Vegan Lemon Frosting, lemon buttercream

Bright, zesty, and irresistibly smooth, this vegan lemon frosting is the perfect crowning touch for your favorite treats. Combining the tartness of fresh lemon juice, zest, and vanilla extract with the sweetness of powdered sugar, this frosting whips up into a fluffy, plant-based confection that holds its shape beautifully. The blend of vegan butter and butter-flavored vegetable shortening ensures that every batch of this vegan lemon buttercream is as rich and creamy as it is delightful.

I made the absolute most delicious vegan soft lemon sugar cookies the other day and was wondering which frosting I should use to top them – because soft sugar cookies without icing…what’s the point? I had some leftover vegan buttercream frosting and vegan cream cheese frosting in the freezer from the holidays when I was making vegan cut out sugar cookies and soft sugar cookies.

Adding a little lemon zest to those other frostings was definitely a tasty topping for the lemon cookies. BUT, I thought…WHAT IF? I wondered…what if I made a lightly lemony vegan frosting especially for these cookies? And so I did!

You are going to love this velvety smooth lightly lemony vegan lemon buttercream frosting. It spreads onto cookies or cakes smoothly AND holds its shape when piped with a large opening frosting piping tip. It’s not overwhelmingly-make-your-mouth-pucker lemony but rather lightly lemony to compliment any fruity or citrusy baked good.

Ingredients needed to make vegan lemon frosting

• lemon juice and  lemon zest – You can get by with one big juicy lemon but I always have an extra lemon on hand just in case.
• vegan butter – Use vegan stick butter with the highest fat content and the best flavor you can find.
• butter flavored vegetable shortening – Butter flavored Crisco shortening is sold in blocks where the vegetable oil it sold. If you can’t find the butter flavor then just use regular unflavored vegetable shortening. It does add a layer of flavor to use the butter flavored shortening.
•  vanilla extract
• a generous pinch of salt
•  powdered sugar 
• yellow gel food coloring – Optional but the lemon frosting isn’t super yellow without it.
• also optional, lemon extract – I don’t think this lemon buttercream frosting needs to added lemon extract. I was going for a lightly lemony flavor that would go well with the lemon cookies and still allow the lemon flavor of the cookies to shine through. If you wan’t your frosting to be more lemon flavored then add in 1/4-1/2 a teaspoon of lemon extract.
• You can juice the lemon by hand but it will be very useful to have a citrus zester. Some cheese graters (the type with four sides) have a zesting side and that will work too.

How to make vegan lemon buttercream frosting

The exact ingredients with measurements can be found in the recipe card below along with more concise abbreviated instructions. Read on for more details, tips, and tricks so that you will feel confident making this recipe.

Step 1: Juice and zest the lemon

You can probably get by with just one big juicy lemon for this frosting. I always have an extra on hand though just in case. You never really know till you open a fruit just how juicy (or dry) it will be.

You will be juicing and zesting the lemon. It’s best to zest the lemon first before juicing it so that you will have something solid to hold onto while zesting. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve forgotten this and juiced first. Then I’m stuck with a hard-to-grip, squished up, slippery, flat lemon half and often end up zesting my skin in the process. Ouch!

Juice and zest the lemon. You’ll need two Tablespoons of lemon juice and one and a half Tablespoons of zest. I always juice a little extra though in case my frosting is too thick and I need to thin it a little bit.

Step 2: Cream the vegan butter and shortening

Use vegan stick butter for the recipe with the highest fat possible but also the best flavor. The flavor will come through so make sure it’s yummy.

I use butter-flavored vegetable shortening in addition to the vegan butter. This makes the frosting nice and stable and smooth. Working with vegan butter can be tricky because there is no consistency between brands and the stability of the shortening helps.

Use butter-flavored shortening if you can find it. Butter-flavored shortening sticks can be found right next to the regular vegetable shortening sticks at my store. If you can’t find the buttery flavored vegetable shortening then just use regular unflavored vegetable shortening but perhaps bump up the buttery flavor with a quarter teaspoon of butter flavored extract.

If you have forgotten to set the vegan butter out to soften, then cut it into slices and place the butter slices in the mixing bowl. It will be soft enough in a few minutes. Cream together the vegetable shortening and vegan butter until they are light and fluffy.

Step 3: Add the vanilla extract and lemon zest

Once the vegan butter and vegetable shortening are nice and fluffy, add the lemon zest, vanilla extract, and a generous pinch of salt. One-eighth teaspoon of salt is too much for this recipe but a little pinch isn’t quite enough. Give it a quick spin with the beaters to mix everything.

Step 4: Add the powdered sugar

Add the powdered sugar about half at a time and mix until everything is well mixed. The reason not throwing all of the powdered sugar in at once is that you will have a big powdered sugar cloud to deal with if you do! If your frosting is getting to stiff to mix then it’s time to start the next step.

Step 5: Add the lemon juice

Add the lemon juice a little bit at a time until you have the best consistency. Add a little more powdered sugar to stiffen the icing more if you’d prefer it to be more stiff.

Optional coloring and more lemony flavor

This vegan lemon buttercream will be lightly lemony and very lightly yellow. If you’d like it to be a more noticeable shade of yellow then add in a few drops of lemon yellow food coloring.

If you’d like the frosting to have a more lemony flavor then add a little lemon extract – but not much! Only add a quarter teaspoon and give it a taste and then you can add a little bit more. Remember, you can always add more but that it’s impossible to take the flavor away once added.

I made this frosting for my vegan lemon cookies and honestly didn’t want a more lemony-flavored frosting. If I were frosting something else that wasn’t already lemon flavored then I probably would.

Storing and serving

This recipe will frost about 20 cookies if you are spreading the frosting on top of the cookie. If you are doing anything fancy like making a big pile on a cupcake (see photo), it is going to frost a lot less. 

Keep it tightly covered in the fridge for a week or freeze the remaining frosting. Remove the frosting from the freezer and set it on the counter for an hour for quick thawing or in the fridge if you have more time.

The printable recipe card