Dairy Free Valentine’s Cupcakes

These easy dairy free Valentine’s Day cupcakes are made with just a handful of simple ingredients! Tender vanilla cupcakes are topped with a red-tinted vanilla frosting (or a homemade strawberry frosting). Perfect for quickly whipping up a Valentine’s Day dessert for your spouse or kiddos.

Ingredient Notes

Here’s a photo of all the ingredients you’ll need for the cupcakes themselves (just six!), along with selected ingredient notes:

• Self-rising flour – This flour already has salt and baking powder mixed in. If you don’t have self-rising flour on hand, you can use 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour + 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder + ¼ teaspoon salt.

• Dairy-free milk – I like almond milk for this recipe, but oat milk, soy milk, or most other dairy-free milk alternatives will work just fine. Avoid using full fat canned coconut milk, as the consistency and strong coconut flavor isn’t ideal for this recipe.

For the frosting, you have a few options. Many store-bought options are dairy free, so you could easily use one of those! You can usually find a fun pink or red hue this time of year, but you could also just purchase a white vanilla frosting and mix in some food coloring.

You could also make vanilla frosting like we have in this recipe, and add a little food coloring to it. If you want to do that, here are the ingredients you’ll need:

• Dairy-free butter – For this recipe, my go-to options are Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks with Avocado Oil, or Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Sticks.

(One last alternative – if you prefer fruity flavors over classic vanilla, you can try making a tasty dairy free strawberry frosting as the topping for these cupcakes!)

Instructions

You’ll find the full recipe amounts and instructions in the recipe card below, but here’s a helpful overview with photos and tips.

Start by whisking together the sugar, oil, almond milk, eggs, and vanilla.

Then add the self-rising flour. Stir until just combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cupcake tin, filling each about ⅔ of the way full. 

Pop that in the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. You’ll know the cupcakes are done when they are a very light golden color along the edges, and a toothpick pulls out clean from the center.

Let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and finish cooling on a cooling rack.

While the cupcakes are cooling, you can prepare the frosting (if you’re making it from scratch). Just use the whisk attachment for a stand mixer or hand mixer to combine the softened dairy-free butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a splash of non-dairy milk. 

Start on low speed (so the powdered sugar doesn’t splash everywhere) then increase the speed to high. Mix until the frosting is very light and fluffy. (If needed, add an extra splash of non-dairy milk if it’s too thick.)

Add a few drops of food coloring to get a nice pink or red color; whatever you prefer to celebrate the holiday.

When the cupcakes are cooled, use a piping bag or knife to spread the frosting on. Feel free to add some fun heart sprinkles too. Then dig in and enjoy!

Recipe FAQ

Here are some common questions that may come up as you’re preparing this recipe:

Allergens in this Recipe

Disclaimer:  Always double check ingredients and labels yourself prior to making a recipe.  While I try to check all ingredients for allergens, there’s always the chance I may miss something, or manufacturer formulations can change.

As written, this recipe is dairy free and peanut free.

This recipe does contain wheat/gluten (in the flour), eggs (in the eggs), soy (in the sprinkles and vegetable oil, though the later is highly refined), and tree nuts (in the almond milk). Here are possible substitutions if you cannot have these ingredients:

• Wheat/gluten – Use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend that includes xanthan gum, and add 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder + ¼ teaspoon salt to the recipe.

• Eggs – Use ¼ cup of applesauce, plus 1 tablespoon distilled vinegar and ½ tsp baking soda that have been mixed together.

• Tree nuts – Use oat milk instead of almond milk, and double check that your frosting ingredients (like dairy-free butter or store-bought frosting) are tree nut free.

• Soy – Purchase soy-free sprinkles, and use canola oil or avocado oil instead of vegetable oil. Also double check that your dairy-free butter does not contain soy.

More Dairy Free Cupcake Recipes

If you’re looking for more dairy free cupcakes, be sure to give one of these a try:

• Dairy free vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting
• Dairy free chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting (coming soon!)
• Angel food cake cupcakes

I hope these dairy free Valentine’s Day cupcakes give you a fun option for celebrating with your family! If you get a chance to try them, feel free to leave a recipe rating or comment below.

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Dairy Free Valentine’s Cupcakes

These dairy free Valentine’s Day cupcakes are the perfect festive treat to celebrate your loved ones.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword dairy free Valentine’s cupcakes, dairy free Valentine’s Day cupcakes

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Calories 365 kcal

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup vegetable oil or canola oil or avocado oil
• ½ cup almond milk or another dairy-free milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cup self-rising flour

For the frosting (optional, feel free to use store-bought):

• ½ cup dairy-free butter softened (i.e. 1 stick; recommend Country Crock plant butter sticks with avocado oil)
• 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 to 3 tbsp almond milk enough to achieve preferred consistency
• Red food coloring
• Heart-shaped sprinkles optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake-tin with paper liners (or grease the tin with oil).
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, almond milk, eggs, and vanilla. Add the self-rising flour and stir until just combined.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake tin, filling each about ⅔ of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick pulls out clean from the center.
4. In a large bowl, combine the softened dairy-free butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of non-dairy milk. Beat using the whisk attachment on a stand mixer or hand mixer, starting on low then increasing speed to high, until light and fluffy. Add additional non-dairy milk if needed to reach the preferred consistency.
5. Add a couple drops of food coloring to the frosting, and stir. Continue adding food coloring until the frosting reaches the desired color (pink or red).
6. Add frosting to cooled cupcakes, using a piping bag with a petal or star-shaped tip, or using a knife. Add the heart-shaped sprinkles on top if using. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

• If you don’t have self-rising flour on hand, you can use 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour + 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder + ¼ teaspoon salt.
• Do not add frosting to warm cupcakes; it will cause the frosting to melt.
• You can use most dairy-free milks in this recipe, like oat milk or soy milk, rather than almond milk.
• If using store-bought frosting, feel free to purchase a red or pink option, or add food coloring to a vanilla store-bought frosting.
• This makes 12 smaller sized cupcakes, but you can fill the cupcake tin a bit higher and make only 8 for larger sized cupcakes.

 

Nutrition analysis (approximate per cupcake with frosting): 365 calories, 18 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 245 mg sodium, 49 g carbohydrate, 0.5 g fiber, 38 g sugar, 2.5 g protein, Vitamin D: 1%, Calcium: 5%, Iron: 4%, Potassium: 1%

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