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    Home » Desserts

    Vegan Buttercream Frosting

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

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    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.
    4.97 from 30 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert, Frosting, Gluten-Free, How To
    Cuisine: Vegan
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Total Time: 5 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
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    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. Carolyn White says

      March 20, 2022 at 9:17 am

      Perfect! I’m not vegan & I’ll be using this recipe from now on.

      Reply
    2. Alexia Maye says

      January 31, 2022 at 6:59 pm

      Fantastic tasting vegan buttercream!!! Very easy to make too. Used this buttercream to top a carrot cake three days ago – it was scrumptiously delicious!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        February 01, 2022 at 9:11 am

        So happy it came out great Alexia! Thanks for the great review.

        Reply
    3. Nancy says

      January 24, 2022 at 12:57 am

      Used this tonight on my son’s birthday cake but also put in a couple Tbsp’s of almond milk for every 2 c sugar to help it spread fluffier. Was awesome. Posted pics on Fb and Instagram (kivakus).

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        January 24, 2022 at 9:39 am

        Awesome! Thanks for sharing, will look out for the pics on instagram!

        Reply
    4. Michelle says

      November 27, 2021 at 5:24 pm

      Would I be able to mix in pureed raspberries for a vanilla-rasberry frosting? Or would the extra liquid ruin the consistency? (Looking to pipe cupcakes).

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        November 29, 2021 at 1:15 pm

        Hi Michelle, in that case have a look at our frosting for vegan strawberry cupcakes. We used puréed strawberries.

        Reply
    5. Caroline says

      August 24, 2021 at 9:43 pm

      Can I ice a cake with this and put the whole thing in the freezer if I have an event in 5 days?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 25, 2021 at 9:59 am

        Yes, this frosting does freeze well.

        Reply
    6. Jo says

      May 29, 2021 at 5:49 pm

      Quite hard to rate this as I don’t know exactly what the issue is, it’s likely it was the butter so I just wanted to say, don’t use ‘Pure Butter’. It was way too soft and runny. It seemed fine in the bowl and when applying, but it soon melted and slid down the cake.4 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 30, 2021 at 7:59 am

        Hi Jo, thanks for the tip! Some brands of vegan butter just don’t work well, when you find one that does, you can stick to using that brand.

        Reply
        • Corina says

          June 17, 2022 at 7:41 pm

          Hello which vegan butter Is best to use because my frosting keeps melting !

          Reply
          • Alison Andrews says

            June 20, 2022 at 2:16 pm

            Hi Corina, stick style vegan butters tend to work best for frostings, but even tub style vegan butters can work great if they are pretty firm. The brand depends on where you are. In the USA Earth Balance sticks or Miyokos are good options, in the UK Flora Plant Butter (comes in a brick) works great.

    7. jackie says

      May 23, 2021 at 8:26 am

      Made this today with Nuttelex. Was so good easy to pipe and got many compliments. Will be my go to butter icing from now on.
      Thanks5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 24, 2021 at 10:03 am

        Awesome Jackie, yes Nuttelex is a great brand and works really well for frostings! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

        Reply
      • Pascale says

        June 21, 2022 at 3:22 am

        Hi, what Nuttelex option did you use as there are so many? Thank you.

        Reply
    8. Aliisa says

      March 14, 2021 at 1:39 am

      Hi, I’m going to attempt this frosting, along with your vegan gluten-free carrot cake recipe, to surprise my boyfriend for his birthday! Thank you for both recipes.
      Quick question, I am without a stand mixer, will a food processor work?5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 15, 2021 at 12:00 pm

        I think a food processor should work! All the best! 🙂

        Reply
    9. Carmela says

      February 22, 2021 at 9:25 pm

      My grocery store luckily has a wide selection of vegan butters, I was wondering if you have a favorite you use for this recipe?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        February 23, 2021 at 10:29 am

        Hi Carmela, I have used lots of different brands and usually like them all. Sticks or firm tub style butters work best. If it’s very soft, it generally doesn’t work well.

        Reply
    10. Aneesha says

      February 17, 2021 at 11:56 pm

      I tried this frosting on my chocolate g/f cupcakes and it worked well and I was able to frost well with a top. But…. have you tried coconut milk as the base and added powdered sugar to it? Would this work so that it is pipe-able with a tip – I don’t love traditional butter and powder sugar and like the taste of coconut milk (can) much better. Not sure if it would work?5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        February 18, 2021 at 10:15 am

        Hi Aneesha, yes we have done frosting like this, check out our vegan chocolate ganache frosting. 🙂

        Reply
        • Aneesha says

          February 19, 2021 at 4:07 pm

          Alison, I have actually made that delicious ganache- omitting the chocolate though and adding vanilla extract would make it vanilla I think, I will try that for the party cake I’m making. Hopefully turns out fine (needs to be white so I can color it for a rainbow cake)

          Reply
    11. Grace says

      February 15, 2021 at 2:33 pm

      This is actually my second time making vegan buttercream using your recipe. The first time it was spreadable but sweat a lot. Still tasted really good. This time I used a different butter (Country Crock Plant Butter made from Olive Oil in stick form) and it came out beautifully! Thank you very much!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        February 16, 2021 at 9:49 am

        Hi Grace! Finding a good vegan butter to use (which of course is different depending on where you are) makes such a big difference! Thanks so much for sharing and the great review.

        Reply
    12. Marie says

      February 11, 2021 at 8:41 pm

      Im in the UK and use Flora Plant butter which has an unsalted version which is perfect for vegan buttercream5 stars

      Reply
    13. Jessica says

      February 10, 2021 at 9:17 pm

      Hi there! I was wondering: the Earth Balance vegan butters I’ve found are typically salted. Will this still work or will the salt come through in a bad way affecting the taste of the butter cream? Thanks! -Jessica

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        February 11, 2021 at 10:00 am

        Hi Jessica, no, most of the vegan butter I use is also salted so it’s not an issue.

        Reply
    14. Aroni says

      January 26, 2021 at 10:22 pm

      Thanks for the recipe. Just an FYI: my vegan butter’s softness is a factor of the ration of oils used to make it. For very firm more coconut oil or cocoa butter is used and less canola or other liquid when cold or room temperature oil.

      Reply
    15. Ronisha says

      January 16, 2021 at 11:58 pm

      Can I use oil instead of butter for the frost?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        January 17, 2021 at 12:12 pm

        No, but you can use a homemade vegan butter.

        Reply
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