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    You are here: Home / Dessert / Vegan Pink Velvet Cupcakes

    LAST UPDATED: February 15, 2022 • FIRST PUBLISHED: February 9, 2018

    Vegan Pink Velvet Cupcakes

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    These pink velvet cupcakes are the perfect vegan Valentine's Day treat. They're moist, fluffy, and get their vibrant color from an unexpected ingredient.

    Vegan Pink Velvet Topped with Frosting and Sprinkles, with Additional Cupcakes in the Background

    Sometimes I forget how old I am or when my birthday is. I take it as a sign that I'm getting on up there in years.

    Well guess what? Up until just a couple of days ago I forgot that today my blog would be turning five years old! The big oh-five guys! That's a lot in blog years, as is evidenced by my forgetfulness. Celebrate with me, will you?

    And then get off my lawn! Hehe.

    Vegan Pink Velvet Cupcake Batter in a Food Processor Bowl

    It worked out nicely though, because I'd been planning on sharing a sweet treat for Valentine's day right about now.

    Normally I'm all about chocolate when it comes to pretty much every holiday, but I recently discovered that pink velvet cupcakes are a thing and decided the world needed a vegan version. I also had the perfect plan for how to make that happen.

    Vegan Pink Velvet Cupcake Batter in Muffin Tins

    A while back I baked a chocolate cake with beets in it, expecting it to turn out looking like red velvet cake. In actuality it ended up being reddish. But that got me thinking, if you did the same thing with vanilla cake, you might end up with pink cake. Does it work that way? It does!

    Vegan Pink Velvet Cupcakes in a Muffin Tin

    You can't taste the beets at all, I promise! You only need one little tiny beet for the whole batch, and I used lots of vanilla. They honestly tasted way better than I expected them to. You know how sometimes you see food that's a weird color and expect it to taste weird? Well I think that's what was going on. Like, even having made the cupcakes myself I expected some super sweet artificial fruit flavor. But really, they taste like the mellowest, vanilla-y-est, yummy cupcakes you ever tasted. I hesitate to say this, but I might just take one of these babies over chocolate.

    Close Up of a Vegan Pink Velvet Cupcake
    Vegan Pink Velvet Cupcakes
    5 from 2 votes
    Print

    Vegan Pink Velvet Cupcakes

    These pink velvet cupcakes are the perfect vegan Valentine's Day treat. They're moist, fluffy, and get their vibrant color from an unexpected ingredient.

    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
    Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
    Servings 10 cupcakes
    Calories 393 kcal
    Author Alissa Saenz

    Ingredients

    For the Cupcakes

    • 1 small beet (2 ½ to 3 ounces)
    • 1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour (could sub all-purpose)
    • ¾ cup organic granulated sugar
    • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¾ cup unflavored soy or almond milk
    • ½ cup canola oil
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

    For the Frosting

    • 1 (14 ounce) can coconut cream, chilled overnight
    • 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup (to taste)

    Instructions

    To Make the Cupcakes

    1. Place the beet into a small saucepan and cover with water. Place the pot over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Lower heat and allow to simmer until the beet is easily pierced with a fork, about 45-55 minutes. Drain the water and allow the beet to cool for a few minutes.

    2. While the beet cools, stir the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.

    3. Preheat the oven to 350° and line 10 cups of a muffin tin with papers.

    4. When the beet is cool enough to handle, gently rub the outer surface with your fingers to remove the peel. Cut the beet into 3-4 chunks and place them into the bowl of a food processor or blender. Add the milk, oil, and vanilla, then blend until completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl or pitcher as needed.

    5. Add the beet mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl or pitcher well to make sure you get it all out. Beat the wet mixture into the dry with an electric mixer on high speed, just until fully blended, about 1 minute.

    6. Spoon the batter into the paper lined muffin cups, filling each about ⅔ of the way full.

    7. Bake 24-26 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Transfer the muffin tin to a cooling rack to cool.

    To Make the Frosting

    1. Open the can of coconut cream and scoop the solids into a large mixing bowl, discarding any liquid or saving it for another use. Beat the coconut cream on high speed with an electric mixer, just until fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in the maple syrup. Chill the mixture until ready to use.

    2. When the muffins are cool, top with frosting. Serve immediately or cover and chill for up to 2 days.

    Recipe Notes

    If you prefer a vegan cream cheese frosting, try this.

    I recommend this method if you'd like to create your own vegan decorative sugar.

    Nutrition Facts
    Vegan Pink Velvet Cupcakes
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 393 Calories from Fat 165
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 18.3g28%
    Saturated Fat 7.3g37%
    Sodium 152mg6%
    Potassium 163mg5%
    Carbohydrates 55.5g19%
    Fiber 2.1g8%
    Sugar 40.6g45%
    Protein 2.5g5%
    Calcium 60mg6%
    Iron 0.7mg4%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    « Spicy Sriracha Tofu Jerky
    Vegan Mushroom Paella »

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    About Alissa Saenz

    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors! You can read more about me here.

    I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Alex says

      February 09, 2018 at 8:35 pm

      These look beautiful and easy to make. I will definitely be making them next week! Thanks for another awesome recipe.

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        February 10, 2018 at 10:38 am

        Thanks Alex! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

        Reply
    2. Sandra Cid says

      February 10, 2018 at 12:09 am

      Beautiful! II'll reduce the fat a little.

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        February 10, 2018 at 10:37 am

        Thank you!! I'd love to hear how it works out!

        Reply
    3. Jeanne Murphy says

      February 14, 2018 at 5:50 pm

      Hi there, what temperature do you bake the cupcakes?

      Reply
    4. Jeanne Murphy says

      February 14, 2018 at 5:51 pm

      Disregard, I found it

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        February 14, 2018 at 8:24 pm

        No problem! Enjoy!

        Reply
    5. kristin says

      March 08, 2018 at 6:13 am

      happy (belated) blog birthday! these look delicious.

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        March 08, 2018 at 8:27 pm

        Awww...thank you and thank you!!

        Reply
    6. Karolina says

      February 14, 2020 at 3:56 pm

      5 stars
      I've made them in a gluten-free version. They are so delicious! You can see mine here: https://nicponwkuchni.pl/muffinki-bezglutenowe-weganskie/
      Thank You for your recipe!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        February 15, 2020 at 10:35 am

        They look beautiful! So glad you enjoyed them. Thank you so much for sharing!

        Reply
    7. V says

      December 24, 2020 at 8:33 am

      Hi
      Could I bake this into a 8 or 9inch cake ?
      In a springform round tin or a regular round tin ?

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        December 24, 2020 at 10:21 am

        I think the batter should fit in two 8 or 9 inch round pans - regular or springform should be fine! You'll probably need to increase the bake time, though I'm not sure by how much. I'd start checking every few minutes after the first 25 minutes or so. Enjoy!

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors!

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