These vegan red velvet cupcakes are ultra tender with a tangy cream cheese frosting. You might not even know they’re vegan!
Why These Cupcakes Are So Good
- These vegan red velvet cupcakes are oh-so-moist, with just the perfect amount of cocoa, a strong depth of flavor, and simply the perfect texture.
- Taken from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s incredible recipe, these cupcakes are so incredibly decadent that you will hardly be able to believe they are totally vegan.
- The vegan cream cheese frosting is unbelievably sweet and creamy and will become your new favorite frosting for every dessert.
How To Make This Recipe
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
- Whisk together the almond milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside to curdle, about 5-10 minutes. (If it doesn’t curdle, no worries!)
- Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix.
- Add the oil, food coloring, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the milk-vinegar mixture, and whisk well to combine. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until the large lumps disappear.
- Fill cupcake liners about two-thirds full. (These cupcakes will rise fairly high, so you don’t want them to overflow!) Place into the preheated oven and bake 18-20 minutes. Be sure not to over-bake! (Insert a toothpick into the center of the cupcakes. When they are ready, the toothpick will turn red, but won’t have any crumbs attached to it.) When they are done, let them cool for a few minutes before removing from the muffin tin. Then transfer the cupcakes to cooling rack to cool completely. (You don’t want to frost warm cupcakes or the frosting will melt!)
- To make the cream cheese frosting, combine cream cheese and butter in either the bowl of a standing mixer or a regular bowl if using a hand mixer. Beat on medium speed until the frosting is smooth. Pour in the vanilla extract, then the powdered sugar, about 1-2 cups at a time. After adding each ingredient, beat on medium speed until fully incorporated. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Frost with the cream cheese frosting. These look especially awesome with a piped swirl! Try a Wilton 2A round tip to achieve a perfect swirl.
More Incredible Vegan Treats
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting {Vegan}
- Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- No Bake Margarita Bars (Paleo, Vegan)
- Vegan No Bake Cookie Dough Cheesecake (Paleo, Raw)
Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
The perfect red velvet cupcakes with tangy cream cheese frosting. Delightfully vegan.
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk or other plant-based milk, like oat or soy
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup neutral oil like avocado oil or vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons vegetarian red food coloring
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz. vegan cream cheese like Kite Hill. See Note
- 8 tablespoons vegan butter softened. We like Miyoko's
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
Whisk together milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside to curdle, about 5 – 10 minutes. If it doesn't curdle, that's OK!
- Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into large bowl and mix.
Add the oil, food coloring, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the curdled milk-vinegar mixture. Whisk well to combine. Gently fold wet ingredients into dry, mixing until large lumps disappear.
Fill cupcake liners about two-thirds full (these cupcakes will rise fairly high). Place in preheated oven and bake 18 to 20 minutes, but be sure not to over-bake. Use a toothpick inserted in the center to tell–the toothpick will be red, but there should not be any batter or crumbs sticking. When done, let cool for a few minutes then transfer cupcakes to cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the cream cheese frosting: in the bowl of a standing mixer (or use a large bowl with a hand mixer), combine cream cheese and butter. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Pour in vanilla extract, then add in the powdered sugar, about 1-2 cups at a time. Beat on medium speed until completely incorporated after each addition. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Frost with cream cheese frosting. These look especially awesome with a piped swirl! Try a Wilton 2A round tip to achieve a perfect swirl.
Recipe Notes
- The brand of the vegan cream cheese can make a big difference here. We like Kite Hill and GoVeggie. Use your favorite!
- Make sure you use vegetarian red food coloring in this recipe.
I just made these today, using this recipe as a base. I tweaked a couple of things and they came out moist, bright red and will get loaded with my own version of cream cheese frosting tomorrow. I used a beet puree instead of apple sauce (omitting the red coloring), and melted Earth Balance for the fat. Then to take it one step further I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour mix. Thank you for the recipe from Isa.
Oh…..Lovely and cute….I can’t wait to try this.Thanks for sharing red velvet cake recipe.
So yummy! So easy!
I just wanted to say that I used chocolate soy milk but no chocolate extract, just upped the vanilla as you suggest. They were delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hi there! Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I’m in the middle of making these right now and I noticed the batter is really runny. Is this normal?
It won’t be as thick as like a cake batter but shouldn’t be SUPER runny
Excellent website. Lots of useful info here. I’m sending it to a few pals ans
also sharing in delicious. And naturally, thanks for
your effort!
Can I use coconut oil instead of canola and also can I omit the cream cheese what can I substitute for that.?
You could try a different vegan frosting if you do not want to make the cream cheese frosting. You can try my paleo/vegan cream cheese frosting here:
https://40aprons.com/paleo-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins/
You can use coconut oil instead of canola oil, too.
Hi, I was just wondering if almond milk works instead of soy milk because I have tried and the almond milk doesn’t seem to curdle, I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong…
These will work with the almond milk but it tends to not curdle quite as much. I figure it’s just a texture/fat thing? But either way, it will work!
I am looking for a red velvet cupcake for a friend of mine. She is gluten intolerant and is on a sugar free diet.
Thank you for this great recipe. I actually made this gluten free as well as I have a friend who is allergic to both gluten and dairy products. The cupcakes turned out amazing and my friend got to enjoy her first ever red velvet cupcake
Awesome! What did you use in place of the AP flour?
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! 🙂 I tried these today and they turned out amazing! However, to give it a healthier twist, I changed up the recipe a little. I used one table spoon of food coloring and a handful of fresh shredded organic beetroot! Turned out amazing! I now have the perfect red velvet cupcake recipe.
How do these turn out when used to make a cake? Since the batter is a little more liquidy than normal cake batter, does it stick to the pan?
That’s an awesome idea! I bet it deepened the flavor perfectly too. I’ve used this recipe to make cakes so many times.. it really doesn’t stick to the pan at all! What I do is grease the pan then “flour” it with some cocoa powder and it turns out perfectly
Hi! I’m going to try this recipe soon.
Just a very quick, yet important note; some red food coloring is not vegetarian, nor vegan. E120 (Carmine or Cohinical Red) is made from the female bodies of an insect. This could be very important to those who are on a strict vegetarian/vegan diet for ethical reasons etc, and for those who bake these cupcakes to friends and family that are vegan.
Cheers,
Christine Dahl
You’re very right! And I thought it was mentioned in the post; I will update 🙂 Thanks!
Thank you so much for this information about certain red food colorings. I will definitely keep this in mind when I’m baking vegan desserts.
You’re welcome!!!
Hey,
Just want to say thanks for the recipe. My wife is vegan and this is her favorite cupcake. I normally get her cupcakes from a vegan bakery here in Atlanta, but thought i would attempt making these cupcakes from scratch. They came out beauitful.
Thanks!
Scott F.
Atlanta, Ga
That is wonderful! I’m so happy she loves them. They’re easy, right? And so delicious! Thanks so much for taking the time to read, make the recipe, and comment, Scott!
Hi There!! I was just wondering whether this recipe could be used for a layer cake instead? I really like the sound of it as a vegan cake- perhaps just tweaking a few of the ratios? Any tips would be much appreciated! Thank you!! xx Morgan
Totally! If I were you, honestly I’d just make a little extra to be sure I has enough, but I wouldn’t otherwise change the recipe. I actually think I’ve made this as a layer cake before. And wrapped the layers in plastic wrap right out of the oven (but with enough time to cool so they didn’t uh, melt the plastic) to make them super moist. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Hi! I don’t have any type of electric mixer, can I make the frosting with a LOT of elbow grease? I would be following the peppermint one minus the peppermint. Can I also substitute vegan margarine instead of shortening?
As for the cupcake matter itself, did I read correctly to assume that if I am only using vanilla extract (no almond or chocolate) to use 3tsp total?
One more thing, if I am making these for a Saturday event, can I make them on Thursday evening and frost them Saturday afternoon? I would likely make the frosting day-of because room-temp frosting is so much easier to manipulate, though I guess I could also make it Thursday and leave it out Friday night/Saturday morning.
Thanks in advance!
Hi! I think that yes, you can definitely make the frosting with a lot of elbow grease. Just make sure that everything is properly creamed before adding the powdered sugar and then whisk REALLY well in between each addition. Definitely sift the powdered sugar before using. You can definitely use vegan margarine, too; I really don’t like shortening but I wanted the frosting to be a bright white. Otherwise, it’s vegan butter all the way!
And yes, LOTS of vanilla extract. Adds to that aromatic chocolate!
And yes, that should be fine. As long as you keep the cupcakes in an airtight container you should be good to go. And I agree – make the frosting in advance and leave it out for several hours or just make it that day. I’ve done that many times – no point in making the cupcakes that day and fanning them frantically because you realize you miscalculated cooling + frosting + makeup time and are running late! Or is that just me.. hrmm.. 🙂
these are super amazing! I have made them a couple of times, and even was complemented by a chef at a vegan restaurant (friend took them along as a birthday cake surprise for her Vegan friend and had a spare so gave it to the chef). Just as an alternative, I have been using coconut oil instead of the canola and WOW! so yum
I’m so so glad you like them! That’s a major compliment from the chef, too 🙂 The coconut oil sounds like it was be just awesome in these – dense but healthier, a bit aromatic. Yum! Great idea – I’ll be stealing that from you!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! One quick question was the soy milk unsweetened?
Yes, I typically use unsweetened!
Hello, do you have a vegan or dairy free cream cheese frosting recipe? I see your traditional one, but I’m not sure what to substitute for the cream cheese. I’ll be using almond milk instead of soy. Thanks!
I have no idea how I never saw this until just now! I sincerely apologize. You can find my recipe on Tofutti’s site and just replace the peppermint extract with vanilla here. Or use the traditional recipe and simply substitute vegan butter and vegan cream cheese in the exact same amounts 😉
Hi doll! I was hoping you could answer a question for me. I’m going to try your recipe in the next day or two, to give as a gift to a vegan friend of mine who just lost a pet. I want to do something nice for her, and came across your recipe for vegan cupcakes. My question is, is the recipe the same whether I pour the batter in a cupcake pan vs a cake pan? Does it make any difference if I use this recipe for cupcakes but then decide to make a cake instead? I guess that’s more than one question, or one question two different ways, sorry! I’m leaning toward making her the cupcakes so I can individually wrap them so they’re easier for her to freeze (because I want to do something nice, not overwhelm her), but someone told me the cake would taste better. If I could get your opinion, that would be great. Thank you!
How sweet and thoughtful of you! Honestly the batter will be fine regardless of form; I’ve made it both ways. If you do go with a cake, make sure the batter is at room temp (assuming I read your question right and you’re considering making the batter for cupcakes but maybe making a cake later?), and use 8″ round pans. Also, when you pull the pans out of the oven, give them a minute or two on a wire rack then wrap them in plastic wrap. To do that, place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the cake then place a wire rack on top of THAT, then flip and wrap it up. It will help retain the moisture which is fabulous in a red velvet cake. My only real requirement is that you test the cake often–give it til the recipe time and then check regularly, about every minute or so, so you don’t under- or over-bake. But it’ll taste delicious either way 🙂 you could always freeze half the cake! How awesome would it be knowing you had half a red velvet cake in your freezer at all times? Ha! Thanks for stopping by and your comment. Let me know how it goes! And my condolences to your friend. Losing a pet is just absolutely terrible
Thank you so much for getting back to me. That’s very kind of you. I’ve never made red velvet anything, vegan or not vegan, so it should be a good experiment. I think whether you have half a cake in the freezer, or a dozen cupcakes – either way, that’s a win.
Yeah, losing a pet sucks, especially when the pet had been totally healthy and just dropped dead out of the blue. There’s nothing I can do to stop that from sucking, but I’m hoping cupcakes will provide a temporary distraction. Thanks again for your help!
Ohmigosh, those are totally delicious! I tried the cupcake recipe tonight, and partway through, I remembered that I should’ve asked you about adjustments for altitude (we’re at 5000 feet) but I guess it didn’t matter because they turned out moist and tasty just like you said they would. The frosting was perfect, too. I used those vegan substitutes and they worked wonderfully.
These will make a very good gift. Thank you again!
I’m SO glad you liked! Yes, they’re crazy moist, I love that. I’m glad you didn’t ask about altitude because honestly I have no Idea! I’ve never really baked in high altitudes but it sounds like whatever you did worked! 🙂
Hey! I just tried these cupcakes (tried them before with ¼ of the batch and they turned out really nicely) – today the sruface is cracked and not smooth, and most importantly not flat! Do you know what could have went wrong? What could I do??
Hmm.. that’s very odd. I can honestly say I’ve made these probably 25+ times and they always come out perfectly, IF maybe even a little moist! So cracked and not smooth is as far from that as it could possibly be. Are you using metric measurements? Converting to celsius? Make any substitutions? Did you include the stated amount of oil?
Yes, I did! They are moist and really yummy, just the surface annoys me cause I don’t want to cut the top off to put the topping on smoothly… (I used almond milk, but the mixture curdled anyways…) I don’t understaaaand this!
I still can’t wrap my head around why this would be happening. Are you using convection? That might have something to do with it. If you’re swirling the frosting, though, it shouldn’t make a big difference. But if you’re slathering, it might be a bit different!
nope… i really have no idea what’s going on, as it didn’t happen the first time i tried them as mini cupcakes… well, never mind – the taste is delicious and both of the times i made them the guests loved them very very much 🙂 (i made a frosting with butter and mascarpone yesterday – wasn’t too bad either 😉 thans for the recipe anyways!
Glad you think they’re yummy 🙂
Hi. These look brill! Do you reckonI can use dates or date sugar instead of granulated. I can’t make it with regular sugar because I want to be free to eat all of them without feeling guilty!
I would say yes on the date sugar. You might be able to replace some of the sugar with soaked blended dates and then ALSO remove some oil since the dates will be much denser! I would definitely recommend sucanat for a less processed sugar, since I’ve made these with it, but for something even more unprocessed try the date sugar! Let me know if you try it! 🙂
Oh thanks. I will certainly let you know how it turns out. . .
Would it be ok to substitute brown sugar and almond milk instead of what is listed?
Almond milk would definitely work beautifully. As far as the brown sugar, I’ve never tried that, though I’ve used turbinado and sucanat very well. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! You’ll end up with a deeper flavor, which is never bad by me 🙁 Let me know how it goes!
is it necessary to add the almond extract? cant i just go with the vanilla only?
Yes, absolutely. That would be just as delicious
Vegan or otherwise, these look awesome! Very cute 🙂
Thanks! You can’t tell they’re vegan at all, which I love!
It seems so weird to me that there aren’t any eggs in these cute cupcakes! I read a vegan book by accident once (I thought it was a diet book), and it mentally scarred me. I couldn’t look at meat for a long time without feeling guilty. I love that you are embracing vegan recipe even though you don’t practice the diet. If the recipe is good then it’s good!
Yes.. I can’t watch any food-related movies because, when they show the awful animal conditions, I get so upset and guilt-stricken and give up meat and dairy for months! That just doesn’t work as well now that I’m cooking for a less, uh, socially-sensitive man 🙂 But yes, these cupcakes are so far beyond any other “regular” red velvet I’d ever tried that I kept it as my go-to! They don’t require any weird ingredients, though, and the chemical combination of ingredients must just be perfect. I’ve long puzzled over it.. This was actually the base recipe for all my cupcakes when I was running an ad-hoc cupcake bakery!
Hi do you think macadamia nut milk would work in place of soy milk?
Also since you said it’s your base recipe – do you have a version for a vegan vanilla cake? I have never found a great one – I guess because the flavor relies so heavily on eggs and butter??
You could try macadamia nut milk! I don’t have a recipe for the vegan vanilla cake anymore – I haven’t been vegan for a while 🙂 BUT Isa’s amazing cookbook Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World has my favorite yellow cake recipe!
I ended up just running out for some soy milk so I could follow the recipe exactly- these were THE BEST cupcakes I have ever made! Thank you so much for the suggestion on yellow cake – I will look that up!
That is so wonderful to hear!!!
Man, those look like the best cupcakes in the world! You could give Muddy’s a run for their money! Vegan is healthy too right? So I can eat as many as I want!!!!
They’re definitely the best cupcakes I’ve ever had – and I’ve eaten at a lot bakeries! Vegan is healthy, yes, of course, so there’s one left in the kitchen.. I’ll race ya. Oh wait, you’re still at work? Seems like an unfair advantage, since I’m in the office.. too bad..