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Home » Desserts

Vegan Royal Icing

Published: Dec 12, 2019 · Modified: Nov 8, 2024 by Janelle Hama *This post may contain affiliate links. Disclosure

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Vegan royal icing is made with aquafaba, confectioners sugar (icing sugar) and lemon juice. It is perfect for decorating cookies and cakes.

Vegan royal icing held on a whisk with gluten free gingerbread cookies in the background
Freshly made vegan royal icing on a whisk

Vegan royal icing is quite easy to whip up and has a variety of uses. It can be used to decorate cookies, glue gingerbread houses, spread onto muffins and make sugar decorations such as flowers.

This eggless royal icing can be flavoured as per your liking, I have used vanilla in this recipe, however, you could add a drop or two of mint, caramel, almond, citrus flavouring or just about anything you like.

I love using this vegan royal icing recipe to decorate my Gluten-free vegan Gingerbread Cookies, which are always gobbled down quick.

😋Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Super easy to prepare
  • Stores well at room temperature or in the refrigerator
  • Can easily be coloured if desired
  • Can be used on cookies, muffins or as gingerbread glue
  • It's the best vegan cookie icing that hardens

✔️What You’ll Need

Ingredients on a white bench

🥘 Ingredients Notes

Lemon is needed to help brighten the royal icing. I especially love keeping it white. It also adds some sourness. Lemon juice or water can be used to thin out this vegan royal icing.

Aquafaba (the magical juice of chickpeas) - it is easier to use the brine of canned chickpeas, by draining the brine into a cup. There are so many uses for aquafaba, I generally use it as an egg replacer in cakes Lemon Cake with Thyme and eggless meringues.

Leftover aquafaba can be stored in a container in the fridge for about a week.

Icing sugar, also known as confectioners sugar or powdered sugar. It is best to sift the icing sugar prior to use to ensure that there are no clumps.

Optional - vanilla essence for flavouring and food colouring to add a little colour. If using food colouring ensure it is vegan and divide your royal icing into batches according to the colours you require.

Adding food colouring to icing in stainless steel bowls

🔪 Step by step guide

Here's how to make vegan royal icing

Step 1 - In an electric mixing bowl, whisk aquafaba, lemon juice and optional vanilla essence until foam forms. I used my Kitchen Aid Artisan Mini Stand Mixer using the whisk attachment.

Step 2 - Divide icing sugar (confectioners/powdered sugar) into two parts. Add the first part of the icing sugar to the aquafaba foam and whisk until all well blended into a paste. Add the second part of icing sugar into the paste and whisk until the mixture resembles white glue for approximately 7-8 minutes.

Step 3 - If desired, add food colouring to all or some of the batch by dividing it into batches. Use a piping bag to decorate cookies, muffins, etc. Store leftovers in a snap-lock bag in the fridge.

green, red, white royal icing in snap lock bags on a white bench

💭 Pro Tips and Variations

Lemon can be replaced with white vinegar. My preference is lemon as I find the taste is subtle.

For gluing gingerbread or flowers to cakes etcetera, keep the vegan royal icing thick. Don’t add any additional liquid to this eggless royal icing

To thicken just add in more confectioners sugar.

For making smooth icing cookies, you will want flood icing (thinner consistency) by adding either more lemon juice or water by small spoonfuls at a time. The consistency should be that of when applied it is runny but absorb back into itself once applied.

Aquafaba has been used at room and fridge temperature for this recipe. Both have worked fine.

piping bag with spilt royal icing on parchment paper

❓FAQ

How long does it take for vegan royal icing to dry?

The dry time of vegan royal icing is dependant on how it is used. Is it a thick layer vs a thin layer. If it is used in small amounts like the photos within this post  - it can take 30 minutes, if applied to an entire cookie (flood icing) this can take up to 8 hours.

gluten-free gingerbread cookies with white icing on them

Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ star rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.

Christmas cookies in green, white and red icing on a white bench

Recipe

a female hand holding a white with white royal icing on it

Vegan Royal Icing

Vegan royal icing is made with aquafaba, confectioners sugar (icing sugar) and lemon juice. It is perfect for decorating cookies and cakes.
Print Pin Rate Save Recipe Saved Recipe
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Australian
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 2 cups
Author: Janelle Hama

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon Lemon juice fresh
  • ¼ cup Aquafaba juice from canned chick peas
  • 700 g Icing sugar confectioners/powdered sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon Vanilla
  • 1 g Food colouring optional
Metric - US Customary
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Instructions

  • In an electric mixing bowl, whisk aquafaba, lemon juice and vanilla until foam forms
  • Divide icing sugar (confectioners/powdered sug¼ar) into two parts
  • Add the first part of the icing sugar to the aquafaba foam and whisk until all well blended into a paste.
  • Add second part of icing sugar into the paste and whisk until mixture resembles white glue for approximately 7-8 minutes. Adjust consistency by adding and whisking a small spoonful of lemon juice (or water).
  • If desired, add food colouring to all or some of the batch. Use piping bag to decorate cookies, muffins, etc. Store in a snap lock bag in fridge

Video


Notes

Lemon can be replaced with white vinegar. My preference is lemon as I find the taste is subtle.
For gluing gingerbread or flowers to cakes etcetera, keep the vegan royal icing thick. Don’t add any additional liquid to this eggless royal icing
To thicken just add in more confectioners sugar.
For making smooth icing cookies you will want flood icing (thinner consistency) by adding either more lemon juice or water by small spoonfuls at a time. The consistency should be that of when applied it is runny but absorb back into itself once applied.
Aquafaba has been used at room and fridge temperature for this recipe. Both have worked fine.
 
 
US cups and spoons measurements have been used. 1 cup is 240ml, 1 tablespoon is 15ml and 1 teaspoon is 5ml.
 
- This recipe post has been updated with new photos -

Equipment

mixer

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 1363kcal | Carbohydrates: 349g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 7mg | Potassium: 10mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 342g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg

N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.


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Reader Interactions

Comments

    5 from 4 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Noa

    January 12, 2023 at 9:25 am

    Is this icing white?, like pure white?.

    Reply
    • Janelle Hama

      January 12, 2023 at 9:27 am

      yes

      Reply
  2. Hilda

    August 11, 2020 at 1:09 pm

    5 stars
    I couldn't believe this was true. this icing worked well on my cookies

    Reply
  3. Rachel

    January 25, 2020 at 7:01 pm

    Does this "harden" like the egg-based stuff?

    Reply
    • plantbasedfolk

      January 29, 2020 at 5:44 am

      Yes, it sure does

      Reply
      • Pete

        May 19, 2022 at 10:06 pm

        5 stars
        How long will this stay fresh if used to ice a fruitcake?

        Reply
        • Janelle Hama

          May 20, 2022 at 7:20 am

          If the fruit cake is stored in the fridge, it should keep for several weeks. The longest I have stored it in my fridge (in a jar/bag) is a couple of months.

          Reply

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