I would call the fall the season of the streusel topping. Pumpkin muffins, coffee cake, and anything apple isn’t complete without a delicious crumble finish. Traditional streusel recipes will primarily call for all-purpose flour and butter, so I offer four different ways to make a healthier crumble, especially if your dietary needs require ingredients that are free of gluten and dairy. I do use grass-fed Kerrygold butter for some of my recipes, but I have tested streusels with coconut oil, and it works. Please note the absence of coconut oil as an option in the oat crumble recipe. Given the thick consistency of oats, grass-fed butter or vegan butter work best with this base. Coconut oil lacks that stickiness that is needed to hold oats together in a crumble. With the other recipes, vegan butter or chilled ghee are also listed as a fat you can use. Ghee is a clarified butter that tends to get the green light in recipes made for dairy intolerances as the casein (dairy protein) and lactose (dairy sugar) are removed. Since these are the elements of a dairy product that give people issues, people may find that they can consume ghee. Like coconut oil, ghee is less “sticky” than butter or vegan butter, so it might not work as well as those ingredients, but you can always try. And of course, if you simply don’t eat dairy, use one of the dairy-free alternatives.
What are the ingredients found in a Healthified streusel topping?
There are two main grain-free flours with which I make a streusel topping: almond flour and coconut flour. If you are allergic to nuts, or want a different option, you can use a gluten-free flour of your choice. I would recommend brown rice or white rice flour over a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend; these store-bought blends don’t really fire on the flavor cylinder. I have found they have an over-powering “potato” taste (as one of the ingredients is potato starch), which I don’t think would work with a streusel. Additionally, these blends (such as a gluten-free one-to-one baking mix) contain xanthan gum, which I believe would create too much of a “binding effect” for your streusel. A streusel is meant to be a crumbly mixture, so using a baking mix with gums might negatively affect the outcome. If you try it, let me know!
Another main ingredient that has been upgraded is the type of fat that you use. Disclaimer: I still bake with grass-fed butter as I am able to tolerate it, so when I say “upgrade” in this sense, I am referring to an alternative that is better suitable for those with a dairy intolerance, on a Paleo diet, or refraining from eating butter for other health reasons. The three other options I suggest are chilled or melted coconut oil, vegan butter, or ghee. These are interchangeable in these recipes (with the exception of the oat crumble). If you are someone who does consume butter in moderation (like me), it’s what yields the best results across taste and texture.
Lastly, these recipes call for coconut sugar, which is the granulated sweetener I primarily bake with. Another upgraded option is Swerve brown, which consists of a base of erythritol and allulose, two other Healthified approved sweeteners. It is on my agenda to try it out, I just have yet to do so.
How do you make a Healthified streusel topping?
Making a Healthified streusel topping is really quite easy, although I will preface the process and say it might take some elbow grease and about a minute of squeezing and crumbling to get it to your desired consistency. Three of the four recipes call for a cold fat (i.e. the butter or coconut oil), so this ingredient is hard when incorporated with the dry ingredients. Using your hands will slightly warm it until it is better blended with the flour and/or oats. For the chopped nuts crumble, the method is more straightforward, as a melted fat is stirred in with the rest of the ingredients, and therefore comes together quickly.
Planning and prep
The only aspect you really need to prepare for is the type of fat you plan to use. If you use the grass-fed butter, you are pretty much set, as it will automatically be cold by the time you want to make your crumble. If you use the coconut oil or ghee, both of which are likely to be kept at room temperature, I would measure it out and stick in in the refrigerator 20 minutes ahead of time. That way it should be good and chilled by the time you are ready to make the streusel.
If you are making the chopped nuts crumble, this recipe calls for melted butter or oil, but this takes about 30 seconds in the microwave. Not a huge inconvenience, but a difference nonetheless.
Using your Healthified streusel
You can use your Healthified streusel on any recipes that calls for a crumble topping! Think pumpkin muffins, coffee cakes, banana breads, etc. These streusels really are so versatile!
Coconut Flour Streusel Topping
Equipment
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut flour
- ½ cup coconut sugar or granulated sugar of choice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup chilled coconut oil, grass-fed butter, ghee, or vegan butter cut into small pieces
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the coconut flour, coconut sugar, and cinnamon. Add in the oil, butter, or ghee, and use your hands to incorporate it into the flour mixture, squeezing and crumbling together for about 1 minute until desired consistency is achieved. Use immediately, or transfer to a an airtight container and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Almond Flour Streusel Topping
Equipment
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ cup coconut sugar or granulated sugar of choice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup chilled coconut oil, grass-fed butter, ghee, or vegan butter cut into small pieces
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut sugar, and cinnamon. Add in the oil, butter, or ghee, and use your hands to incorporate it into the flour mixture, squeezing and crumbling together for about 1 minute until desired consistency is achieved. Use immediately, or transfer to a an airtight container and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Chopped Nuts Streusel Topping
Equipment
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts finely chopped
- ½ cup coconut sugar or granulated sugar of choice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil, butter, vegan butter, or ghee
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the chopped nuts, coconut sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in the melted oil, butter, or ghee until blended. Use immediately, or transfer to a an airtight container and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Oat Streusel Topping (Nut-Free)
Equipment
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup cold grass-fed or vegan butter cut into small pieces
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the oats, coconut sugar, and cinnamon. Add in the cold grass-fed or vegan butter, and use your hands to incorporate it into the flour mixture, squeezing and crumbling together for about 1 minute until desired consistency is achieved. Use immediately, or transfer to a an airtight container and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
