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Blue Velvet Cupcakes – No food coloring needed!

blue velvet cupcakes

People love Red Velvet.

But why does it have to only be red velvet? What about green velvet, purple velvet, or—dare I say it—blue velvet? When I was asked to make cupcakes for a boy baby shower, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to try my hand at blue velvet cupcakes. However, two problems existed: One, I wanted the cupcakes to be natural (no blue food coloring). And two, I didn’t have a healthy chocolate cupcake recipe!

EDIT: There is finally now also a  Healthy Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe.

blue cupcakes

Experiments are always fun when they include chocolate, because you get to eat the not-so-perfect trials. (Fortunately and unfortunately for me, I got this cupcake recipe right on the first try.)  At first, I’d planned to use a recipe straight from the cookbook, VCTOTW. But as I worked, I changed it up completely!

Blue Velvet Cupcakes

(healthy and low-fat!)

  • 1 cup spelt or white flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup sugar of choice
  • 1 and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup yogurt (I used SoDelicious plain coconut)
  • 3 tablespoons canola oil or melted coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup milk of choice
  • 1/2 cup blueberries (60 grams)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mash or puree the blueberries (or just leave ’em whole). Mix dry ingredients, then add in wet. Don’t overmix. Pour into 12 cupcake liners, and bake 22-24 minutes. The blueberries didn’t exactly turn the cupcakes blue; but they are blue in spirit… and when you bite into one, you can see the blue from those lovely–and antioxidant-packed–berries.

Click for notes about a fat-free version.

blue velvet cupcake

Since I wasn’t really a guest at the shower, I didn’t eat one of the final-product cupcakes. However, I did eat an unfrosted one (straight out of the oven) that morning as part of my breakfast! Someone had to be a taste-tester, right?

The Icing on the Cake

2013 EDIT: I frosted the cupcakes with Pillsbury (surprisingly vegan), but if I were to make them again I would use my new favorite frosting of choice: Vegan Cool Whip. Just add a blueberry or two for a vibrant frosting.

Published on May 16, 2011

Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox, The Huffington Post, and ABC's 5 O'clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

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129 Comments

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  1. Christy says

    hi katie! can you please veganize and healthanize this recipie? its from http://www.abeautifulmess.com heres the recipie:
    Needed: 3 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup wheat flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, a pinch of ground ginger, 1 1/2 cups (cold) butter, 3 eggs and 4 tablespoons water.
    First blend together the flours and butter until the batter is like a coarse grain. I usually do this step in a food processor, but a pastry blender is great too. Then add in the sugars and spices, mix. Add in the eggs and water and use your clean hands to press the dough together. If it still feels too dry add another tablespoon of water. Press into a ball, cover in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. When your ready to fill the crusts simply divide in four and roll out on a lightly floured surface. id really appriciate your help! thanks

  2. Rebekah says

    I have two little girls. One of them is going to a party tomorrow so I am scouring your site for a dessert I can make for her to eat there!

  3. Justin says

    Do you think I could replace the blueberries with raspberries for a ‘red’ velvet cupcake? I’m kind of obsessed with red velvet 🙂

  4. Emily Pulitano says

    I just made these cupcakes (but I used whole grain oat flour, coconut oil and xylitol) for a co workers birthday. Oh my goodness these are awesome! They taste so fudgy and moist. For icing I used your recipe for healthy homemade Nutella and the combo is seriously delicious! Thank you for all your awesome healthy dessert recipes! Emily
    P.S. how do you create baked good recipes and know how much leavening agents/corn starch and egg replacements etc. to use and when???? Very curious!

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      A lot of trial and error at first! After a while, you just start to know, because it’s usually the same proportions (or pretty close). And then you can taste the batters and add extra salt/sugar/liquid if need be, as you’re experimenting. 🙂

  5. Anonymous says

    Hmmm. I’ve always liked the name Samantha. I’d name my first daughter that and then call her same for short.

  6. Melissa says

    Hi Katie!

    Love the sound of the recipe, but if I wanted to make a gluten free version, what flour would you recommend swapping out the white flour for?

    Thanks for all of your yummy recipes!

  7. Mom in Maine says

    Thank you! My son has an egg allergy so I am always looking for recipes that don’t have egg. I just made 60 of these for his birthday party and they were a big hit!

  8. Kylie Keppler says

    Hi Katie!

    We have created a collection of patio blueberry and raspberry plants under the brand BrazelBerries and one of our home gardeners made this recipe using our blueberries! May we link to your recipe in a blog post with her photo? Please let us know, thank you!

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