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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Wendy says
Can you use this in baking?
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes
Katherine says
Just wanted you to know that I love this recipe! It is so good! I add a pinch of salt.. also, I made the vegan buttermilk about a week ago and this is my best batch yet! I call it Betta Butta! Great easy recipe to follow! Katherine
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so glad you're enjoying it Katherine. Love the name!
Aisbell Quintanal says
Omg! My family and I just became vegan. Let’s just say butter for us is a big deal and this recipe is our saving grace!! It’s amazing!!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so pleased you're all enjoying it. Best of luck on your vegan journey!
Melissa says
Hi my son can't have almond flour , can you make this with coconut flour? If so what would I have to change the amount to? I have read that you have to use less coconut flour when substituting but I am not that familiar with it.
Thank you
Melissa
A Virtual Vegan says
Coconut flour won't work in this recipe. It will make it really gloopy and unpleasant and give it a coconut flavour. If cashews are ok use ground up raw cashews. If it's nuts in general then I have readers who use ground pine nuts or ground raw hulled sunflower seeds. I haven't tested it that way myself but they have said it works well. Hope that helps!
Susan Putnam says
I just made this for the first time and it tastes SO much better than the store bought vegan butter. Stored most in a silicone tray in the freezer and will pop out what I need later. Love it!
Verna says
For the neutral tasting liquid oil, could I use refined coconut oil?
A Virtual Vegan says
No sorry. You need the combination of refined coconut oil and a liquid oil so that it's easily spreadable and has the right mouthfeel. With all coconut oil, it's way too hard and nowhere near as nice.
Satina says
Absolutely fabulous recipe, first time I've EVER made butter. Yummy. I'd stopped using dairy for years and was making a vegan pasta that had began butter, looked up your recipe and the rest is history. I make double mixture and store the extra in the freezer.
Satina says
that should say vegan butter, not began butter :)
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed it Satina and thanks so much for coming back to leave a rating/review!
Alice Aivazian says
I doubled the recipe when I made it and wow! It's the only one I've found that truly tastes like dairy butter, and it's so perfect on toast.
Marial says
Best Vegan butter and simple to make!
Kimberly says
I just made your recipe. Quick and easy. I can't wait to try it. But I noticed that it did not make 16 oz, as the recipe notes. My husband is wanting to compare costs. Does it expand in the fridge? Thanks so much
A Virtual Vegan says
It won't expand. The recipe says it makes approximately 2 cups. That's about 480 ml or 16 fluid ounces. It is approximate but it can't physically be much less because if you add up the liquid ingredients you've got 1 cup of coconut oil, over half a cup of milk and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add those together without any of the other ingredients and you've got 1.75 cup already. Just in case you're mixing them up, remember that fluid ounces aren't the same as weight ounces.
Elizabeth says
. Great recipe. Will save me a ton of money.
Valerie E says
This is the best vegan butter that I have tasted!
Laurie says
I made half the recipe initially. But when I tasted it it was just too salty! I ended up making another half portion and not adding the salt. Now it taste delicious! I can’t wait to try it on a toasted bagel!!
Kim says
I can’t have coconut anything at the moment. What can I substitute for the coconut oil?
A Virtual Vegan says
Sorry but there is no substitute. The recipe won't work without the coconut oil.
Karen Ellis says
The best vegan butter recipe ever and I’ve tried them all. It’s amazing. Tastes just like store bought. No idea what the person before is on saying it’s horrible. She must have made it wrong or used the wrong ingredients. It’s bloody brilliant.
Paul Henry says
Really really good. Very buttery. Highly recommend
H M says
I made this (twice), and I'm sorry, but it was beyond horrible. Initially, before it set up, it tasted okay, but not at all like butter, which I was fine with because I didn't expect it to do that. However, after sitting in the fridge overnight it assumed a horrible flavour that I can't even describe other than to say that it was like something that was spoiled. All of my ingredients were organic and totally fresh (and totally expensive so what ended up being a 2x failure really made me mad). I then tried making it without the nutritional yeast because in the original recipe I found the amount required to be WAY too strong, especially combined with all that salt but it didn't improve the taste at all - and I LOVE nutritional yeast in many things, just not the way it shows up in this. I even tried adding a bit of honey to it to improve it but had to throw out both batches as being inedible. I've found a recipe that doesn't use almond flour, nutritional yeast, vinegar or salt and I'm going to try that next. I was SO hopeful that this recipe would work because I'm having to give up all dairy. But, NOPE. I even had my husband try it thinking that maybe it was me, but he was appalled at the flavour and couldn't believe I was able to even try to choke it down.
SUSIE says
HM - you must be doing something wrong. I have made this following the exact recipe at least once a month for the last couple of years. It’s absolutely delicious, everyone I give it to loves it. Even my husband who is a butter snob thinks it’s good
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it. I can't help but think that either something went wrong when you were making it or something was wrong with your ingredients. This is one of my most popular recipes and has been made literally millions of times since it was published back in 2016. In all that time this is the first time the recipe has ever had a bad review. When made correctly it really does taste like store bought vegan butter. Very like Earth Balance if you have that wherever you are in the world.
I'm more than happy to troubleshoot with you.
You mention the nutritional yeast but there is such a small amount that you really can't taste it in the finished product once it's all set and cold. Did you perhaps use too much or use a different kind of yeast by mistake? Brewer's yeast or baking yeast for instance would give it a really bad flavour. What brand of nutritional yeast did you use?
Also are you absolutely sure that you used refined coconut oil as stated in the recipe? If you use unrefined by mistake that alters the flavour considerably.
And lastly what brand and type of plant milk did you use to make it and was it definitely unsweetened?
Shayn Ong says
Can I use brewers yeast instead of nutritional yeast?
A Virtual Vegan says
Definitely not. They are totally different. Brewer's yeast will not work as a substitute for nutritional yeast in any recipe.
Michelle says
Hi Mel
Thank you for all your amazing recipes.
Do you have a nut free Vegan Butter option you have trialed that is just as good as this one?
Thank you
Michelle
A Virtual Vegan says
I don't have a nut-free version but I do have readers who use ground sunflower seeds, pine nuts or hemp seeds instead of the almonds and they say it works great!
Vero says
Really, really good recipe.
Laura says
I have to admit I was sceptical about how this was going to taste, but boy was I pleasantly surprised! This tastes EXACTLY like butter. I think I did something wrong because it's not as creamy as I would like, but all in all, super delicious! And super easy, which is a big plus!