red velvet pancakes

PANCAKES!

Red velvet pancakes to be exact.  Minus the whole red food dye thing.

If you wondered what I was going to do with my leftover beets from the beet stamps, well, this is it.  Pancakes.  Batch after batch of pancakes.

You know I can’t eat straight up beets.  Steamed, roasted, whatever.  No thanks.  Even the smell while they were steaming…blegh!

But hidden in these pancakes?  No problem!  The point was not to hide vegetables in something delicious.  It was purely to turn them a pretty pinkish-red hue.

A little late for Valentine’s Day, but whatever.

We’ll call these, Everyday Love Cakes.  No special “holiday” required.

I’m sure there are a million other uses for beet puree.  You can experiment and let me know.  I think I’ll stick to adding them in small doses to baked goods so they go undetected.

The color was quite vivid as they cooked, but once flipped they had a brown-orange coloring marbled with the pink-red.

Tie-dye pancakes? 

With a light hint of cocoa, and a soft-cakey texture, these pancakes get the job done.  You will never in a million years guess they are gluten-free.

And how could I make these beauteous pancakes and cover them with only maple syrup??

A little something extra special for you here…

Cocoa-maple-coconut syrup anyone?

Mmmm-hmm.

Print this!

Red Velvet Pancakes

gluten-free + dairy free // yields 8, 5-inch pancakes

  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons gluten-free oat flour
  • 1/4 cup almond meal
  • 1/4 cup sweet rice flour
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons beet puree
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • unrefined coconut oil [or other] for the pan
  1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
  2. Whisk the wet ingredients together in another bowl until fully combined.
  3. Add the wet to the dry and stir with a large spoon until just combined.
  4. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes without disturbing.
  5. Heat a griddle or large pan over medium and grease well.
  6. Scoop approximately 1/4 cup scoops of batter in the pan and swirl around with a spatula or spoon to about 5” wide.  For thinner pancakes, add 1-2 tablespoons more milk to the batter and gently stir until just incorporated.
  7. Let cook 2-3 minutes until you see the top filled with bubbles.  Then flip and cook another 1-3 minutes until golden brown.  Avoid overcrowding the pan and adjust heat as needed so the pancakes are fully cooked.
  8. Serve hot.  Pancakes can be cooled, wrapped tightly, and refrigerated for 2-3 days.

tips/notes: Melted coconut oil can be used as the oil in these, just make sure all other wet ingredients are at room temp so the coconut oil does not solidify.  There is no substitute for sweet rice flour. 

Chocolate Coconut Maple Syrup

  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, warmed
  • 1 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil, melted
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  1. Whisk together until fully combined.  Will thicken as it cools.

Beet Puree

  • 1 dark red large beet
  • 1-2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  1. Wash and cut ends off the beet.
  2. Cut or peel the skin from the beet.
  3. Cube the beet and steam for about 18-22min until fork tender.  You can also roast the cubed beet in the oven wrapped in foil with a little oil at 375* until tender.
  4. Rinse with cold water and place in a blender, food processor, or use an immersion blender.
  5. Combine with the milk and lemon juice and puree until the consistency of applesauce is reached.  Add more milk if needed.  With only 1 beet it may be hard to blend in a blender, so if using a blender I suggest roasting 2 beets and doubling the milk/lemon juice.
  6. Let cool fully and store covered in the fridge for 5-7 days.

We all need a little everyday love, don’t you think?

Especially on Monday.

Ashley