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!
michelle says
I have made this butter many times and it's great.
Nana says
I tried it
Oh my god .. soooo gooood
Like real butter ❤️
A Virtual Vegan says
So pleased you enjoyed it!
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.