if you haven’t tried making homemade vegan butter this recipe is for you! it is only 7 ingredients, so delicious, and great for baking or enjoying on toast.
I have been vegan for over 8 years and I never tried to make vegan butter because honestly I thought it would be way too complicated. However, it is so simple to make and it tastes so incredibly delicious. This recipe is pretty similar to the Miyoko’s vegan butter. It has great flavor, it tastes so good on toast, and it works beautifully in a baked good. I used it to make homemade vegan banana bread that came out so good!
the ingredients
- Raw Cashews: these are going to give a creamy base to our vegan butter. I haven’t made this recipe without them so at the moment I do not have a substitution.
- Light Olive Oil: maybe it’s because I am Italian but I love olive oil. It is rich and buttery so it works beautifully in our vegan butter. *NOTE: do not use extra virgin olive oil as it will be too bitter, you need light olive oil.
- Refined Coconut Oil: this will help the vegan butter to solidify when it is cold. It is important that it is refined so there is no coconut flavor. I tried it with unrefined and the coconut flavor is there but it didn’t taste too bad so if you don’t mind a little coconut I suppose you could use.
- Vegan Yogurt: I like to use Kite Hill Greek Style Yogurt for this recipe. I like something with cultures to add a bit of tang and cultures to the vegan butter without having to deal with actual cultures.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: you only need a very small amount to again add a little bit of tang. You can swap this out for lemon juice if you don’t have apple cider vinegar or even just leave it out.
- Salt: this is optional if you want a salted vegan butter add it in, if you like unsalted leave it out.
- Water: this will help to blend the cashews.
refined coconut oil
This is a very important ingredient in the vegan butter recipe. It cannot be left out and it is very important to use refined coconut oil. I say this because if you do unrefined it will taste like coconut. The first time I recipe tested this I did try it with unrefined coconut oil and while the flavor was good it did have a coconut taste. However, when you use the refined coconut oil you will get no coconut taste.
why you’ll love this vegan butter
I love how easy this is to make! I looked at a lot of other vegan butter recipes and they were similar but they called for soy lecithin as an ingredient. Not a bad thing but it is one of those slightly obscure ingredients people don’t just have laying around. So, I really wanted to make a recipe without it. This vegan butter is so creamy and has such a great taste. If you have been a Miyoko’s vegan butter lover you have to try this.
is a butter mold necessary?
Good news, not at all!!! If you don’t care about this recipe being in a block or a stick you can just put it into any little container to solidify and then scrape it out like a tub. However, if you want it to be in a block you can do what I did. Just grab a small rectangular container and line it with parchment paper you can pull out. Then you can just pour in the mixture and there you go. Pull it out and you will have a block of butter. However, if you think you will be making vegan butter a lot and you want to get a butter mold there are plenty of options online.
soaking cashews
To make this recipe you will need to soak your cashews ahead of time. However, have no fear we don’t need to soak them overnight (unless you want to). You can just cover them in boiling water for 30 minutes and they will be super soft and easy to use for blending. This is an important step to ensure we end up with smooth, creamy vegan butter.
more vegan dairy recipes
vegan butter faq
- Is this recipe nut free? No and unfortunately as of right now I do not have a substitution.
- Is this recipe gluten free? Yes.
- Is this recipe soy free? As long as your vegan yogurt is soy free then yes, the Kite Hill yogurt is not soy free.
- How long will this recipe last? Up to 4-5 days in the fridge.
- Can I use this in baking? Yes, it worked wonderfully in a vegan banana bread I made.
- Can I eat this on bread? Yes, it is so delicious!
- How much vegan butter does this make? My block came out to be 152g around 5.3 ounces. A standard ½ cup of butter (dairy or not) is 112g/4 ounces.
- Can I freeze this? Yes. If it is stored in the freezer it will be harder than when it is stored in the fridge.
- Why isn’t it yellow? Some dairy butter is yellow and some is whiter. If you want to replicate a yellow dairy butter you can add a bit of turmeric in here. However, I didn’t mind the color of it being white.
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Homemade Vegan Butter
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons refined coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons vegan yogurt, unsweetened and unflavored
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt, optional for salted vegan butter
Instructions
- Soak cashews in boiling water for 30 minutes until soft.
- In a high speed blender combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. This may take a few rounds and minutes of blending.
- Pour either into a mold, parchment lined small rectangular container (about 4 inches x 2 inches) to be able to make stick, or into a container to just make it to scrape out.
- Place in the fridge for at least 12 hours to set. If after 12 hours the vegan butter still feels a bit squishy and soft when you touch it you can place it in the freezer for 2 to 3 hours.
- If you want it to be a stick pull it out of the mold or parchment paper. If you want it to be a small container you can just enjoy immediately.
- Use in your favorite baked goods or bread.
Video
Notes
- If you want to soak the cashews overnight you can. Cashew pieces are cheaper if you can find them, that would be great to use here.
- You can use a ¼ teaspoon of turmeric to make it yellow, if desired.
- This will result in about 11 tablespoons (10.8 tablespoons) of vegan butter. Around 152g, a standard ½ cup stick of butter is 8 tablespoons.
- If you find the vegan butter doesn’t firm up as much as it should after being in the fridge you can pop it in the freezer for a few hours. This could be due to your fridge being a little warmer it isn’t a big deal.
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How long does the butter last in the fridge?
Hi Amber! I covered that in the FAQ section. I would say 4 to 5 days to be on the safe side since there are no preservatives.
could it stay longer in the freezer
Hi Robin, by stay do you mean will it last longer in the freezer or can it just stay in the freezer until ready to use?
Is it possible to use another type of oil and nut/seed?
I am trying to purchase local ingredients and since it is a recipe I will probably use everyday I think it is something worth exploring.
I love your recipes by the way! ❤️
Hi Gabrielle, you could potentially try using almonds without the skin. The coconut oil is important in helping the recipe set. This recipe was designed with specific ingredients in mind so I don’t entirely have substitutes I am sorry! thank you <3
I would like to keep most of it in the freezer and just take out the amount I need for 5 days. How long does it take to thaw if I take it out of the freezer?
Hi sure, not very long about 15 to 20 minutes, possibly even sooner depending on how warm your house is!
Thank you!!!
This butter taste like straight up yogurt. It’s disgusting.
Hi Adria, I am very sorry to hear you didn’t like the recipe. I appreciate you taking the time to try it. I didn’t find it had a yogurt taste and neither did anyone I shared it with but of course we are all different!
Did you use plain unsweetened yogurt? Because that could cause a yogurt flavor if you didn’t. Mine came out perfectly buttery.
I like the fact that the recipe had a lesser amount of coconut oil than others I have tried. Texture is fine, melts like butter. It doesn’t have a lot of buttery flavour but that’s what I like about it as I don’t like the taste of dairy butter. The quantity is good, not too much. I did put it in the freezer overnight but have kept it in the fridge for at least 2 weeks now and it is still fine. I am not vegan so used regular unsweetened yogourt and used avocado oil instead of olive oil as that is what I had on hand.
Hi thank you very much for trying it and taking the time to leave a comment and review. I am glad to hear you enjoyed it!
I just love this butter! it was my first time making vegan butter and it was so quick and easy. It was exactly what I was looking for and thanks to you, I no longer have to read the ingredient labels at the store because this will always be in my frig. Thank you
Hi Michele oh yay I am so happy you enjoyed it so much. Thank you for trying it and taking the time to leave a comment and review!!
Omg this recipe was soooo good!!! All of my non vegan family loved it!
Hi Melissa! I am so happy to hear that thank you so much for making it and taking the time to leave a comment!!
will this recipe act as usual butter during cooking or baking? this won’t effect the consistency or taste of my baking will it?
Hi Antonya, it should be totally fine in your cooking and baking. I used it to make a delicious banana bread!
Loved this recipe however I may keep it in my freezer because it went bad in my fridge. Could just be my fridge or the container it was in. But love the flavor!!
Hi Mary! I am so glad you enjoyed it overall. Oh no, it went bad? How long did you have it in there?
Could i please ask if i can use this butter to make Short crust or Puff pastry? or even buttercream? or will it be too soft to work with at room temperature?
Hi Varsha, that is something that I haven’t tried. I did have great success baking with it in a banana bread. If you would like to try and let me know how it turns out but I understand if you don’t want to take the risk of it not working out.
I used to do this recipe because is simply definitely the true butter ( vegan) that you should have at home. With it I make biscuits and cakes and naan bread and the results are amazing 🚀👏👏🔥
Hi Jada! thank you so much for trying it and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment/review!!
Hello! I was wondering if this vegan butter can brown? Also, have you used this butter in vegan cookies and cakes?
I have not tried browning it! But yes it works in baked goods 🙂