You may have gotten a handle on baking vegan cakes, but don’t leave your baked goods undressed! These easy vegan frosting recipes are simple to make, taste delicious, and will bring your cakes, cookies, and cupcakes to the next level.
1. Simple Vegan Vanilla Frosting by Loving It Vegan
Everyone needs a basic vanilla frosting recipe to dress up their birthday cupcakes, layer tiered cakes, frost a strawberry shortcake, or jazz up a simple chocolate cake. Using only four staple ingredients, you can whip up this frosting in just a few minutes. Despite its simplicity, this vanilla frosting is delicious!
You’ll need to use an electric mixer to achieve the ideal smoothness and creaminess you’re looking for in a frosting, but it’s worth the effort. Note that while this frosting has a very smooth consistency, perfect for spreading on cakes and cookies, it may not be stiff enough to pipe flowers and stars as decorations.
2. Easiest Buttercream Frosting by Cooking on Caffeine
This is the recipe you want to use to pipe your cupcakes and decorate your cakes. Customize the recipe by adding food coloring or flavor extracts to match your cake to a tablescape or party theme or complement a cake flavor.
The recipe offers a lot of helpful advice to achieve the color and consistency you’re looking for in the buttercream frosting. Follow the recipe’s tips on using the right temperature of vegan butter and the correct mixing time.
3. Vegan Royal Icing by The Hidden Veggies
What’s a sugar cookie without the icing – but what’s a royal icing without eggs? Vegans and kids with egg allergies will love this recipe to ice and decorate their cookies!
Not only is it completely vegan, but it doesn’t use any complicated substitutions or commercial products.
Add an optional flavoring or food coloring of your choice to create your cookie masterpiece.
4. Vegan Chocolate Frosting by Ashley Adams
Vegan chocolate-lovers can have their frosting and eat it too! This easy one-bowl recipe produces a thick frosting that you can spread on cakes as a topping or use as a filling between layers on a tiered cake. You can also use the frosting in a piping bag with a tip to decorate cakes.
If your vegan butter has a base of coconut oil, the frosting may soften quickly. You can put the frosting in the fridge before using it on your cake. It will become more firm as it gets cold. To produce a firmer and thicker frosting, look for vegan butter with a cocoa butter base instead.
As with many vegan frosting recipes, rice, almond, and soy milk can be used interchangeably. However, avoid using the flavored kinds of milk as they may change the taste of this frosting.
5. Vegan Sugar Glaze Recipe by Vegan Baking
Glaze cinnamon buns, pastries, and cakes with this versatile and easy vegan glaze recipe. This glaze is thinner and more viscous than a traditional frosting which makes it perfect for drizzling over baked goods.
If you do a lot of baking, keep it in the fridge for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to six months so you’ll always have a topping on hand.
6. Vegan Aquafaba Frosting by Halfway Homesteaders
There are only four ingredients in this vegan frosting, which uses aquafaba to achieve the fluffy frosting consistency.
Most vegan cooks, or those with egg allergies, are already familiar with aquafaba, the liquid from canned chickpeas. When you whip up the liquid, it will foam up, similar to the way egg whites stiffen when whipped. Many vegan baking recipes use aquafaba in place of eggs as it makes an excellent substitute.
When making this frosting recipe, keep in mind that you’ll need to whip the aquafaba for a long time until it foams. You might want to use a standing mixer instead of a hand mixer.
The whipped aquafaba also won’t last long, so it’s best to make the frosting just before serving the desserts. If the frosting stays out for a while, it may start to run.
7. Easy Vanilla Blender Cashew Icing by Eating by Elaine
Make this creamy and delicious vegan icing in your blender. There’s no need to take out your heavy mixer for this easy recipe.
This icing is thinner than some other frostings and won’t pipe well. Use it to frost cookies or to drizzle over buns or pies rather than to spread over cakes. You can refrigerate the icing for a few hours or overnight to thicken it, though it won’t reach the consistency of a thick frosting.
The blender icing uses cashews as its base and maple syrup as the sweetener. For the best results, soak your cashews before using them for this recipe. Refrigerate any leftovers.
8. Vegan Peanut Butter Frosting by Joy Food Sunshine
Frost vegan brownies, cookies, and birthday cakes with this dairy-free vegan peanut butter frosting.
Make this delicious frosting in one bowl with either a mixer or by hand for a fast, easy, and delectable dessert topping.
9. Vegan Nut-Free Cream Cheese Frosting by Detox Inista
What’s the secret to this creamy frosting that doesn’t use dairy, eggs, nuts, or soy? Surprisingly, the answer is a potato! This frosting is perfect for vegans who are allergic to nuts or soy.
The healthy recipe uses maple syrup, coconut oil, and apple cider vinegar to give the frosting the sweetness and creaminess you would expect to find on your cake.
10. 5 Minute Vegan Chocolate Frosting by Robust Recipes
With just four basic ingredients and five minutes of your time, your homemade vegan chocolate frosting will be ready to eat.
This recipe produces a thick chocolate ganache-like frosting that you can spread over cakes, cookies, donuts, and brownies, pipe onto cupcakes, or use as a filling between cake layers.
You can make this frosting in one bowl by hand and keep your mixer clean.
11. Vegan Buttercream Frosting by Wilton
Use this basic buttercream frosting to pipe flowers and star decorations on cakes. You can thin the frosting a bit with some almond or soy milk to frost cakes and cookies.
Add your preferred flavorings or coloring, and this buttercream frosting will be your go-to recipe for any cake.
12. Coconut Cream Vegan Frosting by Cotter Crunch
This vegan frosting uses coconut cream, making it an ideal option for those with nut, soy, and dairy allergies. It’s quick and easy to make – and paleo-friendly too.
Make sure you use coconut cream and not coconut milk for this recipe. Place the cans of coconut cream in the fridge the night before you make the recipe to allow the cream to harden. The solid cream will whip up to a fluffy and light frosting.
You can add flavors or coloring to the recipe to take your cakes up a notch.
13. Vegan Coconut Frosting by Bohemian Vegan Kitchen
This coconut frosting uses coconut oil, not milk or cream. With just three simple ingredients, you can whip up this recipe in no time.
Use soft coconut oil, vanilla extract or a flavoring of your choice, powdered sugar, and water to make a white frosting. Add some cocoa powder to the sugar and turn the frosting chocolate-flavored. The coconut won’t overpower the flavor.
Note that this coconut frosting will melt in the heat. Make sure the frosted cake stays cool before serving so the frosting won’t melt off of it.
14. Vegan Ermine Frosting by The Viet Vegan
The Ermine frosting is thick and creamy, perfect for slathering on a red velvet or pumpkin cake. It uses flour and almond milk to form a roux as a base. You’ll need to heat the roux and use a pot for the recipe, but the directions are easy to follow and quick to make.
The recipe calls for vanilla flavoring, as it’s meant to frost a pumpkin cake, but you can add other flavorings that will complement your dessert.
15. Mylk Chocolate Vegan Frosting by Go Dairy Free
Use this versatile vegan chocolate frosting on cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. It works well with white and chocolate cake batters.
It’s free from most common allergens and a safe choice for kids’ birthday parties and schools.
16. White Chocolate Frosting by Boy and the Rabbit
Although this recipe has this frosting paired with a raspberry teacake, it can go with any cake or pastry.
It uses melted vegan white chocolate chips for a decadent frosting. You may even eat it without the cake!
17. Avocado Chocolate Frosting by Nest and Glow
The Avocado Chocolate Frosting recipe used on this cake recipe is healthy, vegan, and easy to make. Blend all of the ingredients in one bowl in just a few minutes.
Use soft avocados to achieve the creamy consistency of frosting. If your avocados are hard, place them in a paper bag for a day or two until they soften. Hard avocados won’t whip up well. To keep your cake healthy, top the frosting with berries or sliced fruit. It will look and taste divine.
18. Salted Coconut Oil Frosting by Veggie and the Beast Feast
The Salted Coconut Oil Frosting used in this recipe’s sweet potato cupcakes works well with carrot cake and chocolate cake as well.
The coconut oil whips up well, and the consistency will allow you to use it in a piping bag to decorate cakes and cupcakes.
19. Vegan Frosting with Silken Tofu by TofuBud
Silken tofu is a quick and easy frosting that requires only 4 ingredients, and you can make it under 5 minutes!
It has a smooth and soft texture. When blended, it turns into a creamy consistency, perfect for frosting. Add sugar or flavorings to the blended tofu and spread it on cupcakes or cakes.
20. Date-Sweetened Chocolate Frosting by Minimalist Baker
Dates, cashew butter, and cocoa partner together in this rich but healthy vegan frosting. The recipe uses only five ingredients and is easy to make.
The frosting will be soft, but you can refrigerate it for an hour or more to make it firmer. Freeze the unused frosting to always have a healthy frosting option on hand.
21. Vegan Marshmallow Frosting by Living Beyond Allergies
Use vegan marshmallows to create this fun and sweet frosting recipe. You can pipe it onto cupcakes or spread it as a frosting. You can use marshmallow fluff instead of melting the marshmallows, but take note that marshmallow fluff may contain egg whites.
This frosting is perfect for anyone with various allergies and other dietary concerns, as it has a long list of excluded ingredients to ensure it is safe to eat for a broad range of people.
22. Vegan Strawberry Buttercream Frosting by Make it Dairy Free
What could be better than a pink vegan frosting with natural ingredients? This frosting uses strawberry puree and strawberry extract to give the frosting its delightful color and color.
Blend the four ingredients to make this sweet frosting, perfect for a princess’s birthday cake, mother’s day, valentines day, or as a change from the typical vanilla or chocolate frosting.
It pairs well with chocolate or white cake, and top it with fresh strawberries for a special touch.
23. Healthy Vegan Chocolate Frosting by The Loopy Whisk
A healthy, easy, three-ingredient chocolate frosting recipe isn’t a dream! With just avocados, cocoa, and honey or maple syrup, you can make a delicious and healthy frosting.
Use soft avocados to ensure a creamy frosting, and add more honey or syrup if you want the frosting to taste a little sweeter. The consistency will be silky, similar to a ganache or a pudding. While it won’t pipe well, it will spread over a cake beautifully.
24. Vegan Royal Icing by This Wife Cooks
Make this easy vegan royal icing to decorate cookies. The icing is a little thick, but you can thin it with a teaspoon or two of water. Thicken the icing by adding more powdered sugar.
Although the recipe uses almond extract, adjust the flavor to suit your tastes by using vanilla, peppermint, or lemon zest instead. Add food coloring if you’d like, and have fun decorating your cookies in vegan style!
25. Healthy Vegan Frosting by The Big Man’s World
This recipe uses applesauce and coconut oil as the liquid, which gives the frosting its creaminess without using unhealthy ingredients.
To thicken the frosting, refrigerate it for an hour, or add a little cornstarch or coconut flour. Use a little more applesauce to make the frosting thinner.
You can store this frosting in the fridge for later use or freeze it for up to two months.
26. Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting by Love and Lemons
Made from vegan cream cheese, this rich frosting complements sweet and savory muffins, cakes, and pastries.
Use your favorite brand of vegan cream cheese and adjust the sugar in the recipe according to your preference.
Give your palate a treat by using this frosting on carrot cake, zucchini muffins, or brownies.
27. Vegan Caramel Buttercream Frosting by Pies and Tacos
Is there anything more enticing than caramel frosting? The recipe includes instructions on how to make the caramel sauce from coconut cream and coconut oil. The caramel sauce is then used to make caramel frosting.
This recipe involves a few more steps than some other recipes, but the taste is well worth the short wait.
28. Vegan Espresso Buttercream Frosting by Crumbs and Caramel
This espresso frosting is the ideal topping for a rich chocolate cake. The frosting uses instant espresso powder for the flavor and vegan butter as the frosting base. Use vegan butter sticks, not the tub of butter, for this recipe.
Beat all the ingredients for the frosting in one bowl. When it’s smooth and creamy,
Easy Vegan Frosting Recipes, Final Thoughts
Eating vegan doesn’t mean sacrificing the best part of the cake! Frosting and glazes add so much to both the aesthetics and the taste of baked goods. With vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, coconut, and more, there are so many simple and delicious vegan frosting recipes.