The best Vegan Coffee Cake ever, and it’s SO easy to make! Perfect for holiday celebrations or weekend breakfasts.

piece of vegan coffee cake with blue towel in back and more cake

Along with my 1 Hour Vegan Cinnamon Rolls and Vegan French Toast Casserole, this Vegan Coffee Cake should be at the top of your list to make for holiday mornings!

It’s such an easy recipe with no fuss at all! It’s moist, fluffy and full of cinnamon streusel goodness.

How to make vegan coffee cake

The full recipe is at the bottom of the post, but let me show you how easy it is.

  1. Make the coffee cake batter, and pour half into a lightly greased cake pan. It doesn’t have to be exactly half, just estimate half.
  2. Make the streusel (it’s just combining cinnamon and brown sugar). Sprinkle half of it on the batter, then pour the rest of the cake batter on top. It won’t cover the streusel completely, and that’s okay.
  3. Sprinkle the rest of the streusel on top.
  4. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of melted vegan butter on top of the streusel, then bake for 40-45 minutes.

collage of how to layer coffee cake before baking

That’s it! The vegan butter may still look wet, but it will get crunchy with the brown sugar/cinnamon in just a couple of minutes of cooling. Serve warm with a cup of coffee!

Special Tips & Substitutions

  • This recipe makes a lot (about 16 servings) so if you don’t want that much, cut the ingredients in half and make it in an 8 x 8 inch pan.
  • Oil free option: Replace the oil with applesauce in the cake, and leave out the vegan butter drizzle.
  • Whole grain: Use white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour.
  • Gluten free: Use a quality gluten free all purpose flour blend.

fork taking a bite of vegan coffee cake and blue towel

Want more vegan holiday breakfast ideas?

a piece of vegan coffee cake with a bite taken out

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fork taking a bite of vegan coffee cake and blue towel
4.93 stars (128 ratings)

Vegan Coffee Cake

The best Vegan Coffee Cake ever, and it’s SO easy to make! Perfect for holiday celebrations or weekend breakfasts.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Servings: 16 servings

Ingredients 
 

Coffee Cake

Cinnamon Streusel

For drizzling on top

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch cake pan.
  • Combine the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Stir a little, then set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar with a large spoon until well combined.
  • To the bowl with the dry ingredients, pour in the milk/vinegar mixture, oil, applesauce and vanilla. Stir until combined. Pour half of the batter into the prepared cake pan.
  • Make the Cinnamon Streusel: In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together.
  • Sprinkle half of the cinnamon streusel over the batter in the pan, then pour the rest of the cake batter on top. Sprinkle with the rest of the streusel.
  • Drizzle with melted vegan butter.
  • Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. The vegan butter may still look wet in places, but it will harden as it cools and add a nice crunch to the cake.
  • Serve with a cup of coffee, if desired and enjoy!

Notes

  1. May substitute a different milk such as coconut, almond, cashew or oat milk.
  2. This recipe makes enough for a crowd, so feel free to cut the ingredients in half and make it in a 8 x 8 inch pan if you'd like. 
  3. Oil free: I don't think it tastes great with no oil at all, but if you must you could use all applesauce in place of the oil, and leave out the vegan butter drizzle on top.
  4. Gluten free: I haven't tried it, but I think a quality gluten free all purpose flour should work quite well. Simply subbing almond or coconut flour will not work.

Nutrition

Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 98mg | Potassium: 157mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 106IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 82mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Nora Taylor
Did you make this recipe?Mention @nora_cooks_vegan_ or tag #noracooks!

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Comments

  1. This was soooooo delicious and even better the next day!

    Curious, do you think it would with a blueberry type filling instead of the cinnamon sugar?

  2. I have made this countless amounts of times but it sounded good so what better time to make it than 10pm on Saturday night! I did not feel like making applesauce so used 2 flax eggs instead. I kinda guessed on that amount but it was roughly 1/2 cup so hopefully it will work out! Nothing like a Saturday night alone eating the best coffee cake ever while watching Cougar Town. This may seem like a bit of self degradation but my kids are all moved out and this is the exact kind of thing I was looking forward to being able to do. Thanks Nora!!!

  3. Nobody could believe that this coffee cake didn’t have eggs in it! I think that the clabbered milk achieves that. And you are right, it is perfect with coffee or a strong cup of tea! My cakes sometimes come out too dry, but this one was perfect. My first time trying it, and I will definitely make this one again!

  4. Another excellent recipe, Nora! So quick and easy to make and so delicious when it’s done. I added finely chopped walnuts to the streusel mix on top of the cake.

  5. Fabulous recipe! Great taste and texture! I made a half batch, substituted a flax egg for applesauce, and it turned out delicious! Thank you for the recipe!

  6. I’ve made this several times over the holidays, it’s so good! I prefer to soften the vegan butter and add it to the strusel mixture instead of drizzling it at the end. I’m making it today and think I’ll throw in some pecans.
    Thank you Nora. You are one of my top go-to for vegan recipes!

    1. Thank YOU, Laurie, for your wonderful words of encouragement and review! I appreciate yo using my recipes! Happy cooking!

  7. I made this yesterday for Christmas and it turned out really yummy! I used a ceramic dish and had to bake it for 65 min to get the right consistency. I also used 1 cup sugar for struesel instead of 1.5 and it is still plenty sweet. My favorite thing about this recipe is that it is super easy! This was my first attempt at coffee cake and I would def use this recipe again.

    1. Thank you for sharing your fantastic review, Sadiya! I’m thrilled the coffee cake turned out wonderful for you!

    1. Hi Paula. The cake will be just fine if made a day before you serve it. If desired, you could warm it back up in the oven, covered, but not for too long or it will dry out. Happy baking!

  8. Delicious! I ran out of applesauce so I mixed 1/4 a banana with a little water – had a slight banana bread essence to it but we love banana bread. Even my “I don’t like sweets” husband said it was delicious!

    1. Sure, you could use vegan yogurt or even more oil if you want. Flax eggs would probably work as well (2 tbs ground flax mixed with 5 tbs water).

      1. I tried this with flax egg instead of applesauce — and subbed a good quality gluten free 1:1 all purpose flour. The cake part was fabuluous ! Not too moist or gummy as can happen sometimes with gluten free cake. Nor was the texture dry. Thank you.

        Your recipes are consistently yummy and not complicated or expensive. Your blog is great!

  9. this is such a good recipe!! i love nora’s in general, but this is a favorite, no matter how many variations i’ve made.
    as stated is amazing, i’ve made it gluten free & it’s a bit drier, but still amazing. also made it with no applesauce but added fresh apples, my favorite variation yet. about to try it with fresh cranberries added, im sure it’ll be amazing too!

    1. Hi Alissa. Oooh, cranberries in this cake sounds delicious! I have to say this is one of my favorites as well! Thanks for sharing your stellar review and feedback!

  10. Hi Nora! This recipe looks delicious! I was wondering what the proper measurements are for making it in a 8 x 8 inch pan? I’m not really sure how to half the Ingredients.
    And what else can you substitute applesauce for? Thanks!

    1. Thanks, I hope you love it! Everything is pretty easy to cut in half (for example, 1/2 becomes 1/4 cup). The milk would be 5/8 cup, which is a little awkward but it works. You could use more oil instead of applesauce, or vegan yogurt, or maybe even a flax egg or two but I haven’t tested it.

    1. Hi Liz. It will work in a glass pan. I suggest checking at 35 minutes with a glass pan and increase time as needed. Enjoy!

  11. Hi Nora, We used to make this cake once a week as a perfect comfort food during the hardest pandemic months, and we still love it now. Thank you.
    We tweaked the recipe a bit: we substitute some of the brown sugar for chopped almonds, skip the vegan butter drizzle, and sometimes mix instant Espresso coffee with the brown sugar.

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