February 5, 2013

Vegan Whipped Cream Recipe


When I first transitioned to the wonderful vegan lifestyle I wondered how I would master an easy vegan whipping cream recipe. I think every vegan wants delicious cream with only three ingredients! And this is it! I have been making this cream for a year or so now and the other day when I was making it, I thought "Why haven't I yet published this on Veggieful?". So I immediately put another 2 cans of coconut cream in the fridge to be ready for Jerome to photograph. 

This recipe is showing you how refrigerating cans of coconut cream over 10 hours or so will allow the fatty coconut cream to separate from the oily milky content. You can then scoop off the thick cream layer, add your sweeteners and whip it to your liking. Ta da! You may have seen this idea scattered around the internet or on pinterest as it is such an amazing thing to have on hand. I now always keep a couple of cans of coconut cream in the fridge so that I have vegan cream whenever I need it! Get ready for your desserts to be amazing and for a few days of  having cream on everything! Haha :) 

If you are looking for a savoury or a more nutty vegan cream alternative, try our cashew cream recipe here.


Makes 1 cup of cream


   2x 400ml cans full-fat coconut cream (not coconut milk)
   1 tablespoon icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
   ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract 


1) Put two 400ml cans of full-fat coconut cream in the coolest part of your fridge. Try not to shake or disturb the cans.

2) Refrigerate for 10 or more hours until completely cooled through (The longer it has been in the fridge, the better and thicker the cream will be).

3) Without shaking or disturbing the can, carefully sit the can upright and open it.
Can of coconut cream after 12 hours

4) As shown in the photo above, there should be a thick layer of fatty coconut cream which has separated from the coconut milk and oil below. Scoop off the fatty creamy layer from both cans and place it into a bowl. This is the part we will be using in this recipe. You will get approx. about 1 cup of cream from both cans. 

Can after the creamy fatty layer has been scooped off

5) You should now be left with the coconut milk as shown in the photo above. Set this aside for another time. 

6) Add the icing sugar and vanilla extract to the bowl with the coconut cream.

7) On a medium to high speed, use electric beaters or an electric whisker to beat the cream for about 6 minutes or so until it becomes really thick. At first you may think that it is not working, but keep beating for the whole 6 minutes until it is visibly much thicker. 

8) Serve immediately on scones, cakes or desserts or spoon into a piping bag and pipe for a lovely and tasty decoration. Enjoy!



  • You will need coconut cream... not coconut milk! Coconut cream has the creamy and fatty content needed to whip up a delicious cream.
  • If you would rather not use icing sugar, feel free to add any of your favourite sweeteners such as maple syrup, agave syrup etc...
  • When you are beating the cream, make sure you do it for the whole 6 minutes or so. if at one point you think it will not thicken up, continue to do it for the whole time because it will suddenly get extra thick and delicious!
  • Taste and add more icing sugar if you would like a sweeter cream.

51 comments :

  1. I can't wait to try this !! Thanks for posting the recipe :)

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  3. I've been meaning to make coconut whipped cream for ages now! But I always get lazy and buy Rice Whip or Soy Whip...I'll do this next time!

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    1. Oh yay! You definitely should. I have been meaning to put this recipe up for ages but I felt too lazy and thought that it had been shared all over the internet anyway haha. I wish that I could find some vegan commercial whipped creams like the ones you listed. I haven't seen them anywhere!!

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    2. Would it be ok to leave a can or two in the fridge so I could make this at short notice? If they are unopened they should be fine right? Thanks :)

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    3. Hello Tash! Yes, I always keep a couple of cans in the coolest part of my fridge. I just make sure it is in an area that wont be disturbed and bumped around. The back of the fridge is a good area :) Thanks for your comment. It is amazing to have this at short notice!!

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    4. Oh Man! This is just sooo handy and yummy. Perfect when you want a little extra treat on some cake ;) Especially if the rest of my family are having icecream and i havnet made any for myself. Thank you!

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    5. I know!! I love it too :) Thanks for the comment

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  4. I make mine the same way! Yeah! Yummy too!

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  5. how long does it stay 'whipped'? if i piped it onto cupcakes for instance. :)

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    1. It should stay for a while... as long as you keep it refrigerated. Warm conditions will most likely make it melt :)

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  6. excited to try this - does it taste a lot like coconut? Or is it more neutral (more akin to regular whipping cream)?

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    1. Hi Nang! Thank you :) It does taste quite a lot like coconut but you can flavour it with cocoa, vanilla, icing sugar etc... to make it taste more like how you want it! :)

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    2. Thanks! I'm not adverse to coconut, I actually love it, but was thinking in terms of the taste of it paired with different cakes or flavors. I'll be experimenting with this, for sure.

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  7. Made this and it was great. thanks. will definitely use this all the time now.

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  8. As lovely as as this looks, I am allergic to coconut. Do you have any other whipped cream recipes?

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    1. Hello Samantha,
      We only have our cashew cream as another alternative:
      http://www.veggieful.com/2013/03/vegan-cashew-cream-recipe.html
      It is a bit different but still yummy :)

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  9. Hi there,
    I'm planning on making this tomorrow to pair with an asian pear crisp. Just wondering what do you do with the rest of leftover milk and oil that's separated?

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    1. Hello! You could use it in baking, curries, cooking, smoothies etc... Just keep it and freeze it until needed :)

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    2. I use it as a portion of the water to make rice, almost dessert in itself if you use sweet mochi rice.

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  10. YAY! I love whipped cream, but have committed myself to giving up beef products when I am a legal adult. Finding this recipe made my day :) and I will definitely keep your blog in mind as I transition into that phase. Thanks so much for posting!!

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  11. Okay, so I think I over-whipped this? I'm left with a watery, lumpy mess. Bummer!!

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    1. Hi Stacey!
      Oh it depends. Was it thick to begin with and then started to thin? Or was it always thin? If it started out thin it may mean that it wasn't refrigerated for long enough and you may have scooped out some of the liquid as well. Maybe next time double refrigeration time until it has completely thickened. :) Hope this helps!

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  12. Hi do you print the photos? Because i know photographic paper and film is made usuing Gelatin. It is sad

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    1. Hello Taahirah! We don't actually print any of our photos. We only do digital. Also, we have digital photoframes around the house. How interesting though... I never knew! Thanks for the info.

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  13. Hi Mads
    I need some clarification - do I carefully invert the tin to open, is the thick cream heavier than the oily milk or vice versa ?
    I'm going to add it to the choc muffin in a cup - yummmo !
    Thanks Sylvie

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    1. Hi Sylvie,
      Thanks for your comment. The thick cream is heavier than the oil. It will float to the top. You don't need to turn it over. Just get it straight out of the fridge and open it. :)

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  14. made this for my vegan birthday cake and it turned out great! thanks for the recipe :D

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  15. I tried making this, but it was kinda separated. Like, it didn't get thick, and when it did, only some did, some turned to like milk. So there were thick chunks, in milk. Like, when dairy milk curdles.
    Any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong?

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    1. Hello!
      The only points I can emphasise is to make sure you refrigerate it until the cream on top is completely set. Maybe even next time double the refrigeration time until it is even more thick. Next, make sure that you don't scoop any of the liquid out with the thick cream. Also, using electric beaters will whip it even better. Also, make sure you have purchased full-fat coconut cream.
      Hope this helps!

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  16. I made this the other day to have with pancakes. It worked out really well and was thick and extra creamy. Will definitely make this again. Will go great with vegan scones.

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  17. omg i made this and it was awsome ,never thought id have scones with jam and cream again after i went vegan .Thankyou so much veggieful you honestly are my saviour

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  18. Hi Madison, I would like to know how it tastes? Does it taste just like the regular whipped cream or it has coconut flavor? I don't mind coconut flavor but just curious!

    --Shree

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    1. Hi Shree! It still tastes coconutty but with added sweeteners it tastes a lot more sweet.

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  19. Do you think it will taste nice with watermelon?

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  20. According to step 5, do you mean that the coconut milk remained can be frozen again and make the coconut cream again?

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    1. Hi! No you will be left with the coconut milky layer. You can use this for other purposes such as in curries etc... You won't be able to do this recipe again with the leftovers as all of the fatty cream has been used :)

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    2. Oh, got it! Thank you very much!

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  21. Just made the vegan french toast (ahmazing!) and tried to make the cocnut cream as a topper but ... I think I made it curdle! .... Can that happen to coconut cream???? it was nice a thick at the 3 minute mark but I wasn't sure and the recipe says to keep going for the full 6 mins, then at 5 mins it started forming little lumps and became gradually more lumpy and watery ...!? what did I do wrong? Should I have kept whipping past this stage??? Keen to try it again till I get it right :) heehee PS thanks so much for the recipes and blog!

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    1. Oh no! I have no idea how... maybe it was over whipped? I am not sure. Thanks for the kind words :)

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