Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe (2024)

Do you dream of a luscious, tangy vegan cream cheese frosting that actually holds its shape? This 4-ingredient recipe delivers a fluffy, decadent frosting, perfect for all your favorite vegan cakes, cupcakes, and more. It’s so simple to make, you’ll be frosting everything, like plant-based carrot cake or egg-free red velvet cake!

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As you can tell, I have a passion for vegan sweets. And if you’re making sweets, well, there’s nothing like adding a smear of vegan cream cheese icing on top!

Why I Love It: I’ve struggled with flimsy vegan cream cheese frostings far too often. But this recipe is a game-changer! The texture is spot-on, mirroring that classic cream cheese frosting we all know and love. It pipes beautifully and stays firm – the perfect frosting for all your vegan baking adventures.

Ingredients & Substitutions

You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.

I finally cracked the vegan cream cheese nut to get the perfect texture and flavor. So, let’s get to it! Here are the ingredients in this recipe for cream cheese frosting:

• Vegan Butter:Look for sticks of vegan butter (like Earth Balance) in the refrigerated dairy section,not the spreadable kind.You can always make homemade vegan butter if you can’t find it in the stores. Don’t want to use vegan butter? Replace it with refined coconut oil. Coconut oil cream cheese frosting tastes great, but it may not hold its shape quite well, especially in the heat. Be sure to keep it refrigerated.
• Vegetable Shortening:Shortening helps make the frosting firm and stable.You’ll find it near the oils in the baking aisle.
• Vegan Cream Cheese:Choose plain vegan cream cheese (like Tofutti or Kite Hill) for the best results.Find this in the refrigerated section in the health food section of most grocery stores or health food stores.
• Powdered Sugar:Also known as confectioner’s sugar or icing sugar.Store-bought is the way to go here!
• Lemon Juice:Provides a hint of tartness to balance out the sweetness.Freshly squeezed is best,but bottled will work too.
• Vanilla-flavored plant-based milk:Any plant-based milk will work (almond,soy,etc.).Use vanilla flavored for an extra flavor boost or substitute with plain milk and a touch of vanilla extract.

Making Thick Frosting

Many complaints about non-dairy cream cheese frosting center on the fact that vegan cream cheese has a funny texture when added to frostings. Even though it may seem thick in the container, vegan cream cheese can actually become runny when added to the frosting. To solve this dilemma, I’ve reduced the amount of vegan cream cheese used in this recipe. We’ll use just enough to add a distinct flavor.

In addition, we’ll be using some vegetable shortening to increase the thickness of this frosting. This frosting works — it creates a thick dairy-free cream cheese frosting that even keeps its shape after piping it on cupcakes!

That’s it for this vegan cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

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