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Red Velvet Brownies are everything you love about two classic desserts—combined! Mini chocolate chips are topped with a rich cream cheese frosting and then are drizzled with a delicious vanilla raspberry sauce. You won’t believe how simple these brownies are to make, or how incredible they taste.
Featured with this recipe
I’ll admit it. I had never heard of red velvet brownies, but once I got the idea of combining two of my favorite desserts, I was determined. I made this recipe multiple times until it was just right, as we are very picky about our brownies around here.
For my family, the ideal brownie needs to be rich and delicious, not too cakey, and not too gooey. I’m happy to report that these red velvet brownies meet all of the above qualifications, plus they are beautiful to look at! It’s the perfect dessert to make for the people you love on Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or any other time you need a pick me up!
What Makes The Red Velvet Brownies So Good?
These red velvet brownies have a lot going for them. They have that rich red velvet flavor in fudgy brownies that’s enhanced by bits of mini chocolate chips that are mixed in.
Plus, they are topped with a creamy, rich cream cheese frosting. Not only is the taste out of this world, they are super easy to make.
On top of it all, there’s a delicious vanilla raspberry sauce drizzled over the top, along with even more tiny chocolate chips sprinkled on top. In my opinion, the raspberry sauce is what really sets this recipe over the top, it is seriously amazing!
Sour Cream Cake
There’s one other ingredient in these red velvet brownies that you may not be expecting: sour cream. It may seem like a weird addition, but it gives this red velvet brownies recipe the perfect texture and taste. This recipe only calls for 1/4th cup of sour cream to be added to the cake mix, but it truly makes a difference for a perfectly chewy brownie. Try it and see!
Ingredients
Red Velvet Brownie Batter:
- Box red velvet cake mix – dry, unprepared (this gives the brownies the red color as opposed to using red food coloring)
- Melted Butter (you can sub vegetable oil but unsalted butter tastes better)
- Large Egg
- Water
- Sour cream
- Mini chocolate chips – or white chocolate chips
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Cream cheese – softened
- Butter – softened
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
Raspberry Glaze:
- Raspberry preserves – or jam, if you don’t like seeds
- Water
- Vanilla extract
More Topping Ideas
You can change this brownie recipe up when it comes to toppings. These red velvet brownies work well with many flavors. If you want to skip the frosting, you can serve them plain, dusted with powdered sugar, a chocolate drizzle, or even topped with ice cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our little secret is using sour cream. Adding sour cream to your brownie batter or cake mix makes your brownies more moist and gives them a better texture.
While red velvet does has a chocolate flavor and does contain cocoa powder, it is not the same as chocolate cake. It has much less cocoa powder than chocolate cake.
The main difference is the amounts of sugar, butter, and flour. Also, there typically aren’t baking soda or baking powder in brownies. And a final thing, usually there is more chocolate in brownies than in any cake.
Make sure you are using a large mixing bowl. You can stir it by hand with a whisk, use an electric mixer, or a hand mixer. Then I like to use a rubber spatula to pour it all out of the bowl and into the pan before it goes in the oven.
Granulated sugar (sugar, dextrose), Enriched all purpose flour, Modified palm oil, Cocoa powder, Wheat starch, Salt, Sodium Bicarbonate, Dicalcium phosphate, Sodium aluminum phosphate, Monocalcium phosphate, Cellulose gum, Allura red, Xanthan gum, Propylene glycol esters of fatty acids
Read More:33+ Easy Dessert Ideas (with Pictures + Simple Recipes)
Other Cake Mix Recipes:
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nothing Bundt Cake Copycat
- Lemon Bundt Cake
- Cake Mix Cornbread
- White Chocolate Raspberry Nothing Bundt Cake Copycat
- Double Chocolate Oreo Bundt Cake
- Cake Mix Coffee Cake
- Easy Molten Chocolate Cake
How to Make Red Velvet Brownies
Red Velvet Brownies
Equipment
- 9×13 inch pan
Ingredients
- 1 box red velvet cake mix dry/unprepared
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 package mini chocolate chips
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Raspberry Glaze:
- 1/2 cup raspberry preserves or jam if you don’t like the seeds
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Combine all the brownie ingredients in a medium size bowl until everything is mixed together but do not over mix.
- Line a 9×13 inch pan with cooking spray or parchment paper and evenly spread the brownie mixture into the baking pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or when a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar (start with 1 cup then keep adding more until it is nice and thick).
- Cool brownies completely then spread cream cheese frosting over the top.
For the Raspberry Glaze
- Combine and warm all ingredients in a small saucepan on low heat.
- Drizzle with raspberry sauce and sprinkle with extra mini chocolate chips.
Notes
- If storing in the refrigerator, place in an airtight container, separating each layer with parchment paper. They the brownies will keep for up to a week in the fridge.
- If storing in the freezer, place brownies on a baking dish and wrap with plastic wrap, or wrap individually and place in a freezer bag. Your brownies will last up to 3 months in the freezer. When ready to eat, unwrap and thaw to room temperature.
Could the sour cream be replaced with plain Greek yogurt?
Yes, that should work fine as long as you use a full fat Greek yogurt, not fat free or low fat. Thanks for asking!
I used a brownie edge pan. But you can bake it in a 9 square for thicker brownies or a 9 x 13 for thinner brownies.
My kids love brownies and we were looking for something different than a standard brownie recipe. These were perfect!
Made this brownie recipe for a work potluck and it was a it! Easy to make too, the raspberry topping just makes it. Great recipe!
It would be nice if when you say recipe here for the cream cheese frosting it would come up instead of oops can’t find what your looking for, same for the Raspberry glaze. This is why I don’t use any of the recipes on this site.
We recently made our site a “secured” site so it is safer to browse. By doing this, all of our links broke. We are working tirelessly to fix this ASAP.
What’s the yield of this dessert?? Looking to make this today.
It depends on how big you cut the squares. These brownies are rich, so I cut them into 24 squares – 4 cuts along the length of the 9×13 pan and then 6 cuts along the width. You are going to LOVE these brownies!
Hi! Do these need to be refrigerated after they are made? Thanks!
Just the cream cheese frosting needs to stay refrigerated, but you can keep them separate and add the frosting just before eating.
Are these 2 layers? From the picture it looks like it!
The picture has two brownies stacked on top of each other. 🙂
These look AMAZING!!! Pinned! Such a perfect treat for the whole family this holiday. 🙂