Vegan brown butter adds a rich, nutty flavor to any recipe. It can be used in both sweet and savory dishes and adds a depth of flavor that you don’t get from plain butter.

Perogies with vegan brown butter sage sauce being drizzled over them with a spoon.

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Add some garlic and sage for a brown butter sage sauce and pour over savory dishes like pasta, gnocchi, perogies, or mashed potatoes, or use it in baking like brown butter cookies.

OMG! I just made this to drizzle over mashed potatoes! I used your homemade butter and it was so good! Thanks for the recipe.

—Laura

What is brown butter?

Brown butter is simply regular butter that has been slowly heated to toast the milk proteins and sugars within the butter. It also cooks out the liquid in the butter making the fats more concentrated. When making traditional brown butter, the milk proteins and sugars go through a change when heated known as a Maillard reaction.

The trick with making vegan brown butter is to use high-quality vegan butter to start with. You need a vegan butter that contains sugars and proteins similar to that of the milk solids in regular butter to get a Maillard reaction and the complex flavors that it produces.

What is the best vegan butter to use?

I tested this non-dairy brown butter with a variety of vegan butter. My homemade vegan butter and Mikayo brand butter worked the best and resulted in the most complex flavor. This is no surprise since both of these butter have higher amounts of sugars and proteins in them.

Vegan Brown Butter Sage Sauce

One of the most common uses for it is to make it into a brown butter sage sauce by adding garlic and fresh sage leaves at the end of browning the butter. This garlic sage butter sauce is delicious over mashed potatoes, noodles, vegan ravioli, gnocchi, or vegan perogies. I also love it drizzled over mashed potatoes on a vegan shepherd’s pie or squash casserole.

A white bowl filled with mashed potatoes with dairy-free brown butter being poured over top of it.

Ingredients and substitutions

  • Vegan Butter – any high-quality vegan butter will work. I highly recommend the stick version of my homemade vegan butter, but the Miyoko butter brand also works well. You can use either salted or unsalted butter.

For brown butter sage sauce

  • Sage – fresh sage leaves work best. You can use dried if you can’t get fresh.
  • Garlic – fresh minced garlic works best. You could use garlic powder, but fresh is best.

How to make vegan brown butter

Step 1 – Place 4 tablespoons of vegan butter in a small heavy saucepan and turn to medium heat. (A light-colored pan makes it easier to see when it has browned.)

Step 2 – Allow the butter to melt and begin to slowly simmer and get foamy. Once the butter has melted turn the heat to medium-low. Pick up the pot and swirl it around about once every minute to avoid scorching. (Or simply stir the butter with a whisk every minute or so.)

Step 3 – After the butter has slowly simmered for about 10 minutes, the foaming will start to reduce, it will start to smell nutty, and you will see small brown flecks at the bottom. At this time, remove it from the burner.

Vegan brown butter sage sauce

  • After the butter has browned, immediately add 3 cloves of fresh minced garlic and 5 sage leaves and let them sit and infuse into the butter for about 5 more minutes before using.
A small red saucepan with vegan brown butter, garlic, and sage leaves in it.

If you like this vegan brown butter recipe, you’ll love my vegan garlic butter too!

Pro Tips

  • Be sure to use high-quality vegan butter. You will not get good results from inexpensive vegan margarine with a lot of water content.
  • Cook your brown butter over medium-low heat. Take your time and be patient, you don’t want to burn your butter.
  • You want the butter to have little brown specks in it and have a nutty flavor and aroma. If your butter has black specks and smells burnt, throw it out and start again.
  • If you are used to making brown butter from dairy butter, this non-dairy version will not have as many brown specks in it.

Frequently asked questions?

Is it possible to brown vegan butter?

You can brown high-quality vegan butter with plant-milk solids in it. Inexpensive vegan margarine will not brown.

How long does it take to brown vegan butter?

It will take about 10-15 minutes to brown vegan butter depending on the amount of heat used. You want to brown butter over low heat. Heating it too fast will cause it to burn.

Storage

Refrigerate: Keep leftover vegan brown butter in the fridge for up to a week in a sealed container.

Freeze: Brown butter can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge.

Perogies with vegan brown butter sauce poured over them.

Vegan brown butter recipe

A white bowl with perogies in a brown butter sauce with garlic and sage.
Diet
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5 from 3 rating

Vegan Brown Butter

How to make brown butter from vegan butter. Also how to turn it into dairy-free brown butter sage sauce.

Ingredients

For the brown butter sage sauce

  • 3 cloves garlic, (minced)
  • 5 leaves fresh sage
  • 1 dash salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Place 4 tablespoons of vegan butter in a small heavy saucepan and turn to medium heat. (A light-colored pan makes it easier to see when it has browned.)
  • Allow the butter to melt and begin to slowly simmer and get foamy. Once the butter has melted turn the heat to medium-low. Pick up the pot and swirl it around about once every minute to avoid scorching. (Or simply stir the butter with a whisk every minute or so.)
  • After the butter has slowly simmered for about 10 minutes, the foaming will start to reduce, it will start to smell nutty, and you will see small brown flecks at the bottom. At this time, remove it from the burner.

To make brown butter sage sauce

  • After the butter has browned, immediately add 3 cloves of fresh minced garlic and 5 sage leaves and let them sit and infuse into the butter for about 5 more minutes before using.

Notes

  • Be sure to use high-quality vegan butter. You will not get good results from inexpensive vegan margarine with a lot of water content.
  • Cook your brown butter over low heat. Take your time and be patient, you don’t want to burn your butter.
  • You want the butter to have little brown specks in it and have a nutty aroma. If your butter has black specks and smells burnt, throw it out and start again.
  • If you are used to making brown butter from dairy butter, this non-dairy version will not have as many brown specks in it.
Serving: 1tbsp, Calories: 85kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Sodium: 101mg, Potassium: 13mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 535IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 4mg, Iron: 1mg
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