The BEST vegan gingerbread cupcakes are quick and perfectly spiced that everyone will love! Soft, moist, and tons of flavor without the dairy or eggs, plus, it’s nut free!

Need a delicious and easy dessert for the holidays? I gotcha! These amazing vegan gingerbread cupcakes are packed full of tons of flavor thanks to the molasses and extra spices. Soft, light, and fluffy, they are sure to be a hit with everyone who tries them.

Multiple vegan gingerbread cupcakes on a table with swirls of frosting and tiny gingerbread men placed in each frosting swirl. More cookies are on the table surrounding the cupcakes. — Many gingerbread cupcakes on a decorated tabletop with lots of gingerbread cookies.

I freaking love gingerbread. From gingerbread cakes to gingerbread cookies, there is no shortage of spicy flavors at my house for the holidays!

Not only are these extra spicy (I use more spices in my recipe than others) they are vegan, nut-free, and free from dairy and eggs.

They are topped with a creamy vegan vanilla buttercream and if you want to get extra fancy, you can make some tiny gingerbread men to pop on top!

Why You’ll Love these Gingerbread Cupcakes

Full of flavor with molasses, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves
Easy to mix up in one bowl with no special equipment required
Top with vanilla frosting
Perfect to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee

Ingredients

Spices: These cupcakes use a combination of the traditional spices of ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. I personally don’t care for nutmeg, so I leave it out! But if you love nutmeg, I’ve included how much to add to that as well.
Molasses: This is what gives it that authentic gingerbread flavor and really brings out those spices in the cake.
Plant Based Milk and Apple Cider Vinegar: These become the “vegan buttermilk” that not only adds moisture to the cake, but helps with the lift and rise, creating that light and fluffy texture.
Oil and Applesauce: I like to use both in the cake to help with the richness and to help the cake stay soft and moist for days.
Brown Sugar: Using brown sugar over white sugar makes for an even softer and more flavorful cake. Either light or dark brown sugar will work.
All Purpose Flour: Nothing fancy here, just simple all purpose flour to make this cake.
You’ll Also Need: Baking powder, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt

Tip! Make sure that you are using regular molasses (I like to use the brand “Grandma’s Molasses” and NOT blackstrap molasses in this cake. Molasses is the thick sugar syrup left over when sugar cane has been boiled. After it is boiled for 3 times, that is blackstrap molasses. It is thick, not sweet, and can be bitter. Save the blackstrap molasses for recipes like BBQ sauce or baked beans.

Instructions

These vegan gingerbread cupcakes are pretty straightforward to make. Grab a big mixing bowl and let’s go!

Make sure to check out the recipe card below for the full recipe and ingredient list.

Start by mixing together the plant based milk and apple cider vinegar in a large bowl. Let that rest for about 5 minutes, allowing it to become the vegan buttermilk.
After a few minutes, add the rest of the wet ingredients: brown sugar, molasses, applesauce, oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk this together until everything is combined.

The mixed wet ingredients in a glass bowl on a wood tabletop. — The wet ingredients whisked together.

The finished batter in a glass bowl on a wood tabletop. — The finished batter will be light and fluffy so handle it carefully.

Now, in the same bowl, sift in the dry ingredients of the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all the spices. Again, whisk it together until you get a nice, thick cake batter.
Carefully fill each cupcake liner halfway full. Don’t overfill these cupcakes as they won’t cook if overfilled!

6 cupcakes in a silver tray before baking. You can see how they are only halfway filled. — Filling the cupcakes only to the halfway mark so they don’t overflow in the baking.

12 cupcakes after baking on a wood table. One is turned on its side. — Finished cupcakes have a nice top to swirl on frosting.

Bake the cupcakes for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center pulls out clean.
Let the cupcakes rest in the hot pan for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting

Mixing up the frosting for these cupcakes is super simple!

In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip together the room temperature vegan butter with half of the powdered sugar. Mix until it is starting to be light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on a high speed. Add the remaining sugar, vanilla, salt, and any plant based milk to get it to the right texture. Mix again for another minute or two, taste for salt levels, and spread onto your cake!

A metal mixing bowl filled with the finished vanilla frosting. It rests on a wood tabletop. — The vegan vanilla frosting all mixed up.

Alternatively, you can simply sprinkle powdered sugar on top of these cupcakes so it looks like snow on top!

Variations

Make a cream cheese frosting by replacing the vegan butter with vegan cream cheese in an equal amount. Mix up as directed and frost the cake for a tangy topping.
Make an eggnog frosting by replacing the plant based milk with your favorite vegan egg nog!

FAQs about Gingerbread Cupcakes

Gingerbread can be a temperamental cake. The heavy ingredients of molasses and applesauce can weigh down the cake. The best way to prevent this is to not open the oven door after you place the cake in the oven. The heat interacts with the baking powder, giving the cake lift.

Also, you don’t want to mix the cupcake batter together and then let it sit on the countertop for a half hour. The apple cider vinegar and the baking soda will react with each other, and that reaction also helps to lift the cake.

So to prevent the gingerbread cupcakes from sinking: Mix it and bake it right away. Don’t open the oven door for at least 22 minutes.

You can! But make sure you check out my recipes for a gingerbread snack cake or a gingerbread loaf cake. They have been optimized for cake making and include specific instructions for those types of cake.

A closeup of a single vegan gingerbread cupcake with a big swirl of frosting and a gingerbread man placed in the frosting. It is on a wood serving board. — A single gingerbread cupcake on a wood serving tray. You can decorate with frosting or simple powdered sugar.

How to Store

Countertop: Store these cupcakes (without frosting) on the countertop in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Fridge: When frosting with a buttercream frosting, these cupcakes keep best in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Freezer: Wrapped carefully in plastic wrap and stored in a freezer safe container, these cupcakes will keep frozen for up to 2 months.

More Vegan Gingerbread

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If you try these out, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. And if you want more delicious, vegan friendly recipes you can subscribe to the newsletter. Did you make these? Please tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest! I love to see your creations!