Keto Cinnamon Rolls (Low-Carb, Grain-Free)
Grain-free cinnamon rolls built on fathead dough — almond flour and melted mozzarella — with a sugar-free cinnamon filling and cream cheese frosting, at a few net carbs each.
- Total time
- 53 min
- Bake
- 18 min
- Yield
- 10 rolls
- Level
- intermediate
The quick answer
Keto cinnamon rolls use fathead dough — almond flour, melted mozzarella, cream cheese, and egg — instead of a wheat-flour yeast dough, with a sugar-free sweetener in the filling and frosting. There's no yeast and no proofing; the mozzarella gives the stretch, so work fast while the dough is warm and pliable.
Keto baking lives and dies on fathead dough: almond flour kneaded into melted mozzarella and cream cheese until it behaves like the real thing. It rolls, it holds a spiral, and it bakes into a soft, pull-apart roll without a speck of wheat flour or sugar. Swap in a granulated erythritol or allulose blend for the filling and frosting and you get a genuinely satisfying cinnamon roll that keeps the carbs low — the kind you can actually work into a keto morning.
Ingredients
Fathead dough
- 2½ cupsshredded low-moisture mozzarella
- 3 ozcream cheese
- 2 cupssuperfine almond flour — blanched, not almond meal
- 3 tbspgranulated erythritol/allulose blend
- 1 tspbaking powder
- 1 egglarge egg — room temperature
- 1 tspvanilla extract
Cinnamon filling
- 3 tbspunsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cupbrown erythritol/allulose blend
- 1½ tbspground cinnamon
Cream cheese frosting
- 3 ozcream cheese, softened
- 2 tbspunsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cuppowdered erythritol/allulose blend
- 2 tbspheavy cream — to thin
- ½ tspvanilla extract
Instructions
Heat the oven to 350°F and line a 9-inch pan with parchment. Whisk the almond flour, sweetener, and baking powder together.
Microwave the mozzarella and cream cheese in 30-second bursts, stirring, until fully melted and combined.
Cheese is smooth and molten, no lumps.
Working quickly, stir the egg and vanilla into the almond flour mixture, then knead it into the hot cheese until a uniform dough forms. If it seizes, microwave 10–15 seconds to soften.
Dough is smooth, stretchy, and holds together.
Press or roll the dough between two sheets of parchment into a 12x9-inch rectangle.
Even thickness, about 1/4 inch.
Mix the softened butter, brown sweetener, and cinnamon, then spread over the dough, leaving a clean edge.
Filling covers the dough in an even layer.
Using the bottom parchment to help, roll up tightly from the long edge. Cut into 10 rolls with a sharp knife or unflavored floss and set them in the pan.
Rolls hold their spiral when cut.
Bake until golden and set.
Tops are golden and firm to a light touch.
Beat the frosting until smooth, thinning with cream, and spread over the rolls once they've cooled slightly.
Frosting spreads without melting off.
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- Fathead dough is best worked warm, so assemble and bake in one go. You can bake the rolls a day ahead and frost after a gentle rewarm; the flavor deepens overnight.
- Storage
- Refrigerate covered up to 5 days — these keep better cold than wheat rolls do at room temperature.
- Reheating
- Microwave a single roll 15–20 seconds to soften the dough and loosen the frosting.
- Freezing
- Freeze baked, unfrosted rolls up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge, rewarm, then frost.
Substitutions
- Coconut flour blend (use about 1/4 the amount plus an extra egg) instead of superfine almond flour
- Monk fruit/allulose blend instead of granulated erythritol/allulose blend
Troubleshooting
- Dough is greasy or won't come together
- Keep it warm and knead thoroughly — cold fathead dough separates. Reheat 10–15 seconds and work it again until uniform.
- Rolls spread flat and greasy
- Use low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella and blanched almond flour, not almond meal; too much moisture makes them slump.
- Cooling filling has a cooling aftertaste
- That's the erythritol — an allulose or monk-fruit/allulose blend bakes with no cooling effect.
Tools I reach for
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Frequently asked questions
- How many net carbs per roll?
- It depends on your exact brands, but with almond flour and a sugar-free sweetener each roll lands around 4–6 grams net carbs. Calculate from the products you actually use.
- What is fathead dough?
- A grain-free dough made from melted mozzarella and cream cheese kneaded with almond flour and egg. The cheese gives it the stretch and structure that gluten normally would.
- Which sweetener works best?
- An allulose or allulose/monk-fruit blend browns and stays soft without the cooling aftertaste that pure erythritol can leave. Use a 1:1 sugar-replacement blend.
- Can I make these dairy-free too?
- Not easily — the mozzarella and cream cheese are the structure. Dairy-free keto cheese substitutes generally won't hold the spiral.
Nutrition (estimate): 1 roll (of 10) · ~290 kcal. Nutrition is an automated estimate and will vary with brands and exact quantities.
Food safety: don't taste dough containing raw flour or raw egg. Refrigerate anything with cream cheese frosting, and reheat leftovers until piping hot.
Frostings & glazes to pair
- Classic Cream Cheese FrostingThe tangy, silky-smooth cream cheese frosting that melts into warm cinnamon rolls and defines the bakery-style classic.
- Cinnamon Cream Cheese FrostingClassic tangy cream cheese frosting laced with warm ground cinnamon for a spiced, bakery-style finish on every roll.
- Cinnamon Roll Icing Without Cream CheeseA buttery, vanilla-forward icing made without cream cheese — smooth, sweet, and perfect when you want the classic look without the tang.
Helpful guides
- Icing Without Powdered Sugar: Cinnamon Roll OptionsNo powdered sugar for your cinnamon roll icing? Blend granulated sugar into a powder, or use maple, honey, or a cooked glaze — with exact ratios for each.
- How Many Calories Are in a Cinnamon Roll?A cinnamon roll ranges from about 250 calories for a small unfrosted roll to 850+ for a large bakery roll with cream cheese frosting — here's the breakdown.
- The Best Cinnamon for Cinnamon Rolls (Saigon vs Ceylon)Which cinnamon makes the best cinnamon rolls — Saigon vs Ceylon vs Cassia, how strong each tastes, how much to use, and which to buy for a bold, warm swirl.
More cinnamon rolls to try
- Gluten-Free Cinnamon RollsSoft, tender gluten-free cinnamon rolls made with a 1:1 flour blend and psyllium husk for a crumb that actually rolls and stays fluffy.
- No-Yeast Cinnamon RollsFast cinnamon rolls with a tender biscuit-style dough leavened by baking powder — no rising, no proofing, warm in under an hour.
- Three-Ingredient Cinnamon RollsA no-yeast cinnamon roll dough from just self-rising flour and yogurt, filled with cinnamon sugar — fast, easy, and honestly rustic.