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.
71 Comments
Can you use hemp hearts or cashews instead of oil?
I think you are looking for a different type of recipe. This one uses cashews, but still requires oil -> https://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/soy-free-vegan-whipped-cream
It’s difficult to make a cashew whip (or hemp whip) that whips like this. It will be a softer thick cream in consistency.
Have you tested a recipe using extra lecithin? For example, dissolving lecithin granules in the soymilk for half an hour at room temperature or longer in the fridge? Do you think it would change anything? Do you think it would allow you to use less oil?
I haven’t tried that. My first thought is that the lecithin is helpful in the emulsion, but not so much in creating thickness. Using more modified starch could compensate for less oil, but I’m not sure about lecithin. Let me know if you try it!
Is there a modified way to use this recipe in an iSi whipping container? Maybe add all ingredients and let chill overnight before adding the nO2 charger?
I’ve never used one of the whipping canisters, so I can’t say if it would work. It needs to emulsify, which might not happen in the charger. If you did try it, I would definitely add the stabilizer option. It should work if you emulsify it first and then add it to the whipping container.
would this work in an ISI charger? the ones that use N20 looking for a good recipe I can keep on hand in one.
thanks!
Hi Jordan, that’s a good question. I’ve never used one, so I can’t say for sure. If you opt to try it, I would definitely use the modified starch.
HI!
CAN I PIPE THIS WIPPED CREAM OVER CUPCAKE AND CAKES?
AND HOW LONG IT WILL LAST IN THE REFRIGIRATOR?
THANK YOU
You would need to use more of the modified starch, as noted in the recipe, for piping. I don’t want to make guarantees about the taste or thickness for your recipe though, as I haven’t made it thick enough for piping myself.
I’ve been excited for weeks to make this! I should have read the comments. DO NOT USE COCONUT OIL!! I followed directions exactly and it became a curdled cottage cheese texture 😭. I’ll try again with another oil.
What milk beverage did you use? Was it warm or cold?
Coconut oil works, but the milk beverage must be at least room temperature, or the coconut oil will solidify when it hits the milk beverage (making a chunky texture). You have to wait to refrigerate it until after it is cooled.
But “curdling” makes me wonder if you used a different milk beverage than what is recommended.
Hi, as I don’t have time to order that special thickening starch, could I heat the soy milk with tapioca starch first let it cool than proceed?
I honestly don’t know that this would work well, since that does create a different texture and you have to add a lot more regular starch (it will affect the taste for sure). But you can try it. I would personally just go with the softer whip. It still works great, and is thick enough if you are just using it for a topping.
The recipe worked great for me! I used the proportions and ingredients as specified in the recipe. Maybe it helps the thickening if the soy milk is really cold. I started with frozen soy milk cubes and let them thaw at room temperature. As soon as the cubes melted I poured the soy milk into the blender along with canola oil and used the Liquefy setting. It firmed up nicely and tastes great!
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing your method Susan.
Can someone please tell me: what temperature should the milk be? Cold? Room temperature?
Also, has anyone tried this with full-fat oatmilk? Our son is allergic to dairy, soy, coconut, and tree nuts, and I’d really like to make a cake with whipped frosting that he can enjoy with my wife for Mother’s Day.
Hi Jake, this recipe is pretty finicky, so I don’t think it would work with oat milk. That’s a tough list of allergens for creating creamy. Have you tried aquafaba? It’s not exactly the same, but you can whip it as shown and whip in powdered sugar and vanilla for a fluffy topping -> https://www.godairyfree.org/food-and-grocery/aquafaba
This worked amazing! I’m allergic to all dairy products and a whole bunch of other things, and out of all the non-dairy versions of food I’ve tried, this was one of the best. The only thing that kind of bothered me was that you had to refrigerate it, but other than that…it was great!
That’s wonderful! I’m so glad it’s working well for you Maria!
How long can you keep this whipped cream? Like, in the fridge? I need it for a cooking project, which starts in a few days, did I make it too early?
It will probably last a few days. Anything with sugar added will spoil more quickly.
So after some experimenting I worked out how to get it to come out super think and creamy. Using an immersion blender and a tall jug, place the soy milk at room temperature into the jug as it will not thicken if the soy milk is cold. Turn immersion blender on high and slowly drizzle the oil in until it is all gone, by this time it should be pretty thick (I added another 2 tablespoons because I wanted it to be really thick). Add in the sweetener and vanilla essence last and blend for a little longer. Then I popped it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to get it cold. Came out perfect doing it this way. It doesn’t matter what type of soy milk you use, as long as it’s at room temperature and using an immersion blender. ?
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your tips Andrea!
I LOVE this recipe! Thank you! I can afford the ingredients. It’s just like making mayonaise in a blender. I adapted it slightly, blending 1 cup soy milk with 1 cup olive oil (preferred avocado oil, but was out), 1/2 cup xylitol and 1 Tbsp vanilla brandy. Then I SLOWLY blended in 1/2 to 1C oil. I’m making a whipped strawberry pie from an Instagram post, but adapting to be gluten, dairy, and cane sugar free. I’m very excited I don’t have to pay $5 a tub for dairy free whipped stuff!
Fabulous! So glad you enjoyed it Laura and thank you for sharing your notes.