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!
Felicity says
Oh my goodness, this is amazing. I never realized how much I missed butter till I made this! I so enjoyed having it on my homemade bran muffins this morning. Thank you so much for the recipe, I don't plan to try any others! Perfect flavour, perfect consistency, just Perfect! :D
I followed it pretty much to a "t", except I cut out a step making the almond meal. I had slivered almonds (and I'm lazy), so I just added the slivered almonds with all ingredients except the coconut oil and blended! I also didn't want to dirty dishes melting the coconut oil, so I just let the heat from the blender melt it as the speed increased. I did have to scrape down the edges near the end to ensure everything was smooth throughout, but it worked awesome! I was tempted(as I often am) to deviate with some of the measurements in ingredients, but I'm so glad I didn't! You got it just right!
A Virtual Vegan says
Wow Felicity I am so glad you like it so much! It's good to know it blended down smoothly enough using slivered almonds. Do you have a super duper blender though like a Vitamix? Perhaps a lower powered one wouldn't do quite such a good job. I like your thinking about cutting out the melting of the coconut oil step and I'm so glad you didn't play around with the measurements. I tried so many variations when I was working on this recipe and like you said, it's pretty spot on. I have enough butter in the freezer to last me a life time after all my testing! May you enjoy butter on everything from here on in! By the way..It's awesome on crumpets :O)
Felicity says
Yes, I was going to say that it may not work to use slivered with a lower powered blender, I used a Vitamix. But yes, your hard work payed off! Thanks again, it's a brilliant recipe! :)
Kacie says
Omg! I just made this! Soooo yummy! Thanks so much
Aja says
I was wondering if olive oil can be used as a replacement for the coconut oil. I have coronary artery disease and coconut is an saturated fat, which I tend to stay away from. Thank you for your help.
A Virtual Vegan says
I am really sorry but olive oil won't work for this recipe. It has to be a fat that will solidify hence the coconut oil. Sorry it's not better news :0(
Don Urban says
Excellent! Just made this and it tastes great! Thank you.
A Virtual Vegan says
That's great Don. Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know!
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Kathryn,
My site was redesigned and went live earlier today. There are apparently going to be a few teething problems and that is one of them. I'm so sorry. I have asked my tech guy to look at it and sort it out. Check back later and hopefully it will be working. I will try to let you know when it's working but am on vacation and the wifi is shocking!
Lea says
Hi again
It was time for me to make a new batch of my vegan "butter" so I made both your recipe and mine. I can't say I have a preference in taste. Texture is a bit different but not much. Your recipe is quite good. Its not as fussy as the one I use. Tonight it passed the corn on the cob test. What I like the most is that your recipe, I think, has a better nutritional profile with the almonds and nutritional yeast. I will make your recipe again. I'm thinking I might even try combining it with mine....... That said......... all in all very good. ... Recommend it...
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks for you feedback Lea. I love it on corn on the cob!
Violeta says
Forgot to say that you should stop creating those delicious recipes as I already ate half of the butter..
Violeta says
Dear Mel,
It is me again..(sorry for that but i need to share this with you)
I tried this morning the butter you created and .. IT IS JUST AMAZING.(even do I did without the yeast and I also mistaked with the coconut oil as it was virgin coconut oil, but those kind of mistakes are tipical me)
I am spanish and l don't know why I was looking for recipes in english but THANKS I DID!! I promess to try all your recipes!!!
Muchisimas gracias!
Vio
:D
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Violeta! I am so glad you shared this with me. You have made me very happy. I am thrilled that you like my butter recipe. It will be even better next time if you can find some refined coconut oil as then you won't have the slight coconut taste that Virgin coconut oil gives it. Thanks so much for letting me know. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!
Violeta says
Hi Stephanie!
This is AMAZING!
I can not find nutritional yeast, is there a problem if I do not use it?
Thank you so much!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Violeta, I'm called Mel. Not sure where you got Stephanie from! lol As for the nutritional yeast, it adds a bit of a buttery flavour but it won't affect how the recipe works if you leave it out. Hope that helps :O)
Violeta says
Mel!!
Excuse me please for the mistake!
Thank you so much for your quick answer.
I love your blog. You are doing a incredible job!
I will let you know how it goes :D
A Virtual Vegan says
Great, thanks so much. It means a lot :O)
Stephanie says
I was super excited about this however I can't have almonds due to sensitivity. Any substitute by chance?
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Stephanie, The almonds give it it's buttery flavour but I think cashew, macadamia nuts or even sunflower seeds ground down into a flour would probably work. Macadamia would probably have the butteriest flavour out of the three. I haven't tried it with any of these personally but I am sure it would be ok. I plan to at some point make a nut free version of it to publish so watch this space! Let me know how it goes if you try it!
A Virtual Vegan says
Yay! I am so glad you liked it. It's quicker to make it than it is to go to the store to buy some!
I don't mind you linking to the recipe at all as long as you do not post the ingredients list or method. You are welcome to use one of my pictures with the link if you like.
I just noticed when looking at your blog that you are on Vancouver Island too. It's a small world!
Thanks so much for stopping by to leave feedback. I really appreciate it :O)
Angela V says
I made this yesterday evening and later tried it on a piece of toast because I couldn't believe it could melt like butter....BUT IT DOES! Amazing!! It's quick and easy to make and tastes better than any kind of butter "replacement" I've ever tried. I'm interested to try baking/cooking with it.
Doro says
An amaaaaaaaazing recipe! Thanks so much for sharing it. No more fake butter full of palm oil from the supermarket. Texture is great, just like real butter ! and taste is fine. I used almond/rice milk and it worked well.
I hope that it will do good in my fav' chocolate cake that contains originally butter ;)
Thanks again!
A Virtual Vegan says
Wow thank you so much! I am glad you love the recipe and thank you so much for stopping by to let me know. I have used it in cake recipes with success so hopefully it will be great in your favourite chocolate cake. Enjoy!
aruvqan says
Though you do realize palm oil = coconut oil = tropical oil?
A Virtual Vegan says
Palm oil does not = coconut oil. They are completely different. Palm oil comes from the African Palm Oil Tree and it's growth is responsible for terrible deforestation and wildlife destruction, particularly in the case of orang-utan. Coconuts come from coconut palm trees. Completely different trees, grown in completely different conditions. Whilst I know there are some unethical practices surrounding coconut production (such as the use of monkeys etc), they aren't nearly as bad as the ethics surrounding palm oil and it is easy to source responsibly grown/harvested/produced coconut oil.
rosa says
Absolutely. Palm Oil is horrendous and is much worst the any other oils. Check: pahlmoilinvestigations.org
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks so much for that link Rosa. I hadn't seen that website. It looks like a great resource. I have followed them on social media. I hope my butter recipe is a good palm oil free solution for you :O)
maggie leiterman says
Bravo Virtual Vegan! Love your website and recipes! The other comment I made about olive oil not being inflammatory was reply to Nancy Brady, I thought I replied to her remark but may not have, perhaps when you moderate the comment you could add that it is response to her claim that olive oil, other oils being inflammatory, absolute false with no science to back it up.
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Maggie and thank you! I am so glad that you are enjoying my recipes. The other comment does show as being in reply to Nancy on my phone and I will double check on my computer tonight how it appears. I think it's fine though. Thank you for your support x
Denise P:lant says
I've made this butter five times now and I can honestly say it is the best vegan butter I have ever made. I have tried numerous other recipes but this one is the best. Thank you A Virtual Vegan for sharing your recipe.
A Virtual Vegan says
I am so glad you love the recipe. It's certainly a game changer! Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know :O)