This vegan vanilla frosting is smooth, creamy and delicious! Easy 4-ingredient recipe, ideal for use on cakes, cupcakes and cookies!
This vegan vanilla frosting is smooth, creamy and delicious.
Ideal for use on cakes, cupcakes and cookies.
Just 4 ingredients, this really couldn’t be simpler and you’ll love how rich it is, even while using a minimal amount of vegan butter.
An electric mixer is required but you can whip this up in less than 10 minutes from start to finish and get on with the important job of enjoying whatever delicious treat you’ve prepared.
The cool thing about this recipe is that it’s so simple and easy to throw together.
And it just works out every time.
Not to mention that it contains simple ingredients. I still haven’t figured out what ‘shortening’ even is, let alone putting it into my frosting recipes.
So if you’re similarly a fan of the simple, then this is for you.
It’s super sweet of course, but that’s what you want in a frosting isn’t it?
I love this frosting on a vanilla cake. This is exactly the frosting (topped with strawberries) we used on the vanilla cake you see below.
Vanilla on vanilla is marvellous of course! But you can also mix and match a bit and use it on a fabulous vegan chocolate cake.
Ingredients You’ll Need For This Frosting:
Ingredient Notes
- Soy milk – can be replaced for any non-dairy milk that you have on hand.
- Vegan butter – the firmer the better. Stick style vegan butters tend to work best in frostings. Tub style also works, but try to choose one that is as firm as possible so that your frosting won’t be too soft.
How To Use This Frosting
This frosting is perfect to spread onto cakes or cupcakes or cookies.
You can also pipe it onto cupcakes, but it’s not quite as good for piping as a vanilla buttercream frosting. The extra vegan butter in a buttercream makes the texture just a little better suited for piping.
But to spread onto your vegan sugar cookies, or spread onto cakes or cupcakes, this frosting is fantastic.
Storing and Freezing
This frosting keeps very well in the fridge for up to a week. It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and whip it up again in your stand mixer before using.
More Delicious Vegan Frosting Recipes
- Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- Vegan Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Lemon Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Chocolate Frosting
- Vegan Chocolate Ganache
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
How To Make Vegan Vanilla Frosting
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups Powdered Sugar (450g)
- 3 Tablespoons Vegan Butter (45g)
- 4 Tablespoons Soy Milk (60ml) or other non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Add the powdered sugar, vegan butter, half the soy milk and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl.
- Using your electric mixer, start at low speed, gradually increasing speed. Add the rest of the soy milk in slowly until perfectly smooth and thick.*
- It should be very thick, but still easily spreadable.
Video
Notes
- You can switch soy milk for almond milk or another non-dairy milk if you prefer.
- You might not need to use all the soy milk to achieve the desired consistency. Some vegan butters have a higher water content than others and this can make some end up too runny, so only use as much as needed.
Can I color it with food coloring without it changing its consistency?
Yes you can Klara!
does the butter need to be softened?
Room temperature butter is best, but if your butter is not soft enough, you can beat it a bit before adding the powdered sugar.
Very simple. Tasted good. Used on chocolate chip muffins. I thought the frosting felt thick on the beater so I added 2 additional tbsps of almond milk – MISTAKE – made the frosting drip over the sides of the muffin cups. Will definitely make this again but next time no improvising. Lesson learned #smh
Thanks for your great review Erica!
Loved it! I will say I only added 3 cups of powdered sugar! It was sweet enough and thick/creamy enough to pipe onto cupcakes. Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! Thank you so much for your great review!
Delicious! Wondering if I can ice my cake and then freeze altogether?
That should work Taylor!
Does it need to be refrigerated? Or can the frosted cake be left at room temperature?
It’s fine at room temperature.
I added in an extra 3/4c powdered sugar to really firm it up, and did 2T oat milk, 1T maple syrup, for a maple buttercream. Turned out great, and iced the middle and top layer of a 9” square double layer cake. Thanks!
HI! I’d like to make this for a cake this Father’s Day – do you recommend salted or unsalted vegan butter? Thank you so much!
I usually use salted but either/or is also fine.
Would this recipe be enough to cover an 8” cake? Ta
Yes it is!
Wonderful! This was my third attempt for vanilla frosting and I’m glad I found your site! The other recipes called for coconut or way too much vegan butter. This was sheer perfection! And a breeze to make! Thank you!
So happy you liked it Therese! Thanks for the wonderful review!
Can you substitute margarine for vegan butter?
Sure!
Should the butter be cold or room temperature?
I usually use it straight from the fridge, but if your vegan butter is very hard (like a very firm stick-style vegan butter) then you can also let it soften first.
What if want to use regular butter, would it be the same amount?
Yes it would be the same amount.
Does this work well with piping?
Yes you can pipe it if the consistency is thick enough.
Thank you if its not thick enough can I add corn starch to thicken it instead of adding more sugar?
I haven’t ever used cornstarch in a frosting so I’m not sure!
If it’s not thick enough add more sugar.