The Best, Easy Dairy-Free Vanilla Frosting Recipe
Cake just isn’t cake without a rich, velvety frosting, if you ask us. But most traditional frostings—from buttercream to whipped cream, ganache, and more—are made with dairy products. Not ideal if you can’t tolerate dairy or follow a vegan diet.
While some recipes don’t work as well with a simple ingredient swap (and require adding other ingredients to help get the result you’re after), with others, all it takes to get a creamy, delicious dairy-free frosting is to use dairy-free alternatives in place of the dairy products.
Whether you’re looking for a great vegan buttercream recipe for yourself or because you’re baking for others with dietary restrictions, team ECBG is here to help. It’s just as tasty as more traditional buttercream frostings, but safe for those with a dairy allergy or who follow a vegan diet. Here’s what you need to know to make the best dairy-free frosting around.
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Why You’ll Love This Vegan Frosting Recipe
No dairy, no problem: A dairy free frosting recipe—like this one—is great for anyone who has lactose intolerance (but also a sweet tooth) or anyone who prefers a plant-based or vegan diet.
Rich and delicious (with no butter in sight): We use a combination of two plant-based butters to achieve a buttercream that’s just as rich and flavorful without any dairy products.
Super fluffy: Sometimes using alternative ingredients give you slightly different results. Not so with this dairy free frosting recipe. It whips up thick and fluffy, pipes well, and can hold its shape.
Quick and easy to make: Just mix the ingredients, whip the frosting, and frost your cake. That’s it.
Ingredients
112g Earth Balance or Fleischmann's Unsalted Butter
96g Violife Plant Butter
380g powdered sugar
3g salt
10g vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Instructions
Prep the ingredients: First, make sure to bring your plant-based butters to room temperature so they’ll be easy to work with. While it’s softening, weigh out the powdered sugar, sift it into a large bowl, and set it aside.
Whip it all up: Put your plant-based butters into the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and mix it on low speed until they’re blended together.
Add the sugar: With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar. Mix well until the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Add the salt and vanilla: Add the salt and vanilla and beat on medium speed until the frosting is just light and fluffy.
Our Best Tips for Making Dairy-Free Buttercream Frosting
Not using it right away? Don’t warm it up in the microwave: If you’re chilling your frosting to use later, make sure you pull it out of the fridge with enough time to warm up a bit to room temperature. Whatever you do, don’t pop it in the microwave. Warming the butter too much too quickly will cause your buttercream to break. If you still need to fix the texture after you let it come to room temp, transfer it to your mixer and quickly beat it to fluff it up a little.
Thin it out: If you need to make your dairy-free frosting a little thinner, add a little non-dairy milk (almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, or coconut milk would work well here) a teaspoon at a time until it’s the right consistency.
Thicken it: If your frosting is too thin and you want to thicken it up a bit, add more powdered sugar until you hit the right consistency. Just make sure you don’t add way too much all at once—you don’t want to thin then thicken over and over again.
Switch up the color or flavor: This frosting will work just like buttercream, so you can also change up the color or flavor of it. Gel food coloring will give you a vibrant color and alternative extracts like almond or lemon can take your cake up a notch.
The Best Ways to Use Vegan Buttercream Frosting
Because this dairy free frosting recipe is essentially just a vegan buttercream, you can use it in most of the same ways that you’d use a buttercream frosting made with dairy butter. It’s great for:
Layer Cake: Spread it smooth or pipe gorgeous swirls on top.
Cupcakes: Holds its shape beautifully for those bakery-style peaks.
Sugar Cookies: Slather it between cookies for homemade sandwich cookies or decorate the tops with frosting and sprinkles.
Brownies: A thick, creamy layer of frosting on brownies? Yes, please.
Piping & decorating: It pipes like a dream and crusts just enough for detailed work.
FAQs
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Of course! Make your frosting, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for longer. When you’re ready to use it, let it come to room temperature and give it a good stir or quick mix in your mixer to make it fluffy again.
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Yes, you can. If you want to freeze your dairy-free buttercream, pack it into an airtight container or freezer-safe plastic baggie and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use it, transfer it to the fridge and thaw overnight, then re-whip it before frosting your cake.
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If your frosting is too soft, don’t panic—as long as the butter isn’t melted and the frosting isn’t broken, you can fix it. It might be that your room is a bit warm, which softened the butter too much. Put the bowl of frosting in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes, then try to whip it again to get the right consistency.
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It does! It’s great for piping and decorating because it will slightly harden on the outside, but stay creamy and delicious on the inside.
No matter why you’re using it, this dairy free frosting recipe is proof that a great frosting doesn’t necessarily have to include butter, milk, or cream. Dairy-free frostings are good options for those with food allergies or a vegan diet. Fluffy, rich, and delicious, this non-dairy frosting will be a hit with all of your guests.
