These red velvet muffins are super moist with the perfect red velvet flavor and plenty of chocolate chips. They’re a delicious breakfast or a treat for Valentine’s Day — or anytime someone is craving red velvet!
Delicious Red Velvet Muffins
These red velvet muffins are rich, tender, and full of classic flavor. They bake up with a deep red hue and the gentle cocoa tang you expect from red velvet cupcakes or cake, but with a slightly less sweet profile. You can use white chocolate chips or regular chocolate chips — both work beautifully — and they’re best served warm so the chips are soft and melty.
The recipe leans on a few key ingredients to get that signature red velvet taste:
- A touch of cocoa powder. Red velvet sits between chocolate and vanilla, so only a small amount of cocoa is needed. Natural cocoa is a good choice because it’s lighter than Dutch-processed cocoa.
- Buttermilk. Buttermilk keeps the muffins tender and adds a subtle tang that complements the cocoa.
- Vinegar. A little vinegar increases acidity, helps create the tang, and reacts with baking soda so the muffins rise nicely.
- Red food coloring. This gives the muffins their distinctive color. Use as much or as little as you like; the recipe uses about 2 teaspoons of gel coloring for a vibrant finish.
The batter combines both melted butter and oil: butter for flavor, and oil to help the muffins stay moist for longer.
Making the Muffins – Step by Step Photos
This recipe is straightforward and made entirely by hand.
- Whisk the dry ingredients — flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt — so the leaveners and cocoa are evenly distributed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients — melted butter, oil, eggs, vanilla, food coloring, buttermilk, and vinegar. It will look very bright red at first, but the color mellows after mixing with the dry ingredients.
- Make a well in the dry mixture and pour the wet ingredients in. Stir gently to combine.
- Fold in the chocolate chips. A few small lumps in the batter are fine — avoid overmixing to keep the muffins tender.
- Spoon the batter evenly into 12 lined muffin cups and bake.
The muffins start baking at a high temperature for five minutes to create nicely domed tops, then the oven temperature is reduced so they finish baking without burning. This quick temperature change yields bakery-style muffin domes while ensuring the centers cook evenly.
These muffins are at their best warm from the oven. They make a lovely breakfast for Valentine’s Day or any morning you want a sweet, special treat.
More decadent muffin ideas to try: Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Muffins, Double Chocolate Muffins, Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffins, and Blueberry Chocolate Chip Muffins.
Red Velvet Muffins
Fiona Dowling
Equipment
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12-cavity muffin pan
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muffin papers
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (281.25 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (56 grams), melted and cooled
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (60 ml)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon distilled or white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons red velvet food coloring
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (180 ml)
- 1 cup white chocolate chips (180 grams) or your preferred chips
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a 12-cavity muffin tin with papers.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda.
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In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, oil, eggs, vanilla, vinegar, food coloring, and buttermilk.
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Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
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Using a rubber spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. The batter should remain slightly lumpy — do not overmix.
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When mostly combined, fold in the chocolate chips.
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Spoon the batter evenly into the 12 muffin papers, filling almost to the top.
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Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 5 minutes. Without removing the muffins, reduce the oven to 350°F (180°C) and continue baking for 12–15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Cool the muffins in the pan for at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm.
Notes
- Flour: Measure flour accurately. Too much flour makes dry muffins. If you don’t have a scale, whisk the flour, spoon it into measuring cups, and level off the top.
- Sugar: For a sweeter, more dessert-like muffin, increase sugar to 1 1/4 cups. The recipe is plenty sweet with 1 cup for many tastes.
- Food coloring: Gel or liquid coloring works. Adjust the amount to reach your preferred shade.
- Storage: Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Freeze cooled muffins for up to 2 months.
- Nutrition: Nutrition information is an estimate per muffin, assuming 12 equal muffins.