When I saw Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood!) is vegan and shared some Harry Potter recipes–I was so excited! I love Harry Potter and marathon the movies at least twice a year with Julien, so of course we had to try making our own vegan butter beer! The thought of drinking butter (even if it’s vegan) didn’t really appeal to either of us though, so I adapted Evanna’s Butterybeer recipe slightly, using plant milk instead. I’ve also tried using vanilla creamer, which is delicious as well, and of course if you want a classic rich butterbeer, you could use vegan butter.
The first time we tried making it, I came up with what I thought was a genius idea–what if we used Julien’s soda maker to make our own sparkling apple juice? Well the ratios must be different with apple juice than water because when we tried it, the sparkling apple juice kind of exploded everywhere, making a huge mess. But we were left with very carbonated sparkling apple juice, and when we used it to make butter beer, it rose beautifully, and kept rising as I photographed it, as if by magic. It was delicious as well.
Obviously I wouldn’t recommend doing that, but it made for a fun story and a gorgeous photo. 🙂 Sparkling cider works fine as well (if you’re in Austin, I found some at Central Market.)

How to Make Vegan Butter-free Beer
Ingredients
- 3/4-1 cup sparkling cider or apple juice
- 1-2 teaspoons non-dairy creamer or plant milk
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon + extra for topping
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- Pinch ginger
- Non-dairy ice cream I use NadaMoo vanilla to keep the recipe oil-free.
Instructions
- Mix spices and creamer/plant milk in a small bowl.
- Pour sparkling cider into a cup or mug.
- Pour spice/milk mixture over cider, stir, then add a scoop of ice cream and top with extra cinnamon. If needed, pour a little more cider to make the butterbeer rise more.
Notes