thanksgiving cinnamon rolls for metabolic health + blood sugar balance
these are the gooey, yeasty cinnamon rolls I didn't think were possible: gluten free, refined sugar free and low carb!
My husband’s family eats cinnamon rolls for Thanksgiving! No one knows where this tradition started, but cinnamon rolls feature big on feast day: for Thanksgiving breakfast and during the meal itself (with the turkey and all the trimmings)!
When our children were small, they always helped Grammie dip the wheat-based yeast dough into melted butter and then in cinnamon sugar. We have been eating gluten-free and mostly grain-free for over 12 years now, so cinnamon rolls have not been a part of our Thanksgiving feast until this year!
I have made sad imitations of cinnamon rolls in the past that were dry and not received well. I decided this was the year I would get cinnamon rolls right.
To fit into the way we eat, they have to be gluten-free, refined sugar-free, blood-sugar friendly, and support our metabolic health. In addition to having a tender crumb, they have to be worth the effort and taste amazing! I settled on the need for these to be a yeast dough.
I have made hundreds of cinnamon rolls over the past few weeks, and today, I am sharing the final “winning” recipe. (Dr. B, my son Nolan, my daughter Camille, our neighbors, and our chickens have been the recipients of hundreds of cinnamon rolls as I worked my way to this winning recipe!)
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Now for low-carb Thanksgiving cinnamon rolls! As with all my recipes, these cinnamon rolls are free of gluten and refined sugar and are low-carb and blood-sugar-friendly. Feel free to download and print the PDF below🧡
Thanksgiving Cinnamon Rolls
By Beth Bollinger of Nest Wellness
Low-carb, gluten-free, refined sugar-free
Makes 12
Equipment
Measuring cups for dry ingredients
Measuring cup for liquid ingredients
9 x 13 baking dish, greased or muffin pan greased or lined with silicone liners
Ingredients
Dough ingredients
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
½ cup maple syrup
14 grams (4 tsp) dried active yeast, gluten-free (two packets)
4 large room-temperature eggs
½ cup plus 2 tbsp room temperature water
½ cup grass-fed butter, melted
2 cups oat fiber
4 tbsp tiger nut flour
2/3 cup psyllium husk flakes
1 tsp sea salt
Pecan Filling
1 cup pecans, chopped
3 tbsp monk fruit sweetener
pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp grass-fed butter, melted
Cinnamon “Sugar”
For Dipping the Cinnamon Rolls
1/2 cup grass-fed butter, melted + a little more for greasing the baking pan
Method
Make the dough
Heat coconut milk and maple syrup in a saucepan on the stovetop until just warm and melted, not hot (hot milk will kill the yeast). Aim for around 110°F (43°C) for the best results, from 105-115 is fine. If your milk is too hot, just wait until the temp goes down before adding the yeast.
Remove from heat and sprinkle the yeast over the coconut milk mixture, and allow to bloom for 5-10 minutes until it is bubbly.
In a small bowl, mix eggs, melted butter and water
In a medium bowl, add oat fiber, tiger nut flour, psyllium husk flakes, and salt. Mix well using a fork or whisk
Pour the egg, butter, and water mixture into the coconut milk mixture once the yeast has bloomed and stir to mix
Sprinkle flour mix into wet ingredients and, using a spatula, mix well and allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes
Assemble the Cinnamon Rolls
Mix monk fruit sweetener and cinnamon in a small bowl using a fork or whisk.
Mix chopped pecans, cinnamon, monk fruit, and butter in a separate small bowl.
Melt ½ cup butter in a third small bowl.
Gather the dough into a ball and roll the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to a 1/2 -inch thickness. I rolled mine to cover the parchment paper (12” x 16”)
Brush the dough with melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, then spread all of the chopped pecan mixture evenly over the surface of the dough.
Roll the dough from the long end, using the parchment paper to help you. Cut the “log” of rolled cinnamon rolls into 12 equal pieces using a very sharp knife.
Dip each cinnamon roll in melted butter, then dredge it through the cinnamon sugar. Repeat until all of the rolls are coated and lined up in your greased 9 x 13 pan or prepared muffin pan. If you have any extra cinnamon sugar, sprinkle it over the prepared cinnamon rolls.
Preheat the oven to 350. Allow pan of cinnamon rolls to rise for 30 minutes in a warm place. I set mine on top of the preheating oven to rise.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. In a 9 x 13 pan, they will take closer to 35 minutes. In a muffin pan, the cinnamon rolls will cook for 28-30 minutes.
Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool long enough so that you don't burn your mouth on the hot “sugar,” and enjoy!
Swaps
Maple syrup: The sugar in maple syrup feeds the yeast. Even with maple syrup in this recipe, I got a level glucose response. If you really do not want to use maple syrup, inulin will work to feed the yeast, but you will then need to make up for the lost sweetness by adding ¾ c monk fruit sweetener to the dry ingredients.
Tigernut flour: I did make these without tiger nut flour and using all oat fiber in its place. The bread holds its shape a little better with all oat fiber, but they are more bland and less sweet. I like the flavor that tiger nut flour adds to this bread.
Oat fiber: I have not tried it myself, but bamboo fiber should work the same way as oat fiber
Monkfruit sweetener: I really like the monkfruit allulose blend for this recipe. You could sub for the monkfruit erythritol blend. If blood sugar balance is not a concern, you could use coconut sugar.
Pecans: if you don’t like nuts in your cinnamon rolls, leave them out! If you prefer, you can use walnuts, macadamia nuts, or your favorite!
To make these totally dairy-free, use a vegan butter substitute in place of grass-fed butter
Cinnamon Rolls baked in a muffin pan:
Cinnamon Rolls baked in a 9” x 13” pan:
Notes
If using a muffin pan, you will need a very good non-stick pan or some kind of liner—either silicone or waxed paper—so that your cinnamon rolls release easily. The caramelized monk fruit and allulose gets sticky and may otherwise make releasing the cinnamon rolls from the muffin pan difficult. If you don’t mind a slight merging of cinnamon rolls, it is super easy to make these in a greased 9” x 13” baking pan.
Keep leftovers (if you have them!) in an airtight container on the countertop for a couple of days. If you will be keeping them longer, keep them in the refrigerator and warm them before serving.
Nutrition Per serving according to Cronometer
Calories: 322
Protein: 3.2 grams
Carbs: 19.8 grams
Fiber: 9.4 grams
Net Carbs: 10.4 grams
Fat: 28 grams
Thank you🧡
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🧡P.S.
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🧡Beth
A gf and grain-free version of yeasty cinnamon rolls is certainly a challenge! I’m sure your neighbors (and chickens) were happy. 😊These look perfect, Beth!
can you make these with lupin flour instead of oat fiber ?