Simply the best Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes! Tender, fluffy and perfect for birthdays and other celebrations. Easy to make in 1 bowl. If you love these, you will also love my Vegan Vanilla Cake.
This is my favorite recipe for vegan cupcakes. They are the fluffiest cupcakes, not to mention soft, buttery and sweet with the perfect vanilla flavor. You definitely don’t need eggs, butter or milk to make delicious cupcakes, I promise!
Top with swirly Vegan Buttercream, Vegan Chocolate Frosting, Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting or Vegan Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
What I love about this recipe
- The cupcakes are made in 1 bowl, with a minimal list of simple ingredients.
- You don’t need a hand mixer (except for the frosting!)
- Cake flour makes the cupcakes incredibly fluffy, soft and moist. I made a batch with all purpose flour and the cupcakes were fine but drier and not nearly as fluffy and light.
- They are so easy to make; you will be eating cupcakes in no time!
How to make vegan cupcakes in 1 bowl
- In a measuring cup, combine soy milk (or another non-dairy milk) and apple cider vinegar. Set aside to curdle (this is vegan buttermilk).
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Pour in milk/vinegar mixture, melted vegan butter and vanilla extract.
- Whisk until smooth and well combined.
Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full and bake for 18-20 minutes. You will get 24 cupcakes out of this recipe, so either bake one pan at a time, or both at the same time if you have two pans.
Let them cool a few minutes in the pan before carefully transferring to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before frosting.
Frosting for vegan cupcakes
To truly make these cupcakes in 1 bowl, simply wipe or rinse out the cupcake batter bowl and use it for the frosting. OR if you are feeling really lazy, you could pick up a container of Duncan Hines Vanilla Frosting, which happens to be vegan. I recommend making your own, it tastes way better! But I’m not here to judge. ?
Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting with Vegan Buttercream or other frosting you desire. I use this simple piping kit for decorating cupcakes, but you could simply spread the frosting on with a butter knife.
Check out my little tutorial for how to pipe cupcakes nice and tall in my Vegan Frosting Recipe. I also love to decorate them with sprinkles. Sweetapolita has the prettiest vegan sprinkles, and I always keep some on hand!
Gluten free vegan cupcakes
To make these cupcakes gluten free, you can substitute a quality gluten free flour mix, such as King Arthur’s Measure for Measure. They won’t be quite as light or moist as using cake flour, but it works pretty well!
Want more vegan cupcakes?
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
- 1 Bowl Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
- Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Pecan Frosting
Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk (or use another non-dairy milk)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 3/4 cups cake flour*
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup melted vegan butter or neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 Recipe Vegan Buttercream Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 12-cup muffin pan (2 if you have them, if not bake one tray at a time) with paper liners. I usually spray the liners with a little oil as well to prevent sticking.
- Combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a measuring cup or bowl, give a little stir and set aside for a few minutes to curdle.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined.
- Now pour in the milk/vinegar mixture, melted vegan butter or oil and vanilla. Whisk until well combined. There may be a few small lumps, but you don't want any large lumps in the batter.
- Fill the liners 1/2 full and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Carefully transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack, then place new liners in the pan and bake the rest of the cupcakes until you have used all the batter.
- Cool completely, then pipe on Vegan Buttercream Frosting or another frosting of your choosing. Decorate with sprinkles or sliced strawberries. Enjoy!
- Store cupcakes on the counter, covered for up to 4 days (they stay moist!). They also freeze perfectly for up to 3 months, with or without frosting.
Video
Notes
- I tested a batch with all purpose flour, and cake flour definitely produced fluffier, softer cupcakes. But in a pinch, you can use regular flour.
- Gluten free – Use a gluten free flour mix.
- One batch of vanilla frosting was enough for me to frost all 24 cupcakes, but if you want a LOT of frosting on each one, you may want to double the frosting recipe.
- Funfetti cupcakes – Add 1/2-3/4 cup sprinkles to the batter, folding them in at the end.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally published in March 2020 and has been updated with a slightly improved recipe (less salt, vegan butter instead of oil) March 2022. I’m always working on improving my recipes, thank you!
Thank you so much for these Nora!! I have them yesterday and they turned out nice. My only problem is they tasted slightly grainy. I’ve not made gluten free vegan cupcakes before so I’m not sure if the cupcakes are supposed to taste like that? Maybe it’s the gluten free all purpose flour I used!
You are welcome, Shareen. The cupcakes are not supposed to taste grainy, however, many gluten free flour mixes can cause that. I have good luck using King Arthur flour Measure for Measure. Thanks for your positive review, and I hope your next batch turns out not grainy! Happy cooking!
Hi Nora,
Do you find it works better with melted vegan butter or oil? I was not sure if one helped to create a better dome?
Could you use coconut oil or would you stick to canola/vegetable?
Thanks!
Molly
Both work well, butter or a nuetral oil. If you melt the butter, let it cool to room temperature before using it in the batter. Mixing hot melted butter with cool or room temperature ingredients will throw off the recipe. And yes, melted coconut oil works as well. Enjoy!
Hi! I’m planning on making these in a mini muffin pan. Would the oven temp and baking time change?
Oven temp is the same, but you will only bake them for 12-15 minutes. Enjoy!
These are by far the best cupcakes, so light and fluffy, they’re my go to recipe.
Great recipe! So light and soft! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Hi! All the other recipes I have seen using vegan buttermilk call for a tbsp of acv per cup non-dairy milk. This recipe has 1.5 cups of non-dairy milk with only a tsp of acv- is this correct? Thanks so much!
This is correct. I don’t always follow a specific rule, it depends on the recipe for me.
Hi Nora! I have use this recipe a decent amount over the past two years, but find it unpredictable. I would say about 75% of the time everything rises correctly, but the cupcakes tend to sink the other 25% of the time. I switch out my baking powder monthly, any suggestions on what could be causing the instability in the recipe? My only thought is to cut down the baking powder by half but I don’t want to try this if it’s something you already know won’t work! Thank you!
Cutting down on the baking powder will probably just make them fall every time. If you really want cupcakes that have a dome, maybe try adding just a little extra flour, perhaps around 1/4 cup. I personally don’t mind if cupcakes are a bit flat or even sink a little after baking, because I just pipe frosting onto them anyhow. That said, these don’t usually fall at all for me. It’s probably a matter of measurements being slightly off certain times when you make them, like just accidentally scooping a little less flour than usual. That’s enough to change the outcome. Try spooning flour into the measuring cup, and leveling it off with a knife. Don’t shake it or pat it down, and don’t scoop flour directly from the bag/jar. Hope that helps!
Love your cake recipe! What temp and time do you suggest when using a mini muffin pan? (The one that makes 18 minis)
Probably around 15 minutes, but do a toothpick check after 13 minutes or so. 🙂 Enjoy!
I moved from sea level to 5000 feet, and my all my favorite cake recipes fail up here! I did a big, broad test of various vegan and veganized vanilla cupcakes, reducing the leavening a bit and baking at 375F, as you do up here, and these were the only ones that rose, domed, and kept that gentle dome! You saved me, and these are a great!
Hi you have stated 1 tablespoon baking powder. Please confirm this is correct.
That is correct.
Hi Nora! I love this recipe and I bake these all the time but I’m on a trip but I forgot the apple cider vinegar, what could I use instead of that or would it not turn out great? Thanks a bunch!
Hi Annie. I’m so glad you are loving the cupcakes! Thanks for your great review! White vinegar or lemon juice would work fine.
Absolutely delicious!!! Honestly, much better than any non-vegan vanilla cupcake ive ever baked. So good!! Super fluffy, and sweet🥰
I saved this recipe and forgot to try it. I’m gonna be making heart shaped mini cakes out of these with a chocolate mirror glaze, freeze dried strawberry powder on top, and filled with a strawberry mousse. Really excited to try this recipe as the comments say it is very good.
Sounds amazing and beautiful! Happy baking!
Why are these the best vanilla cupcakes I have ever made, vegan or not??? These are sooooo good. I will be using this as my go-to recipe from now on, even for my non-vegan relatives.
Hi Hope! You made my day with your proclamation! I’m thrilled you are loving the cupcakes and have made them your go-to recipe! Thanks for sharing your fabulous review and feedback! Happy cooking!
Lovely cupcakes… butttt WOW!! Got a massive sugar rush. Could only do half a cupcake. Would it be okay if i cut down on the sugar?
Sure, you can cut the sugar some if you want. I wouldn’t cut it more than in half though.
Excellent flavor and texture. Perfect for my kid’s birthday party.
Happy birthday to your child! Thanks for your wonderful review!
Hi there, hoping to make these gorgeous cakes for work colleagues. Cake flour? In the UK is this Self Raising flour or something else entirely? Could I have the name of the one you used and I’ll try and source it? Many thanks
Sandra
Hi Sandra, yes I use Swan’s Down or King Arthur cake flour. You can also make your own, I don’t think self raising flour is the same thing.
This was great. I tweaked it a little..
I doubled the batch
Used one cup less sugar
Split the batter and added cocoa into the other half
Used coconut oil as the butter part
I filled the cupcakes to the top to make bigger ones and cooked them annextra 10-15 until knife came out clean
Hi Audrey. Thank you for your great review and for sharing your baking experience! I’m glad the cupcakes turned out great for you!
Hi Audrey! Can you tell me how much cocoa powder you used? Looking to do the same thing!
Thank you in advance!
Hi Nora, do i need to store in fridge to avoid the buttercream frosting from melting? It’s summer here in Australia! And I’m planning to bake this and decorate with your vegan buttercream recipe a day before my daughter birthday party.
I don’t usually refrigerate the cupcakes with frosting as it should be quite stable, but if it’s really warm where you are, I would stick them in the fridge just to be sure. Hope these are a hit at the birthday party!
This is a great recipe.Very tasty and you wouldn’t kow these are vegan.
For those that measure by weight, it’s 300 grams of sugar and 330 grams of cake flour.
Can this be converted to a cake recipe? I like that it doesn’t use aquafaba
Yes, I believe it will make a double 8 inch layer cake. Same temp, but bake for 30 minutes or so, until a toothpick comes out clean. Or you can make a 9×13 inch cake, and bake for 40 minutes or so.
Can this recipe be used for two 8 or 9 ” cake pans as well? I see your vanilla cake recipe which looks great but my daughter is allergic to chickpeas. We love this recipe for cupcakes though and would love to use it for her birthday cake.
Thanks
Christine
Yes, this recipe can be made into a cake! There should be enough batter for two 8-inch cake pans. Bake them in a 350ºF oven for 30-35 minutes. Happy baking!
They are amazing ! The icing was enough for all the cupcakes and I even had left overs. I love your recipes.
Hi Rose. Thanks so much for sharing your fabulous review and feedback! I’m thrilled you love the cupcakes!
Hi Nora! I am wondering if I can replace the vegan butter and milk with dairy milk and butter? My kid is allergic to egg so that’s the only ingredient my trying to avoid.
I haven’t tried it but it should work fine. Enjoy!
Lovely! Made them and will be adding your amazing frosting tomorrow and decorate them Halloween style! I’m to the best baker but these have risen so well! 🙂
I’m glad the cupcakes turned out well for you, Kate! Sounds fun! Thanks for your awesome review and feedback! Enjoy those cupcakes!
I halved the recipe for 12 cupcakes and they felt a bit dense! Don’t know if I made a mistake? Though 1/2 tablespoon of baking powder to 1/4 teaspoon vinegar doesn’t feel enough to give it enough rise – any thoughts?
Hi there! Did you use cake flour or regular flour? Cake flour will make the cupcakes light and fluffy, but not so soft they fall apart when you hold one in your hand. I haven’t cut this recipe in half, so I would also try making it as written. Baking recipes can be picky when you cut the ingredients in half or double/triple and so on. Make sure to measure everything carefully as well, ensure your baking powder is fresh and use cake flour if possible for light and fluffy cupcakes.