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These gluten free vanilla cupcakes are tender, moist, and packed with classic vanilla flavor. With a soft crumb and bakery-style texture, they’re perfect for birthdays, weddings, baby showers—any celebration where no one should miss out.
Bring these to a party, and no one has to settle for a second-best treat. Everyone gets to eat the same thing—and love it.
“Just made these cupcakes today for a wedding. I received nothing but praise. Everyone questioned whether they were gluten free or not!”
My take
Why you'll love these cupcakes
- Soft and fluffy crumb: Soft and fluffy crumb: Moist and tender, with a light, melt-in-your-mouth feel.
- Easy recipe: No sifting—just mix, scoop, and bake.
- Flat tops for frosting: No dome means perfect for decorating.
- Versatile for any crowd: Frost with vanilla or chocolate, add sprinkles or not.
- Freezer-friendly: Make ahead and freeze plain cupcakes for up to 3 months.
Cupcake ingredients
- Gluten free flour blend – The base of the recipe. Be sure to use a blend without too much xanthan gum (see Recipe Notes in the recipe card).
- Baking powder + baking soda – Help the cupcakes rise and stay light and airy.
- Salt – Enhances flavor and balances sweetness.
- Butter – Adds richness and helps create that soft, tender crumb.
- Granulated sugar – Sweetens the cupcakes and keeps them moist.
- Egg + egg white – Give structure and help the cupcakes rise evenly.
- Vanilla extract – Brings that classic birthday cake flavor.
- Buttermilk – Makes the most tender crumb. You can also use regular milk, but buttermilk gives the best results.
- Frosting included below! Learn how to make a classic vanilla buttercream with just butter, sugar, and vanilla.
How to make gluten free cupcakes
Making these gluten free cupcakes is as simple as whisking, creaming, and alternating the wet and dry ingredients. Here’s how it’s done:
1. Whisk the dry ingredients: Combine the gluten free flour blend, xanthan gum (if using), baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Cream the butter and sugar: Beat them together with the egg, egg white, and vanilla until fluffy and well-combined.
3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients: Mix in the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with buttermilk or milk. Start and end with dry.
4. Portion the batter: Scoop into a lined muffin tin, filling each well about 2/3 full.
5. Bake at 325°F: Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops spring back when gently pressed.
6. Cool completely: Let cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack before frosting.
Expert tips
Use room-temperature ingredients: Cold butter, eggs, or milk won’t mix evenly and can cause texture issues.
Don’t overmix: Mix just until the batter is smooth. Overmixing adds too much air and can create tunnels.
Scoop evenly: Fill cupcake wells about 2/3 full to prevent overflow and ensure even baking.
Bake just until done: At 325°F, bake until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Skip the toothpick—it can be misleading.
Cool completely before frosting: Warm cupcakes will melt your frosting. Let them cool fully for best results.
Measure by weight: For reliable results, use a digital kitchen scale instead of measuring cups—especially for the flour.
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy-Free
Use block-style vegan butter (like Melt or Miyoko's brands are best) or butter-flavored nonhydrogenated shortening in place of butter.
For the best texture, replace buttermilk with a mix of half plain yogurt and half nondairy milk by volume. You can also use just unsweetened, unflavored nondairy milk, but the crumb will be a little more condensed.
Egg-Free
Replace the egg with a chia egg, Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer, or Just Egg. Avoid flax eggs—they add a strong flavor that doesn’t work well here.
Vanilla Gluten Free Cupcakes Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer or handheld mixer
Ingredients
For the vanilla cupcakes.
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes) (Click thru for full info)
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- 2 tablespoons (18 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 (50 g, weighed out of shell) egg, at room temperature
- 1 (25 g) egg white, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup (5 ⅓ fluid ounces) milk or buttermilk, at room temperature
For vanilla buttercream frosting.
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more as necessary
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Milk by the teaspoon, as necessary
Instructions
For the cupcakes.
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line 16 wells of standard muffin tins with cupcake liners or grease the wells, and set the tins aside.
- In a small bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and whisk to combine well. Set the bowl of dry ingredients aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, place the butter, sugar, egg, egg white and vanilla, and beat at medium-low speed to combine. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until it appears whipped (about 2 minutes).
- To the large bowl with the butter mixture, add the dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with the milk or buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat lightly after each addition until just combined. Do not overmix. The batter should be light and fluffy.
- Fill the prepared wells of the muffin tin about 2/3 of the way full of the batter. Shake the tin back and forth to evenly distribute the batter in each of the wells.
- Place the tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the cupcakes are very lightly golden brown and spring back when pressed lightly in the center (about 20 minutes). Don’t over bake.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool for at least 5 minutes in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cupcake batter. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting and/or decorating.
For the frosting.
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the butter. Beat on medium speed until creamy (about 30 seconds).
- Add the 1 cup (115 g) of confectioners’ sugar, the salt, vanilla, and 1 teaspoonful of milk, and beat on medium speed until well-combined (about 1 minute).
- Beat in more confectioners’ sugar until the consistency is thick but not stiff. Turn up the mixer speed to high and beat for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your favorite piping tip. Pipe the frosting on the cooled cupcakes, or use two spoons to scoop a dollop onto each cupcake.
Video
Notes
For best results, use Better Batter original blend or Nicole’s Best multipurpose blend with added xanthan gum. Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 also works well—just add ½ teaspoon xanthan gum to the dry ingredients to prevent crumbling. To make your own blend, see the All Purpose Gluten Free Flour Blends page. Nutrition information: Approximate nutrition information is per cupcake, excluding frosting.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Vanilla buttercream frosting (gluten free)
This classic vanilla buttercream is smooth, stable, and pipes beautifully. It’s naturally gluten free and the perfect match for these cupcakes—but works just as well on chocolate cupcakes or sugar cookies.
Key ingredients
- Butter – Room temperature for easy whipping and smooth texture.
- Confectioners' sugar – Sweetens and thickens; it also helps the frosting hold its shape.
- Vanilla extract – Adds depth of flavor.
- Milk (as needed) – Helps thin the frosting to piping consistency.
How to make the frosting
1. Cream the butter – Beat until smooth and creamy.
2. Add the sugar, vanilla, and a splash of milk – Mix on medium until combined.
3. Whip until fluffy – Turn the mixer to high and beat for about 5 minutes, or until the frosting is light and airy.
4. Adjust consistency – Add more sugar to thicken or a few drops of milk to loosen.
5. Frost your cooled cupcakes – Use a piping bag or just scoop with a spoon.
Storage suggestions
Room temperature: Store unfrosted or frosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Avoid the fridge—it dries them out.
Freezing unfrosted: Once completely cool, wrap each cupcake tightly in freezer-safe wrap, then place in a sealed container or zip-top freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Freezing frosted cupcakes: You can freeze them fully frosted, too. Let them defrost at room temperature—don’t microwave or the frosting will melt.
To serve from frozen: Unwrap and let sit at room temperature until thawed, or microwave unfrosted cupcakes at 50% power in 20-second bursts.
FAQs
Yes, vanilla bean paste works well and has a stronger flavor than extract. Use the same amount as you would vanilla extract.
Yes—just reduce the baking time. They’re ready when the tops spring back when lightly pressed.
That usually means the oven was too hot, so the outside set before the inside had time to build structure. Use a standalone oven thermometer to be sure your oven temperature is accurate.
Yes! Freeze them (unfrosted or frosted) as soon as they’re completely cool. Defrost at room temperature for best results.
You can—just divide the batter evenly across more tins, and rotate them during baking for even results.
Definitely. These cupcakes are delicious on their own or with a light dusting of powdered sugar.
Just a heads up to anyone baking at high altitude: you will need to modify this one or they will over rise and sink in the middle. I have made this recipe several times in the past with great results at 2-3000 feet but I am newer to high altitude baking (at 6000 ft now). With gluten free I have been trying recipes as written first because they don’t always need modification. When I make these next I will try reducing leavening 20-25%. I’m always afraid to increase baking temperatures for fear of drying out gluten free items.
Yes, you always need to make adjustments for high altitude baking, Vanessa. Gluten free baking is no exception. Unfortunately I can’t recreate that condition, so I can’t test any of my recipes at altitude. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Just made these today and they were sooooo good!
I take my baking seriously and am always grateful for thorough comments, so this will be a little long.
First time that I made these they rose beautifully, then overflowed, browned and completely caved in in the oven, but the flavor was so good I wanted to try again. First time I used measuring cups, overfilled the liners, and I’m pretty sure I over-mixed the batter because the batter felt a little gummy and sticky before baking.
Second time I made sure to not overfill the cupcakes (I ended up with 18). I weighed my ingredients and made sure to turn off the mixer between adding the flour and milk. They still browned and caved a little, but they stayed risen enough to be able to cut off the sunken part and still have a beautiful fluffy cupcake. The texture was soooooo good. And the flavor was beautiful.
I used the Cup4Cup flour and you could barely tell they were gluten free. I mixed in chopped fresh strawberries to half of the batter as an experiment and Wow! Delicious. I topped these with a passion fruit curd, passion fruit whipped cream and more fresh strawberries. Super good, definitely will use this recipe again. Thank you for it!
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Adding more moisture to the cupcakes by adding fruit will definitely make them overflow (and also take up more space). And since these are cupcakes, not muffins, they don’t rise into a larger dome, which is why the instructions say to fill the wells 2/3 of the way full. When baked goods rise and then fall when they cool, it’s usually because of a too-hot oven (too much moisture can also contribute), which is why I always recommend an oven thermometer as most ovens run hot and drift out of calibration easily.
These were delicious and easy. I used one cup Pillsbury gluten free flour and a half cup almond flour. I still need to work on my buttercream frosting to get the right texture, but it tasted great. Thanks for this recipe!
Hi there! I am looking forward to trying this recipe and it will be my first time using the recommended flour blend, “Better Batter”. Since that flour does contain xantham gum should I omit the xantham gum that is mentioned in the recipe?
Thank you!
Correct, as the recipe states to omit the xanthan gum if your blend includes it, you’ll omit it when using Better Batter’s classic blend.
Thank you! I made them for a party this afternoon and they were amazing. I added a homemade strawberry jam filling and topped them with your buttercream recipe for a “strawberry and cream” cupcake…Wow! Also, thank you for all of the notes. I have been GF for 14 years and understanding the “why” behind a method helps me so much.
Hi, have you or anyone else used King Arthur’s GF 1:1 blend? It already had xanthum gum in it so would I leave out any other ingredients?
Thanks!
Hi, Sonya, I’m afraid I don’t like their blends and can’t recommend them. I discuss flour blends in detail on the all purpose gluten free flour blends page, linked in this recipe and in every one that calls for a blend.
I’m using Cup4Cup but my batter looks kind of sticky and gummy rather than particularly fluffy before baking. I weighed out everything and used room temp ingredients. Suggestions?
Did you add additional xanthan gum, Kelsey? Did you use any ingredient substitutions? Those are the only things that come to mind. It could also be that you undermeasured the liquid, which can’t be weighed.
Made these today – great texture but all I tasted was butter. I did use vanilla bean paste, which the notes above said would be a stronger vanilla flavor, but it didn’t come through at all. Next time I’ll double the vanilla. Didn’t much care for the frosting either. Just whipped sweet butter. However, the texture was good. Moist and fluffy. I can build off of that! Thank you for sharing!
Can i add cocoa powder to make these chocolate cupcakes?
No, Bonnie, there’s more difference between a vanilla and chocolate cupcake than just adding cocoa powder, which would unbalance the recipe. I have a recpe for gluten free chocolate cupcakes. Please use the search function!
Thank you!
These cupcakes look great. Do I omit the cornstarch if I’m using the cup4cup flour?
Hi, Monica, yes! Just measure out more Cup4Cup by weight. :)
Hi Nicole,
Can I use tapioca starch or arrowroot flour instead of cornstarch? One of my family members is intolerant to cornstarch. Thanks!
Hi, Gurleen, definitely you can use arrowroot. That’s usually the starch I like in place of cornstarch and it should work great here!
I never read the blogs on recipes. This was 100% worth my time. Thank you so much! I’ve been baking GF for over a year now and have been trying to learn how to alter recipes instead of simply using my 1:1 all purpose flour with non GF recipes. I made mini cupcakes and they turned out GREAT. Better Batter was a little pricy, but totally worth it! Learned a lot by reading this page and followed instructions as accurately as I could! Very impressed. I measure Vanilla like I measure garlic (with my heart,) but otherwise, followed as instructed.
I’m so glad to hear that you had such a good experience, Daniella, and gratified that you were willing to read the post. Food bloggers tend to get a bad reputation for long posts, but I work hard never to waste anyone’s time, just to give you the “why” so you can be successful. Thank you for the thoughtful comment. It means a lot to me! And I love how you measure vanilla and garlic. Sounds smart to me. :)