Eggless red velvet bundt cake is a soft, moist, velvety cake with that signature mild-cocoa flavor, a gentle buttermilk tang, and a striking red crumb — all baked in one showstopping bundt, no eggs required. The lift and tenderness come from buttermilk and baking soda, not eggs or any replacer. After 13+ years of baking egg-free, this is the cake I reach for when I want a celebration centerpiece everyone at the table can enjoy. Crown it with cream cheese frosting, and it’s pure holiday magic.
Oriana’s Thoughts On The Recipe
If there’s one thing my son loves more than anything in the whole world, it’s red velvet — so this bundt has been on repeat in my kitchen for years. I especially reach for it on the days I don’t feel like frosting and stacking layers or piping (I’ll be honest, piping is not my strong suit!). A bundt is beautiful just as it is — one gorgeous cake, no crumb-coating required — and it’s completely delicious, with that soft, velvety crumb and mild cocoa-buttermilk flavor. It also feeds a small crowd, which makes it my go-to for celebrations and holidays. After more than a decade of egg-free baking, this is the one I trust to look and taste like a bakery cake every single time.
Give it a try, and if it becomes your celebration cake the way it’s become mine, come back and leave a star rating below — it truly helps other allergy families find it.
If you’re a red velvet fanatic, like I am, you must try my Eggless Red Velvet Layer Cake recipe, eggless red velvet cupcakes, and eggless red velvet cake brownies.
Why You’ll Want to Try My Recipe
- Soft, moist, and velvety — with a fine, tender crumb
- Classic mild-cocoa flavor and gentle buttermilk tang
- Made egg-free by design — no eggs, no replacers, no compromise
- One striking bundt: no layering or crumb-coating required
- Perfect for holidays, birthdays, Valentine’s, and celebrations
- Freezes well, so you can bake ahead for a busy season
- Egg-free by design and tested by a real allergy mom in a real family kitchen
What Makes It Red Velvet — and How It Works Without Eggs
Red velvet isn’t just chocolate cake with food coloring. It has its own flavor: a mild cocoa note, a soft tang from buttermilk, and a little vanilla warmth, all in a tender, velvety crumb. Traditionally, that reddish tint came from a reaction between natural cocoa, buttermilk, and vinegar — today we get the bold red from a little gel food coloring.
So how does it work without eggs? Here’s the whole trick:
- Buttermilk brings the tang and the acidity — and that acid reacts with the baking soda to give the cake its rise, doing the job eggs would otherwise help with.
- Natural (not Dutch-process) cocoa is slightly acidic too, which keeps that leavening reaction working the way it should.
- Butter, oil, and yogurt together keep the crumb rich, moist, and tender without a single egg.
No flax eggs, no aquafaba, no guessing — just familiar ingredients working together the way they’re supposed to.
What makes red velvet cake red velvet?
Red velvet cake is defined by its flavor and texture, not just its color: a mild cocoa taste, a soft tang from buttermilk, and a tender, velvety crumb. The signature red once came from a natural reaction between cocoa, buttermilk, and vinegar; today it comes from a little gel food coloring.
How do you make red velvet cake without eggs?
You make red velvet cake without eggs by using buttermilk and baking soda for the rise — the acid in the buttermilk reacts with the soda to lift the cake, no eggs or replacer needed. Butter, oil, and yogurt keep the crumb moist and tender, so it bakes up soft and velvety every time.
Does red velvet cake taste like chocolate?
Not exactly. Red velvet has only a small amount of cocoa, so it’s much milder than a chocolate cake. What sets it apart is the tangy buttermilk and vanilla, which give it a soft, distinctive flavor that pairs perfectly with cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
Amounts are included in the printable recipe below (scroll down).
- Flour: Standard all-purpose flour works best here; skip the cake flour, bread flour, and wheat flour. Make sure to measure accurately; a kitchen scale is the best way to measure your ingredients, in my opinion.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Make sure they’re not expired or too old. To avoid a chemical aftertaste, use baking powder that is labeled aluminum-free. I usually use the Clabber Girl brand, and though the ingredients state aluminum, I’ve never noticed an aluminum aftertaste.
- Natural cocoa powder: Reach for natural (like Hershey’s or Ghirardelli), not Dutch-process. It’s slightly acidic, which keeps the leavening reaction working — important in egg-free baking.
- Salt: I prefer kosher or sea salt. If you only have table salt handy, I recommend reducing the amount to half.
- Butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter handy, you can use it. In this case, skip the salt called for in the recipe. You can also use salted butter if that is what you have handy. In that case, skip the salt called for in the recipe.
- Sugar: Regular white granulated sugar or caster sugar. I do not recommend reducing the amount of sugar or changing the type of sugar, as it will change the texture of the cake.
- Oil: Vegetable or canola oil, or any light-tasting oil of your preference.
- Regular Plain Yogurt: You can substitute plain regular yogurt for sour cream. I recommend using the full-fat versions.
- Buttermilk: This is the heart of the recipe — its tang is classic red velvet, and its acidity reacts with the baking soda to give the cake its rise. No buttermilk on hand? Stir 1 tablespoon of vinegar (apple cider or white) into 1 cup of milk, let it sit 5–10 minutes until slightly curdled, and use that.
- Vanilla Extract: For optimal flavor, reach for pure vanilla instead of imitation. Even better, try homemade vanilla extract! If you are looking for non-alcoholic vanilla flavoring, I recommend Simply Organic Vanilla Flavoring.
- Gel or paste red food coloring: Use gel or paste, not liquid — it’s far more concentrated, so you get a bold red without thinning the batter. This is the brand I use > Food Coloring.
Food Allergy Swaps
This recipe is naturally egg, nut, peanut, and sesame-free, making it suitable for most dietary needs. However, always check labels for hidden allergens.
- Dairy-Free: To make this recipe dairy-free, you can easily swap out the dairy ingredients for non-dairy alternatives.
- Butter: Substitute butter with dairy-free butter substitutes. Miyoko’s Creamery Organic Vegan Butter and Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks are my favorite butter substitutes for baking.
- Buttermilk: Make a homemade buttermilk substitute by mixing 1 cup of non-dairy milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and letting it sit for a few minutes until it curdles.
- Yogurt: Use your favorite brand of plain, unsweetened non-dairy yogurt.
- Gluten-Free: Use a gluten-free, all-purpose flour blend. Look for a gluten-free flour blend specifically formulated for baking, as it will have the right combination of flours and starches to mimic the texture of wheat flour. My favorite is Better Batter Original Blend. I also like Doves Farm Freee Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, but this blend does not contain xanthan gum, so you need to add 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup (140 g) of gluten-free flour blend.
Step-by-Step Recipe Photo Tutorial
The general instructions for the cake part are fairly simple. For complete instructions, scroll down for the full recipe.
- Sift The Dry Ingredients into A Large Bowl
- Cream the Butter and Sugar
- Add The Other Wet Ingredients And Beat Some More
- Combine The Dry Ingredients and Wet Ingredients
- Add Food Coloring
- Transfer The Cake Batter To The Prepared Pan
- Bake
- Decorate
Depending on your personal taste, you can add more or less frosting or no frosting at all. As you can see, I added a lot of frosting; after all, what is a cake without frosting, right? I used my go-to recipe for cream cheese frosting! I applied the frosting with a spatula and then added some red velvet crumbs on top.
Recipe Tips
- Grease the bundt pan like you mean it. This is the #1 reason a bundt sticks. Spray every ridge with a baking spray that contains flour (or butter-and-flour it thoroughly) so the cake releases cleanly.
- Use gel food coloring, not liquid. You’ll get a deeper red with less, and you won’t throw off the batter’s moisture.
- Cream the butter and sugar a full 4–5 minutes. That’s where your lift comes from in an egg-free cake — you want it pale and fluffy.
- Don’t overmix once the flour goes in. Mix just until combined; overmixing builds gluten and gives you a dense, tough crumb.
- Let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn it out. Too soon and it can tear; too long and it can stick. Twenty minutes is the sweet spot.
- Cool completely before frosting. Warm cake melts cream cheese frosting right off.
Storing & Freezing Instructions
Store: Well-wrapped at room temperature up to 3–4 days, or refrigerated up to 5 days.
Freeze: Cool completely, wrap in several layers of plastic wrap plus foil, and freeze up to 1 month. Defrost at room temperature before frosting.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to make egg-free red velvet cake in round cake pans, I recommend following my Eggless Red Velvet Cake recipe.
If you want to make egg-free red velvet cake cupcakes, I recommend following my Easy Eggless Red Velvet Cupcakes recipe.
Yes, you can! But keep in mind that the flavor will change since butter adds an incredible amount of flavor to cakes.
Absolutely! Check out my recipe for an Easy Homemade Buttermilk Substitute [Video].
Traditionally, the red tint came from a natural reaction between cocoa, buttermilk, and vinegar. Today, most red velvet — including this one — gets its bold color from a little gel or paste food coloring, which gives a deep red without thinning the batter.
Only a little. Red velvet uses a small amount of cocoa, so it’s much milder than chocolate cake. The buttermilk tang and vanilla are what make it taste like red velvet, not just chocolate.
You can experiment with a natural option like beet powder, but I haven’t tested this recipe that way, so I can’t promise the same bold red or exact texture — natural colors are more muted and can shift when baked. If a bright, classic red is the goal, gel food coloring is the most reliable.
Almost always under-greasing. Spray or butter-and-flour every ridge of the pan, and let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes before turning it out — too soon or too late are the other two common culprits.
Yes. Bake and cool the cake, then wrap it well and keep at room temperature overnight, or freeze it (unfrosted) up to 1 month. Frost the day you’re serving for the freshest look and flavor.
Building an Egg-Free Celebration Table? Add These!
Recipe Card
Eggless Red Velvet Bundt Cake
Equipment
Important
• For best results, I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (420 g) all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons (30 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) vegetable or canola oil
- 1/2 cup (120 g) regular plain yogurt
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
- 2 – 3 teaspoons paste or gel red food coloring
To Decorate (optional):
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F (180º C). Generously spray a 12-cup, nonstick Bundt pan with baking spray with flour.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl.
- Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy and pale on medium-high speed, about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Then add the oil and beat for 2 more minutes. Add yogurt and vanilla; continue beating to combine, about 1 minute.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture; beat until just combined, about 30 – 45 seconds. Do not overmix. Beat in your desired amount of food coloring just until combined. I use 2 teaspoons of gel food coloring.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove from the pan. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack before icing or slicing.
- Frost with cream cheese frosting
, if desired. NOTE: Besides the frosting, I also cut the bottom of the cake a little and crumbled the scraps, and sprinkled them on top.
- Dairy-Free: To make this recipe dairy-free, you can easily swap out the dairy ingredients for non-dairy alternatives.
- Butter: Substitute butter with dairy-free butter substitutes. Miyoko’s Creamery Organic Vegan Butter and Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks are my favorite butter substitutes for baking.
- Buttermilk: Make a homemade buttermilk substitute by mixing 1 cup of non-dairy milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and letting it sit for a few minutes until it curdles.
- Yogurt: Use your favorite brand of plain, unsweetened non-dairy yogurt.
- Gluten-Free: Use a gluten-free, all-purpose flour blend. Look for a gluten-free flour blend specifically formulated for baking, as it will have the right combination of flours and starches to mimic the texture of wheat flour. My favorite is Better Batter Original Blend. I also like Doves Farm Freee Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, but this blend does not contain xanthan gum, so you need to add 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup (140 g) of gluten-free flour blend.
- Grease the bundt pan like you mean it. This is the #1 reason a bundt sticks. Spray every ridge with a baking spray that contains flour (or butter-and-flour it thoroughly) so the cake releases cleanly.
- Use gel food coloring, not liquid. You’ll get a deeper red with less, and you won’t throw off the batter’s moisture.
- Cream the butter and sugar a full 4–5 minutes. That’s where your lift comes from in an egg-free cake — you want it pale and fluffy.
- Don’t overmix once the flour goes in. Mix just until combined; overmixing builds gluten and gives you a dense, tough crumb.
- Let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn it out. Too soon and it can tear; too long and it can stick. Twenty minutes is the sweet spot.
- Cool completely before frosting. Warm cake melts cream cheese frosting right off.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Eggless Baking Frequently Asked Questions
You’ve asked, and I’ve answered! Read on for a handful of answers to the most frequently asked questions about eggless baking.
More Egg-Free Red Velvet Recipes You’ll Love!
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- Easy Eggless Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Eggless Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
- Eggless Red Velvet Cheesecake
- Easy Eggless Red Velvet Donuts
- Eggless Red Velvet Brownies
- Eggless Red Velvet Cookies
- Browse more recipes…
Recipe Changelog:
- Originally posted in February 2021.
- Update: The post was edited in November 2022 to add more helpful information, with no changes to the recipe.
- Update: The post was updated again in August 2026 to add more helpful information, with no changes to the recipe.
I have a question regrding the eggless red velvet bundt cake, in the ingredients list there is no mention of vinegar or how much to use? But when i looked at the picture of the ingredients it says yougurt + vinegar, so is the vinegar part of the ingredients and how much we need to add.
Thanks for your recpies, i have tried the eggless orange cake one, vanilla one and couple others too. Looking forward to trying this one too. Just need you to clarify of the vinegar.
One other question is i baked the eggless vanilla cake last time, it had risen perfectly , was nicely cooked and done . but when i got it out of the oven it sank down wasnt fluffy looking ans seemed hard once cooled. why is that?
Thanks, Apinder
Hi Apinder, I’m so glad the orange and vanilla cakes have been winners in your kitchen — thank you for baking along with me!
Let me clear up the vinegar: the Red Velvet Bundt Cake as written in the recipe card uses buttermilk (1 cup) as its acid, so there’s no separate vinegar added to the batter itself. The reason you spotted “vinegar” is that buttermilk can be made from scratch when you don’t have it on hand — just stir 1 tablespoon of vinegar (apple cider or white) into 1 cup of milk, let it sit about 5–10 minutes until it looks slightly curdled, and use that in place of the buttermilk. So the vinegar only comes into play if you’re making your own buttermilk.
As for your vanilla cake sinking and turning hard once it cooled — that usually points to one of two things: the very center being just a touch underbaked (it can look done at the edges but still needs a few more minutes in the middle, then it sinks as it cools), or the batter being overmixed once the flour goes in, which builds gluten and makes the crumb dense and hard. Next time, bake until a toothpick in the center comes out clean, keep the oven door closed until the minimum time, and mix just until the flour disappears — I think that’ll get you the soft, fluffy crumb you’re after. Let me know how it goes!
Tried and Tested , everyone loved it. Amazing cake
Thanks for sharing.
Hello Komal! It sounds like you nailed it! Thanks so much for trying my recipe and taking the time to come back and let me know.
Hello, I just wanted to clarify, the recipe says to sift the sugar with the flour and also to beat the sugar and butter.
I sifted the sugar already and then realised.
Hello SM! I apologize for the confusion. The sugar must be creamed with the butter. Thanks so much for the heads-up and your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it =)
How would you say this compared to your red velvet layered cake in taste and texture? I made the 2 layer one last week and it was a huge it, wondering if I should switch it up next time or stick with what worked.
Hello Sandra! This bundt cake has a tighter crumb. Both are delicious! Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it =)
I just made the Eggless Red Velvet Bundt Cake with the cream cheese frosting. It was absolutely delicious! I can’t believe the perfect texture. My family loved it. I followed the recipe and directions 100%. I’m not a natural cook so appreciate all the helpful notes.
So excited to have this recipe. My son is allergic to eggs so always struggling to find baked goods for him. Thank you so much!
Hello Sally! I am thrilled that my recipes help you bear a little the inconveniences that egg allergy brings to our day-to-day life. Please make sure to reach out if you have any questions or specific recipe requests. Thanks so much for trying my recipe and taking the time to come back and let me know. xo