Vegan Butter

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.

Jump to:

• Reader feedback
• What is vegan butter?
• Is it like real butter?
• What is vegan butter made of?
• How to make plant-based butter
• Success tips
• Serving suggestions
• Is vegan butter healthy?
• Is vegan butter the same as margarine?
• How to store
• Recipe FAQS
• Hungry for more?
• 📖 Recipe
• Comments

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

Hungry for more?

For more great vegan dairy alternatives, check out these very popular reader favourites:

1. Oat Milk
2. Vegan Cream Cheese
3. Vegan Feta Cheese
4. Cashew Milk
5. Vegan Yogurt Recipe

📖 Recipe

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!

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