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 one 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 my dairy free cupcakes!
If youre craving a chocolate version, don’t worry, I gotchu! Try my dairy free chocolate frosting!
You’ll love this recipe because
- You only need four ingredients and 5 minutes of your time.
- This frosting pipes really well!
- You can easily color this frosting using food coloring to make any colored frosting you want.
Ingredients you need
- Vegan butter – I love using Earth Balance Buttery Spread in dairy-free buttercream and my vegan baked goods. Country Crock, Califia Farms, and Miyoko’s also make spreadable plant butter that mimics the flavor and texture of regular butter.
- Confectioners’ sugar – AKA powdered sugar is regular sugar pulverized into a very fine powder. It contains cornstarch which helps turn vegan butter into a fluffy vegan frosting.
- Vanilla extract – A good quality vanilla extract elevates the sweet, cream-like flavors.
- Dairy-free milk – This is the creamy element. I like using unsweetened oat milk or coconut cream because they are super creamy but you can use any kind of plant based milk like soy, almond, or rice milk.
Best dairy free butter and 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.
Dairy free 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
Cream butter: Add the plant based butter to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on low-medium speed for 30 seconds. Stop the mixer.
Mix in sugar: Add the powdered sugar, and set the dial on your mixer to the slowest speed setting (or else the powdered sugar will puff up all over you and your kitchen). Increase to high speed once the powdered sugar is better incorporated, and continue mixing for 2 minutes. Stop the mixer.
Mix in vanilla and milk: Add the vanilla extract and vegan milk and continue mixing on high speed for 1 minute, and that’s it! You can use it immediately to frost cupcakes or a cake or store it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
TIPS FOR RECIPE SUCCESS
- Dairy free butter melts quicker than dairy butter so you only need to leave it out to soften for a few minutes. 5-10 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.
Decorating tips
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