With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, there’s one flavor on my mind – RED VELVET. While I truthfully love red velvet year round, something about this time of year just bumps it to the top of my list. Maybe it’s that rich red color, maybe it’s the richness of the cake paired with a perfectly tart cream cheese frosting. No matter what it is, these Healthy Red Velvet Cupcakes absolutely hit the mark. They’re rich and fluffy, super easy to make, and much lighter!
With a few key ingredient swaps, these cupcakes become WW friendly without sacrificing taste. They’re lower in fat and sugar than traditional cupcakes, but you’d never know it.
Making Healthy Red Velvet Cupcakes
These couldn’t be easier to make. I’m talking literally EASIER than just following the instructions on the box. To make the red velvet cupcakes, you’ll need:
- 1 15 oz box of red velvet cake mix
- 1 cup of filtered water
- 1 cup nonfat greek yogurt
Preheat oven to 350F. Combine greek yogurt, water, and cake mix and whisk together until smooth. Line a mini muffin pan with mini cupcake wrappers and put about a tablespoon of batter into each. Bang the pan on the countertop a few times to get air pockets out and bake for 15-17 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
While the cupcakes bake, you’ll make your frosting. For the frosting, you’ll need:
- 8 oz light cream cheese (block style)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1.5 cups powdered sugar substitute (I use Swerve, this helps keep the sugar/WW points lower)
- 1 cup powdered sugar (you can use all powdered sugar or all powdered sugar substitute, but I like the stability/structure of using both)
- Vanilla extract for flavor
Ensure your cream cheese and butter are room temperature and cream the two together well. You want to ensure the butter and cream cheese are totally combined and smooth. Then sift in powdered sugar and powdered sugar substitute and mix together until you have a smooth frosting. Add vanilla, mix, and your frosting is ready to go! Pipe frosting onto each cupcake (I use a basic piping bag + large star tip), finish with sprinkles, and keep cupcakes in the fridge until you’re ready to enjoy. Store these in the fridge so that the frosting keeps its shape!
Healthy Red Velvet Cupcakes
Jacklin AltmanEquipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Stand Mixer
- Mini Muffin Pan
- Piping Bags
- Oven
Ingredients
- 15.25 oz red velvet cake mix boxed
- 1 cup Greek yogurt nonfat
- 1 cup Water
- 8 oz Light Cream Cheese block style, softened
- 1 tbsp Butter softened
- 1 cup Powdered sugar
- 1.5 cups Powdered sugar substitute
- 1 Tsp Vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine cake mix with greek yogurt, and water. Whisk together until smooth.
- Spray mini muffin pan or line with cupcake liners and divide batter evenly among 48 cupcakes (roughly a heaping tablespoon in each).
- Bake for 14-16 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cream cheese and butter and beat on medium speed until well combined and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and powdered sugar substitute 1/2 cup at a time until frosting thickens. Add vanilla and beat on medium speed to combine, until frosting is fluffy.
- Frost each mini cupcake and finish with some sprinkles. Keep in the fridge until ready to eat. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you’re making these minis, it makes 48 mini cupcakes
- Bake at 350F for 13-15 minutes for mini
- If you’re making regular size, it makes 24 cupcakes
- Bake at 350F for 20-23 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean
2 thoughts on “Healthy Red Velvet Cupcakes”
SO SATISFYING!! I’ve been craving something sweet lately and had to try these because they looked so simple. I just finished meal-prepping and these little babies gave me the trouble than anything else I prepped today. Like they gave me NO trouble. So easy to make! I will say though if you’re like me and don’t like super rich frosting, this one is pretty rich. Delicious! But rich. This recipe is bookmarked for sure! Thanks Jacklin!!
So glad to hear you liked these!! Tis the season for all things red velvet! 🙂