5 Minute Dairy Free Buttercream Frosting
Finally! A Dairy-Free Buttercream Frosting recipe that actually tastes good and pipes well! This light and fluffy vegan, vanilla buttercream is made from scratch with just four ingredients in less than 5 minutes. It pipes like a dream, perfect for frosting cake, dairy free cupcakes, or even dairy free brownies!
Ready for a dairy free frosting that actually tastes good? As a trained pastry chef and someone who keeps a kosher home, I have made A TON of dairy free desserts- good ones and bad ones!
According to kosher rules, we don’t mix meat and milk together in the same dish, or even at the same meal. If we have a meat meal, we don’t have dairy dessert. Which means I have made lots and lots of dairy free desserts (umm you need to make these dairy free chocolate chip cookies) and this vegan vanilla frosting is a keeper!
This icing recipe is made exactly like my 5 star rated regular vanilla frosting, except the butter and the milk are swapped out for plant based or dairy free versions.
Its fluffy, thick, and holds it’s shaped when piped. It’s super delicious on top of these dairy free cupcakes that are made with oil instead of butter.
If youre craving a chocolate version, don’t worry, I gotchu! Try my dairy free chocolate frosting! Make sure to save it for another time!
Best dairy free butter and plant based milk to use
Dairy Free butter- Personally I love using the Earth Balance baking sticks. You can also buy the tub of Earth balance but its harder to measure out and I find that it melts quicker than the sticks. You can get them at any grocery store.
I have also been experimenting with Country Crock Plant based butter sticks and I like those too!
Plant based milk– I don’t love drinking oat milk but I LOVE using it in baking recipes because it has a creamier consistency than soy or rice milk. I also like using coconut cream.
How to make it
Recipe tips
- Dairy free butter melts quicker than dairy butter so you only need to leave it out to soften for a few minutes. 5-10 minutes is great.
- If the frosting is too thick, mix in one tablespoon of dairy-free milk at a time until it’s soft and silky.
- Be sure the dessert you’re frosting is cooled completely to room temperature. Otherwise, the frosting will melt and slide right off.
Notes on Decorating
This icing pipes well onto both cupcakes and cakes and will hold its shape for a while at room temperature but will soften a bit if left out for a long time (3 hours+).
It will crust like a regular dairy frosting will and does not need to be refrigerated once it is frosted on a cake. Again it will be softer than a dairy frosting but it wont melt off the cake or anything!
Storing and freezing
Storing: Use immediately or refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 1 week. The frosting may separate a little bit because it is made from oil. To bring it back together, whip it in the mixer for 30 seconds on medium-high speed.
Freezing: To extend the shelf-life, you can store it in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before using it, and re-whip it if necessary.
Yield
This makes enough buttercream to frost 12-15 cupcakes or fill and frost two 9″ round cakes.
5 Minute Dairy Free Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan butter, such as Earth Balance (227g)
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar, 415g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, can add 1/2 a vanilla bean too
- 2 teaspoons oat milk, Sub soy or coconut milk
Instructions
- Add the vegan butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Mix on low-medium speed for 30 seconds.
- Stop the mixer, add in the 3 1/2 cups sugar, and turn the dial to the lowest mixing setting so powdered sugar spill out of the sides.
- Move to a higher speed when the sugar is more incorporated.
- Move to high speed for 2 minutes, then stop the mixer and add in 1 tsp vanilla and 2 tsp dairy free milk.
- Mix again on high for 1 minute.
- Frost on the cupcakes or refrigerate right away.
- Keep the cupcakes in the fridge before serving, the frosting can soften at room temperature.
If I added corn starch would that possibly help it keep together better at room temp?
Hi Joni! I havent tested it that way so I cant say for sure.
I’m making it this week. Would non-dairy coffee creamer work (its liquid vanilla flavored but creamy texture)? I also have milkadamia which is not very creamy
I havent tried that but it should work!
This vegan buttercream frosting is absolutely divine! It strikes the perfect balance of sweetness without being overwhelming. I was blown away by its rich flavor and creamy texture.
In fact, it was so irresistible that even a black bear couldn’t resist breaking into my tightly secured garbage bin to savor every last bit from the piping bag and wax paper. Truly a testament to its irresistible deliciousness!
Omg Cassie this is amazing! Such a compliment from you and the bear LOL. Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful comment, I’m glad everyone enjoyed haha!
Perfect recipe for simple vegan buttercream frosting! Turned out amazing! I decided to add just a bit of pure Vermont maple syrup for that hint of maple flavor and omg! Next time I’ll need a separate bowl to eat with a spoon bc WOW!
OMG this sounds like an amazing addition Jena! I’m so glad you loved it and I’m going to have to try adding maple too! Thank you so much for the rating and review!
Hi, can I use vegan heavy cream instead of other nondairy milk?
Hi Diane! I haven’t personally tried this recipe with a vegan heavy cream so I’m not sure if the texture will turn out exactly the same, but heavy cream works well for most frosting recipes! If you try it let me know how it turns out.
Do you need to soften the dairy free butter first? (Mines in the fridge)
hi! yes, its always best to soften first. If you dont want to wait for it to come to room temp you can follow some steps in this post: how to soften butter
Do you have a chocolate version? This looks great!
Hey Kristina! I would swap 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar for 2/3 cup cocoa powder and then follow the rest of the recipe!
Hello, this sounds perfect. I am going to make this for my granddaughters birthday. Will it be too soft if I place the cupcakes on a cake tower for an hour or so?
Nope! It should work just fine!
Thank you . Made this frosting and it turned out perfectly. Kids and adults loved it!
So happy!
Hi
Can the recipe be halved?
Sure can!
Made these for my friend’s birthday party who is dairy free; everyone ate them at raves about them! Couldn’t tell they were dairy free and were honestly better than full dairy cupcakes!
What a compliment Ash! Thank you so much! So appreciate you letting me know about this recipe and the 5 star rating!!
Simply amazing! I made this with Country Crock Plant Butter. I did not refrigerate and had no separation at all. It held up wonderfully indoors for several hours!
Great flavor, too! Cant wait to try the chocolate version suggested. Definitely a keeper!
So great to hear Mary! I also really like the country crock plant butter. Ive been swapping it for Earth balance that I usually use and I think it actually might be better! Thank you so much for the 5 star rating!
Just made infused vanilla bean paste , amazing!! First time using oat milk def way better than almond. Thanks so much for sharing!!! Also I love you share how long and what speed to use. It’s awesome ,your recepie is amazing!!! Thanks again!
This makes me so happy to hear Rachel! I’m thrilled you loved the vanilla bean paste and great call on using oat milk, too. Thank you for the kind words about the recipe instructions, I try to make everything as clear as possible. So glad it was a hit!
hi! i hope this doesn’t sound silly, but i’m hunting for a recipe with no dairy and preferably not a lot of refined sugar for a friend, if you had to guess, do you think the powdered sugar could be substituted for honey or some other natural sweetener?
this recipe looks super tasty, so if you don’t think substitutes would work i’ll definitely just go with your original, but i feel like i’d regret not asking since you’d know more about this than a teenager
anyway, i look forward to trying this either way! thank you for taking the time to make this recipe 🙂
Hi Bekah! So nice you are looking to bake for a friend, Im happy to answer this for you. This recipe wouldnt work without the powdered sugar because its the base of what makes it so fluffy. Unfortunately there really are no subs so I suggest making as is. You sound like a great friend to have and so glad you asked! 🙂