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.
Saul says
I’m allergic to coconuts hence, I can’t use it in my recipe, but can I add agar to help to solidify it. If so how much to add.
Jae Martin says
The butter came out fairly well, but when combining the ACV with unsweetened soy milk didn’t seem to curdle. Does that make a difference, I wonder why it didn’t turn into buttermilk?
Lori-Beth says
*happy dance*
SO easy to make and SO good!! First thing i did was make a white bread marmite sandwhich! Tasted spot on. Butter has been the only thing I’ve missed.
So thank you for this 🙂
PS I used a stick mixer and in about 2 seconds it was whipped like a very thick mayo! Had to spoon it into my butterdish (not pourable like video), but it set well so all appears well?!
Alison Andrews says
Yay! I’m also a fan of a good marmite sandwich so I can relate! So glad you liked the recipe! I had no idea it would do that (thicken like mayo!) but all’s well that ends well! 🙂
Lori-Beth says
So glad I found your blog! Made the tofu scramble this morning (with buttered toast of course!) and then the peanut butter oat cookies this afternoon… so good, and marinated tofu the night before. Loving your recipes!
Alison Andrews says
Brilliant! So happy you’re finding lots of recipes you enjoy! Thanks Lori-Beth! 🙂
Laurel says
Hi. I was looking at Mattie’s vegan butter the other day and found that you can add deodorized cocoa butter which works better at high temperatures. I made some with half coconut oil and half regular cocoa butter and made cookies. Just imagine the flavor in frosting. Yum.
Christine says
Haven’t read all the comments, so these tips might be amongst them. Instead of turmeric for colour, use Carotina oil instead of straight canola – it’s a blend of canola and red palm fruit oil. Also, instead of salt, try adding a teaspoon of Shiri Miso (the pale one) for that umami taste – use more if you like salty butter.
anish doshi says
Thank you so much for your response. I can’t wait to make it tonight. Looks amazing.
Anish Doshi says
not sure if my previous question went thru. What is the reason for not using Unrefined Coconut oil?
Peace. Looks amazing.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Anish, you can totally use regular virgin coconut oil, the only thing is it will taste like coconut, not a bad thing necessarily, but if you use refined you don’t get the coconut taste so it tastes more like ‘butter’. But unrefined does work and I did test it like that as well and discussed it in the post. 🙂
Anish Doshi says
Thank you. I am an avid vegan baker. However, i have heard so many bad things about refined coconut oil that I don’t buy that. Can i make this with unrefined coconut oil? What would happen? Sorry did not get a chance to go thru all the questions. Busy baking. I do make all mine own nut milks and nut cheeses. Peace.
Amanda Rodrigues Pisetta says
Hi, I’m Brazilian and it’s very difficult and expensive find Nutricional Yeast here. Can I substitute for another ingredient? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
You can leave it out.
Amanda Rodrigues Pisetta says
Thanks! I’ll try 🙂
Fatimah says
Sounds amazing! Just wondering if coconut oil can be substituted with flax or olive oil? My brother can’t have anything with coconut, but I’d love to make him butter…
Alison Andrews says
Hi Fatimah, no, the coconut oil is a must in this recipe as it is what makes it set, it has to be the coconut oil that sets solidly at room temperature, any other oil will cause this to be liquid in consistency.
Bronwyn says
I cant get over how amazing this butter is. I missed butter so much. It tastes so good. My husband hates coconut and loves this butter.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Bronwyn, that is SO awesome! I’m honestly thrilled you like it so much! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Chris de la Nougerede says
Fantastic! I live in a small Spanish town and I struggled to find refined coconut oil but I did find a jar of virgin (without the extra) so used that. I love the result but have yet to try it on my husband who hates the taste of coconut. Thanks so much, it amazes me how good this is!
Alison Andrews says
Excellent! So glad you like it! Hope your husband will like it too. 🙂 Thanks for posting!
Sophia says
Hi! What can replace the buttermilk? My mum is severely allergic to both lemon juice and vinegar.
Hope you have a lovely day Alison 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sophia, just leave out the vinegar, you will still get a really great tasting butter without curdling the non-dairy milk. 🙂
Rowan Howard says
Hi! I wonder what other plant milks curdle well? my partner has allergies to soy, nuts and hemp :O would rice or oat milk work? thank you 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Other than soy milk and almond milk I’m not sure what curdles well. But even if it doesn’t curdle, I think your end result will still be good. So just go ahead and choose a plant milk that will go well in terms of neutral flavor and go with that, even if it doesn’t curdle.
Felix Smith says
I wanna make cookies for my flatmates next year to start the cohabitation right, and if I can avoid making two batches I will, so how well does this butter work in cookies?
Alison Andrews says
I tried it in my vegan oatmeal cookies and it was awesome. 🙂
Ci says
I just made this butter and it turned out amazing!!!! I used saffron powder for the colour instead of turmeric. I’m actually amazed that it does somehow taste like butter. Like the butter you get on popcorn at the cinemas. I’ll love to try this recipe with herbs next time.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! That’s helpful to know that saffron powder works well for those who don’t want to use turmeric. Yes, it’s quite amazing how buttery it is! Thanks for sharing. 🙂