These moist and decadent paleo red velvet brownies with coconut cream frosting are made with all real food, and it’s a healthy way to indulge on Valentine’s Day or any special occasion!
Red velvet desserts are so fun and festive, and I used to eat them often when I didn’t care about consuming artificial ingredients in my food. However, now that it’s February, I thought I would attempt a grain free and paleo red velvet brownies recipe and I love how it turned out! It definitely took several tries to perfect, but this is now one of my favorite paleo Valentine’s Day desserts.
Paleo Red Velvet Brownies Recipe with Coconut Cream Frosting
These grain free homemade red velvet brownies are red, not because of food coloring, but because of beets. BUT, don’t let it deter you from trying it out, especially if you are not a beet fan! You actually cannot taste the beets AT ALL, and it really just tastes like fudgy and moist chocolate brownies that are so indulgent and delicious.
One of the main reasons why I had to keep re-testing this recipe was because I was able to taste the beets in the brownies or the color just wasn’t red enough. I finally achieved the result that I wanted with this homemade red velvet brownies recipe: bright red and no beet-taste. Because of this, I wouldn’t recommend you make any substitutions or changes.
3-Ingredient Coconut Cream Frosting
If you’ve never made dairy free vanilla frosting with coconut cream before, you are missing out! It’s so incredibly easy and just takes 3 ingredients: coconut cream, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
You do need to prep ahead and chill a can of coconut milk or coconut cream in the refrigerator overnight, so the coconut water separates from the solidified cream. You then take that cream part, and whisk it together with maple syrup and vanilla extract until it becomes rigid and stiff peaks form. That’s it! It’s my favorite paleo frosting recipe that’s so easy and decadent.
Tips for Making these Paleo Red Velvet Brownies Recipe
- Make sure to chill a can of coconut cream or milk the night before making these homemade red velvet brownies. It needs to be sitting in the refrigerator for long enough that the cream to separate for the paleo frosting recipe.
- To cut down on cooking time, you can buy pre-cooked beets. This is what I used.
- Make sure the beets are blended enough to be the texture of ketchup. They should be a thick liquid.
- Stir the batter well before baking to make sure all the ingredients are evenly incorporated. If they aren’t, the color may come out uneven.
- Try to flatten out the batter as much as possible in the baking dish before baking. These brownies won’t rise too much, so you want to make sure it’s spread evenly in the pan.
- Cool the brownies completely before adding the dairy free vanilla frosting. The frosting will melt and liquify if warmed.
- If you want to make this paleo Valentine’s Day dessert ahead of time, keep in mind that the frosting will turn pink as it sits. It actually looks really pretty, but you can frost just before serving if you want it to look white.
- If you want to make it more festive, you can choose to top with decorating sugar. I haven’t found paleo decorating sugars just yet, but these are pretty clean!
Whether you are spending V-day with your significant other or are planning to celebrate self-love, these paleo red velvet brownies with coconut cream frosting will be the most delicious and fun recipe to treat yourself with!
Other paleo sheet pan recipes and one pot meals you might love…
- Paleo Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache
- White Chocolate Glaze Paleo Brownies
- Cherry Jam Filled Paleo Chocolate Cups (Vegan)
- Nut-Free Cassava Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (Paleo, Vegan, Gluten Free)
- Marbled Paleo Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
Paleo Red Velvet Brownies with Coconut Cream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked red beet puree about 3 medium beets
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup ghee or coconut oil, melted
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips dairy free
Coconut Cream Frosting
- 1 can 14.5 oz coconut milk or coconut cream chilled overnight
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Beet Puree
- I used precooked beets for this recipe, but if are using raw beets, cook them first: Scrub the beets and halve them.
- Place in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Heat over medium high heat until boiling, then reduce the heat to medium low to simmer for 30 minutes until fork tender.
- Drain and cool (you can run them under cold water to speed up the process), then peel and roughly chop.
- Place the beets in a blender, and blender until pureed. The texture should be similar to ketchup.
- Measure out 1 cup to use for the recipe.
Paleo Red Velvet Brownies
- Before you begin, make sure you have chilled a can of coconut cream or coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight so the cream can separate from the coconut water for the frosting.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and sea salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together beet puree, ghee, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and eggs.
- Add wet ingredients to dry, and mix together until combined well.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish. Tap the baking dish on the counter to even out the batter and use a spatula to smooth out the top.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the brownies cool completely on the counter.
- While the brownies are cooling, make the coconut cream frosting.
- Carefully remove the can of coconut cream or milk from the fridge, slowly turn the can upside down, and open it with a can opener.
- Pour out the coconut water you see on the top, and scoop out the solid cream on the bottom.
- Combine the cream with maple syrup and vanilla extract, and use a stand mixer or a handheld mixer to whisk together until stiff peaks form.
- Refrigerate the frosting until ready to use.
- Once the brownies have cooled completely, frost the brownies. You'll only need about half of the frosting, and you can save the other half in the fridge.
- Slice into 16 squares. I also used decorating sugars (not paleo) to make them more festive. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. The longer it sits, the frosting will absorb the color of the beets and it'll turn pink! You can frost just before serving if you don't want this to happen.
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