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Homemade Marshmallow Frosting recipe – great for cakes and cupcakes! Just a few ingredients including marshmallow fluff, butter, vanilla, & powdered sugar make this icing a hit!

This marshmallow fluff frosting can be used to top vanilla cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, or any flavor cupcake you like! You could even use it to make s’mores brownies with some crushed up graham crackers.

marshmallow frosting on top of a chocolate cupcake

No hassle, just quick & easy!

For the most recent cupcakes I made, I decided I wanted to use Marshmallow Frosting. I did a few google searches but found only ones that involved egg whites and decided I needed a quick and Easy Marshmallow Frosting.

I had remembered I saw one on Pinterest one day. It was from Just a Pinch. I usually modify all recipes, but this one was already nearly perfect—I just added a little vanilla. 🙂

It only required a small handful of ingredients, and the finished product was so tasty. It’s a really nice texture too—not too thin and “whipped”, but not too dense like some buttercream frostings. I’ve used it on multiple flavors of cupcakes already!!

beating marshmallow fluff and butter together with a hand mixer

Just 4 ingredients!

This recipe is so easy because it only uses 4 ingredients (and egg whites is NOT one of them!!):

  • butter (make sure it’s at room temperature)
  • marshmallow fluff
  • powdered sugar
  • vanilla extract (extract, not flavoring)

If you’re having a hard time finding the marshmallow fluff, check in the baking isle of your grocery store. The label might also say “jet puffed marshmallow creme”. This works the same! If you still don’t have any luck, Amazon is always on option. 😉

When you’re mixing the ingredients together, make sure the powdered sugar and butter are completely creamed together before adding anything else. There should be no visible clumps of powdered sugar.

Use a rubber spatula to scrape any stray clumps from the side of the bowl, and to mix in the fluff by hand (rather than using a beater/electric hand mixer).

Marshmallow fluff frosting on a spatula

Tips, tricks, and troubleshooting

How much this frosting will cover depends on how you use it. If you’re piping it on, or being really decorative, this recipe makes enough frosting to cover 12 cupcakes. If you are spreading it on with a knife, it will cover several more.

You can use it to frost a cake, however you might need to double the recipe for a 9×13 cake, or for a double layer 8 inch round cake.

I’ve had several readers ask if you can use a kitchen torch to brown this frosting (kind of like a toasted marshmallow). Although I have never tried, one reader said it does work if you use really high heat up close. If you’re too far away, the frosting will melt before it browns.

Make ahead and store? Because this recipe is more of a buttercream type frosting, and doesn’t have egg whites in it, you can easily make it in advance and store in the fridge for several days before using. As long as it is kept cool, it will stay in good condition.

You can even frost your cupcakes a day or two in advance, and keep in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

If your frosting is too runny, you might need to add a bit more powdered sugar to stiffen it up. I wouldn’t add more than a couple tablespoons at a time, and then mix well to see how it affects the consistency.

Areas that are warm or humid might affect the consistency of your frosting as well. Put it in the fridge for a while to see if that does the trick.

marshmallow frosting on top of a cupcake

This recipe was soooo easy and was so yummy!! It’s definitely a new favorite, and I can’t wait to make it again.

For more delicious frosting recipes, check out:

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4.95 from 585 votes

Marshmallow Frosting Recipe

By: Lil’ Luna
Homemade Marshmallow Frosting recipe – yum! Few ingredients including marshmallow fluff, butter, vanilla, & powdered sugar make this a hit!
Servings: 12
Prep: 5 minutes
Total: 5 minutes

Ingredients 

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Instructions 

  • Beat butter and powdered sugar until fluffy and well mixed.
  • Mix in fluff and vanilla by hand and mix well.
  • Add to piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 79kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Sodium: 33mg, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 120IU, Calcium: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
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About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

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Recipe Rating




315 Comments

  1. susan post says:

    5 stars
    I made this frosting for S’Mores cupcakes and it was PERFECT! Sprinkled the tops with graham cracker crumbs and added a small Hershey bar. Set up nice in the fridge, can’t wait to bring them to my friend’s birthday party tonight! Wish I could add a photo, they look amazing! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  2. Lori Morris says:

    Can food coloring be added to this recipe and it still hold its shape?

  3. Rachel Senay says:

    Hi there!
    Want to make this as a frosting for some birthday cupcakes.

    Could I make/pipe this the day before and store decorated cupcakes in the fridge until ready to serve?

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      Yes, you can totally do that!

  4. Sunrise says:

    This recipe is truly buttercream, and not a marshmallow frosting. I used the amount of ingredients as indicated in the recipe, and the marshmallow taste was indistinguishable and overwhelmed by the amount of butter and powdered sugar. It was extremely sweet, too much so, and very soft. When I applied it to the cake, the cake layers were sliding all over and I ended up with a cake that I couldn’t use. This frosting ruined the peanut butter flavored cake I made.
    Only use this if you want an overly sweet buttercream frosting.

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      Thank you for the feedback and for giving the recipe a try! Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the frosting.

  5. Geoffrey says:

    What are ingredients measurements!!!

  6. Brenda Lumpkin says:

    5 stars
    Thank you so much for this,,I don’t like using raw egg whites unless I have to. This is awesome,, made it and ate it all,, yum yum,,

  7. Marie says:

    Looks delicious! I’m wondering if this icing can be used to crumb coat a (chocolate) cake. Does it set nicely in the fridge? Or does the fluff prevent that? I want to do a s’mores inspired cake and I’m thinking this icing may do the trick.

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      It should work as a crumb coat since it is more or less a buttercream frosting. The butter will cool and harden slightly in the fridge.

  8. Rjackson says:

    4 stars
    Very(almost too) sweet icing, but super simple. Fun as an “every once in a while “ cake.
    The church family loved it!

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      Thanks for the feedback! Glad to hear it was enjoyed!

  9. Patricia says:

    I bought the ingredients for this recipe and now just reading I need twice as much for any common cake. Very disappointed.

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      Sorry to hear you were disappointed. Hopefully the frosting recipe still turned out delicious and you enjoyed!

    2. Kelly says:

      She said for a cake you will have to double recipe. Read the recipe.

    3. PAUL J. SMITH JR. says:

      I have a feeling you get disappointed all the time. You didn’t read the recipe and you are disappointed. I hope it’s at yourself and not anyone else.

  10. Rdtraveler says:

    This frosting does not work. The photos show the icing being white. Since there is butter in the recipe, the icing will not be white. Also, it is extremely soft. Room temperature butter, marshmallow fluff and liquid vanilla extract with only 1 cup of powdered sugar makes for an extremely soft and unset icing.