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 favorite 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 flavor 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 flavor. 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 flavor, and darker in color 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 flavorless 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 unflavored 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 savory recipes. My preferences are oat milk, soy milk, or cashew milk. I don't recommend using almond milk because it has quite a strong flavor which you can detect in the finished butter.
- Nutritional yeast - Just a touch for a buttery umami flavor.
- Apple cider vinegar - The butter needs some acid to balance the flavors 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 color. 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 favorite 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 flavor 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 flavor 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 flavor 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 flavor 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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Sarah Weller says
Hi Mel
I'm trying veganuary and although a vegetarian I am a big fan of butter and eggs. I made this last night and although I was dreading it (sorry!) it was actually OK. I used unrefined coconut oil because that's all I had but it was OK.
Will try to source refined for the next batch. Thanks again for the recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
You're welcome. I'm so glad you were happy with it. You will notice a massive difference when you get some refined coconut oil. When you use unrefined it doesn't really taste very buttery because the coconut flavour and smell hide it. You'll see what I mean!
Mary says
I love this butter I have made it several time today it's in process thank you so much
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you are enjoying it!
mary says
Thank you so much for this wonderful better-butter recipe! It has all the mouth feel and drippy salty yum-ness I crave on baked sweet potatoes and mmm some gluten free oatmeal muffins right out of the oven. I found that one batch of this made plenty for me to use daily for just over two weeks (have not baked with it yet, that will be fun!). The coconut oil is much easier to digest than dairy... excellent for my eating protocol to help heal my poor sad gut. Major appreciation to people like you out there putting together these recipes and helping us all get healthy!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you so much Mary! I'm thrilled you are enjoying it so much. Happy new year to you!
Hannah says
Hi there, can I use unrefined coconut oil instead?
A Virtual Vegan says
It technically works with unrefined but it will taste and smell of coconut. To get the best buttery result it needs to be refined coconut oil.
Janie says
Love this recipe!! Wonderful flavor. I’m just enjoying the last of my first batch on a sourdough baguette. Another batch...coming right up! This will become a staple in our house. Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so pleased you are enjoying it Janie! You can't get a much better accompaniment to it than a fresh sourdough baguette either. My weakness is good bread and butter! Thank you so much for stopping by to leave feedback!
Jess says
This recipe is amazing! I couldn’t believe how thick and buttery it turned out. Took 5 minutes and was easy. Taste really good.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
MJudge says
Regarding the Easy Vegan Butter recipe, I have a dilemma. I am allergic to wheat, palm oil and coconut oils. They give me hives. My 8 year old grandson is now dairy free. What can I do for butter that we both can use? Can I substitute the coconut oil in this recipe for another, ie, avocado, grape seed oils? Thank you..
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm afraid that it isn't possible to make this recipe without the coconut oil. It is needed to set the butter. Sorry!
Michelle says
You could try food grade babassu oil? it has a very similar texture, consistency, and melting point as coconut oil, and a mild flavor.
francesca says
Hey Mel, I wanted to drop by and thank you for this amazing, easy and foolproof recipe! Made it last night in just under 5 minutes, and enjoyed it this morning on a lightly toasted, warm baguette (here in France it's a pretty typical breakfast).
So thank you, I'll probably be making this all the time now, instead of buying commercial non-dairy butter
♥
ps: happy holidays!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you so much Francesca! Personally I think the best way to eat it is on fresh bread and I'm slightly jealous you have a freshly baked French baguette! I love the bread in France! I'm so glad you are enjoying the recipe and thank you so much for stopping by to leave feedback. I really appreciate it. Happy holidays to you too!
MissB says
Would this butter work for making pastry or vegan croissants?
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes it's great for all kinds of baking. I regularly make pastry and croissants with it.
Kate says
Can you bake with it?
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes you can bake with it. It's great in cakes, cookies etc and for frosting!
Sophia Greacen says
This sounds perfect! Do you think it would also be suitable to whip into a buttercream? I’m trying to shock my family with a decadent vegan cake but I don’t want butter with palm oil in it!
A Virtual Vegan says
It works perfectly for buttercream! I used it in this recipe https://avirtualvegan.com/earl-grey-vegan-cake-lemon-frosting/ .
Camille says
Cant wit to try this recipe, however due to an allergy to coconut oil, is there an optional replacement?
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm sorry but there is no alternative to the coconut oil. The recipe will not work without it because it's needed to solidify everything.
Jori says
You can use this in baked goods too, like you would for traditional butter when called for?? If so, I'm sold! Cannot wait to try it :)
A Virtual Vegan says
You sure can. It's awesome in cakes, cookies etc, and for frosting!
Michaeline McDonald says
This recipe tastes pretty darn close to real butter! I am impressed! Can't wait to bake with it and see how my sugar cookies turn out! Good job!
A Virtual Vegan says
Yay! I'm so glad. It makes great cookies by the way!
Carolyn Herbert says
Do you have to use the nutritional yeast? I'd love to make this butter as I'm dairy intolerant but I'm also yeast intolerant which means it's a no no for me if it can't be left out :(
A Virtual Vegan says
You can omit it. It adds a little depth to the flavour but it will still technically work without it.
Modia Nefer Ra says
This is an excellent recipe. This is the best butter I have ever had. You're a scientist! Than you much.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm thrilled you like it so much! Thank you!