These vegan gluten free cupcakes are bursting with fresh vanilla flavor, rainbow sprinkles and finished off with an easy four ingredient vegan buttercream frosting. Perfect for birthdays, parties or just for fun.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Gluten free and vegan recipes are always the hardest to test. When you eliminate gluten and eggs, it becomes very difficult to get the structure of a baked good right.
My gluten free vanilla cupcakes have been really popular, so I wanted to do a vegan version! Plus, sprinkles thrown in the mix making everything more fun, yeah?!
These vegan gluten free cupcakes are moist, fluffy, made in one bowl and in and out of the oven in just about 30 minutes. They’re free from gluten, eggs and dairy but I promise you won’t miss any of that!
They’re topped with my favorite vegan buttercream and lots and lots of sprinkles.
How to make vegan cupcakes
Prep tray.Line a 12 cavity cupcake tray with liners and set aside.
Whisk wet. In a medium bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients.
Add in dry. Whisk in the dry ingredients (except for the sprinkles), making sure to spoon and level the flour, don’t scoop straight from the bag.
Add sprinkles. Whisk until completely smooth. Fold in the sprinkles. Scoop into your prepared tin, filling each about 3/4 of the way up.
Bake. Bake for 21-25 minutes, 23 is usually right in my oven, but check with a toothpick for doneness.
Let cool. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. I suggest letting them cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then carefully remove and let finish cooling on a wire rack.
Frost & serve. Once cool, frost with my homemade vegan vanilla buttercream and enjoy!
Why this recipe works without eggs
A few things help give these cupcakes a classic cakey texture without eggs or gluten.
One is the almond flour. I tried making these nut free, but unfortunately, the almond flour is what is able to give them that light and fluffy texture and moisture.
Second is the perfect amount of baking powder and soda. Just enough to help them rise, but not so much that they rise and collapse after baking.
Finally, these cupcakes are not overly sweet as we’re only using 3/4 cup of sugar in the batter itself. Too much sugar causes the top of the cupcake to get a bit crispy, especially because there is sugar in sprinkles.
How to store cupcakes
Once prepared, these vegan cupcakes will store best at room temperature for up to 3 days. I suggest keeping them on a plate covered with foil, as they can dry out if left out completely.
However, if you cover them too tightly, the butter from the buttercream can melt a bit and seep into the cupcakes, causing them to get a bit mushy.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make these nut free?
Unfortunately, I do not think these vegan gluten free cupcakes will turn out all that well without the almond flour. It’s key for the light, moist and fluffy texture.
If you absolutely need to sub, your safest bet would be oat flour, but I have not tested this myself and cannot guarantee the result.
Can I add cocoa to make these chocolate cupcakes?
If you’re looking for vegan/gluten free chocolate cupcakes, try these instead of altering this recipe!
I do not recommend just adding cocoa powder because that will shift the wet and dry ingredient proportions and alter the texture of the cupcakes.
Can I make these vanilla instead of funfetti?
Yes! Funfetti cupcakes are basically just vanilla cupcakes with added sprinkles. You are more than welcome to leave out the sprinkles to make these plain vanilla cupcakes instead!
Try these cupcakes next!
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Vegan Gluten Free Cupcakes
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet
- 1 ¼ cup non-dairy milk I used almond
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ⅓ cup oil I used sunflower
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Dry
- ¾ cup blanched almond flour
- 1 ¾ cup gluten free all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line a 12 cavity cupcake tray with liners and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients.
- Whisk in the dry ingredients (except for the sprinkles), making sure to spoon and level the flour, don't scoop straight from the bag.
- Whisk until completely smooth. Fold in the sprinkles.
- Scoop into your prepared tin, filling each about 3/4 of the way up.
- Bake for 21-25 minutes, 23 is usually right in my oven, but check with a toothpick for doneness.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely. I suggest letting them cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then carefully remove and let finish cooling on a wire rack.
- Once cool, frost with my homemade vegan vanilla buttercream and enjoy!
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