Learn how to make the best vegan buttercream frosting! It pipes perfectly, needs only 4 ingredients and tastes incredible. Makes 2 1/2 cups or enough for 24 cupcakes or a 8-9 inch layer cake.
A vegan buttercream frosting for all your cupcake and cake decorating needs. Just try not to eat it all by the spoonful; it’s that good! The trick is in the technique and using a quality vegan butter.
I’ve been making a version of this frosting for years but recently perfected it. I’ll teach you everything I know!
Ways to use vegan frosting
There are endless ways to use this frosting, but here are just a few ideas:
- Sandwiched between Oatmeal Cookies or Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Spread onto Sugar Cookies
- Vanilla Cake
- Chocolate Cake
- Lemon Cupcakes
- Vanilla Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Funfetti Cupcakes
Ingredients you need
- Vegan butter – This is probably the most important part! Make sure to use a vegan butter you like the flavor of. I think Miyoko’s is best, but recently I discovered Trader Joe’s vegan butter which is equally amazing. Other brands will work, but just know whatever butter you use will determine the flavor. It needs to be softened to room temperature, NOT melted.
- Powdered sugar
- Non-dairy milk – I prefer to use a creamy milk or even vegan creamer, such as soy milk, full fat oat milk, or cashew milk.
- Vanilla extract – Use clear for a very white frosting. I usually just use pure vanilla extract.
How to make vegan buttercream
In a large bowl (I use my stand mixer with paddle attachment), beat the softened butter until smooth.
Gradually add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, mixing on low then increasing to medium speed.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add 2 tablespoons of milk and the vanilla. Beat on medium speed for about 3-4 minutes until well combined, fluffy and creamy. To prevent air bubbles, don’t beat on high speed and don’t use the whisk attachment.
Add a little more milk if needed. If the frosting seems runny, add additional powdered sugar until the desired consistency is reached.
Vegan buttercream variations
You may add vegan friendly food coloring to the frosting, or try any of the following flavor variations:
- Peppermint – Add 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract, like in this Peppermint Mocha Cake. Yum!
- Lemon – Add 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoon lemon zest, like in my Lemon Cake recipe. Or change it to orange.
- Chocolate – You can make this chocolate buttercream by adding 1/2 cup of sifted cocoa powder when you add the powdered sugar. Add additional milk as needed.
- Caramel – Add 1/2 cup of vegan caramel (or salted vegan caramel). Omit the milk, only use if needed to thin.
- Strawberry or Blueberry – Add a 1-ounce bag of freeze dried strawberries/blueberries to a blender and blend into a fine powder. Mix into the frosting. Check out my Vegan Strawberry Cake!
How to pipe frosting onto cupcakes perfectly
I used to struggle to pipe frosting into perfectly tall swirls on cupcakes, but I figured out a trick that works!
First, get out a large glass and fit your piping bag with a tip. Place the bag in the glass and fold the edges around the cup. Fill with frosting. This is the easiest way to fill a piping bag with frosting!
Place a circle of frosting in the very center of your cupcake.
Now, start on the edge and swirl frosting in a circular motion on your cupcake. You will get tall swirls that don’t sink or become uneven. Easy peasy!
How to store vegan frosting
Make ahead – You can make the frosting up to 2 days in advance and store in the refrigerator. When ready to use, bring it to room temperature and mix well before frosting.
Freeze – It can also be frozen for up to 3 months on a freezer bag or container.
More vegan frostings to love
Vegan Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, about a cup at a time, and mix starting on low speed gradually increasing to medium, until all the powdered sugar is mixed in.
- Add 2 tablespoons of milk and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until everything is well combined. Scrape the bowl as needed.
- If the frosting seems too thick, you can add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time. If the frosting is too thin and runny, simply add more powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- Pipe onto cupcakes, spread on a cake or anywhere else you'd like. Enjoy!
- You can make the frosting up to 2 days in advance. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use, then bring it to room temperature before using. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
- For the best flavor, use a vegan butter that tastes good. I prefer Miyoko’s or Trader Joe’s brand vegan butter. Melt, Earth Balance and others work as well. Use sticks or blocks if you can over the tub butter.
- For best results, use a full fat type plant milk that is creamy. Soy, cashew, coconut or oat milk are all good options.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published Dec. 2018 and has been republished with new photos and a slightly different recipe, because I learned how to perfect it!
Great recipe. For me I was able to pipe icing on 12 muffins and had some leftover. I used Becel stick plant butter and oat milk. I like extra vanilla so I added 1.5 teaspoons. Thank you for the recipe!
Sometimes my local grocery store is out of unsalted vegan butter. If I need to use salted vegan butter for this, should I cut out the salt altogether? Or just use a small amount?
Thanks!
I always use salted vegan butter, as I often can’t find unsalted so I just don’t use it. If I must, I add a little pinch of salt to recipes. 🙂 Enjoy!
Miyokos sold apparently and I bought the brand that took over that supposedly is the same. I stopped adding sugar at 4 cups. Thought I had a pretty decent consistency. But my piped flowers didn’t hold their shape. I really want to find a vegan butter that doesn’t melt at room temp that also doesn’t have an off taste. Sigh. There’s probably nothing wrong with the recipe. It’s the butter.
Hi Carolyne. I live in Australia and add a product called Solite into my icing/ vegan butter mix for flowers, etc. It is basically vegetable shortening and helps the buttercream set better. Hope that helps. 🙂
Hi Nora! If I make a cake tonight and frost it using this recipe, can it stay out overnight on the counter or does the frosted cake need to be refrigerated? Thank you!
It can stay on the counter, no need to refrigerate it. Enjoy!
I want to cover a cake with your butter cream, and then cover with fondant icing.
The recipe I am using says to cover with actual butter cream first, but I need to use a vegan recipe. Does your recipe set hard, and can I put this on a cake the day before I serve it ?
Yes, especially if you frost the cake, then place in the refrigerator for a bit. My vegan buttercream works very similar to a dairy buttercream. Hope the cake is a hit!
Came out perfectly! I used my own vegan butter from Miyoko’s cookbook. It piped so smoothly. I did not have to add any milk at all.
Hi Wren. Thank you for sharing your recipe experience and fantastic review! I’m so glad that the frosting turned out perfect for you!
It made my heart beet quicken a lot. But other wise it was really tasty!
used the neutral oil instead of vegan and what a success! this turned out absolutely delicious and so moist.
I am so glad your frosting turned out wonderful and that you loved it! Thanks for sharing your recipe experience and wonderful review! Happy cooking!
This vegan buttercream is too easy!!!! Tastes just like the real thing if you use a good vegan butter!
Hi Grace. I’m so glad you are enjoying the buttercream frosting! Thank you for sharing your terrific review and comments!
Hi! Hope this reaches you. I made this buttercream to go with the vanilla cupcakes & funfetti cupcakes (also delicious btw, even with plain flour!) and it is fabulous, until i add food colouring.
Do you think it just didn’t mix well with the food colouring or did i do something wrong? is there a certain type of food colouring to use? like is gel better than the liquid one from Tesco… I’m thinking now maybe i should have folded the colour in rather than whisked it? Any tips appreciated!
Hi Jackie! I’m so glad you thought the cupcakes and frosting were delicious. What actually happened with the food coloring I wonder? Did it make the frosting too runny? Gel is better, or at least not adding a lot of liquid food coloring, because that will thin out the frosting. I usually am just adding a few drops, not even a tablespoon of color. I use my mixer to mix the color in. If the frosting got too liquidy after adding the color, you can likely save it by adding a bit more powdered sugar and mixing until it thickens up again. Or next time, add less milk if you are using a lot of liquid color, to make up for the added liquid. I hope that helps!
Can I use this to decorate cookies? Maybe by adding more milk?
You don’t really need to add more milk, you can use it for decorating cookies if you’d like. 🙂
Hi Nora
I have a question
Can I use this recipe to cover a cake
Do you think will hold and stable for long time out of the fridge for couple of hours
Specially, for two years Cake
Yes, it is what I use for cake and cupcake frosting/decorating. It does not need to be refrigerated on cake. Thanks!
Hi! I have a question. Is the vegan butter you published useful in this recipe? Or that butter do not have the perfect flavor for this buttercream? I have never made it so I dont know. Thank you!
If you want to make my homemade vegan butter, yes it does work for buttercream frosting. But if you want to make things easier, you can just go buy some store bought vegan butter sticks. Thanks!
Hi,
I am about to use this recipe for halloween cupcakes. Is it ok to use food coloring and still maintain the thickness I need for piping ?
thank you
Yes, it should be just fine. If you are adding a lot of food coloring, perhaps use a bit less milk. But several drops will be fine.
Hi Nora! I’ve tried making this recipe twice now and my icing just melts off the cake. I make sure my butter (earth balance) is soft and not melted. I’m trying to perfect icing for my son’s bday cake in February. I am using Almond breeze almond milk, I guess that could be the problem because I’m not using a thicker milk? Thank you so much!!
Hi Lisa! Let’s see if I can help. 🙂 If the frosting is just fine until you put it on the cake and then it starts to melt, my guess is that you are trying to frost a still-warm cake. Are you absolutely sure the cake layers are completely cooled before you frost it? This is a common mistake that I used to make often myself, and it led to my cakes slipping and breaking because the frosting will melt. Almond milk is fine to use. If your frosting is actually runny while you are mixing it, try making sure the butter isn’t too soft or melty, and use less milk, or just enough until the correct consistency is achieved. You can also add more powdered sugar if it gets too thin for any reason while mixing. I hope this helps!
How many cupcakes can this recipe frost?
About 24 cupcakes, depending on how much frosting you use per cupcake of course.
I found this recipe to have an unpleasant oiliness and aftertaste, and a gritty texture. What did I do wrong? I used a combination of vegan butter sticks (half country crock and half miyoko’s) and Wholesome brand organic powdered sugar.
I think the butter you used should be fine, but I do wonder if the cause of the gritty texture could be the Wholesome powdered sugar. I’ve never used that brand myself, but it might possibly be a little gritty. Otherwise, make sure your vegan butter isn’t at all melted, just softened. Perhaps try only one vegan butter brand (I love Country Crock and Earth Balance sticks) and a different brand of powdered sugar. Make sure the butter is softened but still solid, not melted at all, and add more powdered sugar if it’s too runny or greasy.
Hi! Planning to make this. If I freeze this do I need to mix with a hand blender after freezing or just with a spatula?
If you freeze it, let it thaw until it’s spreadable again. It’s not necessary to mix it again, it should simply spread once thawed enough. Enjoy!
Hi Nora! Is it best to use unsalted vegan butter for this recipe? When vegan baking in general, is it safe to assume that if a recipe calls for vegan butter, it’s the unsalted version? Thank you so much!
Actually I always use vegan butter that is salted, since I often can’t find unsalted butter (and when I started baking vegan, unsalted vegan butter was not a thing). So you can always assume I used salted, but feel free to use unsalted if you prefer. You can always add a touch of salt as needed if you do. Thank you!
Hi Nora,
I have unsweetened almond milk. Will that work?
Thanks,
Barb
Hi Barb. Almond milk does work. Keep in mind almond milk is a little bit more watery than some of the other plant-based milks. I vary the milk based on what I have: soy milk, almond milk, oat milk (extra creamy is perfect!). I hope this helps!
I made this for my daughter’s 26th birthday party and it was fabulous! Everyone loved it & it was so easy to make
Hi Katherine. Happy birthday to your daughter! I’m so glad the frosting was a hit! Thank you for sharing your terrific review and fun feedback!
Hi there! I made this and it was awesome til I added some crushed raspberries. It started to break 🙁 is there any way to recover or should I simply start a new batch?
Try adding a bit more powdered sugar, hopefully that will fix it!