If you’ve ever looked at the ingredients on store-bought vegan butter, you’ll notice a long list of things you probably wouldn’t use at home: preservatives, gums, emulsifiers, artificial colours and palm oil. This recipe is different. It’s made from simple, real ingredients you can trust, and you can whip it up with just a few minutes of hands-on time.
The beauty of making your own is that you can control exactly what goes in. Want less salt for babies and toddlers? Easy. Prefer a richer colour or extra flavour? Just add a touch more turmeric or nutritional yeast. It spreads, melts and even bakes like regular butter, but with no hidden extras. Plus, it’s budget-friendly and eco-friendly since you’re not buying single-use tubs every week.
Once you try this homemade version, it’s hard to go back. Creamy, wholesome, and customisable for the whole family – it’s one of those little swaps that feels like a big win.
FAQ: Homemade Vegan Butter
Can I bake with this butter?
Yes! This homemade vegan butter works in most baking recipes just like store-bought. It’s great for cookies, cakes and muffins. For recipes that rely heavily on butter structure (like laminated pastry or puff pastry), store-bought may hold better, but for everyday baking, this works beautifully.
Does it taste like dairy butter?
It’s very close! The coconut oil gives it that creamy, rich texture, while the olive oil and refined avocado oil balance out the flavour. The little bit of vinegar and optional nutritional yeast help give it a buttery tang. Most people wouldn’t know the difference spread on toast.
Can I use different oils?
Yes. Refined avocado oil can be subbed for cold-pressed avocado oil (it just has a greener tint), or you could sub with another neutral oil like grapeseed or sunflower oil if that’s what you have. Just make sure you’re using a neutral or mild oil so the flavour doesn’t overpower the butter. You can also sub the extra virgin olive oil with refined olive oil if you don’t like the slight hint of olive that olive oil brings to this.
The refined/deodorised coconut oil however, is a non-negotiable for this. The coconut oil is what causes this recipe to set once it cools, and the refined coconut oil means it doesn’t have the coconut flavour (but if you like that and want coconut butter, go for it and use regular extra virgin coconut oil!).
How long does it last?
Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, it will last up to 2 weeks. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months – just let it soften at room temperature before using.
Is this baby and toddler friendly?
Yes! The best part about homemade butter is that you can control the salt. For babies under 12 months, you can leave it out completely. For toddlers and adults, just add to taste.
Can I make it soy free?
Definitely. You can swap the soy milk for oat milk or another unsweetened plant milk. Soy gives the best emulsification, but oat works almost as well.
Homemade Vegan Butter
Ingredients
- 125 ml refined coconut oil (melted)
- 60 ml olive oil
- 60 ml refined avocado oil (or other neutral oils)
- 60 ml soy milk (unsweetened, room temp to prevent the butter splitting)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
- ½ tsp sea salt (omit for babies under 12 months)
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- ⅛ tsp turmeric
Instructions
- Mix the soy milk and apple cider vinegar together and let sit for at least 5 minutes until slightly thickened. This step is essential as it creates a buttermilk texture and helps the butter emulsify properly.
- Melt the coconut oil until just liquid and not hot (or leave to cool slightly).
- Add the soy milk mixture, melted coconut oil, olive oil, refined avocado oil, salt, nutritional yeast, and turmeric to a blender or use an immersion stick blender. Blend until completely smooth and creamy.
- Pour into a container and place in the fridge until almost set.
- Use an immersion stick blender to whip the butter into a fluffy soft consistency This is optional, but makes it lighter and softer. If your mix splits, this is the easiest fix: let it cool in the fridge until semi-solid, then blend again while still soft. Then place back in the fridge to firm up fully.
- Enjoy however you like!
Storage
Keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.Notes
• Always use room temperature milk so the oils and milk blend properly. Cold milk with warm coconut oil can cause splitting (see the immersion blender note on how to resolve this in case yours spilts).
• Letting the soy milk and vinegar sit for a few minutes is really important. Mixing soy milk with vinegar is just like making buttermilk. It thickens the milk slightly and helps the oils blend in smoothly, so your butter sets creamy instead of splitting.
• For a brighter yellow butter, increase turmeric to ¼ tsp.
Nutrition - Per Serving
FAQ: Homemade Vegan Butter
Can I bake with this butter?
Yes! This homemade vegan butter works in most baking recipes just like store bought. It’s great for cookies, cakes and muffins. For recipes that rely heavily on butter structure (like laminated pastry or puff pastry), store bought may hold better, but for everyday baking this works beautifully.
Does it taste like dairy butter?
It’s very close! The coconut oil gives it that creamy, rich texture, while the olive oil and grapeseed oil balance out the flavour. The little bit of vinegar and optional nutritional yeast help give it a buttery tang. Most people wouldn’t know the difference spread on toast.
Can I use different oils?
Yes. Grapeseed oil can be swapped for avocado oil, or even sunflower oil if that’s what you have. Just make sure you’re using a neutral or mild oil so the flavour doesn’t overpower the butter. You can also sub the extra virgin olive oil with refined olive oil if you don’t like the slight hint of olive that olive oil brings to this.
The refined/deodorised coconut oil however is a non-negotiable for this. The coconut oil is what causes this recipe to set once it cools, and the refined coconut oil means it doesn’t have the coconut flavour (but if you like that and want coconut butter, go for it and use regular extra virgin coconut oil!).
How long does it last?
Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, it will last up to 2 weeks. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months – just let it soften at room temperature before using.
Is this baby and toddler friendly?
Yes! The best part about homemade butter is that you can control the salt. For babies under 12 months, you can leave it out completely. For toddlers and adults, just add to taste.
Can I make it soy-free?
Definitely. You can swap the soy milk for oat milk or another unsweetened plant milk. Soy gives the best emulsification, but oat works almost as well.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a comment below to let me know what your little one thought! Until next time, keep an eye on our Instagram page for our latest recipes and ideas.
20 Comments
Can I use any other plant based milk besides soy?
Yes you can! Theres some more info in the FAQ section in this post too ☺️
What’s are the nutritional values of the vegan butter, please, so that I can compare them to regular butter. Thanks!
Hi, I haven’t done the macros or calories on this as we don’t tend to do that for our child. You can however add them to an easy counter based off which brands you specifically use.
I absolutely loved this recipe. It’s just perfect in every way. I will be making it on repeat from now on. Thank you so much for sharing! Ps for non vegan readers, this has 30% less saturated fat than butter so definitely worth a try.
Ah thank you so much Barbara, I am so happy to heat you liked it! And definitely a must-try, vegan or not xx
Does the coconut oil give it a strong coconut flavor? Can I use MCT or another oil, or do you need coconut oil to make it set?
Hi, this uses refined coconut oil so there is no coconut flavour, but it does need to be this or normal coconut oil so that it sets solid once it cools.
Can I use normal vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar? And if I use lemon juice, then what’s the measurements?
The ACV has a bit of the right umami like tang, lemon would be the best sub as white vinegar can taste too harsh. Same measurements will work!
Would love to try this! Would it work with almond milk? I’ve been making my own instead of buying other plant milks.
It should work well here, if it separates, just follow the steps for using an emulsion stick blender to bring it back together 🙂
I love this recipe! Can this butter also be used to make brown butter?
I haven’t personally tried, but it should!
Would like to try it. Is it necessary to use nutritional yeast?
No, you can leave that out, it just adds a slight umami hit 🙂
Love what you’re doing! Going to try this today! I love butter and giving that up has been the hardest about going vegan and I’m extremely happy that this recipe is so easy and I just have to make it twice a month! Thank you so much 💝
So happy to hear you’ve found something you can replace it with! Hope you enjoy 🙂
The recipe doesn’t say grapseed oil but then you talk about adding grapeseed oil? Is grapeseed oil neccessary?
Sorry thats a typo, the grapeseed is an alternative to refined avocado oil, either can be used depending on your preference!