Light and fluffy vegan red velvet cupcakes topped with a red velvet frosting. Perfectly moist, vibrantly red and crazy delicious!
Have you ever seen such gorgeousness as these vegan red velvet cupcakes? Or is that just me blowing my own trumpet since I made them and all.
Well I was mighty impressed with how these turned out.
Jaye took a batch to work, and then called me from the office to tell me that they had disappeared from the kitchen before the department secretary had even had a chance to send out an email about them.
And when he next crossed the office, people were flipping out about how good these were! He hadn’t even mentioned yet that they were vegan! Light, fluffy, moist, simply perfect! These were some of the words used. He said people were like congratulating him on how good they were. This was music to my ears.
So yes dammit – these cupcakes are really good!
The Frosting
I was first of all going to pair these with a white frosting, I thought red and white would be very pretty. But then at the last minute I decided to go with double red velvet, because why not?
And it worked out so extremely well, I was enormously pleased with it.
I was first thinking that it might not bring much to the party, like it might just be frosting dyed red, you know? Like it might not add much flavor. And yes, that’s true, the color doesn’t add to the flavor.
However, what does add to the flavor of red velvet is those hints of chocolate and vanilla. So I added some vanilla and some cocoa to the frosting and the richness and red velvet deliciousness comes through fabulously.
The Color
Honestly I just don’t think beets work at all for the color. It’s not like I didn’t try it – I did – and it didn’t work out, not even a little bit! Congrats to anyone who gets beets to work, but it’s not me. So for me it’s just gotta be proper food coloring.
We initially made these cupcakes with liquid red food coloring but then moved to a red gel food coloring (we used Americolor brand) and it works so well and holds up beautifully in baking. So I highly recommend you use a gel color as well. It also means you can use much less as it’s more concentrated than a liquid food color.
Storing and Freezing
Keep them covered at room temperature where they will stay perfect for a couple of days, or covered in the fridge where they will last for up to a week, but they’re most delicious when fresh.
They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. You can freeze them either frosted or unfrosted. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.
More Vegan Cupcakes
- Midnight Blue Velvet Cupcakes
- Classic Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
- Vegan Banana Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
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Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Light and fluffy vegan red velvet cupcakes topped with a red velvet frosting. Perfectly moist, vibrantly red and crazy delicious!
Ingredients
For the Red Velvet Cupcakes:
- 2 cups (250g) All-Purpose Flour*
- 1 cup (200g) White Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (Unsweetened)
- 1 cup (240ml) Vegan Buttermilk (1 Tbsp Lemon Juice + Soy Milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) Canola Oil*
- 1 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar*
- 1 tsp Red Gel Food Color*
For the Red Velvet Frosting:
- 3 cups (360g) Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (Unsweetened)
- 1/3 cup (75g) Vegan Butter
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Red Gel Food Color*
- 1–2 Tbsp Soy Milk (*see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350Ā°F (180Ā°C).
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder and mix together.
- Prepare the buttermilk by adding 1 Tbsp lemon juice into a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line and allowing to sit for a minute to curdle into buttermilk.
- Add the vegan buttermilk, vanilla extract, oil, vinegar and red gel food color to the mixing bowl and whisk with a hand whisk to combine into a smooth batter.
- Line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners and divide the batter evenly between them.
- Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Add all frosting ingredients except soy milk to your mixing bowl and whisk with an electric whisk starting on slow and gradually increasing speed until thick, smooth and creamy. Add soy milk as needed so that you get a consistency that can be easily piped or spread.Ā
- Pipe the frosting on top of your completely cooled cupcakes and serve.
Notes
*Measure the flour correctly, either using the spoon and level method – spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off with a knife – don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup. Alternatively weigh it on a food scale.
*Vegan buttermilk can also be made with almond milk. Other plant milks can also work for this, even if they don’t curdle as well as soy milk or almond milk.
*You can use also use vegetable oil if you prefer.
*You can use apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar.
*We initially used liquid red food coloring for this recipe but have changed our recommendations to use a red gel food color. We used Americolor red gel which works wonderfully in this recipe.
*The amount of soy milk (or other non-dairy milk) that you use in the frosting will depend on the brand of vegan butter that you use. Very hard stick butters have a lower water content than tub style butters so will need more soy milk, whereas if you’re using a soft tub style you may even be able to skip the soy milk altogether. We used a tub style vegan butter that is nevertheless quite firm, and we needed both tablespoons of soy milk.
*For Gluten-Free: I think you could make these cupcakes gluten-free if you simply swap the all purpose flour for a gluten free all purpose baking blend.
*Nutritional information is for 1 cupcake including a generous amount of red velvet frosting.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cupcake (of 12)
- Calories: 365
- Sugar: 47.9g
- Sodium: 255mg
- Fat: 9.8g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5g
- Carbohydrates: 66.9g
- Fiber: 1.2g
- Protein: 3.2g
Keywords: vegan red velvet cupcakes
Hi Alison!
I made the red velvet and the were great.
I think I could have put a bit to much flour as they weren’t sweet as usual.
I will make them again for Christmas and I’m sure they’ll be perfect.
Once again thanks for sharing your delicious recipes.
★★★★★
Could I make these gluten free?
Hi Helen, I haven’t tried to make these gluten free yet, but the best bet would be to try a gluten free all purpose flour baking blend, something like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour would be a good one to try. š
These came out so good! I followed the recipe exactly, except I added a little chocolate extract to the frosting. Thanks you for posting this recipe!
★★★★★
Awesome! So glad they were a success and what a great idea for the frosting. Thanks for the great review. š
I have made these cupcakes three times now and theyāve turned out great, so great that no one can tell that they are vegan! Makes people understand that just because food is vegan doesnāt mean it wonāt be delicious. Thank you for your awesome recipes š
★★★★★
Yay! That is wonderful news! Thanks so much for sharing and the awesome review. š
As with other recipes that I have tried till date from your wonderful website, the red velvet cupcakes turned out PERFECT! Moist, decadent.. Totally loved by all. A big thank you!! My family is not vegan, just vegetarian, so I used regular dairy milk, also, I frosted the cupcakes using the frosting recipe mentioned in your red velvet cake recipe. Thank you!
★★★★★
So happy to hear everyone enjoyed them! Thanks so much for the wonderful review. š
These are fantastic=)
★★★★★
Yay! Thank you! š
Hi! I love this recipe. I am from India and will be trying this recipe soon!
★★★★★
Hey! I was thinking of making these for my colleagues tomorrow, but I have to make them a day in advance. Would it be okay to make the cupcakes and the icing tonight and assemble them tomorrow about an hour before serving? Can the icing be in the fridge for that long or will it go bad?
Hi Sammy, I assume you already made a decision on this but yes that would be totally fine! If the frosting firms up too much for piping, then you can let it sit on the counter for a few minutes and then pipe it. Alternatively you can just make the cupcakes and the frosting and assemble them and then leave them (covered) in the fridge overnight, they will be just perfect. š
Hi there every time I try to make red frosting it goes orangey – I think because my vegan butter is yellow tinted! Do I need one that is white to carry the colour, and can you recommend any? Thanks!
Hi Michelle, my vegan butter is also pretty yellow, maybe you just need to use a little bit more red color? I think you’re in the UK, Foster Clark’s brand is very good (and vegan). I have used that one before and it works great. š
I tried to do them today but they got too hard š I just left them for 25 minutes and it was fine. When they were cooled down, they got too hard.
Also the frosting, I used a hand mixer, and the matter for grainy and not too thick. I added more icing sugar but nothing changed
Hi Natalia, do you mean the cupcakes were too hard or the frosting? If it was the cupcakes, then I am thinking it is likely a case of too much flour resulting in them being too dense. I would weigh the flour to be sure of using the correct amount. All the best! š
these cupcakes tasted amazing. people that tried them, couldn’t believe the cupcakes were vegan
★★★★★
It’s the best when that happens! Thanks so much for sharing Hardeep! š
So Iām not a baker but wanted to bring something to the Thanksgiving potluck. After checking the list there were only two desserts so why not add to it. This was simple, fun and easy for me to make. And everyone loved them. (Used vegan egg instead of the flax egg).
Thank you for sharing.
(PS: Iām not vegan but was thinking about my colleagues that are).
★★★★★
That’s awesome! I’m guessing your colleagues think you are the bomb dot com right now! š
OMG!!!! THE BEST HANDS DOWN VEGAN CUPCAKES I’VE MADE TO DATE! Everything you said it would be. The only thing I wish is that they had a nice rounded and higher dome.
Can I use baking powder to get that dome? If so how much?
Also can you give me the nutritional value/facts would like to know how much the calories, fat and sugar levels are in these Cupcakes and if these are something that can be given to friends that are diabetic.
Thank you just a great outcome!
★★★★
Hi Arielle! So glad you liked them! Mine did have a nice dome, so I’m not sure why yours didn’t. The nutritional info is already on the recipe. š
Looks so soft and light and delicious
★★★★★
Hello Alison, So happy with all these delicious recipes. Love from Holland, Gieta
Thanks Gieta, so happy you’re enjoying the recipes! xo
These cupcakes look beautiful and taste amazing. What a great recipe
★★★★★