Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes (Gluten Free and Sugar Free options)

Fluffy and colorful, these celebratory vegan funfetti cupcakes are bursting with flavor and topped with a decadent vanilla buttercream frosting!  

Funfetti cupcakes.  I dare you to make these and not want to throw a party and give them out to all your friends and family.

That being said, I certainly will not judge if you eat the whole batch yourself.

These little sprinkle bombs (aka, vegan funfetti cupcakes) are irresistible!  They look great, they taste great, and they’re fun to make.  I wish I could mix sprinkles into every single thing I do in my kitchen.  Also as you can see from the pictures, I like to hand pick the colors that go into these.  Though bright yellows and oranges are the colors that make me happiest, I find the blue/purple/pink mix here most visually appealing.  I use these Wilton sprinkles (naturally vegan!) since they come with each color individually packaged, and I encourage you to do the same so you can be type-A about your sprinkle colors like I am.

Finally, if you have found yourself here because you’re mesmerized by the colors but actually aren’t planning on using sprinkles, head on over to my Classic Vegan Vanilla Cupcake recipe!

*Note – I’ve made a slight but great change in the recipe since taking these photos, so the cupcakes you make will rise slightly higher and be even fluffier than what you see here.

How To Make Them

There is no crazy prep that goes into these, nothing to let set or take out of the fridge hours earlier, which makes them especially dangerous since you can whip them up without a second thought.

In a large bowl, mix together the gluten free (or all-purpose) flour, sugar (see the Ingredients Needed section to learn how to make these sugar free!), baking powder, and salt. Then add in the non-dairy milk, oil, and vanilla until combined, and then fold in the sprinkles.  Once the batter is ready, I like to transfer it from the bowl into a big measuring cup, since I find it easier to pour into tin that way.  Fill each liner around 2/3 of the way up. This amount of batter will give you exactly 12 beautiful cupcakes. Bake them at 350 degrees F for 20-24 minutes (my sweet spot is around 22.5).

Cool Time!

When they get out of the oven, let them cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then move them to a cooling rack so the bottoms don’t get soggy.  While they are cooling is when I make the frosting, since you want them to be completely cool before actually frosting them.  Use butter straight from the fridge so it is cold and hard.  I use a simple hand mixer and whip the butter on its own for a few minutes until it’s light and fluffy, then add the sugar a little at a time.

I absolutely love using piping tools to get the beautiful bakery style frosting look in these photos, but if you do not have anything like this, fear not! Just use a spoon or a knife to smooth frosting on top of the cupcakes, it’s no less delicious that way!

And that’s it! Time to eat your vegan funfetti cupcakes!! Nutritional info can be found in the Notes section below the recipe instructions.

Storage:

After they have cooled, seal the vegan funfetti cupcakes in an air-tight container and store at room temperature.  Ideally if you know you aren’t serving them that day, I’d suggest making the frosting fresh, but it will certainly hold if you are eating them over a few days.  They should last for around 3 days.

Pro Tips & Tools:

• Make sure you are measuring your flour either by weight or using the spoon and level method.  Do not scoop directly from the container, as you will wind up with too much! This is so important! If you want to buy a pre-made gluten free flour blend, make sure it’s King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour, it is BY FAR the best one for my recipes, NOT Bob’s Red Mills or any others. If you want to make a homemade blend, here is a link to the one I use.
• Make sure you measure your liquid ingredients using liquid measuring cups.  This will ensure accuracy!  I love this set.
• As I mentioned, using a hand mixer with the frosting is the way to get the best results there.  I use this very simple and effective one.
• If you haven’t used piping tools for frosting, or if you just need new ones, this set is my favorite. I love the medium and large sized tips.
• Missing any of the basics? Here is my go-to muffin tin, and my go-to cupcake liners.
• Make sure to use vegan sprinkles!  You’d hate to get to the very end and realize your sprinkles are the thing preventing you from eating the cupcakes.  As I’ve said in here already, I love these because they come packaged by color so you can pick and choose which you want to use.

Ingredients Needed:

• Non-dairy milk – any should do here!  I usually use soy or almond.
• Neutral oil – again, any should do, I always use grapeseed.  I have not tried these oil free.
• Vanilla extract
• Granulated sugar – If you want to make these sugar free, I love using this Monkfruit Sweetener in place of granulated sugar.
• Flour – Make sure you are measuring your flour either by weight or using the spoon and level method.  Do not scoop directly from the container, as you will wind up with too much! This is so important! If you want to buy a pre-made gluten free flour blend, make sure it’s King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour, it is BY FAR the best one for my recipes, NOT Bob’s Red Mills or any others. If you want to make a homemade blend, here is a link to the one I use.
• Baking powder – I recommend using baking powder that has no added aluminum. This one is my go-to.
• Salt
• Vegan sprinkles – I use these because they come separated by color and as I mentioned earlier (and as you can see in the photos) I am particular about the colors I use in my funfettis!
• Vegan butter – for the frosting.
• Powdered sugar – for the frosting. If you want this part to be sugar free, you can use this Monkfruit Powdered Sweetener in place of powdered sugar.

What To Bake Next:

• Want other fun cupcake options? Try these Vegan S’mores Cupcakes, or these Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes, or these Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes.
• Want other birthday party desserts? Try these Vegan Copycat Entenmann’s Donuts, or these Vegan Fudgy Brownies. And to use up leftover sprinkles, try these Vegan Funfetti Cookies.
• Want some classic cupcakes? Try these Vegan Classic Chocolate Cupcakes, or these Vegan Classic Vanilla Cupcakes.