What's better than pancakes? Keto cinnamon roll pancakes! These almond flour pancakes with a cinnamon swirl and a sugar free cream cheese frosting are sure to be a hit at the breakfast table. The recipe is gluten-free and diabetic-friendly.

A fork taking a slice of a stack of pancakes with a cinnamon swirl and cream cheese frosting

I'm a huge fan of pancakes, and I love keto cinnamon rolls. It was obvious - I had to combine the two in one wonderful dish!

This recipe uses my popular keto pancakes as a base. If you haven't tried them yet you're missing out! They have a LOT of fans 😉

I first tested a cinnamon swirl made just out of butter, sweetener and cinnamon. However, I did not like the way the pancakes looked - kind of messy and almost falling apart. By adding a few tablespoons of pancake batter to the cinnamon swirl mix, the problem was solved!

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Ingredients
Instructions
Recipe Tips and Variations
Storage
Related Recipes
Recipe

Ingredients

You only need a handful of ingredients for this recipe:

Almond flour
Cream cheese
Eggs
Baking powder
Butter
Cinnamon
Powdered sweetener

Baking with almond flour is never an exact science because brands can vary greatly in texture. In this recipe I used a super-fine defatted almond flour. It absorbs liquid really well and looks almost like wheat flour.

If your almond flour is coarser or you're using almond meal or ground almonds, increase the amount by about 2-3 tablespoons. This ensures your pancakes aren't too fragile.

Instructions

This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities

Almond flour, eggs and cream cheese in a blender.

Step 1: Put almond flour, cream cheese, eggs and baking powder in a blender. You can also use a bowl and an electric mixer.

Step 2: Blend until smooth and frothy!

Step 3: In a separate bowl, stir together the cinnamon swirl mix (melted butter, cinnamon, powdered sweetener and 3 tablespoons of the pancake batter).

A half cooke pancake with a cinnamon swirl in a frying pan.

Step 4: Heat butter or coconut oil in a pan over medium heat. Once the fat begins to bubble, pour some of the pancake batter into the pan. Then add the cinnamon mix onto the pancake, making a swirl.

Step 5: Once the pancake top (and the swirl) is firm enough, turn over the pancake using a wide spatula. Low carb pancakes are more fragile than wheat flour pancakes because they contain no gluten and a wide spatula will ensure the pancake does not break.

Step 6: Fry the cinnamon swirl side for around 30 seconds, then slide the pancake onto a plate or lift it out with a spatula.

Tip: I used a SMALL pan and made one pancake at a time. The benefit is that the butter does not burn as the pancake covers most of the pan.

Step 7: Last, stir together your cream cheese frosting - I did this in a bowl with a fork. Depending on how cold or firm your cream cheese is, add 1 tablespoon of nut milk or more to achieve your desired consistency.

I made my own DIY piping bag by simply filling the cream cheese frosting into a small ziploc bag. Then I snipped off one of the corners. It's best to use a sturdy plastic bag for this.

Keto cinnamon roll pancakes taste wonderful without the cream cheese frosting - you could serve them simply with some berries or a squeeze of sugar free syrup. But, naturally, the frosting takes it to the next level of decadence!

If you don't have the patience to pipe it over your stack, simply spoon it over or us it as a filling between 2 pancakes, a bit like a giant whoopie pie.

Recipe Tips and Variations

Feel free to add a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of vanilla powder or vanilla extract to the pancake batter.

If you are after a sturdier pancake, you can also add ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum to the pancake batter. This improves the crumb structure in low carb baking.

Want to give the cinnamon swirl mix an autumn/winter vibe? Add ½ teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix.

For a coconut flour version, use the base recipe of my coconut flour pancakes.

If you are using a large frying pan, you can make 2 or 3 pancakes at a time. Just make sure you're sticking to a low to medium heat so your butter does not burn.

Storage

These low carb pancakes freeze well and can be reheated by either popping them in the microwave or even in the toaster. Freeze for up to 3 months.

You can store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.