• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Loving It Vegan

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • Free Ebook
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • Free Ebook
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • About Me
    • Recipes
    • Free Ebook
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Cakes and Cupcakes

    Vegan Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes

    Published: Jun 12, 2021 Updated: Jun 28, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes

    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.

    Vegan gluten free vanilla cupcakes topped with 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:

    Photo of the ingredients needed to make vegan gluten free vanilla 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

    Photo of the ingredients needed to make frosting.

    Frosting Notes:

    • Soy milk – can be replaced with any non-dairy milk.
    • Sprinkles – are entirely optional and just for decoration.
    Vegan gluten free vanilla cupcakes topped with frosting and sprinkles.

    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.
    Two photo collage showing dry ingredients added to mixing bowl and mixed together.
    • Add soy milk, canola oil, vanilla extract and distilled white vinegar. Mix into a batter.
    Two photo collage showing wet ingredients added to dry and mixed into a cake 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.
    Two photo collage showing cupcakes before and after baking.
    • 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.
    Two photo collage showing ingredients for frosting added to stand mixer and mixed together.
    • When the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe on the frosting and add sprinkles to the top.
    Two photo collage showing unfrosted cupcakes on a wire cooling rack and then the frosted and decorated cupcakes.

    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!

    Vegan gluten free vanilla cupcakes topped with frosting and sprinkles.

    Recipe FAQ

    Can I adapt this recipe for a 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). 

    I’m not gluten-free. Can I make this with regular flour?

    We have made vegan vanilla cupcakes with regular wheat flour, check out that recipe. 

    Can I use rice flour/coconut flour/almond flour?

    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. 

    Do I need to use xanthan gum?

    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. 

    How to store these cupcakes?

    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.

    Vegan gluten free vanilla cupcake with the liner pulled down.

    More Gluten Free Baking Recipes

    1. Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
    2. Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Cake
    3. Vegan Gluten Free Brownies
    4. Vegan Gluten Free Banana Bread
    5. Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
    6. Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
    Vegan gluten free vanilla cupcake cut in half to show the center.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Vegan gluten free vanilla cupcakes topped with frosting and sprinkles.

    Vegan Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes

    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.
    4.90 from 48 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Cupcakes, Dessert, Gluten-Free
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 438kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    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
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    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

    1. 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.
    2. 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).
    3. 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.
    4. 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. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 438kcal | Carbohydrates: 70.3g | Protein: 2.4g | Fat: 17.1g | Saturated Fat: 2.7g | Sodium: 325mg | Fiber: 1.4g | Sugar: 56.5g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
    Get Your Copy! It's FREE!
    « Vegan Vanilla Pudding
    Cherry Smoothie »
    1.4K shares

    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sylvia says

      January 11, 2023 at 3:52 pm

      Excellent!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        January 13, 2023 at 2:15 pm

        Thanks Sylvia!

        Reply
    2. Shawn says

      December 10, 2022 at 7:06 am

      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.5 stars

      Reply
    3. Jennifer says

      October 12, 2022 at 4:02 pm

      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!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        October 13, 2022 at 10:43 am

        Awesome! Thanks for sharing Jennifer!

        Reply
    4. Danielle Sickini says

      October 04, 2022 at 5:05 am

      Hi do I need a handheld mixer for this recipe?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        October 04, 2022 at 11:23 am

        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.

        Reply
    5. Marie says

      October 03, 2022 at 9:09 am

      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 you5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        October 04, 2022 at 11:15 am

        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!

        Reply
    6. Ashley says

      May 06, 2022 at 6:40 pm

      Hi! Would ACV work instead of distilled vinegar? I completely forgot to pick some up at the store!

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 09, 2022 at 11:59 am

        Yes that will work fine.

        Reply
    7. Diane says

      April 15, 2022 at 7:04 am

      Great recipe. Easy to make and turned out really well. I was impressed and so was every who had one.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        April 19, 2022 at 9:03 am

        Awesome! Thanks so much Diane!

        Reply
    8. Sobia Malik says

      March 25, 2022 at 9:35 pm

      Hello love your recipes just want to ask instead of dairy milk can I use dairy free yogurt please let me know. Thanks

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 28, 2022 at 10:57 am

        Hi Sobia, I don’t think so.

        Reply
    9. Jenny says

      March 13, 2022 at 10:16 pm

      Hi- can these cupcakes be made with coconut sugar for my friends who can’t have refined sugar?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 14, 2022 at 10:57 am

        Hi Jenny, yes that should work fine, the color may be a little darker though.

        Reply
    10. Deanna says

      March 12, 2022 at 6:22 am

      So pleased with the results! Easy recipe and great results!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 12, 2022 at 1:42 pm

        Awesome! Thanks Deanna!

        Reply
    11. Linda Nesbitt says

      January 27, 2022 at 1:26 am

      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!

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        January 27, 2022 at 9:07 am

        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.

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Comment Policy: Your feedback is really appreciated! Please do us a favor and rate the recipe as well as this really helps us! The most helpful comments are the ones that give useful feedback for others who might make the recipe, tell about substitutions you made or adjustments you made and how it turned out, or assisting other commenters. Rude or insulting comments will not be accepted.

    Leave A Comment & Review Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi I’m Alison Andrews! I love making delicious vegan food and creating delicious vegan versions of all your old favorite dishes, so you can have your vegan cake and eat it too!

    More about me →

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest

    Popular Posts

    • Vegan Tuna
    • The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese (Classic, Baked)
    • Vegan Burrito
    • Super Eggy Vegan Tofu Scramble
    • Sliceable Cashew Cheese
    • Homemade Vegan Butter

    Veganuary

    • Vegan Halloumi
    • Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms
    • Vegan Stuffed Peppers
    • Vegan Granola
    • The Best Vegan Waffles
    • Vegan Salmon

    See all Veganuary Recipes →


    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    As Seen In

    Press logos black and white

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Follow Us

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest

    Contact

    • About
    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 Loving It Vegan

    Get 10 fabulous dinner recipes!
    Absolutely free! Sign up below!
    Get Your Copy! It's FREE!