These pretty pink vegan strawberry cupcakes are deliciously moist and packed with strawberry flavor! Topped with strawberry frosting.
These vegan strawberry cupcakes are so good. They are made with fresh strawberry purée and are just bursting with strawberry flavor.
They are also SO easy and quick with such a gorgeous color.
And if you love strawberries you’ll also love our vegan strawberry cake, our vegan strawberry shortcake and our vegan strawberry ice cream.
Ingredients You Need For The Cupcakes:
Ingredient Notes
- Distilled white vinegar – this reacts with the baking soda causing the cupcakes to rise. You can also use apple cider vinegar.
- Red gel food coloring – this just provides that lovely pink color. We only need to use a tiny bit in this recipe. Our favorite brand is Americolor. If you prefer to leave it out you can do so, but just keep in mind that the pink color of the batter usually won’t hold well when baked unless you add in the food coloring.
- Strawberry extract – this is great for intensifying the strawberry flavor. But if you can’t get hold of it you can just use vanilla extract. The strawberry purée on its own provides plenty of strawberry flavor.
- Fresh strawberries – these are puréed into strawberry purée and used in the batter.
- Canola oil – can be replaced with vegetable oil.
Ingredients You Need For The Frosting:
Ingredient Notes
- Strawberry extract – if you can’t get hold of it you can replace it with vanilla extract.
- Strawberry purée – we make a little extra strawberry purée than what is needed for the cake batter and use the leftovers in the frosting. This provides all the strawberry flavor and pretty pink color for the frosting.
How To Make Vegan Strawberry 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 fresh strawberries to the food processor and purée. Set aside.
- Add all purpose flour, white granulated sugar, baking soda and salt to a mixing bowl and mix together.
- Add the strawberry purée, strawberry extract, canola oil, white vinegar and red gel food coloring and mix into a batter. Don’t over-mix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners and bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.
- Check for doneness by inserting a 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 and then transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool before frosting.
- Add powdered sugar, vegan butter, strawberry extract and strawberry purée to a stand mixer. Starting at slow speed gradually increase the speed until the frosting is thick and smooth. If it’s too thick, add more strawberry purée.
- When the cupcakes have cooled completely pipe on the frosting and serve.
Pro Recipe Tips
Measure the flour correctly. The best way to measure the flour if you’re using cups is to use the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t pack the flour into the cup and don’t scoop the flour either. If you have a food scale then weigh the flour on your food scale for the best accuracy.
Don’t over-mix the batter. If you over-mix the batter it can cause your cupcakes to not rise properly and it can also affect the texture. So mix it until it’s mixed and then stop mixing.
Bake immediately. When your cupcake batter is mixed, divide it up between your cupcake liners and then bake immediately. If you let the batter sit for too long it can also cause the cupcakes to not rise properly.
Baking time. Check your cupcakes at 20 minutes and if they’re not done, then put them back in for another 5 minutes. Ours usually bake in 20 minutes but ovens can differ.
Storing and Freezing
Keep your cupcakes covered at room temperature where they will last for 2-3 days or covered in the fridge where they will last for up to a week.
They are also freezer friendly if you want to freeze them.
More Vegan Cupcakes
- Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes
- Vegan Banana Cupcakes
- Vegan Coffee Cupcakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
- Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (200g)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 cup Strawberry Purée (232g)
- 2 tsp Strawberry Extract
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
- ⅛ tsp Red Gel Food Coloring
For the Strawberry Frosting:
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 1 tsp Strawberry Extract
- 2-3 Tbsp Strawberry Purée
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Add fresh strawberries to the food processor (see notes*) and purée. Set aside.
- Add all purpose flour, white granulated sugar, baking soda and salt to a mixing bowl and mix together.
- Add the strawberry purée, strawberry extract, canola oil, white vinegar and red gel food coloring and mix into a batter. Don’t over-mix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Check for doneness by inserting a 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 and then transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool before frosting.
- Prepare the frosting. Add powdered sugar, vegan butter, strawberry extract and 2 tablespoons of strawberry purée to a stand mixer. Starting at slow speed gradually increase the speed until the frosting is thick and smooth. If it's too thick, add more strawberry purée.
- When the cupcakes have cooled completely pipe on the frosting and serve.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly. The best way to measure the flour if you’re using cups is to use the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t pack the flour into the cup and don’t scoop the flour either. If you have a food scale then weigh the flour on your food scale for the best accuracy.
- Strawberry purée. To make strawberry purée add strawberries to the food processor (leaves cut off) and purée. Around 10.5oz (300g) of strawberries puréed makes enough for the cupcakes and frosting.
- Strawberry extract – this is great for intensifying the strawberry flavor. But if you can’t get hold of it you can just use vanilla extract. The strawberry purée on its own provides plenty of strawberry flavor.
- Red gel food coloring – this just provides that lovely pink color. We only need to use a tiny bit in this recipe. Our favorite brand is Americolor. If you prefer to leave it out you can do so, but just keep in mind that the pink color of the batter usually won’t hold well when baked unless you also add in the food coloring.
- Storing and Freezing. Keep your cupcakes covered at room temperature where they will last for 2-3 days or covered in the fridge where they will last for up to a week. They are also freezer friendly if you want to freeze them.
- This recipe was first published in February 2018. It has been updated with new photos and a few small changes/improvements to the recipe.
Hi, I was wanting to make strawberry lemon cupcakes, do you have any suggestions for adding lemon to these?
You could reduce the strawberry extract to 1 teaspoon and add 1 teaspoon of lemon extract. Also could add a tablespoon of lemon zest and see how that goes.
Tasted amazing! Texture was perfect! However, mine came out purple..? Any idea what went wrong?
Hi Olivia, so glad the taste/texture was good! I have NO idea what made them come out purple though! So odd!
Hi Alison, Thank you for yet another great recipe. We made the cupcakes today with my son and they taste divine. We run into problems with the frosting though. We made it twice and both times it split after adding the strawberry pure. I have no idea what went wrong. Second time we only added a teaspoon in drops and it split immediately. We managed to pipe it but as we added such a small amount it does not taste or look of strawberry. I would be very grateful if you could help me so that I can avoid the mistake in the future. I have made your carrot cake frosting hundreds of times as it one of our best cakes and I never had any problems.
Hi Sylvia, sorry to hear you had an issue with the frosting! I’m not sure what was happening there, but you can put it in the fridge (or freezer) for 10-15 minutes and then beat it again and see if that fixes the issue. Otherwise it just may be the brand of vegan butter that isn’t playing nice there. You could just stick with a plain vanilla buttercream in that case.
Hi Alison, you are absolutely right. Me and my son have just made this recipe as a 9×9 square cake and the frosting turned out perfect, so delicious. I was very upset with the failure of the last frosting and I suspected the brand of vegan butter was to blame as it wasn’t the one we normally use. We made it with our regular brand and it is just perfect. We halved the frosting recipe as it only went on top of the cake and used vanilla extract as we did not have the strawbery extract but it still has a delicious strawberry flavour. The cake itself is so soft and moist, just amazing. Thank you Alison, your blog is my favourite and and all the cakes we love are yours.
I’m so happy to hear that Sylvia! Thanks so much for the update and the wonderful review!
Hello Alison! I hope you’re doing well! I actually have a few questions about the cupcakes; 1) If replace the White Granulated Sugar with Organic Coconut Sugar, will I use the same measurements?; 2) Will the change in sugar I use make a difference in the texture/taste?; 3) If I don’t have proper measuring spoons available, how can I use normal eating spoons as my measurers?; 4) Can you suggest to me anything that I could use for the frosting instead of Vegan Butter?; 5) If I don’t have Powdered Confectioner’s Sugar for the frosting, can I just grind Coconut Sugar/Brown Sugar to make it powdered and use that?; 6) I want my cupcakes to be as healthy as possible, so is it possible to use Coconut Oil instead of Canola Oil? (If yes, would I use the same measurements?); 7) If I use Self-Raising flour instead of All-Purpose flour I would have to use less Baking Soda, right? I apologize for too many questions but thank you so much for all the support! I am very excited to try out your recipe!
Hi Camila, coconut sugar usually works okay as a swap for granulated sugar but the color is darker and it can be a bit more dry as well. I would highly recommend getting proper measuring spoons, they are usually easy and affordable to get hold of. I don’t have a good suggestion for something to replace the vegan butter in frosting though you can make your own homemade vegan butter. Grinding sugar to make it powdered usually results in a grainy texture, so it’s not recommended. Yes, you can use coconut oil, make sure it’s melted first though. If you use self raising you could probably reduce the baking soda by half but you would still need to use it. I don’t recommend making so many changes to this recipe though as I don’t know how it may turn out. All the best! 🙂
Thank you so much Alison! I’ll try to get hold of the measuring spoons as soon as possible but for now I’ll have to use what I have. I’m also trying the homemade vegan butter later! I’ll write again later and see what disadvantages my changes had on my cupcake. Have a great rest of the day!
Can you make cupcakes ahead of time and freeze? How long would the freeze for? Thanks
Yes you can. They can be frozen for 2-3 months.
Can you make this as a small cake instead?
Hi Owens, yes you can. It makes a two layer 8-inch cake (fairly thin layers, bake for 20 minutes) or a 7-inch cake (bake for 25 minutes) or a three layer 6-inch cake (bake for 20 minutes).
These were really tasty but came out more like a muffin to me. Either way, great recipe!
Hi! I used this recipe a week ago and my kids raved Over it :))
Was wondering how to make it Gluten free? Could I just replace the flour with GF flour 1-1 ratio? This would be very helpful to know .
Thanks !
Hi Carolina, yes you can make it with a gluten-free all purpose flour blend in the same quantity as the regular flour.
Used this recipe to make 24 mini cupcakes and cooked them for 12.5 minutes and they came out great! When I make this next I will try using it with less sugar, as I like things a bit less sweet. But this would be a crowdpleaser for sure!
I also made my own strawberry lemonade icing using vegan cream cheese, powdered sugar, strawberry puree, and lemon juice and it was the perfect tangy touch for this sweet strawberry cupcake!
Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing Kirsten!
This was really amazing and tastes great ! I even added some chopped strawberries and they came out delicious. Only thing I will say is that the frosting might be suuuuper sweet for some. I tried to make the frosting thicker by adding more sugar but it didn’t turn out. Anyhow, thanks so much, great recipe!
Hi! Alison. I’m going to cook these delicious cupcakes, but I just wonder that I have baking powder and no baking soda. Do you know if it is ok. Thanks!
Hi Eve! In this recipe the baking soda is quite crucial as it reacts with the vinegar to create the rise. Baking powder is not nearly so strong. You could possibly try it using 3 tsp of baking powder and in that case you could omit the vinegar.
Hi! I will be making these cupcakes today for my husband’s birthday. These look delicious and I’m looking forward to making them! I have one question. Do I add the dry ingredients and wet ingredients all in one bowl or do I need to do separate bowls and add the wet ingredients to the dry once each are ready? Does that make sense?
You add the wet ingredients to the dry and then mix everything into a batter. No need to use a separate bowl.
My batter was very thick compared to your photos. Mine don’t get a smooth rounded dome like yours because they are thick.
Hi Jennifer, if your batter is really thick (thicker than what you see in our photos) then it’s likely you are using a bit too much flour. Use the spoon and level technique for measuring flour, which is to spoon it into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it in.
These are everyone’s favourite cupcakes now, I just have to keep making them!
I never add food colouring though. They turn out super pink without any so I’ve never seen the need for it. And just as a note, they’re also delicious with raspberry extract — I ran out of strawberry and subbed for raspberry instead 🙂
Wonderful Amanda! Thanks so much for sharing!
This is an exceptionally good recipe. Came out just beautiful! I was looking around for a cake recipe to use up some strawberries and this is the simplest one I found. The others required a strawberry reduction, fussy ingredients, creaming of butter, a stand mixer. This one uses just a bowl and spoon, the strawberries are simply pureed and it still comes out light, fluffy, deliciously strawberry-ish! It exceeded my expectations. I did use a measuring scale. I skipped the strawberry essence and the flavour is still full of strawberry. In fact I can’t imagine it being better if I had used strawberry essence. Thank you! This is going to be a staple in our house.
So happy to hear this, thanks a million!
I will try to use juice from boiled beetroot for coloring. Hopefully it will work.
Hi Alison! What color do you think these will be without the food coloring? I’m trying to make mini strawberry bundt cakes just with a glaze of some sort, so I don’t think I want them bright pink. Haven’t found a recipe -specifically- for a vegan strawberry bundt cake that looks particularly great, so I may end up playing around and modifying a different vegan fruity cake thing, or a nonvegan strawberry bundt cake recipe, and if you have any suggestions for that from your blog I’d appreciate it too! Thanks (:
Hi Heather, without food coloring it’s more just like a vanilla cake in color with a subtle hint of pink. The color doesn’t come through very strongly without the food coloring.
Is there any way of using something other than strawberry extract because no place sells it around where I live.
You can leave it out or replace it with vanilla extract. 🙂