Vegan Butter: Vegan Cooking Guide
Block-style vegan butter (made from coconut, sunflower or shea fats) behaves almost identically to dairy butter in cooking and baking - it creams, browns and flakes the same way. Brands like Naturli, Violife or Flora Plant Butter are the most reliable for baking.
How to Use Vegan Butter
Use cold from the fridge for pastry and shortcrust. Melt for frying aromatics. Cream with sugar for cakes. Cube into sauces at the last moment (monte au beurre) for a glossy finish.
Nutrition
Similar calorie and fat content to dairy butter; many brands use a blend of oils providing a better fatty acid profile than butter.
Chef's Tips
- For light, flaky pastry, chill the vegan butter and grated frozen butter is the easiest technique - grate straight into flour.
- Block vegan butter has a lower water content than spreadable margarine - do not substitute one for the other in baking.
- Browned vegan butter (beurre noisette) works beautifully - heat gently until it turns golden and nutty, then deglaze with lemon.
→ Find the best substitutes for vegan butter
Vegan Recipes Using Vegan Butter
Learn to cook with vegan butter on video
Our Cook Like A Pro course covers vegan cooking techniques including how to get the most from plant-based proteins, flavour bases and dairy alternatives. Watch step-by-step with chefs Rupert Worden and Lisa Hinze.
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