This kitchen DIY post also doubles as a homemade gift post, because who wouldn’t want homemade vegan sprinkles for Christmas? Regular sprinkles often use egg whites or corn syrup as a binding agent, both of which get a hard pass from me. When creating this recipe, I really wanted to make homemade sprinkles that are as natural as possible but that still taste good. Sprinkles are basically pure sugar, so I used powdered sugar instead of corn syrup, and cream of tartar to hold everything together.
It only takes about 15 minutes to make a batch of homemade vegan sprinkles, but you’ll need to let them dry overnight to ensure that they set properly. So if you’re hoping to whip up a last-minute batch of sprinkles for a special treat, this recipe isn’t going to work for you!
How to make sprinkles
If you feel comfortable mixing a handful of ingredients together, you can easily make these homemade sprinkles. Before preparing the sprinkles mixture, you’ll want to prepare the trays you’ll be piping the sprinkles onto. Grab your largest baking trays and line them with wax paper. This step is essential, because the sprinkles will stick to the pan if you don’t lay out the wax paper. You’ll also want to grab a few small bowls and some zip-top baggies; you won’t need these right away, but this will save you from accidentally touching your kitchen cabinets with food coloring-stained hands later on!
Once your materials are all laid out, it’s time to make the sprinkles! Simply mix together some powdered sugar, cream of tartar, warm water, and vanilla extract. If you have time, sift the powdered sugar before mixing it into the other ingredients to prevent clumps from forming.
Once you’ve mixed everything together, evenly distribute the sprinkles mixture into separate bowls (if you only want one color of sprinkles, you can skip this step). Then, add the food coloring of your choice to each bowl and whisk together. I used regular gel food coloring for these, but use your favorite food coloring or play with using natural colors like beet juice, etc. (although you might have to add more powdered sugar to make up for the additional liquid).
Up next is the hardest part: piping the sprinkles onto a baking tray. The biggest trick to piping these vegan sprinkles is making sure to pipe them thin enough, or else you will be left with thick, kind of never dry sprinkles that just turn to mush. When you start piping, start out small and go bigger if you have to. Once piped, let the sprinkles rest on your counter overnight, or until they’re dry. Once totally set, you can break them into sprinkle-sized pieces and use them in any recipe you’d like! If you are wondering what to use these homemade for, whip up a batch of these funfetti cookies, sprinkle onto my favorite vanilla bean ice cream, or just package up and gift them to someone with a bottle of vanilla extract. Sprinkles on sprinkles!
Previously on Heart of a Baker
Kitchen DIY: Homemade Vanilla Extract
Peanut Butter Vegan S’mores Parfaits
Funfetti Sugar Cookies Popsicles
Homemade Vegan Sprinkles
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Mixed
- Cuisine: American
Description
These homemade vegan sprinkles are incredibly easy to make, but they do require a little patience. These are perfect for cupcakes, cookies, and more!
Ingredients
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons warm water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Cover 2-3 cookie sheets with wax paper or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients.
- Divide the mixture evenly into small bowls (the number of bowls needed depends on the number of colors of sprinkles you want).
- Add a small amount of food coloring to each small bowl and whisk thoroughly.
- Transfer each color mixture to a small zip-top bag (one bag for each color), spooning mixture into the corner of the bag. When ready to pipe, snip off a tiny amount of the corner of the bag and pipe onto the cookie sheets, creating very thin lines.
- Let the sprinkles dry overnight, or until completely set. When they are dry, break the sprinkles into small pieces and store in a sealed jar or bag.
Notes
Recipe inspired by The Kichn.
Keywords: vegan sprinkles, homemade sprinkles, how to make sprinkles
terismyth says
Great fun. Kids would love to make these sprinkles. I’m having my annual cookie decorating party this Sunday. I may try to incorporate this recipe into my selection of toppings.
Thanks for sharing.
Julia says
AAAAAHHH! They’re just so cool! I didn’t realize it was even possible to make homemade sprinkles – i just assumed sprinkles came from the manufacturing fairies. Love this awesome tutorial, and my girlfriends would love these as xmas gifts!!
The Frosted Vegan says
Hahaha the manufacturing fairies!! I know, like, can I just give these to all my friends and that would be cool?
Beth says
Props to you for making your own sprinkles! I have a major sprinkle problem, meaning I am always adding more to my collection 🙂
The Frosted Vegan says
Me too! They are just so perfect!
Phi @ The Sweetphi Blog says
What a fun DIY gift! And sprinkles? How fun!!!
The Frosted Vegan says
Thanks girl! I mean, I might just use them all myself, but that’s ok, right?
Sue/theviewfromgreatislands says
So cool, I love the bright colors!
The Frosted Vegan says
Thank you Sue!
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts says
Never would have thought you could make your own – how cool are these?!
The Frosted Vegan says
Right?! I love that they are wayyy easier than I thought they would be : )
Natalie says
I really need to try this!
The Frosted Vegan says
Yes! It really is so easy and so fun!
Jules @ WolfItDown says
Genius!
Also, sorry for bombarding your blog with comments, I just stumbled upon your blog after reading your post in the Nutritionist in the Kitch’s post, and your blog is really inspiring 😀 x
Jamie says
These are great! I can’t wait to make some! How long do the sprinkles last once they are dried and packaged?
Heart of a Baker says
Hi Jamie, I would say probably 1-2 weeks at the most!