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This dairy-free cream cheese frosting is almost too good to be true. It’s ultra-creamy and tastes remarkably similar to cream cheese frosting, without using nuts or tofu.
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
The secret to this creamy frosting? Sweet potatoes. White sweet potatoes, to be exact.
Did you know that sweet potatoes come in a variety of different colors? For years, I had no idea. There are sweet potatoes with white flesh, purple flesh, and the traditional orange flesh that we probably think of most often. (In the U.S. we often call orange sweet potatoes “yams,” though, technically, they are still just sweet potatoes.)
I used white sweet potatoes in this recipe for obvious reasons– I wanted this frosting to look like traditional cream cheese frosting!
Naturally Sweetened Sweet Potato Frosting
Because this recipe doesn’t call for powdered sugar, it’s not as thick or grainy as a traditional frosting. Instead, it’s silky smooth and a lot “lighter” in texture.
It’s sweetened with pure maple syrup and gets it’s signature tangy flavor from a combination of freshly squeezed lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. I find that this acid combination tastes more like “cream cheese” than if you were to just use one or the other alone.
I recommend that you make this frosting the night before you plan on serving it so that it can thicken in the fridge. It’s a little runny straight out of the blender, but it thickens up quite a bit more when chilled and tastes even MORE authentic when you spread it on a batch of Vegan Pumpkin Bars or Coconut Flour Carrot Cake.
This recipe makes a little over 2 cups of frosting, and would nicely cover a sheet cake baked in a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. I double the recipe when frosting a two layer cake, as pictured above.
I used it over a 9-inch square pan in the photo below, with plenty of icing leftover. I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Ingredients
- 1 large Hannah sweet potato (white flesh)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (at room temperature)
- 6 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
- 2-4 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- To prepare the sweet potato, peel and cut it into 1-inch chunks. In a pot fitted with a steamer basket, bring 1-inch of water to a boil and steam the potato chunks until fork-tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Transfer the steamed potato chunks into a 1-cup measuring cup and mash them with a fork to tightly pack the cup all the way to the top. (Reserve any remaining sweet potato for a future smoothie or salad topper.)
- Transfer the mashed sweet potato to a blender, and add in the maple syrup, coconut oil, 2 tablespoons of water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and salt. Blend until silky smooth.
- If the mixture isn't blending well, add more water 1-2 tablespoons at a time until very smooth. Be careful not to add too much water or the frosting will be too runny. Once smooth, transfer the frosting to an airtight container to store in the fridge.
- This frosting will thicken overnight and can be spread over your favorite cakes, bars, or cookies. Be sure to keep the frosting refrigerated for best texture, though it can sit out at room temperature for several hours for serving. It should last up to a week when stored in the fridge.
Video
Nutrition
Per serving (roughly 1.5 tablespoons): Calories: 53, Carbohydrates: 5, Fat: 3, Protein: 0
Recipe Notes:
- If you don’t care for coconut oil, you can reduce the amount used to 4 tablespoons and increase the water by 2 tablespoons for a slightly thinner/runnier frosting. I use unrefined coconut oil, which does leave a hint of coconut flavor, but you can use refined coconut oil for less coconut flavor. (I’m sure vegan butter would work here, too, but I haven’t tested that myself.) If replacing the coconut oil, you must use another fat that is solid at room temperature so that the frosting will thicken up.
- If you can’t find white sweet potatoes, another variety will probably work, the color just won’t be the same. (Purple sweet potatoes would be fun for a naturally-colored frosting, too!)
- Feel free to use another liquid sweetener in this recipe. Keep in mind that honey is not vegan, and is sweeter than maple syrup, so you might need to use slightly less than this recipe calls for.
- If you’d like a more tangy frosting flavor, feel free to add more lemon juice or vinegar, just 1/2 teaspoon at a time until the flavor is to your liking.
As always, if you make any modifications to this recipe please leave a comment below letting us know what you tried so we can all benefit from your experience.
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite type of frosting? I’ve always been partial to white or chocolate buttercream, and I have more dairy-free & nut-free options in my cookbooks!
Hi! Do you have a recipe for vegan cheesecake based off of this recipe? I’m trying to find a vegan cheesecake that doesn’t use nuts or store bought vegan cream cheese, and am curious if white sweet potatoes could work.
Thanks!
I haven’t tried that yet! I think it would still need something more to achieve a true cheesecake texture, like maybe tofu mixed in? Let me know if you experiment with it.
I used orange sweet potato, and honey, it came out so yummy. I wouldn’t call the flavor cream cheese, maybe because of the cultivar, but it was lovely. After setting in the fridge overnight it was soft enough to stir, but hard enough to pipe!! I wish I could upload the pictures I took. Thanks for a recipe for our gluten- dairy- egg-soy–nut free low sugar household can actually enjoy! In going to try it with carrots tonight.
I made this last year but forgot to bookmark the recipe. It’s so good that I scrolled through an entire year’s worth of browsing history just to find it again.
I also owe the author an apology: I doubted this recipe so much and was grumpily grumbling to myself through every step. And then I tasted it. Y’all, this is magic. I don’t know who Megan sold her soul to in order to invent this recipe and/or make it work, but it really does.
I’m not gonna lie to you and say it’s exactly the same as a cream cheese-cream cheese frosting, but it is a fraternal twin. Certainly miles better than any recipe that uses a storebought vegan cream cheese base.
Thank you, Megan, for rescuing Thanksgiving for a woman who developed a milk allergy as an adult.
Made this to top my AIP cinnamon rolls. Used 6 tablespoons of honey (could have gone just 5) and omg it’s so delicious!
I tried this recipe exactly and although okay….it does not taste like cream cheese in any shape or form which is what my rating is based off of. It has a very strong coconut/maple taste instead. Not what I was looking for.
Outstanding taste with simple ingredients! WOW! I was planning on making this with an orange sweet potato I had at home but my supermarket had white sweet potatoes. Followed recipe exactly and it’s a winner! Used my immersion blender to mash taters instead of a fork.
Holy non-dairy cow. I can’t have dairy, nor soy, nor nuts, nor coconut meat, so any version of “cheeze” has been off the menu for years. This was incredible. I only use 1/8 C of maple syrup because I don’t eat sugar and my tastebuds are “European” calibrated. It’s my go-to frosting from now on.
Anyone have any suggestions for turning this into a cheesecake? I can do eggs, maybe whisk it with well beaten eggs/whites?
I tried it with my favorite cheesecake recipe and it worked well. I’m in love. The easy version is to make this recipe as-is with much less syrup, put in a jar, then top with a compliant raspberry or strawberry jam. I freeze them in little jars then thaw for a sweet little treat when I want it.
The full-on cheesecake (Not vegan) uses 1 egg per cup of reduced-sweetener frosting. I beat the whites separate, and combine yolks with frosting, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Fold in the whites, then spread in crust of choice (GF oats, coconut oil, cinnamon for me!). Bake at 350 in water bath, covered, for 1 hour. Disclaimer, I haven’t had real cheesecake in years, so this is good enough for my memory, maybe doesn’t cut it for someone new to alternative diets. My husband loves it though.
Oops, forgot to add, I use much less oil if I’m making cheesecake as well.
I wanted to make a coffee flavored frosting for the almond flour chocolate cake, so I used this recipe and instead of using the lemon juice and ACV, I added a tad of vanilla and replaced the water amount with espresso. It is absolutely delicious! I’m thankful for a way to make healthy desserts!
I was skeptical at first, but this tastes amazing! Some changes I made: I used soy milk instead of water, agave syrup instead of maple, and a little extra lemon juice and vinegar to taste. It’s pretty runny right now, the texture of melted chocolate maybe, but I’m refrigerating overnight to use tomorrow, so I’m hoping it’ll thicken enough to be spreadable on cake.
This frosting turned out amazing!! Used it on a carrot cake! I doubled the lemon and used half the amount of oil to suit my tastes and it still worked perfectly.