Oreo Buttercream

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If you’re an Oreo lover, this cookies & cream buttercream is going to be among your favorite frostings! It’s silky smooth vanilla buttercream with crushed Oreo cookies added, filling and all. The little bits of cookie look so irresistible suspended in the frosting, and the vanilla buttercream base gives it the perfect cream-to-cookie ratio. It’s perfectly pipe-able, great consistency for decorating cakes and cupcakes, and can even be used as a macaron filling. I recently paired it with black velvet cake layers to make this Oreo cake and also whipped up a cupcake version that you’ll see pictured throughout this blog post. I’ll also provide other cake and cupcake suggestions below in case you need the flavor pairing inspiration! 

Oreo Buttercream Ingredients

There are six simple ingredients that go into this Oreo buttercream. I’ll explain each ingredient’s role below, along with any substitutions you can make. 

• Unsalted Butter. The base of this recipe. It provides stability and structure as well as a rich, creamy undertone. If you want to use salted butter or vegan butter sticks instead, simply omit the salt from the recipe. 
• Powdered Sugar. Also known as confectioner’s sugar, this helps sweeten the buttercream while providing the perfect amount of stability. 
• Pure Vanilla Extract. To give the buttercream base the perfect creamy vanilla flavor. 
• Whole Milk. Helps lighten the texture of the frosting and dissolves the powdered sugar. I like using whole milk or heavy whipping cream because the high fat percentage provides a richness to the frosting. You can use any other kind of milk as a substitute, but just know that milks with a lower fat percentage might not end up as creamy and rich. For vegan milk options, my preferences are soy milk or coconut milk. 
• Salt. A pinch of salt helps balance the sweetness beautifully.
• Oreo Cookies. Ground Oreos are mixed into the vanilla buttercream to create the perfect cookies & cream look and flavor. If you want to mix it up, you can substitute regular Oreos for any other Oreo flavor or try any other type of crunchy cookie. 

How to Make Oreo Buttercream

Here’s how to make this frosting from start to finish:

Step 1: Grind the Oreo cookies into fine crumbs. It’s easiest to do this with a food processor, but you could also place the cookies in a Ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crush them up.

Step 2: Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until it’s creamy and pale. This takes about 5 minutes. 

Step 3: Add the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time and mix on low speed until each addition is incorporated.

Step 4: Mix in the vanilla, milk, and salt. 

Step 5: Mix in the Oreo cookie crumbs. 

Oreo Frosting FAQ

How Do I Make Vegan Oreo Buttercream? To make this recipe vegan, simply substitute vegan butter sticks in place of the unsalted butter, omit the salt (even when it’s unsalted, vegan butter still tastes a little salty), and substitute the whole milk with non-dairy milk of your choice. I like coconut milk or soy milk for frosting recipes like this one. 

Can I Use Other Oreo Flavors? Absolutely! Or try any other type of crunchy cookie (Biscoff would be delicious). 

Is it Easy to Pipe With? As long as you grind the cookies into a super fine crumb, you’ll be able to pipe simple decorations with this frosting. If the cookie crumbs aren’t small enough, they can clog up the piping tip (frustrating!) so be sure to grind them as small as you can without turning them into Oreo paste. 

What if I Don’t Have a Food Processor? As an alternative to a food processor, you can place the Oreo cookies in a Ziploc bag and grind them down with a rolling pin. It’s a little more time consuming but it works. 

Can I Make Oreo Buttercream Ahead? Yes, but I recommend not adding the cookie crumbs until the day you want to use the frosting, purely for aesthetics. If you store the cookies & cream buttercream with the Oreos already added, the cookie crumbs can change the color of the frosting to a slightly darker shade of brown as they break down. This doesn’t affect the flavor at all, but if you want the best look, make the frosting up through step 3 (store the cookie crumbs and buttercream in separate airtight containers), then mix in the cookie crumbs before you start decorating. 

Cake Flavors to Pair with Oreo Frosting

This Oreo frosting pairs amazingly with black velvet cake (which has the flavor profile of an Oreo cookie!) but here are some other cake flavors for inspiration. Be sure to make a double batch to fill and frost any of the cakes listed below: 

• Black Velvet Cupcakes (the flavor combination pictured throughout this blog post!)
• One-Bowl Chocolate Cake 
• Chocolate Cupcakes
• Vanilla Cake 
• Vanilla Cupcakes
• Funfetti Cake
• Funfetti Cupcakes 
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake 

I hope you love this Oreo buttercream as much as I do! Let me know if you make it in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me a photo. I love to see what you create with my recipes!