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.
Alyssa says
How long do i have to stir the apple cider vinegar & milk before it starts curdling because mine wont & its been 5 min
Alison Andrews says
If it doesn’t start curdling quite fast then it likely won’t. I have had one batch of soy milk that just didn’t curdle, but it was just one batch, every other soy milk I used worked great. Also some plant milks never curdle, so it also depends which one you used.
Pamela says
Hello! I love this vegan butter! Thank you for sharing😀. Can I use this for buttercream?
Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Pamela, yes you can! If the weather is warm though then keep your buttercream in the fridge, since the base of this butter is coconut oil it can tend to get too soft outside of the fridge, it’s not as stable as store-bought vegan butter in that way. 🙂
Sabine says
This butter is so good! I made it several times and every time I finish it I make a new one. Just like today 🙂 Thank you so much, this is my to go butter for everything, on toast, to bake and cook. I shared this recipe with friends that are making it too!! Just amazing!!!
Alison Andrews says
That’s wonderful! Thanks so much Sabine!
Martha says
Can 2% milk be used? I’m not a vegan but I love the idea of making butter this way.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Martha, I think it would work. 🙂
Martha says
I’ll try it and let you know after I get my Amazon order of ingredients.
Zoe says
Can I use oat milk instead of soy? I make my own oat milk, so wondering if that will work?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Zoe, there has been mixed results reported with oat milk, so it sometimes works but sometimes causes issues. It would be safest to stick with the options we tested.
Deb Z says
I so badly want to make my own vegan butter, but is there anyway to make a vegan butter minus the coconut oil?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Deb, sorry no the coconut oil is the crucial ingredient in this butter.
Lydia Baksh says
I just made this recipe thinking all the way thru the process that it will be a disappointment. When the mixture solidified, I gingerly put some on a slice of bread. WOW!!! Alison, you’ve done it again! Amazing!! Thankyou.
Alison Andrews says
Yay! Thanks so much Lydia!
Amber says
HI there,
LOVE the recipe!! I had a quick question..I’m an elementary school teacher. My class is going to shake heavy whipping cream in a jar to make butter (similar to colonial times). I have a dairy-free student and I want them to still participate. I noticed you used a blender. Do you think it’d also work if you added everything to a jar and shook like crazy? I have all the ingredients at home but the nutritional yeast, might try it anyway. Would love to hear your thoughts! 🙂
Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Amber, yes I think that would work! All the best! 🙂
Brittney says
Really easy and better than store bought!
Debra B Rushing says
This butter recipe is better than the real thing!!! It is a staple in our home ever since we made it the first time a few months ago. I purchased the little glass butter keeper…but, decided to use silicone butter molds to make it easier to measure. It seems with the silicone there seems to be a slight separation on the bottom…it might have with the glass …but, would not have been obvious. It is all good…separated or not. I am so blessed to have found your site…looking forward to trying your custard and whipped cream recipes. Now if you could just make vegan gluten-free bread and cakes…I know your mom would be happy ; )
Alison Andrews says
Hi Debra, so happy you love the butter! We have made a couple of amazing gluten free cakes and our easiest white bread recipe works GREAT as gluten-free too. 🙂
Tamira says
Do you think this butter would work for making croissants? I’m struggling to find a harder version of vegan butter where I live.
P.s I love all your recipes! You should bring out a book, I would defo buy it ❤️
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Tamira! I think it would work great for croissants!
Amy says
I was just wondering. Before I make this. What is the point of the nutritional yeast and turmeric? I don’t have any nutritional yeast on hand. Do they just provide depth of flavor? Or are they useful in some way? I’m assuming the turmeric is just flavor, so I’m more asking about the nutritional yeast, I guess. I want to make a vegan pie crust so I’m just wondering if I can omit those without issue. Geez, that’s a rambling question????
Alison Andrews says
Nutritional yeast adds to the buttery flavor but you can omit it if you prefer. The turmeric is just for color. You can omit both without any issue. 🙂
Camila says
This is an amazing recipe! I made this using Extra Virgin Coconut Oil and it still turned out great! To be honest it did have a slight taste of coconut but not a bother at all – to me at least!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Camila!
Chriscrandell1 says
Could I substitute safflower oil for the canola, and oat milk for the almond milk?
Alison Andrews says
You can definitely try it with the oil, oat milk has had mixed results for other people.
Andrea del Carmen Sandoval Torres says
Can I use this butter to make pie crust?
Alison Andrews says
Yes!
Graciela says
This is delicious, I’m in the process of making my second batch.
Elaine can Zyl says
Hi.
Can I make it with coconut milk?
Alison Andrews says
Yes, I think so. It won’t curdle but should still work.