This Vanilla Low Carb Buttercream Frosting Recipe should always be a staple to keep on hand. Or, if you will, lick straight from the spoon! Its so good!!

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It’s just a go-to recipe to always keep on hand Vanilla Keto Buttercream Frosting. Not bland, but not fancy or complicated. Just creamy, smooth, rich, and melty in the mouth while sturdy enough to hold up in piping and designs.

Ingredients

Here are the simple ingredients you’ll be using:

Unsalted Real Butter– Preferably grass-fed, so make sure it’s at room temperature.
Full-Fat Cream Cheese– Do not use any cream cheese spread. Spread cream cheese will give you runny frosting!
Keto Powdered Sweetener– Any sugar-free powdered sweetener works, but I prefer powdered monk fruit/allulose blend because it dissolves really well and has no aftertaste!
Pure Vanilla – If you have pure vanilla, use it; otherwise, imitation works too.
Heavy Whipping Cream – This makes the keto frosting extremely smooth and creamy. If you need to substitute, you can for non-dairy milk or coconut milk.
Sea Salt- Tones down the sweetness a little.

Tip: Even if you don’t have a dairy restriction, I recommend unsweetened non-dairy milk because milk contains a decent number of carbs to begin with.

Frequently asked questions

Why is cream cheese included in a buttercream frosting recipe?

I need cream cheese to make the frosting creamy and not grainy. This powdered monk fruit/allulose sweetener dissolves beautifully, but still slightly grainy in frostings, which cream cheese fixes.

Does it have the creamy texture of cream cheese frosting?

While there is a suggestion of cream cheese, there’s much less cream cheese than in more traditional cream cheese frosting, so this is essentially an old-fashioned buttercream taste.

Here’s why you’ll love this Keto Vanilla Buttercream Frosting recipe:

1) Super creamy and smooth . 2) NO aftertaste! 3) Rich vanilla taste. 4) Sturdy enough for piping and designs.

Troubleshooting

The butter is the heart of this sugar-free vanilla frosting recipe. It has to be taken out and softened to room temperature. Do not take it out too far in advance, though, or it will come out wrong.

If it’s too runny, it won’t maintain its shape. You’re going to have to begin all over

Too cold and it’s clumpy

If this does occur and your frosting is all clumpy, just zap the buttercream in the microwave for about 5 seconds. Upon slightly warming the butter, it should blend perfectly!

To get the butter at the ideal temperature, I love this tutorial from Sally’s Baking Addiction on how to soften butter quickly for perfectly softened butter.

Keto sweetener

I use powdered monk fruit with allulose for the sweetener. Any keto powdered sweetener will work, though. It tastes exactly like powdered sugar-no aftertaste and dissolves a million times better than any other sugar-free sweetener I can think of.

Even so, because we are using the powdered monk fruit with allulose that actually dissolves very well, it still sometimes leaves a very slightly grainy texture. For that reason, we add in some cream cheese, which solves that problem.

For more about the advantages and disadvantages of each one of the keto sweeteners, you can check out this Ultimate Guide To Keto Sweeteners!

How to Use a Ziplock Bag for Piping Frosting

If you don’t have a fancyicing bag, there is nothing to worry about, piping frosting using a Ziplock or plastic bag is quite easy! Here are the simple steps:

1. Take a large plastic baggie and cut out a very small piece off the bottom corner, and insert the piping tip into this cut corner.

2. Insert the cup with piping tip down into the baggie.

3. Wrap the extra baggie over the external part of the cup.

4. Fill in with frosting.

5. Take the baggie out of the cup and try to squeeze the frosting towards the tip of the baggie while being careful to expel any air.

6. Straight upright take the baggie in the hand and pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes – very easy!!! She fills the baggie with frosting using her hands and rest the bag in the cup while I freeze my bag for the frosting. But whatever method one chooses, it will be fine!

Substitutions for dairy-free

For dairy-free and vegan: You simply can use dairy-free butter, Daiya cream cheese, and canned coconut milk or non-dairy milk. Using Daiya cream cheese will give it a slightly stronger taste as cream cheese, so you may need a little more powdered sweetener to thicken.

Coconut milk: If you’re using coconut milk, I like full-fat Thailand Kitchen, Sprouts, or Native Forest Brands as it really doesn’t have an aftertaste from other brands. You can scoop out the cream and use it if it separates into solids and liquids, but you may have to add a little more to thin out the frosting or mix in some non-dairy milk from a carton.

Storage

Make-Ahead: Prepare the low-carb frosting on the same day you frost the cake or cupcakes. However, you may store it in the fridge until up to 1 week tightly covered. Just re-beat before using the frosting.

Storage:

The frosting can be stored on the frosted cake or cupcakes at room temperature for 1 to 2 days or for up to 1 week tightly covered in the fridge.

Freeze: Place it in a freezer-safe baggie, push the air out and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and soften to room temperature to use. Wrap the already frosted cakes and cupcakes as follows; wrap the sliced cake or cupcakes separately in plastic then place them in the freezer safe baggie for up to 3 months. Thaw in fridge before consuming.

Pro tips

Softened butter is a must! To get your butter at the right temperature, check out this great tutorial from Sally’s Baking Addiction on how to soften butter quickly for perfectly softened butter.

If the frosting won’t come together: If this happens, then the butter is too cold. Take the frosting out and pop it into your microwave for just a few seconds (be very careful not to melt it!) so the butter will soften up enough for the frosting to come together.

Too runny frosting: If the frosting is too runny, it may be that the butter is too soft. That can be easily remedied by adding a bit more powdered sugar.

I use powdered monk fruit with allulose for the sweetener. It tastes precisely the same as powdered sugar with NO aftertaste and dissolves so much better than any other keto sweetener. Any keto powdered sweetener may be used.

Cream cheese is required to make the frosting creamy rather than grainy. Powdered monk fruit/allulose sweetener dissolves well compared to other keto sweeteners, but the texture in frosted frostings remains ever so slightly grainy, which cream cheese smooths out.

There’s a slight cream cheese taste in the frosting; however, there isn’t as much as there would be in a traditional cream cheese frosting to keep a classic buttercream taste.