Searching for a dairy free substitute for heavy whipping cream? This Heavy Whipping Cream Substitution is made from 4 simple ingredients and whips up into a light and fluffy vegan whipped cream! You won’t believe it until you’ve tried it!
Light and fluffy vegan whipped cream
Heavy whipping cream is the only ingredient you need to make light, airy, and fluffy whipped cream, but what if you don’t eat dairy? That’s where this vegan Heavy Whipping Cream Substitution comes in! It’s a dairy free substitution that whips up into the best vegan whipped cream you’ve ever had.
I was inspired by similar recipes like this one from Gretchen’s Vegan Bakery, School Night Vegan and Berry Baker. Miyoko Shinner also has a recipe called ‘better than whipping cream and topping’ in her book The Homemade Vegan Pantry that uses the same technique. So I’m not the first one to discover this amazing way to make whipped cream! I tested it with various milks, refined and unrefined coconut oil, and made it a bit sweeter with extra powdered sugar.
Classic whipped cream is made from just one ingredient: heavy cream. Instead of whipping my vegan heavy cream (which is better off in soups and stews), the vegan whipping cream substitute begins with a mix of simple, creamy, and high in fat ingredients:
- Plant milk
- Coconut oil
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla
As a result, the whipped cream turns out with a sweet taste and a sturdy, thick, and fluffy texture. Plus, it skips the coconut flavor that a lot of coconut whipped cream recipes have. It’s the perfect topping on coconut cream pie, apple crisp, pumpkin pie, and more!
Can’t get enough of vegan whipped cream? Be sure to try my Aquafaba Whipped Cream and Coconut Whipped Cream next! But this is the best, most realistic dairy free whip I’ve ever had.
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Soy milk – Dairy free milk that’s high in fat, like unsweetened soy milk, oat milk, and cashew milk is best at transforming into thick and creamy whipping cream. Coconut cream won’t work here.
- Coconut oil – No substitutions! Use refined coconut oil to avoid the coconut flavor. You can use unrefined if you don’t mind a slight coconut taste.
- Powdered sugar – This will give the whipped cream its delicious sweet flavor and sturdy texture. I don’t recommend replacing it with a liquid sweetener.
- Vanilla extract – For flavor.
How to make vegan heavy whipping cream
Find the complete recipe with measurements below in the recipe card.
Heat the soy milk in the microwave before pouring it into a blender with the melted coconut oil.
Next, blend the mixture until it has emulsified and looks light and bubbly.
Transfer to a bowl. Cover and chill in the fridge overnight.
Whip the cream using a standing mixer with a whisk attachment the next day. To finish, add the powdered sugar and vanilla while continuing to whisk from low speed to high. It should thicken after 5 to 10 minutes.
You’ll know the vegan whipped cream is ready when it’s quite thick, creamy, and light. Try not to overmix it. Serve it right away or store it in the fridge for later!
Storing and freezing
Store the whipped cream in a covered container in the fridge for 2 to 4 days. It can also be frozen but is best when it’s fresh.
What to serve with whipped cream
Use the whipped cream anywhere you would normally use whipped cream. It can be spread and piped onto all kinds of desserts and treats, such as:
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Tres Leches Cake
- Mini Pumpkin Pies
- Vegan Chocolate Pie
- Vegan Banana Cream Pie
- Hot Chocolate
- Vegan Waffles
Want more vegan basics?
- Vegan Condensed Milk
- Heavy Cream Substitute – For adding to soups and more, not for whipping.
- Vegan Buttercream Frosting
- Vegan Mascarpone
- Shreddable Vegan Mozzarella
- Vegan Custard (Pastry Cream)
Heavy Whipping Cream Substitution
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened, unflavored plant milk I used soy
- 1 cup refined coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pour the soy milk in a bowl and microwave until warm, about 1 minute. Place in a blender with the melted coconut oil. Blend until emulsified on high. In my Vitamix this only takes 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Transfer to a bowl, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight or at least 4 hours. Overnight is best.
- Transfer the cream to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat the ingredients together, starting on low speed and increasing to high. It will take 5-10 minutes to start to thicken, but it will happen!
- Beat until it's quite thick, creamy and light, but be careful not to over mix or it can get too thick. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Serve anywhere you would whipped cream. It also pipes beautifully. Enjoy!
Notes
- Storage – Leftover whipped cream will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It can also be frozen if needed.
- Milk – Soy works best here, but you can use cashew, almond or oat milk. Choose a higher fat variety for richer whipped cream.
- Oil – There is NO substitution for coconut oil in this recipe, it’s what makes it whip!
I don’t have a sweet tooth at all.
Can you tell me how low I can go with the sugar and still have a successful outcome?
Thanks.
You can completely leave it out if needed.
Hi. I tried this with 1 cup unrefined coconut oil and 1 cup coconut milk and it emulsified nicely but when I put it in the fridge to chill it all became hard. In order to whip it, I had to melt it again which worked, but as soon as my frosted cake went into the fridge, the cream hardened again into a butter texture. Where did I go wrong?
It must have been the coconut milk. Was it canned? Because coconut milk can get very hard when cold, same with coconut oil. But with a soy milk (or other milk) and coconut oil mixture emulsified, it gets thick like cream but not hard.
I am in awe! This recipe is just perfect. I had not enjoyed whipped cream since I became vegan 6 years ago, this is just like it, even better! Thank you so much for coming up with it and sharing it with us.
You are welcome, Denise! I love that you are able to enjoy whipped cream! Thanks for your awesome review and feedback! I appreciate you using my recipes! Happy cooking!
This is absolutely an amazing recipe. Worked perfectly and I was blown away by the results! I’m not one to post comments, but I just had to! Thank you Nora 🙂
Can you use Ripple pea milk or homemade almond milk instead of soy milk? Want to make for friends that don’t eat soy.
I haven’t tried Ripple pea milk or homemade almond milk so I can’t say for sure. I think either will work though.
Hi Nora! I love your recipes but I’m a bit nervous to try this one because I don’t have a high-speed blender. Do you think an immersion blender will emulsify the oil and milk? Thanks!
Thanks for loving my recipes! I believe an immersion blender will work, but I’ve never tried it. It should be good enough though!
Hi! I used this to make a 3-layer vegan Black Forest cake (with your chocolate cake recipe) and it turned out awesome!! I was super impressed how closely this mimics dairy whipped cream. Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!
This tastes better than the dairy-based stuff you buy in the store. I don’t have a whisk attachment for my hand-mixer, so the whipped cream I made could probably be a little thicker. But the flavor is perfect!
Hi Catherine. I’m so glad you are loving the whipping cream! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
I’m looking to make a dairy free gluten free vanilla slice. Would this whipped cream work to add to the custard? Or would it not hold up?
Sure, I think that would work well. Sounds delicious!
I made this once, and it was perfect, but I cannot get it right again. I blend the oil and milk and leave in the fridge overnight. I live in Arizona, so it is pretty warm here. Mine separates and has a grainy texture. What am I doing wrong??
What kind of oil are you using? Does it have anything added? Perhaps try a different brand of coconut oil. Or soy milk. I’ve never had this happen, but I’m wondering if it has something to do with a certain additive in either the milk or oil.
I think I may have solved my problem. I did not start whipping the oil and soy milk before adding the sugar and vanilla. I will try again without skipping this step. I was in hurry and dumped everything together whipping on high speed. Ugh!!!!!
Hi Nora, I’m not sure of what happened to my whip topping but after a half an hour the mixture would not whip up to topping consistently. I live in Texas so my coconut oil was already melted before I started. I warmed the soy milk and placed in the vitamix. Left in the fridge overnight. Put in the sugar and vanilla and started to whip in the stand mixer. I even tried an emulsion blender. Nothing worked so now I have a lifetime of coffee creamer LOL. Do you think I left in the vitamin too long? Maybe I didn’t need to heat the soy milk? Any advise would be helpful. The taste is wonderful.
Hi Joanne! Did you actually blend the soy milk and coconut oil before transferring to a separate container and placing in the refrigerator? Did you use plain old coconut oil? There are some brands that are always liquid, and that will not work. Honestly, I don’t even know how they do that, but I’ve seen that kind on shelves lately.
I love this recipe. It taste just like the real thing. I froze the leftover cream(not whipped) and when i defrost it it’s still too thick to whip. Is there a trick to this? Please help
Thank you for all your great recipes
I’m glad you love the recipe, thank you. If it’s still thick after freezing and defrosting, you could try blending it in your blender again, then whip it. But don’t put it in the blender if it’s super hard and frozen, of course.
Hi Nora everything you do is magic! This turned out so well for me thanks for sharing the recipe!
Do you think this would work in a whipped cream dispenser that uses the gas chargers? I have one that I used to use for actual whipped cream and was wondering if it might work with your recipe…
Oh thank you Stella! Gosh, I really don’t know about that. I think it might, but I haven’t tried it. If you do, let me know! I should get one of those and test it. 🙂
I’m so excited by this recipe. I used refined coconut oil and Silk unsweetened organic soy milk in the tetrapak. I was worried it might not work (because the soy milk had additives), after reading the comments. However that soy milk was all I had, so I gave it a try. I warmed the coconut oil and soy milk in one bowl in the microwave, just warm enough so the coconut oil melted – so, not too warm… Then refrigerated about 15 hours. There were a couple of solid chunks of coconut oil on top, but the rest was still emulsified and thick like cream. Poured it into a bowl and whipped with a hand mixer as I used to do for dairy whipped cream. It started thickening in under two minutes. Added the sugar and vanilla – beautiful! It will go on a coconut cream pie later today! Thank you, Nora, for this wonderful recipe. So excited to have an easy vegan whipped cream option that doesn’t taste like coconut.
I’m so glad it worked well for you, thanks for sharing how it went. This is the best vegan whipped cream I’ve found and I just love it!