These vegan cookies and cream cupcakes are the perfect celebration of everyone’s favourite chocolate cookies. With plenty of crushed Oreo biscuits going into both the cupcake batter and creamy vegan buttercream frosting, these cupcakes are a certain crowd pleaser for all occasions.
Oreo’s are one of my favourite biscuits and the fact that they are also accidentally vegan, meaning they do not contain any dairy or animal products despite their creamy centre, makes them quite dangerous to have in my house with packets seemingly disappearing as quickly as they arrive.
But if you can resist inhaling these addictive cookies straight from the pack, then I suggest you make these cupcakes which bring together the delicious flavour of Oreos with the soft, fluffy texture of cake. It truly is a perfect match.
There are so many variations of recipes for what an Oreo cupcake is, but I find the addition of crushed Oreos in both the cupcake batter and the buttercream frosting make these the most incredible cupcakes that really highlight the flavour of the cookies.
These cookies and cream cupcakes are one of my favourites for a few reasons:
- Perfect for anyone with allergies or diets that require them to be free from eggs or dairy
- So soft and sweet making them the perfect texture and flavour that a cupcake should be
- EASY. Nothing super fancy here, anyone can whip up a batch of these.
These vegan Oreo cupcakes are the perfect treat for any occasion and are made completely vegan so everyone can enjoy them.
THE SECRET TO LIGHT, FLUFFY VEGAN CUPCAKES
When making vegan baked goods, we are removing the egg which acts as not only a binder for the ingredients, but a way to incorporate air providing the lift that makes a traditional cupcake light and fluffy.
To compensate, we have to find other ingredients to help create this texture otherwise the cakes will end up dense and not particularly enjoyable.
In my mind, when I am making vegan recipes it is for the people who still want to enjoy particular foods but cannot due to allergies or other health reasons, so my goal is to give the same experience of flavour and texture just without using dairy or eggs. And that is exactly the result here.
First we use a vegan buttermilk alternative made with a non-dairy milk (I like almond for this) and white vinegar. The addition of the vinegar slightly curdles the milk which makes it a bit thicker adding to the creaminess of the batter. The added acidity also assists in the reaction with the bicarbonate of soda making a lighter and softer crumb.
Secondly, we use both bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. The soda reacts with the added acidity of the buttermilk substitute to provide lift. However, to get the amount of lift we want without adding more acid, we also use baking powder which does the same thing but as it already contains acid it helps us to get the perfect amount of rise and lift in the cakes without tasting bitter.
And finally, it’s all about the texture of the cakes themselves and that is where the oil comes in. Oil is fantastic for adding extra moisture and creating a light crumb.
Key Ingredients
Now you know why the ingredients in this recipe are so important to the end result of these vegan oreo cupcakes, let’s look closer at what you’ll need and any substitutions.
- Almond milk – you can use any dairy free milk you choose but I always find the best results with either almond milk or oat milk.
- White vinegar – is added to the dairy free milk to make our vegan buttermilk substitute. You could also use lemon juice or apple cider vinegar however I prefer the tasteless option of white vinegar for the best results.
- Plain flour – known as all purpose flour in the US. I haven’t tried this recipe with a gluten-free flour substitute.
- Baking powder – for lift and rise.
- Bicarbonate of soda – also known as baking soda in the US. Reacts with the vinegar to keep the cakes soft and light.
- Vanilla – make sure to use vanilla extract instead of imitation vanilla essence for the best flavour.
- Canola oil – you can use any light tasting or flavourless oil.
- White Sugar – just the right amount to ensure these cupcakes aren’t too sweet and balance well with the buttercream frosting.
- Oreos – essential for these cupcakes. You’ll need enough for the cupcakes themselves, the buttercream and a few extra for decorating.
Step-By-Step Instructions
These cupcakes couldn’t be easier to make. You can use a whisk or an electric mixer to make things even easier! And if you’re a visual learner, make sure to scroll down to the recipe card and watch the video.
Start by making your ‘buttermilk’ substitute by adding the vinegar to the almond milk and setting aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. The milk will split a bit but that’s ok and what we’re looking for.
Next crush up your Oreo biscuits into a fine crumb. As we’re only doing a small quantity, I find it easiest to just do this in my mortar and pestle but you can also add them to a ziplock bag and hit it with a rolling pin, or throw them into your food processor. Any method works!
Start by sifting together the flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and salt and mix to combine. Then, in your large mixing bowl, add the sugar, oil and vanilla and mix together.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, alternating with the milk mixture, making sure it is completely mixed through before adding more. Once batter has come together and smooth, mix through crushed oreos until just combined.
Spoon the batter into a cupcake pan lined with cases filling them about ⅔ full and place in the oven to bake. Once cooked through, remove them from the pan onto a wire rack and set aside to cool completely before frosting.
How to make Oreo buttercream frosting
We’re using my go-to, favourite vegan vanilla buttercream recipe as the basis of this frosting. To make the buttercream you’ll need an electric mixer. My preference is my stand mixer with a paddle attachment fitted as it makes the job much easier, but you can also use a hand mixer as seen in the below video.
Start by crushing up your Oreos into a fine crumb again using either a mortar and pestle or a food processor. You want a relatively fine crumb to help ensure the frosting pipes smooth through your chosen tip.
In your bowl, start to beat together the dairy free butter and vanilla extract until creamy. Add the icing sugar and beat to combine, adding the almond milk to gain the right consistency.
You want the frosting to be thick but still smooth. Add the crushed Oreos and beat again to combine.
Place the frosting in a piping bag fitted with your favourite piping tip (I’m using a 6B) and pipe a generous amount on each cupcake and finish off with an extra Oreo cookie.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can use this batter to make a 3 layer 6 inch or 2 layer 8 inch cake and adjust the cooking time as needed. Otherwise for something bigger, check out my vegan cookies and cream cake recipe, complete with vegan ganache drip!
Yes! I prefer to make and freeze the cupcakes on their own if I’m making them in advance, and frost them just before serving. But they will also freeze frosted just fine.
These cupcakes will be fine in an airtight container in a cool, dry place at room temperature for 2 days. Any longer or if it’s warm or humid, in the fridge is best.
No you don’t! Simply crush your whole cookies in a mortar and pestle or in a food processor to get crumbs. The cream will also break down with the biscuits giving you the perfect crumbs, full of cookies and cream flavour.
More vegan cupcake recipes:
Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes (Vegan)
Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Vegan Biscoff Cupcakes
Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
Cookies and Cream Cupcakes (Vegan)
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 ½ cups plain flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ¾ cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 8 oreo biscuits
For the buttercream frosting
- ½ cup (125 grams) dairy-free butter*
- 1 tablespoon almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 – 4 cups icing sugar
- 6 oreo biscuits crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 12 cup cupcake tin with liners.
- Make the cupcakes. Add vinegar to almond milk and set aside. It will split the milk, but that is ok as it helps to create a soft cupcake texture.
- Using a mortar and pestle crush up the oreo biscuits until they are a fine crumb. Set aside. In a large bowl, add sugar, oil and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer.
- In another bowl, sift flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and salt and mix to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet, alternating with the milk mixture, making sure it is completely mixed through before adding more. Once batter has come together and smooth, mix through crushed oreos.
- Spoon into the prepared cupcake pan lined with cases filling them about ⅔ full. Bake for 20 minutes or until cakes bounce back when lightly touched. Set aside to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the buttercream frosting. Crush up the oreos again using your mortar and pestle. Make sure there are no large bits and that it is a fine crumb as it will need to be piped onto the cakes and you don’t want any biscuit pieces getting stuck.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted, beat dairy-free butter and vanilla for 1-2 minutes until creamy.
- Add 3 cups of icing sugar and beat on medium until combined. As mixture thickens, add in the almond milk. If frosting is too thin, add in an extra ½-1 cup of icing sugar until it reaches the desired consistency. Add crushed Oreos and mix until combined.
- Spoon mixture into a piping bag and pipe onto cakes ensuring they are completely cool as any heat left in the cakes will melt the icing. Decorate with an extra Oreo cookie.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
Note: Original recipe was published December 5th 2016, and updated again in April 2019 with a few tweaks to the recipe and new photos. This update contains new content and photographs but the recipe remains the same.
Amanda
I made just the frosting and it was lovely. I used Miyoko’s cultured vegan butter, and coconut milk. The texture is lovely.
Sally
So glad you enjoyed them Amanda!
AR
Could this be made in advance and frozen?
Sally
Yes! I prefer to make and freeze the cupcakes on their own if I’m making them in advance, and frost them just before serving. But they will also freeze frosted just fine.
Amy
Hi! Would apple cider vinegar work the same as white vinegar?
Sally
Hi Amy, personally I find apple cider vinegar a bit strong in flavour, but yes it would work fine as a substitute.
Autumn Wofford
What is the consistency of the batter supposed to be once all ingredients are mixed together?
LeAnn Richmond
How can I make these gluten free?
Morgan
Hi! When you say 8 biscuits are you scraping the icing off? Just using the cookies and not the cream?
Sally
Hi Morgan. Nope, we are using 8 whole biscuits – cream and all!
Jody Larson
Absolutely amazing! You can’t even tell they are vegan. This is definitely going to be one of my go to cupcakes from now on. The cupcake is so moist and fluffy and the frosting is creamy and delicious.
Sally
Thank you so much Jody! So glad you enjoyed them.
Cassie
Made these for my sons 2nd birthday & they were absolutely delicious! I turned them into mini cupcakes & they were the first thing demolished at his party with several requests for the recipe.
Thanks Sally!
Sally
Thanks for sharing Cassie, so happy they were a hit for your sons birthday!
Tegan
Just made these and they are really good just wondering how to store them is it better in the fridge or left in a airtight container?
Sally
Hi Tegan. Depends on how long you want to store them and how hot it is where you are. They will be fine covered at room temperature for 2 days. Any longer or if it’s warm, in the fridge is best.
Megs
My friend made me these for my bday and they are delicious! I’m going to make them for a party but one of the kiddos is gluten free. Any suggestions for the flour as sometimes the 1:1 GF flour makes things so dense.
Thanks again for a wonderful recipe!
Sally
Hi Megs. I haven’t experimented using gluten free flour in this recipe. Let me know if you try it!
Rebecca
SO excited to make these! Can I use oat milk or should I stick to almond milk?
Sally
Hey Rebecca – you can certainly use oat milk in these, I’ve done it before when i didn’t have almond available 🙂
MJ
What can I replace the canola oil with?
Sally
Hey MJ, you can use any light tasting oil in this recipe. Vegetable or coconut would be my suggestion.
Jennifer
I used unsweetened applesauce and they are so moist 👍
KD
If I don’t want to make these cupcakes vegan, can I substitute the almond milk with regular milk? Will it have the same reaction with the vinegar?
Sally
Yes you can!
Kate
I made these for my non vegan family a few months back and they still talk about them. Now my brother has requested an Oreo cake for his birthday! I have both 8 and 9 inch rounds, what would you suggestion be for modifying the recipe for 2 layers of either diameter?
Thanks!!
Sally
Hi Kate, so great to hear it was a hit! You can use the recipe as written, but divide it between two 8 inch pans for a 2 layer cake. You will also need to adjust the cooking time to about 30-35 mins depending on your oven.
Kate
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to enjoy it this weekend 😊
Mallory
Absolutely amazing! They turned out perfectly for a nice Fathers Day Treat! Thank you!!
Sally
Thanks Mallory, so glad you enjoyed them!
Justice Nicole Wilhelm
Could I make this into a cake? If so how long do you think it would take to bake?
Sally
You certainly can! This much batter should make either a 2 layer 8 inch cake or a 3 layer 6 inch cake. For the 6 inch it will take about 20 minutes, and about 5-10 mins longer for the 9 inch.
Bridget
Hi! I’m very excited to try this recipe, but as I have a family of chocolate lovers I’d like to make the cake base chocolate – how much cocoa powder would you suggest adding to do so?
Sally
Hey Bridget. I haven’t done it myself but I would probably replace 1/2 of a cup of the flour with cocoa powder to make a chocolate version. Let me know if you try!
Chanelle Nelson
Hello,
Is there a alternative for the 1 tablespoon of white vinegar?
Sally
You can use lemon juice as a substitution, or you can leave it out – the cakes will just be slightly denser in texture but they will still work fine.
Missi
Oreos are not vegan. This is a common misconception. This is a great recipe but it is not vegan-friendly. Unfortunately, vegans come into contact with milk during their manufacturing process. A simple Google search of “are Oreos vegan” will show you that on the Oreo website it specifically states this. Such a bummer, too!
Missi
I meant Oreo* come into contact not vegans! Lol
Sally
Hi Missi, thank you for your comment. This recipe is labelled vegan as Oreos do not contain any animal products. What you are referring to is a potential contamination due to the factory they are made in which unfortunately is the case for a lot of factory bought products. Totally understand that this may be enough for some strict vegans to choose not to eat this, and that is fine, however I have many vegan friends who still choose to eat products such as Oreos.
Rose M Michie
Hello,
PETA has made the call and says they consider Oreos vegan.
https://www.delish.com/food-news/news/a58737/are-oreos-vegan/#:~:text=Last%20week%2C%20PETA%20tweeted%20out,vegan!%2C%22%20they%20wrote.&text=Recently%2C%20an%20FAQ%20from%20Oreo's%20U.K.%20site%20started%20circulating.
Aly
These cupcakes turned out AMAZING! I feel like I bought them at a vegan bakery! So super yummy!
Sally
Thanks Aly! So glad you enjoyed them
Hannah
Absolutely amazing recipe! The texture of the cake and the moisture level was perfect, and the frosting is amazing just on it’s own! I added a vegan ganache filling just for some added fun! Thanks for sharing!
Sally
Thanks so much Hannah, glad you enjoyed them!
Farasha
Hi i was wondering if we could use unsweetened soya milk instead?
Sally
Yes you certainly could!
Amy
HI,
Can’t wait to try this recipe with some left over crushed oreo crumbs I have. Just wondering roughly how many cups it is once crushed? Thanks!
Sally
For both the cupcakes and the frosting you will need about 1 1/2 cups crushed biscuits total.
Robyn
What a fantastic idea to put crushed up Oreos in the buttercream as well as the cake batter! I cannot wait to try these!
Sally
Thanks Robyn, the more Oreo’s the better!
Jaimie @ Nosh
Yum, my kids are going to love these!
Sally
Thanks Jaimie 🙂
Sylvie
I know my vegan friends all loooove oreos- and since i am always looking for new ways to please them with baked good, I definitely have to give this recipe a go! So yummy 🙂
Sally
Thanks Sylvie! Oreo’s are the best 🙂
Alexandra @ It's Not Complicated Recipes
These are cupcakes that make me VERY happy! Delicious! And how lovely my vegan bestie can enjoy them too!
Sally
Thanks Alexandra!