Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes — Perfect for your 4th of July, Labor Day, or Memorial Day festivities! These EASY NO-MIXER festive cupcakes topped with buttercream frosting are moist, springy, fluffy, and sure to be a crowd FAVORITE!
Patriotic Cupcakes for the 4th of July
These homemade red, white, and blue cupcakes cupcakes are absolutely perfect for Flag Day, 4th of July, Memorial Day, or Labor day.
For this easy cupcake recipe, I used my Homemade Funfetti-Inspired Cake recipe, which has been a reader favorite since 2014. I’ve made many other cakes with that base including a Lemon Buttermilk Cake, Blueberry Muffin Cake, Cream Cheese-Swirled Mixed Berries Cake, Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Cake, and many more.
I love the base recipe because it’s fast, easy to make, and the cakes always turn out supremely moist, springy, and fluffy thanks to buttermilk, sour cream, and oil. That trifecta of moisturizing and tenderizing ingredients makes it impossible to have dry cake or cupcakes!
Red, white, and blue jimmies give the cupcakes a patriotic look and are both mixed into the cupcake batter and then sprinkled on top of the homemade buttercream frosting.
Ingredients in the 4th of July Cupcakes
To make the patriotic cupcakes from scratch, you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Egg
- Buttermilk
- Sour cream
- Vegetable or canola oil
- Vanilla extract
- Sprinkles
And for the homemade buttercream frosting, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Confectioners’ sugar
- More sprinkles!
How to Make July 4th Cupcakes
I adore that this is a no-mixer cupcake recipe with no butter to cream. Makes things very fast and easy!
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another, then combine the two.
- Gently stir in the sprinkles.
- Turn the batter into a greased 12-count cupcake pan and bake until the center is set and not jiggly, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting them.
Tip: In addition to July 4th, you can also make these cupcakes for Memorial Day and Labor Day!
How to Make Frosting for Cupcakes
The homemade buttercream frosting is as simple to make as whipping together butter, vanilla, a pinch of salt, confectioners’ sugar, and splash of milk until light and fluffy.
I then piped the frosting with a 1M Wilton Tip with a coupler and piping bag. The patriotic jimmies are the perfect finishing touch to give the cupcakes a real patriotic look.
Tip: In lieu of piping the frosting, you could dollop it on with a spoon and then add jimmies. Although it may not look quite as neat and tidy, it certainly will get the job done if you’re in a rush or don’t want to deal with a piping bag!
Can This Recipe Be Used to Make a Cake?
Yes, absolutely! As mentioned above, my Homemade Funfetti-Inspired Cake is what inspired these cupcakes. The recipe makes a tall 8×8-inch cake.
Make a half batch of the frosting that I list in the recipe card for these patriotic cupcakes since cakes don’t typically require as much frosting since you’re not piping it.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Yes you absolutely can. It will make 24 cupcakes or two 8-inch cakes or one 9×13-inch cake.
Note that the baking time will differ based on the pan size you use. Cupcakes bake for about 18-20 minutes whereas the cakes bake for about 25-30 minutes.
Do I Have to Use Buttermilk?
The answer is yes, using real buttermilk is your best bet.
Theoretically, you could make a buttermilk substitute in a couple of minutes. You can also use powdered buttermilk, which has a long shelf life and can come in handy for recipes like these cupcakes for the 4th of July.
Can I Color the Frosting?
Yes! You can divide the frosting into thirds, then color one part red, one part blue, and leave the final part as is (white).
Either pipe each cupcake with a single color of frosting, or swirl the colors together in a piping bag to create red, white, and blue cupcake frosting.
I recommend using gel food coloring, as liquid food coloring may make the frosting watery.
Adapting These Cupcakes for Other Holidays
The beauty of this very versatile no-mixer cupcake batter is that as mentioned, it can be made as cakes — fruity, sprinkled, or plain — as well as cupcakes.
You can change the color of the sprinkles for various holidays and seasons. The obvious sprinkle choices include:
- Red and green sprinkles for Christmas
- Black and orange for Halloween
- Red, orange, and yellow for the fall and Thanksgiving
- Red, pink, and white for Valentine’s
- Pastels for Easter and Mother’s Day
- Royal blue or another bold choice for Father’s Day
How to Store Frosted Cupcakes
The July 4th cupcakes will keep airtight at room temperature for 4 to 5 days.
I’m comfortable storing frosted cakes and cupcakes at room temp, but if you’re not or it’s quite warm in your climate and the frosting could melt at room temp, store them in the fridge.
Or, unfrosted cupcakes will in the freezer for 4 to 6 months.
Tips for the Best Red, White, & Blue Cupcakes
If you’re concerned with the sprinkles or jimmies bleeding into the batter, I recommend being very gentle when stirring them in. If you overmix the batter after adding the sprinkles, it may change color.
The jimmies I used were completely fine but brands vary with how much they bleed.
If you’re in a time crunch, you don’t necessarily need to make scratch buttercream frosting. You can cheat and use a tub of store bought buttercream frosting.
However, since you’re making a scratch cake, making scratch frosting is the way I would do things. It only takes a couple minutes to whip together. I would spoon it on rather than pipe it if you’re trying to save time.
Note that you must let the red, white, and blue cupcakes cool completely before frosting them otherwise you’ll wind up with melting frosting running everywhere.
Pin This Recipe
Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes
Perfect for your 4th of July, Labor Day, or Memorial Day festivities! These EASY NO-MIXER festive cupcakes topped with buttercream frosting are moist, springy, fluffy, and sure to be a crowd FAVORITE!
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup sour cream, lite is okay (plain Greek yogurt may be substituted)
- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup jimmies or flat sprinkles, or to taste
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons milk (whole or 2% preferred)
- 2 to 3 teaspoons vanilla extract, or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste (helps offset the sweetness)
- 3 1/2 to 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup jimmies or flat sprinkles, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-count cupcake pan with liners; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt; set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, sour cream, oil, and vanilla.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing lightly with a spoon or folding with a spatula until just combined. Small lumps will be present, don’t overmix or try to stir them smooth or your cupcakes will turn out tougher.
- Very gently stir in the patriotic jimmies or flat sprinkles, taking care not to overmix or they could bleed.
- Turn the batter out into prepared pan and bake for about 18 to 20 (start checking at 16 minutes), or until the centers are set and not jiggly, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Place pan on a wire rack and allow the cupcakes to cool for about 10 minutes or until they are cool enough to remove from the pan; set them aside. While cupcakes cool, make the frosting.
- To a large bowl, add the butter, milk, vanilla, optional salt, and beat together until smooth and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar while beating with a handheld electric mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- You can simply spoon the frosting onto the cupcakes but I prefer to pipe it on using a Wilton 1M star tip, coupler, and piping bag. Additionally, you can use store bought buttercream frosting in a tub if you don't want to make homemade frosting. You'll likely need two tubs.
- After the cupcakes have been frosted, top with patriotic jimmies or flat sprinkles.* (See Notes)
Cupcakes
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Notes
*You can change the color of the sprinkles for various holidays and seasons.
The obvious sprinkle choices include:
- Red and green sprinkles for Christmas
- Black and orange for Halloween
- Red, orange, and yellow for the fall and Thanksgiving
- Red, pink, and white for Valentine's
- Pastels for Easter and Mother's Day
- Royal blue or another bold choice for Father's Day
Storage: Cupcakes will keep airtight at room temperature for 4 to 5 days. I’m comfortable storing frosted cakes and cupcakes at room temp because the sugar helps preserve the frosting, but if you’re not, or it’s quite warm in your climate and the frosting could melt at room temp, store them in the fridge. Or, unfrosted cupcakes will in the freezer for 4 to 6 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 871Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 181mgCarbohydrates: 161gFiber: 0gSugar: 147gProtein: 2g
** Please note that nutrition information is provided as a courtesy only and while I would never say these cupcakes are healthy, I also don't believe that each frosted cupcake has 871 calories since some of the frosting will obviously be lost to the piping bag and you may not use quite as much confectioners' sugar, jimmies, etc. but the computer-generated program takes into account the maximum values.
Favorite Patriotic Desserts:
Red, White, and Blue Star Cookies – Get patriotic with these SOFT, chewy, frosted star cookies that are loaded with SPRINKLES!! No rolling pin required! They’re a holiday WINNER!!
Chocolate Truffle Red Velvet Cupcakes – Tender fluffy red velvet cupcakes stuffed with chocolate truffles and topped with sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting! Color half the frosting blue and pipe in white and blue swirls to make 4th of July appropriate.
Chocolate Chip Red Velvet Cookies — These chocolate chip red velvet cookies have a secret ingredient — cake mix! These cookies are super ooey gooey and ultra rich!
Blueberry Pie Bars — These pie bars are one of my all-time favorite frozen blueberry recipes! They have the flavors you love in a blueberry pie, but you don’t have to mess around with homemade pie crust.
Red Velvet Poke Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting — If you like red velvet, you’re going to LOVE this EASY red velvet cake recipe!! Super soft, moist, topped with luscious cream cheese frosting. Top with red, white, and blue sprinkles instead of chocolate chips for a patriotic twist!
Do I need to use the sprinkles .. I would prefer to make white cup cakes with colored icing
You can omit them, no problem.
I made this on my daughter’s birthday and she really loves it <3. Thanks for sharing it :D