Red velvet protein bites. These little bites of heaven are the perfect snack or after dinner indulgence. Gluten free, vegan, high protein, no added sugar, and no artificial colors! Plus yummy frosting!
Dave's birthday was this past week and I wanted to make him a special birthday breakfast. Red velvet is one of his favorite recipes and since he is gluten free and grain free, I have to get creative when it comes to satisfying his cravings, especially with something so memorable and special like red velvet cake.
So on Sunday I pulled up my recipe for red velvet pancakes and got to work peeling and boiling beets. I decide to make a few extra beets so I could play with making red velvet protein bites (a recipe I've been day dreaming about for months), since I wanted the birthday celebration to continue all week. The end result was pure perfection and I'm so excited to share the recipe with you!
Beets are the star ingredient here! I'm sure you aren't surprised though. That gorgeous red color is perfect for red velvet anything. And beets also pair really well with chocolate for baking. I remember when I first started following healthy living blogs that beet chocolate cake was one of my first adventures with beets. The end product was delicious and no one else knew there were beets in it. Since then I've been hooked on beets!
Red velvet protein bites are incredibly healthy. There is no added sugar, the beets and the chocolate protein make them plenty sweet. The frosting is actually just coconut butter warmed up gently until it's runny to create that awesome drizzle effect. You can also dunk these in the warmed up coconut butter to make them more like a cake pop shell. These take almost no effort to make (if you have a food processor or a high speed blender).
Chef's Tip for Cooked Beets:
This recipe calls for cooked beets.
- You can buy them already cooked at the grocery store in the refrigerated section (make sure there aren't added ingredients) or
- Peel, cube and boil them in a half inch of water for 10 minutes. Once the beets are soft and cooled down this recipe will be ready to put in the fridge to harden. There is some wait time with this recipe but it's worth it.
Heads up! Coconut butter is different than coconut oil! It is just like peanut or almond butter in the sense that you process the dried coconut flakes until they make a creamy butter consistency. When you buy coconut butter it may be called coconut manna and will likely need to be heated and stirred to redistribute the layer of coconut oil that often separates after processing. Just microwave the glass jar or heat gently in a pan until runny. Then stir and use!
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PS. don't get upset with me if you get addicted to coconut butter! You can also use it to make chocolate protein pudding, cinnamon raisin oatmeal protein bars, cinnamon bun caulioats, mint chocolate chia pudding, carrot cake energy bites, carrot cake pancakes, or low carb coffee cake muffins!
Red Velvet Protein Bites - Gluten Free and High Protein
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked beets
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 2 tbs. chia seeds
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup dairy free milk - coconut milk
- 3 servings chocolate protein powder - Nuzest
- 3 tbs. cacao or cocoa powder
- 2 tbs. coconut flour
- 2 tbs. coconut butter
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Peel and cook the beets and allow them to cool.
- Add the beets, chia seeds and apple sauce to a food processor and blend until beets have pureed.
- Add the apple cider vinegar, dairy free milk and process until blended.
- Add protein powder, cacao powder, coconut flour, vanilla and process until smooth
- Add melted cococnut butter and blend until well incorporated.
- Refridgerate 2 hours
- Remove from fridge and scoop out mixture using 1 tbs. measuring spoon. Roll until form smooth balls.
- Cover with drizzle of optional coconut butter
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Nutrition Information
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Kendra
Hmmm. I followed the recipe to the letter and the mix is the consistency of cake batter, not cookie dough. Guessing my protein scoops may be smaller than yours?
Sam
There are some reasons that might have happened. Either the scoops being different, or another thing I was wondering is did you use a vegan protein powder or a whey protein based powder?
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome
I love beets!! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner link up!
Jhuls
I haven’t tried making anything with beets, but these sound so good and super healthy as well. Thanks for sharing such delicious treats at Fiesta Friday party!
Miz Helen
I will love your Red Velvet Protein Bites! I really appreciate you sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday and hope you are having a safe and enjoyable weekend.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
nimmi afzal
Wow..Something healthy at the party..Would love to try it..
Thanks for bringing this to the party:)!!
Brian
Wow, great recipe! It looks so gorgeous and I’m sure it’s even much better to eat! Recipe doesn’t look that complicated as well, I think I should be able to prepare it. Wish me luck though!
Kat
These sound amazing!! I’m not really a fan of beets, however I used them in a smoothie not too long ago and became OBSESSED with adding them to anything and everything I could. Love that you added them to some energy/protein bites!
Jen
These look so yum! I love red velvet and beets are the perfect healthy substitute!