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 is palm oil-free.
This vegan butter recipe is tried and true. It has been one of my most popular recipes since 2015 and it comes with hundreds of five star reviews. And 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!
Make it in your blender in minutes and then use it just like regular butter for all of your spreading and baking needs.
Reader feedback
Here is what some of you have had to say about this plant based butter recipe:
"This is so delish and super easy to make . I cant believe its not real butter! When I first saw this recipe I was skeptical . Like, how can this combo of ingredients work? But wow I'm super impressed . Im making a quart of this spread next week ! And it tastes even better than the vegan spread from the store. My whole vegan family loves it!" - Carol ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Absolutely, hands down, the best vegan butter ever! Sooooo much better than any store-bought I have tried. It really does taste and behave like butter. I love it! Thank you so much for the recipe! " - JP ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"I have to admit I was skeptical about how this was going to taste, but boy was I pleasantly surprised! This tastes EXACTLY like butter. And super easy, which is a big plus!" - Laura ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"I’m a dairy-lover turned vegan in the last year along with my hubby. I just made this butter and WOW wow wow wow wow! Halfway through, it turned into a double batch, like no way was a single batch of this going to cut it haha. Holy butter it looks, smells and tastes so good! It’s really amazing- I would say this rivals our favorite store-bought vegan butters. Thank you so much for the recipe!" - Kelly ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What is vegan butter?
Vegan butter is a dairy-free alternative to regular butter, which is most commonly made from cow's milk, but also sometimes sheep, goat, yak or buffalo milk. Vegan butter is made from plant based milk and it has a very similar texture, mouthfeel and flavour to butter made from animal's milk.
Is it like real butter?
A slice of no knead sourdough bread 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.
This easy vegan butter is so unbelievably smooth, rich and creamy. It spreads beautifully and melts perfectly.
Is there anything better than warm, crispy toast slathered in drippy, melty butter?
Obviously it isn't identical to regular butter made from dairy but this plant based butter recipe tastes as good, if not better than most store bought vegan butters and looks the same, melts the same, behaves the same and bakes the same as dairy butter. Try it in my vegan butter tarts!
What is vegan butter made of?
Homemade vegan butter is made from just 8 easy to find plant based ingredients. Here is what you will need and why:
- almond flour - This is crucial for the best buttery flavour and emulsification.
- non-dairy milk - For creaminess and emulsification.
- nutritional yeast - For a buttery depth of flavour
- salt - flavour. Salt makes everything better!
- apple cider vinegar - It needs some acid to balance the flavours and apple cider vinegar is milder than most other culinary acids.
- refined coconut oil - For setting. Note that it must be refined (i.e flavourless and odourless). Without it the butter will stay liquid so it is absolutely essential.
- olive oil, avocado oil or canola oil - Essential for texture and spreadability
- turmeric - For colour. This is the only ingredient you can safely omit.
How to make plant-based butter
(For detailed measurements and instructions, see the printable recipe card).
This vegan butter recipe takes literally a couple of minutes to make, plus some time for it to set.
Here's how it's done:
- Step 1 - Add all of the ingredients except the oils to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Step 2 - Add the refined coconut oil and the olive oil and blend again until incorporated and light and airy.
- Step 3 - Pour into a lidded container and place in the fridge to set.
Success tips
- Measure everything carefully and don't omit or change anything (except the turmeric which can be safely left out if you don't have it because it is only used for colour).
- You must use refined coconut oil. It's sometimes labelled as "deodorized". You absolutely cannot use unrefined or virgin coconut oil because your butter will smell and taste of coconut. If you arne't sure if yours is ok, check the label. It will say somewhere. Or give it a sniff and taste. If you can smell or taste any trace of coconut it is not refined and not suitable for this recipe.
- Make sure the refined coconut oil is liquid but at room temperature. Don't add it while it's hot.
- Blend until completely smooth but don't let the liquid butter get hot while blending or it could split. If it starts warming up give the blender a break for a minute or two before continuing.
- Let it set thoroughly before using.
- Store in the refrigerator
- Let is soften at room temperature for a few minutes before spreading for ultimate creaminess and ease of spreading.
- Omit the almond flour if you plan to use the recipe for sautéing or frying. More details are in the recipe notes.
Serving suggestions
Slather this vegan butter on everything! Some ideas include:
- on bread or toast
- on homemade English Muffins
- on quick breads like my healthy banana bread, spelt bread, pumpkin bread and zucchini bread
- in mashed potatoes
- on baked potatoes or steamed potatoes
- on popcorn
- in pastry dough
- on steamed vegetables
- on vegan banana scones
- slathered on vegan sweet potato biscuits
- in vegan cream cheese frosting or buttercream
- to cook pancakes and on pancakes like my vegan banana pancakes, giant blueberry vegan pancake and my vegan spelt pancakes
- on oatmeal waffles
- in Risi e Bisi (Italian rice and peas)
- in cakes, cookies or other baked goods
- in my vegan lemon curd
Is vegan butter healthy?
This vegan butter is homemade, contains simple ingredients and does not contain trans fats, hydrogenated oils, additives and preservatives, so in that respect it does have healthier ingredients than most store bought vegan butters. However it is still very high in fat and calories, so like all butters, it should be eaten sparingly.
Is vegan butter the same as margarine?
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.
How to store
Be sure to pour the butter into a container with a lid so that it's easy to keep it covered. I put mine in small or shallow jars mason jars.
You might be wondering how long vegan butter lasts? Store it in the refrigerator and it will keep for about 2 weeks. This does depend to some extent on the milk you use to make it with though. If you use store bought milk it lasts longer than it does if you use homemade milk. That's because store bought milk has preservatives in it and homemade doesn't.
This vegan butter freezes really well. If you make more than you think you will comfortably eat in 2 weeks, or if you want to make a really big batch every couple of months, store it in the freezer where it will keep for up to 3 months.
To freeze in an airtight freezer safe container - When you make the butter pour it into the freezer safe container cover with a lid and put it straight in the freezer. You can also freeze the already set butter if you prefer.
To freeze in a silicone ice cube tray - Pour the liquid butter into the silicone trays. Place them gently and evenly in the freezer. Once the butter has solidified you can wrap the ice cube trays up really well or put them as they are in a sealed freezer bag. Or you can pop the frozen cubes out and store them in a bag or container so you get your ice cube tray back for other things.
How to defrost - When you want some butter remove from the freezer and allow to defrost overnight in the fridge. If you have frozen it in an ice cube tray it will defrost really quickly so you can pop one out and leave it at room temperature until it's ready to use. It usually takes about 30 minutes.
Recipe FAQS
If you use unrefined or virgin coconut oil, your butter will end up tasting and smelling of coconut. It will not taste of 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.
About 2 weeks. See my freezing instructions if you want to keep it longer.
Yes it freezes very well. See my instructions in the recipe notes.
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.
Absolutely not. The recipe will only work with the oil added.
Hungry for more?
For more great vegan dairy alternatives, check out these very popular reader favourites:
📖 Recipe
Vegan Butter
Author:
Ingredients
- 1 cup / 240 mls refined coconut oil , it must be refined NOT unrefined
- ½ cup / 50 grams / 8 tablespoons almond flour *
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons / 150 mls unsweetened non-dairy milk , NOT almond milk. See recipe notes for suggestions**
- 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon 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 tasting liquid oil like light olive oil, avocado oil or canola oil
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
Please see the recipe notes before proceeding if you intend on using this butter for frying or sautéing.
- Melt the coconut oil. I put it in the microwave for 20 or 30 seconds but you can also stand the jar in some hot water. Measure it when it's liquid and not when it's solid, then set it aside for a few minutes to cool. Don't use it while it's hot or warm. Allow it to get to room temperature first.
- Place the almond flour, milk, salt, nutritional yeast, vinegar and turmeric into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour in the refined coconut oil and olive oil then blend until velvety smooth. I use the smoothie setting on my blender. Don't let the blender get too warm while it's blending or the butter can split a bit. If your blender does run a little warm then blend in short bursts and give it a break for a minute or two in between.
- Pour the liquid butter into a container, cover and refrigerate until set.
- Let is soften at room temperature for a few minutes before spreading for ultimate creaminess and ease of spreading.
NOTES
- Measure everything carefully and don't omit or change anything (except the turmeric which can be safely left out if you don't have it because it is only used for colour).
- You must use refined coconut oil. It's sometimes labelled as "deoderized". You absolutely cannot use unrefined or virgin coconut oil because your butter will smell and taste of coconut. If you arne't sure if yours is ok, check the label. It will say somewhere. Or give it a sniff and taste. If you can smell or taste any trace of coconut it is not refined and not suitable for this recipe.
- Make sure the refined coconut oil is liquid but at room temperature. Don't add it while it's hot.
- Blend until completely smooth but don't let the liquid butter get hot while blending or it could split. If it starts warming up give the blender a break for a minute or two before continuing.
- Let it set thoroughly before using.
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
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!
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!
Shera says
Hi I noticed you use it to make your cake frostings. How is it when used in a frosting? Does the frosting hold well at room temp with this butter?
A Virtual Vegan says
It depends on the temperature in your house. In the winter when it's cool it tends to be fine. In the summer when it's really warm it can get a bit melty. To be safe I tend to store the frosted cake in the fridge then take it out an hour or so before we are going to eat some so it all comes to room temperature. Hope that helps!
LeeAnn says
Wow- this is so simple to make and so good! I used plain oat milk and whirled it all together in my Vitamix. The plant based butter I normally buy is $5/$6 block so this is a wonderful alternative. Can't wait to try more of your recipes. Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you're enjoying it LeeAnn!
Whisperin Pints says
In your Notes, you mention using cashew milk, which I have on hand. I also have raw cashews on hand, but no almond flour/meal. Are the nuts, flour, meal interchangeable?
A Virtual Vegan says
Almond flour is what I recommend to make the butter. It's what gives it its buttery flavour.
Deanna Ceasar says
How long can this keep in the fridge?
A Virtual Vegan says
HOW LONG DOES IT KEEP? - The butter will keep well for as long as your milk is good for. Homemade milks don’t last as long as store bought milks so as a result if you use them your butter will not last as long. With homemade milk the butter lasts approximately 4 days. With store bought it lasts 2 to 3 weeks.
FREEZING - This butter freezes very well. Just be sure to wrap it well first. If you know you will only need a tiny bit at a time then invest in a silicone ice cube tray and set the butter in there. Then when it’s hard you can pop it out and store in a freezer bag in the freezer. Just remove each little block an hour or so before you want to use it. (I copied and pasted it from my post to save having to type it all out).
Melané Fahner-Botha says
Hi Melanie, I have made this before and it's hands-down the the best on the net BUT (isn't there always a but? ❤️) I wondered if it could be made with smoothe white almond paste? I have not been able to get it really smoothe in the blender and that leads to a grainy consistency which is not a success on the stove as it hasn't blended and therefore the Almonds clump together and get brownish... Have you tried it this way at all? The taste is still the best of all, truly.
A Virtual Vegan says
Definitely don't use almond paste. It's way too sweet so would be really unpleasant in this recipe, and it has water added which could affect how the recipe turns out too.
I've never experienced any graininess when making this recipe. Are you using very fine almond flour and blending it for long enough? I'd suggest blending it for longer. It should come out completely smooth pretty easily because almond flour is really fine and soft. It isn't really grainy to start with. And when the finished butter is spread on bread (or whatever you're putting it on) it's totally undetectable.
You mention it not being a success on the stove. I do mention in my post that this butter is good for everything except frying/sautéing. That will be the case no matter what you do because of evaporation in the pan. The liquids will evaporate with the heat leaving the solids behind and no matter how well it's blended and how undetectable the almonds are when you make the butter and eat it spread on something, they are still present and can't physically dissolve. So when evaporation occurs during frying/sautéing you will see traces of them. That's why I don't advise using it that way. Even if you used almond paste that would happen.
Hope that helps!
Rita says
There is a big difference between 1/2 cup and 8 tablespoons of almond flour. Which is it?
A Virtual Vegan says
Half a cup is the same as 8 tablespoons. There are 16 tablespoons in a cup.
Brandy Dearborn says
Delicious!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe! I am super impressed!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! I'm really pleased you are enjoying it!
sargam says
thank you for creating this recipe! Can I use the leftover almond pulp (blanched) that remains after making almond milk instead of almond meal?
A Virtual Vegan says
I wouldn't, no. You want the full flavour from the almonds. That's what makes this butter recipe "buttery". If you've made milk with it all the flavour will have seeped out and they'll be tasteless.