Vegan Cinnamon Bread
Vegan cinnamon bread is a quick, no-yeast sweet bread baked in individual ramekins from simple pantry staples: flour, cinnamon, olive oil, agave nectar, and almond milk. It needs about 10 minutes of prep and 25 minutes in the oven, with no kneading and no rising time, so you get warm, fluffy, cinnamon-scented bread without any of the fuss of rolling and icing cinnamon buns.
I have four words for you today: no yeast, no kneading. And I am pretty sure that is just enough to convince you. This little bread is dairy-free and egg-free, sweetened with agave instead of honey, and crowned with a cinnamon-sugar topping that turns glossy and fragrant in the oven. If you love cinnamon buns but do not always have the time or patience for all the swirling and icing that vegan cinnamon rolls ask for, this is your shortcut.
Why this no-yeast cinnamon bread is my kind of baking
Christmas is coming, and whenever I think about the holidays, cinnamon goodies pop into my mind. But I think that, outside of any celebration, this vegan cinnamon bread makes for the perfect start of the day. That is a morning feast if you ask me. What I like best about it is that it is fluffy, sweet, soft, and delicious, and its presentation is super cute too: each little bread is baked in its own ramekin.
I really do not like spending a lot of time in the kitchen, especially when a recipe involves the oven. The quicker, the better, at least for me. This one is not complicated at all, which is a big advantage in my book when it comes to baked desserts. You can even make it together with your kids as a fun little family activity. It is all quick and hassle-free, just how I like it.
What you will need to make it
Nothing here is exotic. The batter comes together from two sets of ingredients that you mix separately and then fold together. Here is what each one is doing:
- All-purpose flour gives the bread its structure. A quick note for anyone who needs it: this version uses regular wheat flour, so it is not gluten-free.
- Baking powder and baking soda are what let you skip the yeast entirely. They are chemical leaveners, so the batter rises in the oven with no waiting around for dough to prove.
- Cinnamon shows up twice: in the batter for all-over warmth, and again in the topping for that concentrated hit on top.
- Olive oil is the fat that keeps the crumb tender and moist. A mild, light olive oil keeps the flavor from competing with the cinnamon.
- Agave nectar and a little vanilla sweeten and perfume the batter. Agave keeps things plant-based, so there is no honey involved.
- Almond milk is the dairy-free liquid that brings the batter together. Any unsweetened plant milk works, and if you like making your own, my homemade nut milk recipes are a nice place to start.
- The topping is brown sugar, cinnamon, and a little melted butter. Use vegan butter to keep the whole thing fully plant-based; dairy butter also works if you are only cooking vegetarian.
Tips for a fluffy, soft crumb every time
Because the lift comes from baking powder and baking soda rather than yeast, they start reacting the moment the wet and dry ingredients meet. Get the batter into the greased ramekin and into a hot oven soon after mixing, while those bubbles are still working for you. Waiting too long lets the gas escape and gives you a flatter, denser bread.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet just until the batter is smooth, then stop. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour and trades a soft, cake-like crumb for a tough, chewy one. Brush the cinnamon-sugar topping on right before baking so it caramelizes into that glossy crust as the bread rises. Bake at 200C for about 25 minutes, and check for doneness the reliable way: the top should spring back when you press it lightly, and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
If you want to talk numbers, these little bread goodies only take about 25 minutes to bake and roughly 10 minutes to prep. I am sure you will be impressed with the results.
Ways to serve it
I love these warm, straight from the ramekin, when the topping is still soft. To dress them up, decorate with fresh berries and a few dry rose petals: the fruit cuts through the sweetness and looks lovely for a holiday table. If you are leaning into that, my vegan strawberry desserts use the same fresh-berry trick. Serve a warm ramekin alongside a mug of plant milk or coffee for a cozy breakfast, and if you are cooking for the holidays, it slots right into a bigger vegan Christmas spread.
Storing and making it ahead
Keep any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days, or in the fridge for a little longer. A quick warm-up in the oven or microwave brings back the soft texture, since these are at their best warm. They freeze well too: wrap them individually once cooled, then thaw and reheat whenever a cinnamon craving hits. That makes them a handy make-ahead treat for busy holiday mornings.
And if this one wins you over, you have plenty of company on the blog. When you do have time for the full swirl-and-ice project, go for the vegan cinnamon rolls, and for more of that warm-spice flavor in a smaller bite, try my cinnamon cookies.
If you bake a batch of these little ramekin cinnamon breads, I would love to know how the cinnamon-sugar top turned out for you. Leave a rating and drop a comment below with any tweaks you made, whether it was a splash more almond milk or an extra dusting of cinnamon. I am always curious to hear from you.
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Vegan Cinnamon Bread
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
Wet ingredients:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 180 ml almond milk
For topping:
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp vegan or dairy butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C.
- Spray a large ramekin with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, add all wet ingredients and whisk to combine.
- In another bowl, add all dry ingredients and mix to combine.
- Stir in dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until smooth. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix all the topping ingredients.
- Transfer the batter to the ramekin, brush with topping mixture, and bake for about 25 minutes.
- Decorate with fresh berries and dry rose petals (optional).
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, as long as you use vegan butter for the topping. Everything else is already plant-based: olive oil for the fat, almond milk for the liquid, and agave nectar instead of honey to sweeten it. If you swap in dairy butter it becomes vegetarian rather than fully vegan.
Not as written. This recipe uses 250 g of all-purpose wheat flour, which contains gluten. You could experiment with a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend, but the texture and rise may differ from the original, so treat it as a test batch.
No. This bread is leavened with baking powder and baking soda, which react as soon as the batter is mixed and rise in the oven. That means no yeast, no proving, and no kneading, so it goes from bowl to oven in minutes.
The recipe is written for individual ramekins, which give you those cute single-serving breads. You can use a small loaf pan or muffin tin instead, but adjust the baking time and check for doneness with a toothpick, since a deeper pan needs longer than the roughly 25 minutes a ramekin takes.
Any liquid sweetener works well here. Maple syrup is a good 1:1 swap and keeps the bread vegan. Just keep the sweetener plant-based so the recipe stays fully vegan, and avoid honey if that matters to you.
Keep it in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days, or in the fridge a little longer. These are best warm, so reheat briefly in the oven or microwave to bring the softness back. You can also freeze them wrapped individually, then thaw and warm as needed.
