This easy vegan chocolate frosting is buttery, chocolatey, rich and creamy to the extreme! Perfect for use on cakes, cupcakes and cookies.
This super simple vegan chocolate frosting is absolutely gorgeous on…. you guessed it – a vegan chocolate cake!
What you’ll love about this frosting is that it’s so easy and quick to prepare, and the result is rich, chocolatey, smooth and creamy, with a hint of buttercream richness and hints of vanilla.
Yum!
The recipe is a simple 5-ingredient mix of powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vegan butter, vanilla and non-dairy milk (any non-dairy milk will do).
It’s divine on a chocolate cake, but of course you can mix and match and use it on a vanilla cake too.
It’s also perfect to pipe onto cupcakes and holds up really well. The ideal is to make it as thick as possible, but still spreadable.
I have on occasion made it too thick so that once it goes into the piping syringe it won’t come out again! It’s just too thick. If that happens, add some more non-dairy milk, a drop or two at a time until you get the right consistency. And if it happens to end up too thin, add more powdered sugar until it’s the right thickness again.
With a bit of flexibility to get the right texture, this is really a foolproof recipe.
I think you are going to really love this vegan chocolate frosting and it’s one you’ll come back to again and again! It is:
- Thick
- Creamy
- Super Rich
- Extremely chocolatey
- Decadent
- So easy
If you refrigerate this frosting, it gets a delicious crystalized texture on the edges, which I love and is so great on cakes.
And once your cake is frosted, you get to decorate it, and that is too much fun! My latest favorite decorating technique – melted chocolate drizzled over this frosting with chocolate chips sprinkled over the top! So decadent.
Also it suits my decorating style which leans more towards the messy side of things.
More Vegan Frosting Recipes
- Vegan Vanilla Frosting
- Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- Vegan Lemon Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Chocolate Ganache Frosting
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
How To Make Vegan Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups Powdered Sugar (450g)
- 4 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder Unsweetened
- 3 Tablespoons Vegan Butter (45g)
- 4-5 Tablespoons Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vegan butter, vanilla and around half the soy milk to the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Start mixing on low, gradually moving to a higher setting until thick, smooth and creamy. Add the extra soy milk in slowly, only as much as needed (see notes).
- It should be thick, but still be easily spreadable so it won’t go sliding off a cake. So if it’s not thick enough, add a little more powdered sugar.
Notes
- I usually use 5 Tablespoons soy milk in this recipe, but different brands of vegan butters have different water contents, so if you’re using one with a higher water content and use all 5 Tbsp soy milk, you might have a consistency that is too runny. So start off slow and only add in all the soy milk if you need to. You want your frosting to be thick, but still spreadable.
Hi I’m making a 3 layer 9” chocolate cake if I want to fill the cake and cover the whole of the outside will I have to times this recipe by 5? Thank you
Hi Lainy, I don’t think so, doubling the recipe should be enough.
Hi, first time I’ve made a vegan chocolate cake and frosting. The frosting tastes delicious! Don’t know about the cake as it’s for a corporate lunch! Is the frosting freezable at all? I have lots leftover.
Hi Sheila, so glad you like the frosting, hope the cake turns out great too. Yes, the frosting is definitely freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
Hi Alison! This is the best birthday cake I have made for my son (who has to be on a strict diet) and he just loved your chocolate frosting on the Vanilla cake. It works so well on gluten free flours & is totally vegan ! Thank you so much 🥰 Wishing you much much more success with your bakes and thanks a ton for sharing ❣️ Bless you.
So happy to hear that Ramya, thanks so much for your lovely review!
Hi! How long last the Frosting on the cake in warm weather? or Does the cake need to be always refrigerated?
If it’s really hot then better to keep it in the fridge until about an hour before serving.
The best chocolate frosting!!! Vegan or not.
Thanks Ana!
I’ve been vegan since 91 and I don’t usually eat sweets but I made this icing in both chocolate and vanilla for cupcakes and it was out of this world! Excellent! I came here after looking on Amazon at a $7 can of vegan frosting.
So happy you enjoyed it Surry!
So quick and easy to make. I did miss out one ingredient by mistake but the cake came out moist still.
Hi! Haven’t tried the frosting yet but was wondering if you’ve had it work out with coconut oil (or otherwise) instead of vegan butter?
Some have used coconut oil in frostings and like it. I prefer vegan butter.
Hi how long can i refrigerate the leftover icing for please? Thankyou 🙂
Hi Joanne, up to a week in the fridge. 🙂
Made this for my birthday cake and it is perfection…just like all of your recipes! ♥
Awesome! Thanks so much Robyn! 🙂 And happy birthday!!
Hi!! I made your vegan vanilla cake and white icing on a whim the other night and it was DIVINE!!! If I make this for someone the day before it’s eaten, should I refrigerate? Or try to make same day? Thanks! <3
Yes, you can keep it in the fridge overnight no problem.
Hi! If I make cupcakes with this frosting the day before a party should I refrigerate them overnight? Thanks!
Hi Jessica, it would probably be a good idea to refrigerate them (covered) especially if the weather is warm, though the frosting should be okay at room temp anyway for a few hours, but aim to make sure that it is nice and thick and not runny at all. 🙂
Can I refrigerate this to use days later like your regular vegan buttercream?
Hi Heather, yes you can! 🙂
Amazing! Best frosting I have ever made (including non-vegan) according to my harshest critic, my 14 year old son! YUMMO!
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the awesome review! 🙂
Perfect recipe. Thanks.
Thanks Annie! 🙂