This quick and easy vegan royal icing recipe uses a few simple ingredients and makes beautifully decorated cookies! Traditional royal icing recipes use egg whites as the base ingredient for the icing, but this recipe simply uses water to achieve a similar effect. 

Decorate the most colorful holiday cookies and cakes, or make beautiful gingerbread houses with this simple and easy recipe!

Vegan cut out cookies decorated with vegan royal icing in bright colors.

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This eggless royal icing recipe will make the most beautiful dairy-free and gluten-free desserts.

Why make this royal icing recipe

I’ve tried many methods for royal icing over the years, including aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas), vegan meringue powder, and Ener-G egg replacer in place of egg whites. 

After experimenting with many methods, I’ve found that water has a similar effect and yields the best results, producing smoother, air-bubble-free eggless royal icing. 

I also like to keep my Christmas cookies at room temperature for a few days without worrying about anything in the icing needing refrigeration. This simple vegan royal icing is simply the best recipe for cookie decorating.

You can use this royal icing on my easy vegan sugar cookies, vegan shortbread cookies, or vegan gingerbread cookies. 

Ingredients and substitutions

  • Powdered Sugar – (aka icing sugar or confectioner’s sugar) to make it sweet. You must use powdered sugar for this; no other sweetener will work. (Most organic brands of powdered sugar are not filtered using bone char and are therefore vegan, but they also tend to be lumpy. You will want to sift the sugar to get the clumps out before you make the icing.)
  • Water – to make the sugar wet and turn it into a paste. (You can also use any plant-based milk or lemon juice if you would like for a little more flavor.)
  • Light Corn Syrup or Agave Nectar – to make it sticky and shiny. (optional)
  • Extract – for flavor. Add vanilla extract, almond extract, peppermint extract, or orange extract to your icing for a hint of flavor. (optional) 
  • Food Coloring – to make your icing different colors. Be sure to look for vegan food coloring. Gel colors work great for deep colors.

Helpful tools

  • Flour Sifter or Wire Mesh Strainer – to sift out clumps from powdered sugar.
  • Piping Bags or Ziploc Bags – to pipe the icing onto your cookies. (aka pastry bag)
  • Small Bowls – to mix separate colors.
  • Scribe Needle – for removing air bubbles from icing and decorating with precision and intricate details.

Since this recipe doesn’t use aquafaba, there is no need for a stand mixer or high-speed hand mixer; you simply need a bowl and a fork or whisk.

Christmas cookies decorated with vegan royal icing.

How to make vegan royal icing

Step 1 – Sift the powdered sugar into a medium-sized mixing bowl. (This will make the consistency of the icing smoother.)

Step 2 – Add the water, corn syrup, and extract, then stir with a fork until a smooth paste forms.

Step 3 – Add a few extra drops of water until you get the right consistency. It should be a glue-like consistency for piping. (For thinner icing, add just a drop or two of extra water.)

Step 4 – Divide the white icing into small bowls, add 2-3 drops of vegan food coloring or gel food coloring to each, and stir well to create different colors.

A collage of 4 images showing the process of sifting powdered sugar and adding soy milk and coloring to make dairy-free royal icing.

Step 5 – Spoon the icing into a piping bag (or Ziploc bag with a tiny hole cut in the corner) and pipe it onto your favorite cut-out cookies.

Royal icing in Ziploc baggies to decorate cookies.

Pro Tips

  • Make the icing thick to start, then use it to pipe the outer edges of the cookies. Then add another drop or two of water to make the icing slightly thinner, then flood the inside of the cookie with it. 
  • If your royal icing has a thick consistency, add a little water – just a drop or two to thin out the icing.
  • If the icing is too thin, add a teaspoon or two of sifted powdered sugar to thicken it. 
  • Add vegan sprinkles to the cookies immediately after piping on the royal icing so that they stick better.
  • When decorating cookies with kids – I like to make up a double batch of royal icing and fill up little snack-sized ziplock bags with the icing. I make at least 2 bags of each color so they aren’t fighting over the same color. Also, be sure to cut a tiny hole in the bag so they don’t squeeze too much at once. 

Storing cookies decorated with royal icing

After you decorate your cookies, leave them out uncovered for a few hours until they dry out a little. Once the top layer is dry, they will no longer be sticky, and you can carefully stack them in an airtight container with a piece of parchment paper between them.

The royal icing will keep well at room temperature for about 3 days, in the fridge for about 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Storage Tip: Place a piece of parchment paper between layers of cookies to prevent them from sticking together when stacking.

Vegan sugar cookies cut into hearts and butterflies and decorated with royal icing.

What is the best-tasting icing?

I must be honest about royal icing… It’s beautiful, and it makes the prettiest cookies, but it just doesn’t taste as good as frosting. If you want a beautifully decorated cut-out cookie that looks like it came from a bakery, then use this vegan royal icing recipe for sure. 

However, if you want an amazing-tasting frosting for your cookies, I highly recommend my vegan buttercream frosting. We usually do one batch with royal icing for the fun of decorating, and then another batch with buttercream because it simply tastes better.

You can also use my vegan icing recipe or my vegan whipped cream frosting recipe to decorate your cookies.

Vegan cut out cookies in Christmas shapes and decorated with brightly colored royal icing.

More vegan cookies

Vegan royal icing recipe

Cut out cookies in the shape of stars, Christmas trees, and snowflakes decorated with vegan royal icing.
Diet
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5 from 9 rating

Vegan Royal Icing

Yield: 24 cookies
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 0 minutes
Total: 5 minutes
Author: Monica Davis
A smooth colorful icing that is used to frost cutout cookies, gingerbread houses, and gingerbread men.
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Ingredients

  • 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup, or agave nectar
  • 2 tablespoons water, or plant-based milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, or any other flavor of choice
  • 1-3 drops vegan food coloring

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • Sift the powdered sugar into a medium-sized mixing bowl. (This will make the consistency of the icing smoother.)
  • Add the water, corn syrup, and extract, then stir with a fork until it forms a smooth paste.
  • Add a few extra drops of water until you get the right consistency. It should be a glue-like consistency for piping.
  • Divide the white icing into small separate bowls, add 2-3 drops of food coloring to each, and stir well to obtain different colors.
  • Put the icing into a piping bag (or Ziploc bag with a tiny hole cut in the corner) and pipe it onto your favorite cut-out cookies.

Notes

  • Make the icing thick initially, and use it to pipe the outer edges of the cookies.  Then add another drop or two of water to make the icing slightly thinner for flooding the inside of the cookie. 
  • Add a drop or two of water to thin the icing, or a few more tbsp of powdered sugar to thicken it if it is too thin. 
  • Add sprinkles to the cookies immediately after piping on the royal icing so that they stick better.
  • When decorating cookies with kids – I like to make up a double batch of royal icing and fill up little snack-sized ziplock bags with the icing.  I make at least 2 bags of each color so they aren’t fighting over the same color.  Also, be sure to cut a tiny hole in the bag so they don’t squeeze too much out at once. 
Serving: 2tsp, Calories: 44kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Fat: 1g, Sodium: 1mg, Sugar: 11g
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