Adapted from my award-winning zucchini bread recipe, this zucchini crumb cake is moist, cinnamon-spiced, and packed with summer’s bountiful green vegetable. Finished with a buttery brown sugar crumb topping and velvety vanilla icing, everyone will beg to have veggies for breakfast!
Reader Susie says: “Absolutely perfect! The entire cake disappeared faster than brownies typically do here…think that says something.”
This zucchini crumb cake doesn’t taste like vegetables at all, and that’s a promise!
Zucchini Crumb Cake Details
- Texture: Today’s breakfast dish is soft, moist, and cakey just like my New York-style crumb cake recipe.
- Flavor: Expect a flavorful cinnamon-spice cake with extra goodness from the sweet, buttery crumb topping.
- Ease: This recipe can be prepared ahead of time and then whipped out the next time you’re hosting a special breakfast or brunch. You can freeze the baked and cooled cake for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy it, bring it to room temperature first and then drizzle with fresh vanilla icing, if desired, before serving.
And bonus: You don’t even need a mixer to make it!
Zucchini’s Magical Disappearing Act!
I enjoy zucchini in many baked goods beyond classic zucchini bread and zucchini muffins and I know you will too– have you tried zucchini oatmeal cookies and chocolate zucchini cake yet?
Here’s why you should bake with zucchini:
- Zucchini adds pure moisture with zero vegetable flavor. I wouldn’t bake a cake with a green vegetable if I could taste it. It’s like using carrots to make a delicious carrot cake, except that zucchini hides even better. It’s truly magical in its disappearing act in baked goods.
- There are only so many zucchini side dishes to make! (Zucchini Fritters, anyone?!) Zucchini grows abundantly in the summer, and it’s fun to incorporate this vegetable when baking during its peak season. Would your neighbors prefer you show up at their door with fresh zucchini from your garden or a homemade zucchini crumb cake?
Key Ingredients You Need & Why
- Flour: Sturdy all-purpose flour is the base of this crumb cake.
- Butter: It creates a wonderfully moist crumb.
- Sugar: A combination of brown and granulated sugars in the cake batter adds more moisture and the best taste and texture. Using only brown sugar in the crumb topping ensures a soft, sweet crumb.
- Zucchini: We’ll use 1 cup of shredded zucchini, which is roughly equivalent to 1 medium-sized zucchini. I recommend a box grater to shred the vegetable.
- Cinnamon: We can’t have crumb topping without cinnamon! Because we use cinnamon in both the cake and topping layers, this zucchini crumb cake is perfectly cinnamon-y.
Optional Icing
Feel free to dress the zucchini breakfast cake up with a drizzle of vanilla icing, just like I do with my coffee cake. I like topping the cake with icing while it’s still warm, so it seeps into all of the nooks and crannies. You could also use maple icing from my maple brown sugar cookies, brown butter icing from my apple blondies, or simply leave the cake plain—that crumb topping is delicious all on its own!
Similar Baking Recipes You Will Love
- Cream Cheese Zucchini Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Carrot Cake
Zucchini Crumb Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
- Yield: serves 9-12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Adapted from my zucchini bread recipe, this zucchini crumb cake is moist, cinnamon-spiced, and hidden with summer’s favorite green vegetable inside. Topped with a buttery brown sugar crumb topping and sweet vanilla icing, veggies for breakfast never tasted so good!
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 1/2 cup (63g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, melted
Cake
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, melted + slightly cooled
- 1/3 cup (65g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini, no need to blot dry)
- optional: vanilla icing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease an 8-inch or 9-inch square or round baking pan, springform pan, or pie dish or line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Make the crumb topping: With a fork, mix the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Mix in the melted butter. Don’t over-mix; you want the flour-y crumbles!
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Whisk the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla extract together in a medium bowl, then whisk in the shredded zucchini. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Batter will be thick. Pour/spread into prepared baking pan, then sprinkle the crumb topping evenly on top.
- Bake for 35-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out mostly clean with no wet batter. (A few moist crumbs are ok!) If you find the top of the cake is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
- Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to slightly cool for a few minutes before slicing. I suggest drizzling with vanilla icing while the cake is still warm!
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Freeze baked and cooled cake for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature and drizzle with vanilla icing, if desired, before serving.
- Special Tools: Glass Mixing Bowls, Box Grater, Whisk, and Glass 8×8 Baking Dish
- 9×13-inch Crumb Cake: Doubling the recipe will be too much batter for a 9×13-inch cake pan. I recommend doubling the recipe, filling the pan halfway, then using any extra batter for muffins. Bake time for 9×13-inch crumb cake will be around 45-50 minutes, but use a toothpick to test for doneness. Instructions for baking zucchini muffins are below.
- Zucchini Crumb Cake Muffins: Make the crumb topping and batter as written. Grease a 12-count muffin pan or line with liners. Spoon the batter evenly into each liner, filling each all the way to the top. Press crumb topping into each. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C) then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 13-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 18-21 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Yield: about 12-14 muffins.
Keywords: zucchini crumb cake
This recipe is amazing!! I was wondering what to do with all the zucchini and wow, this cake doesn’t disappoint. Buttery and just plain delicious! My family loved, loved it!
★★★★★
Hi Sally, Could you make this into a sheet cake and replace the crumbs with vanilla buttercream?
Hi Julie! See recipes notes for making this crumb cake in a 9×13 pan. You can certainly leave the crumb off and top with vanilla buttercream if desired. Let us know what you try!
This is the best coffee cake ever! The zucchini is just bonus! My boys eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I let them. I now have to double the recipe using a 9×13 pan just to have some left for the next day!!
Delish! I made this for a workmates birthday and it was a big hit. A bit sweet for my taste but everyone else loved it.
★★★★
Hi, Can I replace the egg with flax seed egg replacer ? Which is 1 Tbsp flax seed powder mixed with 3 Tbsp water.
Hi Ritu! We haven’t tested that substitution but let us know if you do!
Definitely one of the best crumb cakes I’ve made! The cake was very moist. The topping added the perfect amount of crunch. I went a little crazy with the vanilla drizzle so next time I may leave it off or do less as it overpowered some of the other flavors. I will make this again and again!
★★★★★
Ok, I had to leave another comment because I have now made this cake about 6 times since I have an abundance of zucchini in the garden. I now add 1 and 1/2 cup of zucchini and it is also great. It is so moist and light and so addicting with a tea or coffee! I don’t make the crumb or icing and find it perfect without. Great recipe!!
★★★★★
Hey Christine! I felt like it could’ve used a little more zucchini. I may try to add that same amount next time!
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
★★★★★
This was really good. I subbed coconut oil for butter and the crumb and I don’t recommend doing that. Next time I will skip the crumb part, as I found the cake to be so delicious in its own.
★★★★★
Thanks Christine- I actually came looking to see if anyone had tried coconut oil!
This is a delicious recipe and perfect to serve with coffee! Followed all directions without altering a thing, though we chose not to use the optional vanilla icing…the cake is sweet enough and perfect without it. Covered it with plastic wrap and warmed up slices of it in the morning with our coffee. Mornings can’t get much better than this!
★★★★★
Made it this morning and just ate my first piece. Delicious!
★★★★★
Suggestion: Since the butter and egg need to be ‘warm’, please note that as step one. They could sit on counter… Thanks
This is incredible! I usually make your Greek yogurt zucchini bread as muffins when I have extra zucchini lying around but I wanted to try something different this time, so I gave this cake a try and I’m so glad I did! Something happened to the edges of mine, they were quite hard so I was worried it got over baked but when I bit into the crispier/harder edge it almost tasted caramelized? Amazing!! I’m planning on making a couple this weekend for a coworker who’s helped me tremendously the last little while and also our landlord. Yay! Thank you for always giving me the tastiest zucchini recipes so I’m not wasting this delicious green vegetable.
★★★★★
One of the best baking recipes I’ve ever tried! It turned out exquisite in every single way that matters: appearance, texture, taste, and smell! It rose evenly, the crumb was delightful, and it was especially lovely paired with a cup of coffee! The results were so satisfying and delicious, it was reminiscent of a first class bakery treat (but better because it was fresh and homemade)! I added the suggested vanilla icing to make it extra pretty for visiting guests, and I’m glad I did because it disappeared light lightening over the weekend! Everyone loved it-and it remained as fresh and tasty on day 3 as it was on day one!! Will make this yummy masterpiece over and over, especially when our fresh garden zucchini comes in! Thank you for the PERFECT recipe, and keep up the great work, Sally!
★★★★★
I did this many times in a loaf pan & I found it even better with 2 modifications:
– cut 1/2 cup of the flour from the cake
– cut half the amount of crump
The rest the same 🙂 enjoy
★★★★★
WOOHOO!!! Also added carrots!! This recipe slaps
★★★★★
Amazing! Made this as a loaf rather than a cake and it came out perfectly! Perfectly moist and sweetened. Thank you!
★★★★★
This is the best crumb cake EVER. I can’t get enough of it. The recipe is great as written.
I have also made this recipe using 3 ripe mashed bananas in place of the zucchini – and it was also delicious. I highly recommend trying this, too, if you have ripe bananas to use.
This is my very favorite muffin recipe. I recently had to go low fodmap so just subbed better batter (gluten free) flour exactly and upped the zucchini and they came out wonderfully!
★★★★★
You had me at “seeps in all of the nooks and crannies”!! I will certainly make this very soon–especially after reading all of the positive comments.
Great recipe! Not just a good zucchini coffee cake, but a great coffee cake period. The family loved it, so this recipe will be going in the file too.
My only regret is that our zucchini season is almost over and that I won’t get to taste this cake for another year.
★★★★★
Giving this another 5 star review! I’ve made it as written, as muffins, and as a 9×13 cake and it is a huge hit every time! I didn’t have any extra batter when doubling the recipe for a 9×13 glass Pyrex – it actually fit perfectly. I could eat this cake everyday it is that good!
★★★★★
This recipe is SO GOOD! I actually ended up making THREE of them this past weekend. One for us and two for friends. The best crumb cake I’ve ever had. I made it exactly as published, including the icing. My new go-to zucchini recipe! AMAZING!
★★★★★
Absolutely perfect! The entire cake disappeared faster than brownies typically do here…think that says something. Lol
We’re tight on freezer space so it would easier to freeze shredded zucchini than another cake. Can I measure out the needed amount and then freeze or would you recommend measuring out after thawing?
Thank you!!!!
★★★★★
Hi Suzie, Either way should work, but freezing pre-measured portions might be easier so that you don’t have to defrost all of it at once. When you thaw the zucchini before using, just discard the excess water. Enjoy!
Easy and extremely delicious. I used frozen shredded zucchini and it worked really well.
★★★★★
This recipe is AMAZING! It turned out really well and was well received. I left off the icing and added 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries to the batter. So good! Love your recipes Sally!
★★★★★
This was AMAZING! A total winner in my book, the entire family loved it! Definitely will double it and share next time! Yum!
★★★★★
Love this recipe! It’s my go-to zucchini recipe. I make it exactly as you posted and sometimes I do 1.5x crumb topping because we need extra crumb topping some days. Today I replaced the white sugar for Stevia to reduce sugar. Thank you for another fantastic recipe!
★★★★★
These are delicious & so scrumptious! Thank you for another great recipe. I didn’t change anything, I only added 1/4 cup of walnutS & a pinch of salt to the crumb topping. The muffins were moist, just sweet enough & you can taste the butter, the cinnamon & nutmeg. I don’t think the icing is necessary, but if you’ve got a really sweet tooth, don’t leave it out.
★★★★★
This is an exhausting recipe. If you make one, your husband will demand another; be prepared for mass distribution of this recipe, to anyone who has the good fortune to swipe a slice before its gone.
…Thank you!! Made with salted butter (didn’t have unsalted on hand), didn’t change anything else, and it was fantastic. I don’t normally bother printing off recipes, but I will for this one to make sure it is safe in my recipe box.
★★★★★
My 7 year old daughter triumphed with this recipe today. So delicious! We may have 1.5x on the topping 🙂
★★★★★