Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

5 from 2 votes

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

The easiest Chocolate Buttercream Frosting you’ll ever make. Rich, smooth, and ready in minutes with 5 simple ingredients.

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Total Cost: $4.32 recipe / $0.18 serving

Servings: servings (2 Tbsp each)

Calories: 133kcal

Author: Jennie Alley

Equipment

Hand Mixer
Mixing bowl

Ingredients

1 cup salted butter room temperature (120g) $1.98
3 cups powdered sugar 360g, $0.88
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 50g, $1.00*
2 tsp vanilla extract $0.39
¼ cup whole milk divided, (2 oz) $0.07

Instructions

Gather all of your ingredients.
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter with a hand mixer on high for 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add all of the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and half of the milk. Begin mixing on low speed to prevent a mess, then gradually increase to medium until well combined. Add the remaining milk a little at a time until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.**
Use the frosting to top cakes, cupcakes, or brownies. Enjoy!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*You can use a Dutch-processed cocoa powder or an unsweetened natural cocoa powder.

**If your frosting is too thick, add an extra teaspoon of milk until it's smooth and creamy. If it's too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.

This recipe makes about 3 cups of chocolate buttercream frosting, enough to cover a two-layer 9-inch cake, 12 cupcakes with a full swirl, or 24 cupcakes with a thinner layer (about 2 tablespoons each).

Nutrition

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting https://metabolic-life.news/chocolate-buttercream-frosting/%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-133224":{"type":"food","name":"Chocolate Buttercream Frosting","slug":"wprm-chocolate-buttercream-frosting","image_url":"https:\/\/www.budgetbytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Buttercream-Overhead.jpg","rating":{"count":2,"total":10,"average":5,"type":{"comment":2,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"1","unit":"cup","name":"salted butter","notes":"room temperature (120g) $1.98","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":11945,"id":2129,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774506684000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"3","unit":"cups","name":"powdered sugar","notes":"360g, $0.88","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":11946,"id":1330,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"3","unit":"cups","timestamp":1774506684000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"}}},{"uid":1,"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"unsweetened cocoa powder","notes":"50g, $1.00*","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":11945,"id":2105,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774506684000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"2","unit":"tsp","name":"vanilla extract","notes":"$0.39","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":11942,"id":1337,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2","unit":"tsp","timestamp":1774506684000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"tsp","unitParsed":"tsp"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","name":"whole milk","notes":"divided, (2 oz) $0.07","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":11945,"id":1334,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774506684000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}}],"originalServings":"24","originalServingsParsed":24,"currentServings":"24","currentServingsParsed":24,"currentServingsFormatted":"24","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"collection":{"type":"recipe","recipeId":133224,"name":"Chocolate Buttercream Frosting","image":"https:\/\/www.budgetbytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Buttercream-Overhead-500x500.jpg","servings":24,"servingsUnit":"servings (2 Tbsp each)","parent_id":"133223","parent_url":"https:\/\/www.budgetbytes.com\/chocolate-buttercream-frosting\/","cachedAt":1774506684,"modifiedAt":1755419459}}}