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.
Beatriz King says
Thank you, thank you!
This recipe was great and your carrot cake is over the moon! I feel guilty when folks asked if I made it because I did but your recipe is perfect! We recently went to to dinner at a vegan restaurant and my husband loves their cake. After having it and comparing it to the one I made with your recipe, he admitted the one I made was much better. Yay!
Alison Andrews says
Hahaha love it! Thanks so much for sharing! 😉
Timothy says
How much coconut oil must I put to replace butter????
Melinda says
YES…..I HAVE THE SAME QUESTION!!!!
Alison Andrews says
I would imagine the same quantity as the vegan butter, but this isn’t something I’ve tried so you will need to experiment. Let us know how it turns out.
Lisa says
HI there! This looks absolutely perfect!!!! I was curious to know if this frosting hardens after a bit or if it stays soft? And if it doesn’t harden, do you know what I could add to it to make it harden? Thank you very much, Lisa
Alison Andrews says
It does harden very nicely. Especially if you put it in the fridge. It should be very nice and thick to start with though so make sure you have the right consistency (thick).
Antonia says
Hi Alison, thank you or the recipe, I have since a long time been looking for a vegan cream recipe which is not too runny. I just made this, but found that, with all the mixing, the powder sugar still did not dissolve and I feel bits of it on my tongue when I taste it. I also find it way too sweets; I only included 300gr powdered sugar anyway), and I still find it overly sweet. Any ideas on how to improve this? Thank you!
vidhya says
Hi there ! Thanks for the recipe – I tried this frosting and it came out tasting perfect 🙂 Only trouble, it started running after I put it in to a piping bag and on the cupcake itself although it initially seemed quite thick and like the right consistency. I had barely left it outside for ten mins before piping and its a cold summer day today.. Any tips to make it less runny ? I would like to try it again with perhaps more sugar but I am afraid the frosting would end up tasting too sweet. I used Earth Balance vegan butter. Should I try with half butter and half shortening you reckon? Thanks 🙂
Alison Andrews says
I would lean towards making it almost too thick and then it’s perfect. I have used this on cupcakes and I’m in a very hot climate, and it doesn’t run, but it must be thick! So I would add more powdered sugar to get it right.
Shreya says
I know this is a HUGE HIIIUUUUGE tweak……but can I add coconut cream instead of vegan butter???(supermarkets here are not really vegan friendly)
Shreya says
Also I want to use this frosting for your carrot cake recipe…..will it work??? What do you think change???Should I add lemon???Cinnamon???My favourite pancake syrup???
The thing is that I have NEVER had carrot cake….so I do not know which flavours will work with the cake!!!
Alison Andrews says
You can use any frosting for any cake and can then just see if you like it. You can’t use coconut cream as a replacement for vegan butter. If you read the other comments you’ll see that some have had success using coconut oil. Also, even if you can’t find a vegan ‘butter’ you can usually find a margarine that doesn’t have animal products.
Maria B. Wirtz says
Super easy and I like how there isn’t much vegan butter used for the amount of frosting it makes. Plenty for a 3-layer 6-inch (small) cake. I am tempted to add cocoa powder to see how it turns out… and then make it again and try different extracts! Such a great recipe. Thank you.
Alison Andrews says
So glad you liked it Maria! I have made a chocolate version, you can see it here. 🙂
Georgina says
Hi Alison, thanks for the recipe. I’m having trouble sourcing vegan butter where I live on the south coast in Australia. I made the frosting using nuttelex, which is sunflower oil based, but it has a margarine flavour to it. A squeeze of orange juice improved it a bit. I’ve also now found a product called cocoland coconut spread which I am going to try. It is coconut oil based and claims to taste like butter. What is the vegan butter that you use made from? Thanks, Georgina
Alison Andrews says
Hi Georgina, I also use Nuttelex! I like the one made from coconut oil or even the one made from olive oil. I have never noticed a ‘flavor’ from it, it just creates that perfect frosting texture that you’re going for. Maybe the sunflower oil one has a stronger taste. The one you mention from Cocoland, I haven’t tried, but it’ll probably work great.
Danielle says
Can I use organic cane sugar instead of powdered sugar?
Alison Andrews says
No, it has to be powdered sugar for this.
Holley says
Hello!
How would I store the frosting if I made it the night before for cupcakes the next day? Could I add cocoa powder to make it chocolate? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Just keep it in the fridge. It will be perfect. Yes, I have made this into a chocolate frosting, I have linked to it in the comments above, or just do a search for vegan chocolate frosting on this site and you’ll find it. All the best!
Jemayma says
Hi Alison. Your recipes for vegan are all interesting and I’m getting excited to try for my friend’s little man. I’m thinking of using vegan buttercream for filling and coat crumb. On top of that, I’m wondering if I can use modeling chocolate to cover my cake and decorate? Im worried that the vegan buttercream will not hold and just melt if i will cover the cake?, so i would love to hear your opinion. Thank you.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Jemayma, if your frosting is the right consistency (not too thin), it should be fine for this! Just make sure it’s thick enough and if it comes out a little thin, just add more powdered sugar to the right consistency. It definitely doesn’t melt, it’s perfect frosting!
S says
Hi, would almond butter work for this recipe?
Alison Andrews says
Almond butter doesn’t work as a replacement for vegan butter/margarine. Generally frostings that use almond butter or peanut butter use regular vegan butter/margarine as well as it’s important for the texture.
Kelly says
Hi really like your frosting recipe but don’t know what vegan butter is. Can I use olive oil margarine or canola margarine. I live in the country in Australia so some specific things are not easy to find. Thanks, Kelly
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kelly! Yes, vegan butter/vegan margarine, both perfectly great here.
C says
Has anyone tried this with coco powder?
Thanks 🙂
Madrona says
Hi Alison, first-time reader and maker of your recipes here! I tried both the normal version and chocolate version of this frosting according to instructions but both of them turned out too… runny. The vegan margarine available here is really quite soft so I think this might have something to do with it, or the weird sort of thin coconut dairy substitute I used (never used it before and certainly not for baking). My frostings are super-sweet as it is so more powdered sugar isn’t really an option – how do I thicken it in a vegan way? Some type of starch? Coconut oil? Ideas? Refrigerating them made them a smidgen thicker but still not enough to frost without them running all over the place!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Madrona! I would use much less liquid then. Start with just the vegan margarine and powdered sugar and then add the non-dairy milk in tiny increments, only as much as you need to get to the right consistency.