Easy vegan strawberry cupcakes that are packed with fresh strawberries and flavor! They are soft and fluffy and come together in just 1 bowl.
These pretty pink cupcakes are a perfect dessert for birthday parties, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day or any special occasion!
Why you'll love this recipe
FLAVOR: These cupcakes are packed with 3 cups of fresh strawberries for the most authentic flavor! You don't need any artificial strawberry essence.
DIFFICULTY: These vegan strawberry cupcakes are easy to make with only common ingredients.
APPEARANCE: They're so pretty and pink and can be colored with either beetroot powder or red food coloring.
ALLERGY-FRIENDLY: These cupcakes are naturally eggless, dairy-free, nut-free and soy-free. I've provided a gluten-free option below as well.
If you love easy vegan cupcakes, check out my vegan red velvet cupcakes, carrot cake cupcakes or coconut lime cupcakes.
Ingredients to make vegan strawberry cupcakes
Notes about the ingredients
Strawberries, either fresh or frozen will work for this recipe. If possible, choose a variety of strawberries that are already sweet as it's the main flavor of the cupcakes. Interestingly, the high amount of strawberries acts as a wonderful binder or egg replacer!
Beetroot powder or vegan pink/red food coloring. Strawberry cupcakes made without powder or coloring are a pale pink color. Pink or red food coloring provides the most consistent results for these cupcakes. If using beetroot powder, I recommend using a reliable brand as some will make your cupcakes a bright pink color whereas others will fade when baked and turn into an orange/brown color.
Baking powder and soda. We're using double-raising agents to make sure these cupcakes are FLUFFY and to counteract the high amount of fruit. Make sure your baking powder and soda are fresh, otherwise it may lead to dense cupcakes.
Apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (not pictured). When an acid is combined with dairy-free milk, it creates vegan buttermilk which gives the cupcakes a more tender crumb.
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to make vegan strawberry cupcakes
First, puree your strawberries in a food processor or blender. If you have a stick blender, add them to a mixing bowl and blend. Just make sure there are no chunks of strawberries.
TIP: If you have a very large blender, you may blend the strawberries with all the wet ingredients. This will make it easier to puree the strawberries!
The cupcake batter comes together in one bowl. Simply, mix all the dry ingredients in your bowl. Add the wet ingredients and fold until just combined. Some lumps are fine but make sure there are no lumps of flour.
If you're using food coloring, I recommend adding it with your wet ingredients.
If you're using beetroot powder, here are some tips:
- Start with around 2-3 teaspoons of beetroot powder and add it to your dry ingredients. Towards the end of mixing, feel free to add more if you'd like a stronger color. Just be careful that you don't overmix your batter.
- The amount of beetroot powder that you'll need will depend on its brand and age.
- Beetroot powder fades during baking, so feel free to add a little more if you'd like!
Dividing your cupcake batter
I recommend using an ice cream scoop to divide the batter in your cupcake pan/mold. It's easier and much neater!
TOP tips for making FLUFFY cupcakes
Here are a few simple tips to ensure your cupcakes are fluffy and not dense:
- Measure the ingredients using grams.
- Don't over mix the batter. I recommend making the cupcake batter in a bowl rather than using electric hand beaters or a stand mixer. Lumps in your batter are actually a sign of good cupcakes, as long as they aren't lumps of flour. Cooks Illustrated shows the huge difference between pancakes made with lumpy batter vs smooth batter in this Instagram post!
- The cake batter will be bubbly from the high amount of raising agents. Don't whisk out the bubbles and quickly divide the batter in your cupcake mold!
- Don't leave the cake batter sitting around. It needs to go from the bowl to the oven as quickly as possible.
- Make sure your oven is at the right temperature using an oven thermometer. Baking these cupcakes at a lower temperature will make them more dense.
How can I decorate these cupcakes?
These cupcakes are wonderful with strawberry buttercream frosting or strawberry cream cheese frosting. However, you can also top these cupcakes with:
- Whipped dairy-free cream
- Chocolate ganache
- Vanilla buttercream
- Dusting of powdered sugar
Can I make gluten-free strawberry cupcakes?
For the easiest vegan gluten-free strawberry cupcakes, I recommend baking my vegan gluten-free strawberry cake in a cupcake pan! When baked as cupcakes, they're fluffy and dome well.
The below recipe is a little trickier to make gluten-free. Some 1:1 gluten-free flours (including Bob Red Mills) result in dense and doughy cupcakes. To make these strawberry cupcakes gluten-free, I used a combination of:
- Almond flour for moisture and texture
- Potato starch to make the cupcakes light and fluffy
- Corn starch to help bind the flours together
The gluten-free cupcake batter is runnier than the regular batter, even though there is significantly more gluten-free flour. The gluten-free cupcakes are also flatter than the original cupcakes. Cupcakes that domed had a thicker batter but were very dry on the second day.
Common questions and answers
I'd recommend following my recipes for vegan strawberry cake and double strawberry muffins instead!
Yes, but your cupcakes will be a brown-pink color and will be more moist and dense.
No, it is unnecessary for these vegan strawberry cupcakes.
Some strawberry cake recipes require you to make a strawberry reduction which removes the water from the strawberries. However, I tested this and it didn't make enough of a difference for the amount of effort. You're removing water from the strawberries but adding it back to the cupcakes through dairy-free milk.
However, a strawberry reduction is useful for recipes that need less moisture, such as my vegan strawberry cheesecake.
See my other vegan strawberry desserts
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Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (310g) all-purpose plain flour, (note 1 for gluten free option)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 teaspoons beetroot powder, or a few drops of vegan-friendly red food dye
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt, optional
Wet ingredients
- 3 cups (360g) ripe strawberries, fresh or frozen then defrosted (weighed after stems have been removed)
- ⅓ cup (85g) dairy-free milk
- ⅓ cup (85g) neutral flavored oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
To decorate
- 1 quantity Vegan Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting, OR
- 1 quantity Vegan Strawberry Frosting
- Fresh strawberries
- Freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries
Instructions
- Note: For the best results, I recommend using grams for this recipe. Alternatively, use the spoon and level method to measure the flour. Use a spoon to add flour to a measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Do not use the measuring cup to scoop flour out of your container as too much flour will result in dense cupcakes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line 1-2 cupcake trays with liners.
Making the vegan strawberry cupcakes:
- Add all your strawberries to a blender or food processor. Puree until there are no more chunks. Set aside.
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix until combined or until there are no more big lumps. If you're using food dye, include it with the wet ingredients.
- Add the strawberry puree and the rest of the wet ingredients to the mixing bowl. Fold the mixture until just combined. The batter should be thick and slightly bubbly. Lumps in the batter are fine, as long as they aren't lumps of flour. Over mixing the batter will result in dense cupcakes.
- Divide the batter between your cupcake liners.
Baking the cupcakes:
- Bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick into a middle cupcake and it comes out clean. The baking time will depend on your cupcake tray and size of your individual cupcakes.
- Cool the cupcakes in the tray for 5 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack. These cupcakes may brown underneath which is normal. If you eat the cupcakes immediately, they may stick a little to the liners and will be very moist (this is due to the high amount of fruit in the recipe). However, when they cool, they'll peel away more easily and the texture will change.
Decorating and serving the vegan strawberry cupcakes:
- Prepare your frosting of choice.
- When the cupcakes are completely cool, use a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle to frost the cupcakes. Alternatively, use a knife to spread the frosting on the cupcakes. Decorate with fresh strawberries and freeze-dried strawberries/raspberries if desired. Serve immediately.
- Store the frosted cupcakes in the fridge for up to 3 days. The unfrosted cupcakes can be stored at room temperature for 1 day or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
- For gluten free cupcakes, it's much easier to bake my gluten free strawberry cake as cupcakes. However, if you'd like to make the above recipe gluten free, substitute the all-purpose plain flour with 175g (1 ¾ cups) almond flour, 165g (1 ½ cups) potato starch and 35g (⅓ cup) corn starch. All the other ingredients/steps are the same. This will give you ~14-16 cupcakes which are more flat than pictured. Gluten free flours are less absorbent than all-purpose flour so we have to add significantly more flour. I've tried this recipe with 1:1 gluten free flours but the final cupcakes weren't as pleasant.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in January 2017 and updated a few times since then with step-by-step pictures and more useful information.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Izzy says
Ah, so, say someone had very poorly read your instructions and already reduced over a kilos worth of strawberries to make these and a non vegan cake for a birthday party this weekend because they're a sleep deprived idiot - you wouldn't happen to hazard a guess at how I should adjust the wet mix would you? Like if it's 360g strawberries and say I put in 150g reduction would I make up for it by adding an extra 100ml soy, 50ml more oil and another tbsp vinegar perhaps??
Sliiiighy desperate, please help a tired mum!!!
Anthea says
Oh no! But I feel you on the sleep deprivation! The fix is fortunately more simple :). If you started with 360g of strawberries and put in 150g of reduction, simply add another 210g of milk! Reducing the strawberries just removes some of the water content so we just need to add it back. I've did this during a cake test and it worked well. I hope that helps!
RB says
I’m wondering if there is a gluten free option available for this recipe? Or if you have any recommendations on the best flour to make it gluten free. Thanks!
Anthea says
I haven't tried it with a gf flour, sorry! However, to make things gluten free, I often use Bob Red Mills 1:1 flour (in the blue bag) or use 50% almond flour and 50% any gf all-purpose flour. Hope that helps!
serena says
hi, yours is the only aussie strawberry cupcake recipe i can find which is great for making sure the measurements are 100% correct! however, i'm not vegan, would you know if i use normal whole milk will i put the same amount of milk in place of the almond milk? also, without eggs what is the substitute for whatever the eggs do in baking? is it the baking powder? i've never tried a vegan baking recipe before so i am a bit worried i might ruin it/not like it!
for the frosting can i use regular unsalted butter and no cream cheese?
all good if you are not sure as you don't cook with milk/eggs etc.
Anthea says
Hey! I tested the recipe with grams so to be 100% accurate, I'd recommend using them. All my cups and measuring spoons are from Aus but strangely, sometimes they are shipped from America so are inconsistent (just fyi - I know it can be confusing!). Dairy milk will work but I'm not sure about the eggs I'm afraid. Eggs are used as a binder, for fat and rise and I developed the recipe so eggs aren't needed in any way (and honestly, it'd probably make the cupcakes chewy which isn't nice). For the frosting, replacing cream cheese with butter is fine. I hope that helps!
serena says
thank you!
i also just realised it calls for cane sugar, is regular sugar or castor sugar ok to use and which would be better out of the two?
all good with the eggs, i assume the 4 tsp of baking powder is what will give the rise as i realised thats quite a bit more than most regular recipes call for?
i'm hoping to try soon they look sooo good!
Anthea says
Yes, by cane sugar I mean regular sugar (I think there's a difference in the USA but not here)! Caster sugar is fine too and the difference would be minimal :).
Also yes, the 4 tsp of baking powder helps with the rise! Strawberries (or any fruit) makes cakes quite heavy so I needed something extra to counteract that. I hope you enjoy baking them!
Mel says
Made these today and they turned out really great! They are perfectly moist and have a great strawberry flavour! I used frozen strawberries, coconut milk, and weighed all the ingredients as advised. I made a chocolate frosting to go on top. So good!
Anthea says
So so glad you loved these cupcakes Mel and love that you used a chocolate frosting :). Thanks so much for your feedback, it's much appreciated xx
Dawn B says
I want to make these for my daughter's Princess Poppy pink trolls birthday party. They would be perfect! She has allergies and can only drink oat milk. Can that be used in the same amount?
Anthea says
These cupcakes would be perfect for your daughter's party! Oat milk is absolutely fine in the same amount 🙂
Nikki says
Hi these look amazing! I’d really like to make these for my sisters upcoming baby shower. What would the cook time be if I made these as mini cupcakes instead?
And would I be able to use cake flour? Thanks!!!
Anthea says
Aw thanks Nikki! It depends on the cupcakes and your oven but try around 7-10 minutes and use the skewer test :).
Also, cake flour would be perfect for these. Hope that helps and let me know how you go!
Anna says
Could I make these with wholemeal spelt flour? Would I substitute it in gram for gram or cup for cup (and would this be the same for using whole spelt in your other recipes)? I don’t mind them being more muffin-like. 🙂
Also, thanks for including gram measurements they’re so much easier and more accurate.
Anthea says
I'd say it'd work with wholemeal spelt if you substitute it in grams. Normally spelt absorbs more liquid but these cupcakes are moist so they will probably balance each other out. Lete know how you go!
Suee33 says
Made the wonderful vegan buttercream frosting - delicious and looks very nice piped. Next time I will also make the cupcakes - the recipe takes more strawberries than I had to donate!
Can the cupcakes recipe be made GF???
Anthea says
Soo glad you loved the buttercream! With gluten free cupcakes, I normally use 50% almond meal/flour and 50% of a gluten-free flour blend. However, I haven't tried with this recipe. If you do make them gf, let me know how you go!
Rachel says
Thank you for developing this recipe! I live at about 8,000ft elevation, and always have to adjust recipes to avoid really messy disasters. When I first read this recipe, I was sure it would be a tricky one to adjust because of all that moisture and tour added leavening. I just wanted to share for any other high altitude readers that this recipe does NOT work, even with typical HA adjustments. I reduced the sugar by 10% and the baking powder by half, added a couple tablespoons of flour, and still got a mess. A lovely pink-hued and strawberry-flavored mess, but a mess. It was a joy to try tho! Thank you!!
Anthea says
Ooh, thanks so much for your reasonable feedback! Yes you're right, this recipe definitely has a lot of moisture etc but good to know that it didn't work for you at a higher altitude! I'll keep that in mind for my other recipes :).
Mel says
Hands down one of the best Vegan cupcakes ever. You would never know if was vegan. The strawberry taste was incredible (I used fresh strawberries). Moist and delicious. I took them to work to share in the staffroom and they were a huge hit!!
Anthea says
That's music to my ears Mel! Soo glad you and your colleagues enjoyed them. Thanks so much for your comment 🙂
Lea says
I made these with my son on Valentines day. The whole family loved them. Such a good recipe!
Anthea says
Yay, that's amazing! Thanks Lea!
Sian says
I was wondering if you have ever experimented with this recipe being wheat free? I've got a toddler with some allergies and this seems such a lovely recipe to take to her daycare for when there are birthdays so she can be included! Also, do you know if they freeze well?
Anthea says
For gluten free goods, normally I use 1/2 almond meal (flour) and 1/2 gf flour blend (by weight) in the same quantity as the regular flour but I haven't tested this recipe yet! Also yes, they freeze well without the frosting :).
Clare says
Absolutely delicious! This recipe makes the most fluffiest and beautiful cupcakes!!! I found them very easy to make, and they were a huge hit. Everyone who tasted them were raving about how good they were. Didn’t have the beetroot powder but the strawberries and regular food colouring did the trick. Highly recommend!
Anthea says
Aw thanks for taking the time to leave your feedback Clare! I'm sooo glad you and everyone enjoyed them! xo
Clare K. R. Miller says
I made the cupcakes with no frosting. They are delicious--but there was a lot of batter! I think I could have made 14-16 cupcakes with this batter if I'd had a second muffin tin. Instead I made 12 rather mushroom-shaped cupcakes. I do really appreciate you giving gram measurements as I find that much easier than volume measurements.
Anthea says
Glad you enjoyed the cupcakes! Sounds like your cupcake tin was smaller than mine but that it make strawberry muffins instead! Thanks for your feedback 🙂
Angela says
Super easy to make! And my wife enjoyed it! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Anthea says
So glad to hear! And my pleasure 🙂
Cheryl S-Lee says
These are delicious! Very moist & the perfect for Valentines Day! I’d give them a rating of 10/10 if that were an option.
Anthea says
Aw that's the best news! And glad you enjoyed them as Valentine treat :). Thanks so much for your feedback!
Linh says
Super excited to try this! Would it be easy to convert it to a simple cake recipe?
Anthea says
Yay! I'd actually recommend using my vegan strawberry cake recipe instead. I hope that helps!
Lynn | The Road to Honey says
These cupcakes... they were absolutely heavenly.
Anthea says
Hi Lynn! I'm so glad you enjoyed these cupcakes as much as we did!