Move over, Cinnabon! There’s a new game in town.
Inspired by the insanely alluring smell Cinnabon pumped into every airport terminal I had to wait in during my Thanksgiving travels—which was a LOT—I came up with these delicious cinnamon roll muffins.
With a sticky cinnamon-roll filling.
Because cinnamon.
Om nom…
Drizzled with cream cheese icing, these muffins have all the tasty goodness of a cinnamon roll, but just 178 skinny little calories and 4 grams of fat.
(Compared to 880 calories and 37 grams of fat in one “regular” cinnamon roll—seriously, Cinnabon?!)
Low fat, gluten free, and vegan too
Better yet, these muffins are low fat, gluten free, and totally vegan. They’re even made with 100% whole grain oat flour, so they’re almost—dare I say—good for you.
But for heaven’s sake, don’t tell anyone about the healthy thing! Because these muffins are totally delicious. (My friends A and J can vouch—I made them taste test. 🙂 ) In fact, I may have to throw a brunch just so I can make them. And show off. Just a little.
Gluten-free lessons learned…
I will say, though, that developing this recipe was a labor of love. You see, I started out trying to make traditional cinnamon rolls that were low-fat, gluten-free, and vegan by modifying a standard recipe.
Aaaaand they came out as hard as hockey pucks. Gah! The second and third batches weren’t much better.
What I learned in my experimentation is that gluten-free flours suck up a LOT more liquid than wheat flour as they bake. So making a tender, roll-able dough (that’s not loaded with fat) is challenging, to say the least. I’m not saying it’s impossible, it’s just going to take me a few (dozen) tries. And I needed my cinnamon roll fix, stat.
So I switched to muffins. But I was determined to keep all the best parts of a cinnamon roll: the rich cinnamon filling, the gooey icing, and the tender bite.
Many batches later, after much tweaking (I’m a bit of a perfectionist), hubby Jeff and I hit on a winner! These gorgeous cinnamon roll muffins…
The crumb is beautifully tender. The filling stays smack in the middle of the muffin. The swirl topping caramelizes like magic. And the icing is just decadent enough—gooey and tasty, without breaking the nutritional bank.
Fun to make, fun to eat
Plus, these muffins are actually fun to make—and way easier than traditional cinnamon rolls. No kneading or rolling necessary! Just some mixing and a sassy little swirl.
Then a little oven magic, and voila!
Pretty cool, huh?
A few drizzles later…
And you’ve got mouthwatering cinnamon roll muffins, with gooey cream cheese icing and a cinnamon-y surprise inside.
See ya later, Cinnabon! 😉
Naughty and nice: Skinny cinnamon roll muffins with sticky cinnamon centers. #Healthy #Lowfat #Vegan Share on X(Batter adapted from Second Act Kitchen’s blueberry muffins. Filling adapted from Imma Eat That’s healthier cinnamon rolls. Cream cheese frosting adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie’s healthy cream cheese frosting.)
- 2 ripe bananas (at least with freckles--the browner, the better)
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon, divided
- 2 tsp sugar, divided
- 2 Tbsp Earth Balance margarine or coconut oil, melted, divided (optional)
- 2 cups gluten-free oat flour, sifted if possible. (Can use all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour if not gluten sensitive)
- 1½ tsp xanthan gum (See Notes. Omit if using wheat flour)
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ ripe banana, well mashed (¼ c mashed)
- 1 cup almond milk
- ⅓ cup applesauce
- ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp vegan cream cheese (Tofutti or homemade cashew cream cheese)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp almond milk
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line a muffin pan with papers or coat with cooking spray.
- Make filling: In a small bowl, mash 1 banana well with a fork. Add 1 Tbsp cinnamon, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 Tbsp melted margarine (if using) and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Make topping: Puree 1 banana, 1 Tbsp cinnamon, 1 tsp sugar, and the other 1 Tbsp melted margarine (if using) in a blender until smooth. Place topping in a small zip-top sandwich bag and seal. Set aside.
- Make icing: In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients using a hand mixer. (Or use a small food processor or blender.) Place in another small zip-top sandwich bag and place in the fridge.
- Make batter: Place oat flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, mash the half-banana. Add almond milk and applesauce and whisk thoroughly. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix gently until combined.
- Spoon about 2 Tbsp of batter into each muffin cup.
- Make a small well in each muffin with a spoon and add 1 tsp cinnamon filling. Top muffins with remaining batter.
- Decorate with a swirl: Cut off the tip of one bottom corner of the sandwich bag containing the topping. Pipe a swirl of topping onto each muffin.
- Bake for 22-24 min, until top is mostly firm and toothpick in side of muffin comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from pan.
- Remove sandwich bag of icing from the refrigerator. Cut the tip of one bottom corner off the bag. Pipe cream cheese icing over muffins and enjoy!
- Store leftover muffins in the fridge. (As if!) 😉
Make-ahead: Make filling, cinnamon topping, and icing up to 2 days in advance and store in the fridge. Combine dry ingredients for flour; store at room temperature.
Quick-and-easy fat-free version: Replace filling with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. Omit butter from topping. In place of icing, use a glaze: Combine 6 Tbsp powdered sugar with 2 tsp water. Add more water until desired thickness is reached.
Nutrition analysis: Includes optional Earth Balance and 1 tsp of icing per roll. (Icing recipe makes twice this much.) However, if you drizzle as we did in the pictures, you'll use much less than this--only ¼ tsp per roll!
Recipe shared on the Bloggers Spotlight Linky Party, Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party, Tasty Tuesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, #StrangeButGood, Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural, Healthy Living Link Party, Gluten Free Fridays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, Real Food Fridays, Healthy Holiday Recipes, and the Party Gals Linky Party.
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I'm Lee, an RD thriving on a healthy plant based diet.
Oh, can’t wait to try! Not diet busting!! 🙂
Woo hoo! Under 200 calories, right? And with fiber and protein too. Yay for healthier indulgences!
Wow, these are beautiful, and they look like they taste great too!! Might have to try a version out. Thanks so much, Lee, for lovingly laboring to inspire us with cinnamon delight!! Happy Holidays! xo
Thanks Maria! Of all the recipes I’ve come up with, this is one of my favorites. Top 5 for sure. 😉 Hope you like it!
It’s true. I ate this and it was delicious. A wicked good treat!
I believe A and I will have to make these sometime soon with our initials spelled out on top.
OMG Message muffins! LOVE IT!!!
I’ve never seen a gluten-free cinnamon roll before…these look absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing at #FoodandFitnessFriday! Hope you have a merry Christmas!
Hi Jebbica, thanks for stopping by–and the shout-out on Twitter! 🙂
Yeah, I’m pretty sure an actual gluten-free cinnamon roll that’s also healthy is like a unicorn. (Although I’m trying to make the impossible happen!) Until then, these muffins are crazy good. By far one of my new favorite recipes on Veggie Quest!
Holy crap!!! Those look insanely amazing. I love that they are gluten free. I’m actually not a huge cinnnamon bun person/cinnabon, but these look so good.
And I appreciate your efforts! I am not one to try a recipe over and over again – if it doesn’t work, then I don’t bother trying again ;p
Thanks Kimmy! They really did turn out well, but mostly due to sheer determination. I think I’m going to go back to smoothie recipes for awhile; so much easier to whip up another “batch” if need be! Although I still haven’t given up on actual healthy gluten-free vegan cinnamon rolls quite yet…
The Vegan Corner has a gluten free yeast dough recipe – they made canapés with it but maybe it would be adaptable?
Julia, great find and thanks for the tip! I just checked out the Vegan Corner GF yeast dough recipe and it’s low-fat too. Win! I’m linking here so other people can check it out, and so I don’t forget it for later. 😉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnG2eHybwzo
Hi Lee,
Wow these cinnamon rolls look so delicious and have such healthy ingredients. Makes my mouth water. Thanks for sharing On Real Food Fridays. Pinned
Thanks Marla–I’m all about recipes that are secretly healthy!
Cinnamon Rolls call to me. Seriously. So the fact that you made them healthy… I may be answering that call pretty soon!
Hi GiGi, yup, they sing a siren song to me too! But since these have 14% of the Daily Value of fiber, 14% iron, and 15% of manganese, they’re practically a health food. Right?? 😉
Happy Holidays and thank you for sharing this healthy and delectable cinammon roll recipe on the Healthy Living Link Up!
Hi Deborah, you bet! Hope you have a great new year!
Yummy! These look relish! i know what you mean, it is so hard to resist cinnabon in the airport!! I will have to try these instead! I can’t believe they are completely vegan, they look so good!
Right? I swear they must amp that cinnamon smell up with something addictive–it takes ALL my willpower to say no. And yup, these muffins are totally vegan (behold, the power of Tofutti “Better Than Cream Cheese”)! 🙂 Although you can do a glaze with organic powdered sugar instead–just add a little plant-based milk to powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want.
These are delicious! I’m not sure why J wants to write our initials on top next time, he’s a strange one. I want more muffins I think you should keep testing them!
Ha! Sometimes you just have to eat monogrammed muffins. 😉 Muffin testing will continue, although I think I’m taking a break from baking for a little while. When I resume, though, y’all are on the top of my taste-testing list!
These look absolutely delicious Lee! This has been featured and pinned at Tasty Tuesday! Thanks so much for sharing it!
Stephanie, I’m honored! Thanks for featuring these muffins; they were a [delicious] labor of love!
Could I use coconut flour or brown rice flour? Otherwise I have all the ingredients. This looks amazing. Vegetarian, partial gluten-intolerance partial lactose intolerant house-hold so this would be a hit.
Thanks so much for stopping by the Bloggers Spotlight over the holidays, your pin was added to our group board. Check back next Thursday to see who was featured and link up again.
Hi Hil, straight brown rice flour could make these come out a little gummy. And I haven’t worked with coconut flour much, but I do know that it absorbs a lot more liquid than other flours as it bakes. So not sure if it would work? That said, you could try half brown rice flour, half coconut flour with a little extra almond milk, but be sure to include the 1.5 tsp of xanthan gum. I have no idea if that combo will work, but please let me know if you try it!
(I do know that Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose flour with 3/4 tsp xanthan gum per cup of flour works beautifully, if that helps.) 🙂
Hi there! I just want you to know that I am featuring your recipe over at Bloggers Spotlight Link Party! Hope to see you again and don’t forget to grab your button!
Thanks Cristina, I’m honored! 🙂
These look amazing! I’d kill for one right now. It’s 14 degrees!
14 degrees, gah! You need to bake these immediately! 😉 #IsJanuaryOverYet #ImNotAWinterPerson
This sounds amazing! I have friends visiting from out of state this weekend and I will definitely be baking these for them.
I was wondering if you could tell us how many carbs are in each muffin?
Thanks!
Whoops, of course! 32 grams of carbs, and I’ve updated the nutrition information on the recipe, too. Let me know how it went with making them!
These muffins are simply gorgeous! I just love the swirls 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
You bet, thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I tried it today and it turned great, Thank you!
Leana, thanks so much for stopping by and letting me know they turned out well! I was having a rough day, and your comment just made it brighter. 🙂
Is it possible to omit the applesauce? Should it be replaced with anything else?