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
Ingredient Notes
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 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 flavour.
- 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 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 favorite buttery recipes like vegan mashed potatoes, vegan cream cheese frosting, and lemon curd, and use it in your vegan baking. It's great in cakes and 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 flavour and the butter is at it's 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 is completely different to 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 labelled 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 margarines.
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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NUTRITION
This recipe was originally published on March 15th 2015. I've added new photographs & some new content and now I am republishing it for you. The actual recipe remains the same. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for following A Virtual Vegan!
Pavla says
HI Mel - can I replace the olive oil with avocado oil?
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes, I think avocado oil would be fine.
Lydia Sudyko says
Hi. I am allergic to apple. Is it possible to use rice vinegar or white vinegar for this recipe?
A Virtual Vegan says
I think white wine vinegar would be good alternative. I wouldn't use regular white vinegar. It might be a little harsh. A little drop of lemon juice would work also. it just needs a tiny bit of acidity.
Rachel says
This vegan butter is a dream! After going vegan a couple years back, I was having a tough time finding a vegan butter that did it for me and/or wasn't super expensive to buy, until I came across this magic recipe! This tastes like the real deal, and I no longer miss real butter. My non-vegan family members love it as well. I sub canola oil for the olive oil because I noticed a bitter taste after it was spun at a high speed. I have been making and using this recipe for months now and still can't get over how dang yummy it is. I use this on toast and bagels daily, as well as in my cooking and baking. It is perfect. I plan to start making it in bigger batches and freezing in 1/4, 1/2, and 1 cup increments so I can easily have it on hand whenever I bake. Thank you so much for the recipe! xx
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so pleased you are enjoying it Rachel. Thank you!
Sabrina says
I love this recipe! I found that I’m not a fan of cashew milk, does macadamia curdle in the same way as soy?
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Sabrina. Macadamia milk will be fine. None of the other plant milks curdle like soy does for some reason.
Roda says
Hello, i would like to make this vegan butter however I'm allergic to yeast and almond is there an alternative? I would appreciate it if you could help a gal out
Thanks
A Virtual Vegan says
You can omit the nutritional yeast but it will take away from the buttery flavour a little. You can also use finely ground raw cashew nuts instead of almonds but it will affect the flavor quite a lot. The almonds are what makes this butter recipe so good.
Joe says
What can i use instead of coconut oil?
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm sorry but there is no substitute for the coconut oil. It's the only thing that will in this recipe.
Lori says
What purpose does the almond meal serve? Thanks!!
A Virtual Vegan says
It gives the butter it's buttery flavour and helps emulsify it.
Megan says
This is the best vegan butter ever. My kids and husband are not vegan and they have not noticed I’ve replaced this delicious vegan butter with their cow butter. Amazing. Thank you for sharing.
A Virtual Vegan says
That's amazing! The biggest compliment is when people don't notice the difference. Thanks so much for coming back to let me know!
Susan Becher says
Someone asked about not using any nuts. My daughter was nursing a colicky baby and couldn't have dairy or nuts or coconut because it irritated the baby so I made this recipe with well rinsed and drained canned white beans and substituted canola oil for the coconut oil. It was more liquid but still tasted really good and can be put on bread with a spoon and spread around and is great on vegetables. We were really pleased with the buttery taste!
A Virtual Vegan says
Interesting to know. I'll have to try that!
Michael SMIth says
Just made it for the first time and it's so good! I'm really pleased I stumbled upon your blog. Every recipe I have tried is amazing!
Suzanne says
Bonjour, I made a while ago, just finished first batch. I kept it in the freezer and use as needed. The taste was as good as first made. Preparing for second batch. Amazing taste! Miam! Miam! I loooove that recipe!
Sharon H says
Very interested in making this! Can I just ask why refined coconut oil? Just not sure about using this due to it being processed with chemicals, bleached and de-odourised. Is there another more natural product that can be used instead?
A Virtual Vegan says
It has to be refined coconut oil. There is nothing else that will work well. It needs to be refined and not unrefined because otherwise it would taste and smell of coconuts and not butter. It's possible to buy naturally refined coconut oil. Steam is used rather than chemicals and bleach etc. I buy Nutiva brand. It's naturally and ethically produced and they don't use monkey slave labor like other brands.
Kathryn Gannon says
You can buy coconut oil that doesn't taste or smell of coconut it's made by Biona. Could this be used instead?
A Virtual Vegan says
That would be refined coconut oil which is what I recommend you use in the recipe. You can't use unrefined as the coconut flavour and smell overpowers the butter taste.
Eliza says
To be honest, I use regular coconut oil and I think it tastes just fine. But I do double the nutritional yeast because I love the flavor of it, so maybe that contributes.
Gemma says
Hi!
I have yet to try this but very excited to!
I was wondering would cacao butter work in place of coconut oil?
Thanks,
Gemma
A Virtual Vegan says
I wouldn't use cacao butter. It's not neutral enough. It would probably end up tasting like white chocolate. Refined coconut oil is flavourless so is a much better option.
Linda says
Allergies to nuts any thing else that i could use?
This is all new to me.
Thanks
A Virtual Vegan says
I have some readers who use ground up raw and hulled sunflower seeds or pine nuts (which aren't actually a nut despite their name).
Gaetanne says
Hi Mel, this recipe looks great. Do you think cashew meal would work instead of almond meal? Have you ever tried that?
Thank you for your very inspiring recipes.
A Virtual Vegan says
It will technically work but for the best buttery flavour, almonds work best. I have some readers who are allergic to almonds who make it with cashews.
Laura says
Hi! I have two questions that you can hopefully answer for me. If I use homemade nut milk - are you saying the hitter will last 2 weeks in the fridge?
Also, it takes me SO long to make this in my VitaMix since it is such a small amount and I have to tip the blender back and forth what feels like forever. Then when I turn it one it all shoots to the top and I have to scrape it back down and do this repeatedly. Can this recipe be done in a good processor? I have a mini one and I was wondering if you have done this and chose the blender for a specific reason. Let me know! Thanks you!
Regardless of these two things, you got the flavor down!! It’s so good it doesn’t even let us 2 weeks! I am so very happy with it.
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Laura, I'm glad you are enjoying the butter recipe!
I answered your questions via the email you sent me, but will copy and paste what I wrote here in case it's helpful to anyone else.
"The butter will last for however long your milk is good for. I find that homemade milk only lasts 3 or 4 days before it starts turning. Store bought milk lasts much longer, usually about 2 weeks. That’s why I recommend freezing the butter if you make it with homemade milk.
A food processor won’t get the butter as smooth and emulsified as it needs to be so I do recommend using a high powered blender. If your blender is too big you can always double or triple the recipe. If you hover over the servings in my recipe card you can drag a slider to increase or decrease how much the recipe makes and it automatically changes the ingredient quantities to suit. "