Streusel Topping

Published on
Jump to Recipe

Buttery, crumbly, sugary and sweet, the best streusel topping is made with chopped pecans, brown sugar goodness, and just 5 ingredients.

close up of streusel topping baked into a muffin this recipe

An Impressive and Secretly Easy Streusel Topping

Just when you thought your favorite muffin recipe couldn’t get any better, streusel showed up. And just like that, crumbly, buttery, impossibly delicious and perfectly sweet streusel topping made everything more magical.

Ready to make this simple, 5 ingredient recipe with me? Let’s go!

streusel topping halfway done in a glass bowl

Streusel Topping Recipe Ingredients

Crumbly, sweet, mouthwatering: this streusel topping recipe is easy to make and comes together with just 5 simple ingredients.

  • Flour – Stick to all purpose flour for the best results
  • Pecans – my favorite nut to use, but can be subbed with walnuts, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts.
  • Brown sugar – Light brown sugar will have a warm flavor, while dark brown will be richer and deeper in sweetness.
  • Ground cinnamon – you can leave this out if you don’t like cinnamon, or add in a pinch of nutmeg (my fave)
  • Butter – we’ll be using unsalted butter, then melting it to combine beautifully with the other ingredients.
photo of ingredients to make streusel topping

What is Streusel Topping?

Streusel topping is a dessert & sweet breakfast topping that originates from Germany. In German, “streusel” literally means “sprinkles”. It can also mean “something scattered”. [1]

What’s the difference between Streusel and Strudel?

Don’t worry, folks get this one confused all the time. Streusel is a sweet topping made of sugar, flour, and butter that’s sprinkled over baked goods. Streusel originates from Germany.

Strudel is a baked pastry that consists of a fruit filling stuffed inside of pastry sheets. Strudel originates from Austria. [2]

Today, we’re making streusel topping. Once we master this recipe, we can sprinkle it on every single baked good!

How to Make Streusel Topping

Learn how to make streusel topping with just 5 simple ingredients and a few steps.

First, add the flour, brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon to a medium or small mixing bowl. Then, whisk dry ingredients together until well mixed.

two photos showing how to make streusel topping - mixing the dry ingredients together

Now, add in melted butter. Grab a fork or small spatula to stir and fold everything together to create crumbles.

two photos showing how to make streusel topping - folding melted butter into dry ingredients

Keep folding until you don’t see any more patches of flour. If left, they’d result in yucky clumps of flour even after baking.

You’ll add the streusel topping to the tops of your uncooked muffin batter before baking. You may need to add a few minutes to account for the added topping on your treats.

two photos showing how to make this recipe - creating crumbles

💡 Tip: Remember to chop your pecans more finely for smaller crumbles; chop just roughly for larger crumbles in your streusel topping.

two photos showing how to chop the pecans finely or roughly for desired texture

FAQS

When do you add streusel topping?

Once you’ve prepared your soon-to-be baked good, but have not yet baked it, add the streusel topping. So, right before the baked good goes into the oven, sprinkle the streusel topping and gently press it into the raw batter. Then, bake.

Can I substitute any of the ingredients?

You can easily swap the nuts and the cinnamon. However, for the rest of the ingredients, I recommend sticking to the recipe as listed. I’ve tried swaps with little success. 😉

How to make streusel topping for blueberry muffins?

Simply use today’s recipe on top of these blueberry muffins. You can keep the pecans, or you can swap them with walnuts or almonds.

How to make streusel topping for muffins?

Using butter, sugar, flour, and a spice of choice, you can create streusel topping for muffins. This recipe is a good place to start. Once you learn it, you can start customizing it exactly for your muffin recipe.

a closeup photo to show the texture of the crumbles

Helpful Recipes

Tools You Need

There’s Muffin I Appreciate More Than You

Erik and I are just a two-person team here at Beaming Baker. And just so you know, your love and support means the world to us. If you make a recipe, make sure to leave a comment and rating—it means so much to us & helps us grow. ‘Til our next sweet adventure…

Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️

👩‍🍳 📸 🧁

📸 Did you make this recipe? Take a pic and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #beamingbaker & tag @beamingbaker. I’d love to see it! 📸

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
closeup shot of streusel topping in a glass bowl

Streusel Topping

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 9 reviews

  • Author: Demeter | Beaming Baker
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: enough for 10–12 muffins, a loaf of bread or an 8-inch pan of bars 1x
Print Recipe

Description

Buttery, crumbly, sugary and sweet, the best streusel topping is made with chopped pecans, brown sugar goodness, and just 5 ingredients.

Ingredients

Scale

Tools You Need

Streusel Topping

  • ½ cup all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
  • ½ cup pecans, chopped – finely chopped for medium-sized crumbles, just chopped for larger crumbles (finely suggested)
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons butter of choice, melted

Instructions

  1. Mix everything but butter together: flour, brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon.
  2. Add melted butter.
  3. Using a fork, gently stir and fold until clumps form.
  4. Make sure to evenly stir together the mixture so no flour patches remain hidden in a clump.
  5. Add this streusel topping on top of your muffin batter, bread batter, etc. before baking. You *may* need to add a few extra minutes to your bake time to account for the added topping.

Use this Streusel to top:

Equipment

Notes

For larger crumbs, use roughly chopped pecans and stop stirring once large clumps form.

For smaller crumbs, use finely chopped pecans and continue to stir and break up larger clumps.

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Category: Desserts, How-to
  • Method: Stir
  • Cuisine: German, American

Easy Recipes to Love

This post may contain affiliate links, which allow me to make a small commission for my referral, at no additional cost to you.

It’s nice to meet you! Erik and I love sharing easy recipes that are fun & approachable. I love cozy movies, chocolate, big hugs, and being out at sea.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

24 Comments

  1. I used this streusel topping on blueberry muffins, and it was absolute perfection! Crumbly, buttery, and sweet with a hint of cinnamon warmth… I’m adding it to everything from now on!



    Reply

  2. Made this recipe a few times and it never fails to make delicious cupcakes and loaf cakes! 10 out of 10.



    Reply

  3. Thanks for such an easy quick and delicious recipe. The cinnamon flavor is unique and the combination of pecan nuts, butter and brown sugar is just so perfect to enjoy this Streusel topping.



    Reply

  5. It adds the perfect crunchy, sweet layer to muffins, coffee cake, and fruit crisps. The mixture of butter, sugar, and flour creates an irresistible texture and flavor.



    Reply