These vegan Oreo cupcakes are rich and moist with contrasts of texture between a crunchy Oreo base, rich chocolate cake and velvety frosting!
When I first started thinking about making some vegan Oreo cupcakes, I wasn’t sure how exactly one would do this.
Would you put Oreo pieces into your cupcake batter? Would it just be a case of propping an Oreo cookie on top of a cupcake and calling it a day? 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 cupcake 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 buttercream frosting and top them with Oreo crumbles and half an Oreo cookie 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 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 delicious crunchy cookie base, with moist and rich cake in the middle and smooth, velvety frosting on top.
And if you’re worried that baking a whole cookie into the base of the cupcake might make the cookie seem a little over-baked (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 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 a bit of flair.
They’re pretty, they’re tasty, they’re chocolatey, they’re for Oreo lovers everywhere!
Check our our Vegan Oreo Cake too if you love Oreos.
Ingredients For The Cupcakes:
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Flax egg – it’s super easy to make a flax egg, you just need ground flaxseed and hot 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. If you need an alternative option to a flax egg then 3 Tablespoons of applesauce works great as a swap.
- Baking soda and white vinegar – this recipe uses a combination of baking soda and vinegar which provides a wonderful rise for these cupcakes. So both of these ingredients are crucial. We used white distilled vinegar but apple cider vinegar also works.
- Soy milk – can be replaced with a different non-dairy milk.
- Canola oil – can be replaced with vegetable oil.
Ingredients For The Frosting:
Frosting Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Soy milk – can be replaced with a different non-dairy milk in the frosting.
- Vegan butter – should ideally be a firm stick-style option for the best textured frosting. If you can only get soft tub-style vegan butters then use one that is as firm as possible and be flexible with the amount of non-dairy milk you add, you may be able to use less.
How To Make Vegan Oreo 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 and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add light brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
- Prepare a flax egg by mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of hot water and letting it sit for a minute or so to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, soy milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and mix it into a batter. Don’t overmix.
- Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners and place an Oreo cookie into each liner.
- Divide the cupcake batter between the cupcake liners, adding the batter directly on top of the Oreo cookies.
- Bake for 20-22 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.
Frosting:
- Add vegan butter to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat it until softened and creamy.
- Add powdered sugar, soy milk and vanilla extract and beat in until fluffy and smooth.
- When the cupcakes have cooled completely, pipe on the frosting and then decorate them with crushed Oreo cookies and Oreo cookie halves (optional).
Baker’s Tips
Measure the flour correctly. Either weigh it out on a food scale (best method) or use the spoon and level method. Spoon it into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t pack it into the cup and don’t scoop it.
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 cupcakes. So just mix it until mixed and then stop mixing.
Bake right away: Another important factor in vegan baking is to bake your cupcakes right away, don’t let the batter sit around for too long as this can also affect the rise of your cupcakes.
Frosting Alternatives: The frosting for these cupcakes is just a simple vanilla buttercream frosting. If you’d prefer a chocolate frosting then our vegan chocolate buttercream frosting would also work great.
Storing and Freezing
Keep your cupcakes covered in the fridge for 3-4 days for the best taste and texture results, and let them come to room temperature on the counter before serving. The Oreo cookies may begin to lose their crunchiness after 3-4 days. 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 Oreos will lose their crunch. It may not be a deal breaker but just so you know.
More Vegan Cupcake Recipes
- Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
- Vegan Coffee Cupcakes
- Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Oreo Cupcakes
Ingredients
Oreo Cupcakes:
- 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour (188g)
- ½ cup Cocoa Powder (43g) Unsweetened
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (200g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Flax Egg (1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 Tablespoons hot water)
- 1 cup Soy Milk (240ml) or other non-dairy milk
- ⅓ cup Canola Oil (80ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 12 Oreo Cookies
Frosting:
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112)
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2-3 Tablespoons Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk
Decorating:
- 8 Oreo Cookies
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Sift all purpose flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add light brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
- Prepare a flax egg by mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of hot water and letting it sit for a minute or so to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, soy milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and mix it into a batter. Don't overmix.
- Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners and place an Oreo cookie into each liner.
- Divide the cupcake batter between the cupcake liners, adding the batter directly on top of the Oreo cookies.
- Bake for 20-22 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.
Frosting:
- Add vegan butter to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat it until softened and creamy.
- Add powdered sugar, soy milk and vanilla extract and beat in until fluffy and smooth.
- When the cupcakes have cooled completely, pipe on the frosting.
- Crush 2 Oreo cookies and use the crumbs to sprinkle over the top of the cupcakes. Break the remaining 6 Oreo cookies in half and place each half on top of a cupcake (optional.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly. Either weigh it out on a food scale (best method) or use the spoon and level method. Spoon it into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t pack it into the cup and don’t scoop it.
- Flax egg – an alternative option to a flax egg is 3 Tablespoons of applesauce.
- Vegan butter – should ideally be a firm stick-style option for the best textured frosting. If you can only get soft tub-style vegan butters then use one that is as firm as possible and be flexible with the amount of non-dairy milk you add, you may be able to use less.
- Storing: Keep your cupcakes covered in the fridge for 3-4 days for the best taste and texture results, and let them come to room temperature on the counter before serving.
- Freezing: These cupcakes are not ideal for the freezer because of the Oreos themselves. In the freezing and thawing process, the Oreos lose their crunch.
- This recipe was first published in March 2017. It has been updated with new photos and extra tips but the recipe itself is the same.
Can I substitute flax egg with an egg? Thanks
We haven’t tested the recipe like that before Vivian, so not sure if you can.
I love this recipe and made it without flax egg and they turned out fab 🙂 the soya milk and vinegar work sufficiently. Thank you @lovingitvegan I love all your recipes 💚
Awesome! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for your great review!
Delicious! Super easy to make, moist and full of flavour. Brought some of these to work and they were gone in minutes. Thank you, Alison, for this wonderful recipe. Adding this to my favourites list.
Thanks so much for your lovely review Vita! Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
These cupcakes are amazing!
Yay! Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Alize!
Another outstanding recipe Alison, baked them for the first time this afternoon and they have turned out pretty good. Thank you once again for another awesome recipe….
Thanks so much for your kind words and great review!
I made these cupcakes following the recipe exactly, and they turned out great! I couldn’t get the oreos to break nicely, so I sprinkled the oreo crumbs on top. The icing, the cupcake, everything was just delicious!
So happy to hear you enjoyed them Amy! Thanks for the awesome review.
Has anyone tried making this as a cake? I’d love to know whether it’s possible.
Hi Crystal, check out our vegan oreo cake. 🙂
Thanks again Alison for an awesome, delicious and simple recipe. They’re so moist and a real crowd pleaser. I’ve made these many times now, a family fave! I took your advice and use 3 tbs of olive oil instead of the flax eggs. I also half the frosting as we don’t need too much. Works great!
That’s awesome Kristina! Thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful review!
Hi, might be a ridiculous question but does the oreo cookie have to be on the bottom? If we do half batter in, cookie and rest or batter would it cause an issue whilst baking? (maybe the cookie is too heavy)
Hi Olivia, I haven’t tried that but yes my feeling is that it would just sink anyway.
If I want 24 cupcakes do I just double up?
Yes! 🙂
If I wanted to make these with vanilla cupcakes instead of chocolate, could I omit the cocoa powder and just use more flour? Or something else? Thank you!
Hi Katie, I would just go with a vanilla cupcake recipe in that case and bake the cookies into the base as with these. 🙂
Hi Alison, I’m making a two layer 9 in cake and would like to use this frosting recipe. My cake recipe says each layer also yields 12 cupcakes. Do you think I can double the frosting from this recipe to cover that cake? Thank you, love your recipes!
Hi Phoebe, yes I think that will definitely be enough. You may even have a little left over (if you do it is freezer friendly). 🙂
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.