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.
Ashley says
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!
Alison Andrews says
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. 🙂
Ashley says
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!
cooking queen says
I loved this recipe just I am glad that it is not runny and sticky. just wondering how did you get this recipe?
Alison Andrews says
Good! This recipe came about through trial and error like most of our recipes! 🙂
Carola says
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 🙂
Anne says
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?
Alison Andrews says
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!
Richard says
how long can it stay frozen for?
Alison Andrews says
Up to 3 months. 🙂
RC says
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!
Alison Andrews says
That’s great! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Grace says
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
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! So glad to hear! If you’re on instagram tag us @lovingitvegan and #lovingitvegan for the photo! 🙂
Charmaine says
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 🙂
Alison Andrews says
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. 🙂
Veg4life says
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!
Alison Andrews says
Haha, yes, there is not too much butter in this buttercream! Glad to hear it came out great! Thanks so much for posting! 🙂
Stacey E. says
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.
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Stacey! 🙂
Con says
Hi I would like to ask if this recipe is enough to cover a 9inch two layer cake?? Also, if it will hold until the next day without being in the fridge?? Can I also combine fondant with it as design?
Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
The cake in the picture is a 7 inch layer cake, and this makes plenty for a cake of that size and as you can see it’s quite thickly frosted. So it might be fine for a 9 inch cake spread just a little thinner or you could increase the recipe slightly. If your frosting is nice and thick, it will hold fine without being in the fridge. I have no experience with fondant sorry. 🙂
Lydia Jayne Camacho says
I haven’t tried this yet but it sound amazing, I was wondering if I can add food coloring to it? My daughter is having an 80s party and wants everything neon.
Alison Andrews says
You definitely can!
Marianna says
Hey Alison!
Quick Question…
Does this frosting work for cupcakes? I’m thinking about making a cupcake flower bouquet for my mom’s birthday and I want to know if it’s sturdy enough to create flower designs on. Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
It definitely works for cupcakes – I use it on cupcakes and pipe it. You just have to make sure it’s thick and firm – if it’s not – add more powdered sugar. However when it comes to a flower design I have no idea – piping it is the most advanced thing I’ve ever done with frosting. ?
A.Marie says
OH MY GOSH!! This recipe is simply amazing! I used coconut oil instead of the vegan butter and as I didn’t have any other milk on hand, I had to use hubby’s 2% cows milk. Otherwise, I’d have used almond milk. I put all of the ingredients in my little blender and blended it really well. It turned out the exact consistency that I wanted. I frosted a 9×13 cake with it and have some left over. Thank you for the recipe! I’m bookmarking this page so I can find it again and again! 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Oh wow, I had no idea doing it in a blender would work! Thanks for sharing!
Nathaniel says
So I tried making this today but it wouldn’t stick to the cake. It just kept falling off even if I chilled it for a bit. Did you use any shortening in the recipe cause that’s what my coworker said helps it stick and hold onto the cake. I’m asking because I didn’t see it in the recipe up above.
Alison Andrews says
Hi there, I didn’t use shortening in this recipe. It sounds to me like your frosting may have been too thin. In which case, add more powdered sugar until you have a thick consistency, that is still spreadable.