Healthy beetroot chocolate cake

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This fabulous beetroot chocolate cake is moist, delicious, and loaded with nutrients. Blend all the ingredients, pour the batter into the cake pan, and bake!

A little white just is pouring melted chocolate on the beetroot chocolate cake.

The healthy and convenient beetroot is the main ingredient in this recipe, but its flavor is very subtle. It lends moisture, lovely ruby color, and blends perfectly with cocoa powder and the indulgent dark chocolate.

Bonus? It’s also SUPER EASY to make with this “ALL IN ONE” method, exactly like I do in this carrot cake, you can blend all the ingredients in a food processor in no time.

Yes, it’s that easy, and you’ll be amazed at how delicious and moist this chocolate cake with beets is.

And if you’re not familiar with canned or vacuum-packed beets, keep in mind they’re absolutely convenient, and bring fiber, nutrients, and zero fat into your cake!
They’re also versatile and ready in no time, a brilliant ingredient for recipes like this beetroot salad or this super quick beetroot hummus!

Trust me, I baked this cake so many times, it always turns out perfect and everyone asks for the recipe. Plus, It’s low sugar, packed with wholesome ingredients, and kids love it.
Just don’t tell anyone it’s packed with vegetables, and they’ll ask for seconds!

So before I say anything else, look at this…  isn’t it delicious? ?

A slice of this moist chocolate and beetroot cake on a light blue plate.

What ingredients you need

  • Beetroots (canned or vacuum-packed)
  • All-purpose flour or whole wheat flour
  • Eggs
  • Sugar
  • Vegetable oil
  • Cocoa powder
  • Vanilla essence (optional)
  • Baking powder
  • Dark chocolate bar or chips (optional)

And a food processor…

Beetroots, egg, sugar, oil and cocoa powder into a food processor bowl.
I love this food processor, I have been using it intensively for the last 10 years, it’s just perfect.

How to make it

Note: below is the summary of the steps, the full recipe is at the bottom of the post

  • Preheat the oven
  • Blend beetroots, egg, sugar, oil, vanilla essence, and cocoa powder
  • Whisk flour, baking powder, and a pinch salt
  • Add the dry ingredients to the food processor bowl
  • Blend just until combined, do not overmix!
  • Pour the batter into a greased cake pan
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes
Four images show for different steps to make this beetroot chocolate cake in a food processor.
I use this fancy bundt pan, it’s brilliant, non-stick and affordable. I love it!
  • Pour the melted dark chocolate over the top
  • I love this step, it makes the cake so pretty and delicious!
Chocolate and beetroot cake decorated with melted chocolate on a light blue plate.

RECIPE NOTES & FAQ

This chocolate cake with beets is simply delish, healthy and so pretty, without being loaded with sugar or other fancy decorations. Just, simple, real, ingredients!

With less than 5 minutes of prep time, a food processor, all the magic happens and it will cost you around $5 (6-8 servings). For my bundt cakes, I always use this bundt pan, definitely inexpensive and good quality!

CAN CAKES BE HEALTHY?

It obviously depends on the ingredients, since the amount of sugar and fat makes a huge difference.
Plus, if you make your own cake from scratch using wholesome ingredients like beetroots, fiber-rich whole grain flour, unrefined cane sugar, and superfood dark chocolate, your cake will be definitely healthier than a regular one.

ARE BEETROOTS GOOD FOR YOU?

Yes, beetroots have been associated with numerous health benefits, they’re low on calories and rich in fiber, essential to lower cholesterol levels, and to reduce appetite.
You also might like this beetroot hummus or this beetroot salad, two easy recipes to introduce beetroots into your diet.

A knife is cutting a chocolate and beetroot cake on a light blue plate.

CAN I USE A FOOD PROCESSOR TO MAKE THIS CAKE?

I do love this “ALL IN ONE METHOD”, all the ingredients are put into the bowl of the processor and whizzed until mixed into a cake batter.

It saves time and mess, you only use the food processor bowl and, best past, you don’t grate the beetroots!

However, you have to blend the ingredients in a certain order, you can’t simply throw all the ingredients into the food processor and blend. You will over-mix the batter, activating too much gluten, it will result in a cake with a heavy, bready texture. No, thanks! 😉

HOW TO MAKE THIS BEETROOT CAKE MOIST?

This blender beetroot cake is super easy and requires little effort, but keep in minds a few simple rules:

  • Use ingredients at room temperature
  • Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just combined
  • Don’t overmix the batter, that would ruin that lovely texture
  • Make sure the baking powder is fresh and not expired
  • Measure liquid, baking powder, and flour accurately

HOW TO STORE A BEETROOT AND CHOCOLATE CAKE?

It keeps well for up to 3-4 days at room temperature, in an airtight container. But do not refrigerate, I notice that refrigeration dries this type of cakes out! It’s also freezable, but preferably without chocolate decoration since condensation might alter the appearance and texture of the chocolate.

If you love healthy cakes, super easy to make, you might check these delicious:

But if you look for more inspirations, you can’t miss these amazing healthy cake recipes.

If you make this delicious and easy chocolate and beetroot cake, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram. I would love to hear from you!

A little white just is pouring melted chocolate on the beetroot chocolate cake.
Print Recipe
4.75 from 8 votes

BEETROOT AND CHOCOLATE CAKE: EASY, HEALTHY, MOIST!

This beautiful cake is so delicious, moist, healthy, and easy to make: just blend all the ingredients in a food processor, and bake!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword: beetroot and chocolate cake
Servings: 8
Calories: 281kcal
Author: Katia

Ingredients

  • 2 (7oz/200 grams) medium beets, cooked
  • 2 medium-sized eggs
  • 1/2 scant cup (80-90 grams) vegetable oil (I use expeller pressed canola oil)
  • 1 1/4 cup (170 grams) all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar (I use unrefined cane sugar)
  • 3 Tbsp (20 grams) cocoa powder, unsweetened
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
  • 1/2 (50 grams) 70% or 85% dark chocolate bar, or more if you like (optional)
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 360F.
  • Grease or line your cake pan with parchment paper (Mine is a ring pan 8.6 x 4 inch-deep).
  • Whisk your flour in a bowl with 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt.
  • Place all the ingredients, except the flour, in a food processor and blend into a smooth consistency*
  • Add the flour in two steps, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Blend only for a few seconds until the flour is just combined with the rest of the ingredients, do not overmix (the pictures above show the main steps in the food processor).
  • Scrape the batter into the pan, level the top and bake in the middle shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes check the cake by inserting a thin skewer/cake tester into the centre of the cake. If the cake is fully cooked then the skewer will come out clean, if there is still batter clinging to the skewer then return the cake to the oven for a further 3 minutes and test again. 
  • When the cake is ready, remove from the oven and let it cool.
  • In the meanwhile melt the dark chocolate in the microwave or into a heatproof bowl placed over a pan of barely simmering water (a bain marie). Allow the chocolate to melt, stirring occasionally. Once melted leave it to set until a bit firm, but still runny.
  • Remove your cake from the pan and decorate with the runny dark chocolate sauce. 
    Enjoy it!

Notes

  1. * I always use a food processor, not a blender. A blender is ok to mix wet ingredients, but you run the risk to overmix the batter when as soon as you add flour.
    To avoid overmixing, add flour by hand using a spatula, just until combined.
  2. NOTE: Nutritional values are estimates only.

Nutrition

Calories: 281kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 37mg | Potassium: 202mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 68IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 2mg

38 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    So happy to find a beetroot cake recipe! I just noticed it says to combine all ingredients apart from the flour and baking powder first, but it should also exclude the chocolate bar as that is for the optional topping 🙂 almost chucked the chocolate chips in my batter haha, to be fair I think it would have worked anyway!

    1. Glad to hear you like this recipe, Carmen. Thanks so much for sharing your feedback! : )

  2. 5 stars
    Super delicious!!! I used a drained 12 oz jar of home canned beets for this recipe. Last year I canned these beets and they were too soft for my liking. This is a perfect way to use them up. I made a chocolate ganache for topping – excellent!!

    1. I’m so glad you loved this recipe, Sue! : )
      Thanks a lot for sharing this great feedback, I appreciate it. xx

    2. Patricia Nance says:

      How do you make ganache 😊?

    3. Hi Patricia! That’s not a proper ganache but simply some melted dark chocolate (instructions in the recipe, point 9). : )

  3. 5 stars
    Hi Katia! This is the most perfect cake I’ve baked in years, I’m not much of a baker. I used olive oil and I didn’t mind the beetroot colour. But that was only on the top. Once I unmoulded it, it looked brown like chocolate. The Chocolate drip is still wet, after a couple of hours. Is that how it is?
    Do you have an Instagram page?

    1. I’m so pleased to hear that, Sra! Thanks so much for sharing. : )
      Sometimes the melted chocolate is still wet after hours, that’s fine (it depends on the temperature and humidity of the room) but it will harden, or you can place it in the fridge to speed up the process.
      But feel free to enjoy your lovely cake with sticky melted chocolate anyway (I love it even more to be honest : ). Enjoy! x

  4. jacinta collins says:

    Hi could you use sweetner instead of sugar?

    1. Hi Jacinta, unfortunately I’ve never tested the recipe with other sweetener. x

  5. 5 stars
    Omg this cake was soooo yummy! Everyone was shocked there were beets in it. Will definitely be making this again but bigger next time. So moist & tastey. I used freshly boiled beets & a different dark chocolate frosting but superb nonetheless.

    1. Amazing! I’ve made it so many times and we love it too, and I’m so happy that you love my cake recipes. : )
      Thanks so much for sharing your feedback! x

  6. 4 stars
    Hi Katia, I made this recipe yesterday but it didn’t turn out quite right. Like another commenter Lindy mentioned, the cake stayed a bit more beet-colored, the batter was thick/stiff and the texture even after baking wasn’t quite right. It tasted great and chocolatey but the texture is very dense and kind of gummy inside with sort of a harder skin on the outside? Any guesses what might’ve been the issue?

    My oven isn’t very good so it doesn’t heat evenly or get as hot. I worried if I should turn up the temperature more or maybe tin foil over it would get the inside to cook better? My mom greased AND floured the sides of the bundt pan because she said that’s the only way to get cake out of bundt pans. Would that have prevented the cake from rising properly/couldn’t climb the sides of the pan?

    Your recipe doesn’t say whether to drain the can of beets or not but judging from the picture, it looks like you just put beets in and not any liquid. I used half a 15oz can eye-balling it or could slightly extra beets throw things off?

    I used Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder. Could that kind for some reason have less effect on the color? I misread and used vanilla extract rather than essence so hoped the amount was the same. I used melted Earth Balance non-dairy butter instead of vegetable oil. I also used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. Unfortunately, that has xanthan gum already mixed in so I wonder if it contained too much to contribute to the gummy-ness? I would’ve preferred flour without that added so I could adjust the amount of non-gluten alternative binder but that’s just what we had on hand. Do you think this recipe may not perform as well with gluten-free flour mix? Just trying to figure out what could’ve been the main issue. Perhaps as you told Lindy, it was just a bit too much flour in general making the batter stiff?

    1. Hi Carla, thanks for the feedback! : )
      The main issue is the gluten-free flour instead of all purpose flour, probably the non-dairy butter instead of vegetable oil (and maybe an oven that doesn’t work well).
      Many things can affect the texture of a cake to be honest, but following the recipe as written is very important to get a good result.
      Hope this helps, take care x

  7. Do you think this would work as cupcakes? Try to travel with it, cupcakes would be way easier for that but don’t want to mess it up! Thanks

    1. Hi! I did it once, I used this batter to make muffins, and although they turned out very good, the muffin paper cases were wet and looked messy.
      For this reason, I wouldn’t serve them as cupcakes in their paper cases. Cheers. x

  8. 5 stars
    Hi, just made this cake, or used it as template… I put spelt flour, coconut oil and agave syrup, also added cca 180g whey powder-chocolate flavor and 1 banana.
    It turned out little bit too much mixture for bundt pan in which I put it (it leaked out in the middle 🙂 ), probably because of this added ingredients of mine and I didn’t realize it will grow this much when baked.
    But all in all, cake is amazing, taste is just great! Definitely will be baked a lot, but next time I will follow recipe 😉
    Thank you!

    1. I’m so pleased it turned out amazing, your adjustments worked anyway, Ivana! Thanks for sharing your lovely feedback! 💛

    2. Hi just made this cake, the mixture was very stiff when putting into the baking tin and it is still a beetroot colour and not chocolate🙈

    3. Hi Lindy! The colour should be like the raw batter in the picture, the cocoa powder turns that pink into a brown, kind of. It shouldn’t be beetroot color.
      And if the batter is very stiff, I think you’ve added extra flour. Bake it, hopefully color and texture will improve.
      I’ve baked this cake so many times, and it always turns out great. I hope you’ll enjoy it. x

  9. hi can i use a round cake tin to bake this ?
    If so what size?

    1. Hi! Yes, you can use a round tin 😊 (both 9-inch tin or 10-inch tin work fine) x

  10. 5 stars
    Thanks so much for this recipe! Was really easy to follow and the cake was fab! Received beetroot in my veg box and we had no idea what to do with it (and we don’t much like beetroot anyway!). The cake was deliciously moist. I added about 200g of milk and white chocolate chunks as I had leftover cooking chocolate from another baking adventure and it made it so chocolatey. We really liked it!

    1. I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, and you managed to bake something delicious with your beetroot 😊 Thanks so much for your comment! x

    2. Hi katia, just a question because I’ve never ever used canned beets – do we use them straight out of the can or do we have to boil them before blending in the food processor? Looking forward to trying this recipe out!

    3. Hi! 😊 Straight out of the can is fine, no boiling is required, the beetroots are already cooked and soft. Let me know how it turns out 😉 x

    4. Thank you Katia for the response:) Because I’m going to be using weight instead of volume measurements, can I confirm that the recipe calls for 80g of vegetable oil? It says half a cup, but i googled and some say half a cup is 120g.

    5. HI! 😊 It’s actually a scant 1/2 cup, it means slightly less than 1/2 cup which on my kitchen scale is about 80-90 grams.
      I’ve baked this cake many times and a small variation in the amount of oil doesn’t change the final result, but I’ll add a note to the recipe card to clarify.
      And you’re right, if you google it you’ll find that half cup of oil is 120 ml/120 grams. But oil is lighter than water, and even if we fill the 1/2 cup at maximum capacty, it won’t be 120 grams.
      Thanks for your question and happy baking! 💛

  11. 4 stars
    This cake was very popular with my family , the kids loved it.

    I used boiled beets , peeled and chopped instead of canned beets and 78 dark chocolate for the sauce.

    It was finished within a couple of days. 🙂

    Thank you for another great cake recipe.

    1. Thanks so much for your comment, Bianca! I’m so happy you enjoy my cake recipes 🙂

  12. Thanks a lot for sharing the recipe. It was amazingly delicious! Just as said, it was super moist, easy and healthy! You couldn’t even taste the beetroot! I’m a dark chocolate fan, so I added some chunks inside the cake as well. It tasted soo good, that we finished half the cake when it was still the baking tray! I can’t stop eating it. Amazing recipe, and very healthy with the goodness of beetroot too!

    1. Your comment made my day, Sanika! I’m so pleased you loved this delicious cake made with simple healthy ingredients, we love it too 🙂 thanks so much for sharing x

  13. 5 stars
    We loved it, it was a hit, thanks so much for the recipe!

    1. Thanks for your feedback, Kevin, I’m so glad you liked it 🙂

    2. Amounts ? How many eggs, etc??????

    3. Hi Kim, the recipe cards is at the bottom of the post 😊 x

    4. 5 stars
      Wowwww many thanks for this incredible recipe !! It was huuuge hit and I hate beetroot ! But in this recipe omg it was delicious! I just put 1 banana and 7 dates instead of sugar and we all loved it ! Children and parents

    5. I’m so pleased it was a hit, Inela! 😍 Thanks so much for sharing your lovely feedback! x

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