How to Make Dairy-Free Buttercream Frosting

Fantastic recipe. The frosting taste very good and the consistency is so good that you can use it for any baking project you may have. Good enough to use even if you have no dietary restrictions.

Delicious!

They say the best compliment is, “you got me to like something I didn’t like before”!

First time I’ve liked buttercream! The ratios and it being vegan must make all the difference!

Will have to try Miyokos or Earth Balance for a longer lasting result. We used Melt sticks, and it only lasted a few days before looking unappealing. We used macadamia nut milk to thin when we made it. Was absolutely heavenly tasting! Yet melted completely before we even finished a piece of cake! 🤣

This is a great basic dairy free frosting recipe. I’d recommend using Mikonos vegan butter as suggested. I used shortening because that’s what I had on hand. Doesn’t taste as good. I also added the milk before adding the sugar — whoops. I’m sure it would be before as instructed after adding the powdered sugar.

I just made this with swerve sugar replacement. It’s amazing.

I used the Earth Balance vegan butter as suggested and this turned out perfect! Had no trouble with it being oily even after leaving it out on the counter. It worked great for piping onto cupcakes and spreading on a cake! Thanks for the great recipe!

I made this and it was wonderful. I think I used 3 cups of powdered sugar. I also used orange extract instead of vanilla. Deeeeelicious. Think and creamy. I used Earth Balance unsalted stick butter, and added 1/4 tsp. salt to compensate during the initial creaming.

I made this frosting today to top vegan chocolate cupcakes and this is definitely a keeper! I used a Melt butter stick with around 2 cups of icing sugar and the result was superb – fluffy, holds together well and not too sweet. My 13 year old daughter said this is the best icing she has ever tasted and wants me to make this for her birthday cake – and she’s fussy so bravo for posting this!

This was an ok vegan frosting base. Made with Organic Earth Balance (in the tub). Obviously icing is going to be sweet but I think the sugar is overkill. I got a gorgeous fluffy and smooth texture with only 1.5 cups sugar. Once I hit 2 cups it was too thick, but thinned out well once I added in 2 tbsp coffee liqueur. But then it was too sweet! It set up fine with the Earth Balance and the cake’s been at room temp for a day so I have no idea what folks are on about re: the frosting melting.

Thanks! I wanted something safe for a friend with food allergies, and this was perfect! I used Country Crock avocado butter sticks and just a little soy milk. The consistency and taste were very similar to dairy buttercream. It even set up nicely.

Thanks for this easy and good recipe! I used a few splashes of unsweetened almond milk and the consistency turned out smooth and creamy. I added half teaspoon lemon extract plus two teaspoons lemon zest which gave great flavor and counterbalanced the sweetness. Worked beautifully on vegan gingerbread cupcakes!

This turned out great! My 8mo son has a dairy intolerance and this recipe fits into my milk-free diet (I’m breastfeeding so I have to also be milk-free). I use Country Crock plant butter sticks and Chobani plain extra creamy oatmilk with no issue. My husband and 4yo happily eat this vs the full-octane butter-and-milk frosting.

Thanks for sharing this recipe! Treats like this make cutting milk out of my diet easier!

Great recipe for nice vanilla buttercream frosting! How can I make it dark chocolate frosting?

If you like sickeningly sweet, greasy frosting….. I wish I had not used this on my cake, but I had no other options. I followed the recipe and it’s not just this recipe it’s vegan buttercream in general that is so greasy because of the oil in the vegan butters. I added salt to try to cut the insane sweetness and didn’t use all the power weed sugar either and it was still disgustingly sweet after several attempts. I didn’t want to keep adding too much salt and make it high sodium since the butter is salted. I’m not criticizing this page, but if you do not like sickeningly sweet or greasy frosting, do not make this, use a glaze icing instead. This is the second time I’ve tried to make a vegan frosting and I thought this one would be less greasy because it uses less butter but it isn’t. Sorry.

Been searching for the perfect vanilla frosting and here it is! I live in the UK and used Flora vegan butter sticks. I followed the recipe and added a tiny bit of salt because I like my frosting with a little extra something. This frosting was light and fluffy, creamy, perfectly balanced and delicious! It paired perfectly with my gingerbread cake with apple compote filling. YUM!

Tastes great! The coffee added a richness taste to the chocolate. Only two things went wrong for me (1) the frosting was a little challenging to spread (it kept melting! as expected though. I added food coloring as I was making this a “Halloween themed” cake) and (2) it didn’t rise as much as I ‘d like (I think I needed to use a smaller pan or double the batch). BUT it tasted great and that’s what matters! For anyone that’s vegan this is a great substitute.

I just made this for a two-layer vegan carrot cake. I used two sticks of Earth Balance buttery sticks and 680g powdered sugar (one bag from Whole Foods), about 1 tsp vanilla, and the zest of half an orange. I added maybe 2-3oz Silk Soymilk towards the end in three additions, blending each time to make sure it wasn’t getting too soft. Oh. My. Word. This is perfect. I was a little concerned about the plastic taste of the margarine and its saltiness, but it is completely drowned out by the vanilla and orange and sugar. I’ve used shortening in the past to make fluffy frostings, but this one is so superior. I also like that it is yellow like a traditional buttercream. The ratio, the flavor, perfect. Vegan cream cheese is prohibitively expensive here, but it won’t be missed with this stunning alternative.

This is a great recipe! Thank you!

I just made this frosting for my daughters birthday cake and it was so amazing I added a few drops of food coloring too. Definitely using this again for all her cakes. I am not vegan but my daughter is and I was just in awe of the flavor. I used the country crock plant base butter sticks and I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Can’t wait to make it with the coconut milk.

I thought it was delicious. With vegan gluten free chocolate cupcakes it was perfect, thank you!

I followed the recipe. Love it! I put it on a vegan chocolate cake. I used the Miyokos brand of non-dairy butter. It is so close to the taste of butter that it’s amazing.

This was delicious!! I’m a huge fan of butter cream and wanted to make something for my son who is very allergic to dairy. We chose to use a non-vegan buttery spread and it worked perfectly!! Smart Balance was the only deviation that we did. For the milk, we used organic coconut milk from the can.

Awesome recipe! I was worried it would be greasy but turned out great. I used Country Crock vegan butter with almond oil, otherwise stuck to the recipe exactly. Thanks for a reliable recipe!

High five! This was simple and tasty! I’ve made American buttercream before and this was no different except for products! Country Crock Plant butter (almond oil version), Simple Truth unsweetened coconut milk. I also added a additional almond flavoring after the vanilla, because I just love almond. The almond flavor also cuts the sweetness some. Nice fluffy all purpose frosting! ♡

This recipe is so easy! I love how the icing gets super fluffy when using the mixer. Only thing I changed is lowering amount of powdered sugar to my liking. I used Earth Balance vegan butter, and let the butter sit out until softened. Made this for the first time for a friend who allergic to dairy products. EVERYONE loved the cake, couldn’t tell it was Vegan. I’ve also used this website for their non dairy yellow cake. EASY! Love it and will definitely try their other recipes.

I made this recipe twice so far, I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong but the icing is very runny, even after I add more sugar and/or cornstarch to make it thicker. Maybe it’s because I’ve been using Earth Balance or using the blender too long? I’m not sure but the next time I will use Miyokos and let you know if there is a texture difference. You are my go to recipe blogger for all things vegan, most things I’ve tried via Minimalist Baker does not disappoint!!

This has become my go-to buttercream! Delicious as vanilla, but a perfect base to launch any flavor. I made the vegan peppermint cupcakes today (Christmas), and added half vanilla extract and half peppermint to this buttercream for a wonderfully subtle peppermint flavor. I thought about tossing in some crushed candy cane at the end, but opted for a sprinkle on top and a mint leaf for garnish. Thanks for all the wonderful, easy, one bowl recipes!

I made this recipe just as it was written and loved it! Light and fluffy!

I have a multigrain sandwich round with vegan butter and cinnamon every morning. It tastes like a cinnamon bun, but it is much healthier. This morning, I whipped up this super easy butter cream icing and topped my “cinnabun” with it, and it was decadent! I used Silk Original Protein Nut milk instead of cow’s milk, and it worked beautifully! Thank you so much for this recipe!

Delicious! I just made this recipe, although I admit I also added 1/4c. of shortening, and only 1Tblsp of milk, instead of 3. So it wasn’t exactly your recipe. I didn’t have coconut from the can, but I did have an almond/coconut blend of half and half I subbed instead. I thought it might help it hold a bit better with the crisco. It ended up piping nicely, although it was a bit softer than I’d prefer. I am interested to see how it holds up overnight in the fridge, and then at the party. The taste was perfect!

I just finished this recipe!!! Delicious!!!
I used:
3/4 cup homemade ghee
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
1/8 cup + 1 tsp cocoa
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp almond milk
Followed exactly your instructions.
Thank you for your always RELIABLE recipes. Thanks again.

I loved this recipe plus my vegan friend liked it sooooooo much that she even ended up asking me where I got the amazing recipe from, so I recommended your website. She has been cooking of it 24 7 now (:
Somebody is getting popular around my neighborhood! ?

Just used this frosting recipe for some vegan vanilla cupcakes I made, and they were a hit! The frosting was easy to make and it was sooooo delicious! Non-vegans ate the most!! Going to make it again this weekend for a graduation party! Thanks for a great recipe!