These keto cinnamon rolls are the ultimate comfort food. They taste so good it’s hard to believe they are sugar free, grain free, gluten free and come in at only 1.3 net carbs per roll!
How much do I love cinnamon rolls?
Where to begin.
First, the smell.
This beautiful warm smell of cinnamon and baked goodness that fills the house and wraps itself around you like a fluffy warm duvet. Smelling cinnamon rolls releases my happy hormones, just like stroking kittens does, sleeping in during the week or settling down to watch Outlander on Amazon Prime.
Then, the swirl.
Can it be that the swirl in a cinnamon roll has hypnotic properties? Think about it. Remember how Kaa the snake from the Jungle Book did this swirly-eye-thing to Mowgli and he would be at her mercy? That’s what a cinnamon roll does to me. Somehow, I feel magically drawn towards it! Cinnamon rolls lure me in in, like a wonderful psychedelic maelstrom of promising pleasure. This swirl, it shuts off the logical thinking part of my brain. It has secret come-hither-powers that should never be underestimated.
And lastly, the taste.
The taste! Can you picture biting into a freshly baked cinnamon roll right now? Sinking your teeth into that fluffy, gooey goodness? I bite into a cinnamon roll and it’s like I have arrived IN THE NOW. There are people that meditate for years to achieve this state of enlightenment. I am telling you. There’s absolutely no need to travel to India and checking into the silent Ashram. No need to grow a beard or stop cutting your nails.
Bake cinnamon rolls.
Eat them.
Experience their certain je ne sais quoi.
Feel complete. Hallelujah!
My dear sugar free and low carb friends, I have tried many versions of healthified (meaning: no-wheat, no-yeast, no-grains, no-sugar) cinnamon rolls using grain free flours such as almond or coconut flour. They all taste great, but their texture is either too cakey or crumbly to truly resemble the original, badass cinnamon rolls of my youth.
Then I tried this recipe.
And I have to say.
Keto Cinnamon Rolls win by miles.
Just looking at the close-up above is making me salivate again. Keto cinnamon rolls are made using the Holy Grail of Keto dough, which is a truly genius invention using mozzarella cheese. It was conceived as a pizza base (I am talking about it in detail in my Genius Grain Free Pretzels post – I’ve traced the origins of the recipe as far back as I could). With a few tweaks it makes a brilliant dough for sweet pastry as well.
I’d go as far as saying this: Holy Grail dough (which has become famous as Fat Head dough) is the cleverest brainwave since the conception of low carb eating. I want to hug the person who thought of combining an Italian cheese with almond flour to create a dough that actually mimics the taste of wheat dough. How could you possibly come up with an idea like this? Was it a coincidence? Someone accidentally dropping flour into melted mozzarella? It’s a bit like that person who banged two stones together and created fire. Boom, and the world is a better place.
The dough is a little tricky to handle – thanks to the inherent gooey-ness of mozzarella – but if you follow the instructions in the recipe section below, you should have no problems.
These Keto cinnamon rolls are best enjoyed warm, when they are soft on the inside and with the most tender crunch on the outside.
Should you have any leftovers, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge and do make the effort to heat them up again before eating.
Not likely there will be any leftovers though. One look at that swirl…
Keto cinnamon rolls – recipe tips and tricks
This recipe works best with pre-shredded mozzarella from the supermarket. Fresh mozzarella contains too much liquid and is too runny.
The dough is a bit tricky to work with. Do oil your hands if you find it too sticky (I used walnut oil). If it cools down too much, just warm it back up to make it easier to handle.
If you have it, use a brown sugar alternative such as Lakanto Golden to make the filling – it has a taste very similar to brown sugar that works great with cinnamon.
You can use butter instead of the water in the cinnamon filling, which gives the rolls a nice buttery taste. I made a few using butter, then decided to just dissolve the sweetener in water as the rolls are very high in fat already. The choice is yours!
If you do not have vanilla-flavoured stevia, you could add a bit of vanilla extract to your frosting.
If you don’t have extra fine almond flour and are using almond meal or ground almonds, add an additional 2 tbsp of almond meal/ground almonds or 1 tbsp of coconut flour so the cinnamon rolls keep their shape.
Another option to make the rolls is to roll out the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a large rectangle. Spread the cinnamon filling on top, roll into a log and cut into slices.
Try my other Fathead dough recipes:
- Easy Low Carb Pizza Recipe (Keto Fathead Crust!!)
- Keto Low Carb Tortilla Chips
- Genius Grain Free Pretzels (Fathead dough)
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Keto Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 175 g shredded mozzarella (see notes!) (1 1/2 cups)
- 80 g almond flour (extra fine) (3/4 cup)
- 2 tbsp cream cheese
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
For the filling:
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp granulated sweetener
- 2 tsp cinnamon
For the frosting:
- 2 tbsp cream cheese
- 1 tbsp greek/full fat yoghurt
- 2 drops vanilla stevia
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180 Celsius/360 Fahrenheit.
- Melt the mozzarella and cream cheese in a non-stick pot over a low heat or in a microwave (1 1/2 minutes, stirring half way through). Take off the stove and/or make sure the cheese is melted, but not bubbling.
- Stir in the egg.
- Now add the almond flour and baking powder. Start to combine using a fork, then use your hands to make a ball of smooth dough. This can be easier if you lightly oil your hands first.
- Divide the dough into 6 balls of ca 50g each.
- Form long rolls (ca 40cm), then flatten out with your hands. Make the dough as thin as you can.
- Prepare your cinnamon filling: boil water, then stir in the sweetener and cinnamon.
- Spread the cinnamon paste over the flattened dough rolls.
- Roll each into a bun and cut sideways in half.
- Now you have 12 buns which you place on a non-stick baking sheet or in a pie dish.
- Bake for ca 20 minutes.
- While the rolls are in the oven, prepare the frosting: Mix cream cheese, yoghurt and stevia.
- Spread over the warm rolls and serve
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Corals says
2.1 carbs?! I’m sold
Robin says
These look brilliant! Would they freeze well after baking in case of leftovers?
Katrin says
Hi Robin, they freeze well!
Ioana says
These are delicious! Made them yesterday and after eating two right out of the oven, later in the afternoon my bf (he’s not eating keto) actually preferred a cinnamon roll to a slice of luscious lime pie that was in the fridge for my kid!
The rolls didn’t rise too much in height indeed, but the taste and texture compensated for that – for us, at least. As a note, I got 14 rolls of 49 grams each from the quantities in the recipe, not 12. I had one today with my coffee and I warmed it up for 5 sec in the microwave, the flavour was awesome!
Thanks for another great recipe, Katrin!
Katrin says
Hi Ioana, that’s so good to hear! I”m glad you all enjoyed the rolls 🙂
Sandra Aronson says
I have made these and they were not browned after 10 minutes. Did I do something wrong?
Katrin says
Ovens can vary in temperature, especially if they are a little older. You can try either to increase the temperature by 10 Celsius or keep the rolls in a little longer. Or put the try in the top part of the oven where temperatures are higher.
Nelli says
I’m looking to bake these for Easter. However, I was thinking on baking them as a “bread”, slice them up and then serve them as French toast with the frosting for breakfast. Could that work? Would I have to change the baking time?
Katrin says
I think if you baked it as a flatbread, that would work well. I have a recipe for garlic bread, which is the same kind of dough, only savoury. Check it out for baking times.
Lugenia Sapp says
I tried adjusting the numbet if servings but it didnt adjust ‘all ‘ of the ingredients .
Katrin says
Hi Lugenia, sorry, this is a shortfall of the recipe plugin and my programming skills are not sufficient to fix it. Is there anything I can help you with personally?
Maija says
“Come hither powers” !!!
First time to your site and I get that?!!
I’ll follow you anywhere after that!
LOL But first, I want to try this recipe!
Cinnamon rolls mesmerize me too!
Peace, and thank you!
Katrin says
Haha, we’re on the same page!!! Glad you found my site 😉
Crystal says
I just made these this evening and they turn phenomenal. I LOVE this, thank you!
Katrin says
You’re welcome Crystal!
Mamonde says
Oh my goodness I am just having these with my coffee and these are like a piece of heaven they taste soooo good I had to slap my hand to not have more !!! Thank you very much !! Yesterday I made them savory I made pizza rolls spread the dough out splashed some sauce olives and cheese rolled and cut and they were yummy !!
Katrin says
Oh, pizza rolls, that sounds AMAZING!!!
Trisha says
Have you seen the fat head dog method of just dumping the ingredients in a food processor and blending rather than heating? Do you think that would work with this? Might have to give it a try.
Katrin says
You could try that – I did it with the dough for my low carb pizza. You need a high speed food processor that is fast enough so the blades heat the dough enough for the mozzarella to melt.
Elisha says
I made these this morning and they’re great! Came out perfectly. They are small, but the author is right, they’re very filling! I used Swerve Brown for the filling with the water and cinnamon, glad I did! I also brushed the outsides with melted butter before baking. I will definitely make these again! *note* don’t roll out your balls of dough if they’re still hot. I let mine cool to room temp first and I think that’s why mine didn’t flatten like others have commented. I also used
Oh Nuts! brand almond flour which is very fine.
Katrin says
Thanks for your comment and tips!!
Cherie says
Haven’t tried them yet still baking in the oven but look good. Just have a question about the filling; I used xylitol as the sweetner and my filling didn’t turn into a paste. It remained almost a liquid. Is this because I used this particular substitute?
Katrin says
hi Cherie, hard to say… I haven’t used xylitol in a long time and am not sure how easily it dissolves. Maybe try grinding it to a powder next time?
Kristie says
I made a test batch of these today to make sure my boys liked them before making them for Christmas morning. After reading all the comments about them going flat, I baked them in silicone cupcake molds. They kept their shape nicely. I also used brand new baking powder and Bob’s Red Mill Super-fine Almond Flour. We liked them, but prefer more cinnamon in the filling, so I’ll be making another batch tonight and cooking them in the morning.
Katrin says
What a great idea to use silicone moulds! Thank you for your comment and enjoy the holidays 🙂
Julie says
Hi!
I was wondering if these would still turn out if I made them in the morning, refrigerated them, then baked them that evening. Thank you so much! 🙂
Katrin says
I think it would work. I’ve had readers even freeze the unbaked rolls for later use. One thing i’d do though is ensure you bring them back to room temperature before baking – I’d set them on the kitchen counter for about 1 hour or so.
Umah says
Thanks for this great recipe. Came out super good. The oil tips really helped with the sticky dough.
Katrin says
Brilliant! I’m glad it worked out well 🙂 Thank you for your comment
Cindy says
I made the rolls but put the dough on parchment paper and flattened the whole thing and sprinkled with cinnamon and Splenda brown sugar and then rolled it up in a log using the parchment paper and then cut into rolls. Used 2 tbsp cream cheese and 2 tbsp cherry Greek yogurt as frosting
Katrin says
Sounds great. I must try this, too!
Joyce says
Hi Katrin,
Tried your keto cinnamon rolls today, all was good until they didn’t stand up in pie plate rather wanted to lean sideways, only got 8 instead of 12. They didn’t rise like yours baked up more like a thick cinnamon cookie but……they tasted great! I used 2 more tbsp almond flour as you suggested so they wouldn’t get runny like some readers experienced also had temp little higher 375%. I rolled dough between parchment paper too, was disappointed in that they were limp . When you say roll as thin as possible how thin should they be I am thinking I rolled too thin? Would appreciate suggestions as they did taste good, and would like to try again, thank you in advance
Katrin says
hi Joyce, I think the almond flour brand makes a huge difference in this recipe. The rolls in the photo are made using the Sukrin Almond flour, which is super super fine. I think it’s the most finely milled almond flour available here in the UK and it’s available in the US, too. There are other finely milled brands such as Bon’s Red Mill. And yes, it is possible that when you roll your dough too thin, making the rolls too tall (hope this makes sense), they could lean and collapse sideways.
Another thought – chilling them before baking could help them keep their shape. I just read an article about cookies that recommended this, so the butter would be cold and hold the dough together. This way, the outer edges firm up before the inside gets soft and lets the entire shape collapse. This could make up for using less fine almond flour. Not a technique tried and tested by me, but I think it could make a difference.
Hope this helps!
Sascha says
I just made these for the first time. They were quite good! I found the directions of how to make the dough really good.
But my rolls did not rise?
Perfect shape and really nice flavor but they did not really look fluffy like yours do.
Katrin says
Hm. It could have something do do with how fresh your baking powder is? It’s one of those ingredients that we keep in the larder for ages and it can go off and become less effective. Almond flour goods do tend to rise less than wheat flour ones though. My rolls were fairly small, too. I hope this helps.
Catherine says
Congratulations on an incredibly tasty recipe. I never comment on websites, and I have never craved cinnamon rolls in my life until 3 days ago, when the urge suddenly struck. I’ve been doing keto for 18 months, and was worried I’d fall off the wagon big time. So I googled today, found your recipe, read the comments and was scared the dough would collapse on me. But no! My oven produced cinnamon buns just like the picture! (This never happens to me).
I halved the recipe, and am glad I did, because I’ve just eaten four of them, and the remaining two won’t last the night. So thank you, thank you, Kathrin – I am one very happy camper.
Catherine.
Katrin says
How wonderful! I’m so glad they were a 100% success. I really think the taste matters so much more than how something looks, but if your rolls tasted great AND looked beautiful… perfect. Thanks for your comment. it made my day!
Michala Jeanne Patenaude says
We love this recipe! We included it in our top 26 Keto recipes article- https://bit.ly/2wKpsmV Thanks again!
Adalie says
Hello! Been sifting through cinnamon roll recipes to satisfy a craving and this one looks most promising. One question if you don’t mind; I have stevia drops but they are not vanilla flavored so I will just add it on its own. How much vanilla would that be?
Katrin says
Hi Adalie, I’d use 1 tsp of vanilla extract. That’s the amount I normally add if I use vanilla extract in baking.
Maryann says
Your article has an ‘alas’ at the end of the first paragraph last sentence of the recipe which I think must be the opposite of what you want to say 😉 thanks for your recipes, I’ll be trying one this afternoon
Katrin says
Hey Maryann, thanks for your comment and the English lesson – you’re absolutely right, I’ve taken the “alas” out. I thought it meant the opposite!! There you go, after 22 years in England, now I know 🙂 Which recipe did you make? I’d love to hear how it went!
Trish says
Yummmm!!!!!!
Katrin says
Hi Sarah, how annoying! Can I ask which almond flour you used? If it’s not fine enough maybe that’s the reason they collapsed. The basic recipe I used for these rolls is not mine and has been popular for making low carb pizza dough for many years, so it’s been trie and tested. Let me know and maybe we can get to the bottom of it! I used the Sukrin almond flour the last time I made this recipe, maybe you can get it wherever you are.
Lori says
Great tasting, however they came out as cinnamon pancakes! Do you know what I did wrong? I’d like to try them again.
Katrin says
Hi Lori, that’s an interesting one. It’s happened to another reader as well. Can I ask you what the consistency of the dough was like when you made the rolls? Was it easily formable into rolls and did the rolls keep their shape before you put them in the oven? Then I’d say it could have been either that your oven would need to be hotter to firm up the rolls quicker before they had time to collapse. Or that maybe your baking powder was out of date and did not make the rolls rise enough. If the dough was too soft BEFORE you put the rolls in the oven it could be that the almond flour was too coarse so you would need more almond flour to get the dough to a firm consistency. I hope this is helpful and would be really interested to hear what you think and find out the outcome of your next try.
Lori says
Thanks so much! I think my dough was too soft so next time i’ll try to use more almond flour. I’ll let you know how they turn out. Thanks again for responding so quickly!
Katja says
Can you use coconut flour insted if almond flour?
Katrin says
Yes, you can, but you’d have to change the amount because coconut flour is more absorbent than almond flout. Try halving it and use 40g of coconut flour.
Marta Szabo says
Hi,
I was wondering is there an alternative for Stevia…I don’t like the after taste?
Katrin says
Sure! You could use powdered erythritol instead.
Margie says
Monk fruit is a great alternative and doesn’t leave an aftertaste.
Danielle says
You’re a great blogger. I typically don’t take the time to read the forward (because they are often boring and add little to my desire to try OR the recipe). I just get to the ingredients and steps. But, you started off saying read for tips and so I did and I found your writing to be a wonderful pastime. I also want to thank you for the metric conversion…without it I’d be lost (shameful I know!). I am going into the kitchen to make these – they look and sound wonderful. Thank you!
Katrin says
What a lovely comment to wake up to in the morning! Thank you so much for your kind words. I really hope you’ll enjoy the rolls. They are not the easiest recipe – there’s always that stage when I mix and the mozzarella is sticky it looks like the dough will never come together… and then it does. I hope you’ll try out some other dishes on the website in time 🙂
Elissa says
Thanks for the recipe. I was reading the ingredients and eggs are not listed but your instructions indicate adding an egg. Just thought I would give you heads up.
I hope to try this recipe this weekend! Looks so yummy!!
Katrin says
Hi Elissa, thank you for your comment – the egg was listed, you must have missed it when you were scanning the list… I do that all the time! Anyway, it’s great to get hints like that because sometimes I do forget to write down something and I’m always grateful when it gets pointed out. I’m glad you like the look of the cinnamon rolls. Let me know how you get on!
Steve says
Hi Katrin,
I’m guessing a shredded vegan mozz cheese substitute wouldn’t get the job done as well as the real thing. Have you an opinion?
Katrin says
I’ve never tried vegan mozzarella cheese. As long as it behaves like mozzarella and becomes stringy, it might work. I huess it is cashew based? You might end up with a tougher dough. But it is always worth a try! 🙂
Anna says
Oh man, I was SO looking forward to this but I ended up with Cinnamon pancakes >.< Where did I go wrong? I followed the recipe exactly, read all the comments for tips and hints but nada, no treats for me tonight 🙁 Could I have used too much oil on my hands to handle the dough? I also sprayed my glass dishes with canola oil spray so they wouldn't stick as I ran out of baking paper.
Katrin says
The almond flour I used in the recipe is very fine – I used the one by Sukrin. I am not sure if you can get hold of it in Australia – best check on Amazon. Maybe the one you used was coarser? I don’t think it could have anything to do with too much oil.
Amanda S says
Great recipe. I swirled the cinnamon mixture directly into the dough and formed little buns. Worked a treat.
Katrin says
Thanks for sharing this here! That’s a great idea if you want to save some time 🙂
Meghan says
OMG absolutely fabulous! I just made this recipe and it turned out amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. This is going to be a regular!
Katrin says
That’s great to hear. Thanks for taking the time to comment! I’m glad you like them
Katrin says
Hi Kim, provided you measured the right amount of each ingredient using either a scale or the US cups AND you used the pre-shredded mozzarella, nothing really can go wrong (unless maybe your egg was CRAZY GINORMOUS and made the dough too liquid?). So the one thing I could imagine is that the dough was simply too hot? The main ingredient in this recipe is mozzarella and it gets very soft when hot, but firm when at room temperature. Once the dough is not hot anymore, there really is no way it can retain the texture of mashed potato. The recipe for fat head dough has been about since 2012 and it’s not my invention, like I said in the text – it’s been made loads. I really hope my thoughts on what could have gone wrong help you and that you will give it another go. Fat Head dough has so may cool uses, I’ve made pretzels with it, flatbreads and, of course, pizza 🙂 I’m glad your result DID taste good though, even if it was not the look you were aiming for 🙂
Kim says
Yes, I believe that you have a point there….that my melted cheese was too hot….I must give it another try as it does taste good! I am having it for breakfast everyday. 😉
Leah says
I’m excited to make these rolls but just curious, did your egg stick to the cheese? My egg kept sliding off the heated cheese mixture when I made the Fathead dough. Thanks for sharing!
Katrin says
It’s not the easiest dough to make, that’s true. You just have to persevere with the egg and keep on mixing until it gets incorporated into the dough. I will happen eventually!
Chris says
I made these before Christmas and used the full log method. They were sticky to cut and collapsed into a cinnamon blob in the oven. But what delightful delicious cinnamon blobs they were!!!
Katrin says
It’s all about the taste!!!!
Kim Nowlin says
I would love to make these for Christmas morning, but not ON Christmas morning. Any tips on making the day before? Should I let the dough sit overnight in the fridge? Thanks from California!
Katrin says
Hi Kim, so sorry I’m answering this question so late. I think you should have no problem preparing the dough a day before and keeping the unbaked rolls in the fridge. I’d bring them to room temperature before baking. I hope it all went ok for you and that you are enjoying your holidays. 🙂