This vegan vanilla frosting is smooth, creamy and delicious! Easy 4-ingredient recipe, ideal for use on cakes, cupcakes and cookies!
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 it is, even while using a minimal amount of vegan butter.
An electric mixer is required but you can whip this up in less than 10 minutes from start to finish and get on with the important job of enjoying whatever delicious treat you’ve prepared.
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.
It’s super sweet of course, but that’s what you want in a frosting isn’t it?
I love this frosting on a vanilla cake. This is exactly the frosting (topped with strawberries) we used on the vanilla cake you see below.
Vanilla on vanilla is marvellous of course! But you can also mix and match a bit and use it on a fabulous vegan chocolate cake.
Ingredients You’ll Need For This Frosting:
Ingredient Notes
- Soy milk – can be replaced for any non-dairy milk that you have on hand.
- Vegan butter – the firmer the better. Stick style vegan butters tend to work best in frostings. Tub style also works, but try to choose one that is as firm as possible so that your frosting won’t be too soft.
How To Use This Frosting
This frosting is perfect to spread onto cakes or cupcakes or cookies.
You can also pipe it onto cupcakes, but it’s not quite as good for piping as a vanilla buttercream frosting. The extra vegan butter in a buttercream makes the texture just a little better suited for piping.
But to spread onto your vegan sugar cookies, or spread onto cakes or cupcakes, this frosting is fantastic.
Storing and Freezing
This frosting keeps very well in the fridge for up to a week. It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and whip it up again in your stand mixer before using.
More Delicious Vegan Frosting Recipes
- Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- Vegan Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Lemon Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Chocolate Frosting
- Vegan Chocolate Ganache
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
How To Make Vegan Vanilla Frosting
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups Powdered Sugar (450g)
- 3 Tablespoons Vegan Butter (45g)
- 4 Tablespoons Soy Milk (60ml) or other non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons 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.
Video
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.
Samantha says
Hello, I just was wondering about how many cups this recipe makes! I’m super interested in making it, and based on the reviews and your description, I won’t regret it!
Alison Andrews says
Probably around 2 cups.
Cathryn says
Hello! I was hoping to use this for cupcakes. LOVE THE FLAVOUR BUT …..It didn’t do well in a piping bag to decorate. Just fell flat. Would Crisco thicken this up? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Cathryn, if it’s too thin, just add more powdered sugar (1/4 to 1/2 cup) to thicken it up. I have used this in a piping bag no problem. It is supposed to be thick enough. So just add more powdered sugar if it isn’t.
Megan says
I’m having the same issue. I used sooo much sugar and it still just falls right out of the piping bag.
Alison Andrews says
I’m not sure what the issue is Megan, I used a slightly adapted version of this recipe (slightly less for cupcakes) in my Oreo Cupcakes and it piped perfectly. If you use too much non-dairy milk by accident, you might need to add quite a lot more powdered sugar to compensate.
Miki says
In love with Chocolate cake + vanilla frosting combo- only vegan in the house so it’s all for me! lol, delicious recipe <3
Alison Andrews says
Yum! I also love the contrasts 🙂
Marilyn Cyran says
Made this vegan vanilla frosting for my daughter’s birthday cake. It was very delicious. Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful to hear! Thanks for posting Marilyn. 🙂
Richard S says
Absolutely amazing!!! so simple and delicious. I used shortening as a substitute for coconut oil and it worked out just as well! Thanks for the great recipe!!!
Alison Andrews says
Brilliant! So glad to hear that shortening worked well in this recipe! 🙂
Elaine says
Where do you buy vegan butter? Shortening is made by crisco. It looks like white butter.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Elaine, the brands available to you will depend on where you are. I use an Australian brand called Nuttelex and they make vegan butters out of coconut oil or olive oil. In the USA they have Earth Balance brand. In some countries you’ll just look for a brand of margarine that doesn’t contain animal products and that will work perfectly too.
Liz says
Earth Balance is available at many stores that offer a “natural foods” section. I’ve never been able to find the sticks, but the tub version bakes just like real butter.
Melissa says
Whole Foods is the only place I’ve Earth Balance sticks. If I have them, I use them. If not, I just measure the tub Earth Balance into my measuring cups.
Lauren says
Does this frosting need to be refrigerated? If I have leftover cake at the end of the day can I just leave it on the counter or put it all in the fridge?
Alison Andrews says
Room temperature is okay as long as it’s not too hot where you are. In terms of lasting longer/freshness, keeping it covered in the fridge will allow your cake (and frosting) to keep for up to a week. Whereas at room temperature you’ll need to consume it within a couple of days.
Melinda says
Does this hold up in the heat outdoors for several hours? Can I use coconut oil (or canola etc.) instead of vegan butter? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Melinda, not sure how well it would hold up in the heat for a long time. I live in a very hot climate and when I take cakes or cupcakes outdoors I always do so in a cooler bag and then it’s fine. You could experiment with coconut oil, but I have no idea how it would turn out.
Shana says
Hi there! I was wondering if you did try this recipe using coconut oil how it turned out? I usually do use this rather than vegan butter and have never had a problem and am hoping same with this fabulous recipe! ?
Carrie D. says
Does the butter need to be softened/room temperature or should it be solid/fresh fron the fridge? Im wanting to use this on my sons cake for tomorrow.
Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
It’s better/quicker if it’s softened/room temperature. The vegan butter I use is always a spreadable texture even straight out the fridge though, so either way has been okay for me. If yours sets more solidly in the fridge then definitely room temperature or softened will work better.
Emma says
What vegan butter do you use? Whenever i try and make vegan buttercream the butter separates and the buttercream is ruined.
Alison Andrews says
Oh that sucks! That hasn’t happened to me. I use a brand called Nuttelex, it’s Australian.
Stacey says
What vegan butter do you use?! Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Earth Balance (USA) or Nuttelex (UK, Australia) are great options and what I loved to use when I had access to them! If these are not available then any margarine without animal products that is also good for baking should be fine. I used a brand once that was only for spreading and not for baking and it was not a success! So even though this doesn’t get baked directly, it still works best if you use a brand that is good for that.
Jodi Owen says
Turned out perfect and delicious! My allergic husband and daughter and vegan step-mom will all be so thrilled!! =)
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic! Wonderful to hear! 🙂
Kary says
Hi Alison.
I’ll be making Vegan frosting for the first time this weekend. My son is allergic to dairy, nuts and soy leaving my only option in “non-dairy” milk with coconut milk. We’ve tried coconut milk yogurt and the flavor is pleasing to us at all. Can I use anything else instead of coconut milk? Will the amount needed even be identifiable in the frosting flavor?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kary! The amount of non-dairy milk used is so minimal that you can’t really distinguish any flavor from it, however, it does contribute to the creaminess of the final result. I think coconut milk would work fabulously, or really any kind of non-dairy milk, you could also use rice milk or one of the more ‘exotic’ ones like oat milk or quinoa milk – any one of them would do great here. All the best! Hope it turns out great! 🙂
Sanna says
Hi, Trying your vegan vanilla cake tonight after reading so many amazing reviews about it. Just wondering if i can substitute the vegan butter with vegan margarine would change the taste? Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
No this is perfect, any vegan butter or margarine is interchangeable.
Leila says
Personally I don’t think it will matter for the way it tastes nor texture because margarine and butter are made with the same products however margarine is put in a container and is softer…
Sara Schipper says
Made this for my son’s 6th birthday to top a vegan vanilla cake. I have tried making vegan frosting before, but without much luck. This one was absolutely perfect. Just like store-bought frosting, but without the extra crap! Highly recommended to substitute the store-bought stuff!
Alison Andrews says
Yay! So glad you liked it Sara! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Heather says
Hi, I was just wondering how much frosting this makes. I need about 5 cups of frosting and just want to know if I’ll have to multiply it or anything to get that amount. Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Heather, I haven’t measured it in cups so not sure exactly – it’s enough to generously frost a 2-layer cake. I’m inclined to think that’s a fair bit less than 5 cups though but exactly how much less I don’t know. If I had to guess I would say you would likely need to double the recipe to get that much.
Heather says
Ok thank you so much!
Elisa says
Hi, I am making my son’s second birthday cake and would like to know if this recipe would work for frosting a cake the day before its served as well as doing some piping for decoration ?? thank you
Alison Andrews says
Sure, it absolutely would.
Christina Vasello says
Will the icing keep its consistency if it is refrigerated overnight and served the next day? or if i can put the cupcakes with the icing on it in the freezer overnight? I’m making cupcakes today for a party thats tomorrow and was wondering If i frosted the cupcakes and left them in the fridge or freezer if it would be fine to do so?
Alison Andrews says
Yes, it will. You can frost your cupcakes the night before and then keep them covered in the fridge overnight (not freezer) and they will be perfect. Very important that they’re covered in a sealed container though, otherwise they will dry out.