These Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes are ultra-moist, oh-so-decadent, and decorated with luscious chocolate buttercream frosting. Quick, easy, and made in 1 bowl!
Looking for more classic vegan cupcake recipes? You’ll also love my Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes, my Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes, and my Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes.
Get ready to try the best chocolate cupcakes you’ve ever tasted! My Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes are moist, fluffy, and don’t skimp on the chocolate. No one will ever guess they’re vegan.
I adapted this recipe from my ridiculously popular Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe. With over 2,000 reader reviews, that cake is my go-to whenever I need to impress a crowd—and in cupcake form, it’s even easier to share with friends and family at birthday parties, holidays, or as a sweet weekend treat.
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“These cupcakes are amazing, so delicious – I think my husband’s soul almost left his body when he taste-tested one for me.” – Kelly
Why these are the best vegan chocolate cupcakes
- Adapted from a fan-favorite – I made these cupcakes almost the same way as my famous New York Times-featured Vegan Chocolate Cake, so you already know they’re amazing.
- Decadent & moist – The ultimate treat for chocolate lovers—moist, fluffy, light, and topped with a mouthwatering chocolate frosting.
- Easy 1-bowl dessert – This recipe makes a small batch of about 12 cupcakes. The batter is easy to make in one bowl with just a whisk and a spoon (no hand mixer needed).
How to make vegan chocolate cupcakes
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Next, add the oil, applesauce, vanilla, and milk/vinegar mixture to the bowl with the mixed dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine.
Divide the cupcake batter between the cupcake liners. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.
Set the cupcakes aside to cool while you make a batch of my Vegan Chocolate Frosting, my Vegan Chocolate Ganache, or this Vegan Whipped Cream.
Pipe or spread the frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes, then serve and enjoy!
Frequently asked questions
Yes, this recipe makes enough batter for one 8-inch square cake or one 9-inch round cake. If you want more, I’d suggest just making the Best Vegan Chocolate Cake instead.
If you use this recipe to make a cake, bake it for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
Sure! Use a mini cupcake/muffin pan with liners or grease the pan well. Fill the cups half full and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
It’s normal for these cupcakes to sink a little bit after coming out of the oven. I don’t mind—I just cover the tops with frosting anyway!
If they sank more than expected, it’s likely because the measurements were slightly off, the humidity where you live, and/or other small, finicky things. You can try adding a few extra tablespoons of flour if you really want domed tops, but I’d rather have moist cupcakes than dry, dome-topped cupcakes.
Use an equal amount of mashed banana or vegan yogurt as a substitute. 1 flax egg or another vegan egg replacer will also work.
Sure. For gluten-free vegan chocolate cupcakes, use gluten-free all-purpose flour, such as King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill.
I wouldn’t make them too far in advance, but a day or two should be fine (they’ll start to dry out if they sit too long). Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature before frosting and serving.
The Best Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup vegan butter softened
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- Make Vegan Buttermilk: In a glass measuring cup, combine the unsweetened soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Let it sit for a few minutes to curdle (this is your vegan buttermilk).
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.
- Add Wet Ingredients and Mix Batter: To the bowl with the dry ingredients, add the vegetable oil, applesauce, vanilla, and vegan buttermilk. Stir with a large spoon until well-combined, but do not over mix.
- Bake Cupcakes: Fill the liners about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean with no wet batter. Avoid opening the oven as they bake, or they may deflate.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
- Make Chocolate Frosting: Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer), beat the vegan butter until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Sift in the cocoa powder and 2 cups of the powdered sugar, if clumpy. Add the vanilla and 2 tablespoons of milk, and start mixing on low speed, then increasing to high and beat for 2-3 minutes, until fluffy. Add more powdered sugar if it seems too runny, or a little more milk if it's too thick.
- Decorate and Serve: Use a piping bag and tip to pipe frosting onto the cooled cupcakes, or simply spread frosting on thick using a butter knife. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Gluten-Free: Substitute a quality gluten-free flour mix, such as King Arthur’s or Bob’s Red Mill.
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Mini-Cupcakes: Use a mini muffin pan and liners, fill half full, and bake for 10-12 minutes.
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This recipe can also be used for an 8-inch square single cake, or 9-inch round cake. Bake for around 30 minutes.
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If you only want a little frosting on each cupcake, you may cut the frosting recipe ingredients in half.
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Storage: Store leftover cupcakes in a container on the counter for around 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze them for longer.
I have used your chocolate cake recipe fr cupcakes heaps of time but now I’ve found the cupcake recipe. I was just ondering why the cake has 237 mLs of boiling water but the cupcakes have none. I know the cupcake is smaller recipe but just curious as the cake recipe makes perfect cupcakes. So I was just wondering if in fact I should just use the cupcake recipe this time? Thank you so much!
You can definitely use the cake recipe for cupcakes, and if you prefer to that’s totally fine. I leave out the water for the cupcakes so they are easier to hold by hand. They aren’t quite as moist but certainly not dry at all. Stick with the cake as cupcakes if you think they’re perfect. 🙂
Hello,
If I bake the cupcakes and make the frosting the day before, would it be okay to store the frosting in the fridge overnight? Also, how would you store the unfrosted cupcakes? In the fridge covered?
Hi Bryana. Yes, the frosting can be stored in the refrigerator overnight, as well as the cupcakes. Make sure the frosting is brought to room temperature before frosting. Enjoy!
I’m paranoid they will get hard. Do you think it will be better to keep the cupcakes out on the counter overnight?
If you’re a bit worried about them drying out, then yes, store them on the counter overnight. Just make sure they’re wrapped in plastic or stored in an airtight container.
I was wondering if I could incorporate the zest of an orange to this recipe to make a chocolate orange cupcake. Would I need to adjust any other ingredients to account for the addition?
Yes, you could do that. No need to change anything else. Enjoy!
I really appreciate the metric measurements, thank you for that 🙂
I doubled the recipe and these cupcakes are really really good! I frosted with the vegan vanilla buttercream frosting and they were even better than I could have imagined!! Very very moist. I probably could have left them in the oven another 2 mins but I didn’t want to take the chance!!
I’m a fan for sure!
I’m glad the information on my site is helpful for you, Vivan! How fabulous you loved the cupcakes! Thank you for your fantastic feedback and review!
My sister made me the cake version of this recipe for my birthday and it was quite literally the best cake I’ve ever had. I’m having a party tomorrow and decided to make the mini cupcakes. I didn’t listen to you when you said to leave out the boiling water and when a did a few test cupcakes, baking for ten minutes, they sank in the middle. So I added some flour to the batter, reduced the cooking spray, and baked an extra two minutes. And they came out beautiful!! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
You’re so welcome, Kara! I’m thrilled you loved the cake and cupcakes 🙂 Thanks for your fantastic review and feedback!
I would like to put a cherry perserve in the middle of the cupcakes. Would this work? Do I have to make any changes to the recipe?
You could do that, I don’t think you need to make any other changes.
I made these chocolate cupcakes and the vanilla cupcakes for a kids birthday party and they both are super yummy! I put a little less sugar and used coconut oil and they turned out very moist. Will be using these in the future for sure! Thank you for the yummy recipe!
I’m thrilled they were a hit! Thank you for your wonderful review and feedback!
Amazing! I subbed the applesauce for 5 tablespoons of soy yogurt as that was all I had, and reduced the sugar by 10% because I prefer my bakes to be less sweet. The recipe yielded moist and fluffy cupcakes – probably the best cupcake recipe I’ve ever tried! Thank you!!
I only have self raising flour can I use that and not put baking powder in?
I have tried it with self rising flour, however, I think it would work. Happy baking!
I’m a long time vegan chef since early 2000 … this chocolate cake recipe was full proof
It came out super moist and rose up beautifully .. I made cupcakes and a cake doubled the recipe
I made some minor flavor adjustments but followed the recipe to the T
Thanks Nora for your guidance
I appreciate your efforts 🙂
You are welcome, Joseph! I’m glad you enjoyed the cake! Thanks for sharing your great review and feedback!
Hi Nora,
Should the cupcake batter use the boiling water just as the cake?
I don’t use the boiling water here so the cupcakes aren’t overly moist. It’s fine if you want to use it, but it will make cupcakes a bit more moist and they tend to be harder to hold in your hand. Not a problem if you use a plate and a fork! But I prefer cupcakes without the added water. Hope that helps!
Hi Nora, I made these per the recipe but used dairy milk as I only need to make egg-free not vegan. The batter was very thick and not runny at all! Is the milk the problem?
Thanks!
I don’t think that would have been a problem. Did you measure everything correctly, and not accidentally forget an ingredient or add too much flour?
Correct, I followed everything. Is it really only 1/2 cup of milk? All your other cupcake recipes have more. They turned out ok when I used a cup of milk. Thank you for your help!
Yes, it’s only 1/2 cup. That’s strange, I have made these many times and haven’t had issues. It’s a very similar recipe to my vegan chocolate cake, but scaled down. The proportions are similar to other recipes on my site, but many others call for more milk + more flour and dry ingredients, making more cupcakes overall. Anyhow, glad they worked okay with more milk for you.
Soooo delicious but slightly crumbly and delicate. I used King Arthur’s GF all purpose flour. I only baked for 18 mins so next time I think I’ll give them a couple more mins to prevent sinking. My question is why the cupcake paper and part of the cupcake kind of fell away or separated from the rest of the cupcake. Did I spray them with too much oil? Have you ever seen this? Seriously divine flavor though- thank you!!
Maybe a bit too much oil, or it could have something to do with the GF flour, I’m not sure exactly. Glad you enjoyed them though!
These tasted great but crumbled into a mess once I picked them up. I couldn’t even frost them. What could have caused this? I used all purpose flour.
It’s hard to say exactly without being there, but perhaps the measurements were off somewhere. Like, too little flour or cocoa? Or maybe they didn’t bake long enough. It could also be that you picked them up and handled them when they were still warm, which is when they are more fragile. Wait until they are cool to handle and frost them. Hopefully I can help!
We had so much fun eating these that it removed all the calories 😉
Hi Nora, my batter was bit tight so I added 3TBSP of soy milk more to the mix. Cupcakes turned out perfectly yummy and didn’t go flat on me 🙂
That is fabulous! I’m so glad they turned out perfect! Thanks for sharing your experience and great feedback!
Just tried it with oat milk and it didn’t curdle with the vinegar at all! Just a warning if anyone else wants to try it. I made this recipe successfully at least 5 times already, but this is the first time I ever tried oat milk.
Delicious! Made them GF and they were fabulous!
These were fantastic and very easy to make. Every one sunk in the middle but I assume it was because the cups were filled just a tad too much. I got 14 cupcakes out of the batch and will try 15 next time (my muffin tins seem to be a tad smaller than the standard because I always get more than a recipe calls for).
This website has become my favorite source for vegan baking, and after swearing by many of these recipes, I assumed this would be my go-to recipe for chocolate cupcakes. Unfortunately these were crumbly to the point we had to eat them in bowls with a fork. I would normally assume I made a mistake as it was my first time baking these, but now I see several other comments that these indent after baking and crumble while eating. Two stars because the flavor was ok when paired with the vegan chocolate frosting recipe.
Hi Nora, today I made your vanilla cupcakes and these chocolate cupcakes. The vanilla came out beautifully, but the chocolate failed completely. They collapsed as soon as they were out of the oven, and when I tried to take them out of the pan, they crumbled completely! I did use gluten free flour (King Arthur) and melted butter instead of oil. Would either of those cause this? They taste great otherwise, but these will become cake pops instead of cupcakes lol.
Hi Jay. While gluten free flour works for this recipe, it may be the reason why the cupcakes are sinking. I would try adding an extra 1/4 cup of flour (cupcakes sink from too little flour often) to see if that helps. You might also try making my Gluten Free Chocolate Cake, but as cupcakes. I adjusted the recipe to be much better for gluten free. Hope this helps!
Hi Nora, have you tried using aquafaba instead of applesauce as an egg replacement for these cupcakes? Your vanilla cake recipe with aquafaba turned out so well, I was wondering if it would work here too. Thanks!
I haven’t tried it but it should work just fine. Thanks!
Hi Nora, I want to get this recipe to work maybe you can help me? I made this 4 times and the cupcakes rise then they fall flat? The cupcake is delicious though… I have made sure oven temp is correct, levening agents are new, the correct cocoa, but I am thinking the applesauce?? Please help friend!
Hmm I’m not sure about the applesauce, I don’t think that would have anything to do with it. Usually cupcakes will sink for a few reasons: not enough flour or cocoa (measurements are a bit off) or they just didn’t bake for long enough to get cooked all the way. Did you make any substitutions at all?
Mine fell flat also! I followed the recipe to a T.
Super yummy! Paired with your Vanilla Buttercream to make the cutest ghost cupcakes for Halloween!
This recipe is a keeper for sure! I used this recipe to make mini chocolate bundt cakes for my wedding reception last Thursday – they were such a hit! I substituted King Arthur’s gluten-free measure-for-measure all purpose flour to make sure they were both vegan and GF. I followed the advice of someone in the comments who made mini-cupcakes and filled my mini-bundt pans halfway up with batter. I was able to get about 22 mini bundts from 1 batter batch, and they didn’t overflow. (I cooked them on the middle rack, convection oven at 350 for 15 minutes.) The texture is so nice on these, very light and springy – but they have a rich chocolate flavor that is very similar to a brownie. Thank you so much Nora! Will be trying lots of your recipes 🙂
Hi Mimi. Wow, congratulations to you! Your mini bundt cakes sound fabulous! I love that you shared your helpful experience with baking these. I’m thrilled that you will be trying out my other recipes! Enjoy your journey through them, as well as your new life journey! Please reach out with any recipe questions you may have! Happy cooking!
Hello can I use cake flour for this instead of regular flour ?
Hi Corina. I would not use cake flour for this particular cake, as it would be to light. I hope this helps!
These cupcakes are astonishingly good.
I was baking for a vegan friend, and resigned myself to a disappointing flavor, as most vegan baking tastes vaguely of baking powder. These are so good that I would bake them for non-vegans, they taste just as good as any other chocolate cupcake.
I don’t have access to soy milk, so I had to use coconut milk instead. I think that inhibited the rise, so if anyone reading needs to use coconut milk, fill the mold 3/4 full instead of 1/2.
Thanks Nora!
Hi Lauren. You are welcome! How wonderful that the cupcakes were delicious for you! Thank you for your positive feedback and tips!
I don’t have any apple sauce could I sub a flax egg? Thank you!
Hi Jamie. You could use 2 flax eggs (2 tbs ground flax + 5 tbs water), JUST egg or another egg sub. Hope this helps!