Creamy and super buttery homemade vegan butter! Easy 7-ingredient recipe that is spreadable, melts fabulously on toast and is great for baking and frying.
I can’t even tell you how pleased I am about this homemade vegan butter!
It is just perfect. It’s wonderful on bread, for spreading (and melting) on toast, you can use it for baking, for frying, for whatever you would usually use your vegan butter for.
And it’s homemade!
It has a wonderfully buttery flavor and takes all of about 5 minutes to make (a little longer to set).
Why Make Your Own Vegan Butter?
Now you might be asking: why do I want to make my own vegan butter when I can just buy some?
Well here’s the thing – a very common question I get asked on my baked goods that use vegan butter is: ‘Where can I find vegan butter?’ because a lot of countries don’t seem to have great availability for this.
Or it might be that you don’t love all the ingredients in the brands that are available to you, or maybe you’re like me and are just delighted when you can make your own things!
How To Use Vegan Butter
I wanted to make sure that this vegan butter is good for various uses, so I tried it for frying and fried up some mushrooms with some spring onions and it was perfect (and delicious!).
And then I wanted to make sure it was good for baking, so I creamed it up with some sugar and made some vegan oatmeal cookies with it, and they were perfect!
And as you can see I’ve been spreading it on bread and toast and just enjoying it all the ways one tends to enjoy butter.
You can pretty much use it anywhere you would use a regular dairy butter.
So Much Buttery Flavor!
It has a wonderful buttery flavor and everyone who has tried it agrees that it tastes like real butter. It really does.
And comparing the flavor to other vegan buttery spreads on the market, it compares very favorably. It’s just damn good I must say.
The buttery flavor comes about from the vegan buttermilk – apple cider vinegar mixed in with unsweetened soy milk or almond milk, I tested both and both worked great – and a little nutritional yeast.
Refined coconut oil is very neutral in flavor yet perfect in texture, so it enables this vegan butter to take on the other flavors added to it.
How About That Texture..
It does get very hard in the fridge, so it’s a lot like a traditional butter in that sense, if you want to spread it on bread or cream it up with sugar for baking, it’s best to let it soften slightly out the fridge first.
Spreading on toast is of course fine as is and it doesn’t need to soften first.
You’ll also find the texture of it tends towards crumbly when it’s still hard straight from the fridge, but this doesn’t have any impact on the result once spread. And to avoid this, let it soften a bit first.
Homemade Vegan Butter Q&A
How long does it keep in the fridge? This is of course a fresh homemade product, so while the oils in the vegan butter are long lasting (the base of this is refined coconut oil), other ingredients such as the non-dairy milk, are not.
It keeps for up to 2-weeks in the fridge, though it’s at it’s best for around 10-12 days.
Can I freeze it? Yes, if you’re going to want to use it for longer than 2 weeks then freeze the excess and only keep on hand what you are going to use. When you’re ready to use the frozen portion, just pop it in the fridge where it will thaw and get ready for use.
What can I use instead of canola oil? I found the canola oil to have a very neutral taste and to work well for this, but other options are avocado oil or olive oil. If you are going to use olive oil though then don’t blend the olive oil in. Blend everything else and then stir the olive oil in. Olive oil can tend towards a bitter taste when blended too long.
Can I use extra virgin coconut oil instead of refined coconut oil? Extra virgin coconut oil can be used but the flavor just wasn’t nearly so good when I tried it. It ends up with a coconut flavor. And I like coconut flavor, so it’s not like I had something against that.
The blend of flavors wasn’t as nice and it didn’t taste as buttery as it does when you use refined coconut oil. Also after only around a week in the fridge, it had got a sort of whitish look to it, like lard, rather than like butter. You can definitely try that though if you have an issue with using refined coconut oil, just know that the result is not as good.
What is the nutritional yeast for? It adds buttery flavor. However, it’s only used in a small amount so you can omit it if it’s an ingredient you have an issue with. You will lose some buttery flavor but that’s all.
What is the turmeric used for? The turmeric is just for color. So you can omit it, but it’s great to add it for a more buttery look. Make sure you only use a small pinch though. I tried it with a ¼ tsp and oh my, the color was luminous yellow, like the color of those highlighter pens!
If you love homemade things, then you will love this homemade vegan butter! It is:
- Creamy
- Buttery
- Spreadable
- Melty
- Great for baking or frying
Use it anywhere you would use a vegan butter! Keep it covered in a glass butter dish in the fridge where it will keep for up to 2-weeks – the italics there are because I tested this all the way up to day 15, and it still tasted okay but there was just something in the taste that was saying, hmmm, maybe this is past its best days!
I would say it has a fridge life of up to 14 days but really it is at its best for around 10-12 days. If you know you won’t use it that fast, then keep around only what you’ll use right away and freeze the rest.
This Vegan Butter Is Great In These Recipes:
- Vegan Garlic Bread
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Pound Cake
- Vegan Bread Pudding
- Vegan Apple Crisp
- Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Homemade Vegan Butter
Ingredients
- 1 cup Refined Coconut Oil (240ml) Melted*
- 2 Tbsp Canola Oil See Notes*
- ⅓ cup Unsweetened Soy Milk or Almond Milk (80ml)
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Small Pinch Turmeric
- ½ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Add melted refined coconut oil to the blender jug along with the canola oil.
- Add the apple cider vinegar to the unsweetened soy or almond milk and stir in so that it curdles into buttermilk. Add the buttermilk to the blender.
- Add the nutritional yeast, small pinch of turmeric and salt.
- Blend very well until smooth.
- Pour out into a butter dish and refrigerate until set.
- Remove from the fridge to thaw for a few minutes if using on fresh bread or creaming with sugar for baking.
Video
Notes
- The coconut oil must be refined coconut oil and not extra virgin coconut oil.
- Avocado oil is a great option to use instead of canola oil. Olive oil also works but bear in mind that high speed blending can cause olive oil to become bitter. If using olive oil, add it in at the end and mix in without blending.
- Storing: This lasts up to 2 weeks in the fridge. If you need it to last longer, freeze the excess and only keep what you will use within 2-weeks in your fridge.
- Make it soft and spreadable: This butter recipe above comes out a lot like a traditional butter in that it’s very firm straight out the fridge and needs to soften first before it becomes spreadable (unless you’re spreading on toast, in which case you’re good to go!). This makes it great for the purposes that a regular butter is good for. However, if you want to use it mostly as a spread (that also works for baking and frying) and want it soft and spreadable straight out of the fridge then adapt the first two ingredients of the recipe as follows: ½ cup (120ml) Refined Coconut Oil and ½ cup (120ml) Canola Oil or Avocado Oil (OR ¼ cup (60ml) of each canola oil and avocado oil) and then follow the rest of the recipe exactly as it is. This results in a soft, spreadable vegan butter that still works great for baking and frying. Thanks to one of our readers for experimenting with the recipe and coming up with this adaptation.
- This recipe makes one 9.7 ounce block (275g) of vegan butter.
Julie says
THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!! The flavor is completely on point. Fantastic on toast. I used trader Joe’s triple filtered coconut oil.
Alison Andrews says
Yay! Thanks Julie! 🙂
Lesley says
Have successfully made this several times but am having trouble getting hold of refined coconut oil at present. What would happen if I used unrefined organic coconut oil?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Lesley, this is all discussed in the post. You can use regular virgin coconut oil without an issue but the coconut taste does come through. 🙂
Lesley says
Sorry Alison, Have just re-read the post and the answer is quite clear. Will have a go with the extra Virgin coconut oil and see what happens. Another good thing about this recipe is that you can make small quantities if necessary.
Áine says
Oh tempted to make this at some stage. For the canola oil, can rapeseed oil be substituted in. I want to gradually substitute various foods in my diet. Great that you tested it out in various recipes. How long would it last in the freezer, just curious to make a large batch and then individual freeze into stick sizes.
Alison Andrews says
Yes you can use rapeseed oil instead of canola. It freezes perfectly for months. 🙂
Kathy says
Alison,
I cannot believe how divine this is! If you didn’t know this was vegan, I defy you to tell the difference.
Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe. I followed it as written and it was absolutely perfect. Now, on to Tacos…
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks Kathy! 🙂
Amanda says
TLDR; Holy motherforking shirtballs… make this right now.
I have slowly been transitioning items in my home to low impact (no plastic/plant-based etc). Our current step is butter/margarine. Once I finished our regular margarine, I weaned my husband onto earth balance, and tonight was the faithful night we finished that margarine. I scoured the web for the right recipe to attempt and my god did I find it!
Easy to make, took a messy disorganized cook like myself less than 5 minutes.
Simple ingredients. I used refined coconut oil melted in the microwave as I live in Canada and it is -25 C. Original unsweetened almond milk, ACV, flaked NY and the rest as stated too.
I halved the recipe incase I blundered. Used my mini blender for about 1 min, then plowed it in the snow on the deck for a few minutes (Canada, eh?) It looked like it was curdling so I stirred it up and it creamed into a beautiful margarine. Whacked it on my homemade whole wheat toast and then cried about the beauty that I beheld.
I AM IN LOVE! I cant wait for my husband to try it, because this is going to be my ticket to veganize him haha
Alison I cannot thank you enough for doing the leg-work on all these amazing recipes for those around the world trying to improve their health and environmental impact. I am excited to browse and try your other recipes!
All the best,
Amanda
Alison Andrews says
Hi Amanda, firstly I forking love your Good Place reference. Hahaha! And then I am so happy you loved the recipe. Thanks so much for sharing your experience and the fantastic review! 🙂
Susan Roman says
I didn’t like to list of weird ingredients in store bought vegan butter. Butter was my last vegan hold out before I found this recipe. Thank you, it’s perfect!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks Susan! 🙂
Ti Williams says
Is there any thing else that you can substitute the coconut oil for? I have a milk protein allergy as well as coconut allergy. It’s been hard to find something I can use. Thanks.
Alison Andrews says
Unfortunately not in this recipe as the coconut is what causes it to set.
Katherine says
Would it work without the nutritional yeast?
Alison Andrews says
Yes! 🙂
Sara says
Can’t wait to try this recipe. However, all I have is a mixer to beat the ingredients. My blender is broke. I am looking into a Nutribullet but didn’t know about a mixer used for cakes etc. It may separate but worth a try maybe?! Also, I plan on using safflower oil instead of canola. S
noa says
Hi Alison, thanks for the recipe.
if i don’t have nutritional yeast flakes is it ok to use nutritional yeast powder? is there a difference?
Alison Andrews says
You can use that instead yes, it’s a little more concentrated than the flakes that’s all but it’s in small quantity in this recipe so should still be fine. 🙂
Cindy says
I gave up being vegan because I live far enough away from grocery stores that even fresh veggies are hard to keep on hand, but this could be a step back to being vegan for me. Any sort of vegan product is crazy expensive around here, so I need to work from scratch, but without too much effort, cause I work crazy hours. Anyway, this could be super helpful to me. Thank you. I’m on the path! Just got to give up those tv dinners for lunch. 😛
roxanne says
we love this vegan butter! we made a lot for a vegan thanksgiving, but for some reason this second time around making it, it curdled. why do you think that happened? we used unsweetened soy milk, refined coconut oil, canola oil, apple cider vinegar and nutritional yeast as in recipe. could it be the temperature of all the ingredients just before blending?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Roxane, I’m not sure. Especially since it worked the first time you made it. Do you have a high speed blender? Other readers have commented that a high speed blender made the difference.
jo says
The recipe says it will curdle at the second stage !
Alison Andrews says
Hey Jo, that’s the homemade vegan buttermilk that curdles, once it’s blended into the recipe there isn’t any curdling.
Vicky says
Hello! I just met your blog and I love it. I have a question about this butter recipe: I read on all internet pages that refined coconut oil is discouraged for consumption, why is it better than extra virgin coconut oil? Thanks a lot! greetings from Madrid.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Vicky, this is all discussed in the post, you can use a virgin coconut oil if you like, but then it will taste like coconut which is not as ideal for this recipe. 🙂
Linda Brown says
I made the butter…………. But was not happy with the texture. It wouldn’t spread on bread at all no matter how long I left it out of the fridge. It had a nice flavour however, just didn’t sit right with me.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Linda, sorry to hear that! I usually use it on toast as that is my personal favorite, and it’s great in cooking/baking too. I also don’t have an issue with it softening at room temp but I am in a warm part of the world. 🙂
ake says
would you say this can be used as replacement for butter in baking??
Alison Andrews says
Yes it can. 🙂