When you’re making allergen friendly cupcakes, having a great vegan buttercream to top them with is key!

Whenever I think of vegan or gluten free (or even dairy free) recipes, I get a little scared. My first thought is always what scary, strange ingredients is this recipe going to call for.

When I worked on this vegan buttercream recipe, I wanted to be sure it used ingredients we’re all comfortable with. As an added bonus, I think most of you will already have them in your pantry!

Through a lot of recipe testing this year, I’m breaking through my own stigmas about allergen friendly baking.

With the right ingredients and process, it doesn’t have to be so scary 🙂

What Type of Butter Alternative Should I Use?

Picking the right butter replacement is important. Just like with regular buttercream, the type of butter or fat that you use imparts a lot of flavor into your frosting.

Test #1: Vegetable Shortening (Crisco)

Shortening was the first butter alternative I tried, and it was not my cup of tea.

While it gave the frosting a great consistency, it left a strange mouth feel after eating it. It reminded me of the bad, artificial frosting I used to eat on cheap cakes from the grocery store.

Shortening also doesn’t add any flavor!! It tasted like it was eating sweetened crisco, rather than a delicious vegan buttercream.

I was a bit disheartened after this test and grossed out! It was not the taste I was after.

Test #2: Vegan / Dairy Free Butter

This was when I realized I really needed to use a fat base with more flavor.

I did a little research on vegan butter, and tried both Miyokos vegan butter and Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks.

Both types of vegan butter worked great, but I preferred the taste of the buttercream made with Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks.

One thing to note when using vegan butter in this recipe. Vegan butter is usually made with salt, so there’s no need to add in additional salt.

So when you read the recipe card below, don’t be surprised that it doesn’t include any additional salt. I didn’t forget it, it’s just already included in your vegan butter 🙂

Getting The Consistency of This Vegan Buttercream Just Right

In addition to having this vegan frosting taste great, I also wanted it to have a silky smooth consistency.

One of the things I love the most about making frosting is getting the consistency just right. Half of the fun of making frosting is decorating with it!

That’s why I really focused on getting the consistency of this vegan buttercream just right.

Whether you plan to pipe this frosting onto cupcakes or smooth it onto a cake, I wanted it to keep its shape yet still be spreadable.

I found that I needed to add a tablespoon of dairy free milk to make the frosting more workable.

A little bit of dairy free milk goes a long way in this frosting! Be careful to carefully measure it out, so that you don’t make your frosting too thin.

What Type of Alternative Milk Should I Use?

I prefer baking with almond milk, and it’s my favorite alternative milk to drink.

I usually add this into my vegan buttercream because it’s what I have on hand.

However, I also tested this recipe with oat, soy, and coconut milk and they all worked great. I haven’t tested out rice or hemp milk, but I’d assume those would work well too (if you try them please let me know!).

Since you’re only adding 1 tablespoon into your frosting, it doesn’t matter if it’s sweetened or flavored! It will still work.

So feel free to use whatever type you have on hand.

My Recommendation: Use Vanilla Bean Paste

To give this vegan buttercream a more intense vanilla flavor, I love to use vanilla bean paste.

Vanilla bean paste can be used in place of vanilla extract in a 1:1 ratio.

If you don’t have vanilla bean paste on hand you can use vanilla extract, but the flavor isn’t quite as strong.

Vanilla bean paste really elevates the look of this frosting. I love being able to see those tiny little specks!!

It makes it not only look prettier, but it really does add to the flavor of the buttercream.

Adding a Tiny Bit More Pizzazz to This Frosting

You can also add an additional teaspoon of your favorite extract to this frosting (listed as optional in the recipe).

My one word of caution here is to make sure you pick an extract that will pair well with your alternative dairy.

Since I prefer using almond milk, adding a teaspoon of almond extract to this frosting would be delicious. It would help enhance the natural almond flavor in the frosting from the almond milk.

Likewise, if you prefer coconut milk, you could add some coconut extract.

For soy and oat milk, I think almond or lemon extract would taste great.

Tips for Making the Best Vegan Buttercream:

• Use your favorite type of dairy free milk! I love almond milk, but soy, oat, or coconut work great too.
• If you are making frosting for a cake, mix the buttercream on the lowest speed at the end of the process for a couple minutes, to get out any extra air that might have be incorporated during the mixing process.
• I usually make 1 1/2 batches of frosting to stack and frost a seven or eight inch cake.

Making This Vegan Buttercream In Advance & Storage Tips:

• Make your frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• If you do make this buttercream in advance, be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws 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!
• Frosted cupcakes can sit at room temperature for a day or be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Store them in an airtight container once they’re made.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this vegan buttercream recipe, 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 #chelsweets so that I can see your amazing creations on social media.

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