These Easy Cinnamon Roll Muffins are made without any grains or flour and made completely keto, sugar-free, gluten free, nut free and low carb too!
Easy Cinnamon Roll Muffins
When you ask someone who is on the standard American diet, what they will have on Christmas morning for breakfast, almost everyone would say Pillsbury Cinnamon rolls in the can. I dislike them with a passion. Hate them is a better word for it.
Good thing I have a fabulous Keto Cinnamon Roll Recipe for those of us on a low carb diet and I would dare say they taste even better than any store bought. The reviews for those rolls speak for themselves as well with many many positive comments. The only deal with them is they do require a few steps to make the dough and roll. So this recipe is a little less work but still with all the flavor of the typical cinnamon roll only in muffin form!
This recipe is more of a mock cinnamon roll, but once iced and covered with cream cheese frosting, no one will even notice it's not all swirled up like a typical cinnamon roll.
Cinnamon Roll Muffin Recipe
You could skip the icing as well as just eat them like this above with the cinnamon-y topping. But then without the icing it's just a cinnamon muffin.
You see I think it's all about the flavor. The topping and the icing makes a cinnamon roll authentic. Yes there is that minor detail for the "roll" part in the word, but whatever. I'm sticking with the much easier and less time consuming muffin.
Mix the batter, dump and bake, add the icing, DONE. Enjoy the morning with your loved ones. Easy peasy!
Cream Cheese Icing
I worked on the icing 3 times using different sugar free sweeteners. But I'm only sharing the one I liked the best. This icing is creamy, not gritty, just as smooth as any typical cinnamon roll frosting, but knowing it's made sugar free and keto, should leave you feeling satisfied and pleased and content.
It's so good, be careful you may just want to eat that icing with a spoon from the jar!
The trick to making them look more like cinnamon rolls is after baking in their own muffin cup, remove and add to pie plate! Top with icing and you're done! It's certainly no work of art to add icing gracefully. It's supposed to be a hot mess right? I think that's what everyone loves about them!
Keto Sugar Free Cinnamon Roll Muffins
Grain Free Sugar Free Cinnamon Roll Muffins
Ingredients
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 cups sesame flour or sunflower or almond flour
- ½ cup flaxseed ground
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon Sugar free maple syrup I used Sukrin
- ½ cup Swerve or erythritol
Topping
- ½ cup Swerve
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons butter softened
Optional Cream Cheese Icing
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 4 ounces heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla liquid stevia
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small bowl add the heavy cream and apple cider vinegar. Set aside.
- Whisk together the next 8 dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
- Add the butter, oil, eggs, syrup and ½ cup Swerve to a stand mixer and blend until incorporated well.
- Add the heavy cream and vinegar into the stand mixer and blend until smooth.
- Gradually pour in the dry ingredients into the stand mixer and blend until combined.
- Grease a 12 capacity muffin pan and pour batter evenly into each cup.
- In a small bowl stir the topping ingredients together and spread on about a teaspoon to each muffin top.
- Bake 25 minutes.
- While the muffins are baking , mix the icing ingredients together in a stand mixer until smooth, no lumps. Set aside until muffins are ready.
- Allow muffins to cool about 5 minutes then loosen around edges with a butter knife.
- Remove to a pie plate if desired to top with Icing and enjoy!
- If making ahead, keep muffins and icing in the refrigerator, reheat muffins in oven at 350 for 10 minutes and add icing when ready to serve.
Notes
- This recipe was first posted on my blog in December of 2014 and updated with video in September 2018.
- Nutrition info does not include the icing.
- If the icing is made ahead and kept in the refrigerator you may need to allow it to get to room temperature or microwave it for just a minute.
- If you don't have Swerve for the muffin part, you could use this powdered stevia, 1 tablespoon or pure stevia extract, just ½ teaspoon.
- Please note: I can not use almond flour since my youngest has a tree nut allergy so I used sunflower seeds one time I made them and I've also used sesame flour, I liked the sesame flour best for the texture.
Nutrition
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
Brenda Small
For cinnamon roll muffins could you use almond milk instead of the heavy cream
Brenda
yes you could swap that.
Deborah Lorraine
These look so yummy and much easier than rolls! I don't have flaxseed, I assume I can add more almond flour?
Brenda
There's no almond flour in this recipe but that could work.
Jenelle
I don’t have a stand mixer. Would an electric hand mixer or just mixing by hand be better?
Karen
I saw someone raving about these cinnamon roll muffins on your Facebook page and had to try them. They are SO yummy! Thank you for all the recipes you share.
CJ
These are delicious! I ate one while still warm and it was so good, thank you! How long would these survive on the counter? or do they have to be refrigerated?
Brenda
Keep refrigerated and they would last at least 5 days.
Lee
I made these the other day and they turned out really well! The texture was great and really moist, especially I you pop them in the microwave for 20s or so before eating them. The only alteration I made to the recipe was monkfruit sweetener instead of swerve, which worked beautifully. I froze half to eat later and they held up perfectly. When I ate them fresh I noticed a slight fishy smell, which is entirely my fault for using older milled flax seeds, so try and use fresh ones if you can or grind while seeds as you need them. But I did notice that the muffins I froze and defrosted, don’t seem to have any fishy smell at all. Don’t know if I just discovered a hack or a weird coincidence. , but I thought I’d pass it along in case anyone has a similar issue. Let me know if it works! Anyway, great recipe and will definitely be making it again.
Yvonne
Can I just omit sugar free maple syrup as cant find in here in auckland. Would i need some stevia drops instead?
Brenda
Sure! Cinnamon liquid stevia would be great!
Sarah
Can you refrigerate the dough and roll it out, or shape it to be more like cinnamon buns?
Brenda
This is a batter for muffins and will not be a formed "dough" for cinnamon buns. My fathead dough works great for my cinnamon rolls recipe: https://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/keto-low-carb-cinnamon-rolls-sugar-free-almond-flour-free/
Michael Girard
I just made these and they are fabulous! Dare I say orgasmic! OMG! OMG! Oh My God!!!!! Thank you for this yummy recipe!
Tina Buchanan
What can I substitute for xanthan gum I can't get it
Brenda
If you have some gelatin that might work.
Vickie
I made these last night and they are delicious!! The only thing I would change is adding less stevia to the frosting, in fact, I'd probably cut it in half. Or maybe do no frosting at all because the muffins themselves are great! Thanks for a great recipe!
Denise Siri
I'm allergic to almonds and sensitive to coconut flour...can I just use the sesame flour? I would love to try these!
Brenda
I'd say replace the 1/4 cup coconut flour with 2 tbsp more of flaxseed and 2 tbsp more of sesame flour.
Mitch
Just a warning, Sukrin syrup isn't the same as granulated Sukrin. The syrup will spike your blood glucose worse than granulated sugar will. This is especially dangerous for diabetic people who may follow your advice thinking it's a good alternative for them. If you're sugar-free, stay away from Sukrin syrup.
Brenda
1 tbsp divided among 12 muffins will hardly effect blood sugar. I used Sukrin because my kids use it and that's what I had in the cupboard, but I did say any sugar free maple syrup.
Samantha
Just started a Keto diet, lost 5.5 pounds in one week. Not hungry at all but in need of new ideas to make it a lifestyle. Your a lifesaver with these recipes.
Samantha
Brenda
Thank you!
Suzanne
As I read the recipe and saw most of the ingredient amounts in fractions, I was confused by the amount of sunflower seed flour. Is it 1.5 cups as in 1 & 1/2 cups, or is it 15 cups? My screen was so small that I read it as 15, but that didn't make sense to me!
Brenda
1 and 1/2 cups
Joan
The link for the sesame flour leads me to an item that is not currently available. Can you provide another source for the sesame flour? I have not seen it locally where I live. This recipe looks yum, yum, yummy!
Brenda
Here's the link to the sesame flour:https://amzn.to/2MXGyW6
Amanda Collins
I just made these this morning and they are fantastic! It made 15 with plenty of icing. I even got it past one kid (although the other is super picky).
Brenda
Glad to hear it!
Amy V.
These were absolutely delicious and a huge hit Christmas morning!
Brenda
Thank you !!
Sharon
I really miss cinnamon rolls and then I came across your recipe and thought I would like to try it. However, I do not bake with flaxseeds or chia seeds. Could I use psyllium husk powder instead and if so how much would I add. Thanks
Brenda
I wouldn't use as much to replace the flaxseed. Maybe use that same amount in more almond flour and just a couple of tablespoons of psyllium.
Kimberley
OMG I made these for Christmas morning and they were AMAZING!! Cinnamon rolls have always been a tradition Christmas morning and I have not been able to enjoy them for the last few years....until now, they were soft and cinnamony and the frosting was so good. I followed the instructions to the letter and I was nervous that the batter was too thick but they turned out so good. I will make these again and again. Thanks so much!!
Brenda
I'm so glad!
Claire
These are scrumptious. I just made them a second time and used extra cinnamon. My adult daughter said they were the best gluten-free, low carb treat I have ever made.
Laura Fletcher
These sound incredible! Have a high sugar count and love stevia. I look forward to learning about baking with it, thanks
Cara
Mmm! Made these this morning & will definitely make them again. Used psyllium husk instead of flax for allergy reasons & 1 T honey since i dont keep molasses around. Also added 1 T sugar free vanilla coffee syrup to the icing. My hubz said it needed more flavor & I was hesitant to use too much stevia-he picks up the bitterness easily. They are on the "go ahead & make them again list" - a major victory, thank you!
Jessica
These are pretty tasty. The only complaint I have is that the flax meal gives it a cornbread type texture. Other than that, the taste is very good.