Rich and moist vegan pumpkin cupcakes topped with a velvety pumpkin spice frosting and crushed pecans. Perfect for fall baking.
So as you can probably tell, we’re big into the pumpkin stuff right now!
And since I made a vegan pumpkin cake, I thought why not make some vegan pumpkin cupcakes too!
And so happy I did. These pumpkin cupcakes are super awesome, they’re easy, crazy delicious, and topped with a pumpkin spice frosting, a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice and crushed pecans!
The pairing of pecans with pumpkin things is a winner by the way.
Some nuts just go best with things, like walnuts go perfectly with banana bread muffins and carrot cake cupcakes, pecans go best with pumpkin cupcakes and vegan pumpkin muffins.
How To Make Vegan Pumpkin 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.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add light brown sugar, white granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
- Prepare a flax egg by mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of hot water and letting it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, pumpkin purée, canola oil, apple cider vinegar and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and mix it into a thick batter. Don’t overmix.
- Line a cupcake tray with muffin liners and divide the batter evenly between them.
- Place into the oven and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- When the cupcakes have cooled completely frost them with pumpkin spice frosting.
Pumpkin Spice Frosting
The pumpkin spice frosting is too easy, it’s just a case of adding some pumpkin pie spice to your buttercream frosting. It creates a beautiful flavor and the velvety smooth frosting pipes beautifully onto these cupcakes.
You can make your own pumpkin pie spice to use in this recipe. Or use a store-bought option, but if you have any difficulty buying it where you are, then just use our recipe for a homemade version.
Recipe Tips
Muffin liners. These cupcakes rise very high! They’re beautifully tall. So for this reason I prefer to use muffin liners rather than cupcake liners because they tend to be higher on the sides and support these extra tall cupcakes best.
Weigh your flour for the most accurate results. If you have a food scale then weigh your flour for the best, most accurate results. If you don’t have a food scale then use the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into the cup.
Canned or fresh pumpkin. You can use canned or fresh pumpkin purée. Canned is easiest, but if you want to use fresh pumpkin purée, that works great too! To make your own you just bake peeled and cubed pumpkin in the oven for around 30 minutes at 350°F (I’ve also done it at 390°F). Don’t add any oil or spices, just bake it plain. When it’s soft and cooked, then either mash it with a potato masher or put it into the food processor and purée it. If it’s a little ‘wet’ then stand it in a strainer so any excess water can drain off.
Storing and Freezing
Keep them covered at room temperature where they will stay fresh for 2-3 days or covered in the fridge where they will last for up to a week.
They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
More Delicious Vegan Cupcakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
- Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes
- Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Cupcakes:
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (200g)
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar (100g)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- 3 ½ tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 Flax Egg 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed + 3 Tbsp Hot Water
- 1 ½ cups Pumpkin Purée (337g)
- ¼ cup Canola Oil (60ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
For the Pumpkin Spice Frosting:
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar (360g)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1-2 Tbsp Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk
- 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
For Decorating:
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Crushed Pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a cupcake tray with 12 muffin liners.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add light brown sugar, white granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
- Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 Tbsp of ground flax seed meal with 3 Tbsp Hot Water and allowing to sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, pumpkin purée, oil, vinegar and vanilla to the mixing bowl and mix into a thick batter. Don't overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin liners in the cupcake tray.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare your frosting by adding the vegan butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and soy milk to the bowl of an electric mixer. Start on slow speed and gradually increase the speed until thick and smooth. When you reach the right consistency add in the pumpkin pie spice and mix in on slow until just mixed.
- Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and decorate with pumpkin pie spice and crushed pecan nuts.
Notes
- Weigh your flour for the most accurate results. If you have a food scale then weigh your flour for the best, most accurate results. If you don’t have a food scale then use the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into the cup.
- Canned or fresh pumpkin. You can use canned or fresh pumpkin purée. Canned is easiest, but if you want to use fresh pumpkin purée, that works great too! To make your own you just bake peeled and cubed pumpkin in the oven for around 30 minutes at 350°F (I’ve also done it at 390°F). Don’t add any oil or spices, just bake it plain. When it’s soft and cooked, then either mash it with a potato masher or put it into the food processor and purée it. If it’s a little ‘wet’ then stand it in a strainer so any excess water can drain off.
- Muffin liners. These cupcakes rise very high! They’re beautifully tall. So for this reason I prefer to use muffin liners rather than cupcake liners because they tend to be higher on the sides and support these tall cupcakes best.
- Storing and Freezing: Keep them covered at room temperature where they will stay fresh for 2-3 days or covered in the fridge where they will last for up to a week. They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
HI! Im thinking of making these for thanksgiving, but would regular or lactose free butter work for the frosting, instead of vegan? I am lactose-free and looking for a dairy free recipe!
That will work perfectly Fran!
Wonderful
Thank you!
Alison you are amazing- I made these for my parents and my dad was obsessed. I decided to make them for a coworker’s birthday and every single person in the office came up to me asking for a recipe, even had emails about it. Made them for a potluck too and got the exact same response!! I always send them directly to this page :)) im the only vegan in the office and they never believe it’s 100% vegan- thanks for always making me the favorite coworker!!!
That’s so awesome Caitlin! Thanks so much for the amazing comment and review!
Easy to make and delicious – I loved the flavor and I received many compliments! I used canned pumpkin and I subbed regular white granulated sugar for the batter because that was all I had. Also, topped with cacao nibs, delicious!
Awesome Judy! Thanks so much for sharing!
I made these with homemade pumpkin purée and they turned out great. Easy, good flavor. Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! Thanks Gillian!
Super moist and fluffy 🙂 I had a little to much fresh squash, so looked for a good vegan recipe, it was delicious.
Awesome, thanks Lynn!
These are my go to cupcakes, an all time favorite! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Awesome Amy! Thanks so much!
Too good, I need to stop baking these as they are addictive.
So glad you enjoyed them Heidi!
Delicious!
Thanks Melissa!
Soo Delish❤️
Thanks Bonnie!
Hello,
Everytime I make these cupcakes they are a big hit. My family is not vegan and they love them so much, they’ve asked me to make them into a cake for my nephews birthday. Is it possible to double this recipe and bake in 7 inch cake pans?
Hi Vanesa, so glad you enjoy the cupcakes! We have a cake recipe based on this, and it’s for 7-inch cake pans. Check out our vegan pumpkin cake. 🙂
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Just wondering, would a chia egg work instead?
Yes, a chia egg works in place of a flax egg. 🙂
I forgot to sift my flour, so mine turned out a bit dense, but they were still really good. I made them for Canadian Thanksgiving and it felt very ‘fall!’
So glad they were still good. Over-mixing is a common reason for baked goods being a bit dense as well.
Hi Alison,
I’m thinking of trying this recipe using a GF flour blend (Pamela’s). Any thoughts about how that would turn out? Would I need to cook them longer?
Thank you,
Becky
Hi Becky, I’m not familiar with that particular blend, but as long as it’s a blend it should usually work well as a swap. Baking time would be the same.