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These naturally red beet pancakes are soft, velvety, and lightly flavored with cocoa for a subtle red velvet twist.
Whether you’re making a fun Valentine’s Day breakfast or just want to try something a little different, these “Heart Beet Pancakes” are a beautiful and surprisingly simple treat.
This post was originally published in January 2015 and has been updated with more helpful information and recipe tips. Don’t worry – it’s still the same recipe!
Why You’ll Love These Beet Pancakes
I developed this recipe after testing several variations to get just the right texture and color. Since this is a favorite in our house, I’ve made them countless times.
Beets give the pancakes their gorgeous deep red hue and an extra-soft, melt-in-your-mouth center. A touch of cocoa and brown sugar brings out a gentle red velvet flavor, but the pancakes themselves aren’t too sweet. They are perfect with maple syrup on top.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day (or Any Day)
I love making these in heart molds for a sweet breakfast surprise. But even without the shape, the deep red color and soft texture make these beet pancakes a standout recipe all year round.
Tips for Prepping Your Beets
There are a few different ways to prepare the beets for your pancake batter:
- Instant Pot: This is my go-to. Place whole, unpeeled beets on the rack with 1 cup of water. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Once cool, the skins will slip right off.
- Oven Roasting: Wrap the beets in foil and roast at 350°F for about an hour until fork-tender.
- Store-bought cooked beets: Look for vacuum-sealed beets in the refrigerated section. The only ingredients should be beets. Avoid anything with vinegar or extra flavorings.
- Canned beets: These will work in a pinch, but choose sliced or whole canned beets with only water; no salt. The flavor won’t taste quite as fresh as the other methods.
Once cooked and peeled, purée the beets with milk in a high-powered blender for a super smooth base. I will often replace the milk with buttermilk if I have it.
Ingredients
Exact quantities are listed below in the recipe card. Note: the recipe card allows you to easily scale the recipe and will automatically adjust the ingredient quantities.
- Beets: They add natural sweetness, a rich color, and an ultra-soft texture to the pancakes.
- Cocoa powder & brown sugar: Just enough to create a red velvet vibe.
- Flour, baking powder, salt: For structure and fluff.
- Eggs, butter, milk, vanilla: Classic pancake ingredients that bring everything together.
How to Make Heart Beet Pancakes
Always refer to the recipe card below, but here is a quick summary:
- Prep the beets by roasting or pressure cooking, then peel and purée with milk until smooth. I use this same puree when I make my Beet Brownies and my Beet Cinnamon Rolls.
- Blend in the wet ingredients (eggs, butter, vanilla) with the beet mixture.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gently stir everything together.
- Cook over low heat on a greased griddle or pan. Low and slow helps them cook through without burning.
- Use a heart-shaped mold if you want perfectly shaped Valentine’s pancakes.
These taste best warm with a pat of butter and a drizzle of real maple syrup.
Learn From Me
Since I’ve made these more times than I can count, I have a few recipe tips you might find useful.
- Don’t skip the blender. It’s key for a velvety batter. You can also use an immersion blender.
- Be gentle when mixing. Over-mixing leads to dense pancakes.
- If you’re using a mold, lightly grease the inside edge so the batter doesn’t stick.
- These cook slower than regular pancakes because of the beet puree, so keep the heat low.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed beets 2 large roasted beets, peeled
- 2 cups milk
- 2 large eggs slightly beaten
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- butter for cooking
Instructions
- To roast the beets, removed the stems and wrap in aluminum foil. Cook in 350 degree F oven for one hour or until very soft to the touch. Once cool enough to handle, remove skin.
- Process peeled and roasted 1 cup mashed beets with 2 cups milk in a blender until smooth. Add in 2 large eggs, melted 4 tablespoons butter, and vanilla and process on low until well combined.
- In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly combine 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.
- Pour in the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Do not over stir and like with any pancakes, a few small lumps are fine.
- Heat griddle over low heat and grease with butter. If using heart pancake molds, use a silicon brush to grease inside edge of mold. Cook until pancake starts to set, 5-10 minutes, then flip and allow to finish cooking, another 2-3 minutes.
- Serve with a pat of butter and real maple syrup.
Notes
- Roast the beets with the skin on in foil in the oven until they are very soft. Once cooked, the skin will easily peel off.
- A high quality blender will create a super smooth puree of the beets when blended with the milk.
- Buttermilk can be used in place of the milk for a fluffier pancake.
- Don’t over mix the pancake batter once you combine the dry and wet ingredients. There’s a sweet spot between well mixed and lumpy.
- Cook the the pancakes over low heat. This allows the center of the pancake to cook without the bottom burning. It will make flipping them extremely easy.
- Use a heart pancake mold to get perfectly shaped hearts every time.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What brand of kosher salt are you using? 1/2 tsp of Morton kosher is about double 1/2 tsp of diamond crystal. I want to make sure I get it right! Thanks for your help and for all the interesting recipes, I am ready to try my first one!
I’ve only ever used Morton’s.
Hi there, I was wondering, we have some canned beets and I was wondering if I blended them in the blender would it be as good as the roasted ones used in the pancakes? Thank you for your time
Jackie.
Apologies for such a late reply! I’ve been away from my computer for quite awhile. I’m so sorry!!! And to answer your question… Only if the beets are canned with just water. If there’s salt or any other ingredients, I wouldn’t use them. Otherwise, you should be able to drain them and use them in a similar way to the roasted beets.
Sorry left the wrong email, I blame it on my typing.
What do I add or omit to make these into waffles?
I’ve actually never made them as waffles, so I’m not sure. They’re a pretty soft pancake, so I’m not sure how well they’ll hold up (I just made them again the other day). If I were to guess, I would say just a bit more oil to prevent sticking?
My daughter requested pink pancakes for her birthday dinner! These look amazing!
Can I omit the cocoa powder to make them more of a plainer flavour?
You absolutely can, but there’s something magical that happens when beets and chocolate come together. They won’t taste chocolatey… it just really enhances the flavor.
i love your recipes all of them.