Fools are those who don’t try new foods because of fear. FOOLS I tell ya! Next time I made these flourless ‘red velvet’ beet mini muffins I’m not telling my husband there are beets in ’em. Of that they’re paleo. Guarantee he’d never ever ever know.
YOU GUYS these are so fudgy and seriously edible. I say edible because I truly believe in my heart there is a huge stigma against veggies in baked goods. It’s a crisis situation. And I’m on a mission in life to be a crisis solver and get every person on the planet to eat some yummy desserts with hidden veggies. It’s ambitious, I know. But lofty goals are meant to be met. And beets are meant to go with chocolate. The end.
Ok I can’t just leave you on that note. I’ll say this: just make these, don’t tell ANYONE the beautiful dark maroon color is from beets, and watch in amazement when your kids, your hubs, your friends aaaaall love them. THEN tell them they are made with beets. Watch jaws drop, then mic drop and moonwalk out of the room. BOOM.
Gluten free? No problem. These babies are flourless – combining pureed beets, cocoa powder, and cashew butter together with a few eggs.
Paleo? Cool. These are sweetened with a perfect combination of cocoa powder and pure maple syrup, with a few dairy-free mini chocolate chips (if strict paleo) or dark chocolate chunks (if primal).
Scared? Suck it up buttercup. Just try a teeny tiny bite, I promise you’ll be sold (and you won’t taste the beets).
Baking impaired? Seriously you can’t screw these up. I combined all the ingredients in my blender, poured into the mini muffin molds, baked. THAT.IS.IT.
As a proud supporter of red velvet cake/cupcakes/muffins/ice cream/cake pops/trifles, naturally making a beet treat inspired by my deep love of the deep red was a no brainer. These flourless ‘red velvet’ beet mini muffins ARE velvety, much like their namesake. Plus the little baby chocolate chips sprinkled in the batter and on top just add even more deep chocolate flavor to this indulgent cocoa cake.
Don’t be a foodie scaredy cat. These flourless ‘red velvet’ beet mini muffins are totally worth stepping out of your traditional muffin comfort zone.
PrintFlourless ‘Red Velvet’ Beet Mini Muffins
- Yield: 20-24 mini muffins 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup pureed beets (about 2 cooked beets)
- 1/2 cup creamy cashew butter
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/8 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup dairy free or dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Peel the beets and cut in half, then boil for 30 minutes or until soft. OR purchase precooked beets and omit the boiling
- Place the softened beets, cashew butter, cocoa powder, maple syrup, baking powder, and vanilla extract in a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Add eggs directly to mixture and blend or pulse for an additional 10 seconds, just until well combined
- Add the chocolate chips
- Pour roughly one heaping tablespoon of batter into each mold of a greased mini muffin pan
- Optional: sprinkle additional chocolate chips on top
- Bake 15-20 min or until center is set
Beets are the best <3 And they are the natural epitome of Valentine's Day treats <3
Seriously the best. And they don’t ever get enough credit!
Fudge factor here is 1000000%. And now I think I need to go buy some beets; I don’t think I would tell my family either and let them try them first!
TOTALLY! What they don’t know can’t hurt them 😉 Hehehe. Thanks Emily!
Can you substitute ghee or almond butter for cashew butter?
I wouldn’t sub for ghee, but you absolutely could with almond butter! Might yield a slightly nuttier flavor but would still turn out well 🙂
Pinned! I must must must try these
YAY thanks Sarah!
I’m not scared of a few veggies in baked goods! These look SO perfect, Chrissa! Plus, your photos are beautiful! 🙂
Of course you aren’t Blair, because you are a recipe goddess!! xoxo
Would love to bake but cannot eat eggs. Flax and water is a sad substitute. Any suggestions?
What about a chia ‘egg’? I’ve never tried these eggless, but I would guess a chia substitute could work?!
Done. You had me at “mic drop” and “moonwalk out of the room” – they must be that good! Making these tomorrow!
Seriously though, they are. I don’t just moon walk for anything….
They look amazing! So yummy! Need to try making them
Enjoy Mytha!
I am always in favor of desserts when they are fruit or veggie based. This recipe is so perfect for my palate. Thanks for sharing.
It’s such a great way to sneak in some goodness! Thanks Gunjan!
Such a great combo and I love the beets for the natural coloring! My oldest daughter loves red velvet so I cannot wait to try these out!
Thanks Sarah! I hope she loves them – they are fun in ‘mini’ form 😉
Is there an alternative to the Maple syrup? Not a fan of that flavor – otherwise this sounds yummy!
Sure! Try honey 🙂
Hi! I’ve never bought beets in my life, but will for this recipe! Do you make use of the beet greens or just toss them out?
OMG!! I just made these and they are seriously delicious!! You’d never know that there’s beets in them! So good! Thanks for sharing the recipe
Rock on!! So happy to hear this Jamie!
I made these and boy were they such a treat! My boyfriend is super hard to please and loves all the “naughty” snacks, and he absolutely loved these! Thanks for a great recipe!
How are theses for freezing? Would love to make more batches if they freeze well!
I’m not sure – I haven’t done it. But my guess is that it would work!
I’ve just tried your recipe but i changed some ingridients because some of them dont exist in our country..i used butter for cashew butter,grapes syrup for mapple syrup but anyway it become sooo delicious and healthy yummy !!! Thanks for the recipe,love from Turkey ❤️
Amazing alternatives! Great job. Thanks!
Made these with canned beets (one 15oz can, drained) and they turned out great!
So great to know. Thanks!
Don’t have/don’t want to buy a mini muffin pan…would you think it would work with regular muffins?
I think so! I had a friend make it into a bread and turned out fine!
I made these today, very easy recipe. I used pre cooked organic beets. I didn’t have a mini muffin tin so I used a regular one, made 8 smaller size muffins. Also used almond butter instead of cashew butter. These totally satisfied my sweet tooth without the guilt, I’ll definitely make again!!!! Thank you!
Thanks for the feedback Sefrina!
Made these today and they were great! Had to use peanut butter due to a tree nut allergy but turned out fine ! Great recipes, thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
These look delicious, but my three year old is convinced he doesn’t like chocolate. I might have to make these for myself. I am also a huge believer in hiding veggies in baked goods! Thanks for sharing!
Made this today!!! OMG they are amazing. Even the batter was yummy ? I’ve been thinking about it, what’s the best way to store these? It’s just me eating them and I don’t want them to goto waste.
I’m soooo happy to hear that Keri! I’d store them in the refrigerator to keep!
i don’t have any cocoa powder only cacao powder. should that work?
Made these (using almond butter) for Memorial Day weekend and O.M.G!!!!! Shared your site/the recipe with at least a dozen friends and coworkers! Nurses love their sweet treats and even more so when they have a healthy twist! We all thank you for bringing them into our lives!
Can you make this I to regular muffin tins?
Finally made these babies, and WOW they are delicious! My kids devoured them, and I love that it uses an entire cup of beets. I will definitely be making these again!
I just tried this recipe, following exact instruction with the exception of roasting the beets in the oven instead of boiling to soften them (as I was already roasting beets for supper). The muffins look great but they’re very bitter and leave a bad after taste in your mouth. I would not call them fudgy at all and I can taste nothing but the beets…. was it roasting the beets instead of boiling that messed up the recipe? Or are our tastebuds just not ready for healthy beet muffins? Has your recipe ever turned out bitter?
Super fudgy and chocolatey. I think my son is going to love these! They turned out really good. Thank you! I wish I could post a picture.
How should the batter consistence be? Mine was quite thick. In the oven now so I hope they turn out well 🙂
Ok, super long shot. But any recommendations on substitutes for cashew butter. I want to make these for a group but there are peanut and tree but allergies…
Do you know the calorie count per muffin?
Can you use raw beet pulp (from juicing)?