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.
They are light, fluffy, moist and simply perfect!
And if you love simply perfect cupcakes (who doesn’t?) then you’ll also love our vegan strawberry cupcakes, our vegan funfetti cupcakes and our vegan carrot cake cupcakes. Our vegan blue velvet cupcakes are just like these, but blue!
And for more red velvet try our vegan red velvet cake and our vegan red velvet cookies.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
Ingredient Notes
- White vinegar – distilled white vinegar reacts with the baking soda in these cupcakes causing them to rise. It also helps to strengthen their color.
- Canola oil – can be replaced with any vegetable oil.
- Vegan buttermilk – we make a homemade vegan buttermilk by mixing soy milk with lemon juice (full instructions in the recipe card). You can also use almond milk to make a vegan buttermilk but I prefer soy milk as it makes a thicker, richer buttermilk. Other non-dairy milks may not curdle, but you can still use them in this recipe.
- Red gel food color – 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.
The Frosting
Frosting Ingredient Notes
- Soy milk – can be replaced with any other non-dairy milk.
- Red gel food coloring – we used Americolor brand. You only need to use a very small amount to get a strong color for the frosting.
How To Make Vegan Red 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.
- Sift all purpose flour into your mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. 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 (240ml) line. Let it sit for a minute to curdle into buttermilk.
- Add the vegan buttermilk, vanilla extract, oil, vinegar and red gel food coloring and mix into a batter. Don’t overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between 12 cupcake liners.
- Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the tray for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Prepare your frosting by adding vegan butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, soy milk and red gel food coloring to the bowl of your stand mixer. Start at slow speed, gradually increasing speed until the frosting is thick and smooth.
- When the cupcakes have cooled completely pipe on the frosting and serve.
Recipe Success Tips
Use the spoon and level method to measure the flour. The correct way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour or pack it into the cup. If you have a food scale then it’s best to weigh the flour on your food scale for perfect accuracy.
Make them gluten-free. To make these cupcakes gluten-free simply swap the all purpose flour for a gluten free all purpose flour blend. We like the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour.
Frosting. The red velvet frosting on these cupcakes complements them perfectly. It isn’t just frosting dyed red, it has that signature red velvet flavor with the hints of vanilla and chocolate.
Other frosting options that would pair wonderfully with these cupcakes are our vegan buttercream frosting, our vegan chocolate buttercream frosting and our vegan cream cheese frosting.
Storing and Freezing
Keep them covered at room temperature where they will stay perfect for 2-3 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
- Classic Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Vegan Banana Cupcakes
- Vegan Blue Velvet Cupcakes
- Vegan Coffee Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Red 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 Tbsp Lemon Juice + Soy Milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Distilled White Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Red Gel Food Color
For the Red Velvet Frosting:
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
- 1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder Unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ teaspoon Red Gel Food Color *See Notes
- 2-3 Tablespoons Soy Milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder and mix together.
- Prepare the vegan 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 briefly with a hand whisk to combine into a batter. Don’t over-mix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners.
- Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Add vegan butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, red gel food coloring and 2 Tbsp soy milk to the bowl of your stand mixer. Starting at slow speed, gradually increase speed until the frosting is thick and smooth. If needed, add the extra soy milk.
- Pipe the frosting on top of your completely cooled cupcakes and serve.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly. Either use 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, or weigh it on a food scale.
- Vegan buttermilk. The homemade 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.
- Red gel food coloring. 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.
- Frosting color. If you want your frosting to be super red (as per our photos) then you’ll need ½ to 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring. For a more subtle dusky color (really gorgeous) use ¼ teaspoon.
- Gluten-Free: If you want to make these cupcakes gluten-free simply swap the all purpose flour for a gluten free all purpose baking blend.
- Storing: Keep them covered at room temperature where they will stay perfect for 2-3 days, or covered in the fridge where they will last for up to a week, but they’re most delicious when fresh.
- Freezing: 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.
- This recipe was first published in September 2016. It has been updated with new photos and extra tips.
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. 🙂
HI Alison, I was wondering what brand of soy milk You use, and if you have ever tried it with almond milk?? Thanks Melissa C
Almond milk can be used for the buttermilk no problem. 🙂
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. 🙂
I have made these cupcakes three times now and they’ve turned out great, so great that no one can tell that they are vegan! Makes people understand that just because food is vegan doesn’t mean it won’t be delicious. Thank you for your awesome recipes 🙂
Yay! That is wonderful news! Thanks so much for sharing and the awesome review. 🙂
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. 🙂
These are fantastic=)
Yay! Thank you! 🙂
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. 🙂
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. 🙂
I tried to do them today but they got too hard 🙁 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! 🙂
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! 🙂
So I’m 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: I’m 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! 🙂
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. 🙂
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