Buttery, moist, cinnamon coffee cake swirled with a spiced-sugary filling, topped with crunchy streusel, and sprinkled with a plot twist? NO butter, NO refined sugar, and grain free. Yes, friend! This Healthy Starbucks Coffee Cake recipe is made with good for you, natural ingredients like almond flour, greek yogurt, avocado oil, eggs, and cozy natural sweeteners like cinnamon and maple syrup!

This is by far one of YOUR most requested recipes ever, and I was so excited to recreate it for us. But I couldn’t bring you the best copycat Starbucks recipe on the internet without loading it with health benefits for our blood sugar, heart, and gut health! Make this healthy Starbucks coffee cake recipe for protein-packed on-the-go breakfasts, for brunch recipe ideas, and for the perfect healthy dessert to bring to parties that will have your friends fighting over the last piece.

Warning: this post includes many uses of the “m” word…. (moist!!)

Somehow, I’d never actually tried this Starbucks coffee cake (or pretty much any Starbucks baked goods), but from the amount of requests I was getting from you all on Instagram to make a healthy version, I knew it had to be done. So, I trekked my way to my local Starbucks and WOW. It is DELICIOUS. But I wasn’t surprised– you all have great taste.

My initial thought: Starbucks’ coffee cake is one of the most ~moist~ coffee cakes I’ve ever had. It’s got a warm, buttery flavor, which was the challenge— in addition to, of course, making it WAY more blood sugar friendly, so that you have actual energy after eating it; instead of the spike and crash that typically happens with baked goods. Being blood sugar friendly also helps with health things like hormone balance, weight loss, and energy, which we talk in-depth about on this Healthier Together Podcast episode with the Glucose Goddess!

But, I stood corrected. THIS Healthy Starbucks Coffee Cake Recipe is the most moist (yet fluffy) buttery (yet butter-free) coffee cake you will ever have. I can’t wait for you to try it!

What’s in this incredibly moist Starbucks coffee cake recipe?

This cinnamon coffee cake is totally gluten free, grain free and filled with protein, fiber, and healthy fats. It can easily be made dairy free by subbing greek yogurt for avocado oil (details for this easy ingredient swap are below!).

To make this healthy breakfast recipe, you’ll need these simple ingredients:

• Almond flour: whether you’re gluten-free or not, almond flour is such a great ingredient for making baked goods tender and moist while packing in fiber.
• Baking powder and baking soda: these give the cake a fluffy texture as it rises.
• Fine grain sea salt: essential to making every flavor stand out.
• Cinnamon: for coziness.
• Eggs: cage-free and pasture-raised.
• Maple syrup and coconut sugar: antioxidant-rich and unrefined sweeteners are wonderful to use in healthy baking recipes.
• Avocado oil: this heart-healthy oil gives this coffee cake its rich flavor and (bonus!) anti-inflammatory benefits.

What makes this Starbucks coffee cake so healthy?

Science says….

• It’s good for your heart. This coffee cake recipe gets its heart-healthy benefits from two simple ingredients, almond flour and avocado oil. Almond flour is literally just ground up almonds, which are shown to have amazing cardiovascular benefits. And avocado oil is researched as a cholesterol-lowering food that lowers the risk of heart disease!
• It’ll make your skin glow. According to science and our biochemist friend Jessie Inchauspé, when you eat sugar with protein and fiber, it will create a flatter curve in your glucose levels which benefits your skin health.
• It’s great for gut health. I’m not saying this coffee cake will instantly give you miraculous poops, but it DOES contain probiotics from greek yogurt which help with digestion!
• All the anti-inflammatory benefits. I’m still obsessed with the fact that, in France, avocado oil is actually prescribed for knee and hip osteoarthritis. This oil is so powerful for repairing cartilage!

Make this coffee cake dairy-free

I wanted to use greek yogurt in this recipe mostly because it’s probiotic and high in protein, but also because it makes the cake SO moist and fluffy. However, some of us just can’t vibe with diary and I totally respect that. So, I made sure this coffee cake recipe could easily be made without it!

To make this recipe dairy free, I recommend substituting the 1/2 cup of greek yogurt in the cake for 1/4 cup of avocado oil.

Here are some other hot tips for making a mind-blowing coffee cake:

• Line your loaf pan. Use parchment paper in your 9×9 baking pan so the cake comes out nice and even. No crumble left behind!
• Use room temperature ingredients. This will help the batter blend evenly. For the eggs, set them in a bowl of warm water 3 minutes before using.
• Don’t let it burn. You can test when the cake is done by sliding a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean and the cake doesn’t jiggle, it’s cooked. However, if it needs more time and the top is starting to brown, just cover it loosely with foil!
• Cool, then slice. Let the coffee cake cool completely before slicing it into squares, at least 30 minutes.

Storing & saving tips

This coffee cake recipe will stay fresh for 4-5 days! Just wrap the cake well in foil or plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat.

More healthy breakfast recipes to try

Healthy Starbucks Pumpkin Loaf

Healthy Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

Healthy Starbucks Iced Lemon Loaf

Healthy Cranberry Orange Pancake Bread

I hope you enjoy, and tag me if you make this Healthy Starbucks Coffee Cake on Instagram (@lizmoody)— I can’t wait to see!

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