• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Loving It Vegan

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • Free Ebook
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • Free Ebook
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • About Me
    • Recipes
    • Free Ebook
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Desserts

    Vegan Buttercream Frosting

    Published: Apr 4, 2019 Updated: Nov 20, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan Buttercream Frosting

    This delicious vegan buttercream frosting is silky, smooth and velvety and perfect to spread on cakes or pipe onto cupcakes. Easy 4-ingredient recipe.

    Vegan buttercream frosting piped onto a vanilla cupcake.

    This vegan buttercream frosting is so creamy and silky you will fall completely in love with it!

    It works wonderfully spread onto cakes or piped onto cupcakes. It’s also wonderful spread onto cookies. If you’re looking for a frosting for some vegan sugar cookies, this works great!

    It’s a simple 4-ingredient recipe that is totally versatile and comes out beautifully every time. 

    When testing this recipe I tried it out on our vegan vanilla cake and that is the cake that you see featured below. I doubled our vanilla cake recipe to make it a 9-inch beauty and this frosting was the perfect amount to spread onto a 9-inch cake. 

    As you can see from the photos below, I probably went a little heavy with the frosting in the middle of the cake, it’s a little thicker in the middle than it is on top, whoops! 

    Vanilla layer cake topped with vegan buttercream frosting on a white cake stand.

    But it’s definitely enough frosting for a 9-inch cake and if you want to use it for an 8-inch cake it will be great too. You’ll just have it on a little thicker, which is never a problem in my view. 

    The cupcakes featured in these photos are our vegan vanilla cupcakes and piped on as you see in these photos, this was the perfect amount of frosting to generously pipe frosting onto 12 cupcakes.

    If you piped a bit less generously, or if you spread it instead of piping it, you could frost a lot more cupcakes.

    Want the chocolate version of this buttercream? Check out our vegan chocolate buttercream frosting.

    Vanilla cupcake topped with vegan buttercream.

    How To Make Vegan Buttercream Frosting

    You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    • Add powdered sugar, vegan butter, vanilla extract and a little salt to a stand mixer. 
    Vegan butter, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla in a stand mixer.
    • Starting at slow speed, gradually increase speed until the frosting is thick and smooth with a silky spreadable texture. 
    Vegan buttercream frosting in a stand mixer.
    • Spread onto cake or pipe onto cupcakes.
    Cake on a white cake stand partly frosted with vegan buttercream.

    If your mixer has a fairly small bowl (like mine) then hold a tea towel or paper towel over it (carefully, don’t let it get caught up in the mixer) when it starts so that powdered sugar doesn’t puff up out of the bowl. 

    Alternatively you can cream the butter first and then add in the powdered sugar bit by bit but that method doesn’t usually fit in with my impatient personality. 

    Vanilla cake topped with vegan buttercream on a white cake stand.

    Recipe Tips

    The most important thing to a good vegan buttercream is the texture. It needs to be really silky and spreadable but also firm enough to pipe. So you’re looking for a really thick, but silky, consistency.

    So the vegan butter that you use becomes quite important for this. The ideal texture for your vegan butter is one that is quite firm. 

    You can use something like Earth Balance buttery sticks if you have access to it, but a vegan butter that comes in a tub is also going to be great, it just needs to be one that is fairly firm. 

    You get some tubs of vegan butter that are really soft straight from the fridge, like they are just never firm. That will be less ideal here. If that’s all you have access to, then you might just need to add about ¼ to ½ cup more powdered sugar to get this to the right consistency. 

    If all you can get is those bricks of margarine (that might be accidentally vegan) that are rock hard, then that will work, but you might need to add a few extra drops of soy milk or almond milk to it. 

    The difference in textures with vegan butters is all about water content, if it’s really soft, it likely has a higher water content, if it’s very firm, it has a lower water content. This is why it has an impact on your end result.

    So if following the recipe as written results in something that is not thick enough, add more powdered sugar and don’t be shy. 

    If it results in something much too thick, add in some non-dairy milk a drop at a time. 

    Vegan vanilla cake topped with vanilla buttercream.

    Vegan Buttercream Q&A

    Can I use coconut oil instead of vegan butter? Not in this recipe. It’s really important that the ‘butter’ part of the buttercream be a vegan butter. 

    What brand of vegan butter do you recommend? I have used a few, I have used and like Nuttelex (Australian brand) and Earth Balance (USA) but since we have a worldwide audience, I don’t generally find it that useful to recommend a particular brand. Use what is available and follow the tips above in getting the right texture irrespective of the brand you use. 

    How many cupcakes will I be able to frost with this recipe? It depends! If you’re piping like I did in these pictures, then it will frost 12 cupcakes. If you’re just doing a spread of frosting on top, then it could be enough for triple that number! And if you’re piping the frosting but doing it much less generously (not going for the ice cream cone look) then maybe you could frost as many as 18-24 cupcakes. 

    What size cake is this vegan buttercream for? It frosts a 9-inch two layer cake beautifully, as shown in these photos, or an 8-inch two layer cake very generously. 

    A slice of vegan vanilla cake on a white plate.

    Storing and Freezing

    This will keep at room temperature for around 3 days. It will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks though. So if you need to make it in advance of a cake, you can do so. It does firm up in the fridge, so if it gets too firm, then bring it back to room temperature on the countertop before using. 

    It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use it, let it thaw in the fridge overnight and whip it up in the stand mixer again before using.

    Vegan vanilla cupcake topped with a vegan buttercream frosting.

    More Vegan Frosting Recipes

    1. Vegan Lemon Buttercream Frosting
    2. Vegan Vanilla Frosting
    3. Vegan Chocolate Frosting
    4. Vegan Chocolate Ganache
    5. Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
    6. Vegan Peanut Butter Frosting
    Vegan frosted cupcake cut in half.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Cupcake topped with vegan buttercream frosting.

    Vegan Buttercream Frosting

    This delicious vegan buttercream frosting is silky, smooth and velvety and perfect to spread on cakes or pipe onto cupcakes. Easy 4-ingredient recipe.
    4.91 from 64 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert, Frosting, Gluten-Free, How To
    Cuisine: Vegan
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 242kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    • 3 ½ cups Powdered Sugar (420g)
    • 1 cup Vegan Butter (225g)
    • ¼ teaspoon Salt
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Add the powdered sugar, vegan butter, salt and vanilla extract to the bowl of a stand mixer and starting at slow speed, gradually increase speed until thick and smooth.
    • If your consistency is too thick, add a little non-dairy milk a drop at a time, and if it’s too thin, add ¼ to ½ cup more powdered sugar.
    • Spread onto cakes or pipe onto cupcakes.
    • Store leftovers in the fridge.

    Notes

    1. Cakes: This recipe makes enough to frost an 8 or 9-inch two layer cake.
    2. Cupcakes: This recipe makes enough for 12 cupcakes when piped generously (as pictured).
    3. Storing: This will keep at room temperature for around 3 days. It will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. So if you need to make it in advance of a cake, you can do so and store it in the fridge. It does firm up in the fridge, so if it gets too firm, then bring it back to room temperature on the countertop before using.
    4. Freezing: It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use it, let it thaw in the fridge overnight and whip it up in the stand mixer again before using.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Serve | Calories: 242kcal | Carbohydrates: 34.9g | Fat: 11.2g | Saturated Fat: 4.5g | Sodium: 113mg | Sugar: 34.2g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
    Get Your Copy! It's FREE!
    « Mango Chia Pudding
    Creamy Vegan Chickpea Curry »
    4.4K shares

    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Nikki Wambsgans says

      March 14, 2025 at 12:53 pm

      Can I use a plant based butter with either avocado oil or olive oil?

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        March 17, 2025 at 2:22 pm

        Yes!

        Reply
    2. Nicky says

      December 25, 2024 at 6:38 am

      Thank you for sharing vegan cooking content! Can food dye and or flavouring be added to this recipe and if so what type?
      Thank you 🙂5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        January 29, 2025 at 10:15 am

        You can use both if you desire and start with a drop or two of either gel or liquid food coloring and mix it in. If it’s not the correct color, continue to add a few drops at a time and mixing it in until you are happy with the color.

        Reply
    3. Donna Pugliese says

      August 15, 2024 at 12:29 am

      This is the third time I have made the vegan vanilla cake for my niece. I wish I could find the vegan butter you have in your photos with the rich yellow color. I hope to purchase a stand mixer which I think would help with the vanilla butter cream recipe. Thanks for a great recipe!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        August 16, 2024 at 10:08 am

        Hi Donna. Thanks so much for sharing and for your great review!

        Reply
    4. Jai says

      August 05, 2024 at 11:52 pm

      So, this makes a delicious and flavourful icing that’s easily piped. It comfortably iced a full 3 dozen cupcakes for me. However! The directions are a set up for an explosion of icing sugar. You can go ahead and dunk 3.5 cups of sugar dust in a mixing bowl all at once and then turn it on….low or not, dish towel held up or not. Maybe it works for others but when I did it (against my better judgment) I was rewarded with a volcanic eruption of powdered sugar and a lot of expletives. Then I got to clean up a bunch of icing sugar (about a cup puffed out) off the walls and counter when I should have been prepping for.my six year old’s birthday party.

      I got ton of compliments on the frosting, and I liked it enough to remake it just this morning. But save yourself the headache and add that sugar a half cup or less at a time. And yes, I used room temperature butter, not cold, and used a standard KitchenAid stand mixer with the usual paddle attachment.4 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        August 06, 2024 at 8:16 am

        Hi Jai. Thanks for sharing and for your review. We use the Kitchen aid with the plastic bowl cover that attaches snugly to the bowl which helps to stop the powdered sugar explosion.

        Reply
    5. Jade Ward says

      May 27, 2024 at 6:57 pm

      Hi I have used stork butter blocks (uk) as it says it’s vegan friendly. I have a decorated a birthday cake for someone who is lactose intolerant how would I store the cake till she collects tomorrow would it be ok at room temperature wrapped or should I refrigerate it? Many thanks

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        May 29, 2024 at 12:55 pm

        Hi Jade! Better to refrigerate the cake if it’s only going to be delivered the next day.

        Reply
    6. Carolyn Vitti says

      November 20, 2023 at 4:45 am

      Delicious frosting!!! I will definitely make it again!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        November 20, 2023 at 1:15 pm

        Yay! Thanks so much for your lovely review Carolyn!

        Reply
    7. Earthdave says

      May 08, 2023 at 9:15 pm

      I really love a lot of your recipes but not this one. Maybe it is what frosting lovers look for but for us it was just so sweet as to put us off our cake ( your vanilla cake which was good before the frosting went on).
      Do you have any recommendations for less sweet toppings?1 star

      Reply
      • Jess P says

        May 11, 2024 at 12:37 am

        try adding a half teaspoon of salt

        Reply
    8. Jessica says

      March 17, 2023 at 6:18 pm

      Hi, I only have access to vegan butter spread. Would adding extra powdered sugar be okay with that too?

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 12, 2023 at 1:19 pm

        Hi Jessica, We haven’t tested this with vegan butter spread, so I can’t say.

        Reply
    9. Elyssa says

      February 15, 2023 at 12:22 am

      can you use your homemade butter in this recipe?

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 12, 2023 at 1:20 pm

        Yes you can!

        Reply
    10. Kit says

      September 01, 2022 at 5:50 am

      Is the butter unsalted, or salted Vegan butter? I have seen both in the grocery. It would make a difference, adding salt to the recipe.

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        September 01, 2022 at 10:18 am

        I usually use salted, but honestly I don’t find it makes any big difference. If you use unsalted and and think it needs something then by all means add a pinch of salt.

        Reply
    11. Frances McCosker says

      July 10, 2022 at 1:19 am

      I’m wondering if I need the butter to be room temperature or should I simply take it directly out of the refrigerator to start beating? You said it needed to be firm, but I’m thinking that it would be too difficult to beat when taken directing from the fridge. What’s best? Thank you!

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 10, 2022 at 12:04 pm

        Hi, it really depends what vegan butter you are using. If you’re using a stick style that is very hard straight out of the fridge then you can let it soften first, OR you can just cut it into cubes and beat it in your stand mixer to soften it.

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Comment Policy: Your feedback is really appreciated! Please do us a favor and rate the recipe as well as this really helps us! The most helpful comments are the ones that give useful feedback for others who might make the recipe, tell about substitutions you made or adjustments you made and how it turned out, or assisting other commenters. Rude or insulting comments will not be accepted.

    4.91 from 64 votes (43 ratings without comment)

    Leave A Comment & Review Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi I’m Alison Andrews! I love making delicious vegan food and creating delicious vegan versions of all your old favorite dishes, so you can have your vegan cake and eat it too!

    More about me →

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest

    Popular Posts

    • Vegan tuna on an open faced sandwich on a wooden board.
      Vegan Tuna
    • Serving spoonful of vegan mac and cheese.
      The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese (Classic, Baked)
    • Vegan burritos stacked up on top of each other.
      Vegan Burrito
    • Vegan tofu scramble with sliced avocado and fried tomatoes on a white plate.
      Super Eggy Vegan Tofu Scramble
    • Thick slice of cashew cheese on a wooden board.
      Sliceable Cashew Cheese
    • Homemade vegan butter in a glass butter dish with a knife.
      Homemade Vegan Butter

    Veganuary

    • Vegan chop suey served in a black bowl.
      Vegan Chop Suey
    • Vegan German Potato Salad served in a black bowl.
      Vegan German Potato Salad
    • Vegan Italian Dressing
    • Vegan Thai Peanut Noodles in a black bowl.
      Vegan Thai Peanut Noodles
    • Slices of grilled vegan halloumi on a gray plate.
      Vegan Halloumi
    • Vegan stuffed mushrooms on a white plate.
      Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms

    See all Veganuary Recipes →


    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    As Seen In

    Press logos black and white

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Follow Us

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest

    Contact

    • About
    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 Loving It Vegan

    Get 10 fabulous dinner recipes!
    Absolutely free! Sign up below!
    Get Your Copy! It's FREE!

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.