Vegan Mug Cake Recipe (2 Ways!)
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.This vegan mug cake recipe is incredible! With two different versions, you will surely find your favorite flavor of mug cake with either chocolate or vanilla + peanut butter. Rich, indulgent, and moist, these vegan mug cakes are so easy to make and ready in minutes!

This is the ultimate mug cake recipe to satisfy all of your sweet cravings! When you’re looking for a fluffy, flavorful, moist cake, you can make this vegan microwave cake and have dessert on the table in under 5 minutes!
Made with simple ingredients, this vegan mug cake recipe comes in two variations, and always turns out perfectly because it is just baked in a mug!
One version is made with vegan chocolate chips if you happen to have a chocolate craving. The peanut butter mug cake is made with vanilla and almond milk, and honestly, it creates the best results. What’s better than vanilla and peanut butter? Just put a scoop of chocolate chips or peanut butter in the center to bring this cake to the next level.
This perfect dessert is such a decadent microwave cake — all you have to do is dump all the ingredients into a mug, stir, and put it in the microwave! With the right ratio of wet to dry ingredients, you’ll have a vegan chocolate cake or vanilla cake ready in no time.
If you happen to have a birthday coming up, then you can make these cakes for all of your guests — they’re great for providing a single serving cake to each guest, and makes a fun birthday cake for you! Just stick some candles in this super easy mug cake and commence the celebrations!
👩🏽🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Vegan: This recipe is totally plant-based and is a great way to indulge if you have a big sweet tooth!
- Simple to Make: With just a few steps, you will have these delicious dessert recipes ready in no time! There is also basically no clean up once you’re done. If you want your dessert ready within six minutes, then you’ll definitely want to keep this cake recipe!
- Lots of variations: Want to turn this into a banana bread cake? Or a funfetti cake? With just a few simple swaps, you can customize this vegan cake in a mug to your preferences!
- Portion controlled: This is one time you can really just eat the entire cake without having to worry about portions!
🥘 Ingredients
This ingredient list is just a general idea of what you will need. For the full measurements, scroll down to the recipe card!

Dry Ingredients
- Flour: All purpose regular flour is what we used for these vegan mug cakes. You can also use whole wheat flour for more whole grains. For a gluten free version, use oat flour or almond flour.
- Sugar: White granulated regular sugar creates a bit of sweetness and moisture within these mug cakes. Feel free to substitute the sugar with brown sugar, coconut sugar, or your choice of liquid sweetener such as monk fruit or maple syrup.
- Cocoa powder: For the chocolate mug cake recipe, you will need cocoa or cacao powder. Omit for the vanilla + peanut butter version.
- Baking Powder: A leavening agent for the cakes, you will need some baking powder for this recipe.
- Chocolate chips: Dairy-free chocolate chips are used in the vegan chocolate mug cake and can be used as a filling for the vanilla mug cake. You can use mini chocolate chips in place of typical chocolate chips. Make sure to use dark chocolate chips.
Wet Ingredients
- Peanut butter: The vanilla peanut butter mug cake uses just a tiny amount of peanut butter. You can use either crunchy or creamy. You can also substitute with cashew or almond butter.
- Pure vanilla extract: This key ingredient is used in both mug cake recipes, as it brings out the sweetness in the chocolate mug cake and adds vanilla flavor to the vanilla vegan mug cake. You can also use almond extract for a different flavor.
- Olive oil: Used for moisture. You can also use any type of vegetable oil or coconut oil.
- Almond milk: This ingredient is the key to making a dairy free mug cake! Homemade or store bought almond milk is fine. In place of almond milk, you can use soy milk, coconut milk, oat milk, or any type of non-dairy milk.
🍽 Equipment
- Spoon
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Microwave-Safe Mug or Small Ramekin
📖 Variations
- Banana Bread Mug Cake: In the vanilla version, use 1/2 a mashed banana instead of the peanut butter. Add 1 tablespoon of chopped walnuts in the batter and add a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter before stirring and baking!
- Funfetti Mug Cake: Instead of the peanut butter in the vanilla cake recipe, use 1 tablespoon of rainbow sprinkles!
- Sugar Free Mug Cake: You can either just use less sugar to make these mug cakes healthier, or omit the sugar and replace it with stevia or monk fruit to make this sugar free!
- Snickerdoodle Mug Cake: From the vanilla version – omit the peanut butter and add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Create that snickerdoodle topping by combining sugar & cinnamon in equal parts and sprinkling it over your mug cake before microwaving it.
- Gluten Free Mug Cake: Use a GF (gluten-free) flour, I like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Flour. You can also make this vegan mug cake with almond flour or oat flour.

🔪 Instructions
Mix Dry Ingredients: Add the all purpose flour and other dry ingredients to your greased mug. Mix to combine.

Add Wet Ingredients: Next, add the wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Add a Filling: For the chocolatey vegan mug cake, add chocolate chips into the batter. For the vanilla mug cake, add peanut butter into the center of the batter.

Cook the Cake: Cook the cake in the microwave for 60 seconds.

Serve: The best part about this recipe is eating this single serving cake warm!

❓Recipe FAQs
Vegan mug cake is seriously cake just cooked in a coffee mug in the microwave! It’s the perfect option for a single-serving or a quick dessert.
Yes! The mug cakes are definitely safe to eat. Just make sure to test the inside with your tongue so it’s not too hot when you eat it! You will love the delicious flavors these cakes have to offer!
While technically, you can eat them hot or cold, the cakes don’t really taste good cold. I recommend eating them warm, fresh out of the microwave.
There are three tips I recommend for getting a perfect cake every time in the microwave:
1) Make sure your microwave is on high power. It should be at 800W.
2) You need at least an 10oz coffee mug. If it’s smaller than that, your mug cake will overflow, larger than that, and your mug cake may be dry if you don’t decrease the cooking time.
3) Depending on how powerful your microwave is, you may need to cook your mug cake longer (if it’s lower power, you’ll need a longer cook time). Cook your mug cake in 10 second increments after the 60 second mark until it’s moist, fluffy and not runny anymore.
👪 How to Serve
- Fruit: I like using any fresh fruits, diced as a garnish on top. Strawberries and raspberries are especially delicious! A dusting of powdered sugar over the fresh fruit makes this mug cake recipe a little fancier too!
- Ice Cream: Choose your favorite ice cream! Mine is vegan vanilla ice cream for the chocolate cake, and toffee ice cream for the vanilla cake. Add a drizzle of caramel and some whipped coconut cream for even more decadence!
- Nut Butters: Peanut butter, almond butter or even sunflower butter would all taste great drizzled on top.
- Frosting: Use some vegan frosting or make your own at home! That turns these into little cupcakes!
- Yogurt: I love coconut yogurt, but any dairy free yogurt will work drizzled over top, with a sprinkle of granola.
- Other Toppings: A handful of vegan sprinkles, extra chocolate chips, a little bit of chopped nuts, or chocolate syrup all taste great on top!
💭 Expert Tips
- We do not recommend storing this mug cake recipe for later. After a few hours, the cake becomes stale. Make sure you enjoy this mug cake when it is fresh!
- If you don’t have access to a microwave, you can also bake this mug cake in the oven. Use an oven proof ramekin, and follow the same instructions as if you were using a mug. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
- For best results, enjoy warm.

🧁 More Sweet Treats and Healthy Desserts!
- Bundt Cake Recipe
- Biscoff Mug Cake
- Protein Powder Mug Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cupcakes
- Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Gluten-Free Three Milk Cake
- 30 Low Sugar Desserts
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Vegan Mug Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Chocolate Mug Cake
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour oat flour or almond flour for a gluten free version
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon dairy free chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons almond milk
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or other vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- olive oil cooking spray
Vanilla and Peanut Butter Mug Cake
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour oat flour or almond flour for a gluten free version
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons almond milk
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or other vegetable oil
- olive oil cooking spray
Instructions
- Spray your mug with cooking spray. Add the dry ingredients to the mug, mix until combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the mug and stir to combine. Make sure to break up any lumps.
- Once the batter is smooth in the mug, add a tablespoon of chocolate chips or peanut butter to the center of the batter (the cake will rise around some of the peanut butter and chocolate chips leaving some in the middle and some on top!)
- Cook in the microwave for 60 seconds. Be careful not to overcook it or it will end up dry.
- Enjoy warm!
Notes
- We do not recommend storing this mug cake recipe for later. After a few hours, the cake becomes stale. Make sure you enjoy this mug cake when it is fresh!
- If you don’t have access to a microwave, you can also bake this mug cake in the oven. Use an oven proof ramekin, and follow the same instructions as if you were using a mug. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
- For best results, enjoy warm.
What a tasty recipe this mug cake is! I made both: both are amazingly delicious. It is hard to choose which one is tastier. 🙂
Yay!! So happy to hear that Irina!
This looks divine and is incredibly simple. I have all the ingredients at home, I’m definitively trying my first cake in the microwave dessert. Thanks for this recipe.
Thanks so much!! You will love it!
Mmmmmm! Those look good! I do love a mug cake.
Thanks Jacqueline! Enjoy!
Gosh this chocolate mug cake looks amazing! Going to try this for the kids supper later this evening. They will be so surprised 🙂
Your kids will love this recipe!! 🙂
You can’t beat a mug cake for a quick chocolate fix and this vegan version looks delicious.
I know right?? One of my favorite easy desserts for sure!
Love this recipe, it’s so quick and tasty!
So glad you liked it Jack!