Sweet and soft vegan red velvet mini cupcakes, for these mini cupcakes I skip vegan butter and oil instead I use homemade applesauce to reduce calories thus making it still moist.
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If you are looking for a sweet treat this coming Valentine’s why not try these vegan red velvet mini cupcakes. Red symbolizes love, happiness and prosperity and it’s nice to share these wholesome sweet mini cupcakes to your loved ones, friends and colleagues.
My goal is to create dairy-free and vegan desserts that are friendly to everyone whether you wanted to limit sugar and fat but still enjoy a sweet treat, do check my recipes and try any of them.
I searched for options on how to achieve the red velvet color and found out that E122 is safe to use for food and it’s vegan.
If you prefer to have it natural you can opt for beets so that it will be neutral and will not affect the taste of your red velvet mini cupcakes while red fruits may have an effect with the taste of these cupcakes.
First wash beets, chop, and boil once it has boiled you can use the water from the boiled beets as your food color. Alternatively, after boiling beets, you can puree the beets and use them in your baking just add some water or unsweetened dairy-free milk. I have not tried using beets and will update this recipe when I try it.
For these vegan red velvet mini cupcakes, I opted for homemade applesauce since I have plenty of Fuji apples. Here’s easy homemade applesauce I just added lemon juice, water, cinnamon powder, and vanilla extract.
You can add about ¼ cup of sugar if you want it to be sweet depending on how many apples you will use. Start with adding 2 tablespoons of sugar and adjust according to your preference.
I created this recipe being inspired using the ingredients from my chocolate crinkle recipe. Then scooping the batter I tried to bake some cookies first for about 10 minutes and the result was soft red velvet cookies.
Then I decided to bake red velvet mini cupcakes instead since I haven’t used my cupcake tray. Since these are mini cupcakes baking is just about 10-12 minutes. Easy simple, quick, and healthy vegan mini cupcakes.

Origin of Red Velvet
The color of red velvet may vary from red, red-brown, and crimson this red velvet recipe originated from Maryland and as early as world war II this red velvet recipe is being served by bakers using beet juice to obtain color.
Vegan Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) All-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ cups natural brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup homemade applesauce
- 1 tbsp flax egg
- 2-3 tbsp red food color (vegan)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened Almond milk
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 177C or 350F.
- Create a flax egg mixture by combining 1 tbsp flaxseed and 3 tbsp water. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl mix all dry ingredients except for sugar. Mix all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Make sure to sift flour and cocoa powder.
- In a separate bowl add applesauce, flax egg, and sugar, mix. Add remaining liquid ingredients red food color, maple syrup, and vanilla until all are combined.

- Slowly pour mixture of dry ingredients with the liquid mixture. Ensuring everything is combined.

- Prepare a mini cupcake tray and line with cupcake liners.
- Scoop and pour batter into cupcake liners and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.

- Let the cupcakes cool first before transferring to a cooling rack or plate.

- Adding frosting is optional.
- Store in an airtight container it will last up to 5 days when placed in the fridge.
Whether it’s Valentine’s, Christmas, or whatever the occasion is these vegan red velvet mini cupcakes are a sure way to satisfy your cravings.
Notes
- The batter is flexible. You can make soft red velvet cookies and top them with powdered sugar or you can make mini cupcakes. If you have a bigger cupcake tray then normal cupcakes are possible.
- If you have regular cupcakes tray baking is 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
- When baking cookies, be sure not to overcrowd your baking tray.
- For the cupcakes, frosting is optional. You can try my other vegan bakes where I use frosting.
Nutrition
This recipe can yield up to 25 mini cupcakes with 92 calories per serving. Total Fat 0.3g | Saturated Fat 0.1g | Cholesterol 0mg | Sodium 62 mg | Carbohydrate 21.3g | Fiber 0.5g | Total Sugar 11.5g | Protein 1.4g | Vitamin D 0mcg | Calcium 23mg | Iron 1mg | Potassium 59mg
Note: The nutrition is obtained using verywellfit and for reference only. The frosting is not included in the total calories per serving.

Vegan Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes
Equipment
- measuring spoon and cups
- 2 mixing bowls
- spatula
- cupcake tray and liners
Ingredients Needed
- 2 cups All-purpose flour (250g)
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ cups natural brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup homemade applesauce
- 1 tbsp flax egg
- 2-3 tbsp red food color (vegan)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened Almond milk
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 177C or 350F.
- Create a flax egg mixture by combining 1 tbsp flaxseed and 3 tbsp water. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl mix all dry ingredients except for sugar. Mix all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Make sure to sift flour and cocoa powder.
- In a separate bowl add applesauce, flax egg, and sugar, mix. Add remaining liquid ingredients red food color, maple syrup, and vanilla until all are combined.
- Slowly pour a mixture of dry ingredients with the liquid mixture. Ensuring everything is combined.
- Prepare a mini cupcake tray and line with cupcake liners.
- Scoop and pour batter into cupcake liners and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool first before transferring to a cooling rack or plate.
- Adding frosting is optional.
- Store in an airtight container it will last up to 5 days when placed in the fridge.
Video
Notes
- The batter is flexible. You can make soft red velvet cookies and top with powdered sugar or you can make mini cupcakes. If you have a bigger cupcake tray then normal cupcakes are possible.
- If you have regular cupcakes tray baking is 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
- When baking cookies instead, be sure not to overcrowd your baking tray.
- For the cupcakes, frosting is optional. You can try my other vegan bakes where I use frosting.
Looking For More Vegan Treats

Thanks for the ‘beets’ tip and instructions! It’s sometimes hard to find natural red coloring and using regular just creeps me out!
Looking at the recipe ingredients it seems very healthy yet so delicious and easy to make. I love the velvet color, perfect for Valentines’ Day. Thank you for sharing.
Great recipe! Both delicious and healthy ?
thank you Richard!
These look so yummy! I made red velvet cupcakes once many years ago with beets and you’ve inspired me to try it again. Thank you for sharing!
Oh wow, these look absolutely delicious!!
OMG OMG OMG! These sound AMAZING & they’re VEGAN! I have to try them! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Love the applesauce sub. We just need to swap the almond milk for oat and they’ll be perfect for our allergies too. Thanks so much for sharing, I see some Valentines Day baking this weekend!
thank you 🙂 let me know when you make it!
Red velvet cupcakes are my absolute favorite so these are so hot my alley, thank you so much for sharing!
These are yummazingggggggg
Can’t wait to try this: I’m a chocolate fiend. I’ve heard of using applesauce in baking recipes before, but have never tried it. So glad it’s included in this recipe!
This looks so delicious ?
Baking dairy-free and vegan red velvet mini cupcakes sounds like a lifesaver for those who couldn’t eat these sweets! I hope you manage to make lots of these and give it to them or better to start up a business with this recipe! This look so delicious. Thank you for sharing! xx
Hi Monique, thank you for the comment 🙂 Hopefully one day! My goal is for more people to enjoy dairy-free/vegan bakes!
These look delicious! I’m going to try them out for my friend’s birthday.
thank you Kate! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Rwd velvet cake is my weakness. It usually derails any plans to be good and eat healthy, so I’m delighted to find this healthier recipe, in a smaller size too. Thank you.
thank you Kimberlie, Im happy you like this recipe let me know when you try it 🙂
Definitely trying this recipe out!