Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

Quick and easy vegan cream cheese frosting that’s perfect for topping or filling carrot cake, cupcakes, cookies, cinnamon rolls, whoopie pies, gingerbread, and more. Yes, it’s possible to make a great cream cheese icing that’s dairy-free, tofu-free, and nut-free (no cashews, and it's naturally gluten-free, too!).

All of the best tips and tricks to make that happen are included in the post below, so keep reading!

Ingredients You'll Need

Just 6 ingredients are needed to make this easy, from scratch frosting. I’ve added a few notes below about each of them.

Ingredient and Substitution Notes

Vegan Cream Cheese – The type of cream cheese you use is very important for this recipe to turn out well. I highly recommend using a firm, store-bought coconut oil-based cream cheese, such as Violife, NOT one that is very soft right out of the fridge.

One other important thing to keep in mind is to use a cream cheese that you like the taste of. There are many vegan cream cheese brands out there and they all have their unique flavours (and sometimes aftertastes!). Make sure you're using one that has a flavour you enjoy, powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, etc. isn't going to mask an unpleasant flavour.

Vegan Powdered Sugar – The powdered sugar in this recipe is needed to provide structure and firmness for piping and frosting your desserts with ease and cannot be replaced with liquid sweeteners or any granulated sugars. I have not tried using any alternative sugars.

Some brands use bone char to process their sugars, making them not vegan, but luckily, some don’t use this process like Wholesome Sweeteners, Trader Joe’s brand, Whole Foods’ 365 brand, and Redpath (Canadian brand). If you can’t find any of these, your best bet is to look for organic powdered sugar since organic sugar is always vegan. And note that “powdered sugar,” “confectioner’s sugar,” and “icing sugar” are all the same thing.

Salt – The cream cheese may have salt in it but I still add a little to balance the sweetness and flavours out.

Vanilla Extract – A small amount is needed for flavour.

Fresh Lemon Juice - Just a little is needed for this recipe, and it's not being used to make the frosting taste like lemon. If you add the correct amount, there will be no detectable lemon flavour. The lemon juice is used to add that classic "tang" that cream cheese frosting has. I don't find that the cream cheese on its own adds enough of it, which is why a little lemon juice is needed.

As mentioned, the lemon flavour does not come through since there is so little of it being used, but if you want to make a vegan lemon cream cheese frosting, omit the vanilla and replace it with more lemon juice. Don't add any more liquid than what is called for in the recipe, it will cause the frosting to become too thin.

Unsalted Vegan Butter – You’ll need to use firm sticks, not the spreadable type that you get in containers / tubs, they’ll make your vegan cream cheese buttercream too soft and it won't firm up.

If you can, buy unsalted butter so you control the salt. If you can’t find unsalted butter, simply omit the salt the recipe calls for. I like Melt Sticks and Becel Plant-Based Sticks, but other brands like Earth Balance will also work well.

IMPORTANT: Always make sure that your butter is slightly softened before starting, NOT melted or TOO soft. To make sure your butter is at the ideal softness, lightly press your finger into it. If it leaves a shallow indent, your butter is at the perfect temperature. If your finger sinks into the butter with barely any effort, your butter is too soft. Refrigerate it until it has firmed up and then test it again.

How to Make It

(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions at the end of this post.)

NOTE: For the best texture and consistency, a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer is best to make your frosting. If you don’t have either, you can still make it by hand, just use a wooden spoon, and keep in mind that you’ll need to beat it a little longer to get the proper texture and consistency.

If your powdered sugar has any large lumps in it, sift it before starting.

1. Add the butter and salt to a bowl and mix for a few minutes, until it's light and creamy.

2. Next, add the cream cheese and mix at low speed, just until it has mixed together with the butter, don't over-mix!

3. Next, add half of the powdered sugar and mix at low speed. When everything has been combined, add the second half of the powdered sugar.

4. Stop the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Again, don't over-mix, stop once all the ingredients have been combined.

5. Add the vanilla.

6. Add the lemon juice and mix again until everything has been incorporated into the frosting.

The final step is to chill it so it firms up since at this point, it's going to be very soft.

Scoop the frosting into an airtight container, cover and chill for at least 1 hour OR place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the frosting while it's still in the mixing bowl and place it in the refrigerator to chill and firm up for at least 1 hour.

Adding Colour

If you'd like to add colour to your frosting, use food colour gels instead of water-based food colours. Two vegan gluten-free brands to check out are AmeriColor and Chefmaster.

Gel colours are more vibrant, so you’ll use less than if you were using water-based food colours to achieve the same result. Using gels also prevents your frosting from thinning out which is something you need to be very careful with when making this recipe.

Troubleshooting

To fix frosting that's too thin after chilling:

Adding powdered sugar to a thin frosting can usually fix it, but with this recipe, that solution does not work well. You will likely need too much to fix it, making it too sweet.

My go-to, after chilling, for how to thicken it is to mix in 2 to 3 teaspoons of cornstarch or arrowroot starch, mix, and then refrigerate again until it firms back up. Don't add too much cornstarch or arrowroot or the frosting can become gritty.

To fix frosting that's too thick:

This will likely not be an issue with this recipe, but just in case it is, you can fix it by adding a very small amount of dairy-free milk, a quarter teaspoon at a time until you get the consistency you want.

How to Avoid Runny Cream Cheese Frosting

Vegan cream cheese is very different from regular cream cheese. It's much softer and never gets as firm, so to adapt and ensure this recipe works well for you, make sure to always do the following:

• Add the cream cheese to the recipe straight from the fridge. Don't let it sit at room temperature and don't soften it. Add it while it's still hard.
• Don't overbeat the mixture once the cream cheese has been added. Doing this, for some reason, makes the cream cheese runny. I tested this recipe with a few different vegan cream cheese brands and it was the same thing every time. After mixing the butter and adding the cream cheese, mix for only about 30 seconds or until it has fully mixed into the butter. Once the powdered sugar has been added, be careful not to over-mix at that stage either.
• Make sure your vegan butter is not too soft and not melted. See the Ingredient Notes and Substitutions section above for info on figuring out if your butter is at the right temperature.
• Use vegan stick butter and not margarine that comes in a container. They are too soft for this recipe.
• Don't skip the chilling time! This step cannot be skipped or your frosting will be too soft.

Don't be tempted to add extra vanilla or any other liquid to the recipe. What the recipe calls for is all it can take. If you are adding colour, use a VERY SMALL AMOUNT of a colour gel, don't use water-based colours. See above for more info on adding colour.

• Make sure your desserts are fully cooled before frosting or filling. If they are still warm, the frosting will become runny and make a mess. If you are adding it in between cake layers, add the frosting, and refrigerate the cake for 15 minutes before placing the top layer and frosting the rest of the cake. Once frosted, keep your cake in the fridge until you are ready to serve it. The one exception to this rule is cinnamon rolls since it's okay if the icing is a little runny on them, so feel free to frost them while they're still slightly warm (not hot!)
• Keep it cold! The longer the icing sits out, the softer it will get. This is just the nature of vegan cream cheese and there isn't much we can do about that, so the best thing to do is keep it cold.

What to Put It On

Use your frosting to top cakes and cupcakes (carrot, red velvet, banana cake, pumpkin, gingerbread, zucchini!) or you can also use it for filling macarons, whoopie pies, pumpkin bars, sandwich cookies, and more.

It's also the perfect non-dairy frosting for my vegan gluten-free cinnamon rolls and my vegan cinnamon rolls.

If you’re decorating with sprinkles or anything else that needs to stick to the icing, add it immediately after piping because the icing crusts a little when exposed to air and your decorations will not stick.

TIP: If you're new to cupcake decorating, I highly recommend this inexpensive cupcake decorating kit (Amazon Link) that comes with four of the most popular decorating tips as well as eight disposable decorating bags. I also recommend adding a 12" reusable piping bag to your collection.

Can It Be Used for Piping?

Yes, it's pipeable, just make sure that it's very cold. You can add the frosting to your prepared piping bag (with the tip in place), refrigerate it for 30 minutes, and then pipe.

If it gets too warm while you are piping, return the bag to the fridge for 15-20 minutes and then continue.

You can use it for piping simple designs, like the cupcakes you see in this post, but it's never going to be as firm as a buttercream.

If you are looking to make fancier, more complicated designs, I would stick to using vanilla buttercream frosting for those types of jobs.

Tips for Success

• Always make sure your butter is slightly softened before starting. To make sure it's at the right temperature, lightly press your finger into it. If it leaves a shallow indent, your butter is at the perfect temperature. If your finger sinks into the butter with barely any effort, your butter is too soft. Refrigerate it until it has firmed up.
• Use a coconut oil-based cream cheese. To be successful, this recipe really needs cream cheese that gets hard / firms up well when refrigerated. Use a coconut oil-based, store-bought vegan cream cheese for your frosting to turn out perfectly. See the Ingredient and Substitution Notes section above for more info.
• You can sift the powdered sugar if you’d like, but I usually don’t, I find that if there are any small clumps, they get taken care of during the mixing process. However, if you find that your powdered sugar is very dry and lumpy, sift it before starting for the best results.
• When adding the powdered sugar to the mixing bowl, start the mixer at the slowest speed and add it gradually so it doesn’t fly everywhere.
• After you add the cream cheese to the mixing bowl, DON'T OVER MIX! Over-mixing vegan cream cheese makes it runny. After it has been added to the bowl with the butter, mix for only 30 seconds or enough time for it to incorporate with the butter. After the icing sugar has been added, resist the urge to whip it for too long. This recipe is not the same as other frostings and cannot withstand long mixing times.
• Don't skip the chilling time! This step cannot be skipped or your frosting will be too soft.

REMEMBER: Since this frosting contains cream cheese, you will need to refrigerate any dessert you put it on (or in), it cannot be kept out at room temperature for food safety. Before serving, you can let your dessert sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.

Tips for Success (Continued)

• Don’t be afraid to use a piping bag and tips to decorate your dessert. They may seem intimidating, but they aren’t difficult to use. I used a Wilton 1M piping tip to decorate the cupcakes you see in the images on this page. I recommend investing in this inexpensive cupcake decorating kit (Amazon Link) (the 1M tip comes with it!)
• Stop and refrigerate any time you feel the frosting has gotten too soft. It will get too soft if it sits out for too long. Don't be afraid to place the bowl or your piping bag into the fridge for 20-30 minutes to firm it back up.
• Keep your cream cheese frosted dessert in the fridge until you are ready to serve if it's a very warm day, return leftovers to the fridge after serving.
• Read this post from beginning to end before making the recipe, it contains lots of tips and tricks on how to make the perfect vegan cream cheese icing, every single time!
• For the very best results, follow the recipe exactly as it’s written, don’t reduce the amount of powdered sugar, vegan butter, or vegan cream cheese the recipe calls for, and don’t use cream cheese that does not get very firm/hard when refrigerated.

If You Make This Recipe...

Let me know how things went by leaving a comment and star rating below. If you’re on Instagram, I’d love to see what you topped with the icing! Share a pic over there and tag me (@delightfuladventures).

And If You Like This Recipe...

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