Double Chocolate Beet Muffins
With dark chocolate flavor and a dense, fudgy texture, these muffins are perfect for all the brownie lovers out there! And, the best part, they’re secretly healthy! So go ahead, fool your family and friends with these delicious (and secretly good-for-you!) chocolate treats.
Spend just a few minutes on my site and you’ll see a trend: I like to sneak veggies and fruits into my recipes! Also, you might notice another trend: chocolate is practically famous on the blog….. So obviously, I had to do another choco-veggie combo (like this Chocolate Zucchini Bread), but this recipe had to be a little more daring, a bit more……well, let’s just say unusual. Based on the title of this post, you’ve probably already guessed what atrocity I’ve committed. But I’m not sorry, not in the slightest.
I know, I know, beets and chocolate sounds crazy, distasteful and downright unacceptable. But trust me, beets have way more potential than you may think. Not only do they have a beautiful, ruby red color, they are also high in fiber, folate, potassium, iron and vitamin C. And, they make a lovely pink puree that disappears perfectly, along with their earthy taste, into a delicious chocolate batter!
I know you’re shaking your head at me right now, but if you just give beets a chance, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. For optimum success with your double chocolate beet muffins, be sure to follow all of my instructions below and you’ll be free to enjoy your decadent, secretly healthy muffins! (Oh, and don’t forget to fool your family, friends and co-workers while you’re at it 😉 )
Ingredients You Need
Whole Wheat Flour~ My all-time favorite flour for muffins and quick breads! Whole wheat flour is higher in fiber and nutrients than refined flour which makes it perfect for adding an extra boost of nutrition and whole grains to your day. You could substitute all-purpose flour or even give oat flour a try. I have used half oat flour, half whole wheat before, but let me know if you try completely substituting with oat flour.
Sugar~ I used white granulated sugar, but brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, or even coconut sugar should work.
Cocoa Powder~ You can use regular unsweetened cocoa powder or dutch-processed. For me, the darker the chocolate flavor the better, so I prefer using dutch-processed cocoa powder.
Salt, Baking Powder, Baking Soda~ Salt adds so much flavor and makes sweets taste even sweeter. And, without our leavening agents, these muffins would be….well, I’m not really sure what they would be….
Pureed Canned Beets~ Here’s our secret ingredient! You will need about one 15oz can of sliced or chopped beets with salt. (Do not use pickled beets!) You will need to puree the canned beets in a food processor or high speed blender until they are super-duper smooth (I mean, unless you want beet chunks in your muffins…)
Unsweetened Applesauce~ You can substitute mashed banana here instead if you wish.
Eggs~ Eggs bind ingredients together, contribute to leavening the muffins and creating a soft texture. If you want to keep these muffins vegan, try using flax eggs (1 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp water makes one “egg”) or another egg substitute. (1 1/2 tbsp oil, 1 1/2 tbsp water and 1 tsp baking powder also makes one “egg”).
Vanilla Extract~ Vanilla adds a layer of flavor that helps accentuate the chocolate.
Chocolate Chips~ I love dark chocolate, but semi-sweet or milk chocolate works great too. Or if you prefer white chocolate, you could try that too.
The Dance
The hardest part to these muffins is pureeing the beets, and it’s not that difficult to do! I like to empty my canned beets into a mesh strainer over a sink and give them a quick rinse before placing them in my food processor. All you have to do is switch on the machine and process the beets until they are nice and smooth.
After processing your beets, the rest is simple. Whisk together your dry ingredients, add all of the wet ingredients and gently stir together until just combined before folding in the chocolate chips. Divide the batter evenly between 18 muffin cups and bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin. View the video below for a recipe visual:
Although you can technically eat these muffins fresh from the oven, I highly recommend completely cooling them. When the muffins are fresh from the oven, you can detect a slight earthy flavor from the beets. However, once the muffins cool, the earthy beet flavor magically disappears, I promise. I don’t understand the food science behind this, I just know this is what happens. Trust me, it’s worth the wait!
Enjoy double chocolate beet muffins topped with peanut butter alongside a cup of hot tea or coffee for best results. 😀
Continue to celebrate February, National Chocolate Month with these other delicious recipes:
Double Chocolate Beet Muffins
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar*
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup pureed beets about one 15oz can of sliced beets
- 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F and grease 18 muffin cups with cooking spray or use cupcake liners. I still like to spray cupcake liners so that the muffins don't stick to them.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
- To the flour mixture, add the pureed beets, applesauce, eggs, vinegar and vanilla extract. Stir together until just combined.
- Gently fold in chocolate chips before dividing batter into your prepared muffin tins.
- Bake muffins for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before enjoying!
Can’t wait to try this using the dark chocolate!
Yum, dark chocolate is my favorite!
I will admit that the word beet almost turned me away. But you’ve created so many amazing goodies I gave it a shot. Oh am I so glad I did. I love being healthy without feeling like I have to eat cardboard. This is a score!!
Hey Reginald, glad you enjoyed this recipe! 😀
Interesting, might have to try making these
Not a fan of beets but will give this recipe a try
Everyone in my family loves these. I have to say they will be hard to “beet”!
Haha, thank you Selena! 😀