Soft & Fluffy Protein Cinnamon Rolls with 10g of Protein

This recipe took me a few tries, but I’ve finally landed on a version that I am proud to bring you.

These protein cinnamon rolls are one of the most delicious ways to get some extra protein in for breakfast, and may just be one of my favorite healthy recipes of all time.

These protein cinnamon rolls are packed with 10g of protein each and only 140 calories, but you’d never know it. They’re soft, buttery, and packed with delicious cinnamon flavor.

This recipe is kid-approved, and it’s a perfect recipe to make with your kids on a weekend or snowy day.

Plus, there is no yeast required, so you can whip up a batch in no time!

In my trials, I made sure that you’d be able to peel these protein cinnamon rolls, because what fun is a cinnamon roll if you can’t peel it all the way down to its gooey cinnamon core?

Needless to say, these protein cinnamon rolls deliver.

If you need some validation that these protein cinnamon rolls are actually as good as they look, the reviews I’ve been getting on Instagram have been nothing but positive:

 

How to Make Protein Cinnamon Rolls

Unlike other recipes of mine, like my Air Fryer Donut Holes, that require adding ingredients in a specific order, these protein cinnamon rolls are as simple as adding all your ingredients to a large bowl and mixing.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this simple cinnamon roll dough:

• Unflavored or Vanilla Protein Powder
• All-Purpose Flour
• Sugar Substitute or Regular Sugar
• Baking Powder
• Light Butter
• Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt
• Unsweetened Applesauce
• Vanilla Extract

It’s worth noting that I use a protein powder that is a blend of whey & casein protein, and I highly recommend you do the same. You can use 100% whey protein, but whey protein tends to be stickier and leads to baked goods that are drier (check out my Protein Powder Substitution Guide to see the differences).

If you want to use the same protein powder I use, the code “Matt” will save you 10% on PEScience brand protein powder.

I’ve tested these high protein cinnamon rolls with both unflavored and vanilla protein powder, and I can tell you that they both work out great. Personally, I prefer the unflavored version, but using vanilla still creates a balanced sweetness.

Of course, you could use cinnamon or cinnamon roll protein powder if you have that- it would obviously work great!

Once you have mixed up all the ingredients, you’ll add the dough to a generously floured surface.

I formed my dough on a sheet of parchment paper to make things easy, but it will work just fine on a clean countertop.

It’s important to use extra flour to help form the cinnamon roll dough. Many people choose to skip this step in an attempt to save extra calories, but I can assure you that the additional flour is necessary to avoid this dough from becoming too sticky.

If you’re worried about the calories, at most you’ll end up using a serving of flour, which would come to about 10 extra calories per cinnamon bun.

Use your hands to press down the dough into a rectangle (don’t worry about it being a perfect rectangle). As I form the dough, I like to flip it a few times to make sure it is not sticking at all.

The sheet of parchment paper I formed my dough on is 12×16″, so I estimate that my cinnamon roll dough is roughly 10×14″.

Soften your butter in the microwave to make it easily spreadable, then cover the entire dough.

Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar together in a small bowl, then sprinkle it over the butter. Leave a small amount of room around the edges to avoid the brown sugar melting out of the cinnamon rolls as they bake.

Roll the cinnamon roll dough towards you, trying to keep it as tightly rolled as possible. I used the parchment paper to pull it towards me to allow the dough to roll itself, but you can also simply use your hands. Plastic wrap is also a great way to roll the dough, as you’ll find in my Oreo Sushi Roll recipe.

The dough is pretty soft, so roll it up nice and slowly.

Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the edges off of the log to square it off.

Score your dough to measure out 10 cinnamon rolls, then slice through to create your protein cinnamon rolls.

Place your cinnamon rolls spaced out in a round cake pan.

You can bake these protein cinnamon rolls on a baking sheet as well, but using a pan keeps everything nicely enclosed and allows the cinnamon rolls to bake into each other, which keeps them nice and soft inside.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

While the protein cinnamon rolls bake, I like to prep a very simple high protein frosting using vanilla protein powder, powdered sugar, Greek yogurt, and milk.

I love making this icing because it’s a very easy (and delicious) way to add extra protein to these cinnamon rolls, but you can leave it out if you prefer.

You can also keep things simple by making a basic powdered sugar + milk icing, or go the traditional route and make cream cheese icing.

Once the cinnamon rolls have been baked for 20 minutes, they will have expanded and puffed up very nicely!

Allow the warm cinnamon rolls to cool for about 10 minutes before adding your icing.

Spreading the icing over the top of the cinnamon rolls, and you’ll be ready to dig in!

I should note that I recommend separating the cinnamon rolls with a butter knife or spatula before adding the icing. Once I added the icing, I couldn’t quite tell where one cinnamon roll ended and another one started, so I ended up cutting them a little bit funky.

Enjoy these warm cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven, or save the leftovers in an airtight container and enjoy them throughout the week.

These protein cinnamon rolls will firm up a bit once they cool, so if you’re enjoying them as leftovers, I recommend softening them in the microwave before enjoying them.

I mean, who doesn’t prefer a warm & gooey cinnamon roll anyway?

 

More recipes for cinnamon sugar lovers

As a kid, I would eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch pretty much every single morning, so it’s no secret that I absolutely love cinnamon sugar.

Here are some other recipes worth checking out if you’re a cinnamon lover like me:

• Protein Apple Cider Donuts
• Healthier Cinnamon Crunch Bagels (Panera Copycat Recipe)
• High-Protein Oatmeal Cream Pies (Little Debbie Copycat)
• Low-Calorie High-Protein Snickerdoodle Cookies
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch Protein Bars