The best tasting low-calorie cinnamon rolls, that are moist, sweet and spicy with every bite. Healthy and sweetened with coconut sugar these cinnamon rolls make for a great healthy snack.

There is something about a warm cinnamon bun or cinnamon roll with hot coffee or tea. Being someone who lives a health-ish lifestyle I knew there must have been a way to make skinny cinnamon rolls.

I tried to keep this recipe as simple as possible and use whole food ingredients in the dough and filling. It took some experimenting and a little bit of a mess, but here we are… I am now sharing this easy healthy cinnamon roll recipe with you all.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more found under FAQ

WHAT IS A CINNAMON BUN/WHAT IS A CINNAMON ROLL

Sticky, chewy and full of flavour.

A cinnamon bun is typically a sticky bun that is a dark brown colour, sometimes containing pecans or walnuts. They are best served warm, fresh out of the oven, but also taste great reheated or even served once cooled.

While they’re also called a cinnamon roll there is a slight difference between the two from what I have read after some research. Cinnamon rolls are softer and chewy in texture, much like the texture of a dinner roll, airy and fluffy. They are usually made using yeast.

WHAT GOES IN SKINNY CINNAMON ROLLS

Whole food ingredients.

For these low-calorie cinnamon rolls, I used whole foods like coconut sugar, whole wheat flour and coconut oil. Both the bun and filling recipe contains coconut oil instead of butter. If you’d like to substitute for butter instead of oil for the filling sub 3 tbsp coconut oil for ¼ cup of softened butter. For the filling sub 2 tbsp of coconut oil for 2 tbsp of butter.

Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat Flour
• Plain Greek Yogurt
• Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• Baking Powder
• Sea Salt
• Coconut Sugar
• Coconut Oil
• Spray Oil
• Cinnamon
• Pure Vanilla Extract

HOW TO MAKE HEALHTY CINNAMON ROLLS

No rising, no yeast or chill time required.

There is no rising time, no yeast or chill time required for this cinnamon roll recipe. You will need to knead the dough a little and press with your fingers once it is rolled out, but it is a pretty easy recipe.

• Preheat oven 400F.
• Grease a baking sheet with spray oil generously.
• Melt coconut oil in the microwave, allow cool for 2-4 minutes and then mix the oil with Greek yogurt. It will look clumpy that’s normal. Whisk in the milk and sugar.
• Mix remaining ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
• Add coconut oil mix to the dry mix, combine everything together and form into a dough ball.
• Generously flour a piece of wax paper to prevent the dough from sticking. Using your hands, knead out the dough ball into a rectangle, as best as you can. About 1/2 inch thick. TIP *wet hands to prevent dough from sticking*
• Melt the coconut oil for the filling. Use a kitchen brush and brush the coconut oil on the sheet of dough, including the edges.
• Combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling in a small bowl and spread evenly over the coconut oil spread on dough.
• Roll the dough into a log starting with the ends and working your way to the centre, repeat these steps starting with the ends to the middle rolling until the dough has formed into a log.
• Cut the log into 12 sections and place on a greased baking sheet.
• Bake for 15-17 minutes.

Kitchen Gadgets:

• Baking Sheet
• Wax Paper
• Mixing Bowls
• Spatula
• Whisk
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons

HOW TO STORE CINNAMON ROLLS

Counter top; refrigerate; freeze.

These low-calorie cinnamon rolls without yeast are great stored in an airtight container on the counter for 3 days for freshness, 5 days is still fine they just won’t taste as fresh. You can also refrigerate this recipe to maintain the freshness longer up to 6 days.

This skinny cinnamon roll recipe also freezes great! To freeze simply wrap in press and seal once cooled and freeze for up to 2 months. You can thaw them at room temperature or you can defrost them in the microwave for 1 and half minutes and heat for 20-25 seconds.

THE BEST CINNAMON ROLL TIPS

FLOUR YOUR WORKING SURFACE

This is such an important tip when making homemade cinnamon rolls, flour your working space. While you don’t want to use too much flour, you want to make sure you use enough to prevent the buns from sticky to your working surface. I also recommend using wax paper especially if you are working a granite or quartz countertop which tends to be extra cool.

WET YOUR HANDS

Wet your hands when working with the dough to prevent it from sticky everywhere. The more the sticks to your hands the more that you are losing from the recipe. Wetting your hands will keep things less messy.

SPREAD THE DOUGH OUT EVENLY

When you are rolling out the dough to prepare it for the filling, make sure you spread the dough out evenly on your working surface. With every bite, you’ll be sure to get that sweet cinnamon filling.

ROLL THE DOUGH TIGHTLY

When it comes to rolling the dough, roll it as tight as possible to make sure the log comes together nicely and makes for some nice spiral cuts when you cut the log into spirals. Make sure you tuck the edges in as you roll.

Do you like cinnamon rolls with or without icing?

PS. If you are looking for some other recipes to try, check these out:

• Pumpkin Oat Bars
• Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
• Healthy Apple Crisp
• Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Banana Berry Muffins

PPS. If you are looking for family-friendly meal ideas, check out my eBook:

• Healthy Balance eBook