These Vegan Bakery Style Cinnamon Streusel Muffins are a beautiful memory to the ones we ate growing up, but don’t have all of that butter or oil. These are dairy-free, oil-free and made with whole grain spelt flour and almond flour.
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BAKERY STYLE CINNAMON STREUSEL MUFFINS
So, I guess a recipe is a success when, while testing these, I promptly ate 3 muffins back-to-back with no shame?? Yes, I think so. They are that good. I use to love traditional cinnamon streusel muffins back in the day, but they were always loaded with so much butter. Even the vegan versions I’ve seen are loaded with butter or oil. Well, these have NO OIL! And I promise you won’t be missing it either. I love proving you don’t need any oil for delicious muffins, like in these 15 Vegan Muffin Recipes Without Oil! These babies are SUPER moist and buttery. A cinnamon streusel muffin without any oil? Has it been done? I don’t know, but today it’s happening folks, lol!! Ok, I’m just a wee bit giddy over these.
OIL-FREE STREUSEL TOPPING
So, typically streusel toppings are made with flour, sugar and butter. The butter is needed to hold the flour together and make that crunchy topping after they bake. Yum, right? Well, my “butter” idea is using almond flour. It has the fat needed to give that buttery taste and it crisps up with the brown sugar beautifully in the oven. I got this idea for my topping based on the fact that I almost always use almond flour in place of oil in my baked goods for the past 4 years.
I used almond flour on top of my Cinnamon Pecan Crisp before, so I knew it would work well here. However, on that crisp, the topping is rather hefty, thick and loaded with oats. I didn’t want a heavy topping like that, so just using almond flour mixed with the sugar and a small amount of milk did the trick.
WHOLE GRAIN VEGAN MUFFINS
I used spelt for a whole grain version instead of all-purpose flour. It has a more earthy taste to it than the all-purpose versions, but it’s still an oh-just-as-delicious version! In fact, I prefer the depth of flavor, as it really brings out the cinnamon more.
What makes these muffins so bakery-ish and incredible?? Well, they are super moist thanks to the almond flour, coconut milk and light brown sugar. Since there is no oil and not a lot of fat, the light brown sugar is pretty important here. The molasses in the brown sugar gives extra moisture and also gives a wonderful hearty texture to these muffins. I really love texture in a muffin. The topping is magical. Think…sweet, crunchy, cinnamon-y and addicting!
OTHER VEGAN MUFFIN RECIPES TO TRY:
- Best Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Gluten-free Double Chocolate Muffins
- Whole Wheat Chocolate Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
- Caramel Crusted Pumpkin Muffins
- Sweet Potato Cinnamon Muffins
- Cinnamon Coffee Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Cherry Muffins
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Bakery Style Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
Ingredients
CINNAMON STREUSEL
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablepoons (70g) superfine blanched almond flour
- 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons (17g) potato starch OR if you can't find this, sub with 2 tablespoons (16g) cornstarch
- 1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
- 7 tablespoons (90g) light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons "lite" canned coconut milk or cashew, soy
FOR THE MUFFINS
- 1 cup (128g) spelt flour OR regular all-purpose flour works too (SEE NOTES below for gluten-free version)
- 1/2 cup (56g) superfine blanched almond flour (See NOTE)
- 2 tablespoons (20g) potato starch OR if you can't find this, sub with 3 tablespoons cornstarch (24g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 tablespoon (6g) ground cinnamon
- 1/2 lightly packed cup (95g) light brown sugar
- 1 cup (240g) "lite" canned coconut milk, room temp, shaken well (I highly recommend Thai Kitchen or Taste of Thai brands, they are very creamy and thick/not watery and will produce the best results)
- 2 teaspoons (10g) vanilla extract
NOTE
- I always recommend to use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed, since we all measure differently. This greatly improves your chance for success and lessons room for error. You never need cups or to compare them to the weights, just use the scale and bowl and make sure to hit zero before adding each ingredient. My recipes are 100% tested specifically using my exact weights and your results will turn out as mine this way.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 375°F degrees and lightly spray a muffin pan for 9 muffins. This number ensures they are nice and tall and resemble close to a bakery-style look. I typically always use liners for muffins, but in this case, I lightly sprayed my pan with nonstick spray. This makes the muffins bake up better and create that beautiful dome top and streusel spread look. Using liners will not bake up the same way, but will still be delicious, so use the liners if needing to 100% avoid any oil.
- To a medium bowl, prepare the streusel first so it is ready to go as soon as the batter goes into the muffin pan. Add all of the "topping" ingredients to the bowl and whisk well. Add the milk and stir with a spoon. You are going to press the mixture together with the back of the spoon repeatedly until it all comes together in damp crumbly pieces. Refer to video to see the look. It should be damp and sticky, but not super wet. Make sure all the flour is coated. Set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the spelt flour, almond flour, starch, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Whisk very well until no lumps remain. Whisk in the brown sugar briefly.
- Pour the milk and vanilla over the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until just incorporated and smooth. You want to avoid over-mixing the batter so the muffins don't turn out too tough from the gluten.
To the pan, divide the batter to 9 muffins. I really like to use an ice cream scoop, as this creates well rounded muffins that have a fluffier dome and look to them. The batter will fill up high., this is correct and how you will get such such muffins.
Using your fingertips, crumble the streusel topping evenly over each muffin covering all of the batter well. Break the clumps into little pieces so all the batter is covered. Gently press any pieces that fall to the pan back into the streusel topping, gently, as we don't want to deflate the batter. This is important that the streusel sticks to the batter, otherwise if too much falls onto the pan, they can burn.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick is clean and they have risen high and have a dome shape. Each batch I did was perfect at 22 minutes. Let cool 20-30 minutes, as they will still be rather moist and finish cooking. If you sprayed the pan, then you should be able to gently rotate the muffins to release them. Enjoy! Keep them stored at room temperature in a sealed container. The crunchy topping will soften overnight some.
Recipe Notes
ALMOND FLOUR: It's crucial to use a superfine blanched almond flour because it is what makes the muffins light and fluffy. If it isn't fine, you will end up with more dense/wet muffins. I like the King Arthur flour, Wellbee's, Honeyville, Nature's Eats and Nut's.com brands best. They all work well.
GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: To make these gluten-free, you will still use the same amounts of almond flour given, but sub the 1 cup of spelt flour with 3/4 cup (96g) superfine oat flour and 1/4 cup (40g) brown rice flour. Instead of potato starch, you will sub with 4 1/2 tablespoons (36g) cornstarch). The reason you are using more cornstarch here is because oat flour can make things gummy, and the cornstarch helps to bind them (since no gluten) and make them fluffy. Everything else is the same. The batter is more runny than the spelt version, therefore divide the batter into 10 muffins instead of 9. The batter will fill up high in each muffin tin, this is normal and how you will end up with tall muffins. Check the muffins at 20 minutes for a clean toothpick, but they may take a couple of minutes longer, due to oven variance. Remember to use fine flours (I use Bob's Red Mill oat flour) for the best fluffy results.
These look and sound delicious! I can see your excitement, Brandi! I could only imagine how amazing they must smell fresh out of the oven! I’m getting hungry just by watching your fantastic video, yum!
Thank you so much Florian and thank you for watching!
Can these be made with a gluten free flour? Thank you.
Hi Mary, I haven’t tested them with gluten-free flour, so I can’t say. You can try subbing the spelt flour portion for an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend (one without gums added and a rice flour blend) and it may work. Let me know if you try it! I’m planning on testing a gluten-free version too when I get a chance.
These look incredible! I actually started salivating while watching the video. One question…the video indicates tapioca starch but your written recipe states potato starch. Could you clarify for me? Thanks! 😄
Thank you so much Anne! So sorry about that, the video has a typo, it should definitely be the written recipe, using potato starch! 🙂
This sounds great, I want one right now! 🙂
How about Trader Joe Almond Flour? I never had it, but I will go there on Sunday.
Thank you!
Ingrid
Hi Ingrid! Yes, I think it should work as long as it’s blanched almond flour (without skins) and not the almond meal. Blanched almond flour lends a fluffier/more moist result. Let me know if you try them!
I just sat down with a cup of tea and I’m dying for one of these. Too bad I can’t reach through my computer screen and grab one or two, or three. 😉 I love how simple this recipe is. Thanks!
Thank you so much, Linda!
That topping looks amazing!!! I’ve tried to make my own vegan streusel topping recipe before and it was a huge bomb, so I’m really impressed with yours!
You are so sweet, thank you Dianne! Oh trust me, I had a few failed attempts before nailing this one, lol! The brown sugar and starch with the fat from the almond flour were really key in giving that crunchy texture!
Definitely a success!! And possibly also a danger to have around cinnamon lovers like me, I could see the whole batch being about…3 servings 😀 Cinnamon, streusel, and muffin–three of my favorite words in the baking world and you put them all into one perfect fluffy healthy golden-delicious bite! I have tried so many different ways to make oil-free streusel as well, and so often it turns out more dry and crumby like granola or something. Almond flour is absolutely the best oil-free streusel secret I have found too, and it toasts up so perfectly. And I know the inside texture is amazing on these muffins because they are one of your baking creations after all. This is the kind of recipe that I want to bake in a jumbo muffin tin with the fancy parchment paper liner, grab straight out of the pan still warm, and dig into making a complete streusel mess to clean up later piece by delicious piece! Oh and coffee on the side of that muffin-eating fantasy wouldn’t hurt 🙂 In love with these Brandi, they are perfect!
Girl, when I was a kid, our local bakery made a cinnamon streusel cake to which I was utterly addicted. I can’t wait to try this!
Thank you Annie! I know what you mean, I used to devour these from buying them and they are a classic that I have always wanted to recreate! Took me a few trials, but I’m happy I feel like a kid again eating these 🙂
Hi Brandi!
Can I use all purpose flour in place of the spelt flour? I’m trying to keep my cost down. I’ll have to buy the blanched almond flour special for this recipe but I know you use it frequently in your recipes so I’m ok with buying it.
Hi Diane! Yes, all-purpose should definitely work 🙂 Let me know what you think after you make them!
Thank! I sure will!!! 😊
Oh, and they will rise quite a bit more too. All-purpose has a larger rise than spelt, so you should end up with some glorious fluffy muffins!
The crumble topping is all the matters 😉 ooooo I could eat crumble topping by the spoonful 😛
Seriously, me too!
These look and sound delicious!! I love cinnamon and crunchy and soft combinations. Totally right up my alley. Also, Wellbees super fine almond flour from amazon is awesome too! Great job!!
Thank you! Sweet, cinnamon and crunchy are where it’s at! Oh, cool, good to know!
Oh, hello little cinnamon beauties!! That streusel!!!! By the way, I have your Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies in the oven right now! 🙂
OH yay!! Awesome! I hope they are a hit girl, thank you so much for making them! Let me know 🙂 xx
I love cinnamon anything, especially when it’s a muffin with a streusel top! I love the way you made the streusel too. Almonds are so versatile!
Thank you Mel! I’m a cinnamon addict!
I would be super giddy too if I created this recipe! Brandi, these look absolutely incredible!!! So much cinnamon-y goodness and that delicious streusel topping….the kid in me would eat the tops off of all of these muffins! We used to eat these streusel, crumb top muffins growing up and they were my favorite, but they were far from healthy. Leave it to you to create a butter/oil free version. Also, love the video and these dark, rustic photos! Beautiful! xo
Thank you so much friend! I know, that crunch sweet streusel topping is the best part. Olivia and Jay both went absolutely nuts over these!! We can’t stop eating them, haha! Thank you so much for the photo compliments, that really means so much to hear that! xoxo
I had no idea that almond flour could do so much! I will be trying it more and more. Thanks!
It’s amazing stuff, thank you Tonette!
OMG! These are delicious and super easy! Will definitely be a repeat in our house. Thank you for the delicious recipes 😁
So very happy to hear that Karen, thank you so much for the wonderful review and pic on Facebook! 🙂
These are gorgeous, Brandi! That topping!
Thank you so much Becky!
Brandi, these cute little muffins look coffee shop-worthy!! And like you said, you KNOW you’ve nailed it when you can’t stop at 1…or 2. I love the idea of using almond flour for a crunchy/streusel topping, I seriously would’ve never thought about it but it totally makes sense! These look heavenly, perfect for a cold winter morning with some coffee. Love!
Too sweet, thank you so much Sara for your kind words!
I just finished making a double batch of these because the batch I made a few days ago is already gone! In fact, I left a note for my daughter telling her she could have the last one, to which my husband replied, “Why does she get the last one?!?” You know when a muffin comes before the needs of Daddy’s Little Girl, those are damn good muffins! 😉 But seriously, they are wonderful, Brandi! I used an all-purpose gluten-free flour to replace the spelt and they turned out great. I noticed on your video you wrote tapioca starch, so I tried that this time in lieu of potato. If there was a difference, I couldn’t detect it. Also, since most of the stores around here only sell Bob’s almond flour, I used his ultra fine blanched almond variety and put it in my Vitamix for a few secs to make sure it was finely ground.
While they were baking I made some of your pizza hummus and pizza sauce. (Can’t wait to try your avocado pizza toast idea!) Time for some lunch and dessert on this cold snowy day!
As always, thanks for the amazing recipes, Brandi!
Hi Colleen! Oh gosh, your comment made me laugh! Too funny about your hubby saying that! I’m so very happy to hear you all loved these so much and that a GF blend worked out! Thank you so much for always leaving such wonderful revies, I truly enjoy reading them and hearing from you so much!
BRANDI‼️❤️❤️❤️ Remember when I told you this 🕐afternoon that I just pulled out those “Bakery Style Cinnamon Streusel Muffins” out of my oven & can’t wait to try them!?😳 Guess what?🤔 Had my first bite, I 😲 immediately did my bowling strike dance in my kitchen & kept repeating OOOMAHGAWDDD‼️ This is truly more than a muffin.✨👌🏼😍 Then had a 2nd 😝😝muffin, still SPEECHLESS! 😱😱 #Foodgasm 🙊🙈
I can’t thank you 💕💕💕 enough for creating & sharing your recipes.🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This review is amazing Nora, thank you so much for taking the time to leave it and sharing your wonderful photo of them on Instagram! So very happy you loved them so much!
I just found you yesterday and jumped for joy when I saw you had a cinnamon streusel muffin! My daughters have loved these since they were 2. Let me say….I just made these and I was literally looking at them saying “THESE CAN’T BE REAL” . The best healthy alternative to a traditional bakery muffin I’ve ever made or seen!! Mine were slightly warm when I first bit into them and the topping almost get gooey when pushed down into the muffin! TOTAL HEAVEN!
Thank you thank you thank you!!!
Aww, yay Jean! This comment made me so happy to hear, what a wonderful review! So glad you found me yesterday and that your first recipe was such a hit! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback! Would you mind star rating the recipe next time, I’d really appreciate it, thank you!
I love these muffins. I have a lot of apples right now that need to be used up. I am wondering if I can adapt this recipe to be apple cinnamon recipe. Do you have any thoughts?
Hi Amy! So glad you love these! These are so moist already that adding in apples is not a good idea. If you have apples you need to use up, then I would make this delicious apple crisp. It’s my favorite apple dessert!
https://thevegan8.com/2012/11/09/vegan-gluten-free-apple-cinnamon-crisp/
I tried these and they are DELISH … except that my oven must cook hotter because the tops are super crunchy and slightly burnt-ish. I followed the recipe exactly and took them out at 22 minutes. My oven light is burnt out (waahhhh) and I didn’t check them. If I put them in a closed container to store, hopefully the topping will soften? Fridge or not to fridge?
Thanks for the recipe! I’m excited to share these with my vegan daughter 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Deb! The tops should get nice and crispy but not burnt. Mine never burn, so maybe bake them on the lower rack next time, that might help. And yes, these soften greatly by the next time. You can just leave them at room temp if you like!
Love your recipes and creativity. I need a sub for potato starch, at least until I’ve can track some down. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Thank you so much Becky! You can try with cornstarch, maybe adding an extra tablespoon. They will not be as fluffy and more dense, since potato starch does some serious fluff magic, but you can always try it!
My 3 daughters LOVE this muffin recipe. As a matter of fact, my 7 year old twins filled out a sheet at school for Mother’s Day and they BOTH wrote that “She makes the best . . . muffins ever”. Yep, they think I’m a brilliant muffin maker, thanks to you! 🙂
I noticed at Costco the last time I was there that they have their own Kirkland brand of super fine almond flour now. Great price of course for such a large bag. Haven’t purchased it yet myself because I still have some King Arthur’s. I’m wondering if anyone has tried it.
I think that should work fine Leslie!
Oh my !!! How have I not seen this before???
Trying it very soon
Wonderful Maggie, let me know when you do!
Hi Brandi
Loving your cookbook right now. Bought it for a friend, too.
I want to make these muffins for Christmas too.
I have Bob’s red milk GF flour. If I use hat, do I still need to use potato starch since it has it in
I don’t have any but so have tapioca and corn starch.
Please advise!
Thank you!
Hi Maureen! So glad to hear that! Are you asking to sub the Spelt with the gluten-free flour? Becatse you definitely can’t sub the almond flour, as it’s crucial to the recipe. It’s what makes these moist. Also, I am not sure what to tell you because I don’t use bobs gf flour so I really don’t know how it would turn out. I would try to sub the Spelt and potato starch with the same amounts of the bobs flour but I have NO idea if it’ll work well. His flours tend to have gums in them and make things chewy and I personally haven’t liked the results, so not sure.
Brandi,
Merry Christmas!
I made the muffins yesterday and had to wing it on my own. My dtr is gluten free right now so I am trying new flours, etc and plus I am not a baker.
So I bought Cassava flour since I read it was 1:1 with regular flour and don’t need to add stuff. I weighted most of the ingredients except the spices. I used tapioca starch instead of potato since I didn’t want to buy a bag just for this recipe.
Anyway, the muffins tasted great but were dense and didn’t rise much. I think that next time I will use less cassava flour OR use more liquid because I read that it absorbs a lot of liquid. Also, maybe cassava flour is lighter than spelt so I used more since I was going by weight. I will play around with it some and await your GF recipe attempt.
Thank you for your delicious creations and wisdom! I have thought about using buckwheat next time too since it is naturally GF.
Hi! So glad you loved these! But yes, tapioca starch or cassava isn’t going to be a great replacement for spelt and potato starch, as spelt makes things very soft and tender and potato starch makes for a light fluffy result. Tapioca can make things very dense and gummy so I would definitely use potato starch for best results! It is sold at most stores or online at Amazon. Buckwheat might be a better result than cassava, not sure, as I can only vouch for the above written recipe!
Delicious!!!! Followed the recipe by weighing everything and they turned out AMAZING! So moist and flavorful. Thanks for another amazing recipe! Every single one I’ve made of yours Brandi, has been perfect. 😁
Oh yay, that is amazing to hear Nicole! Thank you so much for letting me know! Weighing ingredients really does turn out the most perfect results, right!?
I baked these muffins today and my husband (an extremely picky eater) said I should sell them. Then he proceeded to say I bet this is a Vegan 8 recipe, only she knows how to make things taste good! We’ve just recently turned to a WFPB diet and it’s been difficult finding recipes that are more like our previous lifestyle. Your recipes are so good and so easy to follow that I even told my doctor about your site! Thank you for making our dietary transition so much easier!
Wow, that is so amazing to hear Christy!! So thrilled to hear such great feedback! I know what it’s like to have a very picky eater as a husband, haha! And that is so sweet he said that about my recipes too, made my day! Thank you for the beautiful review!
Hi Brandi! Do you think coconut sugar could be used instead of light brown sugar? Thanks!
Hi Joanna! Yes, I’ve tested these with coconut sugar and they DO work well in the muffin base, but NOT the actual streusel topping. This is because coconut sugar is much finer than the coarse texture of light brown sugar, as well as there is no moisture in coconut sugar like brown sugar (which contains molasses). It just turns into a paste, rather than an actual crumbly streusel and kind of burned. So, I wouldn’t recommend it for the streusel. Do you have raw sugar, the larger granules? You could try that and add a teaspoon of molasses or syrup to the streusel and see if that works. Start out with half the milk and mix well with a fork, pressing it all together and only adding milk as needed. It should be a moist, crumbly texture, not a paste or too dry. For the muffins though, when I tested them with coconut sugar, since it has a different flavor and much less sweet taste than brown sugar, you need more sugar, like 3/4 cup, OR the same weight amount of 95 grams. Since the brown sugar has molasses, it weighs more than the coconut sugar for the same cup measure. So, just weigh 95 grams of coconut sugar and that will work and add 1 teaspoon of molasses or maple syrup to the liquids to compensate for the lack of moisture from the brown sugar. Hope all this helps and makes sense!
Hi Brandi –
Making these this weekend. Is step #7 for the streusel topping an inadvertent repeat of step #5?
Thx!
Oops, yes, it’s fixed now!
I made these this morning and they are PERFECT! They are so moist and taste better than what you’d buy at a bakery. 25 minutes nailed it for my oven.
Woohoo, that is incredible feedback to hear, thank you so much Lisa!
These muffins are just so tasty! I’ll be making these on a regular basis for sure. Thanks Brandi 🤩🤩🤩
Awesome feedback, thank you Tania!
These were amazing! Easy to follow recipe, healthy ingredients, a keeper for sure!!!
So awesome to hear!
OMG. I’ve made these twice now, and the second time I added rhubarb. YUM. Seriously, these are the BEST muffins i’ve EVER made. When I told my husband it was from Vegan8, he said “duh.” – like everything from this woman is pure GOLD. I love that she included the weights of all the ingredients, the recipes always come out as intended this way & that makes a huge difference in my opinion. MAKE THESE TODAY. RIGHT NOW.
Thank you so much Hannah for such a lovely review and you and your husband’s kind words! That means so much to hear how much you love the recipes and these are the best muffins you’ve ever had!!