These beautiful Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes are made with plenty of fresh strawberries and the most luscious pink frosting. The perfect treat when strawberries are abundant at the farmer’s market!
You will never meet a prettier cupcake! These vegan strawberry cupcakes are bursting with flavor and have the best texture. They are fluffy with a tight crumb and never dense. Plus there are little chunks of real strawberries throughout!
They are a bit more work than my vegan vanilla cupcakes or vegan chocolate cupcakes, simply because you have to puree and cook down fresh strawberries. That’s what gives them their signature strawberry flavor!
The strawberry buttercream frosting is out of this world delicious and you will use a little of the strawberry puree in it as well. It’s impossible not to lick the bowl clean!
How to make Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
First, you will puree the strawberries and cook down the sauce until it reduces somewhat. It will take about 30 minutes, then transfer to a bowl and let it cool. I like to stick it in the refrigerator or freezer to speed this up. You can also do this ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake.
Make the cupcake batter using an electric mixer (again, the full process is below in the recipe card.) Fold in the strawberries. TIP: For pink/red cupcakes like mine, add a few drops of vegan friendly red food coloring to the batter. It’s optional though.
Divide the batter evenly in the liners filled 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting, or the frosting will melt right off.
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
For the incredible pink frosting, make sure the strawberry puree is completely cooled. Add the vegan butter (I love Country Crock brand sticks for frosting) to a large bowl and beat with a stand or hand mixer. Now slowly add the powdered sugar, strawberry puree, vanilla and a few drops of pink/red food coloring, if using.
Beat until light and fluffy, then add to a piping bag with a large tip attached and pipe onto cooled cupcakes. You can also simply spread it on with a butter knife, but piped frosting looks much better. Stick a whole strawberry into the piped frosting, for decoration. Enjoy!
Want more strawberry recipes?
- Vegan Strawberry Cake
- Vegan Strawberry Pie
- Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
- Vegan Cheesecake (with optional strawberry sauce)
Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
Strawberry puree
- 10-12 medium/large strawberries
Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup softened vegan butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup reduced strawberry puree
- 4-5 drops red or pink vegan friendly food coloring, optional
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup diced strawberries
- 12 whole strawberries, for topping each cupcake
Strawberry buttercream frosting
- 3 tablespoons reduced strawberry puree, completely cooled
- 3/4 cup vegan butter, slightly softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3-4 drops red or pink vegan friendly food coloring, optional
Instructions
Make the strawberry puree
- Rinse and hull the strawberries. Using a food processor or blender, puree them.
- Pour the puree into a small pot and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until it reduces somewhat. You will need 1/3 cup for the cupcake batter, and 3 tablespoons for the frosting. Allow it to cool for a few minutes before adding to cake batter and let it cool completely for the frosting. I like to stick it in the freezer to speed this up.
Prepare the oven and pan
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cupcake pan with liners. Spray the liners with oil.
Make the cupcakes
- Combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Stir a little, then set aside.
- Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter and sugar until creamy. Mix in the soy milk mixture, vanilla, reduced strawberry puree and food coloring, if using.
- Stop the mixer, and add the cake flour, baking powder and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed until just combined, scraping the bowl as needed. Fold in the diced strawberries, gently.
- Divide the batter evenly in the liners (3/4 full) and bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow them to cool in the muffin tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Make the frosting
- Once the strawberry puree is cooled completely (you can do this by sticking it in the freezer), add the vegan butter to a bowl and mix until fluffy and creamy.
- Add 1 cup of powdered sugar, then mix in the strawberry puree, vanilla and optional food coloring. Add the remaining powdered sugar and continue to mix until light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thin, add additional powdered sugar.
Frost and decorate
- Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes, and top each one with a whole strawberry. Serve and enjoy!
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or the refrigerator for 4-5 days. They can also be frozen.
Notes
- May use another non-dairy milk such as almond, cashew or coconut.
- If you can not find cake flour, all purpose flour can be used, but they won’t be and light and fluffy.
- For gluten free, substitute a gluten free all purpose flour. I like King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour.
These are amazing! I love how they really taste like fresh strawberry!
Forgot to add, my son is allergic to to eggs, so I am SO appreciative of all your delicious dessert recipes!
Can i make the frosting without a mixer ??or maybe in a blenter or beamer?
I’d recommend whisking the frosting by hand instead of using a blender.
I made this recipe over Memorial Day weekend recently, followed it to the letter, and had completely scrumptious cupcakes ❣️ They were light, fluffy, and SO flavorful. No synthetic strawberry flavor, just fresh fruit goodness. They are gorgeous, too, and I already want them again. Thank you for such an easy, workable recipe. Huge success all the way around ?
You are welcome! I’m so glad your cupcakes were a hit! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback, and I hope you enjoy these cupcakes all summer long! Happy cooking!
These cupcakes are amazing! I used raspberries instead of strawberries, but I’m sure the strawberry version would be just as delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Wow, raspberry cupcakes sound so good! I’m glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback and review!
Omg!!! These are so sinfully delicious. I usually never like frosting on my cupcakes, but after devouring 5 of the no-frosting cupcakes I made, you would think I would stop eating them lol..nope! Instead, I made frosting and had another! So tasty!!!! I’m a fan for life now! I do have one question. Can I make the frosting ahead a time and freeze it for a week and then defrost to use on fresh cupcakes? Thank you so much for sharing this lovely recipe! You are amazing!
Hi Penelope. I’m glad you are loving the cupcakes! They are just perfect for our upcoming spring season! You can make and freeze the buttercream frosting for up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer bag. The day before you’re ready to use it, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then bring it to room temperature before re-whipping again. Thank you for your terrific feedback and review!
These are absolutely perfect and delicious DH told me that after making these I never need to work again ! thank you Nora for another great recipe !
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! I’m so glad you loved the cupcakes!
I made cupcakes yesterday for my nephew and niece following your recipe and we both thought it was so delicious, plus I baked it for about 26 minutes and it was perfect. I really want to show it if I can post a photo hahah, this recipe makes me feel so fulfilled！thank you！
I am so glad that the cupcakes turned out delicious for you! I wish I could see a photo as well! I get what you say about a recipe bringing fulfillment! Thank you for sharing that, and for sharing your review and feedback! Happy cooking!
Hi, Nora! I had a hard time finding cake flour—would pastry flour work okay?
It should work okay, they are just the most light and fluffy using cake flour. Regular flour works though. Thanks!
2 things !
1. I made these for my sister and her whole family said they were the best cupcakes they’ve ever had ! They didn’t know they were vegan.
2. What’s the best gf flour to sub? I don’t love bobs red mill, it is too dense. Would subbing gluten free flour work without changing the other ingredients ?
Hi Kaitlin. I’m glad the cupcakes were a hit with your sister’s family! Woo hoo! For gluten free, substitute a gluten free all purpose flour. I like King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour. No other ingredients would need to be changed. Happy cooking!
I am a little short on strawberries and am trying to avoid another store run – will the frosting still work ok if I only have 2 Tbsp of purée instead of 3?
Hi Joy. The frosting should still work. It may be a bit lighter in color, however I don’t think it will really be different.
These are delicious! I think I may Have under baked them just a bit but they were still really good. I love that there are chopped strawberries in the mix as well as the purée. I will definitely make these again. I used silicone muffin pan I think next time I will use the traditional pan with muffin cups. Thank you for such a great vegan friendly recipe!
You are welcome, Theresa! I’m glad that you loved the cupcakes! Thanks for taking your time to share your review and comments!
These were so good. I thought the frosting was going to be to sweet but once on the cupcakes, the frosting blended well with the cupcakes. I forgot the baking powder..lol
I’m glad these turned out good for you, even minus the baking powder! Thanks for sharing your review!
What would the cooking time be for mini cupcakes ?
About 15 minutes.
Hello! Aside from cupcake vs cake, what are the differences between this strawberry cupcake recipe & the strawberry cake recipe on your blog? I am deciding between the two to make for my daughters birthday this weekend.
Hi there! The recipes are quite similar, but I scaled down the recipe to make less cupcakes. And I used fresh strawberry puree in the cupcake frosting, and freeze dried in the cake frosting. Both frostings are delicious! So it’s really a matter of whether you want to make cake or cupcakes, you can’t go wrong either way. 🙂
Ok! That’s helpful. The freeze dried strawberry frosting intrigues me so I plan to make the cupcake recipe with the cake frosting for bee birthday tomorrow 🙂 & the flavor profiles of both the cake & cupcakes are similar?
I couldn’t decide between your strawberry cake & chocolate cake so I’m making strawberry cupcakes & the chocolate cake—Yum! We are going to have WAY too much but it will be fun to make them.
I have loved every single recipe I’ve made from your blog. Your site is my go-to for vegan recipes!
Oh shoot! One more question, would it change the final result if I subbed out the all purpose flour for cake flour in the chocolate cake recipe? & would I use equal parts?
For the chocolate cake, I would not use cake flour. It might be too delicate and turn out mushy. For most cake recipes I do prefer cake flour, but not the chocolate one.
Yes, the flavors are very similar. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks!
I’m going to be your most annoying commenter ?? I keep thinking of questions. I plan to add sprinkles to the batter of these strawberry cupcakes… how much would you add to this recipe?
LOL no worries! Sorry I didn’t get to your comments sooner! I would add about 1/2 cup I think, but you can add more or less. 🙂
Can I make the purée with frozen strawberries? It should just need a bit more time to reduce, right? I’m so excited to taste these! Thanks for another great recipe!
Yes, that should work just fine. Thank you! Hope you love the cupcakes.
Can I make this into a cake?! And if yes what do you suggest.. thank you
Hi Elaine. This recipe will make one 8 or 9 inch round cake, and will need to bake at 350 for about 30-35 minutes. You could double the recipe to make a double layer cake. Hope this helps!
This recipe is so yum!! And the frosting is so light and not as sweet as I feared it would be. I can’t wait to eat another one ?
Thanks for sharing your review and comments! I’m glad you love the cupcakes!
Can I double the recipe and it turn out just as good?
It should be fine though I haven’t doubled this one yet.
I just made 2 dozen of these for my daughter’s 6th birthday after she saw them on my Instagram. They were a big hit with everyone! My daughter said I should let you know how much she loved them. Thank you for another winning recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing, I’m so glad they were a hit! 🙂
I live in the UK – What would I use for Cake flour? Plain or Self-raising?
I would use plain flour if you don’t have cake flour.
Made these with your chocolate frosting instead of strawberry. Turned out delicious!
These are FANTASTIC! I made some for church and the strawberry flavor is out of this world. I did add half a tablespoon more of the puree to the frosting and it put it over the top. I just wanted to eat it up. Great recipe!
So glad you love the recipe, Laura! Thanks for sharing your wonderful comments!
I have made this recipe just the other day and shared them with my neighbors and friends. I got rave reviews from all of them. They were delicious and were even better the next day.
Hi Valerie! I’m glad the strawberry cupcakes were a hit – how fun that you shared them with friends and neighbors! I appreciate you sharing your comments!
Hi! If I were to make these, but as a cake, what would the cooking time be?
Thank you!
This recipe will make one 8 or 9 inch round cake, and will need to bake at 350 for about 30-35 minutes. You could double the recipe to make a double layer cake. Thanks!
Merci!
: ). You are welcome!
I love literally EVERYTHING Nora posts. I’ve been waiting on this recipe and made it first thing this morning. The cupcakes are so fluffy and soft. The strawberry flavor in them is pretty minimal, but that could be from strawberries not quite in season. I did have to add about a cup extra of powdered sugar for the icing to not be so liquidy. That seems to happen with every vegan buttercream recipe I try though.
Thank you, Nora!
Thank you so much Kasey! I’m glad you love the recipes. 🙂 For buttercream frosting, it will help if you start with your vegan butter just barely softened, not at all melty or too soft. And use sticks for best results. Hope that helps!
I do too! Everything I make is great!