Easy Vegan Butter Recipe [No Soy]

This unbelievably easy vegan butter recipe is creamy, rich and spreadable and comes together quickly in a blender. This vegan butter is ideal for spreading on toast, scones or dolloped over roasted vegetables; it melts beautifully and contains no palm oil, no soy and no dairy of any kind. Makes approximately 250ml.

Jump to:

• Why This Recipe Works
• Ingredient & Substitution Guide
• Step by Step Guide
• How to Use Homemade Vegan Butter
• Storage
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Easy Vegan Butter Recipe (European Style, No Soy)

Why This Recipe Works

Although I have used them in the past, conventional vegan butter replacements aren't always that great. They often contain hydrogenated oils (making them margarine instead of butter) and the non-hydrogenated versions often contain palm oil, which is linked to rain forest destruction.

Thankfully, vegan butter is easy to make at home and yields a final product similar to dairy butter—spreadable, creamy, smooth and rich tasting. Moreover, if you're not into soy, this recipe contains no soy products.

Ingredient & Substitution Guide

• Raw cashews: these create the foundation for this recipe. Cashews are creamy, neutral tasting and, when blended with a small amount of liquid, create a thick viscosity similar to dairy cream.

• Unsweetened almond milk: this is one of the liquid portions in the recipe and will help make the recipe creamy and smooth. Unsweetened almond milk works best for this recipe, however, I have also made it with coconut milk—this does change the flavour somewhat.

• Apple cider vinegar: this creates the tangy "cultured" or fermented flavour which you find with European or cultured butters. It also aids with emulsifying the recipe. You can use regular white vinegar, however, this can make the final recipe a bit more "sharp" tasting.

• Sea salt: this recipe calls for either ¼ or ½ teaspoon of sea salt. You can adjust the amount depending on your personal preference or taste. If you want a salted butter, go for a ½ teaspoon.

• Nutritional yeast: this helps create a rich depth of flavour which mimics cultured butter. It also adds a hint of cream colour to the final product.

• Extra virgin olive oil: this adds smoothness and density to the final recipe. It also helps the recipe set up nicely.

• Coconut oil: this also adds smoothness and density to the final recipe and helps it set up. The flavour of coconut oil will not come through in the final product so long as you use refined coconut oil.

Step by Step Guide

This recipe comes together in about 5 minutes and requires about 35-40 minutes of setting time. A high power blender is necessary to ensure the cashews blend into a creamy consistency and the liquid components emulsify. For the full detailed instructions, see the recipe card further down the post.

1. In a high power blender add the cashews, non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar and blend into a smooth, creamy consistency.
2. Add in the sea salt, nutritional yeast, olive oil and liquid coconut oil and blend until smooth and emulsified.
3. Pour the mixture in a freezer and refrigerator safe mold.
4. Place the mold in the freezer for 15 minutes to set. After the elapsed time, move it to the fridge for another 20-30 minutes to finish setting up.

How to Use Homemade Vegan Butter

My vegan butter recipe is perfect spreading and melting applications. I like to enjoy this recipe on:

• steamed vegetables
• cooked potatoes (mashed or roasted)
• scones, muffins or toast
• pancakes or waffles

If you're looking for recipes to slather this vegan butter on, you can try it on a toasted slide of my maple oat spelt bread, on a slab of my rosemary date and walnut bread, or harvest apple crunch loaf.

This vegan butter isn't ideal for baking. Other vegan butters contain lecithin (not as scary as it sounds) which ultimately helps the butter hold a shape at room temp and allow it whip and hold a shape and stand up to cooking. Nevertheless, I have used this recipe for cooking, so long as it's not at high heat, otherwise, the cashew component will burn.

Storage

This recipe should last about 5 days when kept covered in the fridge. This vegan butter must stay refrigerated when not in use; it is not stable nor safe to keep it at room temperature.

After prepping the butter mixture, pour it into fridge safe mold or container with a lid. My preference is to use a sterile 250ml mason jar with a lid as a mold which also doubles as a storage container. Alternatively, a silicone ice cube tray can work, however, once it is set, transfer the portions from the silicon mold to a fridge safe container with a fitted lid.

For information on safe food handling and storage, please visit: the Government of Canada Food Safety website, USDA Food Safety Inspection Agency website or your country's official food safety website.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you made my Easy Vegan Butter recipe please leave me a comment below with a star rating; it really helps others who are interested in making the recipe. For more from The Simple Green, follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest. Consider becoming a subscriber to receive emails of new recipes and posts.