Vegan Butter (Nut Free Version Too!)
This Homemade Vegan Butter is the perfect dairy-free version of butter! It’s easy to make and you can spread it, sauté with it, bake with it, use it in frosting, and yes, you can even brown it! I also have a nut-free version!
This post has been so long in the making!! 6 batches later, I present to you: vegan butter! We’ve been making vegan butter for about a year now, and not only has it saved us tons of money making it at home, but we’ve also learned how to fully customise it for the various uses that we want. Whether it’s savoury, herbed, salted, unsalted or nut-free, I’m going to address it here.
What is vegan butter?
Vegan butter is a mix of ingredients mixed/blended together to create a dairy-free version of butter in taste, look and use. There are actually several dairy-free butter alternatives already on the market such as margarine and shortening. Then there are also several brands of vegan butter sold too. You can make it at home if you want to control what goes into it, if you want to customise it for yourself, or if you just love making cool things from scratch!
After several tries, I settled on a version that used cashews for my best vegan butter yet. Why cashews? After testing almonds and other ingredients, this version gave me the creaminess texture, the best set, lasted the longest, and actually browned. Read on, because I also have an incredible nut-free version.
Tips and tricks for making the best vegan butter
- Follow the instructions. This isn’t a recipe to skip something or replace based on what you have; it just won’t work.
- Do NOT use extra virgin olive oil to make this. I usually love this oil but oh my gosh, it’s so bitter once emulsified! Use a neutral oil (sunflower, canola, vegetable, safflower) for the best results.
- Don’t use only coconut oil. Coconut oil will solidify, and will not give you the desired result
- Room temperature is best for the best quality. If you don’t use room temperature, your butter may whip up a bit like my vegan mayo and it’ll still taste delicious, but will never set like regular butter.
- You can easily make this herbed! After you’ve blended it, add in about 1 to 2 tablespoons of any of your favourite herbs, then pour into the final dish to set.
Can I make vegan butter without nuts?
Yes, you can! So you’ll make the recipe as listed and just remove the nuts. That’s literally it. It’ll stay taste great, still “set up” (because of the soy milk), you just won’t be able to “brown” with it and it won’t have the exact amount of creaminess, but will still be creamy! If you want to make it without soy milk, check my notes!
Ways to use vegan butter
I tried this for:
- Frosting
- Browning (yes! But brown it very slowly)
- Sautéing
- Melting
- Baking
- Cooking
Can I freeze this?
Yes! This freezes really well, and you may want to freeze half if you know you can’t finish this. The butter should last you at least 2 weeks in your fridge at its best. Mine lasted me about 4 weeks.
I hope you enjoy this recipe so much!!
Related Recipes
Enjoy friends! If you make this recipe on how to make Vegan Butter, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Vegan Butter (Nut-Free Version Too!)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup soy milk, room temperature, see notes for subs
- 1 cup refined coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola oil, or avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt , (add up to 1 teaspoon for salted butter but you can leave it out completely it only using for baking)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
- 1/3 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, or boiled for 5 minutes on the stove top
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients into a high powdered blender. Ensure they are all room temperature.
- Blend on high speed until completely combined and cashews are blended out. This took about 15-30 seconds in a high powdered blender like Blendtec or Kitchenaid. If you're not using a high powered blender, blend until everything is fully blended, looking out that the mixture doesn't get too hot as it'll cause it to separate.
- Pour the butter into a container that you're fine the butter taking the shape of. Cover and allow to set completely, at least 5 hours, but preferably overnight.
- Remove from fridge, use as pleased, and put back. It's been testing for several uses including in frostings and works perfectly!
Notes
Tips and tricks for making the best vegan butter
- Follow the instructions. This isn't a recipe to skip something or replace based on what you have; it just won't work.
- Do NOT use extra virgin olive oil to make this. I usually love this oil but oh my gosh, it's so bitter once emulsified! Use a neutral oil (sunflower, canola, vegetable, safflower) for the best results.
- Don't use only coconut oil. Coconut oil will solidify, and will not give you the desired result
- Room temperature is best for the best quality. If you don't use room temperature, your butter may whip up a bit like my vegan mayo and it'll still taste delicious, but will never set like regular butter.
Can I make vegan butter without nuts?
Yes, you can! So you'll make the recipe as listed and just remove the nuts. That's literally it.Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Brilliant!!! So grateful for this recipe!
Never even occurred to me to try this. Thanks for such a simple recipe. I have one question, tho. What is refined coconut oil? After reading your instructions, I guess it isn’t the coconut oil I use daily. Is it that liquid stuff I see sometimes?
Hi, Randy thanks so much for reading. Refined coconut oil is coconut oil that has gone through a light steaming process that removes its coconut oil flavour and smell, which is perfect to give a neutral butter. It’s usually made from dried coconuts instead of fresh like the virgin coconut oil that we’re used to.
thank you, always nice to have another non-dairy fat to cook with since some work better with certain foods, much appreciated!
I know you said not to replace anything… buuuut I tried a vegan butter recipe recently with ACV and it was so overpowering. I don’t usually mind using it in things that will be cooked/baked, but the smell is so pungent I couldn’t use the butter for something like toast, it was just too strong smelling. Do you think this would work with lemon juice instead? Look forward to trying this out!
Hi Elisabeth,
Yes you definitely can use lemon juice 😊😊 enjoy so much!!
Question… where do you buy refined coconut oil?
I can only find unrefined.
Thanks!
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
It might not say “refined” on it but the easiest way to tell might be to ask a store clerk, or look for a coconut oil that costs significantly less than the virgin ones! Those tend to be the refined ones. I hope that helps so much!!
I LOVE this vegan butter. So simple to make without a lot of unnecessary ingredients. It tastes so yummy and melts well for frying and sautéing. I put some in the freezer and it defrosts very well without crumbling. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Aww thank you SO much Suzy!! This means so much to me!! You’re so incredibly welcome!!
Can I sub the soy/cashew milk for hemp milk?? Or what else is possible? We have allergies in the family.
Hi Pam,
You can definitely try but I’m not sure if the results would be the same!
Jessica — thanks for taking the time to create this recipe. I’ve never seen such simple ingredients for store made vegan butter. Can’t wait to try this!
You’re so welcome Erika!! I hope you love it sooo much!!
Thank you
You are so welcome!
This is an incredible recipe- I’m not a fan of most vegan butters on the market so being able to now make my own is a game changer. I’ve tried it on toast, in baking and cooking all with success. So good.
Awesome Lily! We’re so happy to hear that! Thank you for leaving such a nice comment!