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You know what I’ve been missing lately? Cinnamon rolls. Even though the weather has been insanely warm this week (60 degrees in February – what?!), I still love to warm up in the mornings with a steaming cup of coffee. There are a million and one things that go well to accompany it, but all month long I’ve been dreaming of having it with a great big cinnamon roll. This healthy cinnamon rolls recipe was just what I needed.
The challenge with creating gluten-free, low carb cinnamon rolls is that the texture doesn’t lend itself well to typical low carb flours. Without the gluten found in traditional wheat flour, a dough made with almond flour and coconut flour simply doesn’t hold together well enough to be rolled up. I knew I’d have to experiment with some kind of binder.
After debating whether I was going to use psyllium husk powder, gelatin, protein powder, or mozzarella cheese, I settled on the first option. Psyllium is a soluble fiber that comes from plantago ovata, an herb plant, and the powder is the husks in ground up form. Like other soluble fiber, psyllium is beneficial to the digestive system (source). Having heard that it works exceptionally well as a binder, I have been wanting to experiment with it.
Needless to say, it took several tries for psyllium husk powder to work the way I wanted in my healthy cinnamon rolls. I had attempts that had too much psyllium, resulting in a strange texture. When I tried reducing the amount too much, my rolls fell apart. Mixing the powder with water prior to adding other ingredients made the dough difficult to mix, so that method was out, too.
Between my experiments, I stumbled across a psyllium cinnamon rolls recipe from Keto Adapted. It looked amazing, but I wanted my own version for more tender rolls and a less chewy texture. With that inspiration, I landed on this final recipe for healthy cinnamon rolls.
These low carb cinnamon rolls do have a more cake- or muffin-like texture than wheat rolls. I brought them to a few gatherings and felt the need to add a disclaimer that they’d be a little different from traditional cinnamon rolls. Still, they’re sweet and cinnamon-y, and have a yummy glaze.
I made the glaze with coconut oil and coconut cream, to also be able to call them paleo cinnamon rolls, but you don’t have to. Any version of a glaze that you like would be amazing. Cream cheese frosting tends to go really well, too, if you don’t mind the dairy.
In the end, I was pretty happy with my healthy cinnamon rolls adaptation. The flavor is exactly what you’d expect from a cinnamon roll! And, they stay together well enough to eat with your hands. That’s pretty amazing when it comes to gluten-free cinnamon rolls. Even better, I can enjoy them as a treat with the knowledge that I’m eating natural ingredients with no sugar. Will you give them a try?
Healthy Cinnamon Rolls (Paleo, Low Carb, Sugar-free):
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- 3 cup Almond flour
- 1/3 cup Psyllium husk powder
- 1/2 cup Erythritol (or any granular sweetener of choice)
- 2 tsp Gluten-free baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Sea salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 cup Egg whites (beaten lightly until frothy)
- 1/4 cup Coconut oil (measured solid, then melted)
- 1/2 cup Warm water
- 2 tbsp Coconut oil
- 3 tbsp Cinnamon
- 3 tbsp Erythritol (or any granular sweetener of choice)
- 1/4 cup Coconut oil (measured solid, then melted)
- 1/4 cup Coconut cream
- 2 tbsp Erythritol (use powdered for a smoother glaze)
- 1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
- In a large bowl, mix the almond flour, psyllium husk powder, erythritol, baking powder,and salt. Stir in the egg whites, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Add the warm water and mix well.
- Place the dough between two large pieces of parchment paper. Roll out into a 12x8" rectangle, about 1/2" thick (press to form the four corners as necessary).
- To make the filling, melt the coconut oil together with the cinnamon and erythritol in a small bowl in the microwave (or on the stove if you prefer), and mix well. The mixture will be crumbly. Sprinkle the dough rectangle with the cinnamon oil mixture. Spread evenly so that there are no clumps, then press into the dough.
- Roll up the dough into a log (start with the long side, for a longer, thinner log). The dough will start to crack as you roll it. As you go along, just pinch the cracks shut, pull away the paper, and scoop up any dough that sticks to the parchment, pressing it back in place on the log. Freeze the log for 20-30 minutes, until firm (but not hard) and no longer sticky on the outside. (You can also refrigerate until firm, but it will take longer.)
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the dough log into 12 slices. Arrange the slices on the lined baking sheet, about 1.5-2 inches part. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden. They will be a little soft and will firm up as they cool.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze. Whisk the melted coconut oil, coconut cream, erythritol, and vanilla extract together. When the cinnamon rolls are ready, let them cool enough until they are firm, then drizzle the glaze over them.
Net carbs per serving: 4g
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Want to use a different sweetener? Check the natural low carb sweeteners guide & conversion chart!
Looking for more low carb, gluten-free ideas for a sweet breakfast? Try these:
Rebecca says
How many egg whites would that be? I’m from the UK so difficult for me to know.
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Rebecca, It depends on the size of the egg whites, but it should be approximately 8-10 egg whites for 1 cup.
sabrinassinlesssecrets says
I seriously need to make these ASAP!!! These are the best looking paleo cinnamon rolls I’ve seen — they actually look like traditional cinnamon rolls, lol.
Avigail says
Wow, these look amazing! It’s extremely hard to make grain free cinnamon rolls. Can’t wait to try them. Most low carb cinnamon rolls use cheese, but I can’t handle lactose, so I’ve never tried a low carb cinnamon roll! Thanks for the recipe. I make a sourdough cinnamon roll occasionally for when I’m craving a real grain based cinnamon roll! Thanks again!
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Thank you! I agree cinnamon rolls are not the easiest thing to make grain-free. I hope you like them!
Melissia Wagner says
Is there any way to make these without the psyllium husk powder? I don’t have any and don’t usually use it. If not I’m willing to get some to try these, but thought I’d ask first! I’m hoping these taste as good as they look!
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Melissia, Unfortunately for this one you do need the psyllium husk powder. I try to offer substitutions when possible, but in this case it creates a texture that doesn’t have good substitutions. I hope you’ll get the chance to try these!
April says
We can’t have eggs! Any suggestion for those?
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi April, I haven’t tried this recipe without the egg whites. Some people have had success with replacing eggs with flax “eggs”. To replace the 1 cup egg whites in this recipe, you could try this: Stir together 6 tablespoons ground flax seed meal with 1 cup + 2 tbsp water. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, then use in the recipe as usual instead of the egg whites. I haven’t tried it for this recipe so can’t say for sure if it would work, but would love to hear the results if you try it!
Ed Lockyer says
Do you beat the egg whites lightly or until stiff?
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Ed, For this recipe they need to be just lightly beaten, until frothy. I added that to the recipe card.
April says
Thanks so much! Recently found out I can no longer have almond! 🙁 My girls still can so I may make it for them… I can have sorghum flour though… do you think that would be an even swap for almond flour?
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi April, I haven’t tried them with sorghum flour. I haven’t done much experimenting with that one in general, so not sure if it would be a good swap. You may want to try sunflower seed flour, which is often a good 1:1 replacement for almond flour (just know that it turns green sometimes during baking – but this doesn’t affect the taste). If you try sorghum flour, sunflower seed flour, or something else, let me know how it goes!
Kari says
I can’t have psyllium husk powder, is there an alternative for it? TIA!
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Kari, Unfortunately not for this recipe. But, you might like my cinnamon swirl mug muffin instead. 🙂
Hollyanne Butler says
Could you use butter instead of coconut oil? I just prefer a butter flavor to coconut oil.
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Hollyanne, Definitely! Either one would work.
Kateryna says
Hello, I’ve just made these rolls and they turned out pretty yummy. Thank you for the recipe.
Just wanted to share my experience. For the dough, I used a bit less Erythritol, I only used 6 egg whites and my cinnamon filling was super liquid, which made it hard to roll. I also used more cinnamon than was originally stated, but it’s just a matter of taste. It’s well worth trying!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Thank you for the feedback, Kateryna! The ratios in the filling, and sweetener amount in general, are both easy to customize based on taste. I’m glad you enjoyed the rolls!
Jo says
Hi there. I’m in New Zealand and almond flour is incredibly expensive. Can coconut flour be used instead? Thank you.
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Jo, Unfortunately coconut flour wouldn’t work the same way in this recipe, because it absorbs a lot more moisture than almond flour. You’d need other modifications to the recipe and I haven’t tested it. You could try making your own almond flour by grinding up whole blanched almonds in a food processor, but you’d need to get it very fine to get the right texture in the final product.
Alicia C says
I did not like this recipe. Not sure what could be done to improve it but it tasted very bland. For the amount of almond flour and stevia you use on this recipe it seemed like a big waste of ingredients and not something you would want to make for other people.
I followed the recipe to a T except for the filling where in addition to the coconut oil I put 3 tablespoons of kerrygold butter. I found that when you heated it in the microwave the stevia got hardened and I wish I would have melted the coconut oil first, then added cinnamon and stevia.
Also, I used a cream cheese topping recipe from another keto recipe and that pretty much made these tolerable.
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Alicia, Sorry to hear these weren’t for you. You mentioned you followed the recipe, but the recipe doesn’t contain any stevia. Maybe that could have been the difference?
Ces says
My dough was really wet. Any suggestions?
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Ces, It’s hard to tell what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you. Did you follow the recipe exactly and use the same ingredients? Psyllium recipes can be a little finicky. But, it’s normal for the dough to be fairly wet and sticky prior to freezing in step 4.
Anna says
Would it be possible to use whole eggs instead of egg whites? I hate to waste them.
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Hi Anna, You could try, but yolks interacting with psyllium can lead to an ammonia smell. Due to the large amount in this recipe, I wouldn’t replace all the whites with eggs, but you could try replacing some. The 1 cup of egg whites in the recipe is equivalent in volume to about 6 large eggs or 10 large egg whites, so you can use that to determine how much of each you want to try. Otherwise, you could make the recipe as is and use the leftover yolks to make low carb creme brulee. 🙂
Melissa Matthieu says
I made these 2 weeks ago and they were the bomb. My coworkers all asked for the recipe. I made them again tonight but since I had a cold, I got my husband to taste test the glaze. He said it was bad (though he liked it the first time). The only difference was this time I used Swerve confectioners and Nutiva refined coconut oil. I hope I can taste in the morning because the Swerve is super expensive!
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
Thank you, Melissa! I’m glad you liked the cinnamon rolls when you made them before! I’m not sure what was different this time. Maybe the refined coconut oil?