How to Make Vegan Powdered Sugar

Vegan powdered sugar is expensive to buy, but very easy and cheap to make at home. The store-bought ones cost from $3.20 to over $5.00 per pound, but it only costs $0.74 per pound to make your own with Zulka sugar! All you need is a blender, vegan sugar, and a starch (corn, tapioca, or arrowroot):

If you are new to veganism, and are wondering why anyone would bother buying or making special vegan sugar, I recommend this video on Is Sugar Vegan?

It is so easy to make powdered sugar! If you have a smoothie jar for your blender, follow these directions. If you don’t, scroll down for the full-size blender directions. Add 375 g (1 7/8 c) of vegan sugar and 8.0 g (1 TBS) of your choice of starch to the smoothie jar:

Add the blender blades and screw the lid on tightly. Blend for several minutes, stopping every 30 to 45 seconds to remove the jar and shake it a few times to redistribute the sugar. Carefully remove the lid to avoid spilling and see how beautiful your powdered sugar looks!

Dump the powdered sugar into a container with a tight-fitting lid. Repeat the steps until you have enough powdered sugar for your needs. It keeps well for several months at least without clumping, so I always make several batches.

If you are using a full-size blender jar, place it on your scale and zero it:

Add 490 g of Zulka or other vegan sugar:

Add your choice of starch to bring the weight up to 500 g:

Place the blender jar into the base and put the lid on tightly:

Blend on high speed for about three minutes or until finely powdered. The blades will heat up the sugar, so only blend for 20 second intervals. You may also need to stop and stir it a few times:

You have lovely vegan powdered sugar!

Store in an airtight container:

Notes:

• My price is based on getting 8 lbs of Zulka sugar for $5.00 and 20 oz of tapioca starch for $3.80. Your cost may differ a bit, depending on your ingredient prices.

• You really do have to use a blender to make powdered sugar. Most food processors just don’t get the sugar ground finely enough.

• Homemade powdered sugar made in a full-size blender jar is a little more dense than store-bought, which is not an issue if you are weighing it (use 120 g per cup in your recipe). If you are measuring it, I would use 7/8 cup for every cup in the recipe. (This adjustment is generally not necessary if you used a smoothie jar to make your powdered sugar.)

• You can also make vegan brown sugar!