These vegan oreo cupcakes are moist and delicious with contrasts of texture between a crunchy oreo cookie base, rich chocolate cake and velvety frosting!
When I first started thinking about making some oreo cupcakes, I wasn’t sure how exactly one would do this.
Would you put oreo pieces into your cake batter? Would it just be a case of propping an oreo on top of a cupcake that would mean you could call it an oreo cupcake? Or mixing oreo crumbs into the frosting?
And so I went browsing recipes and pictures of oreo cupcakes and saw that yes, all of these, or one of these or some of these.
I didn’t want to put oreo pieces into the actual cake batter because I thought that might be a bit wasted, OR, worse, it might affect the texture of the cupcake itself, which you just don’t want.
So I decided to bake the entire oreo cookie into the base of the cupcake, frost them with a simple vanilla frosting and top them with oreo crumbles and prop an oreo cookie half on top. And this was just perfect.
I did try mixing oreo crumbles into the frosting directly, but I didn’t like how it came out. It turned the frosting a weird sort of gray color. It tasted good but the look was bad. Whereas oreo crumbles sprinkled on top of a vanilla frosting was super pretty.
The oreo cookie at the base of the cupcake bakes perfectly into the cupcake, so you have a deliciously crunchy cookie base, with moist and spongey cake in the middle and smooth, velvety frosting on top.
And if you worried that baking a whole cookie into the base of the cupcake might make the cookie seem a little overbaked (after all – it’s already cooked when it goes in), then never fear. The oreo cookie withstands the extra baking wonderfully, and comes out pretty much the same way as it goes in, except for the fact that it is now part and parcel of the cupcake.
An extra half oreo cookie propped on top at a jaunty angle (or just straight up) gives these gorgeous cupcakes some flair.
They’re pretty, they’re tasty, they’re super chocolatey, they’re for oreo lovers everywhere!
Check our our vegan oreo cake too if you love oreos.
How To Make Vegan Oreo Cupcakes
Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post, this is just a summary of the process.
- Sift all purpose flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and then add sugar, baking soda and salt.
- Prepare a flax egg by mixing ground flaxseed meal with water and letting it sit to become gloopy.
- Add soy milk, vanilla extract, oil and vinegar along with the flax egg to the mixing bowl and mix it in.
- Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners and place an oreo cookie into each liner. Divide the cupcake batter between the cupcake liners, pouring the batter directly on top of the oreo cookie.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool before frosting.
Recipe Tips
Flax Egg: It’s super easy to make a flax egg, you just need ground flaxseed meal and water. If you struggle to get the flaxseeds already ground, then you can do it yourself by adding whole flax seeds to your blender and pulse blending them. We have a tutorial on making a flax egg here: how to make a flax egg.
Flax Egg Alternatives: If you need an alternative option to a flax egg then 3 Tbsp of applesauce works great as a swap.
Baking Soda/Vinegar Combination: This recipe uses a combination of baking soda and vinegar which provides the wonderful rise of these cupcakes. So both of these ingredients are crucial. Don’t replace the baking soda with baking powder as it won’t work the same.
Don’t over-mix your batter: This is very important in vegan baking, because over-mixing your batter can affect the texture and/or rise of your cakes. So just mix it until mixed and then stop mixing.
Bake right away: Another important factor in vegan baking is to bake your cakes right away, don’t let the batter sit around for too long as this can also affect the rise of your cakes.
Frosting Alternatives: The frosting for these cupcakes is just a simple vanilla frosting that uses very little vegan butter, based on our vegan vanilla frosting recipe. However, if you’d prefer to make these with a buttercream frosting, then our vegan buttercream frosting would also work great. As would our vegan chocolate buttercream frosting.
Storing and Freezing
Keep your cupcakes covered in the fridge for 3-4 days for the best taste and texture results. The texture of the oreo cookies can start to get a little iffy beyond this point and lose their crunch. Usually cupcakes would last longer but it’s the oreos themselves that cause a slightly shorter shelf life in this case.
These cupcakes are not ideal for the freezer, again because of the oreos themselves. In the freezing and thawing process, the oreo will lose its crunch. It may not be a deal breaker but just so you know!
More Vegan Cupcakes!
- Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
- Vegan Coffee Cupcakes
- Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes
Vegan Oreo Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 12
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These vegan oreo cupcakes are moist and delicious with wonderful contrasts of texture between a crunchy oreo cookie base, rich chocolate cake and velvety smooth frosting!
Ingredients
For the Oreo Cupcakes:
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup (42g) Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)
- 1 cup (200g) Light Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 cup (240ml) Soy Milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/3 cup (80ml) Canola Oil (or other vegetable oil)
- 1 Tbsp White Vinegar (or Apple Cider Vinegar)
- 1 Flax Egg (1 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 Tbsp hot water)
- 12 Oreo Cookies
For the Frosting:
- 3 cups (360g) Powdered Sugar
- 3 Tbsp (45g) Vegan Butter
- 2 Tbsp Soy Milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
For Decorating:
- 10 Oreos
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and then add the sugar, baking soda and salt.
- Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 Tbsp Flaxseed meal with 3 Tbsp Hot Water and allowing to sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the soy milk, vanilla extract, oil, vinegar and flax egg to the mixing bowl and mix in. Don’t overmix the batter.
- Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners and place a whole oreo cookie into each liner.
- Then divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, pouring the batter directly on top of the oreo cookie.
- Place into the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- When the cupcakes are baked, transfer them to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare your frosting by adding the powdered sugar, vegan butter, soy milk and vanilla extract to an electric mixing bowl and starting at slow speed gradually increase the speed until the frosting is thick and smooth. If your frosting is too thick, add a tiny bit more soy milk. If it’s too thin, add some more powdered sugar.
- When the cupcakes are cool, pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.
- Crush 4 oreos and spoon the crumbs over the top of the frosting. Then break another 6 oreos into halves and prop them on top of your cupcakes to serve.
Notes
*An alternative to a flax egg would be 3 Tbsp of applesauce.
*Our vegan buttercream frosting or vegan chocolate buttercream frosting would both also work great here if you want a buttercream option. The frosting as is uses very little vegan butter.
*Adapted from our Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes.
*Nutritional information is based on 1 cupcake of 12 including frosting, sprinkles and oreo cookie topping.
*This recipe was first published in March 2017.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake (of 12)
- Calories: 432
- Sugar: 56.2g
- Sodium: 330mg
- Fat: 13.1g
- Saturated Fat: 2.7g
- Carbohydrates: 77.5g
- Fiber: 2.6g
- Protein: 4g
Keywords: vegan oreo cupcakes
Hey Alison, what can i use as a substitute to both flax eggs and apple sauce, or would home made apple sauce work as well?
Homemade applesauce would be fine!
Hey Alison! I hope you are doing well. In our country we don’t get nutritional yeast. I searched a lot but failed to get hold of it. Instead of vegan butter can i use Almond Butter in all your baking recipes?
Hi Srishti, almond butter won’t work well as a butter substitute, but you can make your own homemade vegan butter (and you can leave out the nutritional yeast in the butter recipe).
Love love love these! ❤️ Made them with my children and they love them too.
★★★★★
Yay! Thanks Nicki!
Hi Alison,
Noticed some of your other cake recipes do not require a flax egg, can I omit it on this one too?
Thanks
Hi Charlotte, it’s needed in this recipe for moisture, so you could replace it with 3 Tbsp of applesauce or melted vegan butter or just extra oil.
Sumptuous
★★★★★
Thanks for updating the oil measurement, these were delicious!!
★★★★
Made these and everyone loved them! So easy to make and so delicious and fun! Thank you!
★★★★★
Awesome, thanks Valerie!
Can i use a 1:1 Gluten free flour like Bob’s Redmill?
Yes that should work fine! 🙂
Amazing, delicious and they looked fabulous. Thank you, now I must try the other oreo recipes.
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks Hazel!
Hello, I’d love to make these for my son’s birthday this weekend. My question, can I make the cupcakes 1 day before and frost the day of? If yes, do I refrigerate or leave at room temp for the day? Thanks a lot.
Hi Rosa, I would probably keep them covered in the fridge and then frost them the next day but either way would be fine since it’s a short period of time. 🙂
I’m sorry it took me so long to come back and report that these cupcakes were delicious!! Everyone loved them, vegans and omnivores alike. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
★★★★★
Thanks so much for the awesome review Rosa! xoxo
These are absolutely delicious!
I replaced the flax egg with half a banana (mashed) and it worked out really well.
I didn’t have any icing/frosting piping bags, so I spread the frosting on with a teaspoon instead – not as fancy, but it tasted good anyways! I halved all the ingredients for the frosting except for the soy milk, since I use less frosting than you tend to do in your recipes.
I also ran out of oreos so I improvised and replaced the oreo sprinkles with a small bit of cocoa powder sprinkled over the frosting.
Me and my parents love this recipe! ?
★★★★★
Hi Amy! So happy you like the recipe and thanks so much for sharing your adjustments. Yes, if you’re not going to be piping on frosting you can use much less. Thanks so much for the awesome review. 🙂
Hi,
I made the oreo cupcakes using your recipe and they turned out just wonderful! Since the first time I made them, which was a week back, I have made three batches already! This has to be the best eggless muffin recipe I have come across till date. I call it eggless çause I used regular milk instead of soymilk. Thank you.
★★★★★
Wonderful to hear they came out so well! Thanks so much for posting and the awesome review. 🙂
Hi there, I am looking for a dairy free but not necessarily vegan recipe for my son’s birthday party this weekend. Can I use an actual egg rather than a flax egg? Thanks and can’t wait to try these he loves Oreos!!!
Hi Jenn, yes sure a regular egg should replace the flax egg just fine. All the best! 🙂
Tried this out yesterday and the cupcakes turned out incredibly well 🙂 i don’t usually find much luck whenever trying new recipes, but i think this might be the most perfect batch of cupcakes i’ve ever made – vegan or not! the tops were soft even as the cake was fully baked through, and the sweetness of the cake is just right for it to be eaten on its own. the buttercream would’ve been too sweet, so i used a 1:1 ratio of vegan butter and powered sugar instead (about 1 cup each).
just wanna say thank you so much for this recipe. i’m certainly using it again in the future, to prove to my friends and family that vegan bakes can taste just as good as non-vegan ones :o)
★★★★★
So glad to hear they were a success, thanks so much for sharing! 🙂