Name: Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 12-18
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients: 1 and 1/4 cups (290g) Vegan Butter; 3 and 1/2 cups (420g) Powdered Sugar; 3/4 cup (63g) Cocoa Powder (Unsweetened); 1 tsp Vanilla Extract; 2-4 Tbsp Non Dairy Milk*; 1/2 tsp Instant Espresso Powder (Optional)

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Vegan chocolate buttercream frosting that is rich, velvety, silky and smooth with maximum chocolate flavor. The best thing on cakes or cupcakes!

This vegan chocolate buttercream frosting is extremely versatile and can be used for spreading onto cakes or cookies or piping onto cupcakes.

It makes enough to very generously frost a three layer 8-inch cake or a two layer 9-inch cake. It will also be enough to pipe frosting onto around 18 cupcakes.

It’s flexible and versatile and you can make it super thick, or thin it out a little depending on what will work best for your needs.

How to make Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

It’s a simple mix of vegan butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, non-dairy milk and a little surprise ingredient which was some instant espresso powder.

The espresso powder is optional. You don’t taste it in the final result but I think it makes the chocolate flavor pop even more.

Now I usually have a method for frosting where I throw ALL ingredients into the bowl of the stand mixer and just go for it! But I thought I’d be more professional this time and do it ‘properly’.

The proper way to make frosting is to beat the butter first until very soft and creamy and then gradually add in the powdered sugar and the cocoa powder until folded into the butter and then you add your other ingredients.

To be honest, I don’t find any difference in the final result which is why I usually choose the easiest route which is throw it all into the bowl and then go for it.

However, especially if you have a small mixer like I do (I’m dreaming on that Kitchenaid upgrade!), then doing it the ‘proper’ way does mean you have less chance of your mixer throwing stuff out the bowl as it starts mixing!

But you can do it either way really! The end result is the same.

What is Vegan Butter?

Vegan butter is essentially dairy-free margarine. It may be a vegan brand that made it – like Earth Balance in the USA or Nuttelex in Australia – or it may just be accidentally vegan by virtue of the fact that it doesn’t contain any dairy.

And then of course you get homemade vegan butter which we made with coconut oil as the base. It can be used in a frosting recipe in a pinch, but as I explained over on that recipe, it’s not my favorite for frostings because of its propensity to get super hard in the fridge and super soft at room temperature.

Pro Tips for the Best Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Once you’ve made your frosting, don’t put it into the fridge. It will get too firm and will be hard to spread onto your cake or pipe onto cupcakes. So keep it at room temperature until you’ve used it, and then the frosted item can go into the fridge to firm up if needed.

Be flexible with the amount of non-dairy milk you add. The amount you need will depend on the type of vegan butter you use. If you use a stick variety, then you may need more, as the sticks have a lower water content. Whereas if you use the type in a tub then you may need less, as those usually have a higher water content. So be flexible with how much you add.

If you do still end up with frosting that is too thin, then add more powdered sugar. If you end up with frosting too thick, add non-dairy milk a very small amount at a time until you reach the right consistency. You want it to be silky and smooth and spreadable and not too thick to pipe.

You will love this vegan chocolate buttercream frosting! It is:

Velvety
Silky
Smooth
Rich
Chocolatey
Simple
Versatile

Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 1 week. It is also freezer friendly so if you have more than you need, feel free to freeze it.

More Vegan Frosting Recipes!

Vegan Buttercream Frosting – the vanilla version of this one.
Vegan Vanilla Frosting – a basic vanilla frosting recipe that really delivers!
Vegan Chocolate Frosting – this is the chocolate frosting that isn’t a buttercream, but tastes amazing!

More amazing frostings on some amazing cakes!

So let us know what you think of this vegan chocolate buttercream in the comments and please rate the recipe too! Thanks!

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