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.
Gerald says
Just made some, we’ll see hoe it goes. How well do you blend it? high speed, medium or slow? for how long? thanks
Alison Andrews says
I usually blend it on high until well mixed.
Keith Bradshaw says
I have tasted many vegan butters from the shops and this beats them all hands down. The first batch I made separated in the fridge but I think I may not have blended it for long enough. The second batch came out fine. Fantastic recipe.
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Keith! Thanks so much for sharing!
Sue says
Hi Alison – thanks for the recipe – a question about the salt. Does it serve a purpose other than flavour? I dislike salted butter and checking if you know whether this recipe will still give a good result without salt?? Thanks
Alison Andrews says
It’s just for flavor so you can definitely leave it out. 🙂
Sue says
🙂 thanks
Jackie says
Can I use a food processor, instead of a blender? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Yes I think so!
Allison says
I would like to make this and want to a avoid the canola oil, is there anything other than avocado and olive oil I could use? Walnut? Almond? Sesame? Sunflower?
Alison Andrews says
You could really try any oil and see if it’s a good flavor mix.
Sarah says
Hey quick question, have you tried browning this butter? I want to use it in a brownie recipe but am not sure how it will come out. Any tips?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sarah, I haven’t tried that but I don’t think it would work because the browning process is caused by the milk proteins in dairy butter.
Pia says
can I use extra virgin coconut oil instead?? 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Yes, this is all discussed in the post. 🙂
Lucy says
I don’t own a blender. Would a hand mixer work for this recipe?
Alison Andrews says
Yes I think so. You might just need to use some arm power to get it all well mixed in.
sue earle says
Hi I have just tried to make this however I forget to mix the cider vinegar with soya milk first and it’s now curdled as I poured it out. Will it taste awful? I don’t want to waste this!
Thanks
Alison Andrews says
I think it should be fine, but if your whole mix looks curdled, I’d blend it again.
Kelli says
I am not vegan, but I’m dairy free. I’m from South Louisiana so that is hard for me to be dairy free. I grew up with my grandparents saying “bread and butter come to supper” with butter slathered on to white Bunny Bread. I’m surprised my heart is still good lol! Not to mention the roux made with butter and flour that is the beginning of most recipes. Well, this vegan butter has not disappointed. My daughter says it tastes like movie theatre butter. I don’t recommend this for a roux but I use it for everything else. On corn on the cob, in my rice, on my toast, in all of our baking, etc… I’m so thankful I found this recipe and I’m thankful to you for the experimenting that went into this.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kelli, that is so awesome to hear. So happy you love the recipe and find lots of uses for it. Thanks so much for the awesome review. 🙂
Anne says
Hands down best vegan butter I have ever had. I have made this recipe twice. Both times with homemade almond milk and olive oil and unrefined coconut oil. I don’t taste the coconut. I add the olive oil at the end and then put my blender on the lowest setting for a couple seconds. No bitterness. Love it!!! Thank you!!! I am hoping to make your cinnamon roll recipe with it in the next week 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing! And I hope you love the cinnamon rolls too. 🙂
Aditi Aggarwal says
Hi! Great recipe. Is there any substitute for coconut oil in this recipe? I would really love to make the same without coconut oil. Also, can I skip using nutritional yeast?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Aditi, no there is no substitute for coconut oil in this recipe as that is what allows it to set. You can skip the nutritional yeast though.
Starrysky says
This is the BESTEST homemade Vegan Butter recipe! Just tried it and it looks and tastes like butter! Can’t wait to bake with it. So easy to make and tastes better than the store-bought Vegan butter. I did use about 1/8 Tsp of turmeric for color (read you used 1/4 tsp and was like yellow hi-liter) so mine might be an in between yellow color so next time will use a pinch as recipe states and see how that turns out. Thank you, Alison, for all your hard work in testing and getting it PERFECT and for sharing this wonderful creation. Blessings
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear it was a success! Thanks for the great review!
Lou says
Tastes really good.
The only problem I had was that the mixture separated in the fridge and the nice yellow went to the bottom and the coconut went to the top. Therefore to use it and get the buttery taste I had to let it melt at room temperature and remix and use.
Attempting to reset it again now.
Any idea where I went wrong? I followed the recipe.
Stephanie says
Hello, can I use coconut milk instead of almond or soy? I’m allergic to all milks except rice and coconut milk.
Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Yes that should be fine, it won’t curdle into buttermilk but that’s okay, you can still use it.