Rich and creamy red velvet bars made with natural beet powder (NO food coloring)! The recipe is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, high in antioxidants and easy to make. This blog post is kindly sponsored by SUNFOOD, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Red Velvet Bars
This is hands down the best cake I ever made! I am not kidding. I made many amazing desserts like cakes, brownies, cheesecakes, pancakes, crepes, bars etc but this one is so special. It’s rich, moist, soft, creamy, lush, and super delicious! The recipe is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and easy to make. You can make red velvet bars as I did or use a round cake tin to make a beautiful red velvet cake. I didn’t use any artificial food coloring which you can find in most red velvet recipes. Instead, I used 100% natural beet powder which is so much healthier than a red food dye.
Made with simple wholefood ingredients
These healthy red velvet bars contain only wholesome ingredients like oats, shredded unsweetened coconut, plant-based milk, raw cacao powder, beet powder, cashews etc. There is no need to use dairy, eggs, butter, cream cheese or food coloring. Even though this recipe is vegan, oil-free, and gluten-free, it still turned out exceptionally good.
As mentioned before, I never made a cake before which is so rich and moist and I am sure I will make this dessert more often in the future. Even my boyfriend loves it and he is not a big fan of desserts!
No food coloring!
I wanted to make this cake as natural as possible, that’s why I used Sunfood’s beet powder. This amazing powder is organic, vegan, gluten-free, Non-GMO, Kosher and has an incredible red color which is 100% natural. No artificial food dye, no chemicals, just dried beetroots in powder form.
Beets are known as a nitrate-rich superfood. Nitrates may support healthy blood flow, increase energy, and stamina. Their Beet Powder also has betaine, which may help liver function, cellular reproduction, and aid in the creation of carnitine — which helps your body turn fat into energy.
Consuming Beet Powder on a regular basis can lead to:2
- Younger complexion
- Increased vitality
- Healthier heart
- Optimal longevity
- Graceful aging
(2) Craig S. Betaine in human nutrition1’2. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;80(3):539-549.
Cream
I don’t know what I love more about this recipe, the beautiful red bottom or the rich luscious cream. The cream contains no oil at all and the main ingredient is cashews. You will need to soak the cashews for best results but if you put them in hot water it takes only about 45 minutes.
I haven’t tried a nut-free version in this recipe yet but the thick part of a can (or better two) of coconut milk could work as well. You need to put the can in the fridge overnight and then use only the thick cream, not the water. The result will be different though since cashews add more creaminess, in my opinion.
You can easily prepare the cream in a blender which works best for this recipe. If you don’t have a blender, a food processor might work too.
These Red Velvet Bars are:
- Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free)
- Gluten-free
- Oil-free
- Can be made refined sugar-free
- Can be made grain-free
- Soft
- Rich
- Moist
- Healthier than most red velvet desserts
- Easy to make
- Great for Valentine’s Day, dessert or a birthday party
Gluten-Free Red Velvet Bars
I used oats for this recipe which I processed in a coffee grinder to make oat flour. You can use regular oats or gluten-free oats and process them in a blender. You can also use store-bought oat flour.
To make the recipe grain-free you could possibly use buckwheat flour instead of oat flour. I didn’t try it out in this recipe but it should work fine. If you aren’t gluten-free you can most likely use all-purpose flour (wheat flour) or spelt flour.
Should you recreate these red velvet bars, please leave a comment below and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I love to see your recreations.
Red Velvet Bars
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups (150 g) oat flour (gluten-free if needed)
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sweetener of choice (see notes)
- 7/8 cup (75 g) shredded unsweetened coconut (see notes)
- 2 tbsp beet powder
- 3/4 tbsp cacao powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1 cup (240 ml) plant-based milk
- 1/3 cup (80 g) mashed banana (see notes)
- 1/2 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cream/Pudding:
- 1 cup (240 ml) plant-based milk
- 2 1/2 tbsp (20 g) cornstarch (see notes)
- 7 tbsp (80 g) granulated sweetener
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups (180 g) cashews (soaked)
Instructions
- I recommend measuring the ingredients in grams on a kitchen scale.
- Soak cashews in hot water for about 45 minutes, then drain the water.
- Meanwhile, start making the cake. Preheat oven to 360 degrees F (180 degrees C) and line a baking dish with parchment paper. My baking dish measures 9"x6" (23 x 15 cm).
- Process the shredded unsweetened coconut in an electric coffee/spice grinder or blender. Then put all dry ingredients into a bowl and stir with a whisk.
- In another bowl combine the wet ingredients.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of the dry ingredients and stir with a whisk until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the baking dish and bake in the oven for about 22-25 minutes and let cool.
- To make the cream, add milk, cornstarch, sugar, and vanilla extract into a small saucepan and bring to a boil while stirring.
- Once the pudding boils turn off the heat. Set aside.
- Put the cashews into a blender (preferably a high-speed blender), add the pudding, and mix until the cream is completely smooth (might take a minute or two) and pour it onto the cooled cake.
- Put the baking dish into the freezer for about 3 hours to set (or until the cream is not soft anymore).
- Cut into bars and enjoy! Store leftovers in the fridge.
Notes
- Granulated sweetener: You can use regular sugar, Erythritol, Xylitol (birch sugar, coconut sugar, etc.).
- Nuts: You can use 75 g ground almonds (almond flour) or any other ground nuts of choice.
- You could use applesauce instead of banana. An even better idea would be to use beet puree, which will also add a nice color!
- Cornstarch: You can use tapioca flour/starch or arrowroot flour/starch instead of cornstarch.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
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Do they need to be frozen? Is there a way they can just be at room temp? ;Less plant milk?
They need to be frozen to set, but can be stored in the fridge. They would be too soft if stored at room temperature, even with less milk.
Hi do these freeze well?
Yes, they do.
hello! thank you for the recipe – I want to make this lovely cake for my son’s 1st birthday next week, but.. don’t have a blender (well, have the hand-one) – will that be a problem? do you think it will work in a round pan?
thank you!!
Hi Mia, a round pan will work, however, you need a blender or food processor to blend the cashews. 🙂
I LOVE LOVE red velvet cake so was super excited to try a healthier version. I could not find beet powder so I used food colouring. I found it didn’t taste at all like red velvet cake and too much coconut. It’s a lovely vegan coconut cake. I do love your feed and recipes though-this was just my experience with this cake.
Hey! The beet powder (or beet puree) gives the cake the typical earthy Red Velvet flavor. Also, you don’t have to use desiccated coconut. As mentioned in the recipe notes, you can also use almond flour.
Hi, Just wondering If I could just use cooked beets instead of the beet powder? I have lots of fresh beetroot I need to use up but have no beet powder on hand.
Thank you! My girls and I love cooking your recipes =)
Sasha
Hi Sasha, you could use cooked beetroot puree instead of the banana. 🙂
Hi Ela,
I adore this recipe! But my question is, can I use a normal cow milk instead of the plant based milk? Will it work out alright?
Thank You and have a great day.
Hello, it should be no problem.
Can these be frozen?
Yes, they can. 🙂
Just found your recipe and am wondering what I can substitute for the oat flour. I also cannot use almond flour just in case you were going to suggest that. Is the beet powder made from dehydrated beets and then ground to a powder.? I really try to avoid processed foods and so in place of buying the product I would prefer to make my own.
Hi Janine, you could try buckwheat flour. And yes, I think the beet powder is made from dehydrated beets and then ground to a powder. 🙂
Hi Ella,
do I have to put it in the freezer or will just overnight in fridge do?
Hey Krizzy! To be honest I never tried it overnight in the fridge. It might work but to be on the safer side I would suggest freezing. 🙂
Hi ela ! Im your big fan 🙂 in Korea ! I will make this beautyful cake this weekend ! I have a question
If I use beetroot puree instead of banana, Do I have to use the beetroot powder? or can I skip it? I guess that If I skip the powder, I have to reduce the wet ingrediant or add flour 🙂
please reply to me !
You can still add half of the beetroot podwer (or all of it) because I think otherwise the color won’t be as rich. 🙂
Hi these look amazing! Are you able to tell me what the calorie intake is for one serve?