Yes, healthy almond flour cinnamon rolls do exist! They're so tender and fluffy with a sweet cinnamon filling loaded with hints of pure maple and chopped pecans. Each one is smothered in a dairy free & vegan cream cheese icing and can be made in under an hour with no yeast!
Have you ever dreamed of a world with a healthy version of a warm, fluffy, cinnamon roll? (Me, just about every day for the past 10 years). Well, let me rock your world with these ooey, gooey, oh so fluffy cinnamon rolls that are perfect for the weekend, a holiday brunch, or just because!
They're made with almond flour and coconut sugar and dairy free cream cheese and even more wholesome, natural ingredients. Get your apron and rolling pin out because you most definitely need these in your life.
And don't let the words 'almond flour' deter you. These babies are insanely soft and moist just like the real deal!
Check out these vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls and vegan pumpkin scones too!
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Recipe characteristics
- Dietary features - vegan, gluten free, dairy free, and paleo
- Made with almond flour and tapioca flour, not a gluten free flour blend
- Can be made in under an hour with no rise time
- Made yeast free
- Can be made ahead of time or frozen for later
Ingredients and notes
You need a few gluten free pantry staples to whip up these cinnamon rolls in under and hour! There are three components to these cinnamon rolls - the dough, filling, and icing.
Dough Ingredients
- Almond flour - This is the best gluten free flour for cinnamon rolls. Almond flour maintains it's moisture better than other gluten free flours and is pliable enough to roll out with a rolling pin. If desired, you can substitute both the almond flour and tapioca flour with a gluten free 1 : 1 flour blend.
- Tapioca flour - This helps to achieve a super soft cinnamon roll. Almond flour can be dense once baked and the tapioca flour will cut some of that density to make it light and fluffy. Substitute with arrowroot starch if needed.
- Maple syrup - Used to sweeten the dough just a bit. Pure maple syrup is best and will provide a cozy caramel-ish flavor.
- Coconut milk - Make sure to use full-fat coconut milk. The cream on the top is what gives the dough some fat content so they rise in the oven and stay moist.
- Apple cider vinegar - Combined with the coconut milk, this is called 'vegan buttermilk'. No, you won't taste it but it is needed to help the cinnamon rolls rise as there is no yeast or gluten in this recipe. If needed, use lemon juice instead.
Filling Ingredients
- Pecans - Sprinkled into the filling of the cinnamon rolls. Feel free to omit if needed or swap with another type of chopped nut like almonds or walnuts.
- Coconut sugar - Used to provide some sweetness to the filling. Combined with the cinnamon it's a classic cinnamon roll flavor.
- Coconut oil - Make sure to use melted coconut oil. When mixed with the coconut sugar and cinnamon, this will create a spreadable cinnamon roll filling mixture.
Icing Ingredients
- Dairy free cream cheese - Make sure it's room temperature. It needs to be soft in order to mix well with other ingredients to create a silky smooth consistency. My favorite vegan cream cheese brands are Kite Hill and Daiya. If you aren't concerned about the dairy, feel free to use regular cream cheese.
- Almond milk
Step by step directions
To make these healthy cinnamon rolls, you will need a hand mixer and a bowl or a stand mixer, parchment paper, rolling pin, and a dish to bake them in.
Step 1 : Mix the wet dough ingredients
In a bowl, beat together the coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and honey. Mix well until fully incorporated and smooth in consistency.
Step 2 : Add the dry dough ingredients
Add the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Continue to mix until a large ball of dough forms. The dough will be slightly sticky at this point.
Step 3 : Prepare the filling
Let the dough rest in the bowl while you prepare the filling. In a bowl, add the melted coconut oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and chopped pecans. Mix with a fork or a spatula until the the pecans are well coated in the mixture. Set aside.
Step 4 : Roll out the dough
On a flat surface, play down a long piece of parchment paper. This is key and will make rolling up the cinnamon rolls so much easier.
Sprinkle a little extra tapioca flour over the parchment paper and roll out the dough into a rectangle about ½ inch in thickness.
Spread the filling over the dough, leaving some room around the sides to prevent it from seeping out of the cinnamon rolls. Sprinkle some extra cinnamon over top of the filling for good measure.
Step 5 : Roll up and slice
This is where your skills will be tested. Gluten free dough can be finicky (we know that). The trick is to use the parchment paper to help guide the dough into a roll - see image below.
Start with the long edge of the dough and pinch the edge of the dough tight with your fingers before rolling. This will ensure a tight roll throughout the cinnamon roll. Then use the parchment paper to help get the dough to roll into a log form.
Once yo get to the end, gently press down on the edge of the dough to seal it into the log shape.
The best and easiest way to slice the dough into individual cinnamon rolls is with a string or floss. If you use floss just make sure it's not mint flavored.
Wedge the string under the log about 2 inches from the end. Pull the string upwards, cross, and pull down slicing the dough into pieces. Repeat this process. You should be left with 11 - 12 2 inch cinnamon rolls.
Step 6 : Bake
Place each cinnamon roll into a baking dish leaving a little bit of room in between each one. I used a pie dish here but you can also use a square baking pan.
Bake in the oven until the cinnamon rolls have risen and are starting to turn golden brown on top.
Step 7 : Prepare the icing
Let the cinnamon rolls cool slightly before icing (about 3 - 5 minutes). Because we are using a dairy free cream cheese based icing, we don't want to immediately pour the icing over the cinnamon rolls or it will melt and go everywhere. Instead wait a few minutes for the cinnamon rolls to me warm but not pipping hot.
To make the icing, simply add the ingredients to a medium sized bowl and mix well with a spoon or whisk until smooth. This is why room temperature cream cheese is important. It should seamlessly mix with the liquids to create a thick smooth icing.
Pour the icing over top of each cinnamon roll and let it run off the sides.
Storing
To save some of these healthy cinnamon rolls for later, place them in an air tight container where they will keep for 3 days out on the counter and 5 days in the fridge. If you chose to store them in the fridge, warm them up in the microwave in 10 second intervals when ready to enjoy.
You can store them with or without the icing. To store the icing separately, pour it into a glass jar with a lid and keep it in the fridge. Warm it up in the microwave for 15 seconds until it's thin enough to run off the back of a spoon. Then pour over your warm cinnamon roll.
Expert Tips
- Review the ingredient list and make sure you are using the correct type of ingredients (ie full fat coconut milk and room temperature cream cheese)
- Be careful not to over-mix the dough. You want the dough to be soft and somewhat sticky so it's easy to roll out.
- Use parchment paper when rolling out the dough. Because there is no yeast or gluten in this dough, it's a little tough to handle with your hands. Parchment paper will help you roll up the dough nice and tight.
- Don't over crowd the baking dish. These cinnamon rolls will expand when baked and we want individual cinnamon rolls not a giant cinnamon pecan glob (although that does sound tasty). Leave a little space in between each one in the dish before baking.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! These cinnamon rolls are made with almond flour making them naturally gluten free and contain no dairy or eggs so they are vegan too!
Yes, the dough keeps well in the fridge so you can easily pop them in the oven in the morning and have fresh baked cinnamon rolls! Follow the recipe as directed, place them in a dish and wrap it tight with saran wrap to keep it air tight. Bake as directed in the morning.
Yes, you can freeze the dough once you have assembled the cinnamon rolls. Wrap each roll in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag to prevent freezer burn. When ready to enjoy, thaw out on the counter or in the fridge overnight until soft. Once soft bake in the oven as directed.
Unfortunately no, at this time Pillsbury does not have gluten free cinnamon rolls.
For more healthy baking recipes, check out my:
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Recipe
Healthy Almond Flour Cinnamon Rolls (dairy free, vegan, made in an hour)
Ingredients
For the Dough
For the Maple Pecan Filling
Instructions
For the Dough
- Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, mix together the coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and vanilla until thick and creamy.
- Add the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl and mix until a large ball of dough forms. The dough will be slightly sticky and soft at this point. Set aside while you prepare the filling.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil, coconut sugar, and maple syrup until the sugar is almost dissolved. Add in the cinnamon and chopped pecans and stir to combine. Set aside.
- On a flat surface, place a long piece of parchment paper down (about 26 inches long) and sprinkle extra tapioca flour over top. Roll out the dough into a rectangle about ½ inch in thickness. Gently spread the filling mixture on top of the dough leaving roughly an inch around the sides to prevent the filling from oozing out when you roll it up. Sprinkle with more cinnamon if desired.
- Along one of the long sides, pinch the edge tight and use the parchment paper as a guide to roll the dough up tight into a log shape. Use a string or floss to use into individual cinnamon rolls. To do this, wedge the string under the log about 2 inches from the end. Pull the string upwards, cross, and pull down slicing the dough into pieces. Repeat this process. You should be left with 11 - 12 2 inch cinnamon rolls.
- Place each roll into a baking dish (I used a 9 inch pie pan but an 8 X 8 or 9 X 9 square dish will work too) making sure to leave some space in between each.
- Bake in for 15 - 20 minutes until the cinnamon rolls have risen and the tops are beginning to turn golden brown. Let cool slightly for 3 - 5 minutes before adding the icing.
- In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, maple syrup, and vanilla with a spoon or whisk until creamy. Drizzle over top of each cinnamon roll and enjoy!
I made these with lite coconut milk I had available, also added the extra coconut oil mentioned. They were really, really good. My husband and sister also liked them and he usually doesn’t eat ANY of my Gluten Free baking. I would bake them in a larger pan next time. They rose and spread more than I thought. I have tried several recipes and mixes and this is the best recipe I have found. Not being able to have yeast changes a lot in food choices.
Hi Sheryl! I am so happy to hear you liked the recipe! We make these all the time for special occasions 🙂
This was a really good recipe, super simple ingredients and great texture! The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the coconut milk cause the coconut-y flavor came through pretty strongly. Do you have any substitute suggestions? Even if it is dairy? -I try to avoid gluten and refined sugar, but I’m good with dairy 😉 Thanks for all your amazing recipes! Keep up the good work!
Hi Ashlyn! Thank you so much! Hmm, that's odd that your coconut milk had a strong flavor. Do you remember what brand it was? I'm not a fan of the coconut flavor either and I like the Thai Kitchen brand which has a great taste. Did you use 'unrefined" coconut oil in the filling? That also has a stronger coconut flavor as opposed to refined coconut oil.
I also used the Thai Kitchen brand, which usually works for me, and I made sure to use refined coconut oil too. Oh well, I can just leave the recipe how is since it was pretty good -best vegan/gluten-free one so far! I just have high expectations when it comes to flavor. Thanks for the response! Merry Christmas 🎄
Have you added yeast to the mix? If so, how did they turn out?
Hi Kay! I have not added yeast to the mix. I think it would add a yeast flavor but it wouldn't help with the rising of the dough since this is almond flour based.
Could I substitute the tapioca flour for all purpose?
Hi there! I have not tried it with all purpose flour and I'm thinking it will be too heavy. Tapioca flour is really light and takes some of the density out of the almond flour. You can sub with arrow root starch if needed.
Amazing recipe!
Subbed the maple syrup for honey since the same isn’t easily available where I live but still worked beautifully. I however subbed the coconut milk for full fat milk and did find them a tad on the dry side but just read ur comment about adding 1/4cup coconut oil if subbing the coconut milk. Thanks for that 🙂
Keeper recipe!!!
Thank u for all ur hard work that makes our lives delish!!!
Hi Neecie! So glad you loved the recipe! Glad to hear honey works just as well 🙂
So I’ve made these twice now. The first time they were so crumbly and dry I couldn’t even get them to stay rolled. The second time I added at least a half a cup more of coconut milk. I’m wondering if there’s a typo in the recipe since step 4 it says add 3/4 a cup at a time but according to the recipe it’s basically just 3/4 of a cup coconut milk with some honey?
Hi Stephanie! Oh no I'm sorry that happened. They definitely shouldn't be too dry to roll. What type of coconut milk are you using? Is it the type from the can? There's no typo in the recipe - I actually just made these multiple times as I'm updating the post with some more process pictures and didn't have any issues. In step 4, the 3/4 cup at a time is referring to the flour mixture. Theres's a good bit of both almond flour and tapioca flour in the recipe so we want to add the flours in slowly. There is also no honey - did you mean maple syrup?
This is a really great recipe, my husband loves it and will actually help me roll up the dough and cut the cinnamon rolls (if he can do it you totally can!). I'm sure once I put in some process pictures that will help!
These look great but I don't have almond flour on hand. Would you still include the tapioca flour if swapping to gluten free all purpose flour?
Hi Tori - I can't say they will turn out the same with a gluten-free flour blend but if you do use it I would not use tapioca flour as well.
can we use almond milk instead of coconut milk
Hi Hannah! I haven't tried this with almond milk. Coconut milk has more fat in it than almond milk so if you try this with almond milk I would add in some sort of fat (either 1 egg or 1/4 cup melted coconut oil). Hope that helps! Let me know how it goes!
Do you know how many calories and carbs?