Learn how to make vegan white chocolate at home in minutes with just 5 ingredients! Creamy, buttery, smooth and rich.
Before I went vegan over 10 years ago, I was the white chocolate queen. White chocolate mochas, white chocolate chip cookies, cookies and cream candy bars; you get the idea. I preferred white chocolate over milk or dark, but I had to give up the obsession when I stopped consuming dairy.
There are a few brands of dairy free white chocolate chips out there, but I’ve never tried them. They are expensive and hard to find, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in a real store. So I’ve been on a mission to make my own at home. And you know what? It’s pretty dang easy and SO tasty.
The first several batches I made tasted great but they were rather grainy in texture, but I finally found the easiest solution that I’ll share with you. Then you can have super creamy, smooth vegan white chocolate, too!
Ingredients you need
- Cacao butter – This stuff is magic and it smells SO GOOD. It’s essential for making white chocolate, and can not be substituted. It’s easy enough to order online if you can’t find it in a store, and one bag will last you a very long time, probably six recipes worth of white chocolate. It’s actually the fat separated from a cocoa bean.
- Vegetable shortening – Since cacao butter is rather rich, adding some shortening helps tame this a bit, plus it’s more stable at room temperature than coconut oil, which you could use instead, but it will melt quicker and won’t hold up well in cookies.
- Powdered sugar – For sweetening our white chocolate, of course. It also helps stabilize the chocolate. I haven’t tested it with any other sweetener, so substitute at your own risk.
- Coconut milk powder – This is your main stabilizer. Rice milk powder works as well, but I used coconut.
- Vanilla extract – Use quality pure vanilla extract for the best taste.
- Salt – Just a tiny pinch, optional.
How to make vegan white chocolate
(This is an overview with photos, scroll down for the complete, printable recipe.)
- If you have a double broiler, use it. If you’re like me and don’t have one, place a heat safe bowl over a small-medium sized pot with a few inches of simmering water. Add the cacao butter and shortening to the bowl.
- Let it melt, stirring frequently. This usually takes about 10 minutes.
- Once melted, add the powdered sugar, coconut milk powder, vanilla and a tiny pinch of salt, if using. Whisk until fairly smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer the white chocolate to a blender and blend for a few minutes to make it very smooth. The coconut milk powder is rather grainy, plus blending will smooth out any chunks from the powdered sugar. Pour into chocolate molds (you could also use a small pan, or muffin trays perhaps with liners). Place in the refrigerator or freezer to harden, which only takes about 30 minutes.
Remove from the molds and store in a covered container in the refrigerator (or freezer). You will get about 3 large chocolate bars, or several smaller, it just depends on your chocolate molds.
Variations
- Cookies and Cream – Stir in a little bit of crushed oreo cookie crumbs for cookies and cream candy bars.
- Fruity – Fold in a little crushed freeze dried raspberries or strawberries.
- Peppermint – Instead of vanilla, use peppermint extract for peppermint white chocolate. Or some candy cane pieces, chopped small.
- Nutty – Add some chopped nuts, like hazelnuts, almonds, etc.
Tips for using in recipes
- You can chop up the white chocolate into chunks and use in cookies, but for best results chop into chunks, freeze for 15-20 minutes, then fold into cookie dough and bake immediately. This will help them not melt while they bake.
- If you find they are melting in a recipe, simply bake the cookies, then while still warm stick chunks on top of the cookies instead of baking in the oven. How stable it is in baking largely depends on the brand of cacao butter you use.
- White Hot Chocolate – I haven’t tested it yet, but I think you could make my Vegan Hot Chocolate but omit the cocoa powder and use white chocolate chunks instead of dark for a delicious warm beverage.
Vegan White Chocolate
Learn how to make vegan white chocolate at home in minutes with just 5 ingredients! Creamy, buttery, smooth and rich.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces raw cacao butter (3/4 cup chopped small)
- 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup coconut milk powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- tiny pinch of salt, optional (1/8th tsp)
Instructions
- If your cacao butter comes in large chunks, chop them a bit smaller so they will melt more quickly.
- In a heat safe bowl, add the cacao butter and shortening. Place the bowl on top of a small-medium sized pot with a few inches of simmering water. Make sure the bowl is not touching the water. Let it melt, stirring frequently. This will take about 10 minutes, and it will look like oil.
- Now add the powdered sugar, powdered coconut milk, vanilla and a tiny pinch of salt. Whisk until fairly smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Carefully, using hot pads, transfer the mixture to a blender and blend for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Pour into chocolate molds (I used these silicone molds). TIP! Place the molds on a flat surface like a baking sheet and move very carefully so they liquid chocolate doesn't spill out before it has a chance to harden.
- Refrigerate until solid, about 30 minutes. You can also stick them in the freezer to speed this up. Enjoy! Store white chocolate in a covered container in the refrigerator or freezer.
Notes
- If you prefer, you can substitute coconut oil for the vegetable shortening, but just know your white chocolate will melt faster at room temperature, and will likely melt into baked goods.
- Use another sweetener at your own risk, as I haven't tried anything but powdered sugar!
- Variations: Oreo cookie crumbs for cookies and cream, freeze dried raspberries or strawberries, chopped nuts, peppermint extract and/or chopped candy cane pieces.
Nutrition
Serving: 1of 6 serving | Calories: 356kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Sodium: 40mg | Sugar: 17g
Did you make this recipe?Mention @nora_cooks_vegan_ or tag #noracooks!
Would a liquid sweetener (maple syrup) work at all? Trying to stick with unrefined sugar but this looks amazing.
I haven’t used anything but powdered sugar, so I’m not sure liquid sweetener will work. Sorry!
I’m probably super late on this but you could use powdered maple or coconut sugar instead of the cane sugar as they are both unrefined and behavior similar to cane sugar 🙂
This looks so good! Can’t wait to try it
Thankyou for posting. Does the vanilla w tract need to be oil based? Or is the regular one from the supermarket ok? (Alcohol / water based)
Thanks
Hi Alice. Regular vanilla will work, however, use a quality pure vanilla extract for the best taste.
i’ve got grainy texture. I used refined coconut oil and cocoa butter, its not possible to get a smooth texture since there is no water inside
Thanks! How long do they last in the fridge and freezer?
Also should I store my extra milk powder, shortening, and cacao in the fridge once it’s opened?
The chocolate will last in the refrigerator for a few weeks, maybe 2-3 weeks. I have also stored some in the freezer for a few months, and they seemed just fine! I’m not sure about storage of your baking supplies, as it depends upon the area in which you live (temperature, humidity, etc). I’m sure you could find helpful storage information on line! I hope this helps!
This recipe turned out perfectly. Was even able to make some vegan peppermint bark afterward that required me to layer this with a vegan ganache. Thanks for working out the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for sharing your terrific review!
Tried this and it turned out great. I think the only thing I would do differently is use use rice milk powder instead. The.Coconut was a little bit overpowering.
I remelted the white chocolate to frost sugar cookies. I did it in small batches in microwave just till its barely melted so it was the right consistency. If you melt it too much it will be too liquidity.
All I can find in my area is the Nativas cacao butter. The package says cold pressed and unrefined. Will this brand work?
Yes, that will work.
Hi there!
I’m wondering if you think this would work for cake pops? Would it work to re melt down dip the cake pop and have the chocolate reform again?
Thanks!
It might work, I’m not totally sure! Sounds super fun.
hi, I’ve just attempted this white chocolate recipe. thank you for creating it. however, although I used the precise amounts specified, it thickened very quickly and blended into a dry fudge like consistency and I was unable to pour it. wondering what’s the temperature of your kitchen? thanks
I’ve never had that happen so I’m not sure. Mine is always very runny at first, until I pour it into the molds and let it chill in the freezer/fridge. It almost sounds like it didn’t heat up enough, but I’m not sure sorry. My house runs around 70 degrees F right now.
Can this be used to make a white chocolate ganache?
It might work but I haven’t tried it. Sounds amazing though.
I also am having issues with the mixture separating. I followed the recipe exactly, no substitutions, and it won’t stay homogeneous. It looked like it was coming together after I whisked in the coconut milk powder and powdered sugar, but after blending, it started to separate immediately. I’m not sure what I did wrong. Do you have any insight?
Hmmm I’m not sure? Maybe it wasn’t melted enough to start with, so it separated? Or maybe it has something to do with the brand of coconut butter you used? I blend it then pour straight away and haven’t had any separation issues.
Hi Rachel, I have made the same mistake before with cacao butter. I was multi-tasking and allowed it to overheat. This changes the chemistry and can result in it not blending and binding. I’m betting that’s probably what happened. Try adding more distance between your barely simmering water and the bowl you place on top of it and make sure you stir while its melting the entire time. As soon as it has melted to a liquid state, remove it.
Thank you, it did help with separation. Now if I can just get it to not be grainy lol. I’ve made it several times but I used about half the sugar because it was too sweet and I used my vanilla beans (scraped the inside for my recipe) which are grainy of course, but the sugar ugh..even sifting it. Still very good regardless. I have made White chocolate cover huckleberries, and I had a can of strawberry sweetened condensed coconut milk that I made a strawberry fluff cream for a middle layer in another recipe. I just need to learn to temper chocolate correctly so it doesn’t melt so easily! ☺️❤️
Hi Nora,
I need your help..I tried your recipe for this amazingly looking white chocolate..but it ended in a catastrophy ? I used the exact ingredients as written but when I added solid ingredients into the melted butters, these two parts simply did not mix together..first I tried to whisk them together with hand mixer, nothing, then I used electric mixer – nothing (only oil was scattered around my whole kitchen) and finally I tried to mix it in my blender but nothing..solid part and oily part is still separated ? Is there something I could do to make it mix together? Thank you soo much for your help ❤️
Did you use cacao butter and vegetable shortening, not vegan butter? Because that would make a difference if you made a substitute there. The instructions state to whisk it together until fairly smooth, then carefully transfer to a blender (high powered is preferred) and blend until very smooth. Immediately pour into chocolate molds. I wonder if you spent so much time before it got to the blender that it just wasn’t going to get smooth after using an electric mixer. It may have already started to cool, which would make it more difficult to blend.
Hi Nora,
The same thing happened to me.
I used all the stated ingredients, whisked, blended and poured immediately. The oil has risen to the top in the molds…
Have you tested how long they last for, and do they freeze well?
I feel like I’m baking everything from scratch lately. Even though I do love it, I’m getting tired lol.
Lol! I hear you on that. They last in the refrigerator for a few weeks, maybe 2-3 weeks. I still have some in the freezer from a few months ago and they seem just fine!
Perfect, thank you so much!
Can the coconut milk powder be substituted? I don’t have any and I’m not partial to a coconut aftertaste
Yes, you can use another milk powder like soy or rice.
I can’t wait to try this!
Can the recipe be doubled?
Yes, it can be doubled easily. Thanks, hope you enjoy it!
If using for melting chocolate, do i still need to set and refrigerate the chocolate?
Question: could this be used as a coating for dipping Oreo truffles in?
I think it would work, yes, but I haven’t tried it.
Heeeey Nora! I made this tonight and it’s sooo yummy! I made two out of the three bars with crushed up oreos, that’s all I’ve tasted so far and yum! Melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Thanks for this awesome recipe. 🙂
You’re so welcome!
I don’t have any silicone molds. Can i use a glass dish?
Yes, you could. I would line it with parchment paper if possible, so it’s easier to remove it once hardened.
Hi Nora,
Question about this recipe. Can Earth Balance sticks be used for the vegetable shortening?
Thank you
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t know that I would recommend it. Maybe though!
Can this be used to make a while chocolate ganache ?
I haven’t tried it yet. Maybe! If you try it, let me know.
I follow the directions to the “T”. At the end it stayed a bit grainy. I am thinking, keep mixing longer in the bain marie? Blender longer?… Any suggestions?
Yes, blend longer if you still detect graininess, it will help a lot. A high powered blender is best to really smooth it out.
I can’t wait to make this!! So simple with easily accessed ingredients. Thank you for bringing white chocolate back to my life?
You’re welcome!
Which brand of vegetable shortening did you use?
I have Nutiva brand, which is what I used.
Does the coconut milk powder add a slight coconut flavor?
No, not at all. I can’t detect it.