This soy whipped cream recipe is quite the magic trick! It takes two simple ingredients and turns them into a glorious whip. We first posted this recipe over fifteen years ago, when it was shared by a reader. Those who follow the recipe love it, but those who tinker can get frustrated. So I’ve tested several variations myself, and am posting tips, options, and photos to help with your own success!
Soy Whipped Cream per the full recipe, after sitting out for 20 minutes, still stable.
Dairy-Free Soy Whipped Cream FAQs
This recipe turns into a thick cream right before your eyes. But you do need to follow the recipe for the best soy whipped cream results. Here are some answers to common questions about this recipe, including options and alternatives that will work.
Can I Substitute another Dairy-Free Milk Beverage? This recipe works very well with plain soymilk with no additives. We use WestSoy or Trader Joe’s – both contain only water and whole organic soybeans – nothing else. We have tested it with store-bought almond milk and oat milk, and both were epic fails. It simply turns into oily liquid. If you try other milk beverages and have success, please share in the comments! But as of right now, pure soymilk is the only milk beverage we recommend for this recipe.
Can I Substitute Another Sweetener? The original recipe actually used maple syrup. We prefer the simpler taste with regular cane sugar, but you can use your sweetener of choice. Just keep the flavor of the sweetener in mind – it will influence the taste of the soy whipped cream. Also, it will be softer with a liquid sweetener than a granulated or powdered sweetener.
Can I Use a Different Oil? Yes, most oils will work. Just keep the flavor profile in mind. We use a neutral-tasting oil, like extra-light olive oil, non-GMO canola oil, or grapeseed oil. The original recipe used vegetable oil. Melted coconut oil will also likely work, but it will thicken much more when cold (that could be a good thing for your needs!). Also, I would use a refined coconut oil if you don’t want the soy whipped cream to have a coconut taste.
Can I Use Less Oil? The oil is essential to create the thick cream. You might find that it becomes thick enough for your needs before you’ve added all of the oil. If so, you can stop and save a little. But I typically need close to the full amount. If you are looking for a lighter blend, try tofu whipped cream. I prefer the taste and mouthfeel of this soy whipped cream (yes, it’s a treat!), but that is a good option for nutrition.
Is the Modified Starch Essential? No. As you can see in the photo above, it simply firms the whip up more. You still get a rather thick whipped cream that spoons nicely, and slowly softens onto your dessert. You can see the soy whipped cream without any modified starch in the pictures immediately below. I know it looks downright runny compared to the whip without starch, but it was sitting out for at least 20 minutes while I took the photos, and it didn’t run to the bottom. It just slowly settled into the blueberry groves. It’s very soft, but not runny.
Two Pictures Above: Soy Whipped Cream without stabilizer (modified starch), after sitting out for 20 minutes. It’s still thick and rich, but softer.
Can I Use Cornstarch or Arrowroot instead of Modified Starch? The short answer is, no. Regular starch requires heat to activate and thicken. While it might thicken this whip a tiny bit, you would have to add far more, and it would taste starchy. Modified starch thickens in cold liquid, and you only need a small amount for it to work, so it has a negligible effect on the taste and mouthfeel. It’s used to make Jell-O Instant Pudding and many other foods.
Where Can I Find Modified Starch? It is available in some stores, but I buy it online. I usually just get Dr. Oetker’s Whip It for ease. It is cheap and sold in packets. Technically, one packet is used for 1 cup of “cream,” but I used just half a packet on the whip pictured. If you use the full packet, it will be even thicker. Modified starch is sometimes sold by its name, but you might also see it sold as Expandex or Clear Jel.
Do I Need a High Speed Blender? We’ve made it with a high power blender, and it works very well. Some readers have made it with a regular blender – it just needs to be high speed enough. If the recipe isn’t working, it might be your blender. One reader used a Nutri-bullet – They blended the soymilk, half the oil, the sweetener, and vanilla. Then they added the rest of the oil, and blended it for 5 minutes, stopping halfway through. Use caution as this could heat up your blender too much! When warm, the cream will be runnier, so be sure to refrigerate it for a little while. We don’t recommend making this recipe with a food processor, and are not sure if an immersion blender would work.
Can I Make a Half Batch? The original recipe was actually for a half batch, which is 1/4 cup soymilk, 1/2 cup oil, 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon sugar (or other sweetener), and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. If using modified starch, I recommend about 1 teaspoon or more. I doubled the recipe because a half batch can be a challenge for some larger blenders. But the half batch also works well! In a large high-speed blender, I was able to make a half batch, but once whipped, the blades just spin since there is just a scant 2/3 cup of whip in the bottom.
Soy Whipped Cream per the full recipe, after sitting out for 20 minutes, still stable.
Special Diet Notes: Soy Whipped Cream
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, peanut-free, nut-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.
- ½ cup unsweetened soymilk
- 1 cup neutral-tasting oil
- 1½ to 2 tablespoons sugar (or your sweetener of choice)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
- 1½ to 2 teaspoons modified starch, or more for thicker (Optional; I used Dr Oetker's Whip It; see post above for more info)
- Place soymilk and ½ cup oil your blender. Blend at highest speed for 20 seconds, then slowly drizzle in remaining ½ cup oil.
- Add the sugar and vanilla, and blend until combined.
- Scrape the topping into a small container, cover and refrigerate. It will thicken a little more as it chills.
- Once cool, whip in the modified starch with a hand mixer for about 2 minutes, if using. You can use more if you want a thicker whip.
- Store the whipped cream in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. It will keep for about 1 week.
For More Dairy-Free Basics, Get Go Dairy Free!
65 Comments
This recipe was perfect thank you!
I made it with homemade soy milk in my nutribullet, next time I’ll try using my mixer to see if I get the same results. Somehow I forgot I had one lol.
If anyone wants to try this using a nutribullet, l first made my soy milk then blended it by itself for around 30 seconds. Then I added some sugar before adding the oil like in the recipe above.
From then on I blended everything for two minutes, stopped, and then blended for three minutes without stopping. Basically blending until it was no longer a liquid. The blender got a little warm, so be careful. The soy milk was immediately a whipped cream consistency right out of the bullet but as it cooled(since it warmed along with the nutribullet) it got even more like a whipped cream. Tasted delicious too~
I added it to my refrigerator for an even thicker texture. I’ll be using your recipe from now on anytime I’m craving whipped cream and I’ve run out. I also want to try freezing this to make ice cream perhaps.
Fabulous! Thank you for sharing your tips too Jamea!
I have a friend who has an allergy to dairy products. I would like to make a pumpkin pie for him but my recipe uses heavy cream. Any suggestions for a substitute?
Hi Tim, here is my beloved pumpkin pie recipe -> https://www.godairyfree.org/ask-alisa/ask-alisa-do-you-have-a-good-pumpkin-pie-recipe-that-is-milk-free-and-soy-free
I added about 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar. The oil has to be added really slowly! Just a dribble so that it takes a couple of minutes for all the oil to be incorporated. Also, I stopped adding the oil once it was really thick, about like pudding. So it was just a smidge under a half cup.
Thank you for sharing this Janet!
Any way that You can make this without oil
Not this particular recipe.
Truth is, this cream doesn’t thinken until you refrigerate it… For those who said it didn’t work, it works very well, just cool it and it’s perfect. I loved it! Thanks.!!!!
Thank you for the feedback Nirca!
If so, maybe it’s better to use coconut oil which hardens in room temp.?
Coconut oil has a melting point of 78 degrees, so it’s very finicky at room temperature. But you are welcome to try it in this! If you are going the coconut route though, I recommend using this recipe -> https://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/easy-dairy-free-whipped-cream – it’s much less expensive than using coconut oil, too.
Had this today. It was incredibly thick and delicious.
We were actually making a shortcrust savoury tart so omitted the sweet ingredients and added a little bit of mustard and herb de provence.
It baked in the oven really well (without splitting).
Excellent recipe, thank you Alisa!
We will definitely use this again in the future!!
That’s great! Glad it worked out well for you Liz.
Can you use coconut or olive oil instead of vegetable oil?
Yes, I believe so, but olive oil will likely taste off. And if you can use coconut, I recommend coconut whip instead.
I want a thick whip cream, that resembles spray whip cream or cool whip. I used this recipe and have no added in more flour and it is still very runny. How long do you run the blender? Could I use powdered sugar to thicken it? Help? I really want to make this for my daughter.
Hi Misty, is coconut out for you? Coconut whip is more like a spray whip and holds up well in desserts. You don’t want to add flour to this recipe – it is about the technique and the specific ingredients.
Coconut is out for me…..thank you though
Updating this response – it was in response to Rebecca: Cornflour / cornstarch isn’t an ideal way to thicken this, as you need to heat regular starch to activate it. I’ve added a thickening / stabilizer ingredient to the recipe that works much better.
Would it help the thickness of the whip, if either a bit of cornflour was added as powder or heated with water & added?
This would more likely make it into more of a pudding consistency.
Made this today in a vitamix and turned out really thick even before it went in the fridge. I live in Japan and we can’t get alternative canned creams here at all so this is an amazing discovery for me. I can’t believe I never thought to make it myself before. Though with half a cup of oil, I can’t be making this regularly…just for special occasions.
Awesome! So glad it worked well for you Nicole.
This closely resembles vegan soy mayonnaise, just with the oil content doubled and without the savory ingredients of course. Soy mayo as I see it in many recipes is 1:1 soy milk and oil. I can’t imagine this being very fluffy with this much oil?
It does come out fluffier. Did you try it and got these results, or are you just commenting on what the recipe looks like?
Wonder if using an immersion blender would work , I know it makes mayo almost like magic.
I think that could be a very good idea Barbara.
If we wanted this soya cream recipe extra thick to make it usable to top a trifle, would adding cornflour be of any advantage at all do you think? Wondering if adding it to the cream like you would in pure powder form if making a meringue, or adding it to a small amount wlf warm soya milk before whipping into the recipe? Just a thought, as don’t want a sloppy trifle & don’t want coconut cream for this.
well, now that we know what doesn’t work, can someone tell us what does work? I know it works with the right recipe because I had a friend in Albuquerque,NM. who had a restaurant and she made all her desserts and topping from scratch, and everything was vegan. I had her recipe but I lost it. Everything was so delicious!.
The recipe does work Ingrid, as you can see it was successful for some, but you have to use soy (not other low protein alternatives) and it is fussy! My favorite, easier type of dairy-free whipped cream is coconut whip. This recipe is similar to the one in my book – http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/easy-dairy-free-whipped-cream
I made this with no problem…do not use a food processor doesn’t work…I used a high speed vitamix and it came out good…I also use soy milk that the ingredient label reads only soybeans and water. If you use soy milk that has a lot of other ingredients on the label it probably will not work. My only concern is the amount of oil used in this recipe. But it is a quick and easy way to whip up some whipping cream in a hurry, but surely meant to use in moderation. Be sure to place in refrigerator for 1 hour before using to help it firm even more.
Your feedback and notes are greatly appreciated Nancy!
Tried this but instead like others tried almond milk and like the comments below It was a DISASTER…. but I added chopped strawberries and it still came out awesome!! Strawberries and cream ….
I use rice milk and add rice milk powder while blending to thicken, tends to work well.
Hi, I just made this using about a cup of soya milk and 1 cup and a 1/4 of vegetable oil plus 4 dessertspoons of icing sugar and blended in my Vitamix. Didn’t have any vanilla so missed it out but still delicious and creamy,.
Thanks for the tips – very helpful 🙂
I just made this using Westsoy Ogranic Non GMO Plain Soymilk, I used 1 Cup of Soymilk, I used 1 Cup and 1/4 or it might have been 1 Cup and 1/4 of Canola Oil, 1 TBSP Pure Vanilla Extract (the one without alcohol & corn syrup) and I added in about 1/8 Cup Splenda, I put in my Vitamix and Blended and it came out amazing, better consistency then real whipped cream, of course I have some left over which is my fridge now but I am thinking I might want to freeze???
Awesome! Hmm, let me know if you do trial freezing as I’m not sure how it will freeze.
I used almond milk, which didn’t work. In an attempt to salvage this I added a banana(chopped) and it makes a very nice banana cream!
I have not. honestly, never heard of it. 🙂 Will go look for it tomorrow 🙂
Hi Sarah, you simply whip canned coconut cream or the cream skimmed from full fat canned coconut milk that has settled. Recipe in my book for the “whip”.
Hi! I was wondering if this recipe would work as a ‘cool whip’ substitute in a No bake dessert recipe?? It would have to be mixed with a non dairy cream cheese, and ‘firm up’ like normal cream cheese. please tell me this will work…LOL its for my husbands favorite dessert recipe. 🙂
Honestly, I’d be very hesitant Sarah. This is a very tricky recipe as is, and I don’t think the structure would hold up. I’m working on a better “cool whip” (hard to master!), but for now, have you trialed whipped coconut cream?
Hi Can you use Soya single cream instead of the soya milk?
That might work well. You can trial it.