Vegan Frosting Recipe: Tips for Making Vegan Frosting

Vegan frosting is a whipped, fluffy dessert topping made by beating vegan butter with vanilla extract, powdered sugar (also called confectioners’ sugar), and a small amount of oat or nut milk. Use this dairy-free frosting in between the layers of a vegan layer cake or to top your favorite vegan sugar cookies or cupcakes.

For extra flavor, add ingredients like lemon zest, powdered freeze-dried fruit, cocoa powder, spices, or almond extract. Vegan gel food coloring is an easy way to add color. Jump to recipe.

Add flavoring to this easy vanilla frosting recipe to complement the flavors of your cake recipe.

1. 1. Almond: Add floral almond flavor to your frosting by swapping almond extract for vanilla, or folding a small amount of almond paste into your vegan butter. Use almond milk for this version.
2. 2. Birthday cake: For this colorful classic, add about a quarter cup of flat sprinkles to the cake batter at the end of mixing. Garnish the top of the cake or cupcakes with a flourish of extra sprinkles.
3. 3. Chocolate: For a simple vegan chocolate frosting, substitute a quarter cup of cocoa powder for some of the powdered sugar. This frosting pairs wonderfully with vegan chocolate cake.
4. 4. Citrus: To make an orange or lemon frosting, add the fresh zest of one whole citrus fruit, or a teaspoon of citrus extract, to the vegan butter.
5. 5. Cream cheese: To make an easy vegan cream cheese frosting for a vegan carrot cake or red velvet cake, whip four ounces of tangy vegan cream cheese into the vegan butter before adding the powdered sugar.
6. 6. Peanut butter: For a nutty peanut butter frosting, add a quarter-cup of peanut butter to the vegan butter at the beginning of the mixing process, and increase the powdered sugar by half a cup.

Here are some tips to consider when making fluffy vegan buttercream frosting at home.

1. 1. Start with soft vegan butter. Softening your butter allows you to easily whip air into the frosting for a super fluffy, light result. Vegan butter softens more quickly than dairy butter, so it only needs to sit for about thirty minutes at room temperature. To get started right away, use vegetable shortening, which is already soft at room temperature.
2. 2. Add flavoring first. Add more flavor to your frosting by infusing the vegan butter with your favorite add-ins. Whether it’s lemon zest, spices, vanilla, or another extract, most flavorings are fat-soluble, so they’ll taste strongest if added to the butter at the beginning of the mixing process.
3. 3. Sift your sugar. Sifting the powdered sugar makes sure your frosting stays smooth and lump-free.
4. 4. Beat just until fluffy. Vegan butter can curdle if it gets too warm, and the friction from beating the frosting can cause it to heat up or melt. For this reason, coconut oil is not a good candidate for frosting, as it melts too quickly. Beat the frosting in short stints as you add the powdered sugar. Using a hand mixer, rather than a stand mixer, can also help prevent overbeating.