The best-tasting vegan butter! It's plant-based, super buttery, smooth, rich & creamy & can be made in minutes. Use it for all of your spreading, baking, and frying needs. This is a real reader favourite with hundreds of five-star reviews. No fancy ingredients are required and it's palm oil-free!
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FEATURED COMMENT
"I'm impressed! When I read all the comments & high ratings about it tasting as good as real butter, I was hopeful but still skeptical…. However, I proved it to myself today. It came out perfectly first go! Follow the well-detailed directions and you can't go wrong!"
- Clare ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
If there is just one new vegan recipe you are going to try this month, let it be this vegan butter. It is life-changing and absolutely tried and true. It has been one of my most popular recipes since 2015 and it comes with hundreds of five-star reviews.
Make it in your blender in minutes and then use it just like regular butter for all of your spreading and baking needs. It's unbelievably smooth, rich, and creamy, and spreads and melts perfectly. You can even use it to make vegan brown butter!
A slice of no knead sourdough bread, toast, or light whole wheat bread just isn't the same without a thick layer of butter and when you make your own you can avoid the palm oil, emulsifiers etc that are in most store bought vegan butters.
Mel x
What Is Vegan Butter Made Of?
So that you get the very best results when making this vegan butter recipe, here are some important notes on the main ingredients:
- Almond flour - This is crucial for the best buttery flavour and emulsification. Almond flour is made from blanched skinless almonds and is super fine, powdery, soft, and pale creamy yellow in colour. It has a mild, buttery flavour. Almond meal on the other hand is made with raw almonds, often with skins still on. It is coarser and grainier than almond flour, slightly stronger in flavour, and darker in colour with small brown flecks throughout if the skins were still intact. For best results, you need to use almond flour for this recipe. Almond flour is found in almost all grocery stores and it will be clearly labelled on the bag that it is made from blanched almonds. I buy mine in bulk from Costco but Bob's Red Mill is a popular brand of almond flour carried in most stores in North America. In the UK you can usually find almond flour at Holland and Barrett or you can order it from Amazon.
- Refined coconut oil - Note that it must be refined (i.e flavourless and odourless) and cannot be MCT oil or liquid coconut oil. This is a crucial ingredient and without it the butter won't set.
- Dairy-free milk - For creaminess and emulsification. It should be a neutral tasting milk and it must be unsweetened and unflavoured so be careful to check the ingredients. Vanilla and sugar sneak into a lot of plant milks and they really aren't good additions to savoury recipes. My preferences are oat milk, soy milk, or cashew milk. I don't recommend using almond milk because it has quite a strong flavour which you can detect in the finished butter.
- Nutritional yeast - Just a touch for a buttery umami flavour.
- Apple cider vinegar - The butter needs some acid to balance the flavours and apple cider vinegar is milder than most other culinary acids which is why it's used here.
- Oil - Any neutral oil such as mild olive oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil. This is what makes the butter spreadable.
- Turmeric - Used for colour. It gives the butter a yellow hue. This is the only ingredient you can safely omit.
You will also need a high-powered blender.
If you have any questions check the FAQs for the most common ones, and if it's not covered there feel free to leave a comment under the recipe. I'll get back to you a.s.a.p.
Serving Suggestions
Slather this vegan butter on bread, scones, and biscuits, and pancakes, and waffles. You can also add it to all of your favourite buttery recipes like vegan mashed potatoes, vegan cream cheese frosting, and lemon curd, and use it in your vegan baking. It's great for cakes, pastry dough, etc. You can even use it to make brown butter!
Recipe FAQS
If you use unrefined or virgin coconut oil, your butter will taste and smell of coconut, not butter. Refined coconut oil has no coconut flavour or smell which is why it is essential for this recipe.
I have a few readers who use ground-up cashew nuts, sunflower seeds, or pine nuts instead of almonds. Almonds give a more buttery flavour but the results are still ok when using these substitutes.
The nutritional yeast helps with the buttery flavour and the butter is at its best when it is included so I highly recommend using it. However, if you omit it the recipe will still technically work, it just won't taste quite as good.
No. Baking yeast and brewer's yeast are completely different from nutritional yeast and will not work in this recipe.
There is no substitute for coconut oil in this recipe. Nothing else will work.
Yes, it bakes perfectly. Use it in cakes, pies and frosting etc as you would regular butter.
Vegan butter and margarine are similar but not the same. Margarine has a really distinctive flavour and a really soft texture that is not like traditional dairy butter. It is also not always vegan. It often contains milk derivatives amongst other things, even the ones that are sometimes labeled as plant-based" so be careful. Look out for ingredients like whey, lactose, and casein. Also, be wary of lecithin and vitamin D3 which can sometimes be derived from animals. My vegan butter recipe is more like dairy butter in flavour and texture than store-bought margarine.
No. The recipe will not set when made with liquid coconut oil.
Recipe
Vegan Butter
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 mls) refined coconut oil , it must be refined NOT unrefined
- ½ cup (50 grams or 8 tablespoons) almond flour
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150 mls) dairy-free milk , must be unsweetened & unflavored. See the post above for my fave milks to use.
- 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 pinch ground turmeric , optional but helps make colour a little more yellow
- ¼ cup (60 ml ml) neutral liquid oil , such as light olive, canola, vegetable, or sunflower oil.
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
Please see the recipe notes before proceeding if you intend on using this butter for frying/sautéing.
- Gently melt the coconut oil. I put it in the microwave on defrost for about 20 seconds but you can also stand the jar in some hot water. Measure it when it's liquid and not solid, then set aside for a few minutes to cool to room temperature. Do not use it while warm or hot.
- Place the almond flour, milk, salt, nutritional yeast, vinegar, and turmeric into a high speed blender and blend until completely smooth. Touch the blender jar and make sure the contents aren't really warm or hot. If they are wait until they are at room temperature again before moving onto the next step.
- Pour in the refined coconut oil and olive oil then blend again until completely emulsified. It's important not to let the contents of the blender get warm/hot so blend in short bursts and give it a break for a minute or two in between if you can feel it getting warm.
- Pour the liquid butter into a container, cover and refrigerate until set.
- Let the butter soften at room temperature for a few minutes before spreading for ultimate creaminess and ease of spreading.
NOTES
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Alycia says
Made this 3 times so far and it's the most delicious vegan butter I've ever come across!
It tastes just like cow's milk butter but with a lovely subtle nutty flavour ^_^
This recipe is so ingenious that I've shared it publicly on Facebook and shared the butter with some friends <3
In the UK, coconut oil stays pretty solid even in summer so the first thing I do is melt the coconut oil on lowest heat on a hob. I use oat milk because it's the creamiest of the vegan milks. Engevita yeast flakes work perfectly with this. I use a hand blender and it works wonders. For me it's best to keep the butter in a tupperware box so it's easier to scrape out with a knife : )
Thank you so much, Mel for sharing this brilliant recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so glad you are enjoying the recipe Alycia and thank you for stopping by to leave feedback. It's much appreciated!
Matilda says
Melanie, I just made your butter and am now waiting for it to cool in the refrigerator, Cannot wait to spread some on a slice of bread. Thank you again for sharing your expertise in your recipes. Matilda
A Virtual Vegan says
You're welcome Matilda. Enjoy your bread and butter!
Jennifer says
I'm so excited to make this...but have a strange request. I'm having a large dinner party and people have dietary restrictions. I need way more than this tiny amount! Do you have a scaled up recipe? Like, for 1 lb or 2 lb blocks? Thanks so much!
A Virtual Vegan says
On all of my recipes, if you hover over the servings in the recipe card, a little slider appears and you can adjust it to whoever much you like. It will then change all of the ingredients automatically!
Kirsten says
Great recipe. Taste is fantastic. Did use olive oil which was not a good idea as the flavour came through but still was very delicious. Used most of the butter for frosting!!
Andrea says
Can I use coconut flour instead of almond flour?
A Virtual Vegan says
No. Coconut flour is way too absorbent and would turn it into sludge. Almond flour is what gives it it's buttery flavour too. You could sub cashews ground up into flour or if you have a nut allergy, I have a few reader who use pine nuts or sunflower seeds. The best possible flavour will come from using almond flour though. Hope that helps!
Pamela Therrien says
OH do use almond flour...I am old south butter is my life...I added a small amount of almond flour and this butter is so awesome may switch ..So goodi added a bit a pinch twice over of Nutrirional yeast as well OMG I cannot believe how wonderful this is...I LOVE it so much!
Melanie McDonald says
The almonds really make this recipe something special. Thank you Pamela. I'm so pleased you are enjoying it!
GO GREEN 2018 says
This is AWESOME,! I cannot wait to try it! A pound lasts in our refrigerator about a month. What is the shelf life on this recipe? A month. 2 months?
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! It won't last as long as store bought. It will last for how ever long your milk is good for. Store bought milk lasts longer than homemade milk so it varies depending on what you use. As mentioned in the post though, you can freeze it. That's what I do. I make a great big batch, freeze in silicone ice cube trays and pop out a piece as needed. That way it stays nice and fresh even if I use homemade milk to make it. It will keep for a few months in the freezer.
KEAS says
As of this morning I will no longer be buying butter in the store. This will be my go to butter going forward. This recipe was perfect! Thanks for sharing
A Virtual Vegan says
That's what I like to hear! Thank you. I am thrilled you like it so much!
Jean says
I’m curious to know if using a lactaid free milk instead of the non-dairy type would work? Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
That would be fine, but to keep it vegan you would need to use non-dairy milk.
Trinity Bourne says
I am going to try this after sending a whole bunch of people to the recipe because it sounds amazing.
I just want to ask - have you ever frozen this before? Do you know if it freezes well?
Big thanks
Tirnity
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Trinity. It's been the most popular recipe on this website for a couple of years now. I'm not sure anything else I make will beat it!
In answer to your question, the butter freezes perfectly. I give details in the post about how I freeze it in silicone ice cube trays as I don't use much of it at a time. It's a great way to do it and they pop out so easily and because they are small don't take long to defrost. I hope you enjoy it and thank you so much for sharing it!
Guest says
Will this work without the nutritional yeast, I have all the ingredients on hand except that.
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes it will work but nutritional yeast really helps the buttery flavour.
Britta Bloomquist says
Beyond amazing and sooo tasty!!
Thanks a lot for this recipe!
I have been using it for about 3 months now and don't ever want to switch back to store bought
A Virtual Vegan says
What a compliment! I am thrilled you are enjoying it so much and thank you so much for stopping by to leave feedback. It's much appreciated!
Jill says
Is there a good substitute for the apple cider vinegar? I'm having trouble guessing its role in this recipe, which makes it hard to determine a good substitute.
A good friend of mine has recently had to switch to a super-restrictive diet to control her migraines. Dairy (e.g., real butter) and apple cider vinegar are both on the list of things she has to avoid. All other types of vinegar are fine, though.
A Virtual Vegan says
It just needs a little acid to balance the flavour. You could probably use a little white wine vinegar instead. Even a tiny bit of lemon juice might work. I have only used apple cider vinegar myself though so can't guarantee how well the flavours will balance with substitutes. You could also omit it. It won't make a huge difference and will still be good.
Donna N says
I no longer eat butter ( unless I go out to eat at a high-end restaurant) and I have never had the desire to eat vegan or any other non-dairy butter, but I'm curious and willing to give this recipe a try.
Rhedd says
Delicious, just like butter. Much better than the store bought stuff. Thank you
Liz says
Unbelievably delicious! You won't even miss the dairy version! My super-picky family LOVES this butter! We use it on everything from toast to corn on the cob...and it makes for rather tasty/HEALTHIER mashed potatoes! Honestly, this has saved me from straying from the vegan track! I cannot thank you enough!
A Virtual Vegan says
Oh Liz, that makes me so happy and thank you for stopping by to leave feedback. I really appreciate it!
Andrea Sear says
Do you think this would work in puff pastry/crossiants? Trying to make vegan crossiants and the current vegan butters in the UK don't cut it.
A Virtual Vegan says
It does. It's really nice and hard like real butter so works really well. A friend of mine runs a bakery that makes some vegan goodies and she makes this butter by the gallon to use there!
Andrea Sear says
Thanks for relpying! Going to give it a go and let you know how I do :)
Kwame says
I am so happy to have found this recipe for vegan butter that does not have emulsifiers, however I am unable to create it for the simple reason that I cant find refined coconut oil can I use vegetable oil instead.
Lisa says
FYI...I just picked up refined coconut oil (Dunn's River) at Walmart
Andrea says
I am terribly lazy and just chuck all the ingredients in at once - I don't even use non-dairy milk, I throw in 1.5 tablespoons of cashews plus 5 tablespoons of water. The first time I did this, I just hoped for the best. I have a fairly standard Kenwood blender.
My lazy method works well. We are not vegetarian nor vegan, but my husband has a slight dairy intolerance, and we avoid meat / animal products as much as is practical at home. I split one batch into two containers, and they definitely freeze well. I am very impressed with this recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
I like the sound of your lazy method. So glad you are enjoying the recipe!
Josefine says
Hi. I Hope it's okay that I ask but I am really curios (and lazy aswell!) Did you use cashews AND the almondflower when you replaced milk?
Donna says
Well it’s taken me more than 6 months to comment and I should have done it sooner! This is THE BEST VEGAN BUTTER EVER!!! it’s actually what helped me stay vegan after my initial months of turning vegan and missing butter. I have given this recipe t9 s9 many people who are all now loving it also having turned vegan and missing butter as shop bought is rank????. Thank thank so so much I love it ????
A Virtual Vegan says
Better late than never! Thank you Donna. I'm so glad you are enjoying it and thank you for sharing it with others and for coming back to leave feedback. It's much appreciated!
Marie says
I'm allergic to most nuts. It seems I can eat cashews as long as they were not processed with other nuts. They are hard to find but are out there. Anyway can I use cashew milk an raw cashews for the almonds to make this butter recipe??
A Virtual Vegan says
You can. The butter will work the same, however almonds give a more buttery flavour so you will lose a little of that. It will still be good though. Hope that helps!