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!
Monaya says
I just finished making it, and it is truly very easy to do. When I saw the amount of salt, I was already a little surprised. While I have not tried the cooled down finished product yet, I did lick the pot.
It tastes very creamy and smooth, but, for me, twice too much salt. Maybe you live in the UK, where people are used to eating salted butter…
So, next time I’ll reduce the amount of salt by 50%, no big deal.
I also got an idea about the salt content in general: one could easily integrate some miso paste for that, or even some powdered Algae, which do not only contain salt, but other very healthy nutrients. Have you ever considered this and what do you think about it? I am surely going to try on my next batch, to see if that works out OK.
Sylvia W says
Yay! I finally had time to make my first batch, and the finished butter was a perfect fit in my last ICBINB VEGAN containers! 😅
I tried it on slices of pumpernickel bread and was delighted with the texture and flavor 😋
At the rate I go through "butter" I will probably be making a fresh batch once a month which works out a lot cheaper than the store bought, especially since it's all pantry goods I keep in stock. I did have to buy the refined coconut oil, because I was out, but now I'm good for a long time! Definitely going to make a second flour-free version for frying, but it's so easy that now I can just put it together at need!
Melanie McDonald says
I'm so pleased you enjoyed it, Sylvia!
bonnie says
taste awesone!
Deb M says
Epic fail. Made exactly as written (even weighed vs measured when an option). First batch of ingredients did not have nearly enough liquid to blend in Vitamix to ever resemble anything smooth and when I attempted to add the oils, it just was a lumpy disaster. Tried using the tamper to help blend but to no avail. Wasted a bunch of expensive ingredients.
Monaya says
Hi, Deb!
Just like you, I made my butter in the Vitamix. I used the smaller of the two mixing bowls that I got with it. Indeed, the amount of milk and almond flour Is quite small. However, my Vitamix had no problem, mixing it all in no time. After I added the oils, the container was almost half full.
It blended everything perfectly smooth without a hitch.
There was no need for me to get out any tamper!
It might be possible that the milk you used was on the edge of going sour… it can happen.
Leslie Hall says
I haven't made it yet and I read your comment about leaving out the almond flour for sauteing and frying. Should I make two versions or dies the flourless version work just as well for baking, slathering, etc.?
Melanie McDonald says
It functions just as well, it just tastes better (more buttery) with the almond flour.
Leslie says
Okay. Thanks for the speedy reply - and the recipe that I cannot wait to try (need the unrefined coconut oil!)
John Dillon says
I used pistachio milk which I had already made in the day and later boiled some new potatoes and added the vegan butter. Then this morning Vegan butter on toast. I was out yesterday looking for more coconut oil!
Heather says
I never leave reviews on recipes but this one deserves it! I’m currently dairy free because I’m breastfeeding my baby who has a dairy allergy. I have missed butter the most, and store bought dairy free butters are made with the worst oils! The recipe is a savior. I measured out a table spoon into an ice tray (my ice trays happen to be exactly a tablespoon) and it makes for easier measuring into recipes.
Melanie McDonald says
Love to hear that, Heather. Thank you for your review. It's much appreciated!
Jewel says
This is the easiest yet the most tasty vegan butter I’ve ever tried! Even my husband who loves dairy butter loves your recipe!
I’m so happy that I can make and have butter at home without weird ingredients!
F says
Hello, is there something that I can substitute nutritional yeast with?
Thank you.
Melanie McDonald says
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. There is nothing you can use as a substitute in this recipe. Hope that helps!
CB Viau says
I've made this recipe several times without almond flour. Now I would like to make it with LESS refined coconut oil. Is that possible? I'm watching my cholesterol.
Melanie McDonald says
I just replied to your email :O)
Claire says
Many of us would like to know! Is there a way to omit the coconut oil? I'm allergic:( but desperate for vegan butter option!!!!
Melanie McDonald says
It's covered in the post and FAQs, but no, there is no substitute for coconut oil in this recipe. Sorry!
Monaya says
Hi CB!
If you are like me, that means you would like the taste of coconut in the butter . I make mostly vegan butter with unrefined coconut oil because of that.
It gives it that little coconut under flavor. Many people do not care for this subtle but nonetheless present coconutty sub flavor! I guess I must be a little weird, lol, in a good way!
Donna Ross says
Will avocado oil work in place of the ones you mentioned?
Melanie McDonald says
Any liquid oil will technically work, but I'd recommend using a neutrally flavoured one unless you want it to flavour your butter. Refined avocado oil is very neutral. Unrefined is not. Hope that helps!
John Dillon says
I make it slightly differently based on cashews , coconut oil, Nooch , apple cider vinegar , salt and add tapioca and carageenan as thickeners
Kyrsta says
Hi there. I know you said the other sunflower and cashew options if you can’t have almonds. My partner can’t have any of those! Is that just for flavor or could I just a gluten free flour? Been really struggling to find d a vegan butter without nuts or sunflower seeds
Melanie McDonald says
Definitely don't use flour. Flour (even gluten-free flour) should not be eaten raw for food safety reasons. It can contain harmful bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella. It also doesn't taste good raw like nuts do. That's why this recipe uses almonds. They taste buttery and also help to emulsify the butter. How about pine nuts? They are't nuts despite their name and have a realy nice buttery flavour. Hope that helps!
Linda P. says
This is excellent! Thank you so much for the detailed recipe! The ingredients are easy to come by and the taste is wonderful! I’m making vegan cinnamon rolls and this butter was easy to make beforehand. Thank you so much! Will be looking at your other recipes!
Melanie McDonald says
Love to hear that! Thanks Linda, and enjoy your cinnamon rolls!
Lisa says
Can you substitute something for the almond flour if you’re allergic?
Melanie McDonald says
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.
Connie says
How can you measure this to use in baking recipes? Any tips on the measuring or maybe containers to store it in for easier measuring? Looks great, can't wait to try it. Thank you.
Melanie McDonald says
You can weigh it with a digital kitchen scale or measure with cups/measuring spoons. I'm a little confused by your question though as that's how any other butter is measured for a recipe. I wonder if I'm misunderstanding your question. Let me know if so!
Maria says
I made this vegan butter and it has hardened nicely. I tasted a tiny bit and the flavour different from butter but it is good. Can this be used in Baklava instead of butter?
Melanie McDonald says
It can be used any way you'd use butter.