Easy Vegan Butter Recipe

Eager to make your own homemade vegan butter? This is the BEST vegan butter recipe we've ever tried. And it's shockingly easy to make! A quick blend, some time in the fridge, and boom—you've got your own dairy-free butter for spreading, melting, cooking, baking, and beyond.
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Photo of vegan butter and toast
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Sure, you can easily find vegan butter in stores—look for popular brands like Earth Balance or Miyoko’s Butter. We have an entire guide dedicated to the vegan butter options available to you. But if you want to step up your game and make a batch of beautiful homemade vegan butter, this recipe by Allison Rivers Samson makes it fast, fun, and easy! You’ll not only impress your friends and family, but you may even find you prefer this blend best.

Photo of vegan butter and toast

Why Make Vegan Butter at Home

Why not? Here are a few reasons that we find important:

  • Additive-Free and Super Fresh – Your homemade butter will not only be fantastically fresh, but it will be free of the added chemicals in all commercial brands to keep them shelf-stable.
  • Pass on the Processed – Making your own butter guarantees that you know exactly what’s in your product.
  • Go for Glass – No need for a plastic container or any waste. Glass is easier to clean, and you can use glassware already in your cupboard (aka jam jars). It also makes your butter look better. Zero-waste butter for the win!
  • Scale Down Your Salt – You can regulate the amount of salt you add with no trouble at all. Trying to reduce your sodium intake? Add less. Can’t get enough of salty goodness? Add a little more!
  • Festive Flavors – You can add any flavors you like including freshly chopped herbs, cayenne for color and spiciness, a punch of black pepper, or even some cinnamon for a sweet spread.

Are you ready to upgrade your every day, tasteless toast to an undeniably awesome, super creamy crispy bread experience?

Ingredient Notes

Unflavored, Refined Coconut Oil – This is sold in a jar at most health food stores. The most common brand is Spectrum. “Virgin” coconut oil will taste like coconut, which is best to use for coconut-flavored dishes. “Refined” coconut oil will have no flavor and is the best for an all-purpose buttery spread.

Glass jar of organic refined coconut oil on a table.

Sunflower or Safflower Oil – Both oils have a light, neutral flavor profile that contribute a smooth texture without overpowering other flavors.

Non-Dairy Milk – Use plain, unsweetened plant milk such as almond, soy, or oat milk.

Lecithin – This powerful little powder is used to emulsify or combine the ingredients. Although lecithin is most commonly made from soy, sunflower lecithin is becoming more popular. Look for it in the supplement section of health food stores or online. You can find sunflower lecithin powder here and refined coconut oil here! Both of these ingredients are easily found on Amazon, but it’s worth checking your local health food store first.

How To Make Homemade Vegan Butter

Easy peasy! In your blender add the coconut oil, sunflower oil, plant milk, lecithin powder, and salt, and process for a maximum of 60 seconds. Be careful not to overdo this step. Blending for too long might make the oils separate and that’s something you want to avoid.

Pour your creamy mixture into a chilled container and refrigerate. As soon as your blended butter is firm, it’s ready to spread!

This is a soft, spreadable butter. If you’d like something harder, simply decrease the sunflower or safflower oil and increase the coconut oil. You can start with ¾ cup sunflower or safflower and 1 cup coconut oil, and adjust by the tablespoon until you get your preferred texture. Just make sure that the total of both oils always equals 1¾ cup.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Does This Vegan Butter Keep For?

Your homemade vegan butter should last for 2 to 4 weeks depending on how often you leave out and how much you let it melt. Try to keep it in the fridge whenever you’re not using it, especially on hot days!

Can You Freeze Homemade Vegan Butter?

Absolutely! You can have veritable vats of vegan butter ready for months ahead and you’ll only need to thaw them before use. A great idea is to create a few batches so you use one batch at a time and always have homemade vegan buttery spread ready for your tantalizing toast or oven-ready rolls in the morning.

How To Use Homemade Vegan Butter

  • Savory Spread: Use as you would any butter substitute—spread it onto bread, toast, and crackers. You can also use it as a spread for muffins and bagels.
  • Popcorn: Melt the butter and drizzle it over vegan popcorn, then toss with seasonings.
  • Buttery Flavor: When you need to add a buttery flavor to roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, or sauces and gravies, use this homemade butter! It goes great with these cauliflower steaks, roasted potatoes and broccoli, and vegan stuffed acorn squash. Pretty much anytime you have a recipe that calls for butter or oil, this vegan butter can be used!
  • Tea Time Topping: For those of you who (like me) love tea parties and tiny tea sandwiches, you’ll love having the option of shaping your own butter beauties. Pour your newly mixed butter mixture into a silicone baking mold (candy molds are the best size) before refrigerating. When the mixture is completely cool, gently pop out the adorable butter shapes onto some waxed paper or parchment. Arrange in a single layer in a covered container and store in the fridge. To serve, place these pleasant pats of butter in a pretty glass bowl (chilled) on the table. Voilà!
  • Brunch: Place several sumptuous squares of this homemade vegan butter on your perfect, pan-fried pancakes along with mouthwatering maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Vegan waffles are also wonderful with this blissful, buttery blend. You can thank us later! 

More Amazing Vegan Spreads

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Easy Vegan Butter Recipe {Dairy-Free}

Author: Allison Rivers Samson | The Dairy Detox
5 from 14 votes
This is hands-down the BEST vegan butter recipe. Ready to venture beyond the land of store-bought butters and unflavored coconut oil? Once you’ve got the ingredients, making this easy-to-make and easy-to-spread plant-based butter is a snap. Slather it up! This recipe makes one block of vegan butter.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 32 tablespoons

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unflavored coconut oil, refined, not virgin
  • ¾ cup sunflower, or safflower oil
  • ¼ cup unsweetened, plain non-dairy milk
  • 1 tablespoon lecithin powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt, optional

Instructions

  • Place a glass container in the freezer to chill while preparing the Better Butter.
  • In a blender, process all ingredients together at medium speed for 30-60 seconds, until completely combined. Be careful not to over-process or the oils may separate.
  • Transfer quickly to the chilled container, cover, and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Video

Notes

  • Unflavored coconut oil is also called “refined coconut oil,” and is sold in a jar in most health food stores. The most common brand is Spectrum. “Virgin” will taste like coconut, which is best to use for coconut-flavored dishes.
  • Lecithin is used to emulsify or combine the ingredients. Although lecithin is most commonly made from soy, sunflower lecithin is becoming more popular. Look for it in the supplement section of health food stores, or online (see link below).
  • How much is a pinch? Not much! It’s approximately half of ⅛ teaspoon.
  • This is a soft, spreadable butter. If you’d like something harder, decrease the sunflower or safflower oil and increase the coconut oil. You can start with ¾ cup sunflower or safflower and 1 cup coconut oil, and adjust by the tablespoon until you get your preferred texture. Just make sure that the total of both oils always equals 1 ¾ cup.

Nutrition

Calories: 92kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 49mg | Potassium: 9mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 0.1g | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.1mg
Course Dairy
Cuisine American
Keyword dairy-free butter, homemade vegan butter, vegan butter

This recipe was shared with permission from The Dairy Detox. You can find more dairy-free recipes like this in the Dairy Detox Cookbook. Photos by Zhoro Apostolovfor World of Vegan™, all rights reserved.

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Recipe Rating




17 comments
  1. 5 stars
    Easy and deliciously light

  2. Is it possible to make this without coconut oil? I’m allergic to coconut and have a hard time finding commercial brands that don’t contain it.

    • Thank you for your question! Unfortunately, we haven’t tested this recipe without coconut oil, and it is a key component in this recipe’s texture. However, if you search online for “vegan butter without coconut oil” you should be able to find several recipes that might be better suited for you. Sorry we can’t be of further help but we hope you find a tasty vegan butter recipe that you enjoy!

  3. 5 stars
    never thought to make my own vegan butter! very cool! thanks for such a great recipe and staple!

  4. 5 stars
    This vegan butter turned out wonderful! It’s going to be a staple in my home. Great recipe!

  5. 5 stars
    I love this butter and plan to make my own from now on especiallly because earth balance is $5 and Myokos is like $7 !

  6. 5 stars
    I never thought about making my own butter! How interesting!

  7. 5 stars
    Homemade vegan butter!?!! Yes please!

  8. 5 stars
    Simply delicious, this is now the vegan butter we consume at home. It was easy to make and super flavorful. I am also using it for recipes calling for butter.

  9. 5 stars
    Wow didn’t know homemade butter could be made so easliy

  10. 5 stars
    TOTAL gamechanger. I assumed making your own plant based butter from scratch would be really labor intensive and a long process. This is shockingly simple! I hope everyone tries it, it’s a great way to reduce packing waste.

  11. Beatriz Buono-Core says:

    5 stars
    Total game changer! Make your own butter? I’m in!

  12. 5 stars
    I loved writing this article! Making your own kitchen staples is so much fun to me and figuring out ways to use homemade butter was a treat. I love the way this particular recipe is made and the taste is great! Now I need to find a vintage glass butter container with lid!

  13. Andrea White says:

    5 stars
    I’m so trying this out! I’d love to make my own butter versus buying it! Thanks for the simple recipe!

  14. So easy and no preservatives or additives!
    And here’s an opportunity to create cute individual serving shapes! Great for a tea or brunch.

  15. 5 stars
    I never realized that vegan butter was so easy to make! Can’t wait to try this.

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