Every natural food store and most supermarkets sell vegan butter. It’s delicious on toast or English muffins. Countless dairy-free recipes also call for it. It’s also among the most common ingredients in vegan baking.
You can buy dairy-free butter in in sticks or tubs. Some tubbed brands are whipped for easy spreading. Ingredients vary by brand and may include soy, olive oil, coconut oil, or even oat milk. You can also buy varieties flavored with garlic and herbs.
Butter alternatives have come a long way since the 1970s. Back then, most contained low grade partially hydrogenated oils that were even worse for your heart than butter. On top of that, most of these products contained artificial flavors and colors, plus some dairy-based whey for good measure.
Today’s vegan alternatives are both better tasting and better for you. They are also made from higher quality ingredients. Most of these products are cultured just like dairy-based butter, so they deliver the same complex and tangy flavors you crave.
Vegan Butter Brands
- Califia Farms: Plant Butter
- Earth Balance: Spreads & Buttery Sticks (Many varieties—we recommend their “Organic Whipped Buttery Spread”)
- Melt Organic: Butter Made from Plants (tubs & sticks)
- Milkadamia: Buttery Spread
- Miyoko’s Creamery: Salted & Unsalted Sticks and Spreadable Butter Made with Oatmilk
- Nuts for Butter: Salted Original Just Like Butter
- I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter: Vegan Spread
- Wayfare: Dairy-Free Salted Whipped Butter
- Wild Creamery: European Style Butter Alternative
Any of these brands provide great flavor. But can also go minimalist: coconut oil or olive oil taste marvelous when spread on toast or warmed bread.
Serving Suggestions
Dairy-free butters are delicious on:
- Toast, bagels and English muffins
- Steamed or grilled vegetables
- Baked potatoes or baked sweet potatoes
- Popcorn
- Pancakes
Also add a little bit the next time you’re cooking a rice-based dish.
How to Make Vegan Butter
If are up for a challenging kitchen project, we’ve got the best vegan butter recipe on the planet. This is by far the most complicated recipe we’ve published but the results are worth it. It’s based on unflavored vegan milk, and includes some ingredients that are challenging to find.
