Red Velvet Macarons

4.22 from 57 votes

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Filled with sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting, these stunning red velvet macarons are made to impress! Learn how to achieve that perfect deep red color and texture!

Vibrant red velvet macarons filled with white cream cheese frosting arranged on a white serving platter.


 

Why you’ll love red velvet macarons:

Red velvet macarons are, hands down, one of my absolute favorite macaron flavors, right after pistachio macarons and lemon macs.

Not only does it have the most gorgeous color, 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!

Is this macaron recipe for you?

Now, if you’re new to making macarons and you’re determined to get the “perfect” look, this may not be the best recipe to start your macaron journey.

I highly recommend starting with my plain macarons for beginners. It has all the nitty-gritty details, explanation of techniques for success and video tutorial.

This red velvet macaron recipe is slightly advanced because of added cocoa powder and significant amount of food coloring.

Check out my entire MACARON ARCHIVE full of helpful resources for beginner macaron bakers!

Key Ingredients Note:

Measure the macaron ingredients in grams with a kitchen scale. This intentional step leaves no wiggle room for error, maximizing your success!

  • Egg whites – Quality egg whites lead to stable meringue, which is the foundation of perfect macarons. Choose fresh eggs, carefully separate the whites and yolk, and weigh the amount precisely. I’ve also had success with carton egg whites. Be sure to check the labels and avoid the ones that’s says “not for meringue”.
  • Almond flour – Choose super-fine almond flour to with light beige color and fluffy texture. Avoid oily, yellow and/or coarse almond flour. This almond flour is my go-to.
  • Powdered sugar – I don’t recommend making your own powder sugar, because commercial powdered sugar has cornstarch in it. And it helps with texture of the cookies.
  • Granulated sugar – It’s important to use fine granulated sugar for meringue, as it dissolves quicker. You can also use caster sugar, aka baker’s sugar.
  • Cocoa powder adds a hint of chocolate flavor and deepens the red color of the macarons. You can use either natural or Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder.
  • Cream of tartar is optional and can be omitted. However, it helps to stabilize egg whites and create sturdier meringue. It’s just an extra insurance!
  • Red gel food coloring is absolutely necessary to achieve that vibrant red color.
Red velvet macarons ingredients in individual bowls.

How to make red velvet macarons:

We’re making French meringue macarons, which is my go-to method and it’s the easiest method of all.

Sift almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder 3 times. This’s important, because not only are we mixing the ingredients, but we’re also aerating them for fluffier cookies.

TIME-SAVING TIP: If you have a stand mixer, sift the dry ingredients while the meringue is whipping.

Side by side images of sifting the dry ingredients.

French meringue is the easiest, because we simply whisk egg whites with sugar until stiff peaks. Now, while it seems super easy, there’re a few things to keep in mind.

Combine egg whites, granulated sugar, salt and cream of tartar, if using, in a large bowl. And beat the mixture on medium speed until soft peaks form.

Add red food coloring and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. You want to see a nice defined ridges as pictured below.

meringue tip

Slow and consistent speed is key to achieving the sturdiest meringue when it comes to French method. The exact time depends on each mixer. Don’t rush this process. It can take up to 40 minutes to reach stiff peaks!

Side by side images of the meringue at soft peak stage vefore adding coloring and at stiff peak stage with red food coloring added.

2023 UPDATE: In the last year, I’ve changed my French meringue technique to combining the egg whites, sugar, salt and cream of tartar from the start instead of adding sugar slowly into lightly whipped egg whites. I found this meringue method works better for macarons.

Add dry ingredients into the meringue and fold the batter until it reaches the perfect consistency, which means the batter is thick, yet runny enough to slowly flow off the spatula into a ribbon.

Side by side images of combining dry ingredients and meringue.

how to check the batter consistency

1. Scoop some batter on your spatula and then drop the batter into a ribbon into the bowl.
2. Slightly tilt the bowl and count to 10.
3. If the edges of the ribbon melt back into the batter in 10 seconds, the batter is ready!

A spoonful of red macaron batter falling off the spatula into the mixing bowl.

Transfer the batter into a piping bag, fitted with a round tip. (I use Wilton 12 tip.) Pipe the shells on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Rest the macarons for 15 minutes. And bake one baking sheet at a time for about 18 minutes at 300°F.

side by side images of piped macaron shells on a baking sheet before and after baking.

FREE macaron template

I made a perfect template for you. Subscribe to my e-mail list and download this custom macaron template for FREE(This template is perfect for my recipe and super easy to use!)

Baked red velvet macaron shells on a white teflon mat.

Make cream cheese filling while the macaron shells are cooling. I use my simple frosting recipe as it works perfectly for macarons as well.

Whipped cream cheese in a glass bowl of stand mixer.

Remove the macaron shells from the baking surface once they are completely cooled. Then pair them by size and fill them with cream cheese frosting.

Red velvet macaron shells arranged on a baking sheet and half of the shells with cream cheese frosting.

I know, you want to dive right in. But these macarons are best when served after maturing them for at least 8 hours in the fridge after filling.

During this process, filling seeps into the shells, softening and flavoring the macarons perfectly.

how long to mature the macarons

Typically, macarons are matured for at least 24 hours, but since cream cheese frosting is wetter filling, 8 hours is sufficient for maturing.

The Secret to Vibrant Red Color:

Red food coloring alone yields lighter, pinkish red macaron shells no matter how much coloring you add.

The secret to achieving intense red macarons is using the combination of cocoa powder and red food coloring.

choose the right food coloring

Only use gel food coloring for macarons, as liquid food coloring may throw the wet to dry ingredients ratio off.

I use Americolor Super Red gel food coloring.

How to store macarons:

  • Plain macaron shells can be store in a dry, airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. Or frozen for up to 3 months.
  • Assembled macarons should be refrigerated in a dry, airtight container for up to 3 days. Or freeze them for up to 1 month. If there’s any moisture in the container, it will transfer to the macarons and make them soggy.
  • Remove the macarons from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Macarons are best at room temperature! 
  • Don’t store these delicate cookies in bags. They are more likely to crack or break this way.

macaron storage container

These clamshell plastic container is not airtight. You can store macarons in this container, but place it in a freezer bag before refrigerating or freezing.

Assembled macaron shells in a clamshell macaron container.
Vibrant red velvet macarons filled with white cream cheese frosting arranged on a white serving platter.
4.22 from 57 votes

Red Velvet Macarons

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.
Prep: 1 hour
Cook: 18 minutes
Total: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 20 filled macarons

Ingredients

For macaron shells:

  • 100 g super fine almond flour Note 1
  • 65 g powdered sugar Note 2
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder Note 3
  • 70 g egg whites at room temperature Note 4
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar Note 5
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 75 g fine granulated sugar Note 6
  • 1 teaspoons red gel food coloring Note 7
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For cream cheese filling:

  • ¼ cup (55 g) cream cheese softened
  • ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Instructions 

To make macaron shells:

  • Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or teflon sheet, or silicone mat.
  • To prepare dry ingredients, sift together almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder twice. Note: If you have up to 2 tablespoons of chunky dry ingredients left in the sifter, you don't have to replace it. Simply discard those chunky bits.
  • To make meringue, in a clean mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, combine egg whites, granulated sugar, cream of tartar and salt and beat the mixture on medium speed until soft peaks form. (I set it to speed 4 on my KitchenAid stand mixer. It takes 30-40 minutes to whip the meringue, but it's well worth it for nice and full shells.)
  • When the meringue reaches soft peaks stage, add red gel food coloring and vanilla extract.
  • Continue beating the egg whites on the same medium low speed until hard peaks form. Visual cues: Meringue should ball up inside the whisk, and when you lift the whisk, the meringue should hold a pointy end and have sharp ribs.
  • To make batter, sift almond flour mixture into the meringue. Using a silicone spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the meringue until fully incorporated. Then continue to fold the batter until it’s runny enough to draw a figure eight. To test, take a small amount of batter and drop it into the bowl. If the small peaks dissolve into the batter on its own in about 10 seconds, the batter is ready. If not, fold couple more times and test again. Be careful not to over-fold the batter. (TIP: Making french macarons is all about the technique. This is one of the most crucial step. Let me try to describe the folding motion as best as I can: run the spatula clockwise from the bottom, up around the sides and cut the batter in half. If you’re beginner macaron-baker, I suggest to count every fold. It takes roughly about 50 folds to reach the proper consistency. After 50 folds, start testing the batter, and continue testing after every couple folds.)
  • To pipe macaron shells, transfer the batter into a pastry bag, fitted with a round tip. (I used this Wilton 12 tip.)
  • Hold the pastry bag at straight 90° angle and pipe about 1.5-inch rounds about an inch apart on prepared baking sheets. (TIP 2: Download my free macaron template. Simply pipe the batter to fill inner circle.)
  • Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter (or using your hand) a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. You can also use a toothpick to burst some large air bubbles. This step ensures smooth tops.
  • Let the macarons rest on the counter for 15 minutes before baking.
  • To bake, working one baking sheet at a time, place one tray with macarons on the middle rack. (TIP: To prevent browning, place an empty baking sheet on top rack to shield the heat.) Bake for about 15-18 minutes. It’ll take longer for larger macarons. To test for doneness, touch a macaron lightly and try to move it. If it slides and wobbles, bake a minute or so longer. The cooked macarons should be firm to touch and the base shouldn’t move. (TIP: It’s always better to slightly over-bake macarons than under-bake them!)
  • Cool macarons complete and then remove the shells from the parchment paper. (TIP: Don't remove the shells while warm, you may risk breaking the shells, or the bottom might get stuck to the baking surface.)

To make the filling:

  • While macarons bake, prepare the cream cheese filling. In a mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt and beat until well combined.
  • Transfer the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a round piping tip. (I used Wilton 10 piping tip.)

To assemble:

  • Pair the macaron shells by size and arrange them on a wire rack.  Line them up so that bottom shells are upside down.
  • Pipe a dollop of filling on bottom shells. Place the top shell over the filling and press lightly so the filling spreads till the edges.
  • Store the filled macarons in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 8 hours to mature, which allows the filling to soften and flavor the shells.
  • To serve, bring the macarons out about 30 minutes prior to serving.

Tips & Notes

Note 1: It’s best to use super fine almond flour to ensure smooth tops. Weigh the ingredients before sifting.
Note 2: I don’t recommend making your own powder sugar, because commercial powdered sugar has cornstarch in it. And it helps with texture of the cookies.
Note 3: For this recipe, you can use either natural or Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
Note 4: I’ve had success with carton egg whites (Bob Evans brand). You’ll need 1/3 cup of egg whites.
Note 5: Cream of tartar is optional and can be omitted. However, it helps to stabilize egg whites and create sturdier meringue. It’s just an extra insurance!
Note 6: It’s important to use fine granulated sugar for meringue, as it dissolves quicker. You can also use caster sugar, aka baker’s sugar.
Note 7: I used this gel food coloring.
GOT MACARON TROUBLE? Check out my macaron troubleshooting guide.

Nutrition

Servings: 1 filled macaron
Calories: 114kcal
Carbohydrates: 15g
Protein: 2g
Fat: 6g
Sugar: 14g
Sodium: 30mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French

This recipe was originally published on June 27, 2016.

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Welcome! I’m so happy you’re here! I believe anyone can cook restaurant-quality food at home! And my goal is to help you to become a confident cook with my easy-to-follow recipes with lots of tips and step-by-step photos.

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241 Comments

  1. I have used your recipe before and it turned out wonderfully! However, the past few times I’ve made it again it hasn’t been turning out. During macaronage, it doesn’t thin out…. just thickens. Any tips on why this could be happening?

    1. Hey, Valerie. This is the problem a few people have, but I just can’t recreate it for some reason. And I have no idea what causes it. To help me troubleshoot, can you let me know if you had changed almond flour brand. And do you weigh the ingredients, or measure them by cups?

      1. The first batch I did change the brand of almond flour (which I thought was the problem). The second and third batch, I went back to my usual brand which is Bob’s Red Mill but the results were still the same. I weigh my ingredients. I do everything the exact same as I have always done.

        1. That’s interesting and it makes it so hard to understand what causes this issue. But thank you for providing more details, Valerie. I just don’t know what to advise.

  2. You froze them???? Ohhhhhh that is exactly what I need, did you freeze them filled or unfilled? How did you prepare them for freezing? Thanks 🙂 

    1. Yes, macarons freeze beautifully. I freeze them filled, but either way is fine. You don’t need to prepare them any special way, but I like to freeze them on a plate first, then stack them against each other in a ziploc bags. If you’re freezing for a long time, say more than a week, I would double bag them to prevent freezer burn. Make sure to squeeze out all the air. Hope this helps.

      1. Awesome!! I wanted to make them for a cookie exchange party and I need to make AT least 12 doz and making that many right before the party (which I am a co-host) with all the other stuff I have to make was looking impossible. THANK YOU!!!!!

  3. Thanks for the lovely recipe! I’ve been trying to try different mac recipes out and find my best fit. Do you weigh your ingredients before or after the sifting stage?

    1. Hi, Anna. I weigh the ingredients before sifting. If you get some dry ingredients in the sifter, it’s fine to toss it as long as it’s no more than 2 tablespoons.

  4. Could you try making one of your macaron recipes using the Italian meringue method? All the recipes I have found using the Italian method are packed with sugar, and your recipe has the least amount of sugar, of any macaron recipe I have found. However, you use the French method, which I find to yield less stable results than the Italian meringue method. Thanks!

    1. Hi, Eunice! Yes, I’m working on perfecting Italian method, but last couple of trials have been discouraging. But I haven’t given up. I’ll share as soon as I get the perfect Italian meringue macarons. Hopefully soon. 😉

  5. My color is an ugly brown red it was pink and first so I added for color jell and now it’s gross looking any suggestions??!

    1. Hi, Megan. Hmm, what kind of food coloring did you use? I use this Wilton gel coloring, and never have a problem with getting bright red color. Also I hope you didn’t accidentally added too cocoa powder as it’ll add more brown color to the batter. Another thing to keep in mind, the batter won’t be beautiful red color, but macarons come out bright and red. I’m not sure if you referred to the batter color, or the baked macaron color. Hope this helps.

  6. This may be the dumbest question of all time but… I made these and they were delicious. The only problem is, I would love to make them a more traditional macaron color but the cocoa just makes everything look muddy. Do you think a chocolate extract that doesn’t distort the color could work in this recipe?

    Thank you so much!

    1. Hi, Lauren! Not dumb question at all! You’ll need to be careful with adding liquids to macaron batter, because then you can get into troubles! Macarons don’t like extra moisture, but that being said I’ve successfully used extracts and additional liquid flavors in the past. My advice is to add no more than 1/2 teaspoon of additional liquids, since this recipe already has vanilla extract. Hope it works out. Let me know.

  7. I would love to make these macaroons for my boyfriend but he is allergic to nuts. Is almond flour a must or can i use a different kind of flour?

    1. Hi, Janae. The idea of french macarons is based on nut flour, so I’d say there’s no substitution, unfortunately. 🙁

    2. I’ve seen them made with corn starch and with just cocoa powder for nut free people. The most important part of the macaron is the lightly defaulted meringue. Though I would say you should practice with almond flour a few times before moving up to more complicated techniques.

      1. Oh that sounds interesting, Adam. Cornstarch?? I don’t understand how it’ll work though. Is it corn meal by chance?

        1. To be honest I didn’t realize that comment posted. I tried to edit it and then there was an error and I totally forgot. so YES I do mean cornmeal 🙂

          Wow my comment was a train wreck indeed. In any case I can email you the link directly so you can take a look. As a macaron baker it was eye opening to see all the substitutions that actually work knowing how finicky these can be.

        2. Thanks, Adam, for sharing that link! It sure sounds interesting and I can’t wait to try it!

  8. Thanks for sharing this recipe, my red velvet macarons were perfect because of it. How I wish I could share the pictures of my macarons here.

    Merry Christmas! ????

    1. Not really, but I like unsalted butter over salted for its clean taste. If you’re using salted butter, don’t add salt.

    1. Hi, Kristin. To me, red velvet is a combination of cocoa and vanilla flavors, without domination of neither one. And, of course, red velvet isn’t complete without some cream cheese frosting/filling. In a cake, the velvety texture is quite important too, but not in these macarons. So that’s the only “red velvet” thing that’s missing in these macarons. Hope this helps to clarify my logic behind the flavor. 😉