Last Updated on July 14, 2021 by laurenpacek
These Beet Red Velvet Cupcakes are moist and a little chocolatey, just like any good red velvet cupcake should be. AND they're 100% food coloring-free! Their gorgeous red hue comes from the addition of cooked beets. But don't worry - you can't taste the beets!
I have to get this out of the way: I am generally not a big fan of red velvet. I know, I know.
Sure it's really pretty, and is super moist. But it's this like, vaguely chocolatey cake that's usually made with a TON of food coloring. What gives?
There's even a scene about it on an old season of Orange is the New Black. Remember?
Red velvet IS bullshit. EXCEPT when it's made without a ton of food coloring. Like these cupcakes right here.
Plus beets are the best. I love them in a way that if they weren't a vegetable would maybe be considered unhealthy.
Check out these beet-heavy salads!
Though it may seem a little daunting, these cupcakes are actually very easy to make. Microwave some beets, chop 'em up, and toss 'em in a blender/food processor. Blitz them with wet ingredients, add them to the dry, and mix. Bake. Frost. Voila!
The red/white color combo makes these cupcakes an easy choice for Valentine's Day or Christmas. But make them whenever you're in the mood for a pretty, sweet treat!
The cupcake recipe comes from the good folks over at Southern Living. The cream cheese frosting recipe comes from Sugar Spun Run.
Beet Red Velvet Cupcakes
These Beet Red Velvet Cupcakes are moist and a little chocolatey, just like any good red velvet cupcake should be. AND they're 100% food coloring-free! Their gorgeous red hue comes from the addition of cooked beets. But don't worry - you can't taste the beets!
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 10 oz (by weight) fresh red beets, peeled
- 1 lemon, juiced
- ¾ cup canola or vegetable oil
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 4 eggs
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder, see note
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
For the cream cheese frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 16 tbs unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
To make the cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners. Set aside.
- Wrap the beets in parchment paper. Microwave on high until they are tender (about 8 to 10 minutes). Allow the beets to cool, still wrapped in the paper, until they are just warm to the touch.
- Coarsely chop the beets. Add them, along with the lemon juice, to a food processor. Process until they are finely chopped. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the oil and buttermilk and process until smooth. Add the eggs and process until completely combined.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add the beet mixture, and whisk until just combined.
- Using an ice-cream scoop, fill the prepared cupcake liners two-thirds full with batter.
- Bake 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pans on wire racks for about 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pans to the racks, and allow them to cool completely.
To make the frosting
- Combine the softened cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until creamy and well-combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and kosher salt. Beat again until combined.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar on low speed until it is completely combined. Beat on medium-high speed for a few minutes to really whip things up.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes.
Notes
Notes: Do not use dark cocoa powder. It will really mask the red color that the beets impart.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 356Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 206mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 1gSugar: 33gProtein: 4g
If you're looking for more baked goods for Valentine's Day, I got you. Try these Double Chocolate M&M Cookies and Triple Chocolate Raspberry Brownies?
If cocktails are more your thing, see these Blood Orange Bourbon Sours!
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Always a favorite for Valentines day!! Love red velvet
i am loving how you used beets here for the coloring! and yes, beets are delicious too 🙂 These cupcakes sound just incredible - i'm a sucker for buttermilk in my baked goods.
I love how colorful the beets made them! Yum.
I love beets and this idea of using them for the the color of your red velvet cupcakes. Such a great idea!
I love that there's no food coloring in these cupcakes! Beets are so wonderful for all kinds of things! Great recipe!
Might it work to substitute with drained canned beets? And if so, would the beets need to be further cooked or merely chopped and puréed as directed? I have a couple cans on hand and a request for red velvet cake to celebrate a birthday! I've used beet juice as a dye in craft projects, but it never occurred to me to dye food with it. Doh!
Ooo a good question! I've never tried to make these with canned beets, but I don't see why it wouldn't work! I don't think that they would need to be cooked any further (they come fully cooked in the can, right?). If you try this, please let me know how it works out!
I made this cake tonight and it turned out great! The color is definitely not as bright red as a cake with food coloring; it's more of a rust color but it taste good. The beet flavor is not present (maybe a tiny hint but the chocolate over powers it after the 2nd bite) . i was trying to make this with a traditional Ermine frosting but that didn't turn out so great but this cream cheese frosting was old faithful to the rescue.
So glad that you liked it!! Yeah, the color isn't *quite* as vibrant, but it beats using tons of food coloring (imho).
Unfortunately these taste a lot like beets. They're super moist and tasty (but only if you dont mind he taste of beets!)
Is there a way to fix this?
More cream cheese frosting? Sorry I can't be of more help. I didn't find them to be particularly beet-y. Regardless, I'm glad that you found them to be tasty!
Would you add any thing extra to make this gluten free?!
Hi Jess! I'm not an expert in gluten free baking, so please take this advice with a grain of salt. One thing that I'd definitely do is swap out the all-purpose flour for a gluten free 1-1 baking flour. Beyond that, I'm not sure what other ingredients may have gluten hidden in them.
Can I use whole milk instead of buttermilk?
Sure! You can also make your own buttermilk substitute, if you're so inclined (1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice plus enough milk to measure 1 cup).
Hi, is there a reason you use Kosher salt instead of regular table salt? Wondering if I need to go buy Kosher salt or just sub out for something else.
Hi, Heidi! Great question. Part of it is personal preference. I just happen to love kosher salt. Sometimes I feel like regular table salt is *too* salty, if that makes any sense. But don't feel like you have to rush out and buy kosher salt if you haver regular old table salt on hand. It will work just fine, especially given that there's a pretty small quantity of salt in these cupcakes =) I hope you love them!
Would I be able to substitute the oil in the recipe for butter? Just curious as I prefer butter over oil 🙂
Hi Maegen! You know, I tend to prefer butter to oil as well, so I hear you. But I've never tried to do that in this recipe. If you do try it (do it at your own risk, hah 😉 ), please let me know how it comes out!
They were perfect, approved by both the teenager & husband. Did not taste the beet at all. They were nice and moist. Only thing: they didn’t turn out red, more chocolate brown. But that’s perfectly fine, because they were super tasty.
So glad that y'all liked them!! <3
I made this recipe and used one beet because I couldn't figure out how much is 10 oz. It worked and turned out great. I slapped some cream cheese frosting on it.
Glad it turned out for you!! Gotta love that cream cheese frosting, too.
Thanks for posting this, I'm having problems with the 10 oz thing, I thought it meant 10 oz, which is what 1 cup and a bit, of pureed beets. Did you measure after you pureed?
Hey there! This is a very good question. Thanks so much for asking it. I meant 10 oz by weight. I'll update the post to reflect this.