Cinnamon Raisin Zucchini Coffee Cake

This Cinnamon Raisin Zucchini Coffee Cake is easy to make, seriously delicious, and not-too-sweet! It’s a make-ahead friendly breakfast or snack cake made with rolled oats, raisins, one whole zucchini, and a cinnamon crumb topping!

If you’re looking for a new spin on classic zucchini bread, you absolutely must try this Cinnamon Raisin Zucchini Coffee Cake. The cake is spiced with cinnamon and lightly sweetened with brown sugar. The zucchini is hardly noticeable except for specks of green and raisins throughout.

On top is a buttery cinnamon sugar crumble that compliments the not-too-sweet cake underneath perfectly. Sometimes, I flip my bites over so this part is on the bottom of the bite. I like to change up what hits my tongue first. It makes sense to me!

This recipe makes an excellent breakfast, snack cake, or even dessert (with some vanilla ice cream!). You can make it ahead of time and enjoy during the week, plus leftovers freeze well if necessary. It’s a great way to use up an extra zucchini during Summer, too!

What are the ingredients in this Cinnamon Raisin Zucchini Coffee Cake?

The ingredients required for this recipe are the same kinds of baking ingredients you probably already have in the pantry if you bake often. And if you don’t have them, they’re not hard to find at all!

In addition, you’ll need a fresh zucchini. A small to medium sized one works best here. Here’s a list of everything I used in this recipe and little info for each:

• all-purpose flour – I used a mix of all-purpose flour and rolled oats as the base of this recipe. There’s also a bit of flour in the topping to help everything stick together.
• rolled oats – No lie, I originally tried to make this a 100% rolled oat based coffee cake, and it did not work out for me. However, I still incorporated plenty of oats for texture and fiber.
• ground cinnamon – Cinnamon is one of my favorite basic spices, and I feel like it goes perfectly with zucchini! Using a high quality cinnamon (like Saigon cinnamon) will help bring even more depth of flavor to the final coffee cake.
• baking powder & baking soda – This recipe uses a mix of both baking powder and baking soda for the ideal texture and leavening.
• fine sea salt – Balancing all the sweetness and ingredients with a bit of salt is important! Don’t skip!
• ground nutmeg – Along with cinnamon, I like to add a touch of nutmeg for even more flavor. This could be skipped if you don’t have any!
• eggs – Eggs help the cake rise and get all squishy under than cinnamon sugar topping!
• coconut oil – Any type of liquid oil will work here, but I prefer to use coconut oil over vegetable or canola oil. Maybe because I have a Costco-sized tub in my kitchen?
• brown sugar – For sweetener, flavor, and moisture, we’re using a small amount of brown sugar. Both light and dark brown sugar work here. With darker brown sugar, you’ll get a slightly deeper molasses flavor.
• milk – A little bit of milk (dairy or non-dairy!) helps bring a bit more moisture to the cake.
• pure vanilla extract – Vanilla flavor helps bring every other flavor together. It’s like the pep band at a high school football game. You don’t really notice it, but you’d definitely miss it if it wasn’t there!
• zucchini – I used one medium zucchini for this recipe. You’ll need about 2 cups of shredded zucchini, or about 200g total. The zucchini adds a ton of moisture to the coffee cake without adding any extra flavors. You can’t even taste it!
• raisins – The cake itself doesn’t have much sweetener, so the raisins help bring little bursts of sweetness to the bread, which I’m loving!
• granulated sugar – I like to add a small amount of white sugar to the crumb topping to get some sweet crystallization in those buttery crumbs!
• butter – Stick with butter for the topping. It has the best flavor! If you have only salted butter, skip any extra salt in the topping mixture.

How do you make this Cinnamon Raisin Zucchini Coffee Cake?

Who can resist a piece of coffee cake? Not me, that’s who 😅 This one is especially delicious, using in-season zucchini, flavored with cinnamon and raisins, plus a perfect cinnamon sugar oat crumble on top. It’ll have you coming back for more before you even realize it!

The three components are: dry ingredients, wet ingredients, and the crumble topping. I like to start with the dry ingredients, followed by the wet ingredients. We’ll combine those to make the batter, then mix the oat crumble together to top it off.

First, preheat the oven to 350F and be sure to prep your baking pan. I recommend an 8×8 metal baking pan lined with parchment paper. This way, the entire coffee cake is easy to release from the pan. Cleanup is quick and easy too!

Next, combine the dry ingredients for the cake in a medium sized mixing bowl. Stir those up to combine and set the bowl aside for now. In a large mixing bowl, do the same with the wet ingredients and add them all to the bowl except the zucchini.

Whisk it all together until well combined – I prefer to use a metal whisk for this part. Once those are combined, stir in the zucchini as well.

You guessed it, now we combine the dry and wet ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until no dry spots remain. After that, fold in the raisins. Grab the prepared baking pan and pour in the batter, using the back of a spoon or spatula to push it into the corners.

Tip: For the crumb topping, use the same bowl as the dry ingredients were in earlier! Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove top while you stir together the rest of the crumb topping ingredients.

Pour the melted butter into the bowl and stir it up until it forms wet buttery crumbles and no dry spots remain. Pour this mixture into the baking pan on top of the cake batter. Use a spoon to spread it to the edges and flatten into even layer. Use the back of the utensil to gently push the topping into the batter.

Make sure to remove any clips if you used them to keep the parchment paper in place! Bake in the preheated 350F oven for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with just a couple crumbs (no wet batter). The top should be starting to brown around the edges as well.

Cool on a baking rack for at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Let the coffee cake cool to room temperature before cutting. To me, this coffee cake tastes best served at room temperature!

What does zucchini do to baked goods?

If you’ve ever had zucchini bread, you know that it does not turn your baked good into a vegetable side dish. While you may be still able to see the tiny shreds of zucchini, you can’t taste them at all. It’s easily covered up with all the other flavors in the dish. This is why zucchini works so well in both sweet and savory dishes!

What it lacks in it’s own flavor, the zucchini absolutely makes up for in moisture and texture. It also helps bulk up baked goods with a vegetable while you’re basically enjoying a sweet treat. I personally love that part!

How do you shred zucchini?

For this Cinnamon Raisin Zucchini Coffee Cake, I recommend using a basic box grater to shred your zucchini. I especially love the OXO Box Grater (affiliate link!). It’s held up for a long time and works really well!

Can I use a gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour?

While I have not tested it, I do think this recipe would work using a 1 to 1 flour substitution such as Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF Flour. If you do try this, let me know how it goes!

Can I use vegetable oil instead of coconut oil?

Yes, using vegetable oil would also work for this recipe. I just prefer coconut oil. It would also work to replace half of the oil with applesauce.

Ways to customize this Cinnamon Raisin Zucchini Coffee Cake:

• add some homemade vanilla icing on top
• swap the raisins for chocolate chips
• swap half the oil for applesauce
• add some chopped walnuts or pecans

How to store Cinnamon Raisin Zucchini Coffee Cake:

Store in an airtight container with lid on the counter and enjoy within 5 days.

How to freeze Cinnamon Raisin Zucchini Coffee Cake:

To freeze, wrap individual pieces tightly in foil and then store in a freezer safe storage bag such as a Stasher brand silicone bag. Thaw on the counter for 1 hour before enjoying.