Classic Coffee. Indulgent Chocolate Fudge.

It doesn't have butter, but the dairy free milk and vegan butter should still be refrigerated if you are storing it long-term. Personally, if I'm frosting something and I'll be using it within a day or two I don't worry about refrigerating it.

If you choose organic powdered sugar, you're safe. I have never come across an organic powdered sugar that wasn't vegan. In all my recipes, I specify when the reader should use the organic version of an ingredient to make sure that the recipe is still vegan. Powdered sugar is one of those.

Ghee. Ghee is a type of clarified butter with an aromatic and nutty taste. It contains very low amounts of casein or lactose and is thus a safer choice for people with milk allergy or lactose intolerance ( 7 ). In baked goods for which a strong, buttery flavor is desirable, it can replace butter at a 1:1 ratio.

Heavy Cream

Try thickening it with a bit of heavy whipping cream. You can add up to ¼ cup of heavy cream, depending on how much you need to thicken it. Then whip the frosting until it fluffs up. Heavy cream also works if the recipe instructs you to heat the frosting.

Coconut oil is a delicious vegan alternative to butter as it behaves similarly to butter compared to other oils. It solidifies when cool and melts at room temperature, making it very versatile. If you use unrefined coconut oil, you can expect a more distinctive taste, but refined coconut oil is basically flavourless.

It's easy to swap in coconut oil, olive oil, canola oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil for margarine. In most recipes, oil is substituted for margarine at a 3:4 ratio. This accounts for any water or other ingredients in the margarine. So, for every cup of margarine in the recipe, use 3/4 cup of oil.