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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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Equipment
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.
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.