Cinnamon Roll Recipe with Cream Cheese Icing

What’s better than a warm, gooey cinnamon roll? How about eating one that isn’t full of refined carbohydrates and sugars that leave you feeling tired and bloated? My cinnamon roll recipe gives you the best of both worlds — it’s comforting and delicious, plus it’s completely gluten-free, heart-healthy and good for your brain, too!

Made with a combination of healthy ingredients like cassava flour, tapioca flour, sweet potato, coconut sugar, grass-fed butter and cinnamon, my cinnamon roll recipe isn’t traditional. Instead, it’s better for your health, your waist line and your mood. And I bet my secret ingredient adds a unique flavor you’ll love.

Cinnamon Roll Secret Ingredient: Sweet Potato

Have you ever tried adding sweet potato to your cinnamon roll recipe? If not, you’ve been missing out. It might seem a little strange to add a root vegetable to your baked goods, but the mashed sweet potato in this cinnamon roll recipe adds a great creamy texture, and you get to reap all of the amazing sweet potato benefits, too.

Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamin A, which is a powerful antioxidant that works to protect the health of your skin, eyes and brain. Eating sweet potatoes may also help boost your immune system and reduce inflammation. So, not only does the sweet potato in my cinnamon roll recipe add a unique flavor and awesome texture, but it works to improve your health too!

Recipe Nutrition Facts

One cinnamon roll made using this recipe contains roughly the following (1, 2, 3, 4, 5):

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• 489 calories
• 3 grams protein
• 23 grams fat
• 68 grams carbohydrates
• 3.5 grams fiber
• 23 grams sugar
• 7,241 IUs vitamin A (310 percent DV)
• 1.6 milligrams manganese (91 percent DV)
• 1.8 milligrams zinc (23 percent DV)
• 230 milligrams sodium (15 percent DV)
• 0.67 milligrams vitamin B5 (14 percent DV)
• 0.13 milligrams vitamin B1 (13 percent DV)
• 0.13 milligrams vitamin B2 (13 percent DV)
• 0.09 milligrams copper (11 percent DV)
• 107 milligrams calcium (11 percent DV)
• 69 miligrams phosphorus (10 percent DV)
• 5.8 milligrams vitamin C (8 percent DV)
• 32 micrograms folate (8 percent DV)
• 0.11 milligrams vitamin B6 (8 percent DV)
• 0.2 micrograms vitamin B12 (8 percent DV)
• 1 milligram vitamin E (7 percent DV)
• 1.2 milligrams iron (7 percent DV)
• 19 milligrams magnesium (6 percent DV)
• 3 micrograms selenium (6 percent DV)
• 237 milligrams potassium (5 percent DV)
• 28 IUs vitamin D (5 percent DV)
• 0.67 milligrams vitamin B3 (5 percent DV)
• 3.4 micrograms vitamin K (4 percent DV)

Here’s a quick glance at some of the top health benefits associated with the other ingredients in this cinnamon roll recipe:

Cinnamon: Cinnamon has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immune-boosting, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic and heart-protecting properties. It’s an excellent source of manganese, and consuming cinnamon may help to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Some other health benefits of cinnamon are its ability to boost cognitive function, fight infections and even potentially reduce your risk of cancer. (6)

Grass-fed butter: Grass-fed butter nutrition is truly impressive because it contains around 400 different fatty acids and many fat-soluble vitamins. Consuming saturated fat that’s obtained from healthy sources in moderation can actually improve your health by providing your body with the fuel it needs to thrive and regulating your blood sugar levels. Grass-fed butter also helps to reduce inflammation and protect your heart. (7)

Goat milk: I believe that goat milk benefits are superior to those of cow milk because goat milk is easier to digest, it contains fewer allergenic proteins, causes less inflammation and it’s still high in calcium and important fatty acids. Plus, because goat milk is more easily digested, it helps allow you to absorb nutrients better than cow milk. (8)

Coconut sugar: Coconut sugar is a natural sweetener that contains trace elements like iron, zinc, calcium and potassium. Plus, unlike granulated sugar, coconut sugar contains short-chain fatty acids, polyphenols and antioxidants. Although eating large amounts of any type of sugar isn’t good for you, when I’m baking and need a sweetener, coconut sugar is always a go-to. (9)

How to Make Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls

To prep for making your cinnamon rolls, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a medium-sized baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix ½ cup of warm goat milk and 1 package of active dry yeast. Let this sit for 10 minutes, and if the yeast begins to clump, then start again.

Now add the rest of your dough ingredients, which includes 2 cups of cassava flour, ½ cup tapioca starch, 1 cup of boiled and mashed sweet potato, ¼ cup of coconut sugar, 4 tablespoons of grass-fed butter, 1 egg and ½ teaspoon of salt.

Mix your dough ingredients until they are mostly combined and then knead the dough with your hands into a ball. Cover the ball of dough and let it rest for about an hour.

In the meantime, you can mix your filling ingredients. Use a small bowl and add 1 cup of coconut sugar, 4 tablespoons of grass-fed butter, 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon of cardamom. Set your filling aside until you need it.

Next, with parchment paper on a flat surface, start to roll your dough into a large rectangle that’s about ¼ inch thick.

And using your hand, spread the filling evenly on top of the flattened dough.

Your next step is to roll the dough. This is much easier when you use the parchment paper to guide the dough. Carefully roll the dough into itself and make it as tight as possible.

Now, use a string to tie one knot around the cinnamon roll. When you pull both sides of the string, you’ll make a clean slice through the cinnamon roll.

Use the string to cut out all of your rolls and then place them in your greased baking dish.

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Bake the rolls for 15 to 20 minutes.

While you are waiting for the rolls to finish baking, prepare your icing. You’ll need to combine 4 ounces of raw cream cheese, 4 tablespoons of grass-fed butter, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons of orange zest.

When your rolls come out of the oven, spread the icing on them …

and enjoy these gooey, delicious, gluten-free cinnamon rolls!