📖 Recipe
{BEST} Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes
Moist gluten free red velvet cupcakes with a tender crumb and a hint of chocolate and vanilla. Easy dairy free and vegan red velvet cupcake recipe substitutions! This is the best gluten free red velvet cupcakes recipe ever!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, not dutch processed (.75 oz by weight)
- 1 ¼ cup white sugar (9.5 oz by weight)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups Gluten-Free Flour Blend (8.25 oz by weight) (I have only tested with my GF Cookie/cake blend
- ½ cup milk *see note
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs**see note
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- ½ - 1 teaspoon red food coloring***see notes
- 1 recipe Easy Cream Cheese Frosting **** see note
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pan with paper liners or lightly grease
- Mix together all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- In a large liquid measuring cup mix together all the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Fill the muffin pan cups ½-3/4 full and bake until the cupcake springs back when you touch it, about 20-25 minutes for regular gluten free red velvet cupcakes and 18-22 for mini red velvet cupcakes.
- Cool before frosting with Easy Cream Cheese Frosting or Vegan Frosting
Notes
*I have used dairy-free milk with the same results.
I have made GF on a shoestring's recipe with dairy-free milk and I thought it turned out great.
**I have used a flax egg substitute with almost the exact same results. For each egg mix 1 tablespoon ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons of warm water. Let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken before adding to the batter.
For this recipe you need the equivalent of 2 eggs. I used 2 TBS of flax seed with 6 TBS of warm water.
I also really like Bob's Red Mill's Egg Replacer and think it would work beautifully in this recipe.
*** I have no issues using food coloring to make red velvet. I use a concentrated gel color. If you use a liquid food coloring or natural food coloring you'll probably need a little more.
If you wanting to avoid artificial food coloring I would suggest using a natural food coloring, like THIS ONE.
**** If you need a dairy free or vegan frosting, do not fear. Either use a dairy cream cheese substitute to make my easy cream cheese frosting, flavor my vegan frosting with some super-strength cheesecake oil, or you could frost your cupcakes with a traditional roux-based frosting, subbing in dairy-free milk and vegan butter. I have made GF on a shoestring's roux frosting recipe with dairy-free milk and vegan butter and I thought it turned out great.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 16 Serving Size 1 regular cupcakeAmount Per Serving Calories 159Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 26mgSodium 124mgCarbohydrates 20gFiber 0gSugar 16gProtein 2g
If you like this recipe try these other recipes Perfect for Valentine's Day...
Gluten Free Dairy Free Baked Red Velvet Donuts
Gluten Free Red Velvet Layer Cake
Gluten Free Red Velvet Mug Cake
Theresa
I followed the recipe exactly, but it only yielded 15 regular sized cupcakes. It will be plenty for my purposes, but it is significantly different from the yield listed in the recipe.
flippindelicious
Theresa, did you use the weight or volume measurements? The weight measurements are much more accurate. I've often seen differences in yields just because even when following a recipe exactly there is still a lot of room for variance. All yields are just approximations to give you an idea. If you filled your cupcake pans even just a bit more than I did it could easily cause the difference in yield. Baking is just finicky like that!
Thank you for visiting my blog and trying my recipe. Hope you enjoy them!
Jessica
Omg! I made these last week, and they are amazing. My friends couldn't stop eating them. Great recipe and I would recommend this recipe to anyone ! Thanks!!!
flippindelicious
I'm so glad that you liked them! 🙂
Becky
I just made these for a function tomorrow. Like one of your other commenters, the recipe made 15, not 24. I don't care because these are sooooo good! The cupcakes rose so well with a nice rounded top. I have had a lot of trouble with cakes rising well, but I doubt anyone would know these were gluten free unless told. So tomorrow I'll make some more for the function and we will have a couple at home for my grandson (the gluten free one)! He will be so happy.
flippindelicious
I'm so glad that you like them Becky! I am making these again for my sister's upcoming wedding, and I can't wait! I'll double-check the yield when I do.
maggie
My batter came out very sticky- could this be too much xantham gum? I went back and forth about whether to use it or not because the flour mix had anthem gum in it… I ended up using it and now I feel like I ruined them!
flippindelicious
It sounds like too much xanthan gum is your problem. You may or may not have noticed, but my flour blend doesn't have xanthan gum in it. I add the xanthan gum to each recipe individually because different recipes have different binding needs. If you choose to use a different flour blend and it already has xanthan gum in it you don't need to add more.
I hope that they weren't too gummy once you baked them!
Prudenec
Thank you! This answered my question. Thinking of making these, for Easter this weekend.
flippindelicious
Sure thing! Happy to help. -Brianna
EllieCap
Have you ever made mini cupcakes with this recipe? If so, what is the bake time/temp?
flippindelicious
Hi EllieCap! I have made mini cupcakes with this recipe before. In fact, the first time I posted the recipe it was with the minis. The oven temp should be the same, and just bake them until a toothpick comes out clean or the cupcakes spring back when you touch them. I would start checking them after 10 minutes and guess they will finish between 14-17 minutes. It has been awhile since I've made them minis, and I made some changes to the batter from the original mini recipe. Sorry I don't have a narrower time window.
Lisa
I am about to make these delicious looking cupcakes for my son's 13th birthday tomorrow. I have one question concerning the flour. I use Bob's Red Mills 1 to 1 flour. Will I be able to use the same measurement?
Thanks for your help.
flippindelicious
Hi Lisa!
I haven't used Bob's 1 to 1 flour very much, so I am sorry I am not able to give you a specific answer. The one time I used it in quick bread it didn't rise as high and was more dense. You can probably still use it, just know that your cake probably won't rise as much an may be more dense. You may need to adjust the baking time too.
So, yes you can use it in the same amount, you just won't get the same results as you would with a different flour. (Here are the flours that I use)
Tina Hoye
I just made this recipe with Bob's Almond Flour. Unfortunately my cupcakes sunk in the middle. Could it have been the flour?
flippindelicious
Hi Tina,
The culprit was most likely the flour. You can't sub Almond Flour straight across for a GF flour blend. The flour is just so different, you have to entirely adapt the recipe. That being said, I LOVE almond flour and use it in many recipes, just not this one.
Hope that helps! -Brianna
Doris
I can't believe it, I finally found your recipe again! I've made these and they came out fantastic but I forgot to pin the recipe. I've used other recipes (4x) and they are not even close to this one! Thank you so much, these cupcakes are perfect.
flippindelicious
I am so happy to hear that Doris! This is one of my favorite recipes. I love that you love it too!
Tasha & Steph
Our cookies turned out brown instead of red! We're so confused! We used the exact measurements for cocoa powder (3 tblsp) and exact measurements for red food coloring (1 tsp). What do you think might have happened?
They taste great -- btw 🙂
flippindelicious
Hi Tasha & Steph,
Food coloring can vary in strength, which could be the culprit. Red velvet cake just needs a lot of food coloring. If you used a dutch or dark cocoa powder that could have also made them more brown. Next time just add more food coloring a little at a time until it is the color you want.
Also, I just wanted to make sure that you meant "cupcakes" not "cookies." I am assuming it was a typo, but if it wasn't that might have been the problem.
I am happy that you enjoyed them, even if they weren't vibrant.
Happy Baking!-Brianna
Liz
I can't wait to try these for book club next week. Do you think I can use Lorrann Red Velvet bakery emulsion instead of the food coloring?
flippindelicious
Hi Liz,
I don't have any experience with Lorrann Red Velvet bakery emulsion, so I do not know how it will work. Let me know what you try! -Brianna
Liz
They tasted great using the emulsion but the top all sunk and were flat. I probably need to figure out high altitude adjustments for gluten free baking (I did use your "flour" blend). Thanks for a great recipe.
Flippindelicious
Hi Liz,
I actually live more than a mile high, so you shouldn't have to make altitude adjustments. Mine aren't sunken, but don't always have a domed top. More like a flat top. A variety of things can effect the way a cupcake rises. If the flour was under-measured, if the cupcakes came out a minute too soon, or if the leavening was old. Hope that helps.
Liz
I used a scale for the flour and all my flour was new. The leavening was not new but had not expired. I think, if anything, the were overlooked. Maybe I'll try the method of just using a bag each of the flours and skip the weighing each type. Thanks!
Julia
Hello! I am having trouble getting Xanthan Gum. Will Guar Gum act as a suitable substitute?
flippindelicious
Hi Julia, I haven't worked with Guar Gum, though I have heard it can work similarly. If you try it, let me know how it worked. When I can't find xanthan gum in my local store, I buy it on Amazon. I usually buy the xanthan gum from Bob's Red Mill. -Brianna
Shanti
Is the vinegar a white vinegar?
flippindelicious
Hi Shanti, I usually use white vinegar, but have also used apple cider vinegar when that is what I've had on hand.
Hilary
I’d like to try the red velvet cupcakes, but don’t understand the US measurements for fluids? What is the volume of a ‘c’ as in the 1/2 c of milk and 1/2 c vegetable oil? Here in the UK we use fl Oz or mls. Could you translate please.
flippindelicious
Hi Hilary, I apologize for the confusion. A "c" is an abbreviation for the US "cup" which is equal to 8 fl. ounces. So 1/2 c. would be equal to 4 fl. oz. Hope that helps!
Kim Wallis
I made these for my daughters birthday, and I can safely say they were the nicest GF cupcakes I've ever made! Definitely a regular in our household now. Do you think I could make vanilla ones with the same recipe, minus the cocoa and colouring?
flippindelicious
Hi Kim, so happy you enjoyed them! I would recommend trying my gluten free yellow cake recipe, or my homemade gluten free cake mix if you want a vanilla cake. You'd have to make a few more adjustments to this recipe to make it a vanilla cake, like adding more flour.
Happy Baking! -Brianna
Erin
Found your recipe and saw so many positive comments I had to try it! Growing up in the Soutg Red Velvet is a staple at holidays for us (5 later red velvet white chocolate cheesecake and white chicolate frosting anyone?! 🙂 ) But I was recently diagnosed with a gluten allergy and we have several celiacs in our family. I thought for sure this would be a hit to replace our favorite. I just made the cupcakes and am extremely disappointed to put it mildly. The batter itself was way too dense to be considered a velvet cake. I started to question it as I was mixing but thought, “just have a little faith”. May be because you say to mix dry then wet and don’t cream the oil and sugar first and gradually add dry. Then, the cupcakes are not red in the slightest. I used an entire bottle of red food coloring too. Thinking oh well to the color and hoping for the best, I baked them. They turned out like plain old chocolate cupcakes and aren’t even sweet. They are actually quite bland and don’t stay together well. I measured all ingredients by weight and followed everything as described. Nothing looks (or tastes) as it should. I will say the cream cheese frosting IS WAY good!!! Best recipe I’ve used for the frosting!
flippindelicious
Hi Erin,
I'm happy you found my site! I'm sorry the recipe didn't turn out for you. I've tested this recipe multiple times and have always had tender and moist cupcakes.
May I ask what gluten-free flour you used? Many flours act differently and if you used a flour blend that is different than mine I suspect it may have been the issue.
I use the "muffin method" in this recipe because I didn't feel like there was a big enough difference in the texture when using the creaming method to justify the extra effort. If you try creaming the oil and sugar together first, please let me know.
Did you use a gel food coloring, or liquid? I haven't had bright red results with liquid food coloring and prefer to use gel to counter-balance the chocolate. The kind of cocoa powder you use will also effect the color. To get a redder cupcake make sure you use traditional cocoa which is more acidic and not a dutch-processed or dark cocoa.
When I first published this recipe about 4 years ago, I used more sugar but have since adjusted it so that the final bite (with the frosting and cupcake) wasn't cloyingly sweet. Because the frosting is so sweet I didn't want the cupcake to be just slightly sweet so they'd balance each other out. If you like a sweeter cupcake, you can add 1/4 cup extra sugar.
I'd love to chat with you, and help figure out what went wrong. Please send me an email at flippindelicious(at)gmail(dot)com. Best, -Brianna
Renee
My mom’s favorite cake is red velvet, so each year at her birthday, I make her a red velvet cake. This year my mom was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity. I was stumped, and after much research decided to try your recipe, along with your flour combination. The cupcakes turned out PERFECTLY! Density, texture, flavor, color, shape...I was thrilled! I’ve made many different cakes, and these are just as good! A slightly different flavor, but oh so delicious! Many people had seconds and thirds. Thank you for providing a fantastic recipe!
flippindelicious
Hi Renee,
I'm so happy you found my recipe! It has been so long since I've had regular cake, it is hard to exactly remember the taste and texture, so I'm glad my recipe measured up!
Happy Baking! -Brianna
Nicky
I'm going to try make these for hubby's birthday this weekend as this is his all time favourite thing but he has crohns disease and can barely eat much at the moment
So I need to make a few adjustments...
Firstly, I'm going to make a natural red colouring using beet puree (I'll add a tablespoon to start and see how the colour is)...
Then I will use coconut milk and coconut sugar and olive oil substitutes.
lastly, going to use a coconut cream cheese frosting (made from scratch using coconut cream and a little lemon juice as the "cream cheese" and then add a bit of powdered coconut sugar to that. We don't get vegan cream cheese where I live (South Africa).
Wish me luck!!
flippindelicious
Hi Nicky, Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! How did the cupcakes for your husband's birthday turn out? I'd love to hear how the substitutions worked for you.
Best, Brianna