Healthy Red Velvet Pancakes (with Sweet Chocolate Cream Cheese Butter)

This Healthy Red Velvet Pancake recipe with Sweet Chocolate Cream Cheese Butter has no dye but use pureed beets instead. And no, you don't have to cook and peel beets (do you think I'd do that to you?!) This recipe uses CANNED BEETS so it's super quick, easy, healthy and so delicious! My kids LOVE this recipe~!

You may be thinking of ways to show your sweetheart(s) how much you love them this Valentine’s Day. Well, this heart-shaped breakfast will definitely send that message. If you make one recipe for Valentine’s Day, make it this one! Use a cute heart-shaped cookie cutter and you are sure to win them over. And although this recipe is great for Valentine's Day or special occasions, I make them all year 'round. 

I LOVE the Loveless Cafe's Red Velvet Pancake Recipe so much so that they inspired me to create this recipe and make healthier red velvet pancakes! They are 8 WW points (without the chocolate cream cheese butter) so they are clearly an indulgence. But they are a lot healthier than the original! And I'm not a big fan of dye in my food, so I replaced it with beets. And that is also the reason they are not red.

💭Beets in Red Velvet Pancakes

The use of beets in red velvet became commonplace when foods were rationed during the Second World War. Bakers used boiled beet juices to enhance the color of their cakes and beets were also found in some red velvet cake recipes, where they were used to retain moisture. But beets also add lots of nutrients to a dish; they are an especially good source of folate and vitamin B.  You can read more about the nutritional value of beets HERE.

🥘 Ingredients

Healthy red velvet pancakes from scratch are made with low-fat milk and vinegar instead of buttermilk. This, along with baking powder, makes the pancakes both light and fluffy. These pancakes are quick and easy to make, with wholesome ingredients!

For this recipe, you'll need:

• whole wheat flour
• all-purpose flour
• cocoa
• eggs
• pureed beets (canned, for convenience),
• powdered sugar/icing sugar
• baking powder
• salt
• low-fat milk
• vinegar
• white granulated sugar
• vanilla
• cream cheese (I use light or fat-free
• unsalted butter
• red sparkling sugar (optional)

*You won't miss the extra fat or red food coloring!

📖 Variations

Heart Shaped Pancakes

Sometimes breakfast is all you have with loved ones on Valentine's Day. And heart-shaped pancakes are a great way to share a special breakfast or brunch with your loved ones. If you're really lucky, it falls on a weekend or a day off and you get brunch!

But whether you save your celebration for the weekend or celebrate on the actual Valentine's Day, these red velvet pancakes are ideal because they are quick OR you can make them ahead and freeze.

Sweet Chocolate Cream Cheese Butter

You can eat these fluffy pancakes without the sweet chocolate cream cheese butter, but trust me, you don't want to! The sweet chocolate cream cheese butter is the crowning glory. It's similar to cream cheese frosting.

WW friendly: You can use light/low-fat cream cheese or fat-free cream cheese to lighten them up. 

🍽 Equipment

All you need is a non-stick frying pan and a heart shaped cookie cutter (affiliate link).! 

🌡️Storing

REFRIGERATOR: Store these fluffy red velvet pancakes and sweet cream cheese butter in separate sealed containers in the fridge for up to 3 days.

FREEZING: Both the red velvet pancakes and chocolate sweet cream cheese butter will freeze well for up to 3 months. Cool pancakes, then stack and freeze in a zip lock freezer bag. Chocolate cream cheese butter can be frozen in a freezer-friendly plastic container.

So, if you are searching for red velvet pancake recipes, breakfast ideas for Valentine's Day, Valentine's brunch ideas or a special breakfast that will make your loved one(s) swoon, look no further than these Healthy Red Velvet pancakes without food coloring! They are guaranteed to be loved by the whole family!

And if you like healthy Red Velvet Recipes, check out my Healthy & Natural Red Velvet Cookies !

📋 Healthy Red Velvet Pancakes Recipe (with Sweet Cream Cheese Butter)

These Natural and Healthy Red Velvet Pancakes with Sweet Chocolate Cream Cheese Butter have no dye/no food coloring, but pureed CANNED beets instead. They are quick, easy and healthy. And although they are perfect any time of the year, if you use a heart shaped cookie cutter, they make the perfect Valentine's Day Breakfast or brunch (and can be made ahead and frozen)!

5 from 5 votes

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Course: Breakfast, brunch

Cuisine: American, southern

Special Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: 10 people

Calories: 387kcal

Author: Terri Gilson

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

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Equipment

• ▢
  food processor

Ingredients

Pancakes:

• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ▢ ½ cup cocoa
• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 ½ cups low-fat milk
• ▢ 2 teaspoon vinegar
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ ½ cup white granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 -398 ml/140z can sliced beets, drained and pureed
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla

Sweet Chocolate Cream Cheese Butter

• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 4 oz light cream cheese (½ 8 oz package) softened * or use fat-free cream cheese to further reduce fat and calories
• ▢ 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ½ cup cocoa

Garnish:

• ▢ cocoa
• ▢ powdered sugar
• ▢ red sparkling sugar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pancakes

• Preheat griddle/frying pan (preferrably non-stick teflon) to medium and spray with non- stick cooking spray. * Do not cook these too high heat or they will burn. You have to watch them closely.
• Stir vinegar into milk and set aside.
• Puree beets in food processor and set aside.
• Sift all dry ingredients together,  except granulated sugar.  
• In a large bowl, mix eggs, milk mixed with vinegar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract and pureed beets in a separate bowl.
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in thirds, just until it is combined (will still be a little lumpy). Do not over-mix.
• When frying pan is hot, add pancake mix to nonstick pan or electric griddle– add about ¼ cup of batter for each pancake.
• Cook over medium heat, flipping when the first few bubbles start to break on the surface of the pancake. Repeat with remaining batter.
• When the other side is soft and pillowy to the touch, it’s done. Cut into heart shapes, if desired.

Sweet Chocolate Cream Cheese Butter

• With an electric mixer, whip butter and cream cheese together for 3-5 minutes until smooth, scraping sides to ensure proper blending.
• Add vanilla extract and the powdered sugar and cocoa a little at a time until blended.

Assemble

• Stack one pancake on a plate and spread on a layer of Chocolate Cream Cheese Butter spread. Repeat with remaining pancakes, dividing cream cheese butter evenly between pancakes.

Garnish

• Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar or powdered sugar mixed with cocoa and red sparkling sugar (as in photo). Serve with maple syrup, if desired.

Notes

🌡️STORING

REFRIGERATOR: Store pancakes and sweet cream cheese butter in separate sealed containers in the fridge for up to 3 days.

FREEZING: Both the red velvet pancakes and chocolate sweet cream cheese butter will freeze well for up to 3 months. Cool pancakes, then stack and freeze in a zip lock freezer bag. Chocolate cream cheese butter can be frozen in a freezer friendly plastic container

Nutrition

Serving: 1pancake | Calories: 387kcal (19%) | Carbohydrates: 63g (21%) | Protein: 7g (14%) | Fat: 14g (22%) | Saturated Fat: 8g (50%) | Cholesterol: 66mg (22%) | Sodium: 346mg (15%) | Potassium: 302mg (9%) | Fiber: 4g (17%) | Sugar: 39g (43%) | Vitamin A: 430IU (9%) | Calcium: 95mg (10%) | Iron: 2.4mg (13%)

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