Healthy Cinnamon Rolls (Gooey, Moist and Flavorful!)

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.

If you’ve been on the hunt for Healthy Cinnamon Rolls, you have come to the right place. This is the best ever ooey-gooey cinnamon roll recipe! Made with a few healthy swaps, these easy cinnamon rolls are lower in sugar and calories than traditional cinnamon rolls, and are a delicious recipe for breakfast or brunch, a holiday dessert, a special occasion, or a sweet treat with your tea or coffee anytime of the year!

There is nothing more traditional or classic than a hot, freshly made batch of homemade cinnamon rolls. The gooey texture of cinnamon buns, the perfectly balanced sweetness of the cinnamon sugar mixture, and the creamy icing make cinnamon rolls one of those treats that is pretty much irresistible.

But while most bakery cinnamon rolls taste amazing, they are packed with refined carbs and sugar – making them delicious but not healthy enough to enjoy on a regular basis!

Which is why I created the best healthy cinnamon rolls recipe you’ll ever find – one that has all of the flavor of the traditional version, but has half the calories and sugar of the original recipe!

Latest Recipe Video!

These low calorie cinnamon rolls use a bunch of healthy swaps: whole wheat flour instead of refined flour, pumpkin puree to cut down on the amount of fat needed, and less sugar overall. While these are much healthier than the traditional version, they are fluffy, moist and super satisfying – and I guarantee your entire family will adore them!

👩🏽‍🍳 Why This Recipe Works

• Healthier cinnamon rolls than the traditional version
• Vegan option
• Gluten free option
• Made with whole grains
• Super kid friendly
• Easy to make
• Best recipe for Christmas morning or any special occasion!

🥘 Ingredients

This recipe calls for simple ingredients easily found in your pantry or your local grocery store! See below for detailed instructions and nutrition information.

For The Healthy Cinnamon Buns Dough

• Milk: Either low fat milk or unsweetened almond milk (for a vegan option) would work. I haven’t tried this recipe with unsweetened coconut milk but I imagine that should work too.
• Vegetable Oil: Any vegetable oil like sunflower oil, coconut oil, canola / rapeseed oil would work. I haven’t tried it with olive oil but I imagine it would work as well.
• Egg: 1 regular egg, or 1 flax egg (for a vegan option)
• Pumpkin Puree: Allows you to use less butter in this recipe without losing any of the moisture! Make sure to use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
• Vanilla Extract, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Nutmeg: For flavor and warm spice.
• Sugar: You can use unpacked brown sugar, coconut sugar, or for low sugar cinnamon rolls – use stevia for a sugar-free option. I haven’t tried this recipe with maple syrup or honey but I would imagine both of those could also work.
• Instant Yeast: Critical for helping the dough rise! You can also use active dry yeast, but your rolls will take longer to rise.
• Whole Wheat Bread Flour: Gives this recipe a boost in whole grains instead of using all purpose flour. I would guess that regular whole wheat flour, white whole wheat flour, or whole wheat pastry flour would also work. I haven’t tried this recipe with a gluten-free flour like almond flour or gf oat flour, my guess it would still work but the texture of your rolls might be slightly different.

For The Delicious Filling

• Sugar + Cinnamon: Any type of sugar will work! White sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar, coconut sugar – they will all taste great. You can also use powdered stevia for a sugar-free option.
• Butter: Optional, but helps the sugar cinnamon mixture stick to the dough.
• Mix-Ins: Optional, but adds a nice texture and flavor. Feel free to try raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, pecans, walnuts or anything you like to add into your healthy cinnamon rolls!

For The Healthy Cinnamon Roll Icing

Instead of the high calorie traditional cream cheese frosting typically used with cinnamon buns, this healthy icing needs just 3 ingredients! You’ll need powdered sugar, milk (low-fat regular or plant-based milk), and vanilla bean paste.

🍽 Equipment

• Mixing Bowls
• Measuring Cups & Spoons
• Electric Hand Mixer
• Baking Sheet

📖 Variations

• Healthy Vegan Cinnamon Rolls: To make these cinnamon buns vegan, use almond milk, vegan butter, and swap egg for a flax egg, or for 3-4 tbsp more milk or pumpkin puree.
• Try A Different Butter: Instead of spreading regular butter on the dough before rolling it up, try adding a spread of pumpkin or apple butter to the filling before sprinkling the dough with cinnamon (so the pumpkin or apple butter, then the cinnamon mixture, and then roll).
• Low Cal Cinnamon Rolls: To reduce the calories even further in this recipe, use stevia to sweeten the rolls and omit the butter from the filling.
• Add Citrus: Add about 1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice to the glaze. It will give you a zesty orange flavor that is amazing.
• Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls: Try a 1:1 gluten free baking flour, or gluten free oat flour to make these rolls gluten free.
• Sugar Free Cinnamon Rolls: Replace the sugar in this recipe with stevia for a sugar free option!
• Try A Different Icing: You can top these rolls with a traditional cream cheese icing for more decadence, a maple frosting, vanilla frosting, or even a vegan cream cheese icing. You can also make a Greek yogurt icing by combining plain Greek yogurt, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and a tablespoon or two of coconut flour (if needed, to bind the frosting).

🍁 How Do You Make Healthy Cinnamon Rolls?

Making a healthy cinnamon roll recipe is actually easier than you might think! As far as how healthy the recipe becomes, that all depends on how close you want it to taste to the traditional version, vs. a less sweet version.

I think this recipe is the perfect balance between a healthy cinnamon roll that still tastes amazing! While these cinnamon rolls aren’t entirely healthy, they are MUCH healthier than classic recipes. They are made with ingredients that are okay to eat in moderation. Let’s talk about what makes them healthier.

• Less Sugar: While regular cinnamon rolls are LOADED with tons of sugar in the rolls and icing, mine is much better. They do still have some sugar, but it’s not an overwhelming amount. Each roll has only 10 grams of sugar! We also used coconut sugar for a lower glycemic sugar option.
• Whole Grains: Instead of using regular all-purpose flour, we use whole wheat flour instead. Whole wheat flour has fiber, protein, folate, manganese, copper, and selenium in it. It’s also higher in heart healthy fiber and keeps you fuller longer.
• Low Calorie and Low Fat: Each one of these giant, low fat cinnamon rolls only has 230 calories and 7 grams of fat! So you can indulge without feeling guilty for eating a high-calorie treat. 

I guarantee, even with these healthy swaps, these will be the best cinnamon rolls you’ll ever make!

🔪 Instructions

Activate yeast: In a small bowl add warm milk, sugar and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let it rise for 5 minutes.

Mix the wet ingredients: In a large mixing bowl combine the oil, egg, vanilla, pumpkin puree and mix until smooth and well combined. Pour in the milk with yeast and stir until combined.

Add the dry ingredients: Add the flour and spices to the wet ingredients and stir until incorporated.

Knead the flour mixture: Knead by hand or using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment for 3-5 minutes until you have an elastic and smooth dough.

Form into a ball and place dough into a lightly greased large bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for 1 – 2 hours in a warm place until doubled in size.

Transfer the dough onto a floured work surface. With the help of a rolling pin, roll dough until you have a large rectangle – you’ll want it to be about a 14×16 inch rectangle.

Add the filling: Spread the butter on top and sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin spice. Roll the dough into a log shape and with a sharp knife (or serrated knife, or even a string of dental floss!), cut out 12 rolls.

Let the rolls rise: Place the rolls into a 9×13 inch baking dish and cover again. Let them rise for 30 minutes, then preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake: Take the rolls to the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown on top.

Glaze and serve: To make the glaze mix the icing sugar with milk and vanilla. Top the cinnamon roll with glaze.

Let the glaze cool over the rolls for 2-3 minutes, then serve!

❓Recipe FAQs

👨‍👩‍👧 How To Serve

I love serving these healthy homemade cinnamon rolls as part of a bigger breakfast or brunch spread that includes pancakes, oatmeal, breakfast potatoes, and smoothies! But you can enjoy them with a simple cup of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or just all on their own!

💭 Expert Tips

• Do not overheat your milk. The milk should be warm, as hot milk will kill the yeast and the dough will not rise.
• Use bread flour in the recipe. The higher protein content in bread flour helps to achieve softer cinnamon rolls. 
• If you want to freeze the rolls, they should be frozen after the first rise, roll and cut. When you are ready to bake, let them on a countertop for 1 hour before baking.
• You can make the cinnamon rolls overnight. After placing the rolls into a pan, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight. On the next day leave them on a countertop for 30 minutes before baking.
• Make sure to spoon and level your flour into your measuring cup (versus scooping out the flour with your measuring cup) and don’t forget to sift it! Doing these two things will ensure you have a light and fluffy roll vs. a dense roll. Be sure not to add too much flour to the cinnamon rolls. If you add too much, they are going to be denser and not as fluffy. 
• When making cinnamon rolls, it’s important not to overwork the dough. Once all the ingredients are incorporated, you don’t need to over-knead it. Overworking the dough leads to a stiff, hard roll that’s not too appealing. 
• To seal the rolled up dough before cutting them into individual rolls, pinch the free end – and if you need to, you can brush the edge with water before pinching to seal.
• If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice you can use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove for a similar result.

🍳 More Healthy Breakfast Recipes!

• Vegan Banana Bread
• Healthy Vegan Scones with Pumpkin
• Healthy Banana Bread
• Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal with Berries
• Vegan Baked Oatmeal with Fresh Berries
• Healthy Pancakes with Oats and Sprouted Wheat
• Healthy Apple Muffins by Cookie + Cake

📋 Recipe Card