These vegan gluten free vanilla cupcakes are fluffy and moist and so delicious. No one will guess they are both vegan and gluten-free! Topped with a velvety vanilla frosting and sprinkles.
You will love these light, fluffy, moist and delicious vegan gluten free vanilla cupcakes. They are super easy to make and only require 1-bowl!
A common complaint about gluten free baked goods is that they are too dry. Well, that’s certainly not the case for these cupcakes (or any of our gluten-free baked goods for that matter…). They are perfectly moist and totally delicious.
The recipe is based on our vegan vanilla cupcakes (made with regular flour) and with just a couple of small changes we get the perfect gluten free vanilla cupcake recipe!
And if you love all things gluten free then also check out our easy gluten free chocolate cake, our gluten free pancakes and our gluten free chocolate chip cookies.
Ingredients You’ll Need For The Cupcakes:
Ingredient Notes:
- Gluten free all purpose flour – this should be a flour blend that is meant to replace regular flour in baking. You can really use any blend, we have tried a fair few and all have worked out great. One of our favorite blends is Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour. The blend you have may contain xantham gum or it may not, don’t worry about it either way. If your blend doesn’t contain it, there is no need to add it in.
- Baking soda – this must be baking soda and not baking powder. It is also known as bicarbonate of soda in some countries.
- White vinegar – distilled white vinegar reacts with the baking soda and causes the cupcakes to rise.
- Canola oil – can be replaced with any vegetable oil.
- Soy milk – can be replaced with any non-dairy milk.
Frosting
Frosting Notes:
- Soy milk – can be replaced with any non-dairy milk.
- Sprinkles – are entirely optional and just for decoration.
How To Make Vegan Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add gluten free all purpose flour, white granulated sugar, baking soda and salt to a mixing bowl and mix together.
- Add soy milk, canola oil, vanilla extract and distilled white vinegar. Mix into a batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between 12 cupcake liners.
- Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes. Check with a toothpick to see if they’re done: insert the toothpick into the center of one of the cupcakes, it should come out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the tray for a few minutes before transferring the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Add vegan butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and soy milk to the bowl of your stand mixer and starting at slow speed, gradually increase speed until the frosting is thick and smooth.
- When the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe on the frosting and add sprinkles to the top.
Chef’s Tips
The cupcakes brown quite a lot on top. This may vary a little depending on the brand of gluten-free flour, but it’s not something to worry about. As you can see from the photo of the cupcake sliced in half (below) the texture inside is perfect.
The cupcakes must be completely cool before frosting. If they are even slightly warm, the frosting will simply melt off, so you have to be patient, which is difficult when they smell this good!
Recipe FAQ
This recipe can adapt to three 6-inch cake layers (bake for 25 minutes) or two 7-inch cake layers (bake for 30 minutes). It can also be made as a single layer 9-inch cake (bake for 30-35 minutes).
We have made vegan vanilla cupcakes with regular wheat flour, check out that recipe.
The BEST results are going to come from using a gluten-free all purpose flour blend. I have had some epic flops trying to use a single type of flour such as rice flour. Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Baking Blend is a great flour to use, but any gluten-free all purpose flour blend is going to do the trick.
No, it will either already be in your gluten-free all purpose baking blend or it won’t, but either way, don’t worry about it. I have made gluten-free cakes with blends that did contain xanthan gum and blends that did not. All have worked out wonderfully. As long as you’re using an all purpose baking blend, you should be good.
Keep them covered at room temperature where they will stay good for 2-3 days or covered in the fridge where they will stay good for 5-7 days. They are also freezer friendly if you’d like to freeze them. They can be frozen either frosted or unfrosted.
More Gluten Free Baking Recipes
- Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Cake
- Vegan Gluten Free Brownies
- Vegan Gluten Free Banana Bread
- Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1 ¾ cups Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour (238g)
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (200g)
- 1 ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 cup Soy Milk (240ml) or other non-dairy milk
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar
Frosting:
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2-3 Tbsp Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk
Decoration (Optional):
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners.
- Add gluten free all purpose flour, white granulated sugar, baking soda and salt to a mixing bowl and mix together.
- Add soy milk, canola oil, vanilla extract and distilled white vinegar. Mix into a batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between 12 cupcake liners.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Check with a toothpick to see if they’re done: insert the toothpick into the center of one of the cupcakes, it should come out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the tray for a few minutes before transferring the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Add vegan butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons soy milk to the bowl of your stand mixer and starting at slow speed, gradually increase speed until the frosting is thick and smooth. If the frosting is too thick, add the remaining tablespoon of soy milk.
- When the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe on the frosting and add sprinkles to the top.
Notes
- Gluten free all purpose flour – this should be a flour blend that is meant to replace regular flour in baking. You can really use any blend, we have tried a fair few and all have worked out great. One of our favorite blends though is Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour. The blend you have may contain xantham gum or it may not, don’t worry about it either way. If your blend doesn’t contain it, there is no need to add it in.
- Make a layer cake: This recipe can adapt to three 6-inch cake layers (bake for 25 minutes) or two 7-inch cake layers (bake for 30 minutes). It can also be made as a single layer 9-inch cake (bake for 30-35 minutes).
- Storing and Freezing: Keep them covered at room temperature where they will stay good for 2-3 days or covered in the fridge where they will stay good for 5-7 days. They are also freezer friendly if you’d like to freeze them. They can be frozen either frosted or unfrosted.
- This recipe was first posted in August 2016. It has been updated with new photos and tips and the recipe itself has been slightly updated and improved.
Hi there! Can I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour instead of the All purpose flour? I don’t have GF All Purpose flour on hand.
That should be fine.
Hi Alison,
This looks like a great recipe that I plan to use for a birthday and a baby shower! Could you advise on how I could make these lemon cupcakes?
Thanks
Hi Molly! You can omit one teaspoon of vanilla and add 2 teaspoons of lemon extract and also a tablespoon of lemon zest. 🙂
I was struggling to find a successfull recipe for gluten-free, vegan cupcakes and this worked SO perfectly and was delicious and SO soft and spongy. I used my own icing recipe with Canola margerine which paired well with it. I am so happy. Will be adding these to my normal baked goods and help so many party friends that are always excluded. Thank you so much!
Awesome Nadia! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
These turned out great!!! I used 1 cup rice flour and 3/4 cup tapioca flour for the gf flour and added 1/2 tsp xantham gum just in case… my daughter loved them. it’s hard to find good gf vegan recipes so thank you so much! we will be making these for her 3rd bday!
So glad it turned out for you Nikki! Thanks for sharing!
Excellent!
Thanks Sylvia!
These are delicious. No they don’t taste exactly like regular cupcakes, a bit of a quick bread/loaf flavour but not too sweet and yummy. Had lots of icing so will freeze it. They are perfect for little one’s 1st birthday who has lots of allergies.
I used a little bit of egg replacer and they came out wonderfully chewy and soft, not crumbly. Also used melted coconut oil and cashew milk. For the frosting, I used part vegan butter and part coconut/palm shortening. I think because of this it needed more milk but it turned out thick and fluffier than using just coconut oil & cashew based vegan butter. Delish! Thank you!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Jennifer!
Hi do I need a handheld mixer for this recipe?
You don’t need a mixer for the cupcake batter, it does come in handy for the buttercream frosting and can be a stand mixer or handheld.
Great recipe, loving the website. Am new to gluten free, dairy free cooking so this is a great asset. Just wondering do the calories include the icing? I like them just as a plain cupcake, would you know the calories for the cupcake alone please? Thank you
Hi Marie, yes the calorie info includes the frosting. The calories provided are just as a courtesy, if this is important info for you we always advise you to work it out with your particular brand of ingredients in a nutrition calculator such as cronometer. All the best!
Hi! Would ACV work instead of distilled vinegar? I completely forgot to pick some up at the store!
Yes that will work fine.
Great recipe. Easy to make and turned out really well. I was impressed and so was every who had one.
Awesome! Thanks so much Diane!
Hello love your recipes just want to ask instead of dairy milk can I use dairy free yogurt please let me know. Thanks
Hi Sobia, I don’t think so.
Hi- can these cupcakes be made with coconut sugar for my friends who can’t have refined sugar?
Hi Jenny, yes that should work fine, the color may be a little darker though.
So pleased with the results! Easy recipe and great results!
Awesome! Thanks Deanna!
I would like to make this recipe with bite size cupcakes. Will that work? I am trying to make some birthday cupcakes for my son. Thank you!
Hi Linda, I’m sure it will work fine, you’ll just need to keep an eye on the baking time as it will be much reduced if the cupcakes are much smaller.