Soft & Fluffy Protein Cinnamon Rolls With 12g Of Protein

This recipe took me many 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 12g of protein each and have only 175 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
• Self-Rising Flour (All-Purpose Flour + Baking Powder)
• Sugar Substitute or Regular Sugar
• Light Butter Spread
• 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).

I highly recommend using PEScience brand protein powder– that is the brand I use for all my recipes, so if you want the same results, it’s best to stick with what works.

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. I prefer the unflavored version, but using vanilla still creates a balanced flavor and is not overly sweet.

Of course, you could use cinnamon or cinnamon roll protein powder if you have that- it would 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 additional flour is necessary to prevent 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 a rolling pin to roll your dough out into a rectangle (don’t worry about it being a perfect rectangle). As you shape the dough, carefully flip it a few times while sprinkling additional flour over the top to prevent sticking.

We will need to roll this dough, so it’s very important that it doesn’t stick!

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 cinnamon roll dough with the butter.

Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar in a small bowl, then sprinkle it over the butter to cover the entire thing. Use your hands to lightly pat the cinnamon sugar down to stick to the butter.

With the dough positioned so the short side is furthest away from you, carefully roll the cinnamon roll dough towards you (in the photo above, the photo was taken from where I was standing, and then I rolled the dough towards me just as you see it).

As you roll the dough, try to keep it tight to get as many rolls as possible.

Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the edges off of the log to square it off (you don’t have to do this, but it will lead to prettier cinnamon rolls). Next, score your dough to measure out 8 cinnamon rolls, then slice through to create your protein cinnamon rolls.

Note: I have tried other knives for this and have found that other types of knives tend to squish the cinnamon rolls too much. Slicing with a serrated knife has worked the best for me.

Place your cinnamon rolls in a round pan, leaving some space in between them to allow all the edges to fully cook. The rolls will expand into each other a bit, which is to be expected.

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 icing 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 10-15 minutes before adding your icing or removing the cinnamon rolls. If you were to try to remove the protein cinnamon rolls from the pan right away, they would be too delicate.

The protein icing is an easy (and delicious) way to add extra protein to these cinnamon rolls, but they are incredible on their own as well.

Without the icing, each cinnamon roll has only 155 calories and still 9 grams of protein, which is very much still a high-protein treat.

But if you want to bump up the protein, spread that icing over the top of the cinnamon rolls, and then 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 my first batch came out looking funky once cut up.

Enjoy these warm cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven, or save the leftovers in an airtight container and heat them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to soften them up.

Since these protein cinnamon rolls use Greek yogurt, they’ll only stay fresh for a few days at room temperature. If you want to save them for further down the road, keep the cinnamon rolls stored in the fridge or freezer instead.

Whether room temperature or frozen, the microwave will soften them up and make them just as gooey as when they were fresh out of the oven.

 

More recipes for cinnamon sugar lovers

There’s just something about cinnamon sugar that hits all the right spots. Maybe it’s nostalgia (thanks, Cinnamon Toast Crunch) or the sheer deliciousness, but I love cinnamon sugar.

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

 

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