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    Home > Recipes > How-Tos

    Vegan Butter

    Published: Jul 12, 2022 · Modified: Oct 10, 2022 by Iosune · This post may contain affiliate links · 100 Comments

    Jump to Recipe
    Photo of some vegan butter spread onto a slice of vegan bread with a heading
    Photo of some vegan butter spread onto some slices of vegan bread with a heading

    Vegan butter, a healthy alternative to margarine and regular butter. It's so creamy and ready in less than 5 minutes with 6 ingredients.

    Photo of some vegan butter spread onto a slice of bread

    This vegan butter is much healthier than margarine, regular butter, and many kinds of vegan butter out there. Besides, it's easily made with 6 simple and affordable gluten-free ingredients you can get at your local supermarket. Just 5 minutes required!

    It really tastes buttery and rich and also melts in your mouth, so it is perfect to spread over some toasts. It also works wonders when using it for any recipe that calls for regular butter, such as frying, baking, or whatever you can think of!

    Contents hide
    1. What is vegan butter?
    2. Ingredient notes
    3. Dietary variations
    4. Pro tips
    5. How to make vegan butter
    6. How to store
    7. Is butter vegan?
    8. How to use
    9. Looking for more easy vegan recipes?
    10. Did you make this vegan butter recipe?
    11. Vegan Butter

    What is vegan butter?

    Vegan butter is a plant-based alternative to regular butter. It doesn't contain any kind of dairy or animal products, so it is cholesterol-free and suitable for vegans.

    Photo of the ingredients needed to make this recipe

    Ingredient notes

    • Unsweetened plant milk: any type of unsweetened dairy-free milk is okay, but soy milk is my favorite one for this recipe.
    • Lemon juice: you could also use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar instead. However, I prefer to use lemon juice.
    • Coconut oil: deodorized or refined coconut oil work best for this recipe, as they taste "neutral". Extra virgin coconut oil has a stronger flavor, but it’s also a good option. If you can’t find them, just use regular coconut oil.
    • Neutral oil: any type will do. Although I prefer to use a neutral oil, any kind of oil will work, but keep in mind that its flavor may be strong, such as extra virgin olive oil.
    • Nutritional yeast: it gives this non-dairy butter its characteristic flavor, so it’s an important ingredient. If you can’t find it, you could also use brewer’s yeast. However, nutritional yeast is the best choice.

    Dietary variations

    • Make it soy-free: use soy-free unsweetened plant milk.

    Pro tips

    • If you’d like your dairy-free butter to be yellow, you can add a little bit of turmeric powder, although it would change the flavor of the butter.
    • Omit the nutritional yeast if you can’t find it.
    • Add more or less salt depending on how salty you like your butter.
    Step-by-step photos of how to make this recipe

    How to make vegan butter

    • Mix the milk and the lemon juice in a bowl. Stir and allow to sit for a minute.
    • Add the mixture and all the remaining ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
    • Pour the mixture into a container and refrigerate until set.
    • Use your vegan butter immediately.

    How to store

    • Fridge: keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 weeks or even longer. Keep it at room temperature to soften for a few minutes if you'd like a softer texture.
    • Freezer: store it in an airtight container in the freezer for about 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge. 

    Is butter vegan?

    Regular butter is made with fat and other components of animal milk, so it is not vegan.

    How to use

    Feel free to use this buttery spread just as if it were regular butter. You can use it to make some vegan donuts, or cookies, or add it to your vegan French toast or any other recipe.

    Looking for more easy vegan recipes?

    • Vegan Condensed Milk
    • Vegan Mayo
    • Coconut Butter
    • Vegan Heavy Cream
    • Vegan Whipped Cream
    Photo of some vegan butter spread onto some slices of bread

    Did you make this vegan butter recipe?

    Please leave a comment and rate it below. We’d love to hear from you!

    This post contains affiliate links so you can easily find some of the products that we used to make this recipe. If you buy any of them through the links provided (without any extra cost for you), we'll get a commission. We're so grateful for your support!

    Square photo of some vegan butter spread onto some slices of bread

    Vegan Butter

    Vegan butter, a healthy alternative to margarine and regular butter. It's so creamy and ready in less than 5 minutes with 6 ingredients.
    4.80 from 24 votes
    PRINT PIN RATE
    Course: How to
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes
    Servings: 2 cups (500 ml)
    Author: Iosune


    Ingredients 

    US Customary - Metric
    • ½ cup unsweetened plant milk of your choice, I used soy milk
    • 2 teaspoon lemon juice
    • 1 and ¼ cups coconut oil, melted, see notes
    • ¼ cup neutral oil, I used sunflower oil, see notes
    • 2 teaspoon nutritional yeast
    • ¾ teaspoon salt
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Mix the milk and the lemon juice in a bowl. Stir and allow to sit for a minute or so. It will thicken and curdle. You can also mix them in the blender jar if you want.
    • Add the mixture and all the remaining ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
    • Pour the mixture into a container and refrigerate until set.
    • Use your vegan butter immediately with vegan donuts, vegan French toast, or any other recipe. 
    • Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 weeks or even longer. Remove from the fridge to soften for a few minutes if you want your butter to be soft. It's freezable and will last about 3 months in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the fridge. 

    Notes

    • Deodorized or refined coconut oil work best for this recipe, as they taste "neutral". Extra virgin coconut oil has a stronger flavor, but it’s also a good option. If you can’t find them, just use regular coconut oil.
    • You can use any kind of neutral flavor oil or also extra virgin olive oil.
    • If you’d like your vegan butter to be yellow, you can add a little bit of turmeric powder, although it would change the flavor of the butter.
    • Omit the nutritional yeast if you can’t find it.
    • Add more or less salt depending on how salty you like your butter.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1tablespoon | Calories: 90kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.1g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 10.3g | Saturated Fat: 7.6g | Sodium: 55mg

    Update Notes: This post was originally published in March of 2019, but was republished with new photos, step-by-step instructions, and tips in July of 2022.

    More How-To Recipes

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    • Vegan Aioli

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Darlene says

      April 26, 2021 at 10:15 pm

      Going to make this butter but I was wondering if you can use ALMOND MILK in the recipe instead of SOY? Thank you in advance 🙂

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        April 27, 2021 at 12:14 pm

        Feel free to use your favorite plant milk 🙂

        Reply
    2. Tracey says

      February 05, 2021 at 1:30 pm

      Hi could this bested asa replacement for buttercream? Would it hold its shape or do you think it would go too soft at room temperature? Thanks

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        February 08, 2021 at 8:32 am

        Hi Tracey! I think it is not possible, sorry!

        Reply
    3. supermarket near me open says

      January 01, 2021 at 12:32 pm

      really nice site

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        January 04, 2021 at 10:21 am

        Hi! Thank you so much 🙂

        Reply
    4. Devin says

      November 25, 2020 at 10:34 am

      I do love the taste and spreadable texture of this recipe. The nutritional yeast really makes it pop. Great on breads and I imagine baking but haven’t tried yet. However, I tried to cook with it like I do my store bought vegan butter. That didn’t go so well. I really love to sauté veggies in a pan with butter. When I put this in the pan it just sorta turned into this weird goo and didn’t melt down. So great for some things, frying not so much.

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        November 26, 2020 at 9:36 am

        Hi Devin! I'm so sorry about that! I didn't use it to cook 🙂

        Reply
    5. Jess Gioia says

      November 13, 2020 at 11:58 pm

      Having tried another recipe that uses ground almonds and this one, with a couple of tweaks I’m now wedded to this one and I love it. I found it too hard to spread from the fridge, even after leaving out for a while because in a cool house in Scotland there’s enough coconut oil in this that it remains pretty solid at room temp and too hard to spread on soft bread. Solution: reduce the c.o. by 15ml and increase the liquid oil by the same amount. It now spreads perfectly!
      The other tweak was to not melt the c.o. as the whole mixture remains warm and liquid for quite a while and would keep separating while I was trying to chill it and I’d end up having to transfer it back into the blender and blend it all over again. Instead, I simply work and mash the c.o. with a fork or spoon until it is softer and soft enough to blend smoothly.
      End result: 5 stars!

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        November 16, 2020 at 11:11 am

        Thanks for your kind advice and comment 🙂 Have a nice day!

        Reply
    6. Angela says

      October 30, 2020 at 4:43 pm

      Question! I made this yesterday, poured it into a small loaf pan lined with some freezer paper (no wax paper on hand), and let it sit in my fridge to set all day yesterday and overnight. I took it out this morning, popped it out of the pan, and it had separated quite a bit. The top looks like pale yellow solid coconut oil (I was excited!) but the underside is grainy and has pools of liquid. Not sure where I went wrong? I had to use coconut milk because of nut/soy allergies, and I used whatever coconut oil I had on hand. Any insight as to why it might have separated so much? (Was planning to use this in a frosting recipe and I’m worried what the outcome will be if I go ahead with the batch I made?)

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        November 04, 2020 at 2:08 pm

        Hi Angela! I'm so sorry 🙁 Maybe, next time try to use another type of milk!

        Reply
      • Jess Gioia says

        January 01, 2021 at 3:33 pm

        Hi Angela. I had this same problem when I melted the coconut oil. Before it could cool and set, it had separated. I work around it now by not melting the coconut oil but just working it and mashing it with a fork instead until it’s soft enough for the blender to handle. The whole mixture is then like heavy cream so spoonable rather than pourable, and sets without separating.
        Hope that helps. It’s such a great recipe so worth persisting with.

        Reply
        • Iosune Robles says

          January 04, 2021 at 10:22 am

          Thanks for your kind help Jess 🙂

    7. Bill says

      October 26, 2020 at 5:32 pm

      5 stars
      I used organic extra virgin olive oil and homemade organic cashew milk and it turned out great! Wife who eats lots of butter says it tastes like butter. Having not eaten butter in at least 31 years I can only compare it to Earth Balance and it tastes just as good and less expensive. Thanks for a GREAT recipe!

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        November 04, 2020 at 1:46 pm

        Thanks for your kind comment Bill 🙂 Have a nice day!

        Reply
    8. Natalie says

      October 09, 2020 at 9:35 am

      5 stars
      Hi losune, I made this using my homemade oat milk which likes to separate into two parts so you have to shake it. However I'm wondering if this had an affect on the butter as once it had set there was a small layer of liquid underneath. Should I try again with a store bought milk maybe? It tastes really good though I love it!

      Reply
    9. Simon says

      September 07, 2020 at 4:29 am

      I found this recipe after a frustrating trip the the grocery store - I couldn't find a plant-based butter alternative without palm oil, which is horrendous for the environment. It never occurred to me that I could make butter cheaper and better at home!

      This is a fantastic recipe. I was skeptical about the amount of nutritional yeast, as many vegan recipes overuse it and it has a rather distinct flavor that can be a bit overwhelming. It is perfect here. This somehow tastes like butter yet doesn't use imitation butter flavor.

      I used refined coconut oil, canola, and unsweetened almond milk. I added 1/8 tsp turmeric - it looks similar to butter, a bit paler though and less richly colored. Turmeric seems to add a sort of neon tint. I used an immersion blender, which was not the best tool for the job. This stuff is too thick for a stick blender. I'm curious if melting the coconut oil a bit and then mixing would work.

      This stuff sets up nicely in a jar. It is similar to country crock in consistency, and may have too high a water content for use in, say, a pie crust. This stuff is perfect for spreading on toast though. Definitely going to be a staple in our house, and I think the batch cost me about $3 to make.

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        September 07, 2020 at 12:52 pm

        Hi Simon! Yes, it's inexpensive and so simple to make! I'm glad you liked our vegan butter! Have a nice day!

        Reply
      • Jennifer R Williams says

        September 23, 2020 at 6:13 am

        Hi Simon!

        I hope you don't mind my chiming in with an off-topic comment that may be of interest to you, since you share my concern about the environment, and that is this:

        Almonds are an environmental disaster.

        Hope you don't mind me giving this unsolicited information, but thought you might be interested to know!

        Hazelnuts are a good alternative, and kinder to the planet as far as I know.

        Pinenuts are too, though I realize they're very expensive.

        Have a good day!

        Reply
    10. Mary says

      September 05, 2020 at 1:21 pm

      5 stars
      Many thanks Iosune - wonderful vegan butter! Perfect. Saved me hours of unsuccessful experimenting. Never would have thought to sour milk or use nutritional yeast.
      I normally use a spray of oil if really need something as i don't like marg. However i was gifted vegan scones which were crying out for butter and i made yours while the scone was toasting. I dont like nut yeast too much but here it's perfect. And the tasteless coconut oil is great as that's another disliked flavour 😄. I added a tiny pinch of turmeric for colour. It didn't affect the taste - it also didnt make a whole lot of difference to the colour 😆

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        September 07, 2020 at 12:45 pm

        Hi Mar! So glad you liked our vegan butter 🙂 Thanks for writing to us!

        Reply
    11. Celine says

      September 04, 2020 at 10:30 am

      I tried this butter recipe a few months ago as i tried to quite storebought and now it's the only butter I use 👍👍 taste is freakin fab. I highly recommend it!!

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        September 04, 2020 at 11:19 am

        So glad you liked it Celine 🙂 Have a nice day!

        Reply
    12. Carla Pretorius says

      August 24, 2020 at 8:53 am

      Hi thank you for this recipe. Do you strain the buttermilk and just use the curds or use it all?

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        August 24, 2020 at 10:47 am

        Hi Carla! We use it all 🙂 Hope you like it!

        Reply
    13. Mari says

      August 02, 2020 at 9:10 pm

      Nutrional yeast powder or large flakes? Does it say which type on this recipe...did I miss something?

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        August 10, 2020 at 5:12 pm

        Hi Mari! Feel free to use your favorite one 🙂 Have a nice day!

        Reply
    14. Angela Turkfeld says

      August 02, 2020 at 5:23 pm

      I have made a similar recipe like this one before and found that the ratio of coconut oil and neutral oil leaves you with a very hard (unspreadable) butter.
      I use 2/3 cup refined coconut oil and 2/3 cup canola oil, 2 teaspoons liquid lecithin, 1 teaspoon salt, and the 1/2 cup unsweetened plant based milk/lemon juice. I suppose you could use nutritional yeast instead of the lecithin. This recipe creates a nice, spreadable butter. Blend in mixer or with a immersion stick blender for at least one minute.

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        August 10, 2020 at 5:10 pm

        Hi Angela! Thanks for the idea 🙂 Have a nice day!

        Reply
    15. Divij agarwal says

      July 05, 2020 at 8:39 pm

      Can I use this for buttercream frosting??

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        July 09, 2020 at 10:25 am

        Hi! I haven't tried it myself but I think it would work 🙂 Have a nice day!

        Reply
      • Milvi says

        July 09, 2020 at 3:53 pm

        If you try this for buttercream frosting, please post your results. I've got it on my 'to do' list, but since I don't bake frosted cakes that often, it might be awhile before I do this in my 'lab'. Thanks.

        Reply
    16. Richard C Winfrey says

      June 25, 2020 at 1:27 am

      5 stars
      SHUT! UP!!! I am not going to buy vegan butter at the store ever again!!! This is amazingly delicious! I have made Miyoko's butter recipe and I thought it was good but it had issues when using it in certain recipes. Your recipe will absolutely replace any other vegan butter I have purchased or made, hands down! I will admit that I added a half teaspoon of soy lecithin to this recipe out of concern that it would not combine properly, but I am certain it was unnecessary now. This butter is so much like dairy butter it is scary! I am a bread freak so I have enjoyed some delicious fresh made bread with your butter on it and I just cannot say enough about it. I have shared it with several vegan friends already! Terrific!!!

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        June 25, 2020 at 10:23 am

        Hi Richard! Thanks for your kind words 🙂 I am so glad you liked our vegan butter recipe! Have a nice day!

        Reply
    17. Rachel says

      June 18, 2020 at 2:08 am

      I’m wondering if this homemade butter will brown like butter. Meaning brown food, specifically baking potatoes, mashed (like a shepherd’s pie) or sliced.

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        June 19, 2020 at 10:52 am

        Hi Rachel! I’ve never tried it myself, so I can’t help you, sorry!

        Reply
    18. Rae says

      May 22, 2020 at 10:02 pm

      4 stars
      I was slightly dubious - but this makes a really good vegan hard 'butter'. A very easy recipe, and with a sprinkle of turmeric creates a nice yellow 'butter'.

      A pity that refined coconut oil is so expensive in the UK - otherwise would use this recipe more frequently. It is oily, but does not taste oily and is great thinly spread on scones or crumpets. Created a brilliant flacky pastry for pies that does not taste of fat or too much salt.

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        May 27, 2020 at 1:39 pm

        Thanks for your kind words 🙂 Have a nice day!

        Reply
    19. Dianne says

      April 28, 2020 at 5:40 pm

      5 stars
      I've been looking for a great tasting vegan butter recipe and this one, hands down, is the best I've come across. The ONLY thing I did differently was add a little bit of lecithin, based on other recipes I've researched. It didn't change the taste whatsoever, and taste (of course along with texture) is what I wanted most of all. I would give it 10 stars if I could.

      Reply
    20. Brenda Witcher says

      April 18, 2020 at 12:10 am

      5 stars
      I just want to thank you! I am not Vegan- I’m on a low iodine diet in preparation for Radioactive therapy for thyroid cancer. That means no food prepared by anyone else. No dairy and nothing containing iodinized salt.

      I knew that I could bake my own bread, pop my own popcorn or make my own baked potato but I had to find something to put on those things. Your vegan butter recipe is a Godsend.
      Even for a non-vegan- your recipe is nothing short of wonderful.

      Reply
      • Rosa says

        April 25, 2020 at 4:27 am

        OMG I'm in the same boat and that's why I was looking at this recipe! Going to make it tomorrow. Good luck to you -- hope the treatment goes well. I'll be rooting for you from afar!

        Reply
      • Ana Paolin says

        April 30, 2020 at 8:28 pm

        4 stars
        I didn’t really understand the leave the butter for 3-4 weeks part. Can I eat it earlier than that?

        Reply
        • Helen Ross says

          May 01, 2020 at 5:31 pm

          I'm pretty sure she means it's still safe to eat for 2-3 weeks, you can eat it straight away

        • Iosune Robles says

          May 07, 2020 at 12:51 pm

          Thanks for your help Helen 🙂

        • Iosune Robles says

          May 07, 2020 at 12:46 pm

          Hi Ana, you can eat it whenever you want. What I was trying to explain was that it’s still safe to eat for 2-3 weeks, or longer! Have a nice day 🙂

      • Iosune Robles says

        May 04, 2020 at 1:52 pm

        Thanks for your words 🙂 So glad you liked it!

        Reply
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