Easy Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes (Gluten-Free)

I just made these cupcakes for my daughter’s 3rd birthday tomorrow. I followed the recipe down to the very last detail. The first thing I noticed is that my batter looked NOTHING like that of the photo. It was so dry and thick that I broke my whisk. I had to keep adding milk just to get it to mix. I’ve now just taken it out the oven after 25 minutes at 175 degrees celcius, and they are rock hard and ready for the bin! I’m so disappointed I could cry!

I made this to the T, used arrow root powder instead of cornstarch. Measured everything and it was perfect. It made exactly 12 cupcakes. Baked 25 minutes was perfect. Truly so good! I’m not GF but it is my go to recipe!!

I love this recipe a lot. I have been constantly making this recipe. Y’all should male a strawberry/raspberry or cinnamon apple cup cake recipe! A matcha would also be great!

These were amazing! I didn’t have cornstarch so I made it with just potato starch. I also subbed the maple syrup for regular sugar. They were crumbly and a little dry (my fault for making the batter a bit too dry) and not gummy at all. I cut the recipe to 8 and had to add a bit more milk. Next time I know to make it slightly runnier and they will be perfection! Thank you so much for so many amazing recipes!!

Hi again, I was wondering if I could add date caramel sauce in lieu of apple, to make it kind of like a sticky date cupcake? I feel like this recipe in particular has a lot of potential x

I substituted apple sauce with Oikos Lactose Free Greek yogurt and did not use cornstarch , just potato starch by Red Mill. Did not use arrowroot powder for my cupcakes. I used avocado oil (no stomach ache yet, as I’m on low fodmap diet) and it came out well.
For texture, the top was golden brown and well baked but when I peel off the cupcake paper to eat the rest, I found the middle and bottom layers crumbly and a bit sticky. I was wondering if crumbly and sticky texture were caused by not using cornstarch or arrow root powder? Nevertheless, my attempt was not bad as I was able to make it look and taste like cupcake without turning it into a muffin! It’s not too sweet and not too salty, not avocado-ish either due to oil used. Not bad for first attempt.

Can you freeze frosted cupcakes or do they have to be eaten within 1 – 3 days (after put in the fridge)?

These are more of a muffin consistency.

I’m not gluten-free and thought these were really good! Next time I’ll try the apple cider vinegar trick to see what that does, but I thought the flavor and texture were really good. I also like the use of almond flour since it’s healthier! Thanks for a great recipe!

Delicious! I took inspiration from a few commenters and added 1 tsp ACV, then poked some holes in the top and brushed with a simple syrup while still warm. They were moist and so much more flavourful than ordinary GF baked goods. Fluffy and perfect, thank you!

More like a muffin texture than a cupcake, but it tastes good. I think it also would be helpful if there was a note to use bleached almond flour to get a white baked item. I used unbleached almond flour and mine turned out brown.

This is the third or fourth time I’ve made this. These always came out decent but this time they came out REALLY good! I followed the recipe exactly but this time I used my scale to measure all ingredients including the liquid ingredients. I also added 1tsp of apple cider vinegar. Wow these are super airy and fluffy- previously they were good but more dense. I’m in shock how small changes make a big difference!

I made these tonight and I’m blown away at how good they are. I followed the recipe except switched out egg for applesauce and added a little extra milk. So yummy! Thank you!

Just made these with everything normal except cornstarch, I used tapioca starch and they are great! I topped it off with a lavender drizzle!

These turned out great and are really simple to make! Finally, a vanilla cupcake that doesn’t call for a ton of sugar and doesn’t use eggs. They really are easy and delicious. They did dry out very quickly so next time, I will make a half dozen or invite more people to the party;-)

These cupcakes were a hit! My little girl is allergic to eggs and I wanted to take cupcakes to her cousin’s birthday party so she could enjoy one also with the other children. I substituted oat flour for the potato starch and arrowroot for the cornstarch. I didn’t get into making the frosting so I used the Simple Mills vanilla icing.

Several people at the party tried these who are not GF or vegan and LOVED them!

Thanks for such a great recipe!
Mary Grace

For me, eating them fresh was best for the taste and moist texture, as I found them to be a little dry and not as rich tasting the next day. I kept them in an air-tight container on the counter. Not the recipe’s fault, as I have found this to happen with vegan food, when fresh is usually best. Still, maybe you have tips?

Just finished making these! I made them EXACTLY as stated and they were totally delish! Even hubby liked them and he refuses to eat any baked goods that “aren’t REAL”! (He thinks if there’s no butter, eggs, sugar, or gluten, it can’t be REAL!). LOL!

They have a nice vanilla flavor, a great texture, and pair perfectly with your classic buttercream frosting!

Thanks!

i made a few minor changes: i used coconut oil instead of avocado, i added a little more vanilla, and i added some sprinkles to the batter to make it funfetti. they were a little dry the day of, but still tasty. these tasted vegan to me and my partner if you know what i mean. it made me realize how front and center butter is in the flavor profile of regular vanilla cupcakes. i donʻt think i would serve this to family that arenʻt vegan, though there are many other vegan baking recipes from MB that i do and get rave reviews for.

the next day the cupcakes were quite hard and crumbled very easily. it tasted the same, but the texture took a turn for the worst. the day after that, the texture got worse again, still very crumbly but somehow a bit gummy at the same time. i will try this recipe again as i have had a lot of success with MB baking recipes in the past.

Hi Dana!

We made these and they turned out awesome! Thanks for the great recipe :)

Quick question, where did you buy your sprinkles? I love that color combo!

I love the results of the original recipe but didn’t need them to be vegan this time around-just grain free- so I used grass-fed whole milk (in place of almond milk), 2 eggs (in place of applesauce) and arrowroot starch (instead of cornstarch).
Still resulted in a dozen cupcakes but cook time was only about 15 minutes.

Turned out perfect.

BEST VEGAN/GF VANILLA CUPCAKES EVER! Seriously. You’ve outdone yourself Dana. These are WAY lighter than the cupcakes in your cookbook (which I use on the daily). They taste just like their gluten filled counterparts! Thank you!

Thank you for all of these wonderful recipes. I usually try to make your recipes exactly as you post them; however, my daughter has severe almond allergies, and I sometimes modify (to varying success rates!) your recipes that call for almond flour or almond meal. I made this recipe, as you suggested, with cashew “flour” and it turned out really well. It did not look as light and fluffy as your picture, but that was probably because I was not able to grind the cashews to a fine consistency, and I only had about 1 and 3/4 cup of cashew “flour,” so I topped it off with hazelnut flour (which was also coarser than the almond flour would be). Next time I will grind the cashews to a finer consistency. It was such an easy recipe and everyone loved it. Thank you.

Like others, I decided to make them as soon as I’ve seen them in am emails because: 1.there are very few ingredients, 2.i had most of the ingredients, 3.looked easy and quick to make. OMG! absolutely love them! Easily the best vegan vanilla cupcakes I’ve had. The modifications I made are:

– Sunflower oil instead of avocado oil;

– Oat flour instead of potato starch;

– Arrowroot starch instead of cornstarch.

Just great! Will definitely make them again. Thanks for sharing this recipe :)

This recipe is pure genius. So simple and so delicious! I made them exactly as written and appreciate the testing efforts you put into your recipes because they came out perfectly. I have celiac and my father-in-law is recovering from a heart attack. So many celiac friendly baked goods contain gobs of coconut oil and I love that recipe is much more heart healthy! Your cupcakes are allowing us to enjoy a much needed birthday celebration for my mother in law. Thank you!

I made these cupcakes for gluten-eating friends and was curious/nervous to see whether the cupcakes would be a hit. My friends thought they were delicious!

I didn’t have potato starch, and there wasn’t a clear modification for items in my pantry, so I used 1/2c Bob’s Red Mill GF All-Purpose Baking Flour (which has potato starch among the ingredients) and 1/4c Arrowroot starch.

I thought the muffins were a little crumbly, perhaps because of my substitute, but were still delightfully moist and not too sweet. I topped them with the vegan buttercream.

These were… beyond amazing.
And this is coming from someone who isn’t gluten free or vegan ;)

I didn’t have any potato starch on hand so I experimented with equal parts arrowroot and coconut flour to substitute, and it worked perfectly.

In case anyone wants to know:
I tried to sub both starches for Tapioca starch and it didn’t turn out well.
The inside was more like a mochi (glutenous rice cake).
It didn’t stop me from eating them though, but it’s heavy on the stomach.

Let me preface this by saying that my rating is based on my version of the cupcakes rather than the recipe itself. With that said, I made a couple of modifications: grapeseed oil instead of avocado oil and a combination of coconut flour and arrowroot starch instead of potato starch (about 1/2 and 1/4 respectively).
The batter turned out to be wet, but still very thick and unlike the photos shown. I kept adding milk until I achieved a similar consistency to the photo, so that could have also played a part.
The cupcakes were ~moist~ and not very fluffy, and they tasted just okay but it was not what I was expecting considering other MinimalistBaker recipes i’ve tried and loved. Ultimately lacked that rich vanilla flavour.

Made these as soon as I got them in my inbox!
Delicious and perfect is how I would describe these.
I subbed arrowroot Starch instead of cornstarch. I love that they are sweetened with maple syrup. Thank you! Will be making again for sure!

When I got the email about this recipe and realized I had most of the ingredients, I knew I had to make them! I can’t have gluten anymore, and this cake is so moist and delicious! I also made the vegan buttercream but added some vanilla paste and wowowow! I can’t wait to make these again and maybe add some lemon zest or some almond! I feel like this is one of those recipes that are so delicious but leaves so much room for versatility. Thanks so much, Dana!