Instant Pot Vegan Apple Cake

Instant Pot Vegan Apple Cake recipe is now my newest favorite Instant Pot recipe, an amazing taste, an easy and moist recipe that tastes incredibly delicious!

This post does contain affiliate links and the words reflect my own and not that of the company.

Michelle here, hi everyone, I have made many several popular Instant Pot recipes like Instant Pot Pinto Beans, Instant Pot Chili Mac And Cheese, Instant Pot Jackfruit And Potato Curry, Instant Pot Vegan Mashed Potatoes but I never tried to make a cake in my electric pressure cooker before. 

Slice of instant pot apple cake on a green plate topped with vegan vanilla ice cream apple slices and nasturtium with stant pot in the background on a wooden background.

Vegan Apple Cake

I recently fell in love with a new kitchen tool that was sent to me from Okydish. It’s a pressure cooker steamer insert pan set and it comes with 2 stackable food-grade stainless steel plans. The two-tier pans can be used to cook vegetables, rice dish, pasta lasagna, cheesecake and doubles as a cake pan. 

So far, I have used the pans to steam crisp broccoli and zucchini slices in only 5 minutes. Today I decided to use one of my inserts to make this tender apple cake recipe in my Instant Pot 7 In One. The idea came to me to use one of the inserts as a cake pan and it actually worked perfectly.

This is the ultimate vegan, gluten-free apple crumb cake, the texture turned out incredibly moist and not dry at all, due to the fact that it was pressure cooked instead of oven-baked. The pan was covered to keep the cake from getting wet by the steam and also to keep the moisture in. 

how to make instant pot apple cake step by step images

How To Make Cake In Instant Pot?

To make this apple cake in an Instant Pot you first have to choose the right pan, you cannot use the standard, 8 and 9-inch cake pans, they will not fit in a 6 quart Instant Pot.

I used the Okydish pan because they served as not only a cake pan but also a steamer, giving me, as they say, “more bang for my buck”. Any 6-inch cake pan can be used, which can be purchased online or in a home goods store.

In order to have great results, use the Instant Pot Pot In Pot method otherwise the cake will burn if you steam it directly in the Instant Pot Inner pan (the one that comes with your Instant Pot). 

  1. Add water to the inner pot in the Instant Pot.
  2. Place the covered container with your cake batter on the trivet.
  3. Place trivet in the inner pot.
  4. Seal the Instant Pot, set the timer, and cook. 

To Make Apple Cake

  1. Line the cake pan with parchment paper and spray or lightly brush with oil and set aside. 
  2. Peel and dice the apple and set aside in a medium bowl. To prepare crumb topping, mix flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
  3. In a bowl mix the almond milk, ground flaxseeds, mashed banana and vanilla. Set aside.  
  4. In a large bowl, add brown rice flour, rolled oats, almond flour,  sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea salt. Add the almond milk mixture and combine well, I used a wire whisk.
  5. Fold in mashed banana and apple pieces. Scoop batter in cake pan. Sprinkle the top of the cake batter with the crumb topping mixture. 
  6. Cover the pan with the lid or foil if using another 6-inch cake pan. 
  7. Place the covered container with your cake batter on the trivet.
  8. Place trivet in the inner pot.
  9. Seal the Instant Pot on Manual High Pressure for 50 minutes, when cooking is complete Natural Pressure Release for 10 minutes after complete then turn the knob to venting to release the remaining steam. 
  10. Open the lid, and carefully remove the baking pan using the sling handle. 
  11. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then gently remove the cake from the pan onto a cooling rack to completely cool.
  12. Delicious topped with vegan vanilla ice cream or coconut whipped cream or serve as a breakfast cake. 

Other Apple Recipes To Try

Overlay of Instant pot apple cake vegan, glutenfree, can on a beige plate with crumb topping, green apple slices and nasturtium flower with apple in the background on a cutting board

If you enjoyed this post about Instant Pot Vegan Apple Cake and would love to see more, join me on YoutubeInstagramFacebook & Twitter!

Get discounted copies of my cookbook here.

Fortunately, because of the ads on our website, readers and subscribers of Healthier Steps are sponsoring many underprivileged families.

Want to Save This Recipe?

Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!

Save Recipe

By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Healthier Steps.

vegan instant pot apple cake slice with crumble topping. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, apple slices and nasturtium flowers with burlap napkin

Instant Pot Vegan Apple Cake

Easy Instant Pot vegan apple cake is so moist and delicious, this cake is vegan gluten-free, oil-free. This flavorful apple crumb cake is loaded with fresh apples and a hint of spice. Serve it as a snack, breakfast cake, or dessert. 
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: instant pot vegan apple cake
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 261kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 medium apple peeled and finely cubed
  • 1 medium ripe banana peeled and mashed

Crumb Topping

Apple Cake

  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 cup brown rice flour
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Prepare The Instant Pot And Pan

  • Add 2 cups of water to your Instant Pot insert and then put your trivet in it to hold your cake pan above the water. Line the 6-inch cake pan with parchment paper and spray or lightly brush with oil and set aside.

To Make The Crumb Topping

  • To prepare crumb topping mix almond meal or flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

Prepare The Batter

    • Mix the almond milk, ground flaxseeds, banana, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Set aside
    • Add brown rice flour, rolled oats, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea salt in a large bowl. Add the almond milk mixture and stir to combine.
    • Fold in apple pieces. Scoop batter into cake pan. Sprinkle crumb topping mix on top of the batter.
    • Cover the pan with the lid or foil if using another 6-inch cake pan. Place the covered container with your cake batter on the trivet. Lower the trivet in the inner pot of the Instant Pot using the sling handle.
    • Seal the Instant Pot on Manual High Pressure for 50 minutes; when cooking is complete, Natural Pressure Release for 10 minutes. After complete, then, turn the knob to vent to release the remaining steam.
    • Open the lid, and carefully remove the baking pan using the sling handle.
    • Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then gently remove it from the pan onto a cooling rack to completely cool.
    • Delicious topped with vegan vanilla ice cream or coconut whipped cream or served as a breakfast cake.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 275mg | Potassium: 170mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 22IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 1mg

    Similar Posts

    20 Comments

    1. This was my first time to make a cake in the instant pot. I choose this recipe because I had a ripe banana to use up and all the ingredients on hand. All I can say is WOW. This is so good! Thank you for sharing.

      1. Your very welcome! I’m happy you got to use up those ingredients for something delicious like this! 😋

    2. 5 stars
      Hi, I just made this and it has come out well, and my family are enjoying it! Just wondering if it freezes well, and for how long? Thanks very much

      1. it should be able to freeze well & a couple of months frozen like 1~3. food doesn’t spoil when its frozen, just don’t let it freezer burn.

    3. I’d love to try this recipe, but I’m confused. The directions say to add banana….but I see no banana listed in ingredients!

      1. George, please add 1 banana, it’s missing from the body of the post but it is in the recipe card. You just need to scroll down or hit the Jump to recipe button

      2. I just checked and banana is actually in the ingredients and instructions in the recipe card so please scroll down further.

    4. 5 stars
      This is a great recipe. I used an 8 inch pan, which fit nicely in my 8 quart Instant Pot. The first time I made it, I didn’t put water in the Instant Pot since that step isn’t in the instructions and it came out mostly raw. I figured out that I needed to add water and the second time I made it it was perfect. I only had brown sugar and that worked fine. Thanks for a great recipe – my family loves it. This has encouraged me to try other Pot in Pot recipes.

      1. Tamra, thank you very much for leaving your comment, I would never have figured out that I failed to write about adding water to the Instant Pot in the recipe card even though I wrote it in the blurb. I’m so happy you enjoyed it.

      1. Marilou, I’m sorry it didn’t turn out. I have to redo the recipe, I’m on vacation now but will when I return home, 50 minutes in the Instant Pot means its definitely cooked but too moist. I might need to reduce the amount of liquid. I made it twice and didn’t have this problem though.

    5. 2 Questions.
      Step 3 says add banana. Step 5 says fold in mashed banana.

      Step 3 says add ground flaxseed. Step 4 says add ground flaxseed

      Banana and Ground Flax Seed are both called for in the ingredients list one time. Can you clarify?

    6. 5 stars
      Just made this! Really great cake. I had to make some modifications because of an almond allergy. I used coconut milk and all-purpose gluten-free flour. Also, I wasn’t sure what sugar to use and chose brown which I think enhanced the flavor. Everyone seems so surprised that this could be vegan! Thank you so much.

    Leave a Reply

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

    Recipe Rating