Vegan blue velvet cupcakes are rich and moist with that signature blue velvet taste and texture. Topped with a tangy buttercream frosting.
These vegan blue velvet cupcakes are just so gorgeous. And they have that perfect signature blue velvet taste that’s so subtle you can hardly put your finger on it.
Hints of vanilla, buttermilk and chocolate all merging together to create a unique blue velvet flavor.
The blue food coloring used in these blue velvet cupcakes makes your tongue blue. Just a warning.
But it’s not every day you eat blue things right? So I reckon it’s totally fine!
They’re perfect for when you want something a little out of the ordinary. I mean we all love red velvet, but blue velvet is a little more unusual.
You will also love our vegan blue velvet cake, vegan red velvet cupcakes and vegan red velvet cake so check those out too.
Ingredients You’ll Need For The Cupcakes:
Cupcake Ingredient Notes:
- Canola oil – can be switched for vegetable oil.
- White vinegar – distilled white vinegar helps to intensify the color AND it reacts with the baking soda to create the gorgeous rise.
- Royal blue gel food coloring – we use Americolor brand of gel food coloring and it works really well.
- Vegan buttermilk – we made vegan buttermilk with a mix of soy milk and lemon juice and let it curdle into a vegan buttermilk. Soy milk is our favorite for this as it works really well and creates a rich buttermilk. Almond milk also works.
Ingredients You’ll Need For The Frosting:
Frosting Ingredient Notes
- Vegan butter – we used a stick style vegan butter which is very firm straight from the fridge. Instead of softening it we simply beat it in the stand mixer for a couple of minutes to soften before adding the other ingredients. If you are using a softer tub style vegan butter then you can skip this step and simply add all frosting ingredients to the mixer and beat them together until fluffy and smooth.
- Apple cider vinegar – adds a slight tanginess to this buttercream frosting. The slight tang complements the blue velvet perfectly.
- Soy milk – can be switched for any non-dairy milk.
How To Make Vegan Blue Velvet 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.
Cupcakes:
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder and mix together.
- Prepare your vegan buttermilk by adding 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup line. Let it curdle into buttermilk.
- Add the vegan buttermilk, canola oil, distilled white vinegar, vanilla extract and royal blue gel food coloring and mix it into a batter. Don’t overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between 12 cupcake liners in a cupcake tray.
- Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting:
- Add vegan butter to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat until softened.
- Add powdered sugar, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract and soy milk and beat in until smooth and fluffy.
- When the cupcakes have cooled completely pipe on the frosting.
Baker’s Tips
Measure the flour correctly. This is the number 1 baking tip! Always measure the flour correctly, either by weighing it on a food scale (best) or by spooning and leveling. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup.
Frosting options. The frosting is a slightly tangy buttercream. It really works well here but of course a vegan cream cheese frosting would also work great! If you don’t want any tang at all then a vegan buttercream frosting is what you want, and if you want to greatly increase the tang then a vegan lemon buttercream frosting is right up your street.
Storing and Freezing
Keep them stored in a sealed container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge (covered) for up to a week. They are at their absolute best in the first couple of days after baking.
They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months (frosted or unfrosted).
More Delicious Vegan Cupcakes
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
- Vegan Key Lime Cupcakes
- Vegan Biscoff Cupcakes
- Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Vegan Banana Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Blue Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients
Blue Velvet Cupcakes:
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (200g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder Unsweetened
- 1 cup Vegan Buttermilk (240ml) 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice + Soy Milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Distilled White Vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Blue Gel Food Coloring
Buttercream Frosting:
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2-3 Tablespoons Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk
Instructions
Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder and mix together.
- Prepare your vegan buttermilk by adding 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup line. Let it curdle into buttermilk.
- Add the vegan buttermilk, canola oil, distilled white vinegar, vanilla extract and royal blue gel food coloring and mix it into a batter. Don't overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 cupcake liners.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting:
- Add vegan butter to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat until softened.
- Add powdered sugar, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract and soy milk and beat in until smooth and fluffy.
- When the cupcakes have cooled completely pipe on the frosting.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly. Measure the flour correctly, either by weighing it on a food scale (best) or by spooning and leveling. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup.
- Vegan buttermilk – we made vegan buttermilk with a mix of soy milk and lemon juice and let it curdle into a vegan buttermilk. Soy milk is our favorite for this as it works really well and creates a rich buttermilk. Almond milk also works.
- Vegan butter – we used a stick style vegan butter which is very firm straight from the fridge. Instead of softening it we simply beat it in the stand mixer for a couple of minutes to soften before adding the other ingredients. If you are using a softer tub style vegan butter then you can skip this step and simply add all frosting ingredients to the mixer and beat them together until fluffy and smooth.
- Apple cider vinegar – adds a slight tanginess to this buttercream frosting. The slight tang complements the blue velvet perfectly.
- Storing: Keep them stored in a sealed container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge (covered) for up to a week. They are at their absolute best in the first couple of days after baking.
- Freezing: They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months (frosted or unfrosted).
Hi Alison I love your recipes! I tried this one today the blue velvet cupcakes I used blue food coloring and my cupcakes came out dark green ?!? Help what went wrong ?
Hi Jennifer, did you use Americolor? That is the brand we recommend and what we used.
Hi! Could I possibly substitute all vegan ingredients for non-vegan? Would you recommend any alterations? I’ve done this recipe as vegan before and loved it. In this case they are for my church and sadly cant afford to make it vegan. Thank You!!
Yes you can, and no other changes are needed. 🙂
Hi! I’m excited to try this recipe for my partners birthday. He wants this in a certain cake tin – should I oil and/or flour the pan since I won’t be making cupcakes and liners? Thanks!
Hi Adrienne, I usually spray with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. All the best! 🙂
Thank you! Making this today!!
Do you think these would work if I just completely omit the food coloring? Thanks a bunch!
Hi Robyn, they would work, but the color of course would be very different.
I overbaked them at 25 minutes but at 15 minutes they were good! I may have overmixed the batter as well.
I haven’t tried this but am considering. Is there supposed to be a flaxseed egg in this?
Hi Lisa, no it’s correct as written, no flax egg needed.
These were easy to make and very tasty! I think I’ll skip the cocoa moving forward as the cupcakes were rather grey/brown, rather than blue (and I added a LOT of blue food coloring) and the frosting ended up kind of a teal color. I’m not a huge chocolate/cocoa fan anyway, so hopefully, it will not affect anything to leave it out.
the soya milk is it sweetened or unsweetened?
I usually use the regular sweetened variety, but either one will do fine, as it won’t make much of a difference either way. 🙂
Try Butterfly pea Powder, I tried it for a mermaid smoothie bowl I made and it came out a nice deep blue. It is all natural so it might be a good alternative.
How did you use it?
These were awesome, great flavor and texture! I made them into “galaxy” cupcakes for a birthday party and were a hit. Not only do they turn your tongue blue, but you’ll be pooping blue for days after…. 😉 always a nice surprise! Keep the amazing recipes coming! I’m addicted to your blog!
Hahahaa! Yes, ALL the nice surprises!! So glad you liked them Rosie!
Hi there! Is it possible to substitute green colouring in the spirit of st Patty’s day? Prepping for a party. 🙂
I’m sure!
Beautiful 😀
🙂
Do you have any way of substitute the blue colouring with a more natural ingredient … the recipe looks great but I try to not give anything artificial to my kids…
Hey Daniela, for this shade of blue I think artificial is the only way to go. Natural colors don’t tend to hold when exposed to high heats. I’ve seen blueberries used in other recipes but the end result was not at all blue. Using blueberries in this recipe would change the whole recipe though so if it is something that appeals to you, I would rather look for a recipe that uses blueberries and is formulated around that. All the best!
Very pretty and so useful as a decorative touch to any party