Stunning red velvet macarons are made to impress! Follow my step by step visuals for these crisp and pleasantly chewy macarons filled with sweet and tangy cream cheese filling.
[I get a lot of questions about this white serving dish. I bought this particular one at a local thrift store, but I found similar one on amazon.com.]
I’m so beyond excited, you guys!! Because I’m sharing yet another macaron recipe.
You know me, I’m obsessed with french macarons. Since you can’t find any macaron shops within 100-mile radius, I make them myself! At home. From scratch. And it’s totally doable!!
I’ve already shared handful of flavors here on my blog, including my reader-favorite lemon macarons and my personal favorite (also runner-up reader fave) pistachio macarons.
And now I’m completely head over heels with these stunning red velvet macarons! Not just for its gorgeous color (let’s admit it, it’s a stunner!), but the flavor is so, so good! The sweet n’ tangy cream cheese filling, crisp and pleasantly chewy shells with slight hint of cocoa and vanilla. I couldn’t ask for anything better!
Tips for perfect macarons
To make these red velvet version, I started with my base french macaron recipe, which uses much less sugar compared to many recipes out in the wild wide web.
I didn’t need to change much though. A little bit of cocoa powder and some red food coloring will get you there. I say some, not a little, food coloring, because it does require quite a bit of it to achieve that rich red color. I figured it’s a special treat and a little food coloring won’t kill us. What’s important is that you have to use gel food coloring though. I love this Wilton one. Liquid food coloring might throw the wet to dry ingredients ratio off. And we all know french macarons are finicky, so better not to change things up, unless, of course, you’re feeling adventurous! Also, don’t even thinking about cutting the sugar, you won’t get the same result.
And lastly, here’re step by step photos for you, but all the detailed tips and tricks are laid out in this post, along with visual troubleshooting guide. It’s worth the read, especially if it’s your first time making macarons.
You can also watch this video on how I make my macarons from start to finish. See how obsessed I’m with macarons? I’ve prepared these series of posts on all things macarons, so you can create these beauties yourself too.
By the way, did I mention you can freeze these macarons? I have a stash of these in my freezer and I actually just pulled couple out to snack while I write this post.
Mmm, you see that crisp shell and full chewy interior?? That’s exactly what you want!
Have you tried making macarons before? I’d love to hear your experience and what challenges you’ve encountered.

Red Velvet Macarons
Ingredients
For macaron shells:
- 1 cup 100gr almond flour
- 3/4 cup 100gr powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 large egg whites about 70gr
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup 50gr sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½-3/4 teaspoons red gel food coloring I use this Wilton one
For cream cheese filling:
- ¼ cup 55gr cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup 120gr powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In medium bowl, sift together almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder twice.
- In a large mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue to beat. Slowly add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until hard peaks form. Add vanilla extract and red food coloring. Beat on medium speed for one more minute. (Watch this meringue video for more information.)
- Sift the almond flour/powdered sugar mixture over the whipped egg whites.
- Gently fold the mixture running the spatula clockwise from the bottom, up around the sides and cut the batter in half. The batter will look very thick at first, but it will get thinner as you fold. Be careful not to over mix it though. Every so often test the batter to see if it reached the right consistency.
- To test the batter, drop a small amount of the batter and count to ten. If the edges of the ribbon dissolve within ten seconds, then the batter is ready. I repeat, do NOT mix again. If you still see edges, fold the batter couple more times and test again. This step is so crucial, so please make sure to test often to ensure not to over mix the batter.
- Transfer the batter into a pastry bag with a round tip. (I use this Wilton A1 large plain round tip.)
- Pipe out 1.5-inch rounds about an inch apart on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. If you don’t release the air bubbles, they will expand during baking and crack the beautiful macarons shells. And who wants cracked macarons, right?
- Let the macarons rest and dry for 15-30 minutes. On a humid day, it might take an hour or so. To see if it’s ready to be baked, lightly touch it. If the batter doesn’t stick to your finger, then it’s ready.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
- Bake the macarons for 18-20 minutes. To check the doneness, gently remove one macaron. If the bottom does not stick, they are done.
- Transfer to wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, and then remove from the baking sheets.
- While macarons are drying, prepare the cream cheese filling. In a mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract and salt and beat until well combined.
- Transfer the filling into a pastry bag and fill the macarons. It’s best to serve macarons the next day.
- Store the filled macarons in airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the filled macarons in airtight container for up to 5 months.
You may also find this post helpful:
Madi says
one of my favorite recipes!
Davina says
These came out great! I made them for Christmas dinner dessert and they were a hit . . . the only thing is that I feel that they didn’t rise as well. They definitely had little feet but not as uniform as I would have liked. Any tips?
Shinee says
Hi, Davina. So happy your macarons were a hit!! Thank you for your feedback. Do you have oven thermometer to monitor the temperature. It may due to a little low oven temp.
Davina says
Hi Shinee, unfortunately I don’t have an oven thermometer. But that may have been it. I’m sure I’ll be making another batch soon so I’ll try making the oven a little hotter. Thanks so much!
Shinee says
Ok, let us know if that makes a difference for you, Davina.
Anissa singh says
I made these and the taste great but the top are wrinkled. Why is that ?
Shinee says
Hi, Anissa. Wrinkled shells are typically an indication of excess moisture. Did you use gel or liquid food coloring?
Grace says
I leveled my ingredients and did everything right but when I was mixing my batter it was grainy and it never came off the spatula in ribbons? What did I do wrong?
Shinee says
Hi, Grace. Bummer! Thank you for reaching out to troubleshoot. What do you mean when you say “leveled the ingredients”? Did you use a scale or measuring cups? If you used measure cups, it’s quite possible to measure more dry ingredients. And macarons are especially finicky for even smallest difference. I know you said you were careful, but I highly recommend a scale. Second, what kind of cocoa powder (brand) did you use? Cocoa powders tend to complicate everything, because they do tend to make the batter too thick.
Grace says
I used measuring cups and I just meant that I measured correctly with the measuring cups and was careful about that the brand of cocoa powder was the great value one (the Walmart brand)
Shinee says
Thanks for clarifying, Grace. I haven’t tried Great Value cocoa powder, I usually use Hershey’s one. It works pretty good. My suggestion is to weigh the ingredients on a scale and use Hershey’s cocoa powder.
Anissa Singh says
Hi. Yes i did! I used gel also. Maybe I just used too much?
Shinee says
It’s definitely a possibility.
Allie says
This recipe was pretty bad. I didn’t do anything wrong, I followed the recipe exactly. Yet they didn’t have feet, and they tasted awful as well. 😔 wouldn’t recommend but the frosting was good.
Shinee says
Hi, Allie. Thank you for your feedback! Bummer, your macarons didn’t turn out. As you may know, macarons are quite finicky and a lot of things may affect the final result. I know my recipe is good, because SO many others have successfully made beautiful red velvet macarons, as seen here. If you’d like, we can troubleshoot what may have gone wrong.
Carolina says
Hi Shinnie…. I’m on a Keto diet and I’m missing so much the macarons. I saw your recipe and I can do it, except for the sugar. Do you think I can use Swerve or Allulose or any other sweetener that can work instead of sugar?…
I would love to know!!!! You could make me so happy!!!!
Shinee says
Hi, Carolina. Unfortunately, I have no experience with any sugar alternatives, and I have no idea how macarons would turn out with them.
McKenzie Jones says
Hey I saw this and I was going to say that you can use monk fruit, it is a alternative for sugar, I haven’t tried it with macaroons but it’s definitely worth a shot!
Jeneil says
Unfortunately I don’t think monkfruit sugar will work. I also wanted something lower glycemic but been there, done that, they were way too runny. The person who taught me how to make macarons said you have to stick to cane sugar and powdered sugar for the right texture.
By the way, I’ve tried to make this recipe twice now, the first time the macs were too puffy, I suspected my dry ingredients including the cocoa powder may have been too much, so I measured more carefully but the second batch is still looking too puffy and not smoothing out to that smooth macaron too. I banged the tray on the counter to remove air bubbles, which helped a bit but they’re still not the right consistency. Thoughts?
McKenzie says
So I had this problem too, I found out you have to get the egg whites at room temperature first and then whip them, also, you have to bang them 1-3 times and then pop the rest of the bubbles with a toothpick
Shinee says
Thank you for sharing the info on monkfruit sugar, Jeneil!
As for your issue with puffy macarons, I think it might be due to under-mixing the macaron batter. I’d fold the batter a few more times next time.
Jeneil says
Hi Mackenzie and Shinee, I wasn’t sure how to respond to your responses, so I’m responding to myself here! Thanks for your suggestions and feedback. Mackenzie, the eggs were aged on the countertop for over a day, and Shinee, I folded the batter until it was lava/ribbonlike. I think the problem is that I tried to increase ratios to match the macaron recipe I made before, with slightly less than 1 cup almond flour, 1 tablespoon cocoa, and 2 cups powdered sugar. It’s getting down to the wire because I want these done by Christmas, so I will follow the recipe here to the T next time.
Shinee says
Oh I didn’t realize you made an adjustment. Increasing the powdered sugar amount twice the amount could definitely alter the result. Let me know how they turn out if you try my recipe, Jeneil. Good luck!
Leslie says
Shinee, my 13 year old granddaughter and I had so much fun making these. (When we went to California 2 years ago she spent her own money to buy macarons at a French bakery). We tried to follow the directions perfectly, but we had trouble with the drying and cooking times. I waited an hour for them to dry, but they were still slightly tacky. We cooked them 20 minutes and checked but couldn’t remove one from the parchment. 2 minutes more, and same problem. Two minutes more and we took them out of the oven even though they still stuck. After cooling I removed them from the paper with a spatula. They looked beautiful, but were overly crunchy on the outside. They all still got filled and eaten. 😊. However, since my granddaughter is staying 2 weeks, we intend to try again. Suggestions?
Ravin kumar says
Such a Great recipe! I made this for the first time and it was perfect. Really helpful Info! that’s all i can say about your Posts. Thanks for sharing your sharing.
Mellanie says
Forgot to rate it,
Mellanie says
Hi Shinee,
I followed your recipe to a tee. I’m so happy with the way they turned out. Great recipe!
Thanks,
Mellanie
Shinee says
Hi, Mellanie. Thank you SO much for your feedback. So happy your macarons came out great.
dilara says
sorry but it went sh*t. first time i made macaron was awesome with another recipe. but this didn’t work and im so disappointed rn
Shinee says
H, Dilara. Aww, I’m sorry to hear your macaron fails. And believe me, I totally understand the frustration!! I’ve been there more than I can count. And I appreciate your feedback. Red Velvet Macarons are tricky, because it involves ton of food coloring AND cocoa powder, which may alter the result. I hope you won’t give up on them. My suggestion would be “stick to the recipe that worked for you and make adjustment to create your desired flavor”. Macarons are all about technique and less about the recipe. Good luck!
If you’d like me to help you to troubleshoot the issue, feel free to provide more details as to what was wrong with your macs.
P.S. I also thought I’d share this Pinterest link to show that there are many people made this recipe with great success.
IRENEls02 says
I don’t have the cream of tartar. Can I avoid to use it ?
Shinee says
Yes, you may omit cream of tartar. It’s not essential, but it helps to stabilize the egg whites for sturdier meringue.
David says
OMG! It worked!! My first perfect Macarons! Tried dozens of other recipes, but yours finally worked! Hooray!
Shinee says
Yay, so glad you finally found a recipe that works for you, David! Thank you for your feedback!
Michelle says
First time making macarons and these came out beautifully! I didn’t want to get my hopes up because i heard how tricky they are but they came out perfect following the recipe exactly.
Shinee says
Oh that’s fantastic, Michelle! So happy for your macaron success. Thank you for sharing!
Madison says
I made these and they were so good! They cracked on top but I’m sure I made a mistake somewhere! Loved them:)
Kathryn Rushing says
Absolute perfection! Only my second time making macaroons. I followed the recipe and directions exactly using high quality ingredients. They came out beautiful, smooth, shiny and with perfect little feet. I wish I could post a pic of how pretty they are. I don’t know why I have been so reluctant to attempt these cookies. Thanks so much for this awesome recipe and tutorial!
Shinee says
Hi, Kathryn! I’m so happy to hear your macaron success!!! Yay! Thank you for your feedback. I’d love to see your photo. You can submit your image through this page.
Sherry says
I was a little worried when I started to read the comments while making these Macarons. They turned out great! I did not add the cream of tartar, because I do not use it in my other Macaron recipes. This recipe made 16 for me. Yes, the mixture was a little thick but they baked up very will with feet. I did bake at 280 degrees for approx 18-20 mins.
Shinee says
Awesome. So happy your macarons turned out well, Sherry. I appreciate your feedback!!
Fatimah Chaar says
Hii
Want to ask about the filling would it be stable to stay out for a while like wedding
Thank you!
Shinee says
Hi, Fatimah. Hmm, I’m not quite sure. I think a lot depends on the environment, like hot hot/humid it is, etc. Generally speaking, if they are out at room temperature for, say, 3 hours, they’ll be for sure soft, but they should melt or anything.