These Chocolate Beet Muffins are a real surprise! The beets make these muffins incredibly moist and hearty. The earthy flavor of the beets highlight the rich chocolate taste. It's the perfect breakfast muffin with a dose of vegetable and touch of chocolate.
Here's a secret when you're the main cook in the household. Booby trapping food can give you so much joy!
My husband hates the combination of fruit and meat (ie. pork and apples). If you tell him the meal had fruit and meat in it, no matter how fancy schmancy the meal was, or no matter how many hours I spent cooking the meal, he automatically won't touch it.
These Chocolate Beet Muffins are packed with beets, which give it its scarlet hue
So it became a thing to booby trap his food. If I made meatloaf, I would grate an apple into it.
When I made turkey for Thanksgiving, I filled the unseen cavity with oranges, apples and cranberries. When I made ham, I infused it with pineapple juice. Little did he know, it became a game for me to see how much fruit I could hide in his food before he noticed.
This recipe for Chocolate Beet Muffins is a real booby trap because it looks like it could be an unfrosted red velvet cupcake.
But instead, the muffin is packed with beets, which give it its scarlet hue. The beets also makes these muffins so moist and hearty, so don't be expecting a fluffy muffin that's light as a cloud and will leave you hungry an hour later.
Chocolate Beet Muffins make a delicious breakfast for the entire family
The secret ingredient makes this Chocolate Beet Muffin breakfast worthy and a bit healthier than a red velvet cupcake too. The beets add a natural sweetness, meaning there is less sugar in the recipe as compared to a red velvet cupcake, and you get a dose of vegetables to start the day.
You can see in the picture of the ingredients above that I grated the beets into rather long strips. I preferred it this way because it kept the texture of the beets in the muffin.
If you wanted to, you could grate the beets into smaller pieces to make it less obvious that the muffin is packed with grated beets.
I have to point out that the earthy flavor of the beets does run through these Chocolate Beet Muffins. So while it looks like a red velvet, it has a more complex taste that is carried by the shredded beets, though complemented by the chocolate.
The beets add a natural sweetness to these muffins and you get a dose of vegetables to start the day
This isn't a red velvet knock-off, so keep in mind that if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it doesn't always mean it's a duck. Beware of the booby traps! ;)
Chocolate Beet Muffins
Print Recipe Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 medium-sized beets (250 grams beetroot) (raw)
- scant 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (175 grams)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup whole milk (60 milliliters)
- ½ cup light brown sugar (75 grams) - lightly packed
- ¼ cup caster sugar (55 grams)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (55 grams) - room temperature
- ¼ cup sunflower oil (60 milliliters)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (150 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 355°F/180°C.
- Peel the beets and grate in food processor with a grating disc. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer on medium speed, cream together the sugars, butter and oil. Using the hand mixer on low speed, beat in the egg mixture. Slowly fold in the flour mixture.
- Using a spatula, mix in the grated beets and chocolate chips.
- Evenly divide the batter into 12 muffin cases. Each case should be about ¾ full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the muffins are springy to the touch. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Parnz says
Hi there, I would like to commend you for a wonderful blog and entry ! I am now into my third batch of beet/choc chip muffins and I swear by them. I have put more than 3 others on to it too. I would like to know the calorie count/health count. I am super happy to have lunch alternatives that I am happy to eat myself. Making these for lunches has really inspired me to go further. I use coconut sugar with brown sugar, have used coconut flour with 1:1 ratio of normal flour too. FABULOUS x
Elissa says
Made these tonight. I liked them, but would probably increase the cocoa next time. I would also be careful to grate finely- I don't have a food processor, and I got tired by the end and let a couple bigger chunks of beet go in.
I thought these were really quite tasty! Unfortunately, they did not pass muster with my toddler.
Laura says
Hehe I do this too :) can I use beets that have been cooked long enough to wipe the peel off, and have been grated and frozen? Or do they need to be fresh?
Tina Jui says
Hi Laura, sorry for my slow response! It's so fun to booby trap food, isn't it? Freezing vegetables is such a great way to save on time and waste, and what a smart idea to do it with grated beets. I've never actually tried using frozen beets to make these muffins, but I think it would be fine. Just make sure the beets are completely defrosted before using them.
Alexandra says
Carrots and beets are wonderful natural sweeteners. I made a beet cake sometime last year and it was brilliant. These look great!
Tina Jui says
Thank you, Alexandra! It's great to be able to use natural sweeteners and coloring, isn't it?
Fareeha says
omg... just look at that.. absolutely gorgeous to see.. it's stunning even to look at, i wonder how it would taste..
Tina Jui says
Haha, they taste delicious! :) You get such a beautiful color when you bake with beets. Give it a try!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
I've never baked with chocolate and beets together before so you definitely have inspired me here. These look delicious and I love the rich colour.
Tina Jui says
Thanks, Thalia! It makes a really delicious and moist cake with beautiful color. Give it a try!
Jen | Baked by an Introvert says
You just gave me a good chuckle. I need to start sneaking healthy veggies into my baked goods. No one would ever know.
Tina Jui says
Haha, it's so much fun to booby trap food. Time to get creative :D
Teresa jui says
You are very creative person. I think is better than carrot cap-cake. I will try
Tina Jui says
It's really healthy to use beets too!
Kat | curlsnchard.com says
Hahaha, this really made me laugh. I love how you booby trapped all kinds of food - I have to try that with my partner too. There are just some things he won't try, simply because. You're giving me ideas! :D
Tina Jui says
Good luck to your partner :) Once you start down the path of booby trapping food, there's endless fun you can have.
jonathan says
You cheeky lil sneak!