Homemade Red Velvet Cupcakes (Gluten Free, Paleo)

These homemade red velvet cupcakes are made from scratch with whole food ingredients like cooked beets, cassava flour and eggs. They are completely gluten free, dairy free and paleo friendly - perfect for a healthy dessert.

After sharing my vegan beet brownie recipe, I've been ALL about adding cooked beets to baked goods. And what better way to do it than with these homemade red velvet cupcakes?!

Honestly, red velvet has never been my favorite flavor. But these cupcakes? Oh, these cupcakes are GOOD.

These are cassava flour cupcakes, so they're completely grain free, gluten free and nut free; as cassava flour comes from the cassava plant, a root vegetable. In addition, this easy red velvet cupcake recipe is only colored with beets and is sweetened with coconut sugar.

What You Need to Know about These Red Velvet Cupcakes

• gluten free and grain free: made with Otto's cassava flour
• paleo friendly: this homemade red velvet cupcake recipe is completely grain free, dairy free, has no vegetable oil and is sweetened with coconut sugar (no refined sugar)
• dairy free frosting: the frosting for these red velvet cupcakes is made without cream cheese, cream or butter. Instead, it uses coconut cream as the base.
• naturally colored: no dyes here! This dessert has a red hue thanks to cooked beets and beet powder
• easy to make: the batter is made in a food processor, but can also be made in a mixing bowl. You'll need a food processor or blender to puree the beets.
• kid friendly: all three of my kids ate these cupcakes without complaint! They loved the cake and the frosting.

These paleo red velvet cupcakes are the perfect way to sneak in some veggies with dessert. Beets boast SO many nutrients and this is a great way to squeeze them into your diet.

Ingredients

Here's a list of what you need to make this small batch of red velvet cupcakes:

• cooked beets
• large eggs
• avocado oil
• water
• vanilla extract
• cassava flour
• coconut flour
• cocoa powder
• beet root powder (optional)
• coconut sugar
• paleo baking powder
• baking soda
• salt

All of these ingredients are naturally gluten free and paleo friendly.

For the cooked beets, I used Love Beets organic pre-cooked beets. However, you may steam your own. The beets will need to be pureed in a food processor or high powered blender.

Eggs are necessary for this cupcake recipe and no substitutions have been tested.

I like using avocado oil in baking because it has a neutral flavor. However, olive oil will work as a replacement.

The flours used to make these red velvet cupcakes include: cassava flour, coconut flour and cocoa powder. The coconut flour is necessary for texture purposes and there is no substitute. I tried this recipe using just cassava flour, and the texture was slightly gummy.

Coconut sugar is used as a sweetener, but any granulated sugar may be used instead.

How to Make Red Velvet Cupcakes From Scratch

These red velvet cupcakes are made from scratch - no boxed cupcakes here! Here are the step by step instructions:

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin pan with 9 cupcake liners.

Make the Batter

Next, make the batter. Combine the pureed beets, eggs, avocado oil, water and vanilla in the food processor and blend until well combined.

Then, add in the remaining cupcake ingredients (cassava flour, coconut flour, beet powder, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt). Stir the batter with a spatula, then process until well combined.

Pour the cupcake batter into the lined muffin pan. This recipe will make 9 cupcakes. Each cupcake is about ¼ cup batter.

Bake the Cupcakes

Place the grain free cupcakes in your preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes.

Cool the Cupcakes

After baking, remove the cupcakes from the oven and cool them for 3-5 minutes in the baking pan, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack.

Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Recipe For Red Velvet Cupcakes

The frosting I used for these red velvet cupcakes is made without cream cheese, making it completely dairy free and vegan friendly.

Here's what you need:

• coconut cream
• melted coconut oil
• vanilla extract
• lemon juice (optional)
• powdered monk fruit (or any powdered sugar)
• ground ginger (optional)
• salt

To make the red velvet cupcake frosting, simply combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. If the coconut cream is too firm, then warm it at 5 second intervals in the microwave.

The cupcakes are best frosted and decorated just before serving. You may make the frosting ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

Red Velvet Cupcake Decorating Ideas

I topped these homemade red velvet cupcakes with frosting, miniature dark chocolate chips, dried edible flowers and naturally colored sprinkles. Here are some more excellent decoration ideas:

• Dye-free sprinkles
• chopped nuts (like walnuts or pecans)
• freeze dried fruit (for instance, crushed freeze dried strawberries or raspberries)
• miniature dark chocolate chips
• sprinkle on some beet root powder

Storage

These red velvet cassava flour cupcakes need to be stored in the fridge after a day. Place them in a sealed, air-tight container in the fridge for up to one week.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you puree beets?

First, make sure your beets are well cooked. The best way to cook beets to make beet puree is to steam them in a steamer pot until tender. Wash the beets, peel the skin, then cut them into bite-sized pieces. Place them in a steamer pot (with water at the base) and steam them on the stovetop until a fork easily pierces through the beet.

Next, place the steamed beets in a food processor or blender and blend until they form a jelly-like texture.

Do I have to use cassava flour to make these cupcakes?

Yes, this particular red velvet cupcake recipe uses cassava flour and I do not have any alternative flour recommendations.

Do I have to use coconut flour in this recipe?

Without coconut flour, these cupcakes will have a slightly gummy texture. I do not recommend removing or swapping out this ingredient.

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