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!
Lori says
Great recipe. Many thanks for sharing!
=^..^=
Susie says
I absolutely adore this butter I always make a double batch and solidify them in a silicone muffin tray. This gives me professional little moulds of butter that look lovely served to guests . I keep them in a container in the freezer and take a few out at a time ...love this on fresh bread !
A Virtual Vegan says
Love the idea of using a silicone muffin tray. I use ice cube trays to freeze it and the portions are never big enough. So pleased you're enjoying the recipe!
Anjuna Sultana says
Hi, can I make this without coconut butter at all? Can I add rapeseed oil? It avocado oil? Thank you x
A Virtual Vegan says
The recipe wont work without the refined coconut oil. It needs it there for the butter to set. If you used a liquid oil instead like rapeseed or avocado it would just stay liquid.
Katherine says
This is amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Gayle says
This is an easy butter to make and I love the tastes. I use an immersion blender to mix it and it blends well and is creamy.
Marianne says
Hello, how do I tell the difference between refined & unrefined coconut oil if it's not listed on the label? I have 100% pure organic LouAna coconut oil. Maybe you can tell me. Wanted to make this butter to eat with my vegan cornbread. Your advise is greatly appreciated. Thank you
A Virtual Vegan says
In Canada and U.S grocery stores it is always on the label. They clearly say either virgin, unrefined or refined. I know in the UK it is sometimes labelled as "deodorized".
Probably as the one you have says 100% pure, I would guess it's virgin and unrefined. If os it's no good for this recipe. If you have it at home you can just sniff it. If it smells of coconut it's no good for this recipe. You need one with no coconut smell or taste. If you can shop from Amazon type refined coconut oil into the search and you'll see lots. I buy Nutiva refined coconut oil from Real Canadian Superstore or Whole Foods.
Priscille says
Love this recipe and have made it twice now. The first time I made it I had someone taste it without letting them know what it was and they were sure it was butter.....this is definitely a keeper. Thank you for providing this recipe.
Bill says
tasted like a coconut oil spread not butter. it's needs far less oil imo.
A Virtual Vegan says
If it tasted like coconut you didn't follow the recipe. You must use refined coconut oil as stated. Refined coconut oil does not taste or smell of coconut. If you use unrefined/virgin coconut oil then the butter will taste of coconut.
Joy says
WOW. Best butter recipe on the net.
Jess says
Oh man, I was so excited for this recipe - bought the refined coconut oil and ground almonds specially. I’m wondering how many minutes people blended it to make the almonds smooth in the first step? I have a top of the line Blendtec and no matter what I tried (including smoothie setting), I just couldn’t get it smooth... it remained grainy. My smoothie setting is only 30 sec though.... are we talking multiple runs, like 10mins or more? Taste is good but just couldn’t get the texture right. Also, recipe didn’t say when to add the turmeric. I added it at the end but next time will leave it out - could taste it a bit. Overall great taste though, I’d try again with more guidance on how long to blend.
Dana says
HI,
I just wanted to know if there’s was a way to make it but free? Like maybe using sunflower seeds?
A Virtual Vegan says
I have a few readers who use ground up sunflower seeds or pine nuts instead of almonds. Almonds give a more buttery flavour but the results are still ok when using these substitutes.
Soo Yan says
Hi Nora, I am making cashew milk as per your suggestion and recipe in order to make this butter. May I know how much water you put in your cashew milk for this butter? I know your cashew milk recipe states 4.5 cups, but would you recommend using less for a more creamy milk? If so, how much less? Thanks!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi there. It doesn't really matter too much. Just make the milk to the thickness that you enjoy. As long as it's not really watery it will be fine. I usually use about 3.75 to 4 cups of water when I make mine. Hope that helps!
Soo Yan says
Thanks for the reply! I made it but I don't do oils, so I don't know how it tastes. But I fed it to my non-vegan mum without telling her what it was, and she stared at me in confusion asking why I just fed her butter. So I'd say it's a success hahaha! I would like to use this to make cookies and buttercream. However, it seems to melt really quickly in room temperature compared to regular butter. Do you think I could combat this by creaming the butter and sugar in a cold bowl? I might also add some tapioca starch to the buttercream if it doesn't want to firm up. Thank you so much!
A Virtual Vegan says
Ha ha! Glad she liked it! I don't have problems with it melting and use it for baking and buttercream all the time. Maybe it's warmer where you are? Just use it straight from the fridge and keep everything cold. A cold bowl is a great idea. And once you've mixed the buttercream pop it back in the fridge to firm up a bit if it gets soft. Hope that helps!
Jani says
I made this last night and had it this morning with flaxseed bread. It's outstanding, and definitely a keeper.
A Virtual Vegan says
So pleased you enjoyed it!
Grego says
Any way to tell the fat content of this butter? For instance any saturated fat, trans fat, poly- and mono-unsaturated fat content per serving?
A Virtual Vegan says
The general fat content is listed in the nutritional information under the recipe and is calculated automatically by my recipe card software. For more detailed info than that you would need to calculate it yourself. There are tools such as Cronometer or My Fitness Pal. Whether they go into the detail you need though I'm not sure.
Danette MacKay says
I loved this butter! I make a lot of vegan cheeses and dairy alternative things, and this recipe is so great, I love that it's spreadable right out of the fridge. Looking forward to baking with it, but so far it's done well in every recipe I've thrown it in. I used unsweetened oat milk both times with a perfect result. Thanks so much for this!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you're enjoying it and thanks so much for stopping by to leave a review/feedback!
Dee says
Can’t wait to make this! I’m allergic to ACV though.... do you think I could use plain white vinegar, or anything else? Thanks
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes just use white. it will be fine!