Have you ever wanted delicious plant-based buttercream, but weren’t sure where to start? This easy vegan buttercream recipe is one of my go to, simple recipes for creating a frosting that is free of animal products.
Original buttercream at its core is just butter and sugar. Since butter substitutes do not always taste the same, there exists butter substitutes such as Earth Balance, Miyoko’s Creamery, or Country Crock. I used Earth Balance in this recipe, but any of these vegan butters can be used as a substitute.
To balance out the flavor, I also blended the more neutral tasting vegetable shortening into the buttercream. The sugar and vanilla extract balance out the consistency and flavor of the buttercream.
As an added bonus, the buttercream pipes very well for those of you who want to create elegant decorations!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Easy to make
- Simple ingredients
- Vegan/plant based
- Packed with vanilla flavor
- Extremely versatile
- Can easily be piped for decorations
- Enough for an 8″ cake
MORE RECIPES LIKE THIS
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TOOLS
Large mixing bowl
Stand mixer or hand mixer
Silicone spatula

Vegan Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup (150g) Earth Balance
- 1 1/3 cup (150g) vegetable shortening
- 4 cups (400g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp 5g vanilla extract
Instructions
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Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whip on high speed for a minimum of 5 minutes or until the icing is fluffy and white in color.
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Scrape down the sides and whip the buttercream again for another minute.
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Use the buttercream to ice cakes and sandwich cookies. Makes enough for an 8" cake.
Notes
- Experiment with other vegan flavors by adding other extracts.
- Some vegan flavors and extracts include almond, lemon, orange, peppermint, and rose.
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