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.
Sarah says
I’m looking for a dairy free frosting to send in for my daughter’s class Valentines party. If I make it in the morning, will it store okay until the afternoon party?
Alison Andrews says
Honestly it depends on the weather, if it’s very hot, it will get a bit more runny, if it’s cold it will hold up perfectly. But even if it’s hot, if the frosting was the right texture to start with (not too thin) it should be fine. 🙂
Erin says
Would this cover an entire cake?
Alison Andrews says
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.
Gabi says
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?
Victoria says
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
Alison Andrews says
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.
christa says
What brand of vegan butter do you recommend using?
Alison Andrews says
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. 🙂
Kayla Phillips says
Looks amazing! I can’t wait to try this! Does it crust?
Alison Andrews says
Yes it sort of does, the sugar gets a nice hard outside, it’s pretty delicious! 🙂
Aaron Smith says
Hey Alison, is an electric mixer really necessary, could I do this manually?
Shannon Villeneuve-Shulman says
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
Alison Andrews says
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.
Laura says
Look! I found your recipe for icing to go with the lime and vanilla cake! hahahaa! Must be a sign!
Alison Andrews says
Haha awesome! It sounds like a fantastic cake you’re making there! 🙂
Stephen says
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. 🙂
Monique says
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?
Alison Andrews says
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! 🙂
pym says
Not even sucrose??
Jenn says
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!
Alison Andrews says
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.
maryam says
Very easy, fast, delicious and the best it is vegan
Natalie says
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!
Alison Andrews says
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!
jordi says
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.