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.

one cupcake in focus with sprinkles, more in the backyard that are blurry

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!
bite taken out of a vegan vanilla cupcake with lots of swirly frosting and sprinkles

How to make vegan cupcakes in 1 bowl

  1. In a measuring cup, combine soy milk (or another non-dairy milk) and apple cider vinegar. Set aside to curdle (this is vegan buttermilk).
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  3. Pour in milk/vinegar mixture, melted vegan butter and vanilla extract.
  4. Whisk until smooth and well combined.
collage showing how to make vegan cupcake batter

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.

unbaked cupcake batter in a pan with liners

Let them cool a few minutes in the pan before carefully transferring to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before frosting.

unfrosted baked cupcakes on cooling rack

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!

looking down on several vegan cupcakes, some with sprinkles and some without

Want more vegan cupcakes?

lots of cupcakes, yellow with white frosting, some with sprinkles

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

Servings: 24 cupcakes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Author: Nora Taylor
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Simply the best Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes! Tender, fluffy and perfect for birthdays and other celebrations. Easy to make in 1 bowl. Makes 24 cupcakes.
4.89 stars (44 ratings)
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Ingredients 

US Customary – Metric

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.

Notes

  1. 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.
  2. Gluten free – Use a gluten free flour mix.
  3. 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.
  4. Funfetti cupcakes – Add 1/2-3/4 cup sprinkles to the batter, folding them in at the end. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupcake, Calories: 350kcal, Carbohydrates: 51g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 203mg, Potassium: 111mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 36g, Vitamin A: 42IU, Calcium: 57mg, Iron: 1mg

*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!

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