This vegan vanilla frosting is smooth, creamy and delicious.
Ideal for use on cakes, cupcakes and cookies!
Just 4 ingredients, this really couldn’t be simpler and you’ll love how rich and buttery it is, even while using a fairly minimal amount of vegan butter.
An electric mixer is required but you can whip this up in 10 minutes from start to finish and get on with the important job of enjoying whatever delicious treat you’ve prepared.
I love this frosting on a vanilla sponge cake. This is exactly the frosting (topped with strawberries) we used on the vanilla cake you see below!
Vanilla on vanilla is rather marvellous I must say! Or mix and match a bit and use it on a fabulous vegan chocolate cake!
But there are other uses! Like on top of some delicious raw brownies!
This frosting is perfect to spread on cakes or cookies, but it is also ideal to pipe onto cupcakes.
The cool thing about this recipe is that it’s so simple and easy to throw together.
And it just works out every time.
Not to mention that it contains simple ingredients.
I still haven’t figured out what ‘shortening’ even is, let alone putting it into my frosting recipes!
So if you’re similarly a fan of the simple, then this is for you!
So I think you’re really going to love this vegan vanilla frosting, it’s:
- Smooth
- Velvety
- Deliciously Sweet
- Simple
- Perfect on cakes, cupcakes or cookies
It’s super sweet of course, but that’s what you want in a frosting isn’t it?
It’s definitely what I want!
Any comments or questions about this vegan vanilla frosting recipe, post them down below.
And if you make this recipe, let us know how it turned out for you.
Tag any photos #lovingitvegan on instagram so we can see what you’re making! Thanks!
For more delicious frostings, check out our Vegan Lemon Frosting and our Vegan Chocolate Frosting recipes! And of course, see some of the frostings in action on a few of our cakes!
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Red Velvet Cake
- Vegan Blue Velvet Cake
- Key Lime Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Banana Cake
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How To Make Vegan Vanilla Frosting
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Prep Time: 10 mins - Total Time: 10 mins
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Yield: 10 -
Category: Vegan, Baking, How To -
Cuisine: Vegan
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This vegan vanilla frosting is smooth, creamy and delicious! Easy 4-ingredient recipe, ideal for use on cakes, cupcakes and cookies!
Ingredients
- 3 and 3/4 cups (450g) Powdered Sugar
- 3 Tbsp (45g) Vegan Butter
- 4 Tbsp (60ml) Soy Milk*
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Add the powdered sugar, vegan butter, half the soy milk and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl.
- Using your electric mixer, start at low speed, gradually increasing speed. Add the rest of the soy milk in slowly until perfectly smooth and thick.*
- It should be very thick, but still easily spreadable.
Notes
*You can switch soy milk for almond milk or another non-dairy milk if you prefer.
*You might not need to use all the soy milk to achieve the desired consistency. Some vegan butters have a higher water content than others and this can make some end up too runny, so only use as much as needed. If it still ends up too thin, add more powdered sugar.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serve (of 10)
- Calories: 200
- Sugar: 44g
- Sodium: 33mg
- Fat: 2g
- Saturated Fat: 0.4g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Protein: 0.2g
Keywords: vegan vanilla frosting
I already know this will turn out well because it’s the same basic recipe my mom used all of my life. Except hers was the milk and margarine kind. Anyone who can’t locate vegan butter can make their own with easy to find ingredients. I make one that is basically ground almonds, soy milk, coconut oil and olive oil, with a few other ingredients. I found it on YouTube from someone who goes by the name The Vegetarian Baker.
Thanks Stacey! 🙂
I admit that I had doubts about this recipe. After all, every other buttercream recipe calls for several sticks of butter. But it worked!! I loved the super sweetness and the consistency was perfect. I doubled it to make sure I had enough for two 9-inch layers. I had a little left over, but I think one batch would have been too thin for my style of frosting. Thanks for a great recipe!
Haha, yes, there is not too much butter in this buttercream! Glad to hear it came out great! Thanks so much for posting! 🙂
Hi there, would it be possible to use coconut butter instead of vegan butter/ margarine? I have jars full and tryin to use them up 🙂
Hi Charmaine! I really don’t know! But I think it’s definitely worth a try! Some have had success using coconut oil and I imagine coconut butter would work even better! All the best and let us know if you try it. 🙂
Hi! I just tried this with Christmas sprinkle to make funfetti cupcake for my oldest niece who I now vegan and for our breakfast with Santa, I used earth balance butter and coconut milk and they came out amazing thank you so much for the recipe would love to share a picture
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Wonderful! So glad to hear! If you’re on instagram tag us @lovingitvegan and #lovingitvegan for the photo! 🙂
Followed the recipe exactly for the first time and it turned out perfectly!! Measurements are spot on. It comes together in minutes and spreads easily. Used it to ice a homemade vegan chocolate cake for a special occasion. The overall result was noteworthy. Thank you!
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That’s great! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
how long can it stay frozen for?
Up to 3 months. 🙂
Hi! I am planning to do a vegan chocolate cake with raspberry frosting. Can I use your vanilla frosting and add puréed raspberries? How would I have to modify the ingredients? Any help would be appreciated!
And I am intending to use a half sheet pan and do a 1 layer cake. Would I have to double/triple the recipe?
Hi Anne, I have a chocolate sheet cake recipe you may want to check out and I have also made a strawberry frosting that you could adjust to use raspberries instead. All the best!
I’m guessing from the sweetness of the frosting that you are american? The consistency is really good and it was a good base to mix with vegan whip cream and vegan cream cheese, but even after mixing all of that together it was still way too sweet for me. That’s probably a matter of taste though. But as a base, with alot less powdered sugar I’m definitely going to use it again. So thank you for that 🙂
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I loved this recipe just I am glad that it is not runny and sticky. just wondering how did you get this recipe?
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Good! This recipe came about through trial and error like most of our recipes! 🙂
Hello,
Do you really beat everything together at once or cream the butter then add the rest? I’ve only made frosting once before and it was a very long time ago!
I really do just add everything in at once! 🙂 The worst that can happen is the powdered sugar sprays up a bit, but you can solve that issue by holding a kitchen towel up over your mixer just when it starts. Beating the butter first doesn’t solve that issue anyway, so yes, all in at once works just fine! But if you want to, you can definitely cream the butter first as well. It’s just a preference thing, I usually choose the speediest option. 🙂
Thank you! I just did it all together once I realized how little butter was actually in it! It worked great for my smash cake!
Flavour is great; I just found I needed to reduce the amount of milk a touch or add more icing. Both very manageable things to adjust. I’m wondering if you can add some cocoa powder to make a chocolate icing.
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Hi, thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Two things I noticed: the first was my icing wasn’t really white. It was a beige/light brown color. I thought it was due to the coloring from the butter and vanilla. Is it supposed to turn out white?
The second thing was that the icing hardened quite quickly. I’m just wondering if that is normal.
Other than that, it tasted great.
Thanks!
Hi Natalie, it’s slightly off-white from the butter and vanilla but definitely should still be close to white in color. The sugar creates a nice crystallized coating which is a bit hard on the outside, in frostings that use more butter this effect is lessened. All the best!
Very easy, fast, delicious and the best it is vegan
I am making this now and am just wondering how many cupcakes this will frost? I read all the reviews and didn’t see this answer. Thanks in advance!
Hi Jenn, it’s enough for a generous frosting for a 2-layer 7 inch cake, and likely would frost around 14 cupcakes or maybe just a very generous amount for 12. I have adapted this recipe slightly for a batch of 12 cupcakes if you’d like to see the adjustments, the recipe is here: Oreo Cupcakes.
This recipe looks beautiful! I’m looking for something for my 2 year old’s birthday, and we’re not ready to introduce refined sugars. Would this work with honey or maple sugar as the sweetener?
Hi Monique – unfortunately those options would definitely not work with this recipe. I would probably look at a completely different frosting option, maybe something like the cashew frosting I used on my carrot cake cupcakes. All the best! 🙂
Not even sucrose??
No it can’t be any non-dairy milk. Has to be soy or one with emulsifiers in. 🙂
Oat or rice milk probably would not work for example. 🙂
Look! I found your recipe for icing to go with the lime and vanilla cake! hahahaa! Must be a sign!
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Haha awesome! It sounds like a fantastic cake you’re making there! 🙂
I made this for frosting on a cupcake and it came out nicely but then it started to separate and eventually it kind of started melting off the cupcake and just looked like a glob… What did I do wrong? I was trying to pile the frosting up high on the cupcake to look like a Christmas tree
Hi Shannon, oh gosh that sucks. What vegan butter did you use? Some vegan butters have a higher water content than others, and can end up with too runny a consistency. You can add more powdered sugar to thicken it up. I have added a note to the recipe card that in some instances you may not need to use all the soy milk. I have used this frosting on our vegan oreo cupcakes and was able to pipe it no problem. So I think it can come down to different brands of vegan butters having different results.
Hey Alison, is an electric mixer really necessary, could I do this manually?
Looks amazing! I can’t wait to try this! Does it crust?
Yes it sort of does, the sugar gets a nice hard outside, it’s pretty delicious! 🙂
What brand of vegan butter do you recommend using?
It depends where you are? If you’re in the US, Earth Balance is a great brand, if you’re in Australia or Dubai, Nuttelex is a great brand. I’m not sure of UK brands but I have used a variety of brands and all have come out well, the biggest difference is in water content, some are softer (higher water content) than others, so that just impacts the amount of non-dairy milk you add to the recipe. 🙂
Hi! Thanks for the recipe. I’m trying to make my son a Birthday cake. Would this frosting be easy to pipe and make rossetts?
Thanks
Hi Victoria, it is easy to pipe, I used it for my oreo cupcakes if you want to see it in action there. Make sure it’s nice and thick, you may want to use a little less soy milk, definitely go slow on adding the non-dairy milk so you ensure it’s the right thickness for piping.
Delicious ! I tried it yesterday and It was perfect for my funfetti cake. I have a question and I hope you can help me, is there a way to make this less sweet? What else could I add instead of so much powdered sugar to have the same consistency?
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Would this cover an entire cake?
Hi Erin, yes it does, but the cake pictured is a 7-inch cake so not a large cake. However, the frosting is quite thick, so likely it is enough for an 8-inch cake too. But you might also want to check out the frosting for our vegan white cake which is made for an 8-inch cake.