Recipes to Nourish

Real Food & Natural Living

Vanilla Honey Buttercream Frosting

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Rich and sweet, a little goes a long way slathered on your favorite cake. This delicious, naturally sweetened Vanilla Honey Buttercream Frosting made with 3 real food ingredients is so easy to make, it only takes a few minutes.
 
Vanilla buttercream frosting on top of chocolate cupcakes with pink flowers.

Vanilla Honey Buttercream Frosting is so versatile for cakes, cupcakes and more!

Who doesn’t love frosting with their cake. I mean, frosting is the best part right?! Or at least it’s the best combined, but there’s alway got to be a good ratio and a bit heavier on the frosting.

At least that’s how I LOVE it, as long as the frosting is not too sweet. I’m not a fan of super sweet frosting that starts to make you feel sick before you can even finish a whole slice of cake.

Vanilla buttercream frosting swirled on top of chocolate cupcakes with pink flowers.

This vanilla honey buttercream frosting isn’t too sweet and has no powdered sugar!

It has just the right amount of sweetness and it’s naturally sweetened with honey. That’s right, just honey! You won’t find any cane sugar in this frosting because there’s no need for it!

Sure, honey is still a “natural sugar” but it’s not even close to refined powdered sugar that usually makes frosting insanely too sweet. For most people, it’s much easier for the body to recognize and won’t leave you feeling all jittery like sugar does. Sugar rush + sugar crash = no good.

Vanilla buttercream frosting swirled on top of a chocolate cupcake with pink flowers.
 
I created this vanilla honey buttercream frosting many, many years ago when I started my real food journey. I wanted something that was still just as delicious as the frostings that I grew up with and also nourishing.
 
Yep, I loved frosting as a kid and teen and I was known to eat spoonfuls of frosting out of the packaged containers for dessert. Sounds kind of gross, but it was a thing back in the early 90’s. Most of my high school friends and I loved this. Weekend bliss meant pizza and frosting from a container. Makes me cringe now, but I sure did love it then.
 
Vanilla buttercream frosting on top of chocolate cupcake with pink flowers.

This honey sweetened frosting is just 3 ingredients and nourishing.

You might be thinking how can frosting be nourishing? Well, it can be when you ditch the powdered sugar and load it up with a nutrient-dense, healthy fat. In this case, I’m talking about grass-fed BUTTER.

Grass-fed BUTTER, yes indeed! The 80’s fat-free and low-fat non-sense that I learned as a kid that and grew up with has been proven to be wrong. We got force-fed a lot of ridiculous dietary and nutritional information that was just plain WRONG.

In fact studies now reveal that there is no increased heart disease risk linked to consuming saturated fats. The studies found that people who consume grass-fed butter actually have a LOWER risk of heart disease (you can find those studies on The American Journal of Clinical Nutritional and elsewhere, just search for it, you’ll find tons of info).

Vanilla buttercream frosting swirled on top of chocolate cupcakes with pink flowers.

Healthy fats = fuel!

Now I’m not talking about just any butter. Quality, grass-fed butter is by far superior and much more nourishing. It’s much easier to find these days. Even most Costco’s carry it now!

This amazingly nutrient-dense healthy fat is loaded with fat-soluble vitamins. It’s packed with the fatty acid CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which is known to have lots of beneficial effects on health.

Vanilla buttercream frosting on top of chocolate cupcakes with pink flowers.

This is why grass-fed butter is so important!

Grass-fed butter contains 5 times more CLA than butter made from cows that are grain-fed and not fed their speciess appropriate diet (which is grass!!!).

Grass-fed butter is also a lot higher in beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin K2 (which is something that my body was majorly lacking during my 17+ years as a vegetarian turned vegan).

Vanilla buttercream frosting on top of chocolate cupcakes with pink flowers.

This nourishing frosting is family-loved and kid approved!

This frosting has topped lots of cupcakes and many birthday cakes over the years. It’s been loved by my family, especially my girls and also loved by many readers! There are families who email me yearly telling me how special and loved this frosting has become for their family celebrations.

It’s sentimental to me in a way too, because I feel grateful to be able to share a from scratch frosting with my children and hopefully they’ll pass this recipe on along the way too.

My kids have been making this vanilla honey buttercream frosting with the hand mixer since they were toddlers. Many beaters and spatulas have been licked wth big smiles across the face – and you can’t beat that.

Make sure to use the right kind of honey!

I have updated the recipe with more notes about the honey because many people keep using the thin kind of honey that comes in a squeeze bottle or honey bear. Squeeze honey or honey bears have been too processed and are not the right kind of honey to use! 

I link to the exact kind of honey that I use in the recipe – I find it locally at our local natural foods co-op. It’s a true, raw honey that hasn’t been stripped and highly processed. It is not a creamed honey, it’s just a real, raw honey so it should be thicker in consistency. I also list another kind of honey that I have used that is easy to find in grocery stores like Sprouts. 

I hope you enjoy this delectable frosting as much as my family does.

Vanilla buttercream frosting on top of chocolate cupcakes with pink flowers.

Vanilla Honey Buttercream Frosting

Vanilla buttercream frosting on top of chocolate cupcakes with pink flowers.

Vanilla Honey Buttercream Frosting

Yield: 1 1/2 cups
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Rich and sweet, a little goes a long way slathered on your favorite cake. This delicious, naturally sweetened Vanilla Honey Buttercream Frosting made with 3 real food ingredients is so easy to make, it only takes a few minutes.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Fit standing mixer with the flat beater (if you don't have a standing mixer, you could use a hand mixer or food processor instead) and mixing bowl.
  2. Add butter, honey and vanilla to the bowl and mix on low speed until the butter starts to soften. Increase speed and whip until creamed and it begins to have a lighter white color, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and scrape down frosting with a spatula.

Notes

Note: Use a lighter color honey (not wildflower honey) to ensure the flavor stays mild and not bold in flavor. 

Do NOT use super thin honey like the kind that comes in a squeeze bottle or "honey bear". See the ingredients for the exact type of honey that I use - it is a true, raw honey. You could also use a honey like the one listed in the "Recommended Products" below. I have also used this honey and it works great. [Note, the honey in the video on my site does not reflect the correct type of honey that should be used - I did not film that video and the wrong honey was used.] You must use the correct kind of honey for this recipe! I have listed the brands used in the links.

Use quality butter! Yes the butter brand is important for this recipe! This recipe was tested with Kerrygold and Organic Valley Pasture Butter.

Storage: If storing for later, make sure to take it out of the refrigerator about 20-30 minutes before frosting so it's not so hard and will spread easier. 

Serving Suggestions: Use this to frost your favorite cookies or cakes like chocolate cake, carrot cake, vanilla cake, etc. 

Frosting Cake/Cupcakes: It takes about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of frosting to generously frost 12 cupcakes. It takes about 2 1/2 to 4 cups of frosting to fill and generously frost a two-layer 9" cake.

Equipment: Standing Mixer & Bowl or Hand Mixer, Spatula

HONEY IS NOT INTENDED FOR BABIES UNDER 2 YEARS OLD. 

The photographs of this recipe, recipe and all content above are copyright protected. Please do not use my photos without prior written permission. If you choose to share this recipe, please feel free to share by using proper etiquette and providing a link back to my original recipe on my blog, not a screenshot, with proper disclosure [the original recipe - "title of recipe" by Recipes to Nourish]. Copying/pasting the full recipe text to websites or social media is prohibited. If you make significant changes to the recipe or adapt the recipe in any way, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and provide a link back here with proper disclosure for credit. Thanks for understanding! 

Recommended Products

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 80Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 61mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 3gProtein: 0g

This nutritional information was auto-generated based on serving size, number of servings, and typical information for the ingredients listed. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, please calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients and amounts used, using your preferred nutrition calculator. Under no circumstances shall the this website and the author be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on the given nutritional information. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.

© Emily
Cuisine: American / Category: Dessert

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • How many cupcakes will this recipe (1.5 cups) frost? And I noticed your strawberry icing requires arrowroot powder. Do you recommend putting some in this too?

      Reply

      • The estimated amount for frosting cupcakes is about 1 cup for 12 cupcakes. It takes about 2 1/2 to 4 cups of frosting to generously frost a 2 layer 9″ cake. I hope that helps. I never have in this recipe, but I’m sure you could. When using powdered sugar, most have cornstarch or tapioca flour in them, so the arrowroot acts in the same way as the others would in powdered sugar.

        Reply

  3. Just made this, but it didn’t get as stiff as it looks like yours’ did (from the picture of it in the bowl). Any suggestions?

    Reply

    • I’m sorry it did not turn out for you. The frosting should not be stiff, it’s soft. I use a raw creamed clover honey, which tends to be a thicker honey and I don’t soften the pasture butter first. Did you use a standing mixer? It’s hard to say, temperature can be the culprit sometimes, and so can equipment and/or ingredients. I’ve never had a problem with this frosting and have been making it for many years.

      Reply

  5. Thanks for this – I made a version without the vanilla, replacing it instead with almond essence and a tiny bit of brandy – voila, a cane-sugar free version of my Gran’s brandy butter icing for my honey sweetened Christmas cake – yum!

    Reply

  6. I realize I’m late to the party. But, this frosting is wonderful. I used Pasture Butter and regular raw honey, added 2 tablespoons of cocoa and it was amazing. Soft, creamy and delicious. Frosted a birthday cake with it and chilled the whole thing for about an hour. Perfect!

    Reply

  7. I just made this and it’s absolutely wonderful! I had made wheat free, corn free, refined sugar-free orange cream cupcakes. So I added a 1/4 tsp of orange oil to it. Absolutely wonderful!! Thank you!

    Reply

  8. I made this today, but added 1/2 cup confectioners sugar to make it a little stiffer. Then I used it to frost a pumpkin spice cake. It was amazing! My husband immediately asked for a second piece of cake the moment he finished eating the first. This was BY FAR the best frosting I’ve ever made. Thank you so much for sharing it!

    Reply

    • Thank you so much for sharing! I bet the confectioners sugar made it extra yummy too. I love pumpkin spice cake, so glad you enjoyed it.

      Reply

  9. I made this today and WOW! It is so nice. The first batch didn’t make the cake. Between my 3 girls and myself having a little taste it was nearly all gone. My hand mixer has blown up so I used a mini processor that came with my stick blender and it did a good job. Dying to try this recipe again!

    Reply

    • Thanks so much for sharing this with me! I love that the 4 of you enjoyed it. I hope you get to make it again soon. I know what you mean, we always enjoy it before it make it to the cake or cupcakes 😉 Take care and thanks again so much for leaving a comment.

      Reply

  11. Love this recipe! I made it to cover my son’s birthday cake for his 1st birthday. Turned out great! The only thing I would say to those going to make it, be sure your butter is cold, straight from the fridge. I made two batches, one with cold butter and one with a little softened butter, and the cold butter produced a much more smooth, creamy, non-curdled frosting. Thanks for a great recipe!

    Reply

  12. Very good! I made some pumpkin muffins using maple syrup for to sweeten and they didn’t have much flavor. Rather than start over and add more spices I made this frosting and it is very good on the muffins. Thanks!

    Reply

    • You could try that Antoinette, it won’t give it the exact same consistency as a thicker honey though. Another option could be using maple sugar, grinding it up first in a blender or food processor to make it powdered consistency. That would work for sure. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  14. Honey and butter are a natural combination. I bet it was the frosting used in the Middle ages when “hony” was the main sweet. I am surprised that not many cookbooks mention this simple homemade treat. I guess the history of merchandising is that you really “should” give up the honey and use “pure” white sugar, shouldn’t you? (evil eye brow raise)

    I like the taste of honey more. I’m thinking of making some kind of strawberry angel food cake with honey-butter frosting. An egg white based sponge cake or even cupcake, with strawberries mashed and sweetened, frosted with honey-butter frosting. Yum.

    Reply

  15. I thought that I was compromising by using this recipe. I was out of cream cheese to make my standard frosting, but I didn’t want to run to the store. The frosting was to be used for cinnamon rolls. The frosting is perfect! Oh, my! No comprise here!

    Reply

  16. When I make this, should I expect it to be a little lumpy from the cold butter? Or does it really all smooth out fairly well? I’ve made frosting with softened butter, so this is a new way for me to try by starting with the butter being cold.

    Reply

  17. How does this frosting hold up to heat? I’m looking for something for a 2 year old’s outdoor birthday party. Also, could I substitute something dairy-free for the butter? Coconut oil?

    Reply

    • Hi Monique 🙂 It’s not going to hold up to a lot of heat because it’s butter. That being said, it can be left at room temperature since there’s nothing in it like cream cheese which would need refrigeration. It wouldn’t “melt” unless it was left in extreme heat, just think about butter and how long it would take to melt in the sun and the frosting will be similar. I hope that helps! 🙂 How fun for the 2 year old’s birthday, I hope it’s a lovely one. Both of my kids have enjoyed this frosting at their young birthdays. For dairy-free – coconut oil would really change the flavor and I wouldn’t recommend that. You could try using a quality brand of palm shortening which is usually a blend of organic palm oil and coconut oil, that would work the best.

      Reply

  18. This frosting looks so pretty and so perfect! I can’t believe it’s only made with 3 ingredients. I’ll definitely have to save this one for the next time I’m making cupcakes.

    Reply

  30. I love how soft and fluffy this buttercream frosting is! And I don’t know why but I’d never have thought to use only honey in it – genius!

    Reply

  31. I am excited to find this recipe! I don’t like things that are too sweet, either. And, isn’t it great to know that healthful fats are good for us!

    Reply

  32. Thank you Thank You 🙏 for this amazing and simple frosting! OMG I had all the ingredients in my house! So tasty, not too sweet. Just perfect! I needed a frosting for my healthier cake and this was so good. It was a hit at our last nights dinner. Thank you

    Reply

  38. This was actually pretty dang awesome. I had to make some different chocolate cakes for a research and development project at work and people always complain if there is no frosting. I didn’t have any powdered sugar on hand so i used this recipe and added a couple tablespoons of cocoa. It was really fluffy, and light, people LOVED it. It did have a pronounced honey flavor, but if you don’t mind that (i actually love that), then it is definitely a winner. I’ve made a lot of cakes and frostings (professional chef for 7 years) and this is absolutely one of my favorites! It would be amazing with some orange and lavender additions too 🙂

    Reply

    • That is so fun to hear! I’m so glad it was loved and that you enjoying it too. 🙂 I love adding cocoa powder to it too (chocolate is my favorite – the rest of my family loves vanilla). You’re right, it would be really lovely with orange or lavender too. Thanks so much for sharing this with me.

      Reply

  39. This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try! I need a pink frosting….have you ever added natural colorings to this? I would like to use a little beet purée, but not sure how much…don’t want to ruin the texture.

    Reply

    • Hi Meredith 🙂 Thanks so much! I hope you get to enjoy it. I’ve never used natural coloring with this, but I bet that would work fine. I know there’s a couple of natural colorings on the market that use pretty clean ingredients. I’ve never used beet purée to make pink frosting before, however I’ve used it in chocolate cakes. Usually I use freeze-dried raspberries to make a pink color in frosting – you can check out my method on this chocolate raspberry swirl frosting recipe.

      Reply

      • I made this frosting twice last month to go with buttercream birthday cakes. I added peach purée to one and strawberry purée to the other. The consistency was great and the strawberry made a beautiful pink color while the peach was sort of cream color with orange flecks. Hope that helps! I may make it with a blackberry purée for my sons’s third bday tomorrow!

        Reply

        • *It should be noted that I reduced the purées on the stove top and let them cool completely before incorporating them into the frosting.

          Reply

    • Hi Holly, it’s not a silly question 🙂 You can really use either, I have used both before. My preference is usually unsalted for frosting, although sometimes it’s nice to have that little saltiness added to the sweet. I hope that helps and that you enjoy the frosting.

      Reply

  41. Just made this (a test run) to go on top of a refined sugar free banana cake for my daughter’s 1st birthday next week (I replaced the honey with maple syrup) and it is SO good! I was worried about not having a “smash” cake for her because I’m not giving her anything with refined sugar and this recipe is 100% perfect 🙂

    Reply

    • That makes me smile so big! I’m so glad you like it, that’s great to know about the sub too. What a fun way to celebrate her 1st birthday! (I’m like you too – I don’t do sugar with my babes before 2 years old.)

      Reply

  42. Do you think I could use coconut butter instead grass fed butter? Because I live in a tropical country, the temp is 92F and above daily, plus very humid. Would butter hold up the heat (room temp)? I really want to try out this frosting, it looks perfect! Pls advise, thanks.

    Reply

    • Hi Connie, well that’s tricky. I personally wouldn’t use coconut butter because it will drastically change the flavor and will possibly change the consistency, but it’s not an ingredient that I tested for this recipe, so I really can’t say for sure. I don’t know the exact temperature that butter melts, but yes, if set out in that type of heat, I’m assuming it’s not going to stay as firm and fluffy as a normal frosting. We have very hot summers here – 90’s-100’s and I’ve made this frosting several times during the summer before, but we also consume it inside where the temperature isn’t so hot. I’m not sure that’s the answer you’re looking for. I hope that helps. 🙂

      Reply

  43. Is it enough to frost 7inch cake? How long can I keep the frosted cake for? Should I keep the frosted cake in the fridge until I serve? Thanks

    Reply

    • Hi Connie, it’s hard to say because everyone’s preference with amount of frosting is different. That being said, it generally takes about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of frosting to generously frost 12 cupcakes. It takes about 2 1/2 to 4 cups of frosting to fill and generously frost a two-layer 9″ cake. In terms of keeping the cake in the fridge, that can also vary because some cakes drastically dry up when being placed in the fridge. The frosting will harden some (just like butter does) if refrigerated, so you’d want to allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving, unless you don’t mind a colder more “set” texture kind of frosting. Cake usually doesn’t last more than 2 days in my home because we devour it. I would say typically most cakes are best on the 1st day, still good on the 2nd day and not as fresh tasting on the 3rd day. I hope that helps! 🙂

      Reply

  45. This recipe did not work for me as written, even though I used very cold Kerrygold butter. The result was a sweet buttery slime. BUT! I added about 1/3-1/2 cup peanut butter (I’m not exactly sure how much, I didn’t measure), mixed together, and it made a perfectly fine texture frosting that was DELICIOUS! I put it on top of gluten-free cupcakes, and even the non-healthy eaters in the crowd said they were yum. I think this will become my new go-to frosting. Just wanted to share that in case others have the same result I did. Thanks!!

    Reply

    • Thank you! I had the same result; the honey and butter separated (honestly was kind of expecting this result) and created a curdled mess. Tasty, but not pretty. I’ll give this a go!

      Reply

      • It should not be curdled at all. My best guess is the type of honey you used caused this to happen or the brand of butter you used – I have only tested this recipe with Organic Valley pasture butter and Kerrygold. Did you use a thinner honey like the kind from a honey bear or squeeze bottle or did you use a thicker honey?

        Reply

  47. Do you think this would work with vegan butter to make this dairy free? I struggle to find organic palm shortening where I live in Alberta, Canada, but can easily find vegan butter.

    Reply

  48. Hi. I was seeing where confectioners sugar was added in some recipes here? I am trying to imagine what this would taste like with just butter and vanilla and honey and not be sweet?

    I have volunteered to make our grandson’s 2nd birthday cake and always prefer more natural ingredients 🙂

    Thank you,
    Annette

    Reply

    • I make a gheenash for cakes. you would just have to mix in the honey right after making your ghee then give it a good stir and put in the fridge. when its starting to harden and has that creamy texture (like room temp butter) I give it another stir so the honey that has come to bottom gets incorporated in it all. then frost your cake, make sure its not warm when doing this or you will have a melting mess, and place cake in fridge if you want it to be a ganash style frosting or leave at room temp for soft frosting. just not a warm place it will melt quick.. I hope that helps. this recipe I do with homemade ghee. I don’t buy store bought because the flavor is soo good when fresh

      Reply

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