Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Simply the BEST Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes! Seriously! Those are made in half an hour and with just a few basic ingredients I’m sure you have in your pantry right now. They are super EASY, fluffy and moist dairy-free, egg-free spongy cupcakes.

When a recipe turns out just as you expected, don’t you feel like making it again and again? This is how I feel every time I cook a batch of these vegan chocolate cupcakes. Needless to say, I would eat the whole tray by myself!

WHY MAKE THIS RECIPE

Light, spongy and chocolatey cupcakes. This recipe is basically a combo of a delicious and chocolatey vegan muffin with my favorite Vegan Chocolate Frosting. You can’t go wrong with it.

Oh, if you’re a fan of moist and fluffy treats, check these out: Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes, Vegan Gluten Free Strawberry Cake, Vegan Chocolate Cake.

Made in 30 minutes. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare the muffins batter and around 18-20 minutes to bake them. While the muffins are in the oven, prepare the frosting, which will take you five minutes. Let the muffins cool down a bit and frost them!

No flax eggs, no applesauce required. This is an uncomplicated recipe that requires basic pantry staples for your ingredients. Check out the recipe card below.

Super easy recipe. It’s a quick and easy treat that is simple to prepare and fast to cook. 

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

INGREDIENTS NOTES AND SUBSTITUTIONS

Milk. There is almost one dairy-free milk for everyone. I use almond, oat and soy milk for baking. Soy milk is my favourite to make buttermilk, just make sure your plant-based milk is unsweetened.

Vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is my favourite but you can also use regular vinegar, white vinegar or diluted balsamic vinegar instead.

Oil. I used canola oil in this recipe but any mild-taste oil, like light olive oil, sunflower oil or coconut oil will work great too. 

Cocoa powder. Dutch cocoa powder or unsweetened.

Sugar. You can use brown sugar, cane sugar or panela. All them are more flavourful than white granulated sugar.

HOW TO MAKE THE CUPCAKES

1. First, preheat the oven to 350ºF/ 175ºC and line a cupcake tray with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the vegan milk with the vinegar to get the buttermilk. Let it sit at room temperature for around 2 minutes. 
2. Add the oil and the vanilla. Mix to combine.
3. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and salt. 
4. Mix everything well until no lumps left.

5. If you haven’t done it yet, line the cupcake pan with muffin liners.
6. Divide the batter into the cupcake pan, filling ⅔ of the way up. 
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool the pan for 5 minutes. Then remove muffins from the pan and let cool before frosting.

RECIPE FAQs

RELATED RECIPES

If you try this recipe don’t forget to rate it and let me know how it went in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.

RECIPE

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

NATALIA @ SIMPLE GREEN RECIPES

Simply the BEST Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes! Seriously! Those are made in half an hour and with just a few basic ingredients. They are super EASY, fluffy and moist dairy-free, egg-free spongy cupcakes.

5 from 40 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 12 cupcakes

Equipment

• ▢
  Medium sized bowl
• ▢
  Wooden spoon or spatula
• ▢
  12-hole muffin pan
• ▢
  Hand mixer or stand mixer (to make the frosting)

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup soy milk (or almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or regular vinegar, white vinegar)
• ▢ ½ cup canola oil (or light olive oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ ¼ cup cocoa powder, Dutch cocoa powder or unsweetened
• ▢ 1 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 Recipe Vegan Chocolate Frosting

Instructions

 

• First, preheat the oven to 350ºF/ 175ºC and line a cupcake tray with paper liners. 
• Then, in a medium bowl, combine the almond milk with the apple cider vinegar to make the vegan buttermilk. Let it sit at room temperature for around 2 minutes, until de liquid has thickened a bit. 
• Once the buttermilk is ready, add the oil and vanilla extract. Mix to combine the wet ingredients. 
• Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir just until evenly combined and there are no lumps left. Don’t over mix. 
• Divide batter between muffin liners, filling ⅔ of the way full. I love using an ice cream scoop to distribute the batter evenly between the cupcake compartments. 
• Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan. Let cool and then frost.

Notes

GLUTEN FREE OPTION. Substitute all-purpose flour with all-purpose gluten-free flour at a ratio of 1:1. 

MAKE AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS. Store muffins in an airtight container, they will keep fresh for up to 3-4 days at room temperature. Frost them within 2 days or freeze them for later use. For instructions on how to make the frosting ahead, check out the Vegan Chocolate Frosting recipe.

FREEZING THE VEGAN CUPCAKES. Cupcakes can be frozen frosted or unfrosted.

For unfrosted cupcakes: individually wrap the cooled cupcakes in plastic wrap, store in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze them. For frosted cupcakes: arrange them in a tray and place, uncovered, in the freezer for an hour or until the frosting has hardened. Once the frosting is hard, individually wrap them, place in an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bring them to room temperature before serving.

INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS 

Milk. I use almond, oat and soy milk for baking. Soy milk is my favourite to make buttermilk, just make sure your plant-based milk is unsweetened.

Vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is my favourite but you an also use regular vinegar, white vinegar or diluted balsamic vinegar instead.

Oil. I used canola oil in this recipe but any mild-taste oil, like light olive oil, sunflower oil or coconut oil will work great to. 

Cocoa powder. Dutch cocoa powder or unsweetened.

Sugar. You can also use brown sugar, cane sugar or panela. All them are more flavourful than white granulated sugar.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. 

See our full nutrition disclosure.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 223kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 3gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 155mgPotassium: 98mgFiber: 1gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 77IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 48mgIron: 1mg

Additional Info

Course Dessert

Keyword Chocolate cupcakes, vegan chocolate cupcakes, Vegan cupcakes

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!