Vanilla Coconut Icing (Recipe, Vegan, GF) - Life's Little Sweets (2024)

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September 25, 2015

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Vanilla Coconut Icing is a vegan and gluten-free icing that can be enjoyed on muffins, scones, quick bread, cakes, or any number of dessert recipes.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Vanilla Coconut Icing
- Ingredients
- Kitchen Tools
  - Web Story
- How to make Vanilla Coconut Icing
  - Our Other Recipes and Posts
  - Latest Recipes and Posts

Vanilla Coconut Icing

As a wife and mother, I often cook and bake for people who have different dietary needs.

Personally, I am an omnivore and can pretty much eat anything but I have members of my family and friends that have dietary restrictions, for example, my husband, Eric, is lactose intolerant.

I am often working around this issue when I craft a recipe, especially, if it's one he will be eating.

Vanilla Coconut Icing is a great basic icing recipe that can be whipped up very fast, with only a few ingredients, and can be paired with a variety of desserts.

The coconut flavor is very subtle and the vanilla flavor really shines through.

Keep this basic recipe in mind as we head into the holidays or year-round for your favorite desserts!

Vanilla Coconut Icing (Recipe, Vegan, GF) - Life's Little Sweets (2)

Ingredients

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
¼ teaspoon organic pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut milk, plus more for desired consistency

Kitchen Tools

small whisk
measuring spoons and cups
wet measure
mixing bowl(s)
spoon

Web Story

How to make Vanilla Coconut Icing

Step 1: Gather your ingredients:

Vanilla Coconut Icing (Recipe, Vegan, GF) - Life's Little Sweets (4)

Step 2: Combine your ingredients.

Vanilla Coconut Icing (Recipe, Vegan, GF) - Life's Little Sweets (5)

Step 3: Stir ingredients until smooth and creamy.

Vanilla Coconut Icing (Recipe, Vegan, GF) - Life's Little Sweets (6)

All done!

Vanilla Coconut Icing (Recipe, Vegan, GF) - Life's Little Sweets (7)

“Vanilla Coconut Icing” isinspiredby, “Powdered Sugar Icing,” p. 184, in the “Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book,” Special Edition, 2007.

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What's your favorite kind of icing? Please let me know in the comments below!

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Yield: 1 /2 cup

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute

Total Time: 11 minutes

Vanilla Coconut Icing is a vegan and gluten-free icing that can be enjoyed on muffins, scones, quick bread, cakes, or any number of dessert recipes.

Ingredients

Instructions

In a small bowl, sift powdered sugar, then add ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of coconut milk.
Stir ingredients until combined and smooth. To make the consistency thinner, stir in 1 teaspoon of coconut milk at a time.

Notes

You can try using another type of extract with this recipe to get a different flavor icing, for example, almond extract. Also, this icing will become more translucent when more coconut milk is added to the mixture. Keep this in mind if you want more of a thicker/opaque/white effect.
You can easily substitute coconut milk for regular milk or milk of your choice.
This recipe makes enough for drizzling over a 10 inch round cake, 1-2 quick pieces of bread (depending on desired coverage).

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Did you make this recipe? If you share it on social media tag us @lifeslittlesweets and hashtag it #lifeslittlesweets - Thank you in advance!

Author
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Sara Maniez

Owner at Life's Little Sweets

Sara is an architectural designer turned work-at-home Mom. She lives in New Jersey by way of New England and New York, with her husband and 3 kids under 8. She loves design, being creative, and spending time with family and friends. She loves checking out local businesses and eats and being apart of the local farm to table community.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Sarah says
September 25, 2015 at 9:10 pm

This sounds wonderful! I can think of so many delicious treats that it would pair great with!
Reply
- Sara says
  September 26, 2015 at 2:36 am
  
  Hey Sarah, yeah, I just wanted to provide some basics for readers...I have some recipes that this is meant to go with that I will be sharing soon!
  Reply
Jess @ Sweetest Menu says
September 25, 2015 at 10:07 pm

Coconut milk in icing - now that is a neat idea! Just love your gorgeous photos on that pink background - wow!
Reply
- Sara says
  September 26, 2015 at 1:24 am
  
  Hi Jess, thank you so much for your sweet comment, thank you for stopping by my blog!
  Reply
Lauren @ Create Bake Make says
September 26, 2015 at 7:02 am

I think I could eat this all on it's own!!
Reply
- Sara says
  September 26, 2015 at 1:09 pm
  
  Hi Lauren, yeah, I was definitely "sampling" when I made this! Nice little sugar rush!
  Reply
Camilla says
September 26, 2015 at 8:27 am

Great idea I love the sound of this icing and can imagine it on biscuits and cakes galore:-) Great shots too:-)
Reply
- Sara says
  September 26, 2015 at 1:15 pm
  
  Hi Camilla, thanks, I am glad you like the photos 🙂 It was fun practicing trying to get an "action" shot for this icing shoot. Thank you for visiting!
  Reply
Tara | Deliciously Declassified says
September 26, 2015 at 12:24 pm

Love the photos, Sara! The icing sounds great, too - so many possibilities! 🙂
Reply
- Sara says
  September 26, 2015 at 1:12 pm
  
  Hi Tara, thank you, I am inspired by Pop Art and wanted to bring a little of that into my food photography as well as try something fresh & new, I definitely want to experiment more!
  Reply
Choclette says
September 26, 2015 at 7:56 pm

Ooh, adding coconut milk to icing is such a good idea. I love coconut, so I'm thinking maybe some coconut flour would be a good addition too. I might just try it and find out.
Reply
- Sara says
  September 27, 2015 at 2:08 am
  
  Thank you! If you try it, let me know how it goes!
  Reply
Derek says
September 26, 2015 at 10:40 pm

Sara, this is pretty cool! I'm always looking to up my sweet recipes (since I don't have any) and this looks like a perfect start. Thanks for this!
Reply
- Sara says
  September 27, 2015 at 6:43 pm
  
  Hi Derek! Thank you very much 🙂 I love your recipes & website btw, those "Spanked Crab Rolls" look awesome! Your sense of humor comes through in your writing. Thank you for visiting!
  Reply
Mira says
September 28, 2015 at 6:18 am

This sounds like a great idea! Will definitely try it! Love the addition of coconut milk!
Reply
- Sara says
  September 29, 2015 at 2:39 pm
  See Also
  Gluten-Free Biscuits Recipe (Made with Bisquick!) - Maebells
  
  Hi Mira, please let me know if you do! Thank you!
  Reply
Lindsay says
September 28, 2015 at 3:38 pm

This looks delicious! I'm going to make it this weekend! Thanks for the recipe!
Reply
- Sara says
  October 08, 2015 at 1:54 am
  
  Hi Lindsay, Let me know how it went! Thank you for visiting:)
  Reply
Amanda@ChewTown says
September 29, 2015 at 5:29 am

A good icing is a treasure to have on hand. I love the idea of this one made with coconut milk and I definitely think I need to try it!!
Reply
- Sara says
  September 29, 2015 at 2:47 pm
  
  Hi Amanda, I am a lover of coconut milk, it's so versatile, thank you for stopping in! I love your work and recipes on your blog by the way!
  Reply
Kelly - A Side of Sweet says
September 30, 2015 at 1:40 pm

I can't imagine being lactose intolerant (the horror!), but this looks like a pretty delicious solution for baking! Love the pink background - it really makes things pop!
Reply
- Sara says
  September 30, 2015 at 2:24 pm
  
  Hi Kelly, yeah living with a lactose intolerant husband is interesting and I've had to adapt many recipes around it but it's totally doable. Thanks for visiting my blog! I spent time last night on your blog, I love what you do, it's inspiring to me, thank you for visiting!
  Reply
Jennifer Stewart says
October 02, 2015 at 2:28 am

This is a better version of royal icing and something that I want in my life pronto!
Reply
- Sara says
  October 02, 2015 at 3:10 pm
  
  Hi Jennifer, you know I have never tried making traditional royal icing? I think there's a lot of potential for this recipe...maybe for spreading on cookies or in truffles? Thank you for visiting my page!
  Reply
Jane says
October 02, 2015 at 10:36 am

This would be wonderful drizzled over some muffins or a cake. I'm always looking for new gluten free recipes to try. Thank you!
Reply
- Sara says
  October 08, 2015 at 1:57 am
  
  Hi Jane, I agree! Thank you for visiting!
  Reply
Becky Winkler (A Calculated Whisk) says
October 02, 2015 at 3:12 pm

So simple!! Love it. Pinning 🙂
Reply
- Sara says
  October 08, 2015 at 1:55 am
  
  Hi Becky, yes, I am all for the simplicity, thank you for the pin and for visiting 🙂
  Reply
Elaina Newton (@TheRisingSpoon) says
October 02, 2015 at 5:01 pm

Yum! I bet this would be fabulous drizzled over some pumpkin, apple, or berry scones. I love how versatile coconut milk is, and am so thankful to have it as a cooking/baking option in recipes. Especially since dairy milk often spoils faster and it's so easy to whip up homemade nut milk. Pinning for later! 🙂
Reply
- Sara says
  October 04, 2015 at 9:37 pm
  
  Hi Elaina, yes, I do have a recipe I will be sharing that will feature Vanilla Coconut Icing drizzled over, stay tuned! I agree, I feel like an icing like this lasts longer as well. Thank you!
  Reply
Neli @ Delicious Meets Healthy says
October 03, 2015 at 2:07 am

I was just looking for a dairy-free icing, so glad I found this! Looks delicious & exactly what i wanted.
Reply
- Sara says
  October 04, 2015 at 9:38 pm
  
  Hi Neli, I am glad this recipe can be useful to you! Thank you for stopping by my blog!
  Reply
Agata says
October 03, 2015 at 8:05 pm

it sounds perfect; I hardly ever use icing but I would love to give this one a try
Reply
- Sara says
  October 08, 2015 at 1:56 am
  
  Hi Agata, thank you!
  Reply
Sherri @ Watch Learn Eat says
October 09, 2015 at 2:15 am

Hi Sara! I really love the idea for this icing and can't wait to try it now that my husband is gluten and (somewhat) dairy free! Sounds delicious!
Reply
- Sara says
  October 15, 2015 at 1:56 am
  
  Hi Sherri, I am so glad that you like it! Thank you for visiting!
  Reply
Sherri @ Watch Learn Eat says
October 09, 2015 at 2:15 am

Hi Sara! I really love the idea for this icing and can't wait to try it now that my husband is gluten and (somewhat) dairy free! Sounds delicious!
Reply
- Sara says
  October 09, 2015 at 2:40 am
  
  Hi Sherri, Thank you for visiting and I am glad that you find this recipe helpful 🙂
  Reply
Regina says
October 13, 2015 at 9:34 am

My husband can't really tolerate dairy either. I've never thought about using coconut milk in a glaze icing. I love coconut flavor, so I think this would be perfect.
Reply
- Sara says
  October 14, 2015 at 6:14 am
  
  Hi Regina, I hope you do use and enjoy it 🙂 Thank you for stopping by!
  Reply
Jayact says
December 01, 2017 at 10:27 pm

Can I use vanilla powder instead of vanilla extract..how much I have to add..
Reply
- Sara says
  December 02, 2017 at 2:15 am
  
  Hi Jayact, for this recipe, you need to use vanilla extract. I’m not familiar with vanilla powder. My guess is that you would have to some add more liquid to it. If you try that let me know how it works out here. Thank you, Sara
  Reply
Lyra says
December 18, 2020 at 5:16 pm

Does this icing harden like regular royal icing? I want to use it to ice some holiday cookies that I'm giving away as gifts, but I don't want the icing to get everywhere. Thank you!
Reply
- Sara Maniez says
  December 18, 2020 at 8:44 pm
  
  This recipe doesn't dry hard, at least not the way I've made it. You want my "Royal Icing" recipe which dries hard and is perfect for cookie decorating, it'ss here on the blog, just search in the search box or it might still be on the home page. Good luck!
  Reply
Mel says
January 01, 2021 at 3:08 pm

I’m an architectural designer turned work-at-home mom too!! I had 3/7 ARE tests done when the stars aligned & I was able to quit to be w my 1.5 (now 6) year old daughter. No regrets!! Architects are even more overworked & underpaid than moms, ha! Anyway, made this w whole milk for the easypeazymeals simple cinnamon rolls for our New Year’s Day breakfast & it was a hit! Didn’t have a sifter but used a mixer, no problems. Thanks for the major mom win to start out the new year and saving me from the dough boy’s cans and that lady’s freezer varieties my crew always wants- blughk! Never again!!
Reply
- Sara Maniez says
  January 01, 2021 at 11:57 pm
  
  SO glad to hear of someone who knows what this experience is like! I am so glad that you like the recipe and thanks for coming back to give your experience!
  Reply
Lynne says
February 25, 2022 at 4:47 pm

If using coconut milk will the cookies need to be kept refrigerated?
Reply

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Vanilla Coconut Icing (Recipe, Vegan, GF) - Life's Little Sweets (2024)

Table of contents

Vanilla Coconut Icing

Ingredients

Kitchen Tools

Web Story

How to make Vanilla Coconut Icing

Our Other Recipes and Posts

Latest Recipes and Posts

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Recommended Products

Nutrition Information:

Did you make this recipe?

More Desserts

Email Newsletter - Get Your FREE Seasonal Produce Chart!

Reader Interactions

Comments

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