Soft & Plush Cinnamon Vegan Babka Recipe (2024)

Cinnamon Vegan Babka recipe that’s easy to make and it is just as soft, fluffy, and cake-like as the classic recipe. Twisted with a gooey cinnamon filled and topped with a cinnamon crunch coating!

Just wait until you try this vegan babka recipe. Swirls of sweet buttery cinnamon and a crunchy streusel on top. This cinnamon swirl vegan babka is about to become your new favorite yeasted bread.

Unlike my vegan challah and vegan brioche bread, however, babka bread is more cake like than bread like. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a slice as a sweet vegan breakfast option, or even with an afternoon coffee (I highly recommend my 5 minute vegan pumpkin spice latte to go with it 😉 ).

What’s more, babka is not that complicated to make- just follow the steps below, and you’ll be a pro in no time!

What is babka?

If you’ve never had babka bread, then you’re in for a treat! Babka originated from Poland and Ukraine within the Jewish communities in the early 19th century. The word, babka, translates to “grandmother” in Polish.

Babka bread is a sweet twisted and braided bread that’s actually more cake-like in texture (which makes it different from Challah! More on that below), and is typically filled with either cinnamon or chocolate. Jewish communities typically enjoy babka for Shabbat, and in some Polish communities, it’s enjoyed on Easter Sunday. Babka was originally created with cinnamon, but when more Jewish communities immigrated to America, chocolate became a more readily accessible ingredient, so babka started being filled with chocolate!

Traditionally, babka was baked in a fluted pan and filled with cinnamon. Babka is also quite popular in Israel, and is made with laminated dough. Since its rise to fame in American, babka is now most commonly enjoyed with a chocolate filling and is baked in a loaf tin- much different from how it was originally created!

However, I wanted to stick to more of the original flavors of babka bread, so I went with making a vegan cinnamon babka, filled with ripples of sweet and warming stickiness and topped with a cinnamon crunch coating!

How do you make babka vegan?

You might have guessed that babka isn’t originally vegan. Instead, eggs, milk, and butter are typically used. However, with a few vegan swaps, we can easily make a babka (that’s of course more closely related to the babka that’s quite popular in western culture) eggless and dairy free. The most non-intuitive swap for this recipe will be the eggs.

For the eggs: We’re swapping in dairy-free yogurt. Most vegan egg replacements don’t contain protein, like eggs do, which actually helps with the rise. But with dairy-free yogurt, we can actually achieve a really similar texture to that of an egg, and the yeast with the sugar and flour will still help to create a beautiful rise!

For the milk: We’re swapping in dairy-free milk, such as oat milk or soy milk. Forager Project has a wonderful soy milk that I’ve been loving using, and I highly recommend!

For the butter: As 21st century vegans, we’re very lucky to have amazing vegan butters on the market that work just like regular butter!

Vegan babka ingredients

Here’s what you need in order to make this amazing cinnamon crunch babka recipe:

• Flour: You can use either bread flour or all-purpose flour here. Both will work, and whichever is more easily available to you. I have not tested this with gluten free flour just swapped in 1:1, but please see my notes in the recipe card for a gluten-free option.
• Granulated sugar: To make this babka recipe refined sugar free, you can use coconut sugar. Make sure that your granulated sugar is organic to ensure that it’s vegan!
• Vegan butter: I recommend using Miyoko’s vegan butter or Flora Plant Butter (as a nut-free option). It will yield the best flavor! You can use coconut oil, but the best results will be with vegan butter.
• Dairy-free yogurt: For the cake-like texture to this babka recipe, we need to use dairy-free yogurt. I recommend Forager Project unsweetened vanilla yogurt. You can swap in applesauce, but the best results will be with dairy-free yogurt!
• Cinnamon: But of course!
• Vanilla extract: You can also use vanilla powder, which I just love!
• Yeast: We can’t make babka without it! Use dry active yeast for this recipe. You could use rapid rise yeast, but the rise times and bake times might differ.

How to make cinnamon vegan babka (overview)

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

Making vegan babka is actually easier than you might think! This recipe in particular makes 1 large loaf, but you could easily divide it into two loaves instead.

How to make an easy vegan babka recipe:

1. Start by blooming the yeast. Like most bread recipes, we’ll start by warming the dairy free milk to 110F, then stirring in sugar and flour. Add in the yeast, and cover to sit for 10-15 minutes, or until the yeast has started to look “foamy.” That’s a great sign that your yeast is ready!
2. Add in the remaining ingredients to your stand mixer, and mix. I use a dough hook on my stand mixer, but you can also make this cinnamon babka by hand. Simply mix until the wet ingredients are completely combined.
3. Next, add in the flour, and knead. Mix on medium speed until the flour has completely incorporated into the dough, and the dough looks quite shaggy. Then lightly flour a clean surface, and knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, or until you get a smooth ball.
4. First proof: Place the dough ball into an oiled glass bowl and cover. You’ll need a warm area of at least 85F or warmer, and prove the dough until doubled in size. Because this vegan babka dough is higher in fat than a lean dough, the dough takes a bit longer to rise, so you might need an hour or two, depending on how warm your area is.
5. While the dough is rising, make the cinnamon sugar filling. Mix together the cinnamon, sugar, flour, and vegan butter until you get a thick paste. Then set aside until you’re ready to spread onto your dough.
6. Shape the babka dough: Lightly roll out the dough into a large rectangle. Then, much like cinnamon rolls, spread the cinnamon sugar paste right to the edges of your babka dough. Roll length wise (I find this best if you want a tall bread!). Then use a large kitchen knife or scissors, and divide the dough in half, lengthwise (the SAME way you rolled the dough). Next, twist the dough pieces together and bind the ends into one.
7. Second proof: Place the dough into your prepared baking pan, and cover again while your oven preheats.
8. Bake! Once your oven is preheated, place the babka into the oven, and bake for 45-50 minutes, or when theinternal temperature is 180F. You don’t want to over-bake the babka, otherwise it will come out dry! Remove from the oven and allow the babka to cool in the pan before removing and serving. Enjoy!

FAQ’s

Can I make this recipe a chocolate vegan babka?

Unfortunately, the filling for this vegan babka recipe would be drastically different! However, I do have a vegan chocolate babka recipe in my cookbook,Baked With Love, that’s delicious!

What is the difference between babka and Challah bread?

If you’re unfamiliar withChallah breadand babka, then you might be wondering what’s the difference-they’re both yeasted breads!Challah breadtypically resembles more of a brioche bread, and is traditionally braided and shaped to be baked and served on the Jewish Sabbath. It’s sweet and soft! Babka, on the other hand (and like we mentioned earlier!), is more like a yeast-risen cake, and tends to be sweeter, with twists of chocolate or cinnamon filling.

Can I freeze vegan babka?

You can absolutely freeze this vegan babka for later! Simply slice and store the vegan babka in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in tinfoil and plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat a babka slice, simply preheat the oven to 300F, and place your babka onto a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Then heat for 5-7 minutes!

Can I make this vegan babka recipe gluten free?

I haven’t tried gluten free flour in this cinnamon babka recipe, nor do I think that just substituting it 1:1 would work in this case. That being said, I do have avegan gluten free cinnamon rolldough that I believe would work for this recipe. Or my vegan gluten free monkey bread dough could potentially work too. I have not personally tried this, so I cannot guarantee it, but the dough is sweet like babka, that I believe you would technically get very similar results! Please let us know in the comments section if you try it!

Overnight option

Want this easy cinnamon crunch vegan babka ready for the morning holiday brunch? Simply make the dough and shape the babka dough right up to when you place the dough in the prepared baking pan. Then cover the baking dish tightly and place the dough into the fridge to chill overnight. An hour before you’re ready to serve the babka, simply take the dough out of the fridge and place it near the oven. Preheat the oven to 375F, and bake for 50-55 minutes.

You are just going to absolutely love this cozy cinnamon crunch babka recipe! It’s so fluffy, soft, and sweet like cake…not to mention undetectably eggless, dairy free, and vegan!

More vegan bread recipes:

Amazing Vegan Challah Bread

Easy Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

Best Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Amazing Vegan Brioche

BEST Gluten Free Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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