This 4-ingredient Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting is pipeable, spreadable, and just plain perfect! Use it for vegan carrot cake, red velvet, cupcakes, and more.
This is the best vegan cake frosting for my Vegan Carrot Cake and my Vegan Lemon Cake. You can even pipe it onto my Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes!
Some cakes call out for cream cheese frosting, am I right? I’ve tried making it the same way you’d make a typical cream cheese frosting, but it would always be too runny and slippery. One time, I even frosted a double-layer carrot cake for Easter, and the top layer slipped off and broke right before serving! 😣
But my Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting? I tested the recipe many, many times until it was thick, spreadable, and perfect for layer cakes. Making it is a little different from other frostings (like this Vegan Buttercream Frosting), but I promise the tiny bit of extra effort is totally worth it for this tangy, sweet, pipeable frosting.
My Vegan Carrot Cake and my Vegan Red Velvet Cake just wouldn’t be the same without this frosting. No slipping included!
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“LOVED this icing! Used it on the carrot cake and got so many compliments from everyone, including non-vegans.” – Dorea
Why this is the best vegan cream cheese frosting
- Pipe it or spread it – I tested this recipe until I had a thick and creamy frosting I could spread between layer cakes or pipe onto cupcakes. It’s seriously the best!
- Sweet and tangy – I love the subtle pop of tang in cream cheese frosting. It gives classic desserts, like cakes, cupcakes, and even my Vegan Cinnamon Rolls, a little something extra special.
- 4 ingredients – All you need is vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar.
How to make vegan cream cheese frosting
Find the complete printable recipe with measurements below in the recipe card.
Add the softened vegan butter to a large mixing bowl and beat with a handheld mixer until creamy and smooth.
Drain any liquid from the cream cheese container, then add it to the bowl. Beat the butter and cream cheese together for 1 minute.
Next, mix in the vanilla, then gradually add and beat in the powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) until the frosting is stiff and spreadable.
The frosting will be ready to spread on a cake by this point! You can also keep it covered in the fridge until it’s time to use it or if you need it to thicken.
For pipeable frosting…
It’s always a good idea to keep the vegan cream cheese frosting in the fridge until you’re ready to transfer it to a piping bag. This will help it thicken up really nicely. If it’s still not quite stiff enough, freeze it in 15-minute increments, stirring in between, until it’s at your desired consistency.
Helpful Tips
- To only slightly soften the vegan butter and cream cheese, take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before making the recipe.
- Cold frosting = thick, spreadable frosting. Keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it, and after spreading it/piping it onto cakes and cupcakes.
- Make sure your cake layers are completely cool before you add the frosting!
- Cakes frosted with cream cheese frosting should be refrigerated until it’s time to slice and serve. Most of the vegan cream cheese is made with coconut oil, which isn’t very stable at room temperature. You don’t want the top cake layer to slip off (trust me, I’ve been there!).
Frequently asked questions
I’ve had the most consistent results with Tofutti Vegan Cream Cheese. Some commenters also had good results with Kite Hill, Violife, Nuts for You, and Philadelphia Plant Based Cream Cheese. Honestly, there are so many brands of vegan cream cheese out there these days that I can barely keep up!
The only brand I wouldn’t recommend using is Daiya because I think it leaves an odd aftertaste.
I do not recommend using homemade cream cheese, like my Vegan Cream Cheese or my Tofu Cream Cheese. They’re usually too thin and won’t give the frosting the same thick consistency we need. You can use it if needed, but it won’t be quite the same.
The frosting is quite sensitive to heat, which can cause a freshly made batch or one that’s been sitting in a warm kitchen to become soft and runny. The best way to fix this is by placing the bowl of frosting in the freezer for 15 minutes. After, give it a stir and either use it or place it back in the freezer for 15 more minutes.
Yes, you can make the frosting 1 to 2 days ahead. Keep it covered in the fridge and take it out 20 minutes before you need to use it.
This recipe makes a lot of frosting, so you’ll likely end up with extras! Luckily, it will stay fresh for about 1 week in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw the frozen frosting in the fridge overnight, then re-whip it before using.
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, slightly softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces vegan cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar, more if needed
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the slightly softened vegan butter and beat with a hand mixer (or stand mixer) until creamy and smooth.
- Drain any extra liquid in the vegan cream cheese container, add it to the bowl and beat for 30 seconds to 1 minute to combine with the butter. Do not over beat at this point, or your frosting may be too runny.
- Beat in the vanilla to combine. With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until thick and spreadable. I used 4 cups, but you may need a little more.
- At this point, if your frosting still seems a bit too soft and runny for spreading, stick the bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes. Take it out, stir, and put it back in the freezer for another 15 minutes if needed, until a thick consistency is reached. If planning to pipe onto cupcakes, place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to thicken up.
- Frost your cake or cupcakes or use anywhere else you like. Enjoy!
Notes
- I recommend using sticks of vegan butter, not the tub. Make sure the butter is not close to melty, or the frosting won’t work. Just slightly softened is what we’re going for here.
- This recipe makes enough for about 12-18 cupcakes or a double 8 or 9-inch layer cake.
- Freeze the leftover frosting, then let it thaw before using.
Just wondering, is the vegan cream cheese used to make this, is it the 5-minute vegan cream cheese or the tofu cream cheese? I don’t really want to use an overly processed store-bought vegan cream cheese and also was reading the tips from the other homemade ones that mentioned this recipe. Would really be interested in knowing which one would be the better tasting? Thanks.
I do prefer store bought vegan cream cheese for the frosting, but if you want to use a homemade version, I would go with the Tofu Cream Cheese Recipe. You could try the other recipe, but I think the tofu one will come out better in a frosting recipe. Thank you!
Easy and spectacularly good. Love this on top of Nora’s recipe for chocolate cake, all decorated with berries. Adding a little lactic acid powder slightly amplifies the irresistible tang, but honestly, the frosting is already perfect without that
Recipe seemed good. One issue I had which could potentially be a UK thing is that I completely forgot we have to sift powdered sugar (icing sugar). My frosting therefore ended up with lumps because I didn’t do this and the recipe didn’t remind me. Maybe in the USA powdered sugar doesn’t require sifting?
I dropped a review on the 1 Bowl Vegan Carrot Cake recipe and decided this one should have its own too.
I was most nervous about the frosting for my cake, having never tried out and vetted any vegan cream cheese brands, but I knew it had to be a cream cheese frosting for carrot cake and to my pleasant surprise it turned out very well! I had intended to use Tofutti since I saw it was the top recommendation, but all my store had was a tub of Kite Hill made with almond milk. Kite Hill’s been kind of hit or miss with me, so I was a little worried. I used Country Crock Plant Butter made with olive oil, and also went ahead and added in 1 tsp of lime juice and 1 tsp of lime zest to make it pop since that’s how my mom always made her carrot cake frosting – it turned out AWESOME, tasted DELICIOUS and just like dairy cream cheese frosting (with a fun little limey zing!). My batch did need to be frozen more after the first time, but I suspect that was because the lime juice made it runny lol, and freezing until it firmed up as you suggested did the trick.
Thank you again, Nora! You’re awesome! 🙂
Thanks for sharing what worked for you! I’m really glad to hear Kite Hill did indeed work, that’s not a brand I see very often near me for some reason. Love the lime juice/zest addition, I’ll have to try it! And thank goodness for the freezing trick, because sometimes it’s just necessary. 🙂
Will this work for a tiered cake?
It should, but it can be temperamental if it gets warm. For best results, keep the frosted cake chilled before serving.
I made this it came out great . I did make my own powdered sugar with the vitamix and mine ended up slightly grainy . Which honestly doesn’t bother me 😝 some recipes even use granulated sugar in the cream cheese frosting . Good texture though it piped well
Thanks for your awesome feedback and review, Casey! I’m glad you loved the frosting!