These mini lemon pistachio cupcakes are delicious and easy to make! They’re the perfect party treat that’s entirely egg- and dairy-free.
I recently made a rose-pistachio version of this recipe and the cupcakes turned out so delicious (and cute!) that I wanted to make another version with lemon. These mini pistachio cupcakes make for a great family baking activity and/or a delectable sweet treat to bring to any gathering.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love These Mini Lemon Pistachio Cupcakes
- These mini cupcakes are fully vegan (which makes them egg- and dairy-free by default)
- They’re very easy to make!
- They’re tiny! These cupcakes are the ideal treat to share without having to bring a knife or creating a mess.
- They’re customizable. Don’t like the green & yellow color combo or the pistachios? No problem, feel free to switch them for other colors, ingredients and flavors (you’ll find some suggestions in the recipe tips below)
Mini Lemon Pistachio Cupcakes – Ingredient Notes
Ingredients for the cupcake batter
- Vegan buttermilk: to make vegan butter milk, this recipes mixes unsweetened soy milk with lemon juice. Instead of soy milk, you can also use oat or almond milk and instead of lemon juice, you can use apple cider vinegar.
- Extra virgin olive oil: this makes the cupcakes extra moist. You don’t have to worry about tasting the olive oil, but if you’re looking for an alternative, sunflower seed oil or melted vegan butter will work too.
- Vanilla extract: you can use liquid vanilla essence or fresh ground vanilla bean.
- Granulated white sugar: fine, granulated white sugar is best for this recipe. I don’t recommend using stevia or other replacements, but if you have a sugar alternative that usually works for you, feel free to experiment!
- Sea salt: or any other kind of salt!
- All-purpose flour: unbleached white all-purpose flour or, to make it gluten-free, you can use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend (the best one is Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten-free 1:1 baking flour.)
- Leavening agents: baking powder and baking soda
- Green vegan food dye: I used liquid food dye, but you can also powdered food dye or simply omit it (they won’t look green, but they’ll taste the same.) When choosing your food dye, just be sure to can the ingredient list to make sure it’s vegan (most vegan ones will include a “vegan” label on the package.)
- Raw pistachio kernels (unsalted): I prefer shelled pistachio like these to save time.
Ingredients for the dairy-free buttercream frosting
- Vegan butter
- Powdered sugar
- Lemon Juice
- Yellow vegan food dye (optional)
Ingredients for the garnishes/cupcake decoration
- More raw pistachio kernels
- Lemon zest
Tip: looking for gluten-free and/or refined-sugar free alternative next? Try my rainbow tahini cookies 
How To Make These Lemon Pistachio Cupcakes Step by Step
Preheat the oven and make the cupcake batter
Preheat the oven to 340ºF/170ºC and line two mini 24-cupcake baking forms with mini cupcake liners (alternatively, you can grease the baking form, use parchment paper, or use a silicone baking form.)
Next, add the soy milk and lemon juice to a medium mixing bowl and mix the two using a whisk (this will form a vegan substitute for butter milk.) Add the olive oil, vanilla extract, sugar, and salt, and mix again. Now, add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix again until you get a smooth batter.
Start by adding a few green food coloring drops and mix again. You can now add more food coloring to your liking, depending on the shade of green you prefer (using about 5 drops will give you a light pastel green.)
Fill the cupcake forms
Lastly, fold the chopped pistachio kernels into the batter using a whisk or spatula and fill your mini cupcake form(s) about halfway.
Bake the cupcakes, then let them cool down
Once the oven is preheated to the desired temperature, place the cupcake forms on the lower middle rack (use the middle rack if using silicone baking forms.) Bake at 340ºF/170ºC for 12 1/2 minutes, then lower the temperature to 320ºF/160ºC and bake for another 12 1/2 minutes. This will help prevent the cupcakes from rising too much, while still being fluffy.
Make the dairy-free buttercream frosting
While the pistachio cupcakes are in the oven, prepare the buttercream: cut the vegan butter into small cubes (see notes), then use an electric whisk to cream the butter while adding the powdered sugar a little at a time. Once it’s crumbly, add the lemon juice and mix again until you get a smooth buttercream consistency.
Tip: resist the urge to add more liquid than needed. The cream will get smooth after about a minute, even if it doesn’t seem like it at first. Lastly, mix in the yellow food coloring (this step is optional!). Start with just a few drops and then add more to your liking, depending on the desired color intensity.
Decorate the pistachio cupcakes
Once the pistachio cupcakes are fully baked, remove them from the oven and (if you used cupcake remove them from the baking form to allow them to cool down faster. Let them cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes (otherwise, the buttercream will melt.)
Add your nozzle to the piping bag and fill it with the buttercream. To decorate each cupcake, place the tip of the nozzle in the middle of the cupcake and then pipe the buttercream onto the cupcake in a circular motion (as detailed in the video above.)
Finally, sprinkle each cupcake with chopped pistachios and lemon zest.
Mini Lemon Pistachio Cupcakes – RECIPE TIPS
- If this is your first time using a piping bag to decorate cupcakes, don’t despair! It might get a little messy at first, but you’ll get the hang of it quickly. I’d recommend practicing on a plate a couple of times before moving on to the cupcakes (you can simply add the frosting used to practice back to the piping bag afterwards.)
- If the lemons you’re using are not organic, be sure to wash them well before grating the peel to get the lemon zest. Otherwise, you can also omit the zest.
- For the green batter, if you’re mixing blue and yellow instead of using green, be sure not to overdo it with the blue as your batter will turn out more teal/turquoise than green.
- You can store these pistachio cupcakes at room temperature for the whole day. If you’re storing them for later use, store them in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days (they might keep even longer, but they’ll get a little too dry if you wait to long.)
- If you’re making these pistachio cupcakes with kids and want to make it a little more of a fun activity, you can divide the batter and frosting into several smaller parts and use different food dyes for each part.
Mini Lemon Pistachio Cupcakes – RECIPE CARD
Use this card to save or print the recipe for these vegan mini lemon pistachio cupcakes. For additional step by step photos, be sure to read the full blog post above.
Mini Lemon Pistachio Cupcakes
Ingredients
Pistachio Cupcakes
- ¾ cup soy milk unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (1 tablespoon corresponds to the juice of about 1/2 small lemon)
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup caster sugar (fine white sugar)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned into the cups, not packed)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 10 drops vegan green food dye (or more to taste)
- ½ cup shelled raw pistachio kernels chopped
Dairy-Free Buttercream Frosting
- 1 ½ cups vegan butter
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 5 drops vegan yellow food dye or more to taste, optional
Garnishes/Cupcake Decoration
- ½ cup shelled raw pistachio kernels chopped
- 1 lemon, the zest
Instructions
Make the Mini Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 340ºF/170ºC and line two mini 24-cupcake baking forms with mini cupcake liners (alternatively, you can grease the baking form, use parchment paper, or use a silicone baking form.)
- Next, add the soy milk and lemon juice to a medium mixing bowl and mix the two using a whisk (this will form a vegan substitute for butter milk.) Add the olive oil, vanilla extract, sugar, and salt, and mix again. Now, add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix again until you get a smooth batter.
- Start by adding a few green food coloring drops and mix again. You can now add more food coloring to your liking, depending on the shade of green you prefer (using about 5 drops will give you a light pastel green.)
- Lastly, fold the chopped pistachio kernels into the batter using a whisk or spatula and fill your mini cupcake form(s) about halfway.
- Once the oven is preheated to the desired temperature, place the cupcake forms on the lower middle rack (use the middle rack if using silicone baking forms.) Bake at 340ºF/170ºC for 12 1/2 minutes, then lower the temperature to 320ºF/160ºC and bake for another 12 1/2 minutes. This will help prevent the cupcakes from rising too much, while still being fluffy.
Make the Buttercream Frosting
- While the cupcakes are in the oven, prepare the buttercream: cut the vegan butter into small cubes (see notes), then use an electric whisk to cream the butter while adding the powdered sugar a little at a time. Once it’s crumbly, add the lemon juice and mix again until you get a smooth buttercream consistency. Tip: resist the urge to add more liquid than needed. The cream will get smooth after about a minute, even if it doesn’t seem like it at first.
- Lastly, mix in the yellow food coloring (if using). Start with just a few drops and then add more to your liking, depending on the desired color intensity.
Decorate the Mini Cupcakes
- Once the cupcakes are fully baked, remove them from the oven and (if you used cupcake remove them from the baking form to allow them to cool down faster. Let them cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes (otherwise, the buttercream will melt.)
- Add your nozzle to the piping bag and fill it with the buttercream. To decorate each cupcake, place the tip of the nozzle in the middle of the cupcake and then pipe the buttercream onto the cupcake in a circular motion (as detailed in the video included in the article above.)
- Finally, sprinkle each cupcake with chopped pistachios and lemon zest.
Nutrition
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More Vegan Recipes You Might Like
If you enjoyed these vegan mini lemon pistachio cupcakes, you might also enjoy this slightly different version of the same recipe, made with rose extract and dried rose petals. Click here to view the full recipe.
Alternatively, here’s a list of even more delicious vegan dessert recipes you might like:
- Easy Rainbow Tahini Cookies (Vegan + Gluten-Free): These soft tahini cookies are easy to make, delicious, and a healthier alternative to traditional cookies!
- Vegan Double Chocolate Raspberry Muffins: These vegan double chocolate raspberry muffins from my new cookbook are decadent and rich, perfectly blending the flavor profiles of raspberries and chocolate.
- Vegan Carrot Pistachio Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting: This carrot pistachio cake recipe, made entirely without eggs and dairy, is the perfect mix of fluffy and moist. Paired with a vegan, lemony buttercream & cream cheese frosting, it’s the perfect cake to make for birthdays or any other celebratory occasion.
- Salted Caramel Almond Flour Cookies (Vegan + Gluten-Free): These plant-based cookies are super easy to make with just a few simple ingredients.
- Easy Mango Sorbet Recipe: Make this super quick and easy mango sorbet with a slow juicer and frozen mango chunks in under 10 minutes!
You’ll also find easy vegan dessert recipes in my cookbooks;)
Don’t hesitate to comment below if you have any questions or feedback. And if you try & love this recipe, it would mean the world to me if you could leave a review and 
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