Buttery, sweet and crumbly vegan streusel is made quickly and easily with just four ingredients. No pastry cutter or rubbing in required! Use this vegan streusel topping on homemade baked goods like muffins, pies, cakes, tarts and quick breads.
Yep, just a recipe for vegan streusel. I say "just" when really this simple recipe is one we should be excited about because it has the ability to make all of your baked goods better... Including my vegan lemon muffins with crunchy streusel topping which are the models in these streusel pics.
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When it comes to sweet things I'm all for a little EXTRA and vegan streusel is just that. It's perfect for making your baked goods extra special. It adds extra flavour, extra interest, extra visual appeal and of course that wonderful nubbly, crumbly texture we all know and love.
Use this vegan streusel topping on homemade baked goods like muffins, pies, cakes, tarts and quick breads. It's even great on desserts like fruit crisps and baked apples.
This recipe makes enough streusel to top a batch of 12 muffins. If making a large pie or cake where you want quite a thick streusel topping, I recommend doubling the recipe.
Hot tip: Try this streusel on my vegan strawberry muffins. Readers have described them as the best muffins ever, but with my easy streusel topping piled high on top too, they are seriously next level. Just add an extra minute to the bake time!
Ingredient notes
(For detailed measurements and instructions, see the printable recipe card).
Wondering what vegan streusel topping is made from? Well here's what you'll be needing and why:
- Flour - All purpose flour is best for optimium buttery flavour. If you are in the UK use plain flour. I haven't tested the recipe with gluten-free flour but it will probably be ok with a good all purpose gluten-free blend like Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour. I don't recommend using wholewheat flour or spelt flour because their stronger flavour detracts from the butteriness and luxury that is streusel.
- Melted vegan butter - Only butter will do. Streusel is all about that buttery flavour!
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar - Just like a lot of cookie recipes, a mix of sugars is necessary for texture and flavour in this streusel. You can use brown sugar or coconut sugar, although brown sugar works a little better, keeping the streusel a little clumpier, so I recommend using it if you can. And for the granulated sugar you can use white or cane sugar. If you aren't sure which brands of sugar are vegan or not, just go for organic because they are vegan by default.
Often salt is added to streusels, but I find that because vegan butter contains quite a lot of salt, it isn't necessary for this recipe. Feel free to add a small pinch if you prefer, but go easy and don't add much.
How to make vegan streusel
Making vegan streusel is super quick and easy. It can be ready in just a couple of minutes.
- Add the melted butter and both sugars to a bowl and mix.
- Tip in the flour and using a fork (and only a fork), gently toss everything together to form a mix of sandy, small, medium and large clumps. It's good for it to be really irregular with clumps of all different sizes. It will look something like this:
Then your vegan streusel topping is ready to be used on your baked goods!
Here is a quick before and after baking shot of some muffins that were made using it:
How to cook streusel on its own
You don't have to bake streusel into the top of something. You can cook it on its own too. It's wonderful sprinkled on foods like ice cream, yogurt, frosted cupcakes, puddings, cheesecake etc.
- In the oven - Make the streusel as per the instructions, then spread it out in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cook it for about 10 minutes or so at 350 °F (175°C). Take it out and stir it halfway. This method can produce a quite crunchy vegan streusel so be sure to keep a close eye on it. For a softer effect use the stovetop method below. Remove from the oven, allow to cool completely on the tray then store at room temperature in an airtight container.
- On the stovetop - Make the streusel as per the instructions, but use a small saucepan or skillet instead of a mixing bowl. Place over low heat, stirring gently with a fork constantly for about 5 minutes, just enough to cook the raw flour. Spread out on a baking tray or large plate, being careful not to break up the clumps, and allow to cool completely, then store at room temperature in an airtight container until needed.
Making in advance
You can make the vegan streusel topping up to three days in advance. Simply make the streusel as instructed, then store it raw in an airtight container in the fridge, ready to be sprinkled over your cake/muffins/pie before baking. Or follow my instructions for cooking the streusel on its own and store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Success tips
- Make sure the butter is melted but then left to go back to room temperature. It should not be warm or hot when you use it in the streusel recipe.
- Brown sugar works a little better than coconut sugar in this recipe. The streusel remains clumpier when baked.
- Use a fork to stir it. Don't use a spoon or a spatula because you don't want to break up those lovely clumps.
- Don't overmix. Using a fork helps prevent this. Stop as soon as there is no dry flour visible.
- Streusel can be used to top most baked goods but keep in mind that if the batter is particularly thin, the streusel could sink down into it. It is best used on thicker, denser batters.
- When adding streusel to cakes and muffins it is often necessary to add on about an extra 2 minutes of bake time.
Variations
Vegan streusel is great as it is and will work with any baked goods or desserts that suit or need a streusel topping. Feel free to switch it up to suit whatever you're making though. Here are some ideas:
- Cinnamon streusel - Add ½ to 1½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon (depending on how strong you want the cinnamon flavour).
- Pecan or walnut streusel - Add half a cup of chopped nuts. Walnuts or pecans work best.
- Citrus streusel - Add 1 tablespoon of finely grated orange, lemon or lime zest
- Pumpkin spice streusel - Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice (depending on how strong you want the pumpkin spice flavour).
- Coconut streusel - Add half a cup of shredded coconut and/or a very small dash of coconut extract.
- Vanilla Streusel - Add ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- Ginger streusel - Add ½ to 1 teaspoon of ground ginger.
- Oat streusel - Add ½ cup of rolled or old-fashioned oats.
- Allspice, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg all work well in it too so have fun experimenting!
How to use streusel
Make your baked goods even better by adding a generous heap of vegan streusel topping before baking. Try scattering it on top of cakes like coffee cakes, muffins, fruit pies, sweet potato pie (there's a recipe in my cookbook), fruit crisps, baked donuts, baked apples, sweet potato casserole etc. It's fantastic on my:
- vegan banana cake - Omit the cream cheese frosting and add streusel before baking.
- vegan apple cake - Use streusel instead of the flaked almond and crunchy sugar topping.
- vegan pumpkin pie - Make the pie as instructed then bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the streusel then return to the oven and bake again for the remainder of the cooking time.
- spelt banana bread
- vegan strawberry muffins
- vegan zucchini muffins
- vegan zucchini bread - Omit the sugar and nut topping and use vegan streusel instead
- lemon blueberry loaf - One of my most popular recipes and it's even better with streusel. Add it to the top before baking, then once the loaf is cool, drizzle the streusely top with frosting. I did say we are being EXTRA today! ;o)
Or cook the vegan streusel topping on its own (instructions are included below) and keep it on hand to sprinkle on vegan yogurt, ice cream, puddings, smoothie bowls, chia pudding etc.
Recipe FAQs
Streusel is prone to sinking in thin, liquidy batters and is best used with thicker, denser batters. The good thing is that when it comes to vegan batters (at least with my recipes), they tend to be a bit thicker than non-vegan batters anyway so this shouldn't be so much of a problem.
No. Streusel should not be eaten raw for food safety reasons. It contains flour and there is a chance that raw flour could be contaminated with harmful bacteria such as E. coli. It is a raw ingredient that should be cooked before it is eaten. Read more about the safe handling of flour here.
This can happen for a few reasons. Stirring with a spoon or spatula will break up the crumbles. You must stir it with a fork. It can also happen if you overmix, or if the melted butter was warm or hot when added. When the streusel gets too warm it can cause the sugar to melt which will then affect the texture and could stop crumbles from forming.
If you try this recipe, let me know how you like it by leaving a comment and rating below! And be sure to join my mailing list for more deliciousness!
Recipe
Vegan Streusel
Author:Ingredients
- ¼ cup (54 grams) melted vegan butter , it must be cooled to room temp before you use it
- packed ⅓ cup (64 grams) light or dark brown sugar , or coconut sugar
- 1 heaping tablespoon (15 grams) white or cane sugar
- ⅔ cup (84 grams) all purpose flour , plain flour in the UK
INSTRUCTIONS
- To a medium bowl add the melted butter, brown sugar and white/cane sugar. Stir to combine.
- Add the flour to the butter mixture and using a fork (do not use a spoon or spatula), gently toss everything together to form a mix of sandy, small, medium and large clumps, making sure to incorporate all of the dry flour. It's good for it to be really irregular with clumps of all different sizes. Be careful not to overmix it because you'll end up breaking up the clumps.
- Add the streusel to the top of your favourite baked goods like cakes, muffins, quick breads or pies prior to baking. It is usually necessary to add about 2 minutes onto the cooking time stated in your recipe.
To cook the streusel on its own
- To cook in an oven - Preheat oven to 350 °F (175°C). Make the streusel as per the instructions above then spread it out in a thin layer on a parchment paper-lined baking tray. Cook for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crumb looks dry and lightly browned. Remove from the oven, allow to cool completely on the tray (it willl firm up as it cools) then store at room temperature in an airtight container.This method will produce a slightly crunchy vegan streusel. For a softer streusel use the stovetop method below.
- On the stovetop - Make the streusel as per the instructions, but use a small saucepan or skillet to mix it up in instead of a mixing bowl. Place over low heat, stirring gently with a fork constantly for about 5 minutes, just enough to cook the raw flour. Remove from the heat, spread it out on a baking tray or large plate (being careful not to break up the clumps), and allow to cool completely, then store at room temperature in an airtight container or jar.
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