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This Cream Cheese Vanilla Cupcakes recipe is made lighter by using low-fat cream cheese and Greek yogurt. Replacing the usual butter with Greek yogurt still gives the frosting an airy light density without the extra fat. This recipe is versatile to make all year round for any occasion with any decorations/toppings!
This is a go-to recipe for Valentine’s Day, birthdays, and Fourth of July celebrations. It’s a simple base cupcake recipe that you can dress up, decorate and devour for any occasion!
Ingredients & substitutions
- Flour: Use all purpose flour for this recipe or cake flour for a lighter texture.
- Baking powder: To allow the cupcakes to rise during baking and get nice and fluffy.
- Salt: For flavor. Just a little makes all the difference.
- Eggs: To bind the dry ingredients together.
- Sugar: Any type of granulated sugar works here for the cupcakes; for example cane sugar.
- Vanilla extract: For sweetness and flavor.
- Vegetable oil: This cupcake recipe replaces butter with oil so that the cupcakes are super light rather than dense.
- Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt adds moisture to the cakes as well as a little extra protein, but you can substitute it with equal parts butter if you prefer.
- Cream cheese frosting: Cream cheese, honey, heavy cream and vanilla extract or use store-bought to make it easier.
How to make vanilla cupcakes
Make the cupcake batter
- Place the sugar and eggs into a bowl.
- Whisk to combine.
- Add the yogurt and combine.
- Fold in the dry ingredients until well blended.
- Pour the batter into cupcake liners.
- Bake until cooked through and golden brown.
Make the frosting & frost the cupcakes
Beat the cream cheese, then add in the honey and vanilla before whipping in the cream. Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature to make it easier.
When the cupcakes are cooled, pipe on the cream cheese frosting. You don’t even need a piping bag though and can simply use a ziplock bag for this step.
Tips for making cupcakes
- Adjust the frosting ingredients depending on how sweet you like it. If you like a tangier frosting, start with ¼ cup of honey and add more honey to taste. This will also depend on the type of honey you use since some are sweeter and more flavorful. I also have an easy buttercream frosting recipe you could add instead!
- Don’t over mix the batter when you add the flour. Over mixing can cause the gluten to over develop and the cupcakes won’t rise much.
- Use a hand mixer for the quickest and easiest way to make these cupcakes. You can mix the batter by hand or with an electric mixer, but be sure to get everything well combined and keep in mind it will take a little longer.
- Use room temperature ingredients. This will help everything to combine more easily and your cupcakes will have a more even texture. This goes for the batter and the frosting.
Frequently asked questions
Both unfrosted and frosted cupcakes will keep well for 3 days in an airtight container. If you have frosted the cupcakes keep them refrigerated. Unfrosted ones can be kept at room temperature.
Both the cupcakes and the frosting are freezer friendly. The cooled cupcakes should be wrapped individually before being placed in a freezer bag, and the frosting can be frozen in an airtight container. Both can be kept for up to 3 months.
Frosting should be thawed in the fridge overnight and cupcakes can defrost at room temperature for a couple of hours.
These vanilla cupcakes are perfect in their simplicity, but you can easily add your own flare to them with the decorations! You can add food coloring to the frosting if you like, and decorate with sprinkles or shaved chocolate. This is a great recipe that can easily be adapted to suit any occasion!
More cake recipes:
- Sfouf (Turmeric Cake)
- Cranberry Lemon Cake
- Crumbly Nutella Mugcake
- Olive Oil Cake
- Cinnamon Coffee Crumb Cake
- Almond Cranberry Cake
- Birthday Mug Cake
- Baked Oats (Looks like Cake!)
- White Vanilla Cake
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Vanilla Cupcakes recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Vanilla Cupcakes with Frosting
Video
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup cane sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese softened.
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar until well blended. Add the vanilla and vegetable oil, beating until incorporated. Add the yogurt and whisk until everything is smooth.
- Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined and no lumps remain.
- Scoop or pour batter into lined muffin pan, filling the cups about ¾ full.
- Bake for 14 -16 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then remove and cool completely on a rack.
Make the frosting:
- With a stand mixer or hand beaters, beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.
- Add the honey and vanilla and beat until smooth and light.
- Add the cream, beating until the frosting is light and fluffy and completely smooth, 2-3 minutes more on high.
- Cover the frosting and chill in the fridge until ready to pipe.
- When the cupcakes are cooled, pipe on the cream cheese frosting using a large tipped piping nozzle or a Ziploc bag with a hole cut from one corner.
Notes
Frosting should be thawed in the fridge overnight and cupcakes can defrost at room temperature for a couple of hours.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
These are so good! full of flavor and moist.
I made these cupcakes today and I love how they turned out! I tripled the batch and it made exactly 36. They are perfect and taste amazing!
Yay, so happy you enjoyed them!
Hi! The cupcake turned out to be very dry and dense. I think next time I’ll add butter and some baking soda. The cream cheese frosting was a little bit runny, it was not as firm as whipping cream frosting. Anyway, thank you for sharing the recipe.
So sorry to hear that the cupcakes didn’t turn out as expected. It sounds like they may have overbaked, by a minute or two.
These came out delish. Though wondering why the frosting didn’t have the thick consistency that regular ones have? Was it supposed to be that way? Followed the instructions to a tea. I did end up using some ready made cream cheese frosting just in case.
Hi Mary, can you elaborate a little on what you mean? Was it runny? If so, it might have gotten too warm.
Can I use almond flour in this?
Hi Marian, I have not made this recipe with almond flour, but it should work. Let me know if you try it!
Can I use almond flour in this?
I haven’t made this recipe with almond flour, but I imagine you could!
I love this cupcake recipe for a simple vanilla cupcake. I add things to it depending what I’m in the mood for. For example, if I’m baking with my kid we always do sprinkles or chocolate chips. It’s a simple and quick recipe and oh so delicious.
Thank you so much! It’s definitely versatile in that way. So fun!!
These cupcakes look delicious. I would love to make these for my class for the last day of school. Would it be okay if I substituted milk instead of heavy cream. Or what other substitute should I use?
Thank you! I have yet to try a heavy cream substitute, but you can try milk if you want it to be on the lighter side or more cream cheese if you want it to be thicker.
Can I replace the vegetable oil with olive oil?
I would not recommend it, as it may slightly change the taste and color of the cupcakes.
This recipe was awesome. Satisfied my pregnancy craving!
I made a lot of substitutions only cause I didn’t have everything on hand.
I substituted the Greek yogurt for buttermilk. And I used 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup oil. I also made a Russian buttercream instead of the cream cheese frosting (only cause I didn’t have cream cheese on hand lol.)
Thank you! Happy to hear you enjoyed. Hope you’re pregnancy is going well!
I love this recipe. For a twist I mixed a passionfruit in the batter and it was oh so amazing!! gave a nice tangy flavor!
It looks really great.
But Can I substitute the Greek yogurt with milk or normal yogurt?
Thank you! If you are going to make any substitute with the Greek yogurt, I’d recommend substituting it with equal parts butter.
Loved this recipe! I made it into a cake and put it in the oven for 30 mins – came out pretty good! I also added chocolate chips.
Thank you so much! That’s such a great idea!!
Thanks for your guidance, I would like to know the measurements of the ingredients in grams .
I made this. Taste absolutely delicious but my cake came out flat on top. What did I do wrong ?
Hi Afora – So glad you tried the recipe, and that’s a bummer that the cake came out flat on top. It’s possible the baking powder you used may have expired or it’s possible the that the cake batter wasn’t blended enough. I’m super happy you tried it though and enjoyed the taste 🙂
Is there a substitute for egg ?
You could give it a try with a flax egg, but I have yet to try that!
I haven’t tried the vanilla cupcakes yet, however they look good! Can I substitute cane sugar withv Stevia?
Hi Roxanne, I haven’t tried Stevia with it, but I think it should be fine! Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Can you use coconut or granulated sugar instead?