This red velvet brownie recipe makes sweet and colorful brownies that are almost too pretty to eat.

A box of basic red velvet cake mix is baked with a marbled cheesecake topping in this easy six-ingredient dessert.

bite taken out of red velvet brownie

Red Velvet Brownie Perfection

  • Fudgy Chocolate: Chocolate and tangy cream cheese create a perfect flavor combo!
  • Shortcut: These red velvet brownies have a baked-in cheesecake swirl so no need for frosting.
  • Simple Steps (and tips!): Ensure moist and chewy brownies every time.
  • Make Ahead: Make cheesecake brownies ahead and chill until ready to cut into squares or bars.

Decadent Ingredient Duo

Cake Mix: Red velvet cake makes these brownies bright and colorful. Other mixes to try are confetti cake (great for birthdays!), apple spice, or Devil’s food.

Cheesecake Swirl: Cream cheese becomes a ‘cheater’ cheesecake when blended with sugar and eggs. Experiment with flavored extracts like orange (top with orange zest) almond (top with slivered almonds), coconut (top with toasted coconut), or banana (top with sliced bananas).

Tweak and Transform These Treats

Sprinkle the brownies with mini white or chocolate chips, crushed Oreos or Nilla Wafers, fresh blueberries, or sliced strawberries.

How to Make Red Velvet Brownies

  1. Combine cake mix ingredients and pour into a baking pan (full recipe below).
  2. Make the cream cheese mixture.
  3. Drop cream cheese mixture from a spoon and swirl on top.
stack of two red velvet brownies

Tips For Tender Tangy Treats

  • Start with room-temperature cream cheese and eggs for faster blending.
  • Line the pan with parchment paper for quick and clean removal of cooled brownies.
  • Prep the cream cheese mixture up to a day ahead and warm in the microwave for about 30 seconds before using in Step 5.

Sweet Storage Solutions

  • Keep leftover red velvet brownies in a covered container, and are best kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days to keep them moist.
  • Freeze portions by wrapping them in plastic. Pop one or two in a backpack or briefcase and they’ll be thawed just in time for a mid-morning snack!

More Decadent Desserts

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Two red velvet brownies stacked
4.79 from 23 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
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Red Velvet Brownie Recipe

Make this moist, chewy, and decadent red velvet brownie recipe with boxed cake and an easy cream cheese mixture.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 16
Author The Shortcut Kitchen

Ingredients  

Cake Mixture

  • 1 box red velvet cake mix 432 g/15.25 ounce box
  • cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1 egg

Cream Cheese Mixture

Instructions 

  • Line a 9×9" pan with parchment paper and preheat oven to 325°F.
  • Mix cake mix, vegetable oil, milk, and 1 egg until fully incorporated and spread into prepared pan.
  • Beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy with a hand mixer.
  • Add 2 eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
  • Drop large spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture onto the cake batter and gently swirl together using a knife or spatula.
  • Bake for 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting.

Notes

  • Use parchment paper to line the baking pan for easy removal.  
  • Warm cream cheese in the microwave so it is easy to blend.
  • Refrigerate brownies in an airtight container for about 4-5 days.
  • Freeze brownies in an airtight container, or wrapped individually in plastic wrap and stored in a zippered bag, for 2-3 months.
4.79 from 23 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
Or to leave a comment, click here!

Nutrition Information

Calories: 245kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 281mg | Potassium: 126mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 244IU | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Dessert
Cuisine American

REPIN this Red Velvet Brownies recipe!

two red velvet brownies one with a bite removed with writing
two stacked red velvet brownies with writing
stacked red velvet brownies and red velvet brownies in a bake pan with writing

Recipe Adapted from Spend With Pennies

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Comments

  1. This recipe was one of the worst I’ve ever followed. Some has to be missing in the recipe. I batter was extra thick, the cheese cake filling was very runny and to top it off, the brownies came out dry. I would not recommend this recipe.
    I bake all the time and saw this recipe and it looked delicious.
    Looks were deceived
    So disappointed. Waisted ingredients!!2 stars

    1. Sorry to hear you didn’t love this recipe as much as we do. Thank you for trying it!

      1. I made the recipe for church. It was thicker than normal brownie mix, but that isn’t what upset me. It was the cream cheese mixture. I was going to use a recipe that I had for the cream cheese filling but I decided to use this one so I wouldn’t have to go look for the other one. You are correct it was very runny. It was thinner than regular cake mix. It says drop large spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture onto the cake batter. It was so runny that I just had to pour it on top and then it wouldn’t swirl. I was very disappointed that it was so runny. Maybe 1 egg instead of 2 would have been better. I ended up frosting it with cream cheese frosting. I can’t eat it, but I asked a couple of people if it was dry or over cooked, they said NO. My only complaint is the cream cheese mixture. They need to make it and see what we are talking about and then adjust the recipe.4 stars

  2. Using 2 eggs in the cream cheese mixture made it runny, not fluffy, which made a big difference in the baked brownies. I suggest using 1 egg when making the cream cheese mixture.4 stars

  3. I don’t think the recipe is correct. The batter was very thick and my cream cheese topping was runny unable to get swirls in the batter. It’s still in the oven 45m. I want make again waste of ingredients.