The best Vegan Coffee Cake ever, and it’s SO easy to make! Perfect for holiday celebrations or weekend breakfasts.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sprinkle the rest of the streusel on top.
- Drizzle 2 tablespoons of melted vegan butter on top of the streusel, then bake for 40-45 minutes.
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.
Want more vegan holiday breakfast ideas?
- 1 Hour Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
- Vegan Caramel Monkey Bread
- Vegan Blueberry Scones
- Easy Vegan Quiche
- Vegan French Toast Casserole
- Cinnamon Sugar Vegan Donuts
- Best Ever Vegan Waffles
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Vegan Coffee Cake
The best Vegan Coffee Cake ever, and it’s SO easy to make! Perfect for holiday celebrations or weekend breakfasts.
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened soy milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup canola oil OR melted coconut or avocado oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Cinnamon Streusel
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
For drizzling on top
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
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
- May substitute a different milk such as coconut, almond, cashew or oat milk.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Did you make this recipe?Mention @nora_cooks_vegan_ or tag #noracooks!
This was delish!! Yesterday was the first time I visited your site but I’ll be back! I used the Not Milk brand and Bob’s cup for cup. And for butter I use Myokio’s (I may have spelled it wrong), and I used canola oil. It turned out so good! I had to bake it about ten minutes longer but wow. EVERYONE loves it!!
Welcome to Nora Cooks! I’m so thrilled you’ve discovered my recipes! I’m glad you loved the coffee cake. Thanks for sharing your great feedback! Enjoy your journey through my recipes, and reach out if you have any questions! Happy cooking!
This came out delicious, I used almond milk in place of soy milk and I used bob’s red mill one to one gluten free baking flour in place of the all purpose flour.
Hi Lisa. I’m thrilled the cake turned out delicious for you! Thank you for sharing your experience and wonderful feedback!
Gave this recipe a try this morning since we had a snowy day and work gave me a late start.
I swapped oat milk for the soy, and whole wheat flour for white and it turned out really well. I did have the same problem that another person posted earlier- the consistency of the batter was thick and not pourable but I didn’t want to go crazy adding more liquids so I just pressed out the batter with my spatula and hoped for the best. It turned out great, no complaints!
I’m confused, I bought the ingredients thinking I was making a coffee cake, not a cake that tastes nice with a cup of coffee. I will still give it a try cause it looks delicious however I think the name of it is a bit misleading.
This is a very standard coffee cake, across the board. The general name may be misleading (but is what you would find in any bakery or coffee shop) and the ingredients list should make it clear that coffee is not involved. As does reading the recipe descriptions/ instructions..
I hope you still made the cake if you bought the ingredients because it’s delicious !
nora’s recipes are always the ones i go to if i’m making a dessert i know will turn out great. they’ve never steered me wrong! this was no exception. i used an 8×8 pan (it’s all i had) and thought it would be fine; apart from some spillage and a bit longer of baking time, it turned out perfect and delicious! i also used plain vegan yogurt instead of applesauce and it was still perfect. thanks for having the best foolproof recipes!
Hi Lauren. Your kind and positive words really make me glow inside! I appreciate your confidence in my recipes, and for using them consistently! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback and tips! Wishing you happy baking!
This really reminded me of Starbucks coffee cake! How do you recommend storing it?
I’m glad you loved the cake, Liz! I usually just leave it at room temperature, however, you could refrigerate it. I would say it will keep about 4-5 days in the fridge. Thanks!
Okay Nora! Yet another insane banger!!!!
Can confirm that this recipe is gluten free friendly with a 1-to-1 flour blend! Can hardly taste the difference and wouldn’t be able to if I didn’t know
Hi Claire. Thank you for sharing!
I have made in the past and this time i didn’t have enough applesauce so added so banana to the mix. I took it out of the oven last night at ten pm and smelled heavenly! i of course quickly ate some–deliciousness!!! I love nora cooks recipes and i always rec them to her.
Hi Jessica. I can just smell it now! I’m so glad you loved the cake! Thank you for taking time to share you wonderful feedback!
Hi Nora,
I can always depend on your great receipes to get me something easy to make and great to eat. Just made your vegan coffee cake yet again, ( I’ve made it for company and neighbors and it never fails to put a smile on their faces).
Thanks!
Hi Patrick. You are welcome! I’m so glad you love the coffee cake! Thank you for taking time to share your wonderful feedback!
My family always complains that I only make vegan desserts (as I am the only vegan in the house), so I made them chocolate cupcakes (non-vegan) and I made this coffee cake for myself – well I wake up this morning and NOT ONE cupcake was gone – but ALL of my coffee cake was gone except for two pieces they nicely left for me. LOL Needless to say, everyone LOVED this recipe and I will be making it again! Thank you so much!
Hi Paula. What a funny and great story! I’m glad they left you a couple of pieces! Thank you for taking time to share your wonderful feedback and review! I’m so glad you (and your family) loved the coffee cake!
Is there anything I can use in replacement of the vegan butter as a drizzle?
You could leave it off or use melted coconut oil instead.
Hi Nora – can I use spelt flour? If so, would I use that same amount noted in the recipe? Also, can I bake it in a banana loaf pan? If so, how long would I bake it for and would I make half the batter? Thank you!
this is the second time making this divine cake and it smelled so good coming out of the oven! the brown sugar melted on top with the vegan butter omg and the soft cake underneath, yum! shared with neighbor and at work and every last piece eaten except a small piece that i am saving in the freezer…but of course it will be calling my name! Nora Cooks you are the vegan queen!
Why, thank you, Jessica! I’m so glad you love the coffee cake! It is so aromatic and inviting! Thanks for your fun and wonderful feedback! Enjoy your cake!
I’ve tried this and love it!!! But, I find myself with all the ingredients but applesauce most of the time. Is there anything I can substitute for the applesauce?
You can always omit the applesauce and add an extra 1/4 cup of oil if it seems dry. I hope this helps!
Making this for the first time, still in the oven. I was unable to pour the batter into the pan. The consistency was more like buscuit dough. I carefully measured all ingredients. Just wondering, is this how it’s supposed to be?
Hi Ann. No, the batter should be thinner and pourable (you can see what it should look like in the process photos above). It sounds like it might have been overworked or not enough liquid was added if it was really thick/dense.
I know that I have posted so many times on your site but I had to share that this is the best coffee cake recipe ever! I made it for my family for Easter and they have requested that I make it again for Mother’s Day 🙂 my father doesn’t like sweet foods but he loves this recipe! I love all of your recipes (I make them all of the time) but this one really stands out and is perfect for sharing with anyone and everyone! Thank you! We love it!
P.s. I accidentally cooked it for an hour and it still came out delicious!
I feel so honored by your feedback, Melody! Thank you! I agree this coffee cake is so good! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
I made this with 1/2 banana instead of applesauce, because I didn’t have any. Well, I start pouring the batter into the pan, and thought it was odd that it be so thick. I figured just trust the process, right? Wrong. Turns out I forgot to put the 1/2 cup of oil. By the time I realized, everything was assembled and ready to throw in the oven. I baked it for 30 mins instead of 45. And you know what? It wasn’t a total flop. It actually works really well, even without substituting the wet ingredient. So, if you want to omit the oil all together, it’s totally doable, it’s just not as rich as you’d want a good dessert.
Cheers!
Hi Laura. Thank you for sharing all about your experience! I appreciate your feedback! I’m also really happy to hear the coffee cake turned out well!
Hi, did you try to put coffee instead of the plant based milk? Just wondering if it will work. Tks 😉
I haven’t tried it, but it probably would work and make the cake taste like coffee. 🙂
I made this cake again and this time with whole wheat flour–the smell in the house was divine, and frankly, I can’t stop eating this fabulous cake!!!!!! I have made many lovely deserts by Nora and they all have turned out fab!!!!!! YUM
So happy you loved the cake, Jessica! Thanks so much for your wonderful review!
I accidentally bought bread flour, so I used that. Otherwise I followed the directions exactly. Turned out amazing! I definitely plan to make this again! I can’t believe how good it was for how simple it was to make. Nora rocks!
So glad it still turned out well! Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback and review!
This is supposed to be the coffee cake as it says but there is neither coffee in ingredients nor in recipe. That’s really strange.
It is strange, but coffee cake is almost never made with coffee. It’s called coffee cake because it pairs so well with a cup of coffee.
Can this be made into muffins?
Yes they can! Divide the batter, streusel, and butter into muffins pans and bake for 15-25 minutes. Enjoy!
This cake was soooo delicious! Thank you for such an excellent recipe! Next time I plan to add apples to the batter and maybe pecans with the streusel on top. Is it possible to leave the prepared batter in a covered pan in the refrigerator overnight and bake it the next morning?
Overnight should be fine. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I love your idea about apples and pecans.
I made this today so I would have something easy to just grab on my way out the door for work. It turned out great, I will be making this often for my weekday breakfast. I added some chopped pecans to mine for a little crunch.