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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Kathy says
I want to make these and read the comments about them flattening. Would placing each roll in a silicone muffin pan possibly solve that issue and make a nice roll?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Kathy, I’ve never had a problem with spreading. But your idea would definitely prevent them from spreading, so do give it a go 🙂
Laura says
What are the macros for this recipe?
Thank you!
Katrin Nürnberger says
The nutrition information is at the bottom of the recipe card at the end of the post. You deduct the fibre from the total carbs to get the net carbs.
The Nicols says
Tried these for the first time and my husband and I liked them, overall. I did end up needing to make more filling and icing; I guess we like them more filled and topped. I didn’t have yogurt, so I subbed sour cream for the icing, which was fine. Next time, I will add extra sugar to the filling (they could be sweeter for my taste) and I will roll out all of the dough under parchment – rolling out six separate pieces took much longer than I expected. Regardless, it’s nice to have something sweet for breakfast again without paying for it in loads of carbs and sugar! Many, many thanks!
Katrin Nürnberger says
Glad you like recipe – and thank you for your comment!!!
Eunice says
I tried making these and mine also flattened out. I will try increasing the temperature on my next batch. But they taste delicious. Thanks
Katrin says
Hi Eunice, I hope they’ll keep their shape next time around!
Hana says
Hi
I tried the recipe and firstly although I followed the steps and the measurements the dough was wet and I ended up adding few spoons of almond flour to dry the dough a bit.
Then I struggled with shaping the dough. I managed to put them in the oven. I left them for longer than 20 minutes. They came out decent in taste but not in shape .
Can you please advice on how should I amend the recipe?
I love your recipes a lot.. Much appreciated.
Hana
Katrin says
Hello Hannah, fathead dough can be a little tricky to work with, if you’re not used to it. It’s important to use pre-shredded mozzarella, which is harder than the white mozzarella we use for salads. And if they do is too hard, it becomes difficult to roll out. Then you need to warm it up again so you can work with it. I hope this answers your question, please let me know if there is anything else I can help with
Rebecca says
Love love love these, thank you for a wonderful easy recipe that tastes as good as the real thing, this is what I was missing when I went low carb
My swwet tooth is a bit more than yours so I just increased the amount of sweetener to my tastes, instead of using vanilla stevia on the frosting I used 1 tbsp of powered swerve and vanilla extract and it made a much sweeter frosting
Thanks again
Katrin says
We all have different ideas of what’s the perfect level of sweetness! I’m glad you made the recipe work for you 🙂
Holly says
These were fantastic even without the frosting, will definitely be making again! Are there any savoury options I could try?
Katrin says
You could make pizza rolls by leaving out the sweetener and cinnamon and adding tomato sauce, ham or salami pieces and topping them with parmesan. Or simply try my low carb pizza!
Marc says
Mine are in the oven and as another person mentioned, they seem to have flattened a bit.
I am thinking it is likely because I went too literal and rolled out the dough as thin as possible before rolling into a log for slicing.
Ok, maybe not paper thin, but not far off.
The dough may need to be a bit thinker for stability.
My attempt made about 20 smallish ones plus two small ones from the ends of the roll.
Katrin says
Hi Marc, yes it sounds as if your rolls may have been a little too fragile. You managed to make 20, almost twice as many as I made. Try rolling the dough a bit thicker next time and maybe the rolls will then keep the shape you want. How was the taste? Did you enjoy them?
Hannah Carrie-Marie says
why does this recipe have mozzarella cheese in it? I’ve never heard of this in cinnamon buns
Katrin says
When I first heard of this kind of dough, I also thought it was very curious indeed. But if you are willing to take a leap of faith, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. We all know that mozzarella is pretty neutral in taste, and it is a bit of a miracle that by adding almond flour you end up with dough that bakes into delicious rolls, savoury and sweet. I always think that mozzarella dough mimics yeast dough, it is substantial in a similar way.
Lark says
Would it be possible to make these without the mozzarella?
Katrin says
Hi there, you would need a completely different recipe. There are some online, you’d have to have a search.
Joan says
My cinnamon rolls flatten when I bake them. Your pic shows its still up and the roll is defined. What am I doing wrong?
Katrin says
Hi Joan, it could have a few reasons. I’m using extra fine almond flour in the recipe. If your almond flour is not extra fine this could make the dough less stable and the mozzarella could cause the rolls to flop. If you don’t want to change your almond flour (if you’re using ground almonds or almond meal, for example), you could increase the amount of flour by a bit. Also, if your egg is super large, this may make the dough softer than mine. A third issue I can think of is that if your oven temperature is lower than you think, the outside of the rolls would not firm up quick enough and cause the flattening. So you could try increasing your oven temperature by 10 degrees Celsius or putting the rolls in on a higher shelf. I really hope this helps you to figure out what to change to be able to nail them!! 🙂
Tali says
Be careful with preshredded cheeses, they often contain corn starch. I think I will have to find a different recipe since I don’t know if I can shred fresh mozzarella, but they do look good.
Katrin says
In some countries you can buy the harder mozzarella that can be shredded in a log. I think it was a reader from Canada who mentioned it.
Pamela Shorland says
Hi Katrin,
My Cinnamon Rolls were divine in flavour though also flattened out, though I wasn’t able to bake them straight after assembling so perhaps that is a reason. I will experiment with your above suggestions.
Previous to going Keto, I used to spread the ‘pastry’ with cold cooked mashed pumpkin that had cinnamon in it. I sprinkled shredded cheese on it before rolling and slicing and once the pinwheels were on the baking tray, sprinkled them with parmesan cheese.
Everywhere i took them they were devoured before any other food on offer – there were never enough!
Also , in response to another comment: Here in Australia we can but the firmer yellow mozzarella in a block and it is easy to shred.
I love fathead dough recipes so buy a 550 g block and cut it into 4/5 pieces, wrap in waxed cotton and freeze. It defrosts in the fridge in a few hours, but can also be shredded frozen with a little patience – it may influence the wet-ness factor though i have shredded it frozen for pizza without it becoming too moist.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Pamela,
your pumpkin cinnamon rolls sound divine! I think those flavours would be amazing together. I must experiment. Thank you for sharing!
Do you have Sukrin in Australia? That’s the almond flour I used. It’s super fine and I think that’s the main reason my rolls did not flatten out. And lucky you Australians for being able to buy mozzarella in a block! I have never seen it here in the UK.
Yvette says
Can you make the dough the night before and cook in the morning for brunch?
Katrin says
I have never tried it but I think it would be possible. Simply reheat the door before using so it’s easy to work with.
sam says
can you use coconut flour instead of almond flour?
Katrin says
I have never tried it in this recipe, but I’d go for half the amount of coconut flour.
Jenny says
Sam, did you try substituting with coconut flour? How did it work for you?
Shruti says
What can replace eggs ??
Katrin says
You could try using a flax egg, though I have never tried it in this recipe myself.