This vegan banana coffee cake is a cross between banana bread and a classic coffee cake! You get a soft, moist banana cake with a crunchy cinnamon streusel on top. It’s seriously SO good.

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Say hello to your new favorite brunch recipe! As soon as I tried a bite, I was hooked. This banana coffee cake just happens to be vegan, because it’s egg-free and dairy-free!  This recipe is perfect for a weekend breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon snack next to your coffee.

Why You’ll Love This Banana Coffee Cake

  • It uses up spotty bananas. You need about 2 medium very ripe bananas, so put those spotty bananas to good use!
  • It’s lighter than banana bread. Baking powder, baking soda, and a splash of apple cider vinegar give it real lift, so the crumb is tender and fluffy instead of dense.
  • The streusel. Brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped nuts bake into crunchy little crumbles. It’s definitely the best part of the whole thing.
  • Vegan without weird ingredients. No flax eggs, no specialty flours. Just oil, almond milk, and pantry staples. This one is great if you’re making something to share with a vegan friend!
  • It travels well. It slices cleanly and holds together, so it’s great for potlucks, brunch, or dropping off at a friend’s house.
Banana Coffee Cake imgredients

Ingredients & Substitutions

For the cake

  • All-purpose flour: I recommend weighing it if you can. Too much flour often makes cakes dry.
  • Baking powder and baking soda: You need both. The baking soda reacts with the vinegar to help the cake rise.
  • Ground cinnamon, vanilla, and salt: This adds flavor to the cake.
  • Very ripe bananas: The spottier, the better. Brown-speckled bananas are sweeter, more flavorful, and way easier to mash.
  • Light brown sugar: This adds sweetness. You can use dark brown sugar, if that’s what you have. Be sure to pack it firmly when you measure it.
  • Avocado oil: I used avocado oil but any neutral oil, like canola or vegetable works fine. Neutral oil gives you a lighter, moister crumb than melted butter or coconut oil.
  • Unsweetened almond milk: I used almond milk, but feel free to use any milk you like. Use dairy milk if you don’t need it to be vegan.
  • Apple cider vinegar: This reacts with the baking soda to provide additional lift to the cake.
  • Chopped walnuts or chocolate chips: I used walnuts, but either one is delicious!

For the streusel

For the streusel, you’ll need a little more of those same ingredients: Light brown sugar, all-purpose flour, chopped walnuts, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and avocado oil. Don’t skimp on the streusel!

How to Make Banana Coffee Cake

Stir together the brown sugar, flour, nuts, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl.
Pour in the oil and stir hard with a fork until it’s all wet and clumps into crumbles. Set it aside.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Mixing these first means less stirring later, which keeps the cake light.
In a large bowl, blend the mashed banana, brown sugar, and oil with a hand mixer or whisk until smooth. Dissolving the sugar here gives you a lighter texture.
Add the almond milk, vinegar, and vanilla and blend until the mixture is smooth and emulsified.
Add the flour mixture and stir with a spatula just until smooth. Don’t overmix! Fold in the walnuts or chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into the pan, push it into the corners, and give the pan a shake to level it.
Sprinkle the streusel over the top and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
Let it sit in the pan for at least 10 minutes, then lift it out by the parchment and let it cool completely before slicing

What Is Streusel? Is it the Same Thing as a Crumble?

Streusel is a crumbly topping made from flour, sugar, fat, and usually cinnamon. The name comes from the German word for “sprinkled,” which is exactly what you do with it. Crumble toppings are close cousins, but they often include oats and get piled thick on top of fruit. This one’s a classic coffee cake streusel: no oats, just sweet, cinnamony crumbs with a little crunch from the nuts. I tried to use the same combination of ingredients that are in the cake, so you don’t have to get anything extra!

Tips for the Moistest Banana Coffee Cake

  • Use really ripe bananas. Yellow bananas with no spots won’t give you the same sweetness or moisture.
  • Weigh your flour. If you don’t have a scale, spoon it into the cup and level it off instead of scooping straight from the bag.
  • Stop stirring early. Once the flour’s in, mix just until you don’t see dry streaks. Overmixing makes it tough.
  • Don’t overbake. Start checking at 40 minutes. Every oven runs a little different. I recommend an oven thermometer for the best results.
  • Let it cool all the way. I know it’s hard to wait. But it slices into much cleaner squares once it’s set!

Variations

  • Not vegan? Use regular milk in the cake, and swap the oil in the streusel for 2 tablespoons melted butter.
  • Chocolate chip: Use chocolate chips instead of walnuts in the batter. Banana and chocolate is never a bad move. Just remember to use dairy free chips if you want to keep this vegan.
  • Nut-free: Go with chocolate chips in the batter and skip the nuts in the streusel.

How to Store Banana Coffee Cake

Keep it covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze it for up to 1 month. I’d wrap individual squares so you can grab one at a time and let it thaw on the counter. It’s also a great make-ahead bake. Make it the day before a brunch or get-together, let it cool completely, and cover it overnight.

More Banana Recipes to Try

If you enjoyed this recipe, try my cinnamon banana bread, protein banana bread, or banana protein muffins!

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Banana Coffee Cake

Banana Coffee Cake

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  • Author: Liz Thomson
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 16 pieces 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This vegan banana coffee cake is a cross between banana bread and a classic coffee cake! You get a soft, moist banana cake with a crunchy cinnamon streusel on top. It’s seriously SO good.

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the cake:

  • 2 1/4 cups (270g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
  • 2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon (5g) baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon (1g) ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup (195g) mashed very ripe banana (about 2 medium)
  • 3/4 cup (150g) light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup (78ml) avocado oil (or other neutral oil like vegetable oil)
  • 3/4 cup (180ml) unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) apple cider vinegar
  • 3/4 cup (90g) chopped walnuts, or chocolate chips

For the Streusel:

  • 1/4 cup (50g) light brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons (45g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup (30g) chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 teaspoon (1g) ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) avocado oil (or other neutral oil like vegetable oil)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line an 8” x 8″ baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. Prepare the streusel. In a small bowl combine the sugar, flour, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to distribute everything evenly.  Add in the oil. Use a fork to stir vigorously until everything is wet and forms crumbles. Set aside.
  3. For the cake, in a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to evenly distribute everything. Having the dry ingredients combined before adding to the wet ingredients reduces the amount of stirring needed which keeps a light and delicate cake.
  4. In a large bowl, combine the mashed banana, sugar, and oil. Use a hand mixer or whisk to blend until smooth. Dissolving the sugar in the oil and banana creates a lighter texture.
  5. Add in the almond milk, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth and well emulsified.
  6. Add in the flour mixture. Stir until just smooth. Do not over mix.
  7. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
  8. Pour the batter into prepared baking pan and shake to level, pushing all the way to the corners as needed.
  9. Sprinkle the streusel over the top of the batter.
  10. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
  11. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing and allow to cool completely.