This easy recipe for fluffy vegan vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting is foolproof and perfect whenever you feel like making quick muffins. The cupcakes are vegan, dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free! Perfect for a birthday, picnic or any other day!

Easy Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
Today I have a very simple cupcake recipe for you, that can be made by anyone for sure! Even kids can help baking as you can see in the recipe video below. Honestly, this video is really cute, so I had to upload it to this blog post, too. While our little helper didn’t make the vanilla frosting, he topped these cupcakes just with melted chocolate drizzle and Oreo Cookies to keep it easier. Anyway, I hope you’ll love this recipe as much as we do!
While the batter of this basic cupcake recipe is inspired by my Cranberry Cake, I used the frosting recipe of my Vegan Vanilla Cake Recipe. Anyway, these cupcakes are so fluffy and delicious, they’re not only fun to bake but also to eat! It’s a real vanilla dream in a mini cake!

What I love about these cupcakes
Well, here’s probably not enough space to mention everything so here are just a few facts! First of all, these vegan cupcakes are the perfect recipe for the whole family. So, ask your kids or friends and start baking. Not only baking is fun but also getting creative regarding the decoration! To me, decorating Cupcakes is even one of the best parts. Secondly, the cupcakes and the frosting are easy to make with only a few simple pantry staple ingredients in no time. Furthermore, there are many different ways to make the batter, the frosting, and the topping so this recipe is very versatile! Lastly, the most important fact… these cupcakes are so fluffy and delicious, no one will ever notice they‘re made without eggs and dairy!

How to make Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
Start to combine the plant milk and apple cider vinegar in a bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to curdle. Then add the vegetable oil, sugar and vanilla extract. Next, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch) and sift it into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Then mix briefly until the ingredients are just combined. Finally, line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners and scoop the batter into them.










Recipe Notes
- Gluten-free: For gluten-free Cupcakes substitute a gluten-free flour blend 1:1.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch acts as a binder here and helps the cupcakes become fluffier. Instead of using cornstarch, you can probably also use arrowroot or tapioca flour.
- Berry Cupcakes: If you’d like adding berries, be sure to toss them with a little flour or cornstarch or the cupcakes will get soggy. Once the berries are evenly coated, fold them into the vanilla cake batter. If using frozen berries, please do not thaw them. Use them straight from the freezer.
- Chocolate Cupcakes: All chocolate lovers can easily turn this recipe into chocolate cupcakes. Simply replace 1-2 tbsp of the flour with cocoa powder.


Vegan Buttercream Frosting and Toppings
The vanilla buttercream frosting is as quick and easy to make as the basic cupcake batter, or even faster! I prefer to lighten the buttercream with vegan cream cheese. So, I use two parts of vegan butter and one part of cream cheese. However, feel free to make the buttercream frosting by using only vegan butter as desired. Regarding the other toppings, you can really get creative! Colorful sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate chips, ground nuts, Oreo cookies, dried fruits or fresh berries – use whatever you like!

Perfect for any occasion!
These vegan vanilla cupcakes (or muffins) are absolutely perfect for any occasion! Whether for a birthday party with a lot of sprinkles or just plain for a simple snack on the go. If you’d like to take them to a summery picnic, feel free to add some fruity summer berries into your cupcakes as already mentioned before. Since this recipe is super versatile, feel free to bake it in another pan if you’re not into cupcakes. Actually, you can even turn this vanilla cake recipe into a small bundt pan, loaf pan, springform pan or square pan. Just be sure to do a test with a toothpick before removing the cake. Once it comes out clean, the cake is done baking!

How to store and freeze cupcakes
You can easily make the Cupcakes in advance because they keep fresh for a few days. Just make sure to store them properly in an airtight container. When stored at room temperature they keep fresh for 2-3 days or when stored in the refrigerator they keep even up to 5 days. For longer storage, you can also freeze them for up to 1-2 months. Then you can remove them anytime, whenever you’re in the mood for some homemade vegan vanilla cupcakes!

This simple Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes recipe is:
- Vegan
- Egg-free
- Diary-free
- Can be made gluten-free
- Fluffy
- Soft
- With a creamy frosting
- Versatile
- Quick and easy to make
- So delicious!
- Perfect for the whole family and any occasion!

Looking for more easy vegan cake recipes? Then check out the following:
- Vegan chocolate banana bread
- Carrot cake
- Lemon poppy seed cake
- Apple blondies with caramel
- Blueberry Bundt Cake
- Zebra cake (marble cake)
- Best vegan brownies
If you try these fluffy vegan vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting please leave me a comment below sharing how you liked this recipe! And if you take a picture of your vegan vanilla muffins and share it on Instagram, please be sure to tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing them! Happy baking!

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 ml) soy milk 240 ml, or other non-dairy milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar 150g
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) neutral oil 80ml, e.g. canola or sunflower oil
- 2 tsp (2) vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups (220 g) all-purpose flour 220g, or sub gluten-free flour (*see notes)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda or 1 tsp more baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Topping (optional)
- Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a bowl, stir together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside for 5 minutes to curdle.
- Add in the sugar, oil, and vanilla extract, and mix to combine. Then sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until just combined.
- Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Let them cool in the pan for 10-20 minutes. Then remove to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
- Once cooled, top with a simple vegan vanilla buttercream frosting and sprinkles or use your favorite decoration (see blog post for tips & ideas). Enjoy!
Notes
- Gluten-free: You can substitute a gluten-free flour blend 1:1.
- Berry Cupcakes: If you‘d like adding berries, toss them with a bit of flour or cornstarch. Then fold into the finished batter before you start with step 4. If using frozen berries, please do not thaw them or they will get soggy. Use them straight from the freezer.
- Chocolate Cupcakes: Simply replace 1-2 tbsp of the flour with cocoa powder.
- Storage: Store prepared cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Please read my blog post for more tips and helpful information.
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Ich hab ganz ehrlich beim Mehl einfach alles was ich so an Glutenfrei da hatte zusammen gehauen und die sind so Hammer geworden! Wie immer mit deinen Rezepten! Alle haben die mini Gugelhupfe (bei mir) geliebt!
Danke für das tolle, einfach rezept 😊
Genial! Das freut mich sehr! 🙂
Would I be able to use almond milk instead?
Hello! 🙂
Although soy milk works best for vegan baking you can use other plant milk of your choice instead. 🙂
Hi, Bianca! If I were to attempt this with cake flour, would I omit the cornstarch and adjust the rising agents? Thank you! 🙂
Yes! 🙂
Made these cupcakes for my boys and added extra cacao. They loved it!
So glad they loved them!
Thank you! ❤️
Mine came out too crumbly. I wonder what went wrong.
The taste was great, though
Maybe you overbaked them?
Be sure to remove them when the toothpick comes out clean. They should not be dry or crumbly.
Hi, just wondering if it’s 2 tsps or 2 tbsp of vanilla extract? Thanks!
It’s 2 tsp of vanilla extract! 🙂
Hi Bianca,
Just made these for my son who is attending a party this afternoon. They are so fluffy and moist. Absolutely love them.
I swapped for speltflour and used oatmilk because I was out of soy. Worked like a charm. This is the most fluffy vegan cake I ever tasted. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for your feedback! 😊