If you've made any of my cake recipes, you can probably guess that dairy free cream cheese frosting is my favorite type of frosting. I love the way the tang from cream cheese cuts a little bit of the sweetness of American buttercream frosting. Plus this dairy-free version is perfect for those with dairy allergies or following plant-based diets.
This easy vegan cream cheese frosting works great for decorating. Apply it with a spatula or a piping bag. This recipe makes the perfect amount of frosting for a layer cake, 9x13 sheet cake or 24 cupcakes.
This creamy frosting is used in several of my most popular cake recipes, like my gluten free carrot cake, my gluten free carrot cake cupcakes, and my gluten free strawberry cake. I also find it pairs wonderfully with chocolate cakes and citrus flavors.
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Ingredient Notes
This vegan frosting recipe uses just four simple ingredients to make the perfect cream cheese frosting.
- Vegan Cream Cheese - I prefer Miyokos brand of vegan cream cheese for the consistency, but it does have a very strong cream cheese flavor which bothers some people. I have tried several other vegan cream cheese brands in this recipe (Violife, Kite Hill, and Tofutti) and all have worked fine. Some of them do create a wetter consistency in frosting, giving it a little bit of a separated look. It's easily resolved by adding a little extra powdered sugar until it looks normal.
- Vegan Butter - I use either Country Crock Plant Butter of Miyokos Vegan Butter in all of my recipes but any brand of vegan butter will work fine. Just avoid vegan margarine as it contains too much water. You will want to make sure your butter is at room temperature before mixing.
- Powdered Sugar / Confectioner's Sugar - If you're making a vegan butter cream, ensure your powdered sugar is vegan as well. For dairy free, any powdered sugar will work. Always sift your powdered sugar to avoid any lumps in the finished frosting.
- Vanilla Extract - A little bit of vanilla enhances the flavors of this cream cheese frosting.
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities.
How to make Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Frosting
Homemade frosting is very simple to make with dairy free ingredients. I do recommend using a stand mixer of handheld mixer to make things easier.
STEP 1: Combine the vegan cream cheese and vegan butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
STEP 2: Add the vanilla. Then turn the mixer to low speed and add in the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time.
STEP 3: Once the sugar is incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium high and beat for 5 minutes until the frosting is fluffy and lighter in color.
Decorating with Cream Cheese Frosting
If your frosting comes out with small air bubbles, you will need to knock those down with a spatula. Just press the frosting down, working through the whole batch until the air bubbles are reduced. This will let you get a smooth finish when frosting a cake.
After the frosting has been prepared, use it to frost your favorite layer cake or cupcakes!
How to use this dairy free frosting:
Here are some of my favorite cakes that use dairy free cream cheese frosting.
If you try this recipe, please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.
Recipe
Dairy Free Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Vegan Butter room temperature
- 8 ounces Vegan Cream Cheese
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 4 Cups Powdered Sugar sifted
Instructions
- Combine the vegan butter and vegan cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until smooth. Scrape down the bowl.½ Cup Vegan Butter, 8 ounces Vegan Cream Cheese
- Add in the vanilla and mix for 30 seconds more.1 teaspoon Vanilla
- Then turn the mixer to the lowest speed and add the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time.4 Cups Powdered Sugar
- Once all of the sugar has been incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium high and beat for 5 minutes until the frosting is fluffy and lighter in color.
- If you have noticeable air bubbles in the finished frosting, knock them down with a spatula before decorating your cake.
Notes
Tiffany is the recipe developer, stylist and food photographer behind Well Fed Baker. As a lifelong baker who had to go gluten free and dairy free in 2016, Tiffany strives to share allergen friendly recipes that never feel like they are free from anything.
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