Vegan Frosting Recipe

This vegan frosting is a light, pipeable buttercream made with aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas), powdered sugar, cold vegan butter, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. It takes about 15 minutes and makes enough for 12 cupcakes or one two layer 8 inch cake.

The trick is the order. The aquafaba is whipped to stiff, glossy peaks first, the sugar goes in slowly, and the cold butter follows one tablespoon at a time. That foam gives the frosting its body, so it needs far less sugar than most dairy free buttercream and tastes of vanilla rather than pure sweetness.

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The Five Ingredients and the One to One Ratio

• Ingredients: ½ cup aquafaba, ¾ cup sifted powdered sugar, ¾ cup cold vegan butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, a pinch of fine sea salt
• Ratio: equal volumes of powdered sugar and vegan butter, held up by ½ cup whipped aquafaba
• Time: about 15 minutes with a stand mixer
• Covers: 12 cupcakes, or a thin filling and coat on a two layer 8 inch cake
• Texture and color: fluffy, smooth, and ivory rather than bright white
• Keeps: 5 days in the fridge; re-whip before using

Use clear vanilla if you want the palest possible frosting. Brown vanilla and yellow-toned vegan butter give it a soft beige color, which is fine for a rustic cake but shifts pastel food colors a little warm.

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Getting Aquafaba to Stiff Peaks

Aquafaba behaves like egg whites. Whip ½ cup on high speed for 5 to 7 minutes and it turns from a thin, yellowish liquid into a white, glossy foam. You are ready when the peaks stand straight up and the foam does not slide when you tip the bowl.

When the peaks will not come, it is usually one of three things:

• A trace of fat: grease on the bowl or whisk stops the foam. Wipe both with a paper towel and a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar before you start.
• Thin aquafaba: some cans give liquid as runny as water. Simmer it in a small pan until it has reduced by about a third, then cool it completely before whipping.
• A hand mixer: it works, but it takes longer and the peaks stay a little softer. Keep going for a few extra minutes.

Chickpeas canned in no-salt-added water give the most reliable foam, and the bean smell disappears once sugar and vanilla go in. Add the sugar as soon as the peaks stand. Whipped aquafaba left to sit starts to weep liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Leftover aquafaba keeps in a jar in the fridge for up to 3 days.

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Which Vegan Butter Holds Up Best

Use firm stick or block vegan butter, not a soft tub spread. Tub spreads carry more water and turn the frosting loose. Of the two I have compared, Earth Balance sticks hold longer at room temperature, while Miyoko’s Cultured Butter has better flavor but softens sooner. For a cake that has to travel or sit on a table, pick Earth Balance. For cupcakes eaten the same afternoon, Miyoko’s is lovely.

Cut the butter into tablespoon pieces straight from the fridge. Cold butter keeps the foam standing. If you only have salted vegan butter, leave out the pinch of salt.

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Mixing Order for a Smooth Dairy Free Buttercream

Once the aquafaba holds stiff peaks, drop the mixer to low and add the sifted powdered sugar a spoonful at a time. Dumping it in knocks the air out. Then turn the speed to medium high for 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth and shiny.

With the mixer on medium, add the cold butter one piece at a time and let each piece disappear before the next. Around the halfway point it will look curdled and wet. Keep beating. It pulls together into a smooth, fluffy frosting after the last few pieces. Finish with the vanilla and salt and beat for 30 seconds.

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Soupy, Curdled, or Dense: Rescuing Vegan Buttercream

• Curdled halfway through: normal. The butter has not emulsified yet, so keep the mixer running.
• Soupy or runny at the end: the butter got too warm. Chill the whole bowl for 10 to 15 minutes, then whip again until light.
• Dense or slightly grainy: beat in plant milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Almond or oat milk keeps the flavor neutral; coconut milk adds coconut.
• Too soft to pipe: chill the filled piping bag for 10 minutes before you start.

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Aquafaba Buttercream vs Vegan American Buttercream

Most vegan buttercream recipes are American style: vegan butter beaten with several cups of powdered sugar and a splash of plant milk. That version is dense, very sweet, and forms a light crust. It is stable and quick, and my dairy free frosting covers it along with a coconut cream version.

This recipe works more like a Swiss meringue buttercream, with whipped aquafaba standing in for the egg whites. The ratio of sugar to butter is about 1 to 1 by volume, so it is lighter, silkier, and noticeably less sweet. The trade off is that it softens faster in a warm room. Choose it when you want a frosting that tastes of vanilla and pipes soft rosettes, and choose the American style when the cake has to sit out for hours on a hot day.

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Which Frostings Are Naturally Vegan?

Any frosting with no butter, milk, cream, or eggs is vegan by nature. The common ones:

• Powdered sugar glaze: sugar thinned with water, lemon juice, or plant milk, like this powdered sugar icing made with a dairy free milk.
• Coconut whipped cream: the solid cream from a chilled can of coconut milk, whipped with sugar. See my coconut whipped cream.
• Dairy free ganache: dark chocolate with no milk solids melted with warm coconut cream.
• Aquafaba meringue frosting: whipped aquafaba and sugar on their own, a vegan take on marshmallowy egg white frostings.
• Vegan buttercream: this recipe, or the American style above.

Two label checks matter for strict vegans. Some dark chocolate contains milk fat or milk solids, and some refined cane sugar, powdered sugar included, is filtered with bone char. Organic, beet, or vegan labelled sugar avoids that.

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Frosting a Cake or Cupcakes With It

One batch gives 12 cupcakes a modest swirl, or a thin layer of filling plus a smooth coat on a two layer 8 inch cake. For thick sides and piped borders, make a double batch. On a layer cake, spread a thin crumb coat, chill the cake for 20 minutes, then add the final layer.

It takes gel color well and holds piped rosettes with clean edges. It tastes good with vegan pumpkin pie as a sweet, cool contrast, and leftovers make a quick sandwich filling for vegan matcha cookies.

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Keeping Vegan Buttercream in the Fridge or Freezer

Store the frosting in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To freeze it, press plastic wrap onto the surface, seal the container, and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, let it soften at room temperature, then re-whip until fluffy before using.

A frosted cake is happy in a cool room for the day you serve it. In a kitchen above about 75°F (24°C), keep it in the fridge until an hour before serving, since vegan butter softens faster than dairy butter. Refrigerate leftovers.

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Vegan Icing Questions

Does aquafaba frosting taste like chickpeas?

No. Whipped with powdered sugar, vanilla, and butter, the bean smell disappears. Chickpeas canned without salt give the most neutral liquid.

Can I make vegan frosting without aquafaba?

Yes. Beat vegan butter with powdered sugar and a little plant milk for an American style vegan buttercream. It is denser and sweeter than this one.

Can I use a hand mixer?

Yes, but whipping the aquafaba takes longer and the peaks stay softer. A stand mixer gives the firmest frosting.

Is this frosting dairy free and egg free?

Yes. It has no butter, milk, cream, or eggs, so it also works for dairy free and egg free bakers.