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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Gertrude says
I was really skeptical of this recipe but it turned out great. It wasn't quite as convincing as Earth Balance at mimicking real butter but it's a damn good alternative and the lack of palm oil really sells me. I made a batch of almond milk and then used the almond meal directly afterwords to make this butter. Thanks for the recipe! :D
A Virtual Vegan says
That's great! I'm so glad you are enjoying it. What an inventive way to use the almond meal after making milk. Bear in mind though that most of the flavour will have leached out by the time it gets to the butter. If you use fresh almond meal you will get a more 'buttery' flavour I expect. Thanks so much for stopping by to leave your feedback Gertrude. I really appreciate it! :)
Michael says
I like the fact that you're not using the "store bought" vegan butter. I didn't even start after a couple emails from Smart Balance. Seems that "natural flavors" could in fact actually include butter extracts. I know they don't claim to be vegan, but they do say "dairy free" I wrote to ask what chemicals were involved with "natural and artificial flavors" and was told it was proprietary. But things like butter extracts definitely could be used. That did it for me. Makes me wonder about other producers.
Moriah says
might be a silly question, but why does the coconut oil have to be REFINED and not unrefined? thanks for clarifying! im excited to make this!
A Virtual Vegan says
It will technically work with unrefined but you will get the coconut flavour/smell coming through so it wont be butter-like. If you use refined coconut oil there will be no detectable coconut flavour/smell and it will be very like regular butter.
Jen says
Why did you use refined coconut oil?
A Virtual Vegan says
Because if you use unrefined the butter will taste of coconut. Refined coconut oil does not smell or taste of coconut. ????
Donna says
G4eat recipe, although I will try it next time in the small bowl of my food processor, since half the butter ended up on the lid and the sides of the large blender jar! Thanks for this though! Great taste!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Donna. Glad you enjoyed it! I'm not sure how well a food processor will do at emulsifying it all. I have never tried it but they aren't nearly as powerful as a blender so it might not turn out so well.
Jenny says
Hi Mel, just had to let you know I just made your butter...it is fantastic. I'm in danger of putting on weight now as I will want to be eating it melted on toast all day. Well done with this recipe...I just love it
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Jenny! I am thrilled you are enjoying it so much. I ate nothing but things with butter on them for about 3 days after I created this recipe then had to stop myself! ????
Claire Keeley says
Wow, made this last night & just tried it on a jacket potato, fabulous butter substitute!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Claire. So glad you like it!.... Now you've made me crave a jacket potato dripping in butter! ????
Lynn says
Incredible!! That is how I describe the flavour of this vegan butter. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. You have a new follower in me :)
A Virtual Vegan says
Awesome! SO glad you are enjoying it. Thank you so much Lynn. ????
Shirley Six says
Why only refined coconut oil?
Shirley Six says
Oops just saw the same question asked already...thank you.
Eve says
I made this the other day, it's wonderful.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks so much Eve. Glad you are enjoying it!
Heather says
Why refined coconut oil?
A Virtual Vegan says
Because if you use unrefined it will taste and smell of coconut instead of being buttery.
Lucile says
Amazing recipe! I intend to turn my dad vegan thanks to this! Just a tip: I used raisin seed oil rather than olive oil to avoid the slight olive taste. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Barb says
I just made your vegan butter; you BUTTER believe it's great!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Ha ha! Very clever ???? So glad you like it! It's a bit of a game changer eh?
Benjamin says
Can this recipe be used without the almonds? Must I used something in place or can I just take it out of the equations?
A Virtual Vegan says
If you don't use almonds you will need to replace them with something else. They kind of act as an emulsifier. Cashews also work ok and a few readers make it regularly with pine nuts. I think possibly ground sunflower seeds might work too.
Alex says
Does this recipe really work the same as regular butter for baking? I love to bake and would love to be able to make my own butter for frostings, cakes, cookies, and pretty much everything. Thanks!
Franziska says
Hi, Thank you, it's amazing! I used cashews instead of almonds and I found 'mild coconut oil' from Biona, which says it's 'lightly steamed' and 'odour-free',
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm so glad it worked out for you. It's good to know cashews gave a good result. Thank you for letting me know!
amanda says
I JUST MADE THIS AND I AM HONESTLY STUNNED. I NEVER HAVE TO BUY EARTH BALANCE AGAIN!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A Virtual Vegan says
That is so good! You've made my day :O) Thank you so much for letting me know!
Mel says
Loved this butter! Absolutely beautiful! No hidden nasties and so easy to make, any tips on how to make more spreadable when using for sandwiches? I was thinking more olive oil and less coconut?
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you like it! As for making it more spreadable, I tend to just leave it out of the fridge for 20 minutes before I want it but you could totally play around with increasing the olive oil and decreasing the coconut. That will definitely make it softer. Have a great day!
Nicole says
Hey! Curious if there is a alternative to the almond meal... I'm allergic to almonds...? Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Nicole. I plan to work on a nut free version soon as there have been a lot of requests for one. Until then cashews ground down would work if you aren't allergic to other nuts, or pine nuts if you are allergic to nuts. It wont taste quite as buttery but it will still be good.
helen says
I tried this as both daughters now vegan. Came out miles better than any shop one, rather like I imagined olive spreads to taste, but nice. One of the less flavoured natural oils might also be nice. Used a small amount of marmite a I couldn,t find the yeast stuff. Seems fine. Much appreciated!