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!
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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
- 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.
- Add the oil and the vanilla. Mix to combine.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and salt.
- Mix everything well until no lumps left.
- If you haven’t done it yet, line the cupcake pan with muffin liners.
- Divide the batter into the cupcake pan, filling ⅔ of the way up.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool the pan for 5 minutes. Then remove muffins from the pan and let cool before frosting.
RECIPE FAQs
Vinegar, together with baking soda, gives cupcakes a proper lift. In this recipe, it also curdles the soy milk to make the buttermilk. Buttermilk helps to create tender muffins. Apple cider vinegar is my favourite but feel free to use regular vinegar instead.
Muffins are best the same day they are made. Although if you store them 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.
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.
Yes, absolutely. These Vegan Chocolate cupcakes pair with almost any frosting. You’re going to love them with this Vegan Vanilla Frosting or that delicious Vegan Strawberry Frosting.
RELATED RECIPES
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RECIPE
Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Equipment
- Medium sized bowl
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- 12-hole muffin pan
- Hand mixer or stand mixer (to make the frosting)
Ingredients
- 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
Nutrition
These cupcakes are perfect! I love that they’re dairy free and they are a delicious way to get my chocolate fix.
Hi Colleen, I know you will love this super easy chocolate cupcakes.
These cupcakes were a showstopper! Although my frosting didn’t look half as pretty as yours. I loved the fact that they were dairy-free and you can never go wrong with serving anything chocolate, right?!
I can’ t agree more Linda, chocolate is always a winner. And I’m really happy you enjoyed the cupcakes, thanks for sharing and commenting!
These look delicious! Can’t wait to try out the recipe!
These are a family favourite around here, Liz. Hope you like them!
I am such a big fan of cupcakes. Turns out I am sensitive to dairy and stopped baking altogether this past year. I am so thrilled to find your recipe! The cupcakes came out amazing. Yay! Thanks so much for sharing; I will make them again!
Hi Jenny! So glad you guys are all loving the cupcakes! They are a hit around my house for sure! I appreciate you taking your time to share your review and comment!
Oh, my gosh these were stunning! Such a rich chocolate flavour and light texture. I made the frosting too and my daughter was delighted!
Bernice, it always makes my day when someone sends me feedback about a recipe and they enjoyed it! So glad you liked the cupcakes. Thanks for the sweet comment!
Perfect! I served these to a mixed crowd of vegan and non-vegan and they were devoured! So easy, too! Will surely make this again!
This recipe is a beloved favorite here. Thank you for sharing your experience. It means the world to me!
This is such a great recipe!!! I loved that I could freeze them. I made a double batch and froze half of them for later. Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe!
Thank you so much, Shilpa! I’m super excited to hear that you loved these chocolate cupcakes.
These were just perfect! Made them last weekend and they were delicious! One of my favorite desserts of yours so far. Thanks so much for the recipe!
I’m really glad to hear they turned out delicious, thanks for letting me know Aleisha!
Yum! I am a chocolate addict and these were so delicious! Made them last weekend. One of my favourite desserts of yours so far. This recipe is a keeper!
So happy that you loved this vegan chocolate cupcakes, Kayla. I appreciate your feed back!
Your chocolate cupcakes are just the thing for a party or event. They look gorgeous and pretty much everyone could eat one. The only thing is, I need to up my piping skills.
Hahaha! I don’t think anybody complaints about the frosting shape once they have tasted the cupackes ;-))
These really are the BEST Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes! These were so easy to make and the taste and texture were divine! My kids loved them and now they’re asking me to make them again ;-))
Hi Emily, I’m so glad to hear that your kids loved my chocolate cupcakes. Thanks for sharing y0our review!
These cupcakes look divine! I can’t wait to try these! Thank you for this incredible recipe!
Hope you will love them as much as we do! Thanks so much for commenting, Chris!
These cupcakes look so delicious, and I love that I can freeze them to pull out later when I need them. I have several vegan friends, and I confess that most of the time, when they come for dinner, I serve a cobbler or crisp. These are a great new dessert to add to my repertoire. I pinned the recipe to my vegan board, so I can find it when I need it.
Hi Patty, thanks for your wonderful review! I also love cobbler and crisp but, when aiming for a more festive dessert, chocolate cupcakes are at the top of my list!
These are amazing vegan cupcakes! Just wish my frosting looked half as good as yours!
Thank you, Matt! It’s just a matter of practice, I’ve frosted dozens of cupcakes! Happy you liked them!
Great recipe, Natalia! I love that it’s vegan and I can freeze before hand! Thank you for sharing this recipe, I will definitely give it a go!
It’s one of my favorite chocolate desserts! You can’t even tell they’re vegan ❤️