Red velvet brownies are fudgy bars topped with a cheesecake swirl and baked to perfection. An easy and elegant dessert offering!
When I’m looking to impress my guests, I turn to dessert recipes such as Nutella cake, black forest cupcakes, an elegant heart cake, Nutella cookies or these beautiful and delicious red velvet bars.
Whether you’re looking for a festive Valentine’s Day recipe, or simply have a hankering for red velvet, you can’t go wrong with these red velvet brownies. They’re easy to make and perfect for practically any occasion! Best of all, they have the flavor of red velvet cake, but with a fudgy, chewy texture. If you love red velvet, be sure to also check out my red velvet waffles recipe!
Table of Contents
Red Velvet Brownies Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need all purpose flour, cocoa powder, large eggs, butter, salt, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, white vinegar, cream cheese and red gel food coloring.
How Do You Make Red Velvet Brownies?
Preheat the oven, then coat a square baking pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Sift together the dry ingredients of flour, cocoa powder and salt into a large bowl, then whisk to combine. In a separate large mixing bowl, use a mixer to beat together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat again, then mix in the vinegar, food coloring and vanilla. Finally, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Reserve a few tablespoons of the batter to swirl over the top for a beautiful presentation. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
For the cheesecake layer, place cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and an egg into the bowl of a mixer, then beat until smooth. Dollop the cream cheese mixture onto the brownie batter, then spread it into an even layer. Add teaspoons of the reserved brownie batter on top of the cheesecake, and use a skewer to swirl the two together.
Bake until the brownies are set. You can check to see if the brownies are done by inserting a toothpick into the center. The toothpick should have just a few crumbs attached. Cool the pan of brownies completely on a rack, then chill in the refrigerator. Use the parchment to lift the slab of brownies out of the pan, then cut into squares and serve.
Tips For The Perfect Dessert
- Chilling the brownies and wiping the blade after each cut is the key to neat slices.
- Store these red velvet cheesecake brownies in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3 days. To freeze, layer the brownies between parchment paper in a sealed container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator before serving.
- Gel food coloring will create the strongest red color. I use Americolor Super Red.
- Be careful not to swirl the batters together too much. Otherwise, the batter and cheesecake filling will mix together too much, and you will lose the pattern.
- You can use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer for this recipe. Both work well!
Quick Tip
Make sure your cream cheese is soft before you prepare the cheesecake layer so you won’t end up with lumps. You can let the cream cheese sit at room temperature, or microwave it in 30 second increments until soft.
Recipe FAQs
Red velvet is a cake flavor that is a cross between chocolate and vanilla. It contains both cocoa powder and vanilla extract, but both ingredients are in smaller quantities than you’d find in a straight vanilla or chocolate cake.
Red velvet brownies contain flour, sugar, cocoa powder, butter, vinegar, vanilla extract and red food coloring. They often have a cream cheese swirl, cream cheese frosting or white chocolate chips.
FOLLOW ME
Flavor Variations
This red velvet brownie recipe is delicious as-is, but you can change up some of the ingredients to suit your taste.
- Chocolate: Make these brownies more chocolatey by adding up to 2/3 cup of semisweet chocolate chips or white chocolate chips to the brownie batter.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: You can omit the cheesecake layer and instead make cream cheese frosting to spread on top of your brownies. Place 4 ounces of softened cream cheese and 4 tablespoons of softened butter in a bowl and cream until fluffy. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon milk. Beat for 3-4 minutes or until you have a smooth and creamy frosting.
These red velvet bars are as tasty as they are pretty. Your guests will surely love them!
More Great Dessert Recipes
Red Velvet Cookies
35 mins
Cheesecake Brownies
45 mins
Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
35 mins
Fruit Pizza
25 mins
Cosmic Brownies
35 mins
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Red Velvet Brownies
Ingredients
For the brownie batter
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon red gel food coloring
- ½ teaspoon white vinegar
- cooking spray
For the cheesecake layer
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
For the swirl
- 3 tablespoons brownie batter
- 2 teaspoons hot water
Instructions
For the brownie batter
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Cut two lengths of parchment paper, 8-inches wide and long enough to overhang the pan. Use the sheets of parchment to line the pan laying one piece over the other at 90 degrees.
- Sieve the flour, cocoa and salt into a bowl and use a whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl, beat the slightly cooled melted butter and sugar together with a mixture until combined.
- Add the eggs and beat for 1-2 minutes until the mixture is thick and pale and the beaters leave a trail in the mixture.
- Add the vanilla extract, red food coloring and vinegar, then beat until combined.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully combined. Transfer most of the batter into the prepared pan, reserving three tablespoons to make the swirl.
For the cheesecake layer
- To make the cheesecake filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and egg together in a separate bowl until smooth.
- Top the brownie batter with spoonfuls of cheesecake filling, then spread over the top with an off-set spatula.
For the swirl
- To create the swirl, add 2 teaspoons of hot water to the reserved batter to loosen it. You can add one more teaspoon of water if you feel that your batter is still to thick to swirl.
- Drop teaspoons of the reserved batter onto the cheesecake layer and swirl the mixtures together with a skewer.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until risen and slightly wobbly. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 2-3 hours or overnight.
- To cut into bars, use the parchment to lift the chilled brownie slab from the pan and transfer it to a cutting board. Dip a chef’s knife into hot water, wipe the blade dry and cut into 9 squares. For neat slices, dip and wipe the blade after each cut. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- Chilling the brownies and wiping the blade after each cut is the key to neat slices.
- Store these red velvet cheesecake brownies in the refrigerator for 3 days. To freeze, layer the brownies between parchment paper in a sealed container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator before serving.
- Gel food coloring will create the strongest red color. I used Americolor Super Red.
These are so gorgeous and absolutely decadent!
Just what I am looking for! Bookmarked to make for Valentine’s Day! Thanks so much for sharing!
These brownies are so gorgeous! I am loving that swirl- so pretty. 🙂
I made a batch of these brownies after dinner tonight and they were amazing! So delicious and festive for Valentine’s Day!