When dreaming up the possibility of a butter- and oil-free, naturally-sweetened vegan chocolate frosting, my mind went straight to dates and cashew butter — a true match made in heaven.
After some experimentation, the result was an incredibly rich, decadent, creamy chocolate frosting that’s secretly made with wholesome ingredients.
Just 1 blender, 6 ingredients, and 25 minutes required. Let us show you how it’s done!
The base for this frosting is dates + cashew butter. Dates add sweetness and a thick, pillowy texture, while cashew butter adds creaminess and subtle nutty flavor. You’ll want to use a quality cashew butter to avoid ending up with lumpy frosting. See our cashew butter review for brand recommendations.
Cocoa (or cacao) powder is added for chocolaty flavor. For more chocolaty flavor with slightly bitter notes, we recommend using cacao powder. Or for less chocolaty flavor but sweeter notes, use cocoa powder. Take your pick (or use a combo of the two)!
Then sea salt and vanilla are added for additional flavor, and dairy-free milk thins the mixture slightly to help it blend.
You can blend it in either a high-speed blender or a food processor. Use the tamper tool for the blender or scrape down the sides of the food processor as needed to encourage blending. You’re looking for a thick and spreadable texture.
Ta-da! It’s really that easy to make homemade vegan chocolate frosting!
We hope you love this frosting! It’s:
Rich
Chocolatey
Perfectly sweet
Creamy
Quick & easy
& Decadent!
It’s perfect for topping cakes, brownies, quick breads, and more! Or eat it by the spoonful (it’s that good) — no judgment here.
More Vegan Frosting Recipes
- Vegan Chocolate Ganache Frosting
- Date-Sweetened Chocolate Frosting
- How to Make Dairy-Free Buttercream Frosting
- Cashew Buttercream Frosting (2 Ways!)
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Vegan Chocolate Frosting (Oil-Free)
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed pitted dates (measured after pitting)
- 1/2 cup creamy cashew butter (or sub another nut or seed butter, such as peanut butter)
- 1/2 cup cocoa or cacao powder
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 dash vanilla extract
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup almond or light coconut milk
Instructions
- Soak dates in warm water for 15 minutes, then drain.
- Add pitted dates to a high-speed blender or food processor with the “S” blade attached. Then add cashew butter, cacao or cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and dairy-free milk, starting with the lesser amount.
- Blend until a creamy frosting texture is achieved, scraping down sides as needed and using the tamper if blending. Add more dairy-free milk as needed to encourage blending. NOTE: Be careful not to add too much as it can make the frosting too runny.
- The texture should be thick and spreadable like frosting! If chunky or too sticky, add dairy-free milk as needed. If too thin, add more soaked dates, cashew butter, or cocoa or cacao powder to thicken.
- Use immediately. Or, if you prefer a firmer frosting, cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. You can freeze if you’re in a hurry. Perfect for frosting cakes, brownies, cupcakes, and more!
- Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 1 week, or in the freezer up to 1 month.
Video
Notes
*Recipe as written makes ~2 cups frosting.
*Adapted from our Date-Sweetened Chocolate Frosting.
masha says
hi MB!
i’m running low on dates (red flag, hehe!), i know how creamy they are, but wondered if you have ever tried prunes? i imagine they won’t blend as well and – of course – will be less sweet.
the frosting is intended to frost a layer cake. thank you!
Hi Masha, we haven’t tried with prunes and think the frosting will be less sweet and have a stronger flavor. But it might be okay! We’d love to hear if you try it out!
Aisha says
This was so decadent, chocolatey and delicious! Once it was on the chocolate cake, you couldn’t even taste the dates at all! Love the wholesome ingredients and pipable texture, highly recommend!
Whoop! So glad you enjoyed it, Aisha. Thank you for the lovely review! xo
jackelyn carwford says
I’ve made this cake im using fondant over the top but want to ice before and in between layers is the frosting going to be ok or should i just do a buttercream frosting?
thanks
Hi Jackelyn, it’s a very thick/sturdy frosting so we think it should hold up well!
jackelyn crawford says
Awesome Thanks so much for the quick response
Amazing
Of course! Happy to help! Enjoy :)
masha says
hi!
thank you for your detailed recipe!
i have a question about dates. i have no dates, but have fresh, rather soft date paste (100% dates), do you think it could work? i’d tear it in pieces and soak the same way.
thank you!
Hi Masha, we aren’t certain if it will work, but it might! Let us know if you try it!
Samantha says
This is my go-to chocolate frosting recipe. I also like to freeze it in pint sized jars and eat it like ice cream topped with cacao nibs and walnuts. It is spectacular- you will not miss traditional ice cream in the slightest! One batch makes two pints of ice cream for me.
We’re so glad you’re enjoying it, Samantha! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Randi Steckler says
I made this to go with Easy Chocolate cake. Both were outrageously good! The frosting is fudge and yummy. I served it on Thanksgiving to some fussy eaters and no one could detect the dates.
I used 3 six inch cake pans. I didn’t have quite enough dates so the result was a bit short of being able to frost all 3 layers (which I’m sure was my fault for not checking the dates before food shopping)
But no harm done…I now have 1 six inch layer of cake with some frosting in the freezer for another time.
Love it! Thanks so much for the review, Randi!
Jane says
Hi, would it be okay to make the 1 bowl vegan gluten free chocolate cake then ice it with the vegan chocolate cashew frosting then freeze the whole thing for a week? I wondered whether it would taste the same?
Thanks and can’t wait to try out this recipe!
Hi Jane, we haven’t tried that but we think it should work pretty well if you can thaw it in the refrigerator. Let us know how it goes!
Monica says
This was heavenly!! my skin is not fond of peanutbutter & we do our own tahini, so i used that instead of cashew butter, it tased like a hint of mild peanutbutter but didn’t take over.
I made some for a cake, but had a small cup & we spread it on some flat bread to taste, it reminded us of nutella.
**delicious sweet spread for morning toast.
loved it. & Thanks!!
So glad you are enjoying this, Monica. Love your tips as well! Thanks!
Chloe says
Hi,
I love your recipes they are always so geat! I am going to make this with the GF vegan chocolate cake. I was wondering if there would be a nutty taste if I used peanut or and butter in place of cashew butter
Hi Chloe! Cashew butter has a very very mild taste, we think peanut butter would definitely add some peanut taste – could be yummy though!
Christine says
I used this as frosting for chocolate cupcakes. Also substituted almond butter as that was what I had on hand. It is delicious and makes quite a lot. Definitely will use again.
Wonderful! Thank you for the lovely review, Christine! xo
Anna says
Amazing! This frosting is a game-changer; it makes all other frostings taste too sugary and/or fake. Thank you for another great recipe.
Woohoo! So glad you enjoy it, Anna! Thank you for the lovely review!
Jennifer wende says
This frosting is so easy to make and tastes so good! I very rarely eat cake or frosting because it’s too sweet for me (and usually not ingredients I like to have either). I could have eaten the whole thing! Thank you. I highly recommend this recipe! I used it with the one bowl vegan chocolate cake recipe (also amazing) for my daughter’s 6th birthday and it was a huge success.
Aw, yay! We love to hear this. Thanks for the lovely review, Jennifer, we’re so glad everyone enjoyed! xo
Azza says
THIS IS HEAVENLY.
Amazing Creation Dana. Thanks so much <3
Aw, thanks so much, Azza! We’re so glad you enjoyed it! xo
Aline says
Hello! is this recipe enough for the one bowl chocolate cake? I am baking two 20X20 cm square containers to make a square two layer cake.
Hi Aline! We haven’t tried it but we would suggest doubling the frosting recipe for that size of cake, just to be safe! Let us know how it goes! xo
Robyn says
Hi! I’m making this frosting tomorrow for cupcakes that won’t be consumed right away (probably a day or two later) and I’m wondering if they should be refrigerated or left in an air-tight container at room temp with this frosting?
Thanks!! Excited to try!
Hi Robyn, we’d suggest storing the frosting in the refrigerator. Cupcakes are typically best left out of the fridge though. Could you frost them just before serving?
Claire says
Dr. Warren here.
Made this with the one bowl vegan choc cake
I think the icing is a 5/5.
It does not taste like milk chocolate icing which is fine.
Spreads beautifully and very rich and chocolatey .
Really healthy alternative to sugary, coconut oil vegan frostings which I call “junk food” vegan. So happy to see you are offering SOS free (salt, oil, sugar)recipes. And the recipe was so easy to follow. Even I could make it.
BRAVO.
Thanks for sharing, Claire!
Meggie says
So delicious. Happy at least half of the icing made it onto the cake…
Ha! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Maggie. Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Gregory says
The BEST vegan friendly, refined sugar free icing in the WORLD! I have continual questions about the icing we use every party we host and cake we bake 🥰
Thank you! 🥳
Yay! Thanks so much, Gregory!
Greg Pismiris says
The BEST vegan friendly refined sugar free icing in the WORLD, without fail I have continual questions about the icing we use every single party we host and bake cakes 🥰
Thank you!
Jared says
This oil-free frosting turned out amazing! I made it to frost the 1-bowl Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake and the combination was so delicious and decadent. Highly recommended!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Jared!
Claudia says
So yummy!!! Everyone loved it! Win win and so easy!!!! ❤️
Whoop! So glad to hear it! Thanks for the lovely review, Claudia! xo
Ben Lambert says
I made this to frost the 1-Bowl Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake for my son’s 1st Birthday. I made a four layer cake in the end using 4×7 inch cake tins and this was pretty much perfect amount to frost the entire outside. After soaking the dates in this recipe I saved the water to make delicious almond milk. And finally I used your sweet cashew cream frosting recipe for the layers – although didn’t bother with quite as much freezing since I was in a hurry and it didn’t seem necessary. The cake was demolished by kids and adults alike and the almond milk was enjoyed with decadent Booja Booja chocolates the night after. Here endeth essay. Short story – Thanks for the recipes!!
Ben! Thanks for sharing! Sounds like it all turned out amazing. Love to hear that. One favor: next time would you mind adding a rating to your review? It’s super helpful to us and other readers. Thanks!
Ben Lambert says
Stars added! Thanks again Dana.
Thanks Ben!
Christine Benjamin says
OMG! This is so chocolatey and creamy. I was eating it by itself. I’m going to make the chocolate cake that you posted.
Please do! Let us know how it goes! Next time would you mind adding a rating to your review? It’s super helpful to us and other readers! xo
Trisha says
Hi! Looks amazing!!!! Was wondering what brand of dates you used/recommend?
We don’t have a specific brand recommendation, but we like getting them in the produce section of health food stores for freshness. Hope that helps!
Lauren says
I made this a few weeks ago, amazing!! It’s so good and easy. I’m going to make your gf chocolate cake and this icing next week for my birthday. I’m sure it’s going to be delicious!!!!! Thanks for such a great recipe!!!!
Whoop! Happy (almost) birthday, Lauren! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Valerie says
Delicious. I don’t usually leave comments but this is surprisingly and unbelievably good. I can’t even taste the dates. I left out the nut butter and blended in high speed. Thank you for making a chocolate recipe that is amazing.
Yay! Thanks so much for sharing, Valerie! xo
Karla says
can the dates be replaced with a different dried fruit? :)
Hmm, we’ve never tried that, but maybe? Let us know if you do some experimenting!
Carla Sokol says
Last summer, I had a chocolate cake challenge w 6 of my friends. All cakes AND frosting had to be whole food, plant based, no oil, no nuts, no seeds. While I had no trouble with the cake part, I tried multiple different ways to make frosting. The closest I got to it being thick, creamy and tasty was using cacao powder, dates, vanilla powder and roasted Hannah Yams. Have you ever tried making a frosting without nuts, oil or seeds? Would you consider it for the future, if you haven’t already? I think you do a wonderful job and often turn to your site for recipes!
You could basically just blend dates, cocoa powder, and add water or rice milk until creamy! But it won’t be *as* creamy without a little nut or seed butter, FYI.
Jaime says
I had just been wishing for a healthier frosting recipe the week that you put this out, so I was super enthused to give it a try! YUM!!! I cannot thank you enough for such a delicious, oil-free, sugar-free recipe! I used almond butter instead of cashew, soy milk instead of almond, and changed the quantity to meet my needs with perfect results. Thank you SO much for this healthy alternative!! This is now my go-to frosting recipe!
How timely! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Jaime!
Caitlin Chumbley says
I made this for the 1 bowl vegan chocolate cake for my non-vegan boyfriend. I halved the recipe because my cake was 1 layer, used tahini for the nut butter, and used strong brewed vanilla almond black tea the for liquid. It was gone in 24 hours!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Caitlin!
Jessica @ Desserts with Benefits says
YUM! So good on vegan deserts!
Thanks Dana! Your blog rocks!
xo!
Hélène says
So great to have a healthy frosting! Thanks for the amazing recipe!
xo – thanks, Hélène!
Kat says
This was sooooo delicious! I paired it with your vegan chocolate cupcake and wow! My hubby and friends loved them too! Can’t wait for the chocolate cake that you’re going to reveal soon:)
xoxo! Thanks for sharing, Kat! Next time would you mind adding a rating to your review? It’s super helpful to us and other readers! xo
Tess says
looks AMAZING. Would you recommend using your own home made cashew butter? Or is store bought significantly better for this?
We like Artisana OR homemade!
Debbi says
I just saw this and haven’t made it yet – need to buy cashew butter! But I have a question. Did you test this recipe with raw vs. roasted cashew butter? My instinct would be using the roasted with that extra roasted flavor but maybe it doesn’t matter….
I haven’t, but both should work! We preferred raw here as it’s more subtle.
Caren says
If I don’t have cashew butter, what would be the amount of raw cashews to use instead? Thanks.
Hmm, I think 1 cup cashews usually condenses down quite a bit to like 1/2 cup nut butter? Let us know if you try!
Jennifer says
Wow!! This frosting is so good and just sweet enough. Easy to make too! Yum!
xoxo!
Madeleine says
Does this have much of a fruity flavor from the dates?
It doesn’t! It’s very chocolatey.
Marcia G Maiten says
Thank you for a most useful recipe item for us Whole Foods, Plant Based group. Much appreciated!
xo!
Chandra says
Can you link the cake recipe in video? I can’t find it.
The cake recipe comes soon!
Deborah Weisblatt says
Can you use almond butter instead of cashew butter?
Yep!