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    Home » How To

    Homemade Vegan Butter

    Published: Jan 24, 2018 Updated: Sep 30, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

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    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.

    Vegan butter in a glass butter dish with a butter knife.

    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).

    Homemade vegan butter in a glass butter dish with a butter knife.

    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!

    Vegan butter spread on a slice of bread with a butter knife.

    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.

    Slices of toast spread with vegan butter on top of a red napkin.

    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. 

    Slices of toast spread with vegan butter on top of a red napkin.

    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!

    Slices of toast spread with vegan butter on top of a red napkin.

    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.

    Slices of toast spread with homemade vegan butter.

    This Vegan Butter Is Great In These Recipes:

    1. Vegan Garlic Bread
    2. Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
    3. Vegan Pound Cake
    4. Vegan Bread Pudding
    5. Vegan Apple Crisp
    6. Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
    Slices of toast spread with homemade vegan butter.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Homemade vegan butter in a glass butter dish with a knife.

    Homemade Vegan Butter

    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.
    4.87 from 180 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: How To, Side
    Cuisine: Vegan
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes
    Servings: 1 Block
    Calories: 39kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    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
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    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

    1. The coconut oil must be refined coconut oil and not extra virgin coconut oil.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. This recipe makes one 9.7 ounce block (275g) of vegan butter. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1tsp | Calories: 39kcal | Fat: 4.1g | Saturated Fat: 3.1g | Sodium: 22mg
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Ida says

      November 27, 2021 at 8:09 pm

      Does it matter if the soy milk is refrigerated before adding the apple cider vinegar?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        November 29, 2021 at 1:09 pm

        It doesn’t matter at all. Soy milk works great for buttermilk even straight from the fridge.

        Reply
    2. Andrea says

      November 21, 2021 at 10:41 am

      I presume you use coconut oil because it sets hard in the fridge. Could you use refined olive oil instead? It wouldn’t have the strong flavour of olive oil.

      Reply
    3. Phil says

      November 18, 2021 at 1:41 pm

      Great recipe. I used oat milk but I think it might have separated as there were pockets of buttery water after it had set. Will probably use almond milk next time.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        November 18, 2021 at 2:23 pm

        Hi Phil, yes I think that would work better, oat milk often seems to cause issues.

        Reply
    4. Zuki says

      November 03, 2021 at 7:55 am

      Can 1 use this butter for cake frosting

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        November 03, 2021 at 10:09 am

        Yes you can.

        Reply
    5. Maria says

      October 21, 2021 at 6:01 pm

      Can you use oat/coconut/macadamia milk instead of soy/almond?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        October 22, 2021 at 11:29 am

        Those options have not been tested and if you read the other comments results have been varied when using different plant milks.

        Reply
    6. Julie says

      October 11, 2021 at 5:52 pm

      I thank you for this recipe. Have you tried substituting lemon juice for the apple cider vinegar?

      Reply
    7. Mo says

      September 04, 2021 at 10:16 am

      Thanks for this wonderful recipe. Where we live it’s not possible to buy vegan butter or vegan ‘dairy’ products, so this is a game changer for us! I made the spreadable version and it’s perfect! Everyone in the family loves it, vegan and non-vegan alike. I also made your vegan cream cheese and your coffee cake this weekend and all get 5stars from us! I love your website and will be trying many more recipes in the coming weeks. Thanks so much for all your experimenting and hard work!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        September 04, 2021 at 11:37 am

        Thank you so much for the wonderful comment Mo! I’m so happy you’ve been finding recipes you love! 🙂

        Reply
    8. Prerana says

      August 27, 2021 at 4:17 am

      Hi, I’m from India. I’m looking for refined coconut oil, but i cant find it
      can we use refined sunflower oil instead?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 27, 2021 at 10:07 am

        Refined sunflower oil won’t work but you can use regular coconut oil, though it will have a coconut flavor.

        Reply
    9. Rosena says

      August 14, 2021 at 7:42 am

      Hi! I always follow and trust your recipes.
      I made this recently and used it for icing. After mixing with handmixer, it became too runny for my icing. Any suggestions on what can be done to improve it?
      Thanks so much

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 14, 2021 at 11:49 am

        Hi Rosena, a lot of people have used this recipe for frostings and loved it, but if you were using this in a frosting you would need to be careful not to overbeat it, and put it in the fridge and then beat it again if it was tending to get too soft. Even real butter can break if it gets overbeaten so that would be the most important thing.

        Reply
        • Rosena says

          August 25, 2021 at 8:30 am

          Well noted. I’ll give it another try. Thanks!

          Reply
    10. Oshani Perera says

      August 14, 2021 at 3:57 am

      Hello Alison
      Thank you for this and all your wonderful ideas. Can I please use this recipe to make vegan butter for cake frostings? I did try, but the butter melts very fast when the powdered sugar is added to it. Would welcome your advice. Thank you again.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 14, 2021 at 11:52 am

        Hi Oshani, we have had a lot of readers use this butter in frostings and love it, and I have also tried it in a frosting and it worked, but it does tend to get soft at room temp and very firm in the fridge, though this is also what tends to happen with real butter. I would just be very careful not to beat it too much, and place it in the fridge for 15 minutes if it is seeming to get too soft while you’re mixing with the other ingredients.

        Reply
    11. Karen says

      August 09, 2021 at 9:32 am

      I did the more spreadable version with almond milk. Added xanthan gum to keep it together. I have tried lots of butter alternatives and this is the best so far! Thank you!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 10, 2021 at 10:18 am

        Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing Karen!

        Reply
      • Erin says

        October 03, 2021 at 6:48 pm

        Hi Karen, How much Xantham gum did you add?
        Thank you!

        Reply
    12. Liza says

      July 27, 2021 at 1:59 pm

      Can I use nutribullet instead of blender? Or can I do it manually?
      Thank you for this!

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 28, 2021 at 10:13 am

        Nutribullet should be fine!

        Reply
    13. Bev says

      July 26, 2021 at 5:04 pm

      WOW, I didn’t know there was a recipe for vegan butter I could make! I’ve been purchasing various substitutes at the grocery store. A friend told me about your site and there you are with so many fabulous recipes including how to make your own vegan butter!!! I LOVE it. It’s the best of all I’ve tried and will continue to make it in the future!BB5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 27, 2021 at 10:37 am

        Awesome! Thank you so much Bev!

        Reply
    14. Darby Elizabeth Fowler says

      July 03, 2021 at 7:50 am

      Hi! Pardon me if this is a stupid question; I’m deeply new to cooking. After mixing the ACV with the soy milk, do you just dump the whole thing into the blender, or will you need to strain it? I look forward to trying this!

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 03, 2021 at 12:00 pm

        You just dump the whole thing into the blender. 🙂

        Reply
        • Darby Elizabeth Fowler says

          July 04, 2021 at 1:19 am

          Thank you so much!

          Reply
    15. Suzie says

      July 02, 2021 at 3:58 pm

      The first time I made this as a spreadable butter, it came out perfect! So easy and much cheaper than store bought. I just tried to make again – twice. First try, I just threw everything into my bowl and blended. I know, should follow recipe! So I did on try 2. Both were duds no matter how long I blended. Not one to throw out food, I decided to use a technique for whipped shea butter. Put both batches into the fridge until mostly firm and blend – voila! Perfectly whipped butter!! I tried mixing some flax oil with canola for the health benefits but it gave an odd taste. A big batch to make mistakes but at least I salvaged the butter. Great and simple recipe – thank you!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 03, 2021 at 12:31 pm

        Thanks so much for sharing your tips Suzie! That’s a great fix. 🙂

        Reply
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