
These naturally pink beetroot muffins have been munchkin’s favorite muffins for a while. Not only are they beautiful, but they are also sweet and fluffy. Don’t worry if you aren’t a fan of beets. The taste is very subtle and nothing like a beet salad. Many families, including young kids, have enjoyed this muffin recipe ever since I shared it on my Instagram and Pinterest pages.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small fee without any additional cost to you. 🙂

Use raw or oven-roasted beetroot
For these muffins to turn beautifully saturated pink, you must use raw or oven-roasted beetroot. Canned beets or beet powder make a brownish color when cooked.
If you don’t have roasted beets handy, raw beet (after peeled) works perfectly well in this recipe. However, I like to roast a batch of beetroots and always have them ready in the freezer because roasting truly brings out the sweet and earthy flavor of beetroots.

Tahini or Plain Yogurt
I used tahini when I first developed this recipe because my love for beets started with beet hummus. I still love this version with tahini, as it lends a unique flavor. However, I don’t always have tahini at home, and on those days, I use plain yogurt instead. The Tahini version has a more earthy and nutty flavor, while the yogurt version has a subtle tanginess. You can find both of the recipes below.

This recipe makes giant bakery-style muffins. Fill the muffin cups all the way to the top. I like to use a cookie scoop when distributing muffin batters. Here’s a link to my favorite muffin pan. I love it so much that own two!

Oven temperature
There are two ways to bake these muffins. Bake these muffins at 425F for 12 minutes and then 5~7 more minutes at 350F. Alternatively, you can bake the muffins at 400F for 20 minutes. Both methods work, but starting at a higher temperature will give more rise to the muffins, making them as big as those bakery-style ones. Look at the rise at 12 minute point at 425F.

Can I substitute sugar with natural sweetener?
This is one of the most common questions I get whenever I share a recipe with cane sugar. You can easily swap sugar with maple syrup or honey. Since those are liquid ingredients, you might need to reduce the amount of milk. I suggest reducing the milk amount to half and slowly adding it back in after you mix the batter. The consistency should be slightly thicker than a pancake batter. I think cane sugar yields a better texture, although the difference is minimal.
Also, check out my Beet and Carrot Mini muffins.
Storing muffins for later (Great for kids school snack)

These muffins are great for making ahead and freezing for school snacks or quick after-school snacks. Before freezing, allow the muffins to cool completely. Then, freeze muffins in a single layer on a cutting board or tray until they turn firm (about 1 hour.) Now you can transfer the muffins to a freezer-friendly bag or container.
Once the muffins are firm, I vacuum seal them using Zwilling Fresh & Save. I found this to be the best way to prevent freezer burn. These freezer bags are reusable, although not indefinitely, as they lose their seal over time.
Freeze up to 3 months. You can thaw the muffins at room temperature or microwave for 30~60 seconds per muffin.


Naturally Pink Beet Muffins (with tahini)
These muffins are naturally pink using beetroot. Don't worry- beet flavor is very subtle. These are my kids' favorite muffins!
Ingredients
- 1 small (2.5 oz) oven-roasted beet or raw (peeled) beet
- 1/4 cup unsweetened tahini
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
-
Position rack in the middle and preheat oven to 425F
-
Blend roasted beet, tahini, milk, olive oil, eggs, and vanilla extract in a blender until it becomes a smooth puree.
-
In a bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and mix well.
-
Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour the wet mixture. Gently stir with a spatula until just combined. Try not to overmix.
-
Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups. Distribute batter to fill the cups. (This recipe makes giant muffins!)
-
Bake for 12 minutes, then lower the heat to 350F and bake for additional 5 to 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Recipe Notes
- Use an oven-roasted beet or raw beet for the lovely pink color. Using boiled or canned beet will make the color less saturated.
- If you’d like to use maple syrup or honey instead of cane sugar, use 1/2 cup of sweetener and reduce milk to 1/2 cup.
- You can bake these muffins at 400F for 20 minutes if you want to walk away from the oven while baking. However, using a high temperature at the start gives the muffins a higher rise.

Naturally Pink Beet Muffins (with yogurt)
These muffins are naturally pink using beetroot. Don't worry- beet flavor is very subtle. These are my kids' favorite muffins!
Ingredients
- 1 small (2.5 oz) oven-roasted beet or raw (peeled) beet
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white whole-wheat flour*
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
-
Position rack in the middle and preheat oven to 425F
-
Blend roasted beet, yogurt, milk, olive oil, eggs, and vanilla extract in a blender until it becomes a smooth puree.
-
In a bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and mix well.
-
Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour the wet mixture. Gently stir with a spatula until just combined. Try not to overmix.
-
Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups. Distribute batter to fill the cups. (This recipe makes giant muffins!)
-
Bake for 12 minutes, then lower the heat to 350F and bake for additional 5 to 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Recipe Notes
You can substitute white whole wheat flour with whole wheat or all-purpose flour.
11 Responses
Is there any substitute for tahini?
I tried using Greek yogurt with good results. Also added a bit of lemon juice along with yogurt.
I only have canned beets but really want to try this. How much of a can would I use?
A small beet is about 2~3 oz. You can see how many oz is in the can and guess. It’s ok to use a little more.
These turned out great! I used brown sugar (not packed down) and added a few handfuls of baby carrots. Used about 1/4 of a 15 oz can of beets (granted I lost a good bit of the wet ingredients because I overfilled a food processor). I would make these again (hopefully without my overflow snafu)! Husband said they smelled like pancakes while baking 🙂
I’m so happy to hear and thank you for sharing your experience!
Forgot I also did 1 3/4 cup AP flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat. Half milk and half plain whole milk yogurt because I was low on milk.
Hi! My beets just wont grind at all while raw, there are so hard. How do I go about this?
Hello- What are you using to grind your beets? I add the beet along with the liquid ingredients in my high-speed blender. If you are still having trouble, you can microwave the beet (covered) in 30 second intervals until it feels softer.
Just made these and they are amazing! So gorgeous and delicious!
That is so amazing to hear! Thank you for leaving a comment