Once you try this easy homemade vegan butter, you will never want any other vegan margarine or vegan butter alternative again! I call this vegan “butter” because it has a true butter taste. You can make up a batch in minutes and it will save you a ton of money. Don’t buy those store-bought brands of margarine that contain palm oil and just don’t taste as good, make the very best!
I’ve been perfecting the recipe over the past few years and finally have it down to a science. I call it butter because that is what it tastes like. Earth Balance and other vegan varieties of margarine now taste waxy and fake to me. Even my non-vegan family and friends go crazy over this butter! You can whip up a batch in minutes for about 1/2 the price of soy margarine and 100x better tasting!
You will LOVE this dairy free butter recipe because it’s…
- simply the most like real butter of anything that you’ll try!
- vegan, nut free, gluten free, and palm oil free!
- perfect for melting, spreading, cooking and baking.
- easy to make in tub or stick form to suit your spreading or baking needs.
What you will need to make your own homemade vegan butter:
Ingredients:
- Refined Coconut Oil – for the base of the butter. You need to use coconut oil because it has a melting point of 76°F. This will make your butter solid at room temperature. Use refined coconut oil so it has a neutral taste. Unrefined with have a coconut flavor and will not taste like butter.
- Canola Oil – to make your butter softer and spreadable. You can also use light olive oil or any other neutral flavored oil, but each different type of oil will change the flavor slightly. I have found that canola oil gives the most buttery flavor.
- Soy Milk – to give your butter a rich creamy flavor and the protein that it needs to gel and set. (You can use other plant-based milk too. See the details below in the how “How to make it soy free” section).
- Lemon Juice – to curdle the milk. This gives it a richer flavor and also helps it gel up into a buttery consistency. Either fresh squeezed or bottled will work well.
- Salt – for flavor. Leave it out for unsalted butter.
- Soy Lecithin – to make the oil and milk bind together so it doesn’t separate after it sits for a while. (You know how oil and water don’t mix? Well, lecithin makes them bind together). It helps the consistency of your butter, but it doesn’t change the taste. It is not totally necessary, so you can leave it out if you would like, but your butter will separate a little.
Tools:
- Immersion Blender – aka stick blender. I make this butter so much, I have just drawn lines on my immersion blender cup of where to add the oil to make the process faster.
- Or Blender – any traditional blender will work too. You may just need to stop it and scrape the edges a few times to get it mixed well.
- Glass Container – to store your butter. I have found that the butter easily absorbs flavors. Plastic or silicon containers give the butter a funny taste. I like to use the glass Snapware containers or mason jars because they are made of glass and have a lid with an airtight seal.
- Butter Mold – You can use anything that you would like for a mold, and your butter will take that shape. If you want traditional looking stick butter, you can use a butter mold to easily achieve this.
What type of lecithin do I use and where can I find it?
Soy lecithin comes in either liquid or granules. The liquid gives it a nice color, but it is sticky and hard to work with. I usually use the granules because it is less messy.
I find the soy lecithin at GNC or The Vitamine Shoppe, but it may be easiest to order it on Amazon. You will only need a small amount in each batch, so it lasts a long time. If you do not want to use soy, you can also use sunflower lecithin instead.
How do I make vegan butter?
- Measure 1/2 cup of plain soy milk and add the 1/4 tsp lemon juice to it then let it sit.
- Melt coconut oil until it just barely melts and pour it into a blender or immersion blender container.
- Add canola oil, salt, and soy lecithin to the blender.
- Pour the soy milk into the blender once the soy milk and lemon juice sat for about 5 minutes and started to curd.
- Blend on high for 1 minute until it is well mixed.
- Pour into a glass container with a lid.
- Place in the freezer for 1/2 hour until it sets then transfer it to the refrigerator.
- Keep in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days.
Tips for perfect dairy free butter:
Tips about the milk:
- I usually use plain soy milk from Aldi, for some reason, I find that it comes out the best. Different brands of soy milk will work up differently depending on their ingredients. I have even found that the butter comes out thicker if I use the last of the soy milk in the bottom of the carton vs. soymilk from a full carton. I have also noticed that Silk brand comes out a little thicker than other brands. (Whatever brand that you use, just make sure you use PLAIN and NOT vanilla).
- Measure out the soy milk and add the lemon juice first. This will give it time to start to curdle while you are measuring out the rest of the ingredients.
- Be sure not to add more than 1/4 tsp of lemon juice or it will make your butter more of a mayonnaise consistency.
Tips about temperature:
- Don’t overheat your coconut oil. You want it just warm enough to be melted but not hot. This will allow the butter to cool faster which is part of the trick to making it taste good.
- Make sure to cool it in the freezer immediately after blending part of the magic happens when it cools quickly.
How to make vegan butter sticks vs spreadable tub butter:
- Tub Butter – The spreadable tub butter version is a great versatile butter equivalent to how you would use Earth Balance. It stays firm, but soft in the fridge, but is spreadable and melts easily.
- Stick Butter – If you want firmer butter that would traditionally come in a stick form like Mikayo or other stick margarine, you will need to adjust the oil ratio. This stick butter is good for baking, making vegan buttercream, or general cooking.
To make vegan stick butter:
- Increase the coconut oil to 1 cup instead of 2/3 cup and reduce the canola oil to 1/3 cup.
- Follow all of the other ingredients and steps the same.
- Pour into butter stick molds to shape your butter if desired.
How long will the butter keep?
- It keeps well in the fridge for about 5-7 days.
- I like to store it in the glass Snapware containers. The glass makes it so no unwanted flavors are absorbed by your butter and the Snapware containers have a good seal to keep out any refrigerator odors.
Can I freeze vegan butter?
- Yes, you can freeze this butter. The recipe makes about 3 cups of butter. This is about a week supply for my family of 4, but it may be too much for you to use up in a week.
- You may want to divide it up in smaller containers and keep some in the freezer until you’re ready to use it. The small 4 oz Mason jars work well for keeping small batches.
How to make soy-free vegan butter:
- If you need soy free butter, this recipe also works with other plain plant-based milk. The more protein in the milk, the better the consistency, so oat, pea, or hemp milk will work better. If you use almond or cashew milk, add 1 tsp of nutritional yeast to give it enough protein to set correctly.
- Note: to make it totally soy free, you will also need to use sunflower lecithin instead of soy lecithin.
How can I use this butter recipe?
Use this the same as you would any other vegan margarine. If you want to bake with it or use it for frying, use the stick version. If you want to use it to spread on bread or toast and just everyday use, use the tub version.
Make butter cabbage and noodles in my vegan haluski recipe. Make buttery vegan cheddar bay biscuits, use it to bake cookies like my amazing vegan chocolate chip cookies, or whip it up into the best vegan buttercream frosting you will ever eat!
*If you are interested in making more homemade vegan staples like your own vegan mayo, vegan sour cream, or learn how to make your own vegan cheese, you can check out my homemade vegan staples page.
Pin this butter recipe for later! You will want to make it again and again!
Homemade vegan margarine that tastes like real butter!
- 2/3 cup REFINED coconut oil (or 1 cup for the stick version)
- 2/3 cup canola oil or light olive oil or other neutral tasting oil (use 1/3 cup for the stick version)
- 1/2 cup PLAIN soy milk
- 1/4 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp soy lecithin (optional, but helps it not to separate).
Measure 1/2 cup of plain soy milk and add 1/4 tsp lemon juice, allow mixture to sit.
Microwave coconut oil until it just barely melts. Pour it into a blender or immersion blender container.
- Add canola oil, salt, and soy lecithin to the blender.
Pour the soy milk into the blender once the soy milk and lemon juice have sat for about 5 minutes and started to curd.
- Blend on high for 1 minute until it is well mixed.
Pour into a glass container with a lid.
Place in the freezer for 1/2 hour until it sets then transfer it to the refrigerator.
- Keep in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days.
Tips for perfect vegan butter:
- I usually use plain soy milk from Aldi, for some reason, I find that it comes out the best. Different brands of soy milk will work differently depending on their own ingredients. I have even found that the butter comes out thicker if I use the last of the soy milk in the bottom of the carton vs. soymilk from a full carton. I have also noticed that Silk brand comes out a little thicker than other brands. (Whatever brand that you use, make sure you use PLAIN and NOT vanilla).
- Measure out the soy milk and add the lemon juice first. This will start to curdle while you are measuring out the rest of the ingredients.
- Be sure not to add more than 1/4 tsp of lemon juice or it will make your butter more of a mayonnaise consistency.
- Make sure to cool butter in the freezer immediately after blending. Part of the magic happens when it cools quickly.
To make vegan stick butter:
- Increase the coconut oil to 1 cup instead of 2/3 cup and reduce the canola oil to 1/3 cup.
- Follow all of the other ingredients and steps the same.
- Pour into butter stick molds to shape your butter if desired.
How do I make soy-free vegan butter?
- If you need this recipe to be soy free, other plant-based milks will also work. The more protein in the milk, the better the consistency, so oat, pea, or hemp milk will work better. If you use almond or cashew milk, add 1 tsp of nutritional yeast to give mixture enough protein to set correctly.
- Note; to make it totally soy free, you will also need to use sunflower lecithin instead of soy lecithin.
Excellent recipe! I used unsweetened almond milk with ACV instead of the lemon juice. I added 1/8 t. turmeric and 1 t. nutritional yeast as one reviewer suggested. Just perfect! Will be making this quite often. Thanks!!
I’m so happy that you liked it, Dana! 🙂
When I left it out at room temperature, the oil settled on top but I just mixed up and refrigerated and it’s fine a cohesive now. Is this a result of using the almond milk and it being lower in protein like you mentioned?
The almond milk could have caused that. It depends on the temperature of the room and how long you left it out. It will start to melt above about 70-72 degrees F.
Hi Monica. I am unable to get unsweetened soy milk. Every soy milk here (Ecuador), even unflavored, has sugar. I am able to get unsweetened, unflavored almond milk. Would that work in this butter recipe? I also have sunflower lethicin powder, is that okay?
Unflavored almond milk will work, it just doesn’t get quite as creamy. The sunflower lecithin powder will work fine. (You can also use oat milk in it – which is easy to make yourself if you can get oats). Hope that helps. Enjoy! 🙂
Phenomenal….nothing else needs to be said.
Thanks Diane! 🙂
Is avocado oil a good alternative to canola oil?
Yes, it may change the taste a little, but it will work well. Enjoy! 🙂
Hi Monica. This recipe is amazing! I did, however, have a problem with it turning into that mayonnaise consistency even though I measured the lemon juice carefully. Does the soy milk/lemon juice mixture need to be room temperature before adding to the blender? My fridge gets quite cold; sometimes even to the point where it freezes stuff from time to time. I’m wondering if its over-cooling the mixture before I can get it to the freezer.
Cheers,
Antonia
Thanks, Antonia! It doesn’t have to be at room tempature. I try not to get the coconut oil to hot (just warm enough to melt) so it will cool faster. They mayo type consistency seems to happen when I use the last bit of soy milk at the bottom of the container. I think that the gums and things they use to make the soymilk thick tend to settle to the bottom and be in higher concentrations. I also did some testing using xanthan gum as an emulsifier instead of the soy lesithin, and it made it gel like mayo too. If you just freeze the butter solid and let it warm up again it will be the right consistency. Enjoy! 🙂
Hey! I wonder if I could use vegan emulsifier instead of soy lecithin, can you help me with that?
Tks, dear
There are not very many commonly found emulsifiers. If you don’t want soy, you can use sunflower lecithin instead. You can also use 1/2 tsp xanthan gum. It doesn’t work quite as well, but it will help it not to separate a little. You can also leave it out of the butter completely and just be sure to keep the butter cold. It will only separate when it starts to warm up to room temperature. I hope that helps! 🙂
The best vegan butter recipe I’ve tried. I add 1tsp nutritional yeast, use apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice & 1/8 tsp tumeric. I think the equal ratios of both types of oils is what makes this spreadable straight from the fridge (unlike other recipes that need to sit out at room temp in order to soften enough to spread. Thanks for a great recipe 🙂 👍
Your welcome! I’m so happy that you like it! 🙂
Hello Monica!
It is very difficult to find a cheap vegan butter in Portugal. So I have been searching online for a recipe and I found your blog!
Canola oil is rather expensive here, and I wonder if using olive oil, even light, will make it taste like olive oil?
Have you tried it with sunflower oil or know if it might work?
Thank you so much in advance!
It will work with any type of oil as long as you combine it with the refined coconut oil. Each oil has a different flavor and will change the flavor of your butter a little. Try to use the most neutral-flavored oil possible. Light olive oil works well, but don’t use extra virgin olive oil or the flavor will be too strong. I hope this works for you and gives you an affordable option! 🙂
I will be making wedding cupcakes for a vegan
couple. I bake regularly but am not vegan.
The price of vegan butter sticks is quite steep.
Your recipe sounds like just what I need to bake
multiple dozen cupcakes. How long can I
freeze the butter stick recipe (as I want to make
a couple trial batches)? Also, how long would the frozen butter need to sit out for making frosting?
You can keep the butter in an airtight container for up to 3 months. The time it will take to get to room temperature is about the same as regular butter. It just depends on the size of the container that you put it in. I would allow 2-3 hours to get soft from frozen. (Make sure you follow the recipe for stick butter so the buttercream is sturdy enough to decorate with). Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions! 🙂
The lemon buttercream turned out brilliant. I love that by using your stick butter recipe it didn’t have that ‘greasy margarine taste’. This is going to be my go to recipe from now on.
So happy to hear this Denise! I love that the butter doesn’t have that greasy taste too! That’s the thing I notice the most if I have store-bought vegan butter – it’s super greasy tasting and almost coats your mouth. I never noticed it until I got away from it for a while. Enjoy! 🙂
This recipe looks amazing! I have been looking for a good homemade recipe that will work for my vegan cakes and frostings. I have made some today and frozen in silicone weaning pots. I was doubling up the stick recipe but accidentally measured double the coconut oil for the milk so I ended up making 4 batches😆. Going to make some cupcakes tomorrow so looking forward to trying it in my cakes and going to try your frosting recipe too.
Oh, my that will be a lot of butter! At least it will freeze until you are ready to use it! I love it in the frosting! Hope you do too! (I’m working on my homemade vegan cream cheese frosting at the moment. It should be published today or tomorrow. You may want to try that one too)! Enjoy! 🙂
Molly Nolan, maybe we shouldn’t condemn someone for helping others. So you don’t like coconut, okay, maybe just buy vegan butter then or experiment yourself?
Monica thank you so much for this!! Living in China I have a real hard time finding dairy alternatives and have to make everything from scratch. My milk-allergic baby is celebrating his first birthday and I needed to be able to make a successful icing, so I finally have the butter substitute I need. (And its palm oil free!!!!!!) Thank you so much for this!!!
Thanks Lindsay! I’m so happy that I could help! This butter makes amazing buttercream frosting! Hope your son has a great first Birthday! 🙂 Here’s a link to the buttercream if you need it… https://thehiddenveggies.com/vegan-buttercream/
hi monica
this is so irresistable. i am so much keen to try this.
one question- if i opt to use sunflower lecithin – will powder form be okay? what would be the quantity to use then in place of 2 tsp soy lecithin?
thank you.
Urvi
Hi Urvi, you can use the powder form of the sunflower lecithin. It is an equal exchange, so you will still need 2 tsp. of the lecithin. Enjoy! 🙂
roughly how many grams does this recipe make?? currently trying to substitute my family’s animal products
The recipe makes about 3 cups of butter which is about 680 grams. Hope you enjoy it! let me know if I can help in any other way. 🙂
That’s so cool. I never knew you could make vegan butter. I’m on it now!
Yes, it’s so easy and delicious, once you start making this, you will never want anything else.
I’m so excited excited to try this! Have you tried using the butter flavored coconut oil? Curious if that makes the flavor more buttery? Also, have you tried using this butter rolled into croissants? Is it firm enough?
Thanks!
I have not seen the butter flavored coconut oil near me, so I haven’t tried it yet. It has a nice buttery flavor with just the refined coconut oil, so I don’t think that you need it, but let me know if you try it. If you want a firmer butter, make the stick version. Enjoy! 🙂
Hi Monica,
I’m looking for a butter recipe that whips (still working on a good snickerdoodle recipe!). Does this butter whip well? I’m trying to avoid using aquafaba, trying to keep the recipe simple. Thanks!
Yes, it should work well for any baking, just be sure to use the stick form of the butter since the fat density is a little higher. 🙂
Thank you for sharing the recipe, I’ve lost the email before I got a chance to try it. Now I just need to get me some canola oil and I’m good to go.
Btw, your mayo recipe is the best ever, I make it all the time. I tend to add dried garlic after blending it for a really fab garlic mayo, it has really become a staple in my kitchen. I use it in salads, sandwich spread and so on. It keeps for a long time too, up to a fortnight so it’s perfect if I make too much.
So happy that you like the mayo recipe! Let me know when you make the butter! 🙂
Really like it. Had to use melted, unrefined coconut oil ( all I had on hand). I added the nutritional yeast to the coconut, almond milk and lemon juice, was that where, when I was supposed to add it?. My only butter replacement recipe that I will use from now on. Thanks again.
So happy that you like it! Yes, you can add the nutritional yeast in with the milk and lemon juice. Enjoy! 🙂
Lucky me, I just found your page on Pinterest and I am soooo thrilled, your videos recipes look absolutely yummie and I can’t wait to try them out! Many thanks from across the ocean (a Germany based plant loving foodie) <3
Anna, I’m so happy that you found me too! I hope that you enjoy the recipes! 🙂
Looks interesting but like 99% of new vegan products, ideas, recipe it is made with coconut. Allergic and hate it. Where is the law that says all things vegan must include coconut oil? Do you include for any other reason than solid at room temp?
Molly, yes, because it’s solid at room temperature and because the refined type has no flavor, it works well for vegan butter. You could also use palm oil instead if you are allergic to coconut. It is also solid at room temperature and will give you the right consistency. (Try to find ethically sourced palm oil if you can though).
I have tried every butter recipe out there and this really is the BEST one!! Easy to make and tastes amazing!
Hi there from NZ! When I first signed up to your site, I didn’t actually receive the vegan butter recipe, oh the joys of cyberspace when you live in rural areas! But we searched around on the internet and must have found the recipe you wrote on vegan.net?? Exactly the same instructions.
And yes, this is the BEST. At first the family were gobbling it down so quickly, that I was making a double batch a few times a week with our buckwheat sourdough bread. They’ve calmed down a bit now! LOL
I encourage everyone to give this recipe a go. Very difficult to get GMO free soy milk, or lecithin. But it can be done! We have also tried an Australian brand Almond & Coconut. Was just fine.
The soy lecithin granules work better than the sunflower liquid lecithin.
We use a high speed blender (ancient 21 years old) with the small size jug, and sometimes add in A FEW SLICES OF ROOM TEMP CARROT. This gives a yellow colour – very uplifting. But if you use carrot straight from the fridge, it upsets the temp for great blending of wet and dry ingredients.
Thanks so much for the info! So happy that you like the recipe! I couldn’t find the other recipe that you were talking about, but people steal things even if you try to make them secret. I’m glad that I decided to just make this recipe public so you can now access it easier and have all the details to make it come out great every time. 🙂