Oh my word – THIS frosting recipe! Soooo good.
When you want a frosting that is super sweet yet with just enough tang to offset it, then you likely want this vegan lemon buttercream frosting.
To be honest, in retrospect, I probably should’ve just called this ‘vegan lemon frosting’ because I didn’t use much vegan butter in it at all.
I used heaps more vegan butter when making the lemon frostings for my lemon cupcakes and my vegan banana cake!
But whether it’s called ‘lemon buttercream’ or straight up ‘lemon frosting’ is not super important, what is important is that this is a frosting that has served me very well.
We used a slightly adjusted version (adding in some apple cider vinegar for even more tang – no seriously – it works great!) for our Vegan Carrot Cake and that was awesome.
So it might not be a lot of vegan butter used in this but it definitely has just enough to make it delectably creamy and rich.
And it’s just 4 ingredients! This is a frosting you will love!
Have you made this recipe? Let us know how it went! Rate it and leave a comment. And let us know what kind of cake you used it on!
Or was it cookies, or something else? Let us know!
And check out our other frosting recipes too, like these:
And then you only have to search our cakes (type ‘cake’ into the search bar above) to see all the delish cakes we’ve made and the awesome frostings paired with them.
Sign up to our email list for a fabulous (and free!) recipe ebook with 10 delicious vegan recipes and to stay updated with all our latest recipe posts.
How To Make Vegan Lemon Buttercream Frosting
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Easy step-by-step guide to making vegan lemon buttercream frosting. Just 4 ingredients!
Ingredients
- 3 and 3/4 Cups (450g) Powdered Sugar
- 3 Tbsp (45g) Vegan Butter
- 4 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp (5ml) Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Add the powdered sugar into a mixing bowl along with the vegan butter, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
- Using an electric mixer on low speed mix together, gradually increasing speed.
- It should be thick so that when you spread it on a cake it sets and doesn’t run. However, if it’s too thick, add more lemon juice, a drop at a time until it reaches the right consistency.
- If it’s not thick enough, then add more powdered sugar.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Mixer
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serve (of 10)
- Calories: 208
- Sodium: 30mg
- Fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 48g
- Protein: 0g
Keywords: vegan lemon frosting
I made this using a lemon that my dad and I picked from our tree yesterday š it tastes amazing
★★★★★
Hi, can I use ghee instead of the vegan butter?
I don’t think so!
Hello Alison,
I just made this frosting for my carrot cake and it tastes great! I only used 3 cups of icing sugar and substitued 1 table spoon of lemon for 1 table spoon of apple cider vinegar. I can’t wait for my guests to taste it and tell them afterwards that this is vegan.
I want to freeze the leftovers of my carrot cake with this frosting. Can it be freezed for a couple of weeks without any problem ?
Thanks a lot for this easy and delicious recipe!
Lucy
Hi Lucy, yes this should be fine to freeze! So glad it tastes great! š
OlĆ”! Essa cobertura de limĆ£o,aguenta firme ,sem desmanchar?? ? Gostaria de fazer para uma festa,no dia anterior. Grata
Sure, you can keep it in the fridge overnight or frost the cake and then keep the cake in the fridge (covered) overnight.
Hi Alison,
Can you make this frosting day before and store it in the fridge?
Yes! ?
How far ahead can I make this vegan buttercream? How long does it hold on the countertop, fridge, freezer? Thank you.
★★★★★
If the weather is cool it can hold up on the countertop for 2-3 days. If the weather is warmer though then better in the fridge and it will keep for up to a week. Freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
Hey can we use coconut oil instead of vegan butter?
Some readers have commented that they have used coconut oil successfully in place of vegan butter for frostings, but vegan butter is definitely my preference.
Hi! Can I use agave syrop instead of powered sugar? š
Hi Karolina, no, that definitely won’t work here.
Iām not sure if it was the amount of lemon or what but this was more like a cookie icing and not a cake buttercream. I could NOT frost my cake at all. It was far too sticky and would not spread around. Threw the whole thing away.
Hi Danielle, sorry you had a bad experience with it! If it wouldn’t spread it sounds like it was much too thick. A little more lemon juice (generally just a few drops at a time and then re-mix it) until you reach the right consistency is the way to fix it.
This is the best frosting vegan or not that I’ve ever made. I frosted a huge vegan carrot cake with this recipe, but I doubled it. I served a large church crowd, and everyone kept raving, “wow this frosting just melts in your mouth”. Nobody believed that the cake or frosting was vegan. I was so pleased. I’m making another one this weekend for church (Pastor’s request). Thanks so much. I appreciated the fact that I didn’t have to use vegan cream cheese in this recipe. Love it. Love it.
That is so totally awesome! Thanks so much for sharing! š
Hi, thanks for posting so very nice recipes. About the buttercream frosting , what do you mean “vegan butter”? I had no idea that exist one ! Can you please tell more about it? I guess you do not mean margarine?!
Thank you very much for all your lovely recipes.
Hi, you’re very welcome! Vegan butter is just a buttery spread like Earth Balance in the USA or Nuttelex in Australia/UK. You can just do a search for what is available in your area. Margarine is also completely fine to use, but many of them use whey so are not vegan, but usually you can find one that is vegan if you look. As long as it says it’s good for baking, then it’s great to use.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! FREAKIN’ DELICIOUS!!!
Haha, you’re very welcome! So glad you liked it. Thanks for posting! š
Hi, do you use a balloon whisk or the paddle attachment when mixing up the buttercream? I seem to always get a grainy mixture, despite being careful to add the icing sugar in increments, as well as sifting the sugar first.
Hi Lucy, if you watch our video for how to make vegan vanilla frosting: https://lovingitvegan.com/how-to-make-vegan-vanilla-frosting/ you’ll see the kind of stand mixer I’m using. I don’t even sift my powdered sugar and just throw it all in at once and there is no graininess.
Great lemon frosting option for dairy-free folks! I did like it, though for me it was a tad too sweet. But our son thought it was perfect.:) If I were to make it for myself in the future, I would reduce the sugar by 1/3 to 1/2. Delicious.
Cool! Thanks for posting Irene! š
Omg this was so lemony and tart just what my lemon cupcakes needed!! The recipe came together perfectly..easiest icing ever!!!
★★★★★
Yay! So good to hear Erin! Thanks for posting! š