These healthy chocolate vegan cupcakes use whole food plant-based ingredients. They’re refined sugar free, oil-free, eggless, and dairy free, yet they’re light, fluffy and chocolatey. Ice them with my favorite vegan coconut cream chocolate frosting.
If you haven’t noticed this about me yet, I’m a total chocoholic. When I became whole food plant-based I thought I would have to let go of my love for chocolate.
Then I discovered dairy free chocolate chips. They were as good if not better than the ones I used in the past. Next I discovered how to make chocolate plant-based desserts using cocoa powder and natural sugars such as coconut and date sugar.
I became obsessed with trying out chocolate recipes and changing the ingredients to turn them into whole food plant-based versions of my favorite baking recipes.
My first effort were these chocolate vegan cupcakes. I mean, who doesn’t love a good cupcake! All I have to do is say, “Kids, mom’s making cupcakes,” and they bound into the kitchen like vultures.
This version of chocolate vegan cupcakes are even healthier than most vegan chocolate cupcake recipes. Why? They use all whole food plant-based ingredients.
Whole wheat flour replaces white flour. Brown coconut sugar replaces traditional brown sugar. Applesauce replaces oil. Dairy free milk and vinegar create a buttermilk in this cupcake that gives it a light and airy texture.
So, just because you’ve gone whole food plant-based, doesn’t mean you have to give up chocolate treats. Create a batch of these lovely healthy chocolate vegan cupcakes.
Adapted from this recipe by Andie Mitchell
Why You’ll Love these Healthy Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes…
- Whole food plant-based ingredients
- Light and fluffy texture, no dense cupcake here!
- Rich chocolate flavor
- Subtly sweet
- Low in sugar
- Low in fat and calories
- Easy to follow recipe
- Simple ingredients
- Kid approved!
- Tastes fantastic when topped with my coconut cream chocolate vegan frosting.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- 1 cup non dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cups brown coconut sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the icing use my recipe for Chocolate Vegan Frosting with Coconut Cream!
Tools and Equipment You’ll Need
I like using these Baking Cups for cupcakes and muffins because they’re made from parchment paper and easily release your cupcake or muffin without it sticking to the liner.
How to Make Healthy Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes – Step by Step
Step 1: Combine non dairy milk and vinegar in a bowl. Set aside. Milk will curdle and turn into buttermilk.
Step 2: Combine whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.
Step 3: Combine applesauce, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add non dairy milk with vinegar. Whisk until completely combined.
Step 4: Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. The batter will be light and thinner than most batters.
Step 5: Line muffin tin with cupcake liners. Evenly distribute batter among 12 cupcake liners. They should be about ¾ of the way full.
Step 6: Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in muffin tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 7: Frost with my favorite chocolate vegan frosting with coconut cream!
Tips for Making Healthy Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes
- If you’d like an even lighter texture you can use half whole wheat flour and half white flour. I used all whole wheat flour because I wanted a completely whole food plant-based cupcake.
- For a sweeter cupcake you can sub the coconut sugar for brown sugar. Although brown sugar is a refined sugar and higher on the glycemic index.
- If you don’t have coconut sugar, date sugar, or date paste would also work, although it may create a slightly denser cake.
- To make these cupcakes gluten-free use a gluten-free flour mix. I like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour.
- Use my recipe for my favorite Vegan Chocolate Frosting with Coconut Cream to ice these cupcakes.
How to frost these Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes?
Frost these cupcakes with my Chocolate Vegan Frosting. You can use a frosting tip to pipe the frosting on top of these cupcakes, like I did. Or you can use a knife to evenly spread the frosting on top of the cupcakes.
If you would like to pipe the frosting I recommend using the Wilton Cupcake Decorating Set. It’s simple to use and has numerous frosting tips perfect for cupcakes.
What makes these chocolate vegan cupcakes healthy?
- Whole Grain: Unlike most cupcakes, these vegan chocolate cupcakes are completely whole grain. There are no refined flours in these cupcakes.
- Refined Sugar Free: Most vegan cupcakes use white or brown sugar. These cupcakes use coconut sugar which is a natural sugar that is lower on the glycemic index.
- Oil and Dairy Free: Most other vegan chocolate cupcakes use oil in their recipe. Oil gives a cake it’s moist and fluffy texture. This cupcake retains its light texture using non dairy milk and vinegar to create a buttermilk.
- Low in Fat and Calories: Since these cupcakes don’t use oil, and are refined sugar free they’re also low in fat and calories. These chocolate cupcakes are under 100 calories and 1 gram of fat! You can indulge in one of these cupcakes with any guilt!
Can you freeze these Healthy Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes?
These healthy vegan cupcakes can be frozen. In fact, they’re perfect to freeze if you’re not taking them to a party and you want to have a yummy treat on hand when you get a chocolate craving. Freeze cupcakes without frosting. Wrap them in saran wrap and then put them in a freezer bag, making sure all air out of the bag before sealing. When ready to eat, remove from the bag and thaw at room temperature. They will keep for 2-3 months in the freezer.
How long do vegan cupcakes last?
Vegan cupcakes last 2-3 days if kept at room temperature in an airtight container. If you leave them longer than that they will still be fine to eat fora few more days but will lose some of their light and airy texture and become a bit stale. If you freeze the cupcakes they will last for 2-3 months.
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER HEALTHY DESSERT RECIPES!
- Vegan Strawberry Cake
- Healthy Vegan Brownies
- Vegan Blueberry Cake with Lemon Zest
- Vegan Peppermint Bark
- Vegan Gingerbread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Vegan Frosting
If you’ve tried these Healthy Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes, please rate the recipe and let me know how they turned out. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for more plant-based family recipes your whole family will enjoy!
Healthy Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup non dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup brown coconut sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine non dairy milk and vinegar in a bowl. Set aside. Milk will curdle and turn into buttermilk.
- Combine whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Combine applesauce, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add non dairy milk with vinegar. Whisk until completely combined.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. The batter will be light and thinner than most batters.
- Line muffin tin with cupcake liners. Evenly distribute batter among 12 cupcake liners. They should be about ¾ of the way full.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes in preheated oven at 350 F or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in muffin tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Frost with my favorite coconut cream chocolate frosting!
Notes
- If you’d like an even lighter texture you can use half whole wheat flour and half white flour. I used all whole wheat flour because I wanted a completely whole food plant-based cupcake.
- For a sweeter cupcake you can sub the coconut sugar for brown sugar. Although brown sugar is a refined sugar and higher on the glycemic index.
- If you don’t have coconut sugar, date sugar, or date paste would also work, although it may create a slightly denser cake.
- To make these cupcakes gluten-free use a gluten-free flour mix. I like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour.
- Use my recipe for my favorite Vegan Chocolate Frosting with Coconut Cream to ice these cupcakes.
Nutrition
I followed this recipe exactly but even after being in the oven for an hour they were not cooked, any idea what could be going wrong? I ended up giving up and binning them
Hi Helen,
I’m sorry to hear that the cupcakes did not bake. That is extremely frustrating. I have never had this problem with this recipe before. The only thing I can think of is that either your oven wasn’t reaching the necessary temperature or your baking soda or baking powder were not fresh enough, and no longer active. I hope you give them a try again! They really are delicious!
Hey, can you please suggest what can be used in place of Apple sauce .
Thanks
Anubha
If you don’t have applesauce, you can use pureed banana or pumpkin as a 1:1 substitute.