These Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes are dairy-free, simple to make, and lend a bakery style texture and a vanilla bean finish. You can bake up a batch of these perfect homemade gluten-free vanilla cupcakes in no-time.
If you like these Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes, you might also like my Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes. They are simple to make and bursting with chocolate flavor. I’ve also recently updated the photos for my Gluten-Free Lemon Cupcakes. If you’re a lemon fan, you’re going to love them.
For more cupcakes and desserts please visit my Gluten-Free Desserts.
Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes
These are seriously the most incredible, better-than-bakery style Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes! They’ve been shared thousands of times and people come back weekly to tell me how amazing they are.
I’ve been making these gluten-free cupcakes for years and this is the third time I have redone the photos. I really want you guys to see how lovely they are and be excited about how amazing they taste. Just read the comments below. You will fall in love with these cupcakes.
Here’s an old photo that I took of these gluten-free cupcakes. You can see how perfect the texture is.
Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
I use vanilla bean paste these days, but you can easily use Rodell’s vanilla extract. Rodelle Vanilla Paste is my newest favorite item to bake and cook with and that’s why I use it in my vanilla cupcakes.
Now that I’ve tried it, I may never go back to extract again. It has such a deep, rich flavor and it’s never too much. I do love Rodelle’s Vanilla Extract, but the paste is dreamy, especially in these Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes.
When I first developed this gluten-free cupcake recipe, I used vanilla extract, so please don’t think that you have to use vanilla bean paste. Extract lends a lovely flavor too. You are going to love it in these gluten-free vanilla cupcakes.
Gluten-Free Cupcakes
I have been working on perfecting my gluten-free vanilla cupcake recipe since 2010. It’s not that it’s a complicated recipe or anything. I usually work on new recipes, not improving old ones.
My old gluten-free cupcake recipe was fine but I wanted a better texture. I wanted it to be fluffy and crumbly at the same time. I made these Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes a couple of times in January for one of my daughters birthday’s.
Finally the last time I made them I found the right amount of ingredients to get the exact flavor and texture that I had been dreaming about. From frosting to cake, they are now perfect. They’re buttery (even though dairy-free), tender, crumbly, and have the perfect amount of vanilla.
And guess what? These gluten-free vanilla cupcakes only cost about $5 to make. Can you imagine what you’d pay at a bakery for these? They are easy and you can make them yourself.
How to make gluten-free cupcakes
There are a couple of tips and tricks to getting the right texture with gluten-free cupcakes. First, you have to follow the recipe. So many people comment on recipe posts saying that they made a ton of substitutions and the recipe didn’t turn out.
Other than the dairy substitute, I haven’t tried other substitutes in this recipe. If you use substitutions, you are doing so at your own risk.
Second, you want to mix at the right time and not over-mix. When you are beating the oil, sugar, and eggs you’ll want to beat it for the time listed. This adds air which in turn helps the cupcakes rise.
Once you add your flour mixture, you’ll only want to beat until combined. Beating any longer will cause the batter to stiffen.
Why did my cupcakes explode?
First off, you may have overfilled the cupcake wells. Never fill more then 3/4 of the way full, and it’s best to stick to around 2/3’s of the way full. I use a 1/4 measuring cup to fill mine. Another reason could be that you added too much leavening agent, or that you are at higher elevation. Baking powder tends to work twice as hard at higher elevations. Consider cutting your baking powder in half if you are at a higher elevation.
All those tips are relevant to most cupcake recipes, not just these Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes.
Why did my cupcakes sink?
There are several reason why cupcakes sink, one is from over beating the batter and adding too much air. Also, cupcakes often will sink when there is too much moisture. This is more common in humid climates where added moisture can collect naturally in ingredients such as flour. When this occurs, cupcakes may rise rapidly and then fall during baking. In higher elevations, the leavening agent works twice as hard and may cause the batter to rise rapidly and sink before it’s had a chance to set up.
Did you make these gluten-free vanilla cupcakes? Stop back by and let me know what you thought of this gluten-free vanilla cupcake recipe.
These Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes are dairy-free, simple to make, and lend a bakery style texture and a vanilla bean finish.Gluten-Free Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
For the frosting:
Instructions
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1 cupcake w/frosting
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 440Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 5950mgSodium: 200mgCarbohydrates: 63gSugar: 40gProtein: 4g
Katherine Anderson says
This is so great. I’ve made a couple of gluten free baked goods in the past and they were anywhere from “ok” to something that resembled a brick and twice as heavy. I used this recipe to make ice cream cone cupcakes (using gluten free ice cream cones). Wonderful taste and I’ve sent links of this recipe to several people. These are truly AWESOME!!!
chrystal says
I am so glad you like them. Thank you for taking the time to stop back by and let me know.
Best,
Chrystal
barbara says
HI
Just wondering can i make these cupcake egg free?
chrystal says
Hi Barbara,
I’ve had some readers use Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer with success.
Best,
Chrystal
Laura Costello says
I really liked the recipe!
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
chrystal says
I’m so glad 🙂
Andrea says
Hello, should the batter be really thick?
chrystal says
No. On the thin side. What flour blend did you use? How did you measure your flour blend Did you substitute any ingredients?
Jessica Howells says
So I have tried a few different recipes using wheat flour and gluten free flour for cupcakes but these came out THE best I have ever done!
My boyfriend is Celiac so I am often trying to replace the treats he misses but if I am to bake cupcakes for non celiacs too I will now always use this recipe anyway.
If I wanted to do chocolate ones, do you think the cocoa powder would spoil the fluffiness?
Thank you for this recipe!!
chrystal says
I’m so glad you think they are the best. Thank you for taking time to stop by and leave such a thoughtful comment.
Best,
Chrystal
Elisha says
This is a great recipe. I erred on the side of less beating after reading the comments about sinking (so each beat was between 30-60 seconds). I was a little haphazard with measuring as I was baking with kids but it turned out fine. One point – they were in the overnight a good 30 minutes (180 degrees Celsius fan forced pre heated). All ovens are different, just a point to note. Thank you!
chrystal says
I’m so glad you like them. Thank you for letting me know.
Best,
Chrystal
Brittany Diano says
I have gluten free flour and Xanthan gum separate – I couldn’t find the 1-1 flour. How much Xanthan gum should I add?
chrystal says
For this recipe, you can add 1 teaspoon of xanthan. Which flour blend do you have?
Chrystal
Brittany Diano says
thank you I have kinnickinnick all purpose flour blend. ill let you know how they turn out
Colin says
I made this for my wife’s birthday and she loved them. There is one cupcake shop in Madison, WI that she loves, but now that we live far away we haven’t found anything that came close until this recipe. Moist and crumbly just as described.
We live at 7,600 feet and I used the w/ dairy recipe. Right at the 18-minute mark they were ready to come out.
chrystal says
I’m so glad you both loved these cupcakes. Thank you for letting me know.
Best,
Chrystal
Linda Shanahan says
My 4 year old granddaughter was diagnosed with celiac. I am making these for her birthday. Just wondering do you store the cupcakes on the counter or in the refrigerator? Thank you Linda Shanahan
chrystal says
I usually store them on the counter. You can put the in the refrigerator, but you’ll want to bring them to room temperature to soften the frosting again.
Best,
Chrystal
Linda Shanahan says
I made these cupcakes yesterday and we ate them today. They were perfect!! Under notes it said you could use butter instead of oil so that is what I used and I used 2% milk We have tried bakery gf cupcakes and these are 1000% better. And so easy to make. Thank you so much for the recipe. I make cupcake for all of my grandchildren’s birthdays which i now have 7 so this recipe will be used over and over again. Linda
chrystal says
Awe, I am so glad you love them. Thank you for letting me know.
Best,
Chrystal
Leslie says
Hello—I would like to try your recipe for gluten free cupcakes. If I wanted to use butter instead of oil, how much butter would you recommend? Also, other than being dairy free, is there a taste and/or texture benefit of using oil instead of butter?
chrystal says
Hi Leslie,
You can use melted and cooled butter – use the same amount. Oil tends to lend a fluffier texture.
Best,
Chrystal
Leslie says
Great—thank you for the advice! They came out so deliciously!
chrystal says
I’m so glad. Thank you for letting me know.
Best,
Chrystal
Amy says
Just put these in the oven, but the batter only filled 8 normal sized cupcake libers, not 12. And each liner was filled slightly less that the 2/3 per added recipe notes.
I measured everything out and the only thing subbed was maple syrup for sugar using slightly less than the amount called for.
That wouldn’t have created this great of an error, would it?
I feel so incomplete sans 4 cupcakes!
chrystal says
D’awe. I’m not sure why you would have gotten 9 instead of 12. How did they turn out with the maple syrup?
Best,
Chrystal