11 Easy Buttercream Frosting Recipes

It isn’t cloyingly sweet, and rather than tasting like butter or sugar, it has a lovely vanilla flavor.

Whether you’re decorating cookies or the sides of a cake, it’s important to work with frosting that’ll hold its shape. Here, exactly the recipe you need—plus tips on how to color it (hint: only use gel food coloring).

We’re tempted to call this recipe “basic,” although it’s anything but. It has all the rich and chocolaty flavor of a brownie, in silky frosting form.

This speedy recipe is light, fluffy and oh-so citrusy, thanks to the zest of two whole lemons. A smidgen of cream cheese adds extra lusciousness.

Vegan and naturally sweetened, this thick and creamy recipe has truly got it going on. Raw soaked cashews, coconut milk and sea salt are just a few of the simple, pretty good-for-you ingredients.

Start with a classic vanilla buttercream recipe—then mix in an entire tub of marshmallow Fluff. Just like that, you’ve got frosting so delicious, you could eat it by the spoonful.

Five DIY food dyes create vibrant frosting colors: spirulina, turmeric, freeze-dried strawberries, matcha and freeze-dried blueberries. Finally, frosting you can feel great about.

Hold up. Keto chocolate buttercream exists!? It’s made with unsweetened chocolate, cocoa powder, butter, coconut oil and a low-carb fruit-based sweetener.

Bookmark this recipe for fall. It’ll come in handy when you need to whip up a festive dessert and don’t feel like making a batch of cookies.

Psst: This recipe calls for just three ingredients and is tasty on cookies, brownies and cupcakes galore.

Simply replace real butter with vegan butter and whipping cream with non-dairy milk.