During our childhood, Mom often brought my brother and me along on trips to the grocery store, especially during the summer when school wasn’t in session. Because Mom tried to finish her shopping as quickly as possible, we rarely minded.
On the special 4th of July grocery trips, we helped Mom pick out hot dogs, ground beef for burgers, and ears of corn for our traditional barbeque dinner, along with fresh berries and heavy cream for ice cream made in our old wooden hand-crank ice cream maker. We looked forward to that ice cream all year!
Before paying, Mom let us dash over to the grocery’s bakery, where they handed out free cookies to all little kids. For the 4th of July, they offered us crunchy star-shaped sugar cookies topped with colorful red and blue coarse sanding sugar.
As we nibbled on our treats and walked back over to Mom in the check-out line, I looked around at the other festive treats in the bakery display cases. The red velvet cupcakes with their white frosting and red and blue sprinkles always caught my eye… But since Mom only let us have one dessert after dinner and I wasn’t about to give up homemade ice cream, I never asked to buy them!
Because I won’t be home for the 4th of July this year, and therefore won’t get that irresistible homemade ice cream, I’m finally baking my own Healthy 4th of July Cupcakes! Unlike the bakery’s, these healthy red velvet cupcakes contain no refined flour or sugar, and they have a surprise filling that makes them even more sweet and festive!
And since the cream cheese frosting is made from Greek yogurt… And the cupcakes are only 134 calories including the filling and frosting… I think I just might celebrate with a second! ?
Let’s go over how to make these healthy patriotic 4th of July cupcakes!
You’ll start by making my ultimate healthy red velvet cupcakes. ← If you click on that link, you’ll find out more about each ingredient and why it’s used, along with some special tips and tricks to making the best healthy red velvet cupcakes. (And if you’re a food nerd like I am, I also cover the history and science of red velvet cupcakes there too!)
Supremely tender… Beautiful rich red color… That iconic chocolaty vanilla flavor… Finished off with protein-packed cream cheese frosting… There’s definitely a reason they’re called the ultimate healthy red velvet cupcakes! ?
But since I already explained how to make these red velvet cupcakes in great detail here, let’s skip straight to the special surprise filling! Which is…
A fresh blueberry filling! We needed a blue component for these healthy red, white, and blue cupcakes, and this filling definitely fills (no pun intended!) that need. Plus it’s super simple to make!
You’ll purée fresh (or frozen and thawed!) blueberries in a blender or food processor along with a hint of cinnamon for an extra rich and warm undertone. Then you’ll add the purée to a pot, along with the water your used to rinse out your blender, and cook that until it has reduced to about a third of its original volume.
While the blueberry filling cools, you’re ready to core your cupcakes. We need to create space inside the cupcakes for that yummy fruit filling! I use the smaller size of this cupcake corer set. It’s such a handy tool to have!
I typically press it about ¾ of the way down into the cupcakes. You don’t want to make too deep of a hole… Or else you’ll (a) cut out the bottom of the cupcakes too, which means the filling will leak out the bottoms and (b) run out of filling. So stick with about half to ¾ of the way down into your cupcakes!
And then… You get to snack on the cored bits of cupcake while you fill and decorate them! Yum!
Once your healthy blueberry filling has completely cooled to room temperature, transfer it to a zip-topped bag, cut off one corner, and pipe it into your cupcakes! I don’t put the cored top back on, as you can see in my photos. I just pipe the frosting straight on top of the open filling hole!
How fun and festive do these look?? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your healthy 4th of July cupcakes!
| Healthy 4th of July Cupcakes | Print |
- 1 batch Ultimate Healthy Red Velvet Cupcakes (including cream cheese frosting)
- 1 ½ cups (210g) blueberries (fresh or frozen and thawed)
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- optional: sweetener, to taste
- Prepare the Ultimate Healthy Red Velvet Cupcakes and cream cheese frosting (both recipes here).
- While the cupcakes cool and the frosting chills in the refrigerator, prepare the blueberry filling. Add the blueberries, cinnamon, and sweetener (if using) to a blender. Pulse until the mixture turns into a smooth purée. Transfer the purée to a saucepan. Rinse out the blender using 3-4 tablespoons of water (or more if necessary), and add the rinse water to the saucepan as well.
- Cook the purée over medium heat until it has reduced to about a third of its original volume. Transfer to a bowl, and let the filling cool completely to room temperature. Once at room temperature, transfer to a zip-topped bag, and cut off one corner.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled to room temperature, cut out the center of each using a cupcake corer (I used the smaller size of this set!) or a sharp knife. Pipe the filling into the center of each cupcake. Pipe the cream cheese frosting on top.
I absolutely love these cupcake corers! When using the cupcake corer, press it about ¾ of the way down into the cupcakes. You don’t want to make too deep of a hole… Or else you’ll (a) cut out the bottom of the cupcakes too, which means the filling will leak out the bottoms and (b) run out of filling.
I don’t put the cored top back on, as you can see in my photos in the blog post above. I just pipe the frosting straight on top of the open filling hole!
{gluten-free, low fat, low sugar, higher protein}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy White Chocolate Red Velvet Cookies
♡ Healthy Red Velvet Pancakes
♡ Healthy Baked Red Velvet Donuts
♡ Healthy Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Pound Cake
I love your family’s homemade ice cream tradition! But I also love these cupcakes!! The berry filling addition is simply genius – and festive! Another stunning recipe, Amy!! 🙂
You’re too sweet — thanks so much Megan!! That means a lot to me! ♡
Hi Amy, your blog seems very tasty. I love these cupcakes, the berries filling addition in between is an amazing idea. Thanks for it, keep sharing!
Thanks so much, Alyssa! I’d love to hear what you think of these cupcakes if you try them!