Light & fluffy vegan vanilla buttercream frosting that is so easy to make! Perfect for frosting cakes, cupcakes, and more. Gluten free, vegan, top 14 allergen free!
Every baker should have a perfect vanilla buttercream frosting in their recipe book! From frosting cupcakes to birthday cakes to filling cookies, having a reliable vanilla buttercream is so important. This recipe is the perfect base to all your frosting needs!
Free from: wheat, gluten, dairy, casein, eggs, soy, fish, shellfish, soy, sesame, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, corn, celery, and more
What is Vegan Vanilla Buttercream?
A traditional vanilla buttercream calls for dairy butter, powdered sugar, a splash of milk, vanilla extract, and some salt.
Making it vegan is super simple: Replace the dairy ingredients with plant based alternatives and make as usual!
The results are a perfectly smooth and creamy frosting that can be spread in between cake layers, piped with any size piping tip, and it’s not too sweet with just the right amount of vanilla.
But we can also take it a step further to make a more consistent result for creamy and room temperature stable frosting with the addition of a single ingredient.
Most importantly it’s super simple and easy to make with grocery store ingredients!
Ingredients for Vanilla Buttercream
This sweet frosting requires only a 5 ingredients to make a delicious topping for all your cakes and cupcakes!
Plant Based Butter – Well, obviously. Use your favorite plant based butter here and you won’t go wrong. Some of my favorites include the Earth Balance sticks and the soy free Earth Balance out of a tub. Sticks vs tub don’t matter as long as you measure before mixing it up.
Vegetable Shortening – This is the secret ingredient for delicious and room temperature stable vegan vanilla buttercream. Vegetable shortening has a higher fat content and a lower water content, making it perfect for blending together with the plant-based butter. This isn’t totally necessary to make your frosting, but it’s a step I really recommend you take. My favorite brand is Spectrum Vegetable Shortening.
Powdered Sugar – This is the base for all homemade frostings which fluffs up the longer you whip it together. For a corn free version, make sure you check out Wholesome Powdered Sugar.
Vanilla Extract – The star of the show! Make sure you are using a good, high quality vanilla that isn’t vanilla flavoring. It makes a huge difference!
Plant-Based Milk – Sometimes (depending on weather and where you live) you need a little splash of milk to help the frosting come together and keep from being too dry.
Salt – To offset the sweet, you need a little salt in your frosting. It also helps to deepen that vanilla flavor profile.
How to Make Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
This frosting recipe is pretty simple to make but let’s go through it step by step so you get a beautiful frosting every time.
Step One: Combine room temperature plant-based butter with vegetable shortening in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer. Whip together until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Step Two: Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in vanilla, half of the powdered sugar, salt, and one spoonful of the milk. Mix until just combined, then add remaining powdered sugar. Whip on high until frosting has doubled in volume, about 4-5 minutes.
And that’s it! In less than 10 minutes you have delicious and perfectly pipable frosting for your cakes and cupcakes.
What To Make with Frosting
Ultimate Chocolate Cake (gluten free, vegan, top 14 free)
Hot Chocolate Cupcakes (gluten free, vegan, top 8 free)
Zebra Cakes (gluten free, dairy free, nut free)
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
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The Best Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plabt-based butter
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1-3 tbsp milk of your choice
Instructions
- Place the softened butter and vegetable shortening in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer. Mix for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add half of powdered sugar with one spoonful of milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix well. Add remaining powdered sugar and mix on high until creamy frosting is achieved, about 5 minutes. If frosting is too thick, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time to reach desired consistency.
This sounds amazingly yum and the lil cakes look divine as well! Great job! x
Thank you! I can confirm that this is so yummy that you’ll want to lick the bowl. Purely for scientific purposes of ensuring it is good, of course! 😉
😂 Of course! X