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!
I love your recipes! One of our many favorites is your chocolate cake!
Now, I’m trying to decide between this Vegan Vanilla Cupcake, your Vegan Vanilla Cake and the Vegan Lemon Blueberry Lavender Cake for vanilla raspberry cupcakes. The two cakes have aquafaba but the Vanilla Cupcakes don’t have an egg substitute. Am I missing something?
Also, how would you describe the difference in the cake between these recipes?
Thank you!!
Hi Pam, thanks for loving my recipes! Any of the recipes are good choices, but I adore these Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes. They are so easy to make and don’t need aquafaba or another egg replacer. Trust me, they work beautifully and are so simple. If you want to make something a little more complicated, you can always make the Vanilla Cake or Lemon Blueberry Lavender Cake into cupcakes. They are honestly all very tender, moist and light and fluffy. There isn’t a huge difference (as long as you use cake flour.) Good luck!
WOW, these are the bomb. Everyone that was lucky enough to obtain one of these cupcakes from the batch I made was blown away. I am so excited to make these again (for any event, or just because). I am also going to try the funfetti recipe, which I’m sure is just as stellar. Thank you for the best treats Nora!
You are welcome, Shane! It sounds like you have been having lots of fun preparing delicious food! Thank you for using and for trusting my recipes! I’m so glad that you are loving them! I appreciate you, and wish you lots of happy cooking!
honestly, i never make a different recipe, these never fail! i even had to translate the recipe for my non-english non-vegan speaking relatives and friends because they couldnt get enough! thank you for what you do:)
Hi Silvie. I’m so glad that you and all of your relatives are loving the vanilla cupcakes recipe! I appreciate your support! Thank you for sharing your glowing review and comments! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Mine came out dense and gummy. What do you think I did wrong?
Did you use cake flour? While regular flour works, I do find they are more likely to be dense rather than soft and fluffy if you use it. Did you over mix the batter, or make any substitutions at all?
I used cake flour but my vegan butter was the country crock one with olive oil. Is that ok? I’m gonna try again!
Yes, that vegan butter should be fine. When you try again, be careful not to over mix the cupcake batter. You just need to whisk until combined, but then stop, don’t keep whisking for a long time. That should help!
I love these cupcakes and definitely the best vegan ones I’ve tried. My children 2 & 4 are allergic to milk and egg so it was nice to come across a tasty recipe. Could this recipe be adapted to be baked as a cake?
Thanks, I love these cupcakes too! You could bake them as a cake instead, either a 2-layer 8-inch cake or a 9×13 inch cake.
Amazing – better than normal cupcakes. My go to recipe now. THANK YOU
Can I substitute soy milk store bought ice-cream? I mean using melted ice-cream instead of soy milk?
I’m not sure! I’ve never tried it. It might possibly work?
Hello, just tried out this recipe. Super easy!! They are really tasty, almost like an angel food cake taste to me. However, the bottoms of all of the cupcakes are burnt. I’m wondering if you have any idea why? I followed the recipe. It’s almost as if there was oil/butter sitting at the bottom of each cupcake. I did spray with Pam per the directions.
Did you bake them in the center rack of your oven? If they were too low in the oven, or if your oven runs hotter than it should, they could burn. If you can, test the actual temperature of your oven and make sure it’s accurate. I’ve had ovens be off by 50 degrees before. And bake in the center rack; and don’t over bake of course. 🙂 Thanks!
Hi! I bake this all the time, love it. My baby‘s birthday is coming up. Can I replace the sugar with an alternative? Not sure what would work – banana? Date sugar?
Date sugar should work pretty well!
My go to recipe, super quick and easy and taste lovely.
These are delicious cupcakes! Thanks for sharing 🙂
You are welcome, Jean! I’m glad that you loved the recipe! Thank YOU for sharing your awesome review!
Would coconut work as non dairy?
Coconut milk works, but I would not use canned full fat coconut milk. If you are talking about the kind in a carton, then yes.
Hi Nora, is there any difference in the quality of the cupcakes if I use oil instead of melted butter? Would canola oil work well with this recipe? Really hoping for fluffy and moist cupcakes! Also, if I have left over batter, would I be able to freeze it and bake it another time? Thank you so much!
Canola oil works well here, and they will be fluffy and moist! Make sure to use cake flour if possible for the fluffiest cupcakes. And don’t over bake, or they can get dry. I’ve never tried freezing the batter, but I think you could. Thanks!
Hi! I have made these a few times and they are wonderful! How long do they keep prior to eating? Should they be refrigerated? Can you bake and hold without frosting for a few days?
Hi Nora!
I LOVE YOUR RECIPES!
This is likely a stupid question but I’m not a baker.
Is it ok to make the cupcakes the day before and refrigerate them in a tight cover?
Thank you for all you do!
Thank you Laura for loving my recipes! 🙂 Not a stupid question at all – yes, you can cover them and refrigerate the day before, no problem. Enjoy!
Hi Nora! If you don’t ice them right away how far in advance can you make these? I a lot to make this week! My son loves these and we have his birthday and party!
If you need to make them more than a day or two in advance I would freeze them. After a day or two they will start to dry out and won’t be as tasty! You can also make the cupcakes, freeze them, and then thaw and make the frosting fresh before serving. Hope everyone loves the cupcakes!
It is ok to fill the cupcakes with raspberry jam?
Absolutely, that sounds lovely!
I’m trying to make 1/2 and 1/2 vanilla and chocolate cupcakes without eggs but definitely do not need 48 cupcakes. Could I keep half the mix and add cocoa powder to it and still have good results?
I’ve never tried it, but it probably will work. I’d actually replace some of the flour with cocoa powder, perhaps 3/4 cup. I hope they turn out delicious!
I love these cupcakes. They come out perfect everyone. Have you ever used coconut sugar? I’m looking for something a little less refined. Next time I make them I’m going to try it and I’ll let you know how it works for me. If you have any type I’d love to hear! I’m also going to use a homemade non dairy milk.
Whatever the amount of cocoa powder you’re going to use, take out that same amount of your mixed dry ingredients. An even swap. That’s what I do and it works pretty well for making vanilla cupcakes chocolate 😁
Can you make this as mini cupcakes.
Any adjustments that I need to make to the recipe?
Mini cupcakes work! You just need to bake them in a mini muffin pan and for much less time, around 12-15 minutes.
Hi! I was just wondering, have you tried the recipe with gluten free flour? If so, did it turn out?
I have and they turn out quite well! A little different and perhaps more dense than using cake flour. If you use a quality all-purpose gluten-free flour, it should work well.
Hi
I just found your page. I’m from sweden and have a son with food allergies. what is meant by cake flour?
Hi there! Cake flour is a lovely flour to bake cakes with – it’s low protein, finely milled with a less gluten so your cakes/cupcakes come out lighter with a fluffy texture. You can use regular flour if needed though, or make a cake flour substitute.
I love this recipe! Comes together quickly and makes light, fluffy cupcakes. I use Vegetable or Canola oil and mix sprinkles in at the end. They were a hit among kids and adults!
Hi Maria. Thank you for sharing your glowing review and feedback! I’m so glad that everyone enjoyed the cupcakes! Wishing you happy cooking!
I followed the recipe with oat milk and it tastes like flour.. is that normal? Should I add more vanilla or sugar?
Oat milk is fine – Did you add the correct amount of sugar (1.5 cups) and everything else? Use cake flour? Regular flour will make them taste a bit more floury, which is why I prefer cake flour for a better flavor and fine crumb. Also, make sure you don’t overmix the batter, or they will be dense and tough.
Hi ,
How many cupcakes does one recipe make?
24 cupcakes.
Hey there! Can you make these with silicone pans & no liners? Thanks!
Sure, that should be just fine.
Hey ! Recipe looks delicious. Can these be made in the mini cupcake tray at the same oven settings?
Hi Trishna. Yes, these can be as mini cupcakes. They will need to bake 15-20 minutes. Be sure and watch them closely! I hope you enjoy!
I ended up making your chocolate cupcakes ! They were soooo good ! Thanks for the recipe.. I used cake flour and mashed banana instead of applesauce.. ! ❤️