Deliciously Healthy Red Velvet Pancakes

Oh god these pancakes. Where to begin?

I think I’ll start from when I fell in love with red velvet for the first time. I had just moved to London in my teenage years and was having my first birthday celebration. One lovely lady got me these amazingly coloured cupcakes from Hummingbird Bakery as a gift, the famous red velvet cupcakes. It was love at first bite. See, I thought that red velvet was this incredibly magical flavour, but little did I know that it is, in fact, only chocolate and colouring! Mind.blown.

Deliciously Healthy Red Velvet Pancakes

Anyways. Moving on from the fact that my world was shattered when I discovered it was only a chocolate cupcake that had been coloured, that actually meant that I could re-create it at home!

Which is exactly what I’ve done here with these pancakes. These are sooo delicious, you wouldn’t even believe they are healthy and full of goodness. Not a fake food colouring in sight! Instead we use the amazing, brightly coloured, and oh-so-versatile…. beetroot! Don’t worry though, these don’t taste like vegetables in the slightest. I actually got Matt to try and guess what I had used to get this colour and he was clueless.

Deliciously Healthy Red Velvet Pancakes! via Teffy's Perks

I used a combination of banana, coconut flour, and eggs to get the dough just right and fluffy, and cacao powder for that hint of chocolate that isn’t to overpowering. I didn’t feel the need to add any extra sweeteners to the pancakes themselves, as you already get that from the bananas and the delicious chocolate-y maple syrup we’re going to drizzle it in.

Yep, you heard me. Chocolate. Maple. Syrup. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, it does!

Healthy-Red-Velvet-Pancakes-4

So we’ve got some delicious healthy red velvet pancakes, and to take it to the next level we’re going to add a delicious dollop whipped coconut cream and then drizzle it with some decadent chocolate maple syrup. It sounds like a sugar explosion, but we don’t have any bit of refined sugar in sight!

Deliciously Healthy Red Velvet Pancakes! via Teffy's Perks

These are actually simple to make, and can easily be doubled depending on how many guests you have over. You could even pre-steam the beetroots the night before and them simply blend the whole thing in the morning!

In fact, the red of the pancakes with the white of the whipped coconut cream make it super Christmas-y, so when the hoard of hungry relatives stampedes down for breakfast on Christmas morning, you know exactly what to feed them!

Deliciously Healthy Red Velvet Pancakes! via Teffy's Perks

Deliciously Healthy Red Velvet Pancakes
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Guys, these healthy red velvet pancakes are the real deal! They are fluffy and so full of flavour, and the best part is that they taste super indulgent and sinfully delicious. If you didn't know it, you would probably never have guessed that these were actually full of goodness!
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine: Gluten Free, Grain Free
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Pancakes
  • 1 medium beetroot
  • 1 large very ripe banana
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 vanilla stalk, split and seeds scraped
  • 3 tablespoons coconut flour
  • 2 tablespoons cacao
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Coconut oil, for pan frying
Chocolate Maple Syrup
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon cacao
Whipped Coconut Cream
  • 1 can coconut milk, refrigerated for at least 12 hours
Instructions
Pancakes
  1. Start by boiling some water and adding it to a pan. Wash and quarter your beetroot (I didn't bother peeling) and add to a steamer basket above the boiling water.
  2. Steam for 30-40 minutes, until you can easily pierce the beets with a fork. Let cool.
  3. Once your beets have cooled, add them to a food processor with the banana and lemon juice and blend until creamy and smooth.
  4. Add in the eggs, cacao, coconut flour, baking soda and vanilla and blend again until it's all mixed through. The mixture should be a vibrant coloured dough, not as liquid-y as the usual pancake mix.
  5. Heat a skillet with the of coconut oil on medium heat and add one and a half heaped tablespoon of the mixture into the skillet and gently spread it out into a round shape with the back of the spoon.
  6. Depending on the size of your pan, you should be able to fit 2-4 medium pancakes.
  7. Let cook for 2 minutes and then flip with a spatula and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes. Set aside until you finish with the whole batter (but do keep one for yourself. You know, for taste testing)
  8. Make your whipped coconut cream and chocolate maple syrup, and serve by assembling the pancakes on top of each other (2-3 per person), adding a dollop of whipped coconut cream, and drizzling some delicious chocolate syrup! Heaven!
Whipped Coconut Cream
  1. Open your can of coconut milk and scoop out the hardened cream that has formed. Add to a bowl or food processor with a whipping blade and whip until it has peaks and is fluffy, just like regular whipped cream. hint - keep the water from the can for your smoothies!
Chocolate Maple Syrup
  1. Super simple! Mix all ingredients in a bowl and serve!
Notes
WHIPPED COCONUT CREAM - make sure you get your coconut milk from a brand that uses no preservatives, as that mean that the cream and water won't separate and you won't be able to cream it!

TOPPINGS - You could add some cacao nibs or chocolate chips for an extra crunch, or maybe even some pecans!
Deliciously Healthy Red Velvet Pancakes! via Teffy's Perks

Happy brunching!

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