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You are here: Home / Recipes and Cooking Tips / Crisco Frosting

Crisco Frosting

October 9, 2015 by Alea Milham 41 Comments

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Easy Crisco frosting recipe
how to make Crisco frosting

Here is our classic white Crisco Frosting recipe, which is sometimes referred to as Vanilla Crisco Frosting.

Classic White Crisco frosting on top of cupcakes

Did you know you can make frosting with Crisco? It may sound weird, but it is true. Crisco frosting was quite popular in the 1960s and 1970s. It was an easy way to make icing when you didn’t have any butter available.

What may surprise you is how widely Crisco frosting is still used in bakeries. My Grandma called this Wedding Cake Frosting because it is often used on wedding cakes.

Why make frosting with Crisco?

Some people prefer the flavor and texture of Crisco frosting. One of my husband’s cousins requests Crisco frosting on his birthday cake each year.

Shortening is dairy-free, so some people choose to make Crisco frosting because they are allergic to dairy.

Crisco is a firm solid at room temperature, whereas butter is soft at room temperature. Some people use frosting made with Crisco because it is more heat-resistant than buttercream frosting, so it holds up better on warmer days.

Even if you prefer buttercream frosting, Crisco is shelf-stable, so you can make frosting with it instead of running to the store when you run out of butter on your baking day.

Since Crisco and powdered sugar are white, you can get a Classic White Frosting if you also use clear vanilla extract, which is an ideal canvas for decorating cakes and will produce crisp colored icing when you add food coloring.

Homemade cupcakes topped with Crisco frosting.

In the picture above, I made cupcakes from my Vanilla Depression Cake recipe and topped them with Crisco frosting because we were out of butter and milk.

Does Crisco Frosting taste good?

You have probably eaten Crisco frosting and not even realized it. This frosting recipe is very similar to the frosting that Bakeries use on cakes and sugar cookies. It is fluffy, holds its shape when piped on cookies and cakes, and has a delicious vanilla flavor.

Does Crisco Frosting need to be refrigerated?

Crisco frosting does not need to be refrigerated, so feel free to make your cake the night before your party. If you have leftover frosting, put it in a lidded container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

How to Make Crisco Frosting

You make Crisco frosting the same way that you make buttercream frosting, you beat the shortening until it is fluffy. Then mix in the vanilla and salt. Finally, you alternate adding the powdered sugar and the liquid, while continuously beating the mixture.

Crisco Frosting Recipe

You can double the recipe to frost a layer cake if you want to have thick layers of frosting between each layer of cake.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup Crisco
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup water, milk, or dairy-free milk substitute

Directions:

1. Place the Crisco, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat with a mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.

2. Switch the mixer to low speed and alternate adding the powdered sugar and the liquid until the ingredients are completely blended.

3. Beat on high speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

4. Use it to decorate 18 cupcakes, a 13×9 cake, or a batch of sugar cookies.

Store unused frosting in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. Allow it to come to room temperature before you use it to frost other baked goods.

How to make Crisco frosting.

Printable Recipe for Crisco Frosting

How to make Crisco frosting.
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5 from 5 votes

Crisco Frosting Recipe

This Crisco frosting tastes like bakery frosting and can be used to decorate cakes and cookies.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Crisco Frosting
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 18
Calories 156kcal
Author Alea Milham

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Crisco
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup water milk, or dairy-free milk substitute

Instructions

  • Place the Crisco, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat with a mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.
  • Switch the mixer to low speed and alternate adding the powdered sugar and the liquid until the ingredients are completely blended.
  • Beat on high speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 156kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 17mg | Sugar: 26g | Iron: 1mg

More Dairy-Free Frosting Recipes

Chocolate Crisco Frosting Recipe

Fluffy Dairy-Free Chocolate Frosting

 Fluffy Dairy-Free Vanilla Frosting

How to Make Royal Icing

Dairy-Free “Butter Cream” Frosting

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About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. Matt says

    July 17, 2022 at 4:19 pm

    Can you use Cremora Coffee power with this I remember tasting a cake made with Crisco frosting but they said they used creamer and it was very good.
    Did you ever here of this?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      July 18, 2022 at 8:55 pm

      Yes, you can use Cremora Coffee power if you wish.

      Reply
  2. Macy says

    July 15, 2022 at 5:57 pm

    5 stars
    Dose it mean teaspoon or tablespoon of vanilla

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      July 18, 2022 at 11:54 pm

      I use 1 tablespoon, but you can use less if you wish.

      Reply
  3. Kristy Kay says

    July 4, 2022 at 6:32 am

    This is best made with almond extract instead of vanilla. Of course this is our family’s opinion!

    Reply
  4. Reb says

    May 8, 2022 at 12:38 pm

    Hi
    If I wanted to make a batch using half butter half Crisco, what quantity of each would be best? I’m looking to layer AND frost the outside. Thanks 😊

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      May 15, 2022 at 10:31 pm

      You can use 1/4 cup of butter and 1/4 cup of Crisco.

      Reply
  5. Donna D says

    May 5, 2022 at 10:26 am

    5 stars
    Easy and delicious! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  6. susan says

    April 25, 2022 at 2:18 pm

    we are making my daughters wedding cake we want to now does crisco frosting freeze well because we are going to frost the cakes and freeze them to take them to the hall to putt together

    Reply
  7. Cindy Garstkiewicz says

    April 22, 2022 at 5:39 pm

    5 stars
    FANTASTIC! I was making Easter cupcakes 🧁 for my grandsons class and wouldn’t you know I was out of butter. I found this recipe, I was a little skeptical but, omgeeeee! Sooooooo good! My grandson,who is pretty picky, said they were the best cupcakes ever! Win for Nana!

    Reply
  8. JD says

    March 22, 2022 at 2:28 am

    Thank you! My daughter is learning cake decorating for 4H and though I love buttercream with real butter, since she will be taking it to a fair in August, I wanted to find an all shortening recipe, this is the one that I used when I was learning to decorate in the late 1980s.

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      March 23, 2022 at 1:52 pm

      Give your daughter my best wishes for her Fair entries!

      Reply
  9. Lee says

    March 15, 2022 at 4:42 pm

    When would you add food colouring?

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      March 15, 2022 at 10:42 pm

      At the end when it is the consistency that I want. Then I would add food gel instead of coloring as the gel doesn’t water down the frosting.

      Reply
  10. Jennifer says

    February 17, 2022 at 8:28 am

    Can I use half real butter and half crisp?

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      February 19, 2022 at 12:18 am

      Yes, you can.

      Reply
  11. Jackie Hanlon says

    November 25, 2021 at 8:35 pm

    I use almond flavouring instead of vanilla it tastes great on fruit cakes and stands up really well

    Reply
  12. Susan Trouten says

    October 11, 2021 at 4:16 pm

    Can you use butter flavor Crisco for the frosting?

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      October 15, 2021 at 5:27 pm

      Yes, you can.

      Reply
      • Mary Welemirov says

        February 15, 2022 at 1:15 pm

        You can use Butter flavor Crisco however your frosting will be an ivory color. It also works when you add cocoa for chocolate frosting. Use 2 to 4 tablespoons of cocoa and a little extra vanilla to taste.

        Reply
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Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

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