We have been eating paleo for a few years now, and I will have to say that baking has been the biggest hurdle. It’s just not the same without all of the gluten and sugar! The textures are not what we are used to and the taste is not so hyper-palatable!
But, this is actually a good thing. We are not designed to have so much system overload when we eat. We are designed to just eat real food. That’s why I really wanted to find the perfect frosting recipe for my daughter’s birthday cake. Turns out that I came up with the best paleo frosting ever!
The Best Paleo Frosting Ever
You'll love this dairy-free paleo frosting. Perfect for cakes, cupcakes, brownies, and any other sweet treats.
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 2 Tsp vanilla extract
- 4 Tbsp arrowroot powder
- 4 Tbsp coconut flour
- 4 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine everything except the coconut oil.
- Blend with a hand mixer until well combined.
- Drizzle coconut oil in slowly while mixing on high.
- Mix until whipped together.
- Frost cake immediately or store in the fridge (if you store in the fridge, re-whip before using).
- If you want to pipe this frosting, put it into the fridge until firm, and then use a cake decorator and pipe the frosting into beautiful designs. It’s best to take it out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature for a few minutes before piping.
- Enjoy your paleo frosting! My daughter loved it on her Barbie cake!!!
Notes
Tip from a Reader: You can also use coconut milk powder for a smoother consistency. I tried this and it was awesome, but I used 5 tablespoons instead of 4.
Note: I colored it pink using 1 Tbsp of beet juice.
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Check out my video below, I was making up some paleo frosting for my husband’s birthday cake
CLICK HERE to Pin this Recipe
161 Replies to “The Best Paleo Frosting Ever”
Wow that is real nice work Kate. And the recipe looks good, even though I had to Google what arrowroot powder was. :-). Guess we learn something new everyday.
Hi Kate, I was wondering have you ever subbed in some cocoa powder to make it chocolate frosting? Just wondering how that would turn out. Thanks!
I have and it’s delicious!
This sounds great – I am bookmarking as I have yet to find Paleo frosting I am in love with. Thanks!
Hi! Stopping over from Unprocessed Fridays link-up. I’m not a huge baker but this looks delicious. I’m definitely pinning. What do you do for coloring?
I color it with beet juice 🙂
Not sure what palm shortening is or where I get it (I’m in Australia)? I was thinking i would just sub for coconut oil, but not sure that will work. Any suggestions?
Palm oil shortening is solid at room temp, that it what gives the frosting its body. You could try coconut oil, but I think it would melt pretty easy and not set as well. You should be able to order palm oil on Amazon.
Hi and thanks so much. My palm shortening is a mix with coconut oil. Would I still need to add the coconut oil? Would this work good for cookies and will it keep its hold at room temperature?
You can add more coconut oil if it seems too thick. It should hold, mine always does. I make it all the time
Looks great! I am trying to make “healthy cupcakes” for church Wednesday. I wasn’t sure if I was going to do frosting, but after seeing this recipe, I may. If I add more beet juice do you think I could make the frosting red? Also, can I just use the juice from a jar of beets, do you buy beet juice, etc? Thanks!
I think if you add too much it will give it a beet flavor, so be cautious. I juiced some beets at home. You could also use natural food colorings. I linked to them above.
yummy!
i may try it with butter, i don’t have time to wait on shipping for the palm oil. season’s cheating! 😉
pomegranate juice would be another good dye.
Great idea!
You can also ground up dried strawberries into powder 🙂
Nope. My hubby bloats up from palm oil. 🙁
This is amazing. That is all.
Just pinned – yum!!
Hi there,
I made the frosting last night for cupcakes but ran in to some difficulties so I wanted to give you the feedback. I did wonder if 2tbsp was a lot of vanilla extract, but I went ahead and added it in anyway – it was far too much! The frosting tasted alcoholic. I checked other recipes and they tend to use teaspoons of vanilla not tablespoons. So, to salvage it I had to add more palm shortening and flour.
Also, I’m not sure if the next problem was down to the brand of coconut flour (I used Let’s Do Organic) but the frosting did come out a bit gritty even with lots of mixing. I think next time I will just use tapioca flour as that is very very fine. Or, I know some people sift coconut flour before using it.
For novice bakers like myself, can you include something in the notes to indicate how much of this frosting would be needed for different things, eg. a cake or 12 cupcakes as I had no idea and now I have a lot of leftover frosting.
Hopefully my feedback doesn’t sound too negative as I know I will be using this recipe again for sure – it was a big hit once I fixed the vanilla issue 🙂 Absolutely deliciious. Thank you for sharing it with us 🙂
Allison,
Ahh thank you so much. That was a typo. 2T is way too much. I will fix it right now. I am surprised that no-one else mentioned it to me. Thank you so much 🙂
The coconut flour left a very unpleasant texture and taste. Is there something else (accessible) that can thicken it? More arrow root possibly? Tapioca starch? Coconut milk powder isn’t sold in our stores in WA. I just made this frosting for my 8 year olds bday cupcakes and it wasn’t a win 🙁 and we’re used to GF SF DF baking.
You can use coconut milk powder in place of coconut flour, but that is often hard to find locally for most people. That’s why I used coconut flour.
Teresa, I used Tapioca Flour instead and it came out tasting almost exactly like Buttercream.
Samantha, did you use 4 tbsp of tapioca flour?
I am so excited to try this recipe! Finding a good icing recipe has been a challenge for me:/ I follow the SCD diet and wonder if I can sub anything for the arrowroot powder?
Would you be able to substitute with tapioca flour?
Unfortunately, tapioca flour is not allowed on SCD either because how how starchy it is. Do you have any other suggestions? Thank you so much!
maybe coconut milk powder?
I will try and let you know! Thanks.
Did you find anything else that works for the SCD? My son needs to follow that diet as well. Even without the arrowroot, it might work better than anything else I’ve tried, so I might just experiment….
Looks awesome, can’t wait to try this! I will try with coconut butter instead of palm shortening. I think my recipe is for 12 cupcakes, will this be enough? Thanks!
Just curious, does this come out pure white or does it have a yellow tint?
I would not call it “pure white” but it is white.
I think rasberries or strawberrys would give you a better pink, an if you put in too much it would just taste fruity as opposed to beety.
Can you use maple syrup instead of honey?
I’m sure that would be just fine
This sounds excellent and I can’t wait to try it, so thank you! I’ve been searching high and low for a great Paleo frosting recipe. A question I have is… If I frost cupcakes immediately after making the frosting, then refrigerate them overnight and they are served in the next day or two, do you know if the frosting will keep it’s form (like a cream cheese frosting would) or would it fall apart, melt, or turn too hard?
They will keep their shape in the fridge, this is actually a very thick frosting so it does not melt and run much. I guess I haven’t made it in the middle of summer yet though, so I have not tried all temperatures 🙂
Any suggestions/ thoughts on how to make into chocolate frosting? Cacao powder, melted chocolate?
Definitely melted chocolate. I would use these chips: https://amzn.to/1e8rbSh
Hello! This frosting looks so delicious, but I’m worried if the coconut flour makes it a bit grainy? When I have used coconut flour as a gravy thickener, it doesn’t make completely smooth result. I would still like to try this recipe!
It is not completely as smooth as when you use powdered sugar, but I think it’s close enough. Worked perfectly for a Barbie cake 🙂
I am making this for my 1yr olds birthday and don’t want it too be too sweet. Could I reduce the amount of honey or would that compromise the structure of the frosting? Thanks! 🙂
Reducing the amount of honey should be just fine. Have a great bday party! The first one is always so special 🙂
I'm wondering about palm shortening, I've never used it and just curious why you like it, it's benefits? I also made your homemade pizza sauce which you call for coconut sugar (which I used), it was sooooo good. Just wondering the benefits of the palm shortening (how is it not like regular shortening) and coconut sugar? Thank you so much, I'm getting so much from your blog!
Palm shortening is a more stable high heat oil and is great when used in baking and cooking. It is full of healthy fats (MCFA’s). But in addition to MCFA’s, palm oil is also loaded with the following phytonutrients: Carotenoids (alpha-,beta-,and gamma-carotenes), Sterols (sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol), Vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols), Water-soluble powerful antioxidants, phenolic acids and flavonoids. You can read more here: https://www.thebetterhealthstore.com/newsletter/111309_Red-Palm-Oil_02.html
Coconut sugar is a more “nutritious” sugar that has a lesser effect on blood sugar.
You can read more here: https://www.livestrong.com/article/367337-what-are-the-benefits-of-coconut-sugar/
How much frosting does this recipe make?
About 2 cups
Oh this is the perfect icing. I plan on making a Disney Frozen cake for my daughter’s birthday. I wonder if I just place some blue or icicle type decos on the dress. I don’t think i could make blue icing in a healthy way. 🙁 Thanks for the recipe!
My daughter would LOVE an Elsa cake!!! Let me know how you make it blue 🙂
Wouldn’t blueberries help to make it blu?
no, they make it more purple.
Can I use this recipe on my blog if I put the link to your blog?
Oh yeah, can I substitute coconut oil for the shortening?
Genna
You can use the recipe if you don’t post the entire recipe word for word. Just use the beginning and link to the directions. You could try coconut oil, but I have not done that and can’t say if it would work or not
Does this have a coconut flavor? A friend made cookies using coconut flour and it had a definite coconut taste. I don’t care for coconut. Thanks!
I don’t think it does.
Is there a substitute for the arrowroot flour as I am on SCD can arrowroot is on the illegal list. Thanks
Maybe you could try a very fine coconut powder
Ay-yai-yai! This is not a commentary on this recipe, only a cautionary tale: I used red palm shortening (all I had) which gave the icing an orange color and an, ahem, earthy flavor. I then added cocoa powder and some stevia extract. It turned the whole mixture a nasty shade of yellow. /sigh
I shall need to get some regular palm shortening to try the recipe as written. Thanks for sharing!
Ha, that made me laugh out loud. Sorry. Thanks for sharing though, it is noted. 🙂
I’m grateful to read about your creation and excited about trying it. I’m surprised nobody has said this, but it’s extremely important, so I’m going to. The use of palm oil in so many food products is resulting in deforestation and the devastation of the rainforest habitat of endangered species, particularly the orangutans. If you’re going to buy it, please be sure that it bears a Rainforest Alliance certification. Thank you. https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/work/agriculture/palm-oil
Thanks Marina, Trader Joes also now carries a sustainable red palm oil too 🙂
By the way, I just ordered some Rainforest Alliance Certified Red Palm Oil from a website, and then noticed the comment about the coloring problem. Oh well, so much for vanilla! I’m just going to add it a tiny bit of strawberry and that should be fine. 🙂
Does the frosting have to be refridgerated? It looks to me like none of the ingredients require rwfridgeration so if I make it weeks in advance and then chilled and rewhipped it right before frosting would that be alright?
I would keep it in the fridge if you plan to store it for a while. If its overnight, you should be fine with it in the cabinet
Wow, this looks delicious! I have been trying to find a gluten, dairy, egg and Candida friendly frosting that uses honey but can’t find any good ones. This one looks like it will the fit the bill nicely. One question though since my daughter can’t really handle the taste/texture of coconut flour is there anything I could substitute it with? Maybe millet, almond, or quinoa flour?
Rebekah – Naturally Blessed Mama
NaturallyBlessedMama.com
You would want to sub it with the flour with the finest texture, I guess I would try quinoa? You could also try cassava: https://realfoodrn.com/cassava
Hi, I was so excited to try this recipe! But, i think i must have done something wrong, because it didn’t really have any flavor to it at all…. it just tasted like “tasteless fat”. What did I do wrong?? Would love some help! I’m wanting to make my own wedding cake with frosting.
It definitely does not have the shockingly sweet flavor of traditional frosting recipes, but it should still taste good. You might want to try adding more sweetener. We love it!
Could I use another 4tbs of arrowroot fl instead of the coconut fl?
Yeah, it might be a little more runny, but you can give it a try
This is the best paleo frosting ever, this stuff is a game changer.
Aw, thanks Jennifer! I love it too 🙂
I absolutely love this frosting! However, I would like to try to make it in another flavour than vanilla, lite chocolate or strawberry. Any idea how much chocolate or fruit juice/puree I should add to the mixture? And should I omit the vanilla entirely or would it still be needed for sweetness?
I would keep the vanilla and maybe add 2-3 Tbsp cocoa powder. For strawberry, I would not use juice. I would instead buy those freeze dried strawberries from the health food store or Trader Joes. I would either pulverize them in a blender or coffee grinder to get a pink powder. Then add that to the frosting. I think I will have to give that a try too! 🙂
Is it possible to use butter instead of of the palm shortening?
I don’t think it would hold as well with butter. You could certainly try it and keep it chilled until you eat it. I am afraid that the butter would cause it to melt quicker. Give it a try and let me know if it turns out. Everything certainly tastes better with butter, in my opinion 🙂
YES, butter worked good for this recipe. It was a tad too firm when left in the fridge, but during the fall it was fine to keep out.
I LOVED this frosting! By far the best I have made. I used maple syrup instead of honey, and I didn’t need any coconut oil. I also added pumpkin pie seasoning and I want to eat it straight from the bag. Holy moly, it’s yummy!
Maple syrup works well too and the pumpkin spice idea is brilliant. I bet that was tasty! I love this frosting, I need to hide any extra that I have or we will eat it all up right away!
im
Really excited about trying this for the littlest’s 1st birthday. Have you had any feedback from anyone about using coconut oil or butter instead of palm oil yet? 🙂 x
I have not tried it with only coconut oil or butter. I think the texture would be different, not as firm. You could certainly give it a try. Let me know how it turns out!
This first time I made this, I didn’t care for the coconut flour in it because it made the frosting taste gritty. The second time around I just omitted the coconut flour and coconut oil and it tasted great and has become my staple buttercream frosting. It’s not too sweet, but my kids and their friends like it.
I might just have to try that variation, you had me at buttercream 🙂
Donna did you substitute with anything? adjust the recipe at all ? or just totally omit the coconut flour and oil? I would like to not have to make more than 1 batch and also avoid a gritty texture. especially because only a few guests will actually be Paleo.
I’m trying to make a gluten free low sugar cake for my birthday and maybe my Dad’s (he’s a diabetic) and this frosting looks like it fits the bill! Do we know what the diabetic exchange might be for this? I’m assuming since honey is the only sugar, the taste is not overpoweringly sweet. Great blog!
Hi Irene, it is definitely not overpoweringly sweet. You can always lessen the amount of sweetener. I am not sure of the diabetic exchange though.
Hi! I’m wondering if this frosting would freeze ok? I want to freeze the iced cake in advance and hoping to defrost it in fridge the night before the party.
Thanks ??
Hey Michelle, yes I bet it would freeze great! Let me know how it turns out!
Emily, I just completely omitted the coconut flour and coconut oil. I was making if for for an outdoors birthday party in summer, so that’s why I omitted the coconut oil. Held up in the heat just fine.
Nutiva makes a Coconut Shortening. I am going to try that I think and instead of honey can I use Stevia drops?
Yeah Stevia will work too!
I just made this and although I loved the flavor and consistency, it was gritty I’m assuming from the coconut flour?
I whipped it up with my hand blender for a while and tried another batch using half the amount of coconut flour and still gritty?
Does it matter what brand of coconut flour is used?
I think some of the coconut flours might have a grittier texture. Try to find the finest grind you can
I made this frosting just tonight and I love it! My son, on the other hand, did not like it. So I tried embellishing it with some powdered sugar and than added some coconut sugar to give it a bit of a different flavor. I love how this whips up so well…it has a lot of body to it! Thanks for the great recipe. I added peanut butter to half of it. That stuff is awesome!
Was initially excited to find this recipe but then saw it uses palm shortening (solidified palm oil) so the lady in Australia where I am also from, that’s what it is. Sadly, it’s the worst oil for human consumption, it’s the oil the world is trying not to use. Unless it is certified as safe in it’s sourcing then it is the major cause of deforest ideation in many countries and is what is causing the destruction of habitat and the extinction of many animals. Orangutans are high on the endangered list because of palm oil production. Is there another solidified oil that can replace this in the recipe? It would be great to have great frosting for birthday cakes. Any ideas?
I only use sustainable palm oil
Hi there! I just made this frosting for a paleo cake I made my sister for her bday. Thank you so much for a recipe without using any confectioners sugar/ or cane sugar. ? it was my first time using palm shortening and some of the other ingredients. One thing I noticed is the frosting tastes mostly all of honey… Did I do something wrong? I bought an organic raw honey. I’m wondering if maybe maple syrup would be a better choice for flavor purposes. The texture and everything is great and I also added in fresh vanilla beans. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to make it taste less overpowering honey!? Thank you so much!
Hi Deanna, is it possible that you have a strong flavored honey? I know there are some that are more mild. I have never found it to be overpowering. You could try maple syrup instead.
Loved it! But…the texture was a little off for me. I could tell there was coconut flour in it. A little gritty. Should it be sifted?
It is a little grittier due to the coconut flour. I have blended the flour in the vitamix and sifted it in the past, that changes the texture
Thanks!
I made this frosting today almost as written, except instead of coconut flour I used powdered coconut milk. to stabilize it I ended up using quite a bit of the powdered coconut milk (3/4cup) but the result was only a tiny bit gritty, and completely unnoticeable once it was on my vegan/grain-free/paleo carrot-pineapple cake. So delicious! I haven’t had frosting in years and was so excited to make one that wasn’t too bad.
Anne, that’s brilliant! Thank you for sharing, I am definitely trying that next time 🙂
Yay! Glad to find this… I normally just go the “lazy paleo” way and use coconut cream. This looks much more authentic… and less melty 😀
Yes, it is much better than just coconut cream. This frosting does not melt.
Some one said that butter and coconut oil could be used interchangeably, so can i replace coconut oil by butter when i make your frosting?
Sure, that should work!
I have a lot of starches and flours for bread…potato, tapioca, rice. Can I sub in one of those for arrowroot? I am trying desperately to find a good recipe for piping and decorating. Nothing extremely detailed, but something other than just a plain frosted cake. Thanks 🙂
You could certainly try subbing a starch! I think it will pipe nicely
This did not come together!
Yum! I added a little bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice and zest (about 2tbs juice & 1/2tbs zest) and it was AMAZING!!! I put a little less coconut oil in at the end to compensate for the added liquid. And also subbed cassava flour for coconut to make it less grainy.
I would like to try butter instead of palm oil in this recipe. Should I use salted or unsalted? And 1 cup for 1 cup?
I am not sure if it’s 1:1 but I think it should be okay. I personally would use unsalted
I made this last night. I only added about 2 T. of the coconut oil and then I added 1 Tablespoon of “flax egg” and extra soy milk. Otherwise, the batter was way too stiff. I didn’t really like it right away: I put it on a GF chocolate cake I had baked (and cooled), and it was really pretty oily. So, I put it in the refrig overnight and it stiffened up and was pretty good in the morning, I did have some for breakfast :).
Cake for breakfast is a great idea!
If you want to color it blue, boil red cabbage until you have a thick purple liquid. Add baking soda to the liquid in small pinches until it goes blue. Too much and it goes green.
This has to be THE BEST frosting I have tasted. And so easy to make. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
Yay, so glad you like it!
Hi! I used the coconut flour and maple syrup and the frosting turned out a beigey color. Any tips for making the frosting look more white in color?
It does turn out off-white, you could try using a superfine white sugar to sweeten, instead of the maple syrup
Is palm oil paleo? The recipe looks great and delicious, but from what I understand p0alm oil is not paleo.
my understanding is that it is paleo
Can be store it on the counter top ?
It will last much longer in the fridge
If I wanted to turn this into chocolate frosting, do you have any idea how much cacao powder I should add?
I would just keep adding to taste
Hi, I enjoyed this recipe, (I used 1/2 honey and 1/2 monk fruit maple syrup!) could you please include the nutritional data. Thanks
What can be used to replace the palm shortening?
it really can’t be substituted and get the same frosting