This pumpkin streusel coffee cake is a delicious holiday dessert! A slice of this flavorful gluten free cake is perfect with a cup of hot tea or cider. You’ll want to have this on hand for those last minute visitors or serve it for a holiday brunch.

Do you have a special tradition for Thanksgiving morning? (Aside from preparing all sorts of allergy friendly Thanksgiving recipes).
My son likes to have dairy free hot chocolate and watch the Thanksgiving Day parade on TV in his pajamas. I like to watch a little too, as long as everything is going pretty smoothly.
If you have overnight guests, or like to have a leisurely morning with coffee, this pumpkin streusel coffee cake is just the thing to make.
If you’d like to have a few allergy friendly desserts on hand, try these pumpkin breakfast cookies, pumpkin chocolate sandwich cookies, or glazed carrot mini muffins.
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Ingredient Notes
- Vegan Buttery Spread – I use Earth Balance Soy Free Vegan Buttery Spread. If you have a different brand that you prefer, it will probably work. You could also use melted coconut oil in the cake batter if you prefer.
- Sugar – Organic cane sugar and brown sugar work well in this recipe. If you wanted to use coconut sugar, you could try that, but the color of the cake and of the streusel topping will be darker. Date sugar or turbinado sugar should also work pretty well. I have not tried any sugar substitutes or artificial sweeteners, so I don’t know how they would work.
- Pumpkin Puree – Make sure that you use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. You don’t need the sweeteners and spices that are included in canned pumpkin pie filling.
Special Equipment
I used a 9×9 ceramic baking dish and that worked well. A metal pan would also be fine! If you don’t have a square pan, try an 8 or 9-inch round cake pan.
Tips for Success
- I line my pans with parchment paper, and that keeps the cake from sticking to the pan. Just place a piece of parchment in the pan so that it hangs over two sides.
- Be sure to allow the cake to cool in the pan. Once the cake is cool, you can use the parchment to lift the cake out of the pan if you like.
Make Ahead Instructions
You can easily make this pumpkin coffee cake the night before Thanksgiving. You could probably even make it further in advance and freeze it if you wanted to! I haven’t tried that, but it should work just fine as long as you wrap the cake well in foil or waxed paper and then store in a freezer safe bag.
More Vegan Breakfast Treats
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Recipe
Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake (Gluten Free, Vegan).
Ingredients
For the cake:
- ⅓ cup vegan buttery spread melted
- ½ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- 5 Tablespoons pure pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅝ cup water ½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups gluten free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
For the streusel topping:
- ⅓ cup gluten free flour
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons vegan buttery spread
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 inch square cake pan with parchment paper so that it hangs over two sides.
- In a large bowl, mix the melted vegan buttery spread, the brown sugar, and the organic cane sugar.
- Stir in the pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, vinegar, and water.
- Add the dry ingredients, and stir well. The batter will be thick. If it seems too dry or lumpy, add a little more water.
- Put the batter in the prepared pan and smooth it out.
- Make the streusel: place the sugar, gluten free flour, and vegan buttery spread in a bowl. Mix with a pastry cutter until large crumbs form.
- Sprinkle the streusel over the cake batter.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 28-32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool before slicing and serving.
Dee Hendrickson
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to make it soon. You have been a huge help to us. Thank you so much!!!!!
Dee
Kelly Roenicke
Thank you so much for the encouragement!
Grace
Can I use milk instead of water
Kelly Roenicke
Yes, that’s fine!
Almut
I’ve made twice in the last month and love this recipe.
Joelle
I have made this recipe several times in the last few months for the holidays. It Has turned out perfect every time and so delicious. I used palm oil shortening in the recipe instead of earth balance.