Oil-Free Vegan Butter Spread

close-up of vegan butter spread in a glass container with a knife.

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Chill time 1

Total Time 15

Servings:5 servings

Author: Lori Rasmussen, My Quiet Kitchen

This Oil-Free Vegan Butter is a healthy plant-based alternative to dairy-based buttery spreads. You can schmear it on your morning bagel, slather it on corn on the cob, stir it into mashed potatoes, and so much more! Free from gluten and soy. Only 25 calories per ¼ cup and less than 2 grams of fat!

Yield: makes about 1.25 cups (20 Tbsp)

Ingredients
US Customary | Metric

¼ cup yellow corn polenta, dry/uncooked - see Note 1
1¼ cups water, divided
pinch of garlic powder
1 teaspoon agar agar powder - see Note 2 for options
2 Tablespoons blanched almond flour - see Note 3
1½ Tablespoons sweet corn kernels - I use frozen for convenience
½ teaspoon nutritional yeast, optional
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon fine sea salt - can reduce if you plan to spread on sweet dishes like pancakes

Instructions

Place dry polenta in a high-speed blender and cover with a piece of plastic wrap (this helps contain the powdery bits and prevents a mess from sticking to the inside of the blender lid). Place the lid on top of the plastic. Starting on low, quickly increase to high speed, and blend the polenta for about 10 seconds (breaking it into smaller pieces helps it cook more quickly).
Pour the polenta into a small saucepan. Add a tiny pinch of garlic powder, 1 cup of water, and whisk well. Turn the eye to medium heat and bring to a low boil, whisking frequently. Reduce heat to low, and continue to whisk frequently - careful, as it tends to sputter and spit and can burn you! Cook for about 7 minutes or until thick and creamy.
In a small bowl, whisk the agar into the remaining ¼ cup water. Pour this into the pot and return to a low boil. Continue whisking and cook for about 30 seconds to activate the agar. Remove from heat and whisk in the almond flour, corn, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt.
Rinse out the blender, and add the polenta mixture. Cover and starting on low speed, gradually increase to high. Blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust salt or lemon, if desired. Note that agar begins to set quickly. So as soon as you're finished blending, pour the corn butter into a mold/container.
Refrigerate uncovered until cool, then cover and keep refrigerated until ready to use. Find serving suggestions and other helpful tips in the post above.

Notes

Note 1: I use Bob's Red Mill. I also tested the recipe with medium grind cornmeal, which you can use. For some reason the cornmeal flavor seemed stronger and more bitter than polenta.

Note 2: Agar powder is a plant-based gelling agent made from seaweed. It behaves similar to gelatin and is quite useful in the kitchen! I also use it in my oil-free cream cheese, feta, and mozzarella. Here it's used to give our low-fat buttery spread a firmer set. If you don't have agar, the "butter" will still thicken slightly in the fridge thanks to the polenta. Another option is to use tapioca starch.

Note 3: As mentioned, the oil-free butter recipes I've tried previously seemed like they were missing something (fat). So for the ease of blending, I decided to include almond flour, which also has a lightly buttery flavor. If you're allergic to almonds, you can use raw cashews, a tablespoon of cashew butter, or raw sunflower seeds. Or omit the fat, if you like!

Store oil-free butter in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Freezing is not recommended as the moisture separates after thawing.

Tip: There isn't a good way (that I know of) to extend the freshness because it's so low in fat and high in moisture. So I like to heat it up once it reaches day 5 or so, instead of using it cold. For example, add it to marinara or heat it up and drizzling over veggies or pasta. Also, since it's not actually rich like regular butter, you'll find you can use much more of it at a time, so the batch disappears pretty easily within 4 to 5 days.

Nutrition