Sugar Free Frosting
I never thought I’d make sugar-free frosting, but here we are! I was inspired by the surprising number of requests I’ve received for a sugar-free or diabetic-friendly frosting recipe over the years.
And I totally get it. Not everyone can eat tons of sugar! Most of these requests came from people who wanted to make a birthday cake or cupcakes for a loved one who is sensitive to sugar.
Some people have a medical reason for watching their sugar intake (i.e., diabetes, liver problems, etc.). Others are choosing to limit their sugar intake for personal reasons (i.e. keto, paleo, or Atkins diet).
Whatever the reason, a sugar-free lifestyle doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate a big life event with something sweet.
This frosting recipe can be used to frost cupcakes, decorate layer cakes, or even to fill cookie sandwiches.
Picking the Right Frosting Base
While most of my cakes are frosted with American buttercream, it’s the sweetest of all the types of frosting. It felt too strange to try to use that as the base for this sugar-free buttercream frosting.
Instead, I decided to use my Swiss meringue buttercream frosting recipe as a starting point. It’s much fluffier and isn’t super sweet.
Swiss meringue frosting takes a bit longer to make than American buttercream, but it’s super stable once it’s made and doesn’t crust.
Picking the Right Sugar Substitute
There are a lot of sugar-free sweeteners out there these days. With the rise of popular diets like keto and paleo, there has been an increased demand for alternative sweeteners and zero-calorie sweeteners.
While it’s great to have lots of options, sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming.
I tested this recipe with the granulated versions of Allulose, Swerve, and Splenda. I ordered them online from Amazon, but you can also find them at Walmart and health food stores.
All three worked, but the taste and texture of the sugar-free frosting were best with Allulose and Swerve. I slightly preferred the taste of the frosting made with Allulose to Swerve.
Sugar Free Sweeteners You Can Use
If possible, use Allulose as your sugar-free sweetener!! I think it works best.
Swerve can be used in place of Allulose in this recipe cup for cup.
Granulated baking Splenda can be used in place of the Allulose in this recipe! Use 1/2 the amount the recipe calls for.
Tips For Making the Best Sugar-Free Buttercream Frosting
- If your frosting breaks/curdles, just keep mixing!! It should come back together with the help of your stand mixer. For more troubleshooting tips, check out this post.
- Traces of grease in your mixing bowl can prevent your meringue from forming stiff peaks. You can wipe down your tools with lemon juice or vinegar to make sure they’re grease-free.
- Eggs are easiest to separate when they’re cold.
- Heat your egg white / Allulose mixture to 160°F/71°C to make the egg whites safe to eat. I like to use a digital thermometer to track the temperature.
- Use vanilla bean paste and a bit of almond extract to really amp up the flavor of this frosting!
- Make sure your butter is actually at room temperature, and add it in gradually (1 stick at a time).
- Mix your finished buttercream on the lowest speed with a paddle attachment for a few minutes to make it smooth.
- 1 batch of frosting is enough to fill and frost a seven or eight-inch layer cake, or frost about 3 dozen cupcakes.
- Turn this sugar-free frosting recipe into chocolate sugar-free frosting by mixing in 1 cup of melted and cooled milk or dark chocolate after the frosting is made.
Making This Sugar Free Frosting in Advance and Storage Tips
Make your sugar-free frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting. It can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days, in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Give it a good stir once it thaws to room temperature to get the consistency nice and smooth again.
A frosted cake can last in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month. The buttercream locks in all the moisture, keeping the cake fresh and delicious!
If you cut into the cake and have leftovers, use any remaining frosting to cover the cut section to keep it moist and store in the fridge for up to a week.
Let Me Know What You Think of This Sugar-Free Frosting!
If you try this recipe for sugar-free frosting, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating and comment below.
And don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and use the #chelsweets so that I can see your amazing creations on social media.
Sugar Free Frosting
Ingredients
Sugar Free Frosting
- 7 large egg whites, room temperature 235g
- 2 cups sugar free sweetener like Allulose or granulated Swerve 350g
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 339g
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 12g
- 2 tsp almond extract – optional 8g
- 1/2 tsp fine salt 3g
- gel food coloring if desired
Instructions
Sugar Free Frosting
- In a medium sized pot, add about 1-inch of water and bring to a simmer.
- Before making the frosting, be sure to thoroughly clean the mixing bowl. If there’s any grease it can make it difficult to make the meringue.
- Add 7 egg whites and 2 cups of Allulose sweetener into a heat-proof mixing bowl.
- Place the bowl on top of the pot filled with simmering water. Make sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of your bowl. The bowl should create a seal over the pot.
- Whisk the mixture constantly for about 3 minutes, until it reaches 160°F/71°C. You can test the mixture to see if it’s ready by rubbing a tiny bit between your fingertips. The Allulose should be fully dissolved, and it should feel super smooth and hot to the touch.
- Lift your bowl away from the pot, and dry the bottom with a towel. Then lock the bowl into place on your stand mixer and beat on medium high using a whisk attachment. Mix for about 10 minutes, or until you have stiff and glossy peaks.
- At this point in time, the bowl should be back to room temperature and no longer warm to the touch. If it’s warm, it will melt your butter!!
- Gradually mix in 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter on a medium speed. When all butter is mixed in, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula and continue mixing on a low speed for about 3 minutes. If the frosting breaks/curdles, just keep mixing!! It should come back together with the help of your stand mixer. For more troubleshooting tips, check out this post.
- Add in 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste or extract, 2 tsp of almond extract (optional), and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix on low for a couple of minutes until fully incorporated.
- If you plan to color the frosting, add a few drops of gel food coloring at this point and mix on a low speed until the frosting is evenly colored.
- The frosting should have a thick, whipped consistency at this point. If it looks lumpy or broken, keep mixing until it looks smooth and thick.
Video
Notes
Tips For Making the Best Sugar-Free Buttercream Frosting:
- Traces of grease in your mixing bowl can prevent your meringue from forming stiff peaks. You can wipe down your tools with lemon juice or vinegar to make sure they’re grease-free.
- Eggs are easiest to separate when they’re cold.
- Heat your egg white/sugar-free sweetener mixture to 160 degrees F to make the egg whites safe to eat.
- Whip the meringue until your peaks are stiff enough to defy gravity.
- Make sure your butter is actually at room temperature, and add it in slowly (1 stick at a time)
- When in doubt (if your frosting breaks/curdles), just keep mixing!! It should come back together with the help of your stand mixer
- Mix your finished buttercream on the lowest speed with a paddle attachment for a few minutes to make it smooth.
Making This Sugar Free Frosting in Advance and Storage Tips:
Make your sugar-free frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days, in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Give it a good stir once it thaws to room temperature to get the consistency nice and smooth again. A frosted cake can last in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month. The buttercream locks in all the moisture, keeping the cake fresh and delicious! If you cut into the cake and have leftovers, use any remaining frosting to cover the cut section to keep it moist and store in the fridge for up to a week.Nutrition
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Can we make this eggless too??
Can me use this for buttercream frosting? Replace icing sugar with allulose/splenda?
@Ramya, I tried making buttercream with powdered Swerve (erythritol,) and it tastes really weird. Nailed the texture, though. So maybe allulose would work. Post if you tried, and how it worked.
Thank you for this! I’ve always wondered if Swiss meringue would work with a sweetener vs. sugar and I’m so glad you experimented for us. Does the frosting have that cooling sensation typical of sweeteners like swerve?
I don’t think so. The egg white is a protein that provides the stability or structure for the frosting.
I see you didn’t get a reply, so I will try to answer. But search on the internet to confirm this before spending money on a “trial” sugar-free American Buttercream or AB. Powered sugar in AB recipes have cornstarch in it to keep it from clumping. But the cornstarch is a thickener and stabilizer which gives the frosting “bulk/body”. If you decide to do a trial, add 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch to the egg whites after they have formed stiff peaks. Don’t add to the heated sugar syrup. Which brings me to the heating. The sugar substitute my dissolve faster than sugar and I am not sure if the structure of it changes with high heat. In your trial, be sure to pull it off heat immediately when you reach 160, the min. correct temperature. Good luck!
Ignore my previous comment. I was combining two diff issues.
The icing or powered sugar contains cornstarch to keep it from clumping. Shredded cheese also adds cornstarch for the same reason. The cornstarch acts like a stabilizer and thickener for the American Buttercream. I have read that if you use regular sugar as substitute for powered sugar in frosting that you need to add 1 tablespoon per cup of sugar. Whether that is true if you use a sugar substitute and the ratio, I’m not sure. I would also check out which substitute has the “heaviest” product too because granulated sugar gives butter a lot of structure. But you can always do a trial run. To minimize cost on a test/trial, halve the recipe. I would be interested to see what happens.
Can we use pasteurized egg whites from a carton (Instead of having to break 7 eggs)? Will the egg whites still whip up like the non-pasteurized ones?
The cake looks perfect and fabulous to bake for a special day. Yes, its definitely the best sugar free cake. Lovely!!
Yes, when I make SMBC I use the egg whites from a carton, never had a problem
I don’t think the nutrition information is correct here. Neither egg whites nor butter have many carbs, so I think it’s down to the sweetener you choose. Splenda has 93 grams of carbs in 100 grams. This recipe calls for 150 grams if you use splenda. This recipe looks to be massive, most meringue buttercreams call for way fewer eggs. 139 grams of carbs in SIX CUPS of frosting isn’t too bad, lol.
@Mare, I agree. Perhaps the recipe author was referring to total carbs, rather than net carbs. And 2 cups of granulated regular (sucralose) Splenda has a total of of 48 carbs
Hi Joan,
Sadly I don’t have any control over how the nutritional information flows into recipe card for recipes :/ It’s automatically calculated as soon as I publish a recipe. I’m so sorry that is seems to be a bit wonky with this recipe!
Splenda, allulose, and Swerve all have zero NET carbs and don’t have much of an effect on blood sugar. Perhaps the nutritional info above was meant to state “sugar alcohol,” rather that “sugar,” under the carbohydrate section (?). I still don’t know that that would be the most accurate description, but either way, each serving has approximately one net carb, as the other ingredients are pretty low in carbs.
How can I do half of this recipe? Since it calls for 7 eggs I don”t know how to estimate or measure the egg amount.
I am looking for a sugar free and dairy free frosting for a customer’s birthday cake. Do you know if the butter in this recipe can be substituted with a vegan butter? Thank you!
@Stacey,
This is why I’m here… did you do it? Did it work?
@Stacey, the butter can be replaced with vegetable shortening. Bakeries often do this.
I was drawn to your recipe for sugar free buttercream and meringue as I am a diabetic. Looking at the nutritional contents, it really isn’t sugar free with that high a level of sugar in a slice. Is there such a thing as truly sugar free frosting?
@Karen, sugar alcohol is 0 net carbs. She didn’t add her sugar alcohol.
@Karen, allulose is not a sugar alcohol. It is a “rare sugar” that cannot be metabolized by the human body. It can also lower blood sugar, according to some studies and my own blood glucose testing.
Would this frosting be stable enough to have a sugar free drip on top of it? Also I don’t need 6 cups, could I cut the recipe in half?
Can a use coconut oil in replacement of butter?
@Gabriella, No, coconut oil does not have the same stability as butter.
Can this be made dairy free also by using a plant butter such as Earth Balance Sticks? Or shortening? Or anything? My husband & I need sugar free while our son needs dairy free. I am tired of making 2 different cakes for all our celebrations. Thanks in advance for anyone’s help!
@Joy, many bakeries use shortening in frosting instead of butter for better stability.
@Debra, allulose is a sugar alcohol. So those carbs don’t count. She didn’t add in sugar alcohol which cancel out the carbs. Sounds like this icing would be maybe 2-3 carbs each max.
hello can i use high ratio shortening instead, can t have butter. thanks marg
Well, there are plenty of comments debating the carb content, but NOT ONE comment about how the frosting actually tastes. I am reluctant to try it because of that.
@Kathy,
Make a 1/4 batch and let me know. It sounds great and I would love to have a cake I can actually eat without going into a coma over the sugar. ? I miss sugar.
If pasteurized egg whites are used do you need to heat egg whites and sugar substitute ?
@Carol, heating to 160° helps the allulose dissolve in the egg whites. I wouldn’t skip this step.
Hi. I was wanting to know if I can use, NOW Better Stevia Organic Extract Powder Zero – Calorie Sweetener in the 1 lb. container (https://www.nowfoods.com/products/natural-foods/betterstevia-extract-powder-organic) in this recipe? Thank you.
I have made this twice and it split both times and would not come back. I find it has a very strong fake sweetener taste.
I have been trying to find a recipe for keto/sugar free chocolate Swiss meringue frosting without much luck. Can you advise? Can I use the basic recipe here and add cocoa powder, which I prefer over melted chocolate.
Your help is greatly appreciated.
Hi Judie,
You can add some cocoa powder into this recipe to make sugar free chocolate frosting! I’d recommend adding in 1/2 cup, and then you can add more if you want a stronger flavor or a deeper color. Hope that helps, happy baking!
It says sugar free but has 67g of sugar in the nutrition information…. what am I missing?
Hi Peggy,
The nutritional information is automatically calculated by the recipe card, and I think it doesn’t have the proper inputs for alternative sugar. Sadly it’s just a glitch in the system, and I’m not able to fix it on my own! I’ve reached out to the company in charge of it though, and hopefully they’ll get it straightened out soon.
I’ve tried this twice. The first time was soup, the 2nd time was a grainy mess that never came together. I make regular Swiss meringue all the time so I know the process and can troubleshoot. I just can’t get this sugar free version to work 🙁
I’m so sorry to hear that Brian! What type of sweetener are you using?? Hopefully we’ll be able to figure out what’s going on together!
Would powder stevia work in place of the allulose? I have a friend who can only have stevia, and I’d love to figure out a frosting she can have.
Hi Erica,
This recipe is meringue based, so having a granulated type of sugar substitute would work best! However, I haven’t tested it with powdered sugar, so I’m not totally sure! But I don’t think it would turn out well with a powdered alternative sugar. So sorry!
Hi I’m really confused cause it’s saying sugar free but in the nutritional info it says sugar is 67g.
Hi Drea,
The nutritional information is automatically calculated, I don’t have any input in what it calculates! I don’t think it recognizes the sugar free substances as actually sugar free? I’m not sure why it’s saying that, it’s definitely an error! I’m so sorry!
I’m very excited to find this recipe. I have lots of family and friends who are diabetic and I make Splenda Sugar Blend Chocolate Cupcakes. But I didn’t have a frosting for them. Thank you
Can you add peanut butter to this buttercream? If so, how much? Thanks
You totally can! I’d add 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter (like JIF or Skippy). Be careful not to use natural peanut butter that’s super thin/liquidy, as it can cause the frosting to break. Hope that helps, happy baking!
I wanted to leave a comment about the taste of this frosting, because when reading the reviews before making it, there were none that actually addressed how it tasted. I was making a cake for a baby shower, and the mom-to-be has gestational diabetes. I wanted to make her a cake that she would actually be able to eat and enjoy so started searching for sugar free icing options. This was my first time making a Swiss meringue, I usually make American buttercream. It did take much longer to bring it to temperature as well as to whisk it than what the recipe said. It was also my first time using a stand mixer to beat the egg whites, and I never felt like I got a true stiff peak. I may have gone too far, but it never separated. I was unsure about how it was going to spread because it was much thinner than what I am used to, however it worked beautifully to decorate my cake, and better yet, the flavor was actually very good for a sugar free frosting! I used Swerve because my local store did not have Allulose, and followed the recipe exactly. Even my picky kids liked it, and they didn’t like the delicious cream cheese frosting I had made the day before. I’m hoping the mom-to-be will love it tomorrow!
Thank you very much for sharing Jessica! That is super helpful 🙂