Perfect Vegan Buttercream Icing Recipe (3-ingredient, Pipable, Healthy Coloring Options)

A perfect vegan buttercream icing recipe with only three ingredients, easily pipable, and with options to create colored frostings using whole healthy unprocessed foods.

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Perfect Vegan Buttercream Icing Recipe (3-ingredient, Pipable, Healthy Colors)

Isn’t a cupcake with piped frosting a cheery sight?

Not terrifically important in the scheme of things in life, but a glance at a prettily frosted cupcake just makes me smile. And a smile can help the day feel better, and maybe make someone else’s day feel better.

So maybe a prettily frosted cupcake IS an important thing.

Well, whether it is or not, I have been putting in major efforts this past year with experimentation of butters and coconut cream and all sorts. Sometimes successful as you would see if you searched frosting on my blog. But not always successfully repeated, and sometimes success is too dependent on a brand of coconut cream or other ingredient, and almost always the ingredient list was tooo long.

And if you know me at all by now, you know I have an aversion to long ingredient lists.

6-ingredients?

I begin to get nervous.

10-ingredients, I nearly pass-out, haha.

Well, no need to worry here, I worked out the perfect pipable frosting with only 3-ingredients!

And the ingredient that makes this frosting so repeatable is the use of organic shortening.

The Shortening to Use is Organic

Organic shortening, such as the brands I suggest in the ingredient list, is lighter and less greasy than butter or coconut oil, and more of a blank slate regarding flavor so you can more easily influence that with additions such as chocolate, tea, berries, etc.

Now, make no mistake, when I say shortening, I do NOT mean that poison that begins with “C” of yester-unhealthy-baking-year — I mean an organic, sustainably harvested, fair-trade, non-GMO, non-hydrogenated (NO trans fats) version, process without hexane or other dangerous chemicals, and whose source is coconut and other plants.

I provide two brand options in the ingredient list below!

The only caution I give you is the color of the shortening you purchase. If you want a white frosting, be careful to choose a whiter shortening.

Some, such as the one with healthy red palm, are yellow, and thus are perfect for all other colors, especially yellow! I hope you are doing a happy dance right now!

I also used this icing recipe on a Lemon Personal Cake I made posted here!

If you are yearning however for a vegan frosting recipe that is pipable but uses actual butter, I’ve got you covered right here:

Fruit-colored Vegan Buttercream Frosting (4-ingredients)

I hope you have a fine time frosting cupcakes using either recipe.

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4.41 from 5 votes

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Perfect Vegan Buttercream Icing Recipe (3-ingredient, Pipable, Healthy Coloring Options)

The best dairy-free vegan buttercream icing recipe, plus all the ingredients needed to make healthy colored frosting with flavors as in chocolate, pink, green and more.. This recipe makes 2 1/2 cups of frosting, good for 12-16 cupcakes or one two-layer cake.

Course Dessert

Cuisine vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free

Keyword buttercream, colored, frosting, healthy, vegan

Does it keep? 1-week refrigerated

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 16 servings

Calories 201 kcal

Author Dee Dine

Ingredients

For White Pipable Icing

• 3 cups vegan powdered sugar (vegan means no bone-char) (I use this vegan, fair trade brand)
• 1 cup organic shortening (or use Earth Balance vegan butter)
• 2 tbsp plant milk

Useful Equipment

• 1 Piping Tip Kit (I use this brand)

Natural Healthy Colors and Flavors

• Chocolate needs 2 tbsp cacao powder (or black cocoa powder) and possible a tsp more of milk
• Pink needs 1 tsp beetroot powder (I use this brand)
• Green needs 2 tsp ceremonial grade matcha (I use this brand)
• Yellow needs organic shortening with red palm (I use this brand)
• Purple needs blueberries blended smooth in a bit of water
• Vanilla needs 1 tsp vanilla powder

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To Make Base Frosting

1. Make sure all ingredients are at room temperture. Then, using a mixer, blend up shortening.

2. Once smooth, gradually add sugar one cup at a time. Beat until smooth before adding another cup.

3. If your frosting isn't smooth, but more dry and stiff, add tsps of plant milk to soften it. I added 2 tsps to my result. Whether you will need milk depends on the dryness of the brands of sugar and shortening you use.

4. A sturdy creamy texture is important for piping. If the frosting is too stiff, the piped edges will crack. If the frosting is too fluid, the piping shape won't hold.

5. Cover frosting with a soaking-wet paper towel until you are ready to pipe.

To Make Colors and Flavors:

1. Chocolate: To mix up the chocolate frosting, add in the cacao or black cocoa, and a tsp or 2 of plant milk if frosting is too stiff.

2. Pink: Add the beetroot powder to 1 tsp of water to dissolve, then add to shortening
   
3. Green: Add matcha to the shortening
   
4. Yellow: If you use the red palm shortening, the frosting will be a natural yellow.
   

5. Purple: Blend up blueberries with as little water as possible into a puree, then add to the shortening
   

To Pipe Frosting

1. Push your choice of tip (I often use Wilton 1M) to the bottom of the frosting bag. If using disposable bags, snip the bag tip off so the metal tip can push through just enough to allow frosting through the tip.
2. To fill the bag, put it tip down into a glass, and use a spoon to fill the bag about half way.
3. Twist the bag up, forcing frosting through the tip.
4. To frost, point the tip toward the cupcake center and hold vertically, going round and round, and remember to finish by pulling straight up and stop squeezing bag at same time.

Nutrition Facts

Perfect Vegan Buttercream Icing Recipe (3-ingredient, Pipable, Healthy Coloring Options)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 201 Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Fat 13g20%

Saturated Fat 3g15%

Sodium 3mg0%

Carbohydrates 22g7%

Sugar 22g24%

Protein 1g2%

Calcium 2mg0%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Dee Dine

Dee Dine is the recipe developer and writer behind Green Smoothie Gourmet. She shares her super healthy wholesome recipes on her blog and her Instagram that she feeds her family and friends. She gravitates toward recipes that are fast to create, plant-based, nutritious, easy, and use familiar ingredients. And chocolate is always a good idea! More about Dee.