The Best Easy Chocolate Beetroot Cake Recipe
Whether you’re looking to use up leftover beetroots from your fridge or you want to make a delicious, rich chocolate cake, this chocolate beetroot cake recipe is a winner! It’s quick and easy to make, plus it stays fresh for longer too. Read on for the full recipe, plus a full list of all the benefits for using beetroot in baking!

Beetroot might not be the first ingredient that springs to mind when you think about whipping up a delicious chocolate cake but this rich, indulgent beetroot chocolate cake is delicious! Unlike other healthy sweet treats, using natural sweeteners, like these dates and banana peanut butter blondies, this beetroot chocolate cake recipe contains sugar like a regular cake. So although this beetroot cake recipe isn’t what you might call healthy, the beetroot provides added vitamins and nutrients, while boosting sweetness and texture.
Why Add Beetroot to Chocolate Cake?
I first discovered beetroot chocolate cake about 17 years ago and up until recently, I believed that using beetroot in baking and desserts was a new concept. It wasn’t until recently that I learned that beetroot has been used for making cakes and desserts since the late 1930s or early 1940s. Beetroot has been used in baking since World War II, when eggs and butter were rationed. Home bakers discovered that pureed vegetables could replace some of the fat and add structure and moisture — a trick that modern “hidden veg” baking still uses today.

5 Benefits of Using Beetroot in Baking Recipes
If you’ve ever wondered why beetroot is used in chocolate cake recipes then you’re not alone! After researching reasons to add beetroot to
1. Natural Sweetness & Moisture
Beetroot adds a subtle natural sweetness that complements the cocoa beautifully. It’s also rich in natural sugars and water, which keep the cake moist, tender, and fudgy — similar to how carrots work in carrot cake or courgettes (zucchini) in chocolate loaf cakes. The result is a dessert that feels indulgent but doesn’t dry out easily.

2. Healthier Alternative
While no cake is a health food, beetroot makes chocolate cake a little more wholesome:
It’s rich in fiber, folate (vitamin B9), manganese, potassium, iron, and vitamin C.
Beets are packed with antioxidants (especially betalains) that can support detoxification and reduce inflammation.
Using beetroot often means you can reduce added sugar or fat slightly, since the vegetable contributes sweetness and moisture naturally.
3. Beautifully Deep Flavor
When combined with cocoa, the earthy notes of beetroot mellow out and enhance the depth of the chocolate flavor — think of it as adding a richer, more complex undertone, almost like using espresso or dark brown sugar in a recipe. The beetroot itself doesn’t make the cake taste “vegetable-y”; instead, it intensifies the chocolate and gives it a subtle warmth.
4. Naturally Rich Colour
Fresh beetroot gives the batter a deep reddish-brown hue before baking, which bakes into a luxurious dark chocolate tone — perfect if you want a cake that looks as indulgent as it tastes. Some bakers even use it as a natural alternative to red food coloring in red velvet cakes.
5. Better Texture & Shelf Life
Because of beetroot’s moisture content, the cake tends to stay soft and fresh for longer. It creates a velvety crumb that feels richer than a standard sponge, especially when paired with a glossy chocolate glaze or ganache.

Beetroot Chocolate Cake Recipe
This amazing cake recipe can be made using eggs or without eggs. If you’re looking to make a tasty eggless chocolate cake with beetroot then I’ve listed the ingredients and instructions below on how to properly substitute the eggs in this recipe. I have tried both the egg-free version of this recipe, as well as the traditional cake recipe using eggs and both have turned out just fine with no noticeable difference.
Serves: 8–10
Prep time: 15 mins
Bake time: 35–40 mins
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
1½ cups (190g) plain flour
½ cup (50g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda*
¼ tsp salt
Wet ingredients:
1 cup (200g) sugar (white, brown, or coconut sugar)
½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
1 cup (250ml) pureed cooked beetroot (about 2 medium beets)
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup (180ml) milk or any plant-based milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (to help it rise)*
2 eggs*
Using Eggs for this Recipe versus Eggless Cake Recipe
Here I’ve listed (*) the ingredients needed when using either eggs in this recipe or ingredients for substituting the eggs in this recipe if you’d prefer to create an eggless cake. If you would prefer to stick to the traditional cake recipe which uses eggs then stick to adding the eggs – there is no need to add the baking soda and lemon juice or vinegar in addition to the eggs. If you’d prefer to make an eggless cake recipe then leave out the eggs and add the baking soda and either the vinegar or lemon juice as listed above. The lemon juice or vinegar, depending on which you decide to use, will react with the baking soda to enable the cake to rise. So to summarize: use the baking soda and vinegar/lemon juice if you’re not adding eggs. If you’re using eggs in this recipe then skip the baking soda and vinegar/lemon juice.
Optional:
½ cup dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
A sprinkle of icing sugar or cocoa powder for dusting

How to Make Beetroot Chocolate Cake
1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and line an 8-inch round or square cake tin.
2. Prepare the beetroot purée:
Boil or roast the beets until soft.
Peel and blend until smooth (add a tablespoon of milk if needed).
3. Mix wet ingredients:
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, beetroot purée, vanilla, milk, and vinegar.
4. Add dry ingredients:
Sift in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Gently fold until just combined—don’t overmix.
5. Optional: Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Bake: Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35–40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool & serve: Let it cool completely before slicing. Dust with cocoa or top with a simple chocolate glaze if you like.

Optional Chocolate Glaze
Melt together:
100g dark chocolate
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp butter or coconut oil
Pour over the cooled cake for a glossy finish.
Beetroot Chocolate Cake Glaze Recipe
How to Decorate a Chocolate Cake?
There are so many ways to decorate and finish off a chocolate cake. For this beetroot chocolate cake, many recipes recommend finishing off the cake with a sprinkle of icing sugar as the cake topping. Do not try to decorate your cake while it is still warm. Wait until your cake has cooled before applying your cake topping. Here are a few of the best cake topping ideas for a chocolate cake:
- Simple icing sugar – in a sieve, sprinkle a layer of icing sugar over the top of the chocolate cake.
- Fondant icing – fondant icing is a great way to finish off any cake. You can try making your own homemade fondant icing or buy store rollout icing in a variety of colors.
- Glazed cherries – great for adding on top of icing sugar topping or fondant icing.
- Chopped fresh fruits – chopped fresh strawberries or other berries work well for chocolate cake topping.
- Whipped cream – whip the cream and decorate the cake. Leave plain or finish off with chocolate cake sprinkles or fresh berries.
- Ice-cream – you could also leave your chocolate cake plain without topping and serve with ice-cream as you serve each slice.
- Chocolate sauce or custard – if you prefer eating your chocolate cake hot then why not try a delicious chocolate sauce or custard? Make your chocolate sauce or custard and pour over your cake when serving. Leave the sponge plain and cold or heat up in the microwave if you’d prefer your cake sponge to be hot along with your chocolate sauce or custard.
- Chocolate glaze – chocolate glaze is one of the most popular cake topping ideas. If you want to know the secret for how to create a tasty and indulgent chocolate cake then whipping up a delicious glossy chocolate glaze to pour over your chocolate sponge is the best way to achieve this!
If you like this recipe, you should check out this delicious peanut butter chocolate ganache recipe – it’s the perfect cake topping for brownies and chocolate cake.