Vegan Keto Cinnamon Rolls

This Vegan Keto Cinnamon Rolls Recipe makes soft, sticky cinnamon buns, perfect for smothering in cream cheese frosting. I mean, just LOOK at them! Yes, they truly do not have any dairy or eggs. They ARE full of plant-based protein and fiber. And they have less than 8 net carbs per roll.

Video tutorial for Vegan Keto Cinnamon Rolls

But WHY vegan keto cinnamon rolls at all?

For when the craving strikes, reach for one of these vegan keto cinnamon rolls for a choice that is:

• soft on the inside,
• full of cinnamon and sweetness,
• baked in a sticky sauce for lightly chewy caramelized edges,
• with optional vegan cream cheese-style frosting,
• super satisfying with lots of fiber and plant-based protein,
• less than 8 net carbs!

Personally, I have to stay keto in order to keep my chronic tendonitis symptoms away completely. Having a diet rich in vegetables and high-quality plant-based protein is best but sometimes, you’ve just got to have a cinnamon roll! But no stores or bakeries in my city have cinnamon rolls that are both keto-friendly AND vegan.  So instead of going off plan and reaping the consequences, I turn to this easy keto cinnamon bun recipe. Then I can have the indulgence without triggering my inflammatory issues or kicking off more sugar cravings.

Ingredients for Vegan Keto Cinnamon Rolls

The low carb dough that I use for this recipe is based on my individual keto rolls. It handles and bakes up very similar to traditional bread dough because the dry ingredients work together to replace the qualities of whole wheat flour. The dough should be elastic; able to stretch, rise, and have a yeasty aroma. I’ve just added a bit of sweetness and changed how we proof the dough to adapt it for cinnamon rolls.

Oat Fiber

With zero net carbs, this Oat Fiber replaces the starch that would be in traditional flour. It adds volume to the dough as well as a wonderful toasty aroma during baking. However, be careful not to confuse it with Oat Flour which is made with whole oats and is very high in carbs. Oat Fiber is made from the indigestible husks of oats. Another thing to watch out for is the nutrition label. While the Anthony’s brand of Organic Oat Fiber I use is completely made of fiber, some that I’ve seen online are not so please check the label before purchasing.

When measuring the oat fiber, be careful because this ingredient is extremely light. It’s easy to kick up a cloud of dusty oat fiber so please be gentle. Also, for accurate measuring, a scale is best. However, if you are just out of options and you absolutely must measure by volume, use PACKED tablespoons instead of the usual sift, scoop, and level method. It’s the most consistent method that I’ve found (though still, not perfect).

Golden Flax Seeds

Flax seeds help this dough retain moisture and adds bulk to the dough without weighing it down and preventing rising (something too much oat fiber can do). I choose Golden Flax Seeds over regular brown flax seeds because they seem to have a milder flavour and give a lighter, nicer appearance to the rolls.

Specially for making Cinnamon Rolls, I sift the freshly ground seeds for a fine, bakery-quality final result. First, grind the seeds as normal, then sift through a wire mesh sieve. With any leftovers in the sieve, I’ll re-grind them. Repeat the process until all (or nearly all) of the ground flax gets through.

You may find ground golden flax for sale. I haven’t tried that type myself but it should still work for this recipe. Make sure to smell the opened bag before using it in the recipe.  The oil in flax is delicate so you should smell it before using it in a recipe. Rancid flax oil smells fishy so through it out if you detect that.

I avoid this possibility by only buying whole flax seeds. They are less delicate when kept intact and can be stored in the pantry. Then, simply grind them as you require. Always be careful not to let them overheat, and store in the fridge until you need them. This way, the oil inside stays fresh. 

Vital Wheat Gluten

The gluten in wheat flour is what creates structure in bread and allows it to rise and keep its shape. But instead of using the whole wheat that includes so much starch, we can use only the protein part: Vital Wheat Gluten.  However, too much of it will make your dough too tough and chewy plus have an unpleasant doughy flavour. So it’s important to mix in the flax and oat fiber. Also, I like to use Anthony’s brand of Vital Wheat Gluten especially because it has less of that distinct “gluten-y” flavour.

Warm Water

It’s really important that the water is not too hot to start. I usually start with some cold tap water and then slowly add just-boiled hot water while keeping track of the temperature with a thermometer; stirring as I go.  It should be 110°F which is about 43­°C. Don’t make it too hot or it will kill the yeast. If it is on the cooler side, the yeast will take longer to do its job. This would not normally be an issue, but timing is very important to this recipe. 

Yeast

You can use any kind of baker’s yeast in this recipe: instant yeast, bread machine yeast, or traditional dry active yeast. They will all work.  But I typically use instant yeast as I can get it in a large package and keep it in my fridge so it will stay fresh for a long time. 

Sugar

Yes, this KETO recipe contains sugar. But the trick is, you will not be eating the sugar at the end. The yeast will get to it first. Yeast is actually a type of fungi which will consume the sugar and then produce carbon dioxide and ethanol. The carbon dioxide is what causes the bread to rise; filling up tiny pockets within the dough and expanding as it warms during the proofing stage and even more so during baking. The ethanol is a by-product that will evaporate in your hot oven.

In this recipe, you’ll notice I use maple syrup. I only use it because it’s the only sugar I keep at home. But you can use any kind of real sugar, such as white sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, and molasses. Don’t use low or no calorie sweeteners because they would not be good food for the yeast.

Salt

Salt is used in sweets to bring out the sweet and complex flavors. Its especially important in a recipe like this that has very little fermentation flavor.

Coconut Cream

This is the thick cream that floats to the top of a can of coconut milk. In this recipe, it’s the base for our sticky, caramel-like sauce.

Keto-Friendly Sweeteners

This recipe uses 2 different sweeteners, plus a 3rd which is optional. Both main sweeteners are mostly made of Erythritol which, even by itself, is a decent 1:1 alternative to sugar. However, it does have a cooling effect and hides better in some recipes over others. Luckily, it’s a better great tasting option for these keto cinnamon rolls. Here are the two main sweeteners I’ve been loving in this recipe:

• Golden Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener with Erythritol has a slightly brown-sugar-like flavor which makes it preferable to the classic version. Feel free to use any 1:1 granulated sugar alternative that you like best. I use this in the dough, filling, and the sticky sauce (below).

• Truvia Sweet Complete Icing Sweetener is another erythritol-based sweetener that includes stevia. It’s the closest thing to Icing Sugar I have tried.

Lastly, I add a bit of inulin to the sticky sauce in this recipe. It is a prebiotic extract of chicory root which has a natural sweetness. If it’s too much trouble for you to get, just leave it out.

Xanthan Gum

Xanthan Gum is a keto-friendly thickener and stabilizer that I use in the sticky sauce to get that caramel-like effect easily. It’s not so easy to find in grocery stores, but I managed to get it from Bulk Barn, here in Canada. Otherwise, you can find it on Amazon.

Vanilla Extract

For this recipe, I use organic vanilla extract that is alcohol based. I have not tested with alcohol-free vanilla extract but I’m sure it will be fine.

Vegan Butter

Vegan Butter is usually zero carb so you should be able to use any vegan butter that you enjoy. I prefer to use Earth Balance with comes in Original and Soy-Free.

Cinnamon

For this recipe, I use regular ground cinnamon from my local grocery store. It’s not very strong so a heaping tablespoon is required. However, if you have fresher cinnamon, you might adjust the amount to your taste.

Vegan Cream Cheese

Vegan Cream Cheese sometimes contains extra carbs so make sure to read the label before you buy. Also, they really vary in taste. Some are really bad so if you’re new to vegan cream cheese and don’t know what brand to get, take my advice: use Vitalite Original Cream Spread (1st choice) or Violife Original Creamy (2nd choice). 

Keep in mind, Vitalite Original Cream Spread is zero net carb but does contain soy. Violife Original Creamy is soy-free but contains 2g net carbs per 2 tbsps. Both contain coconut (but do not taste like coconut).

Nutrition Info for Vegan Keto Cinnamon Rolls

Even though the sugar in this recipe should be completely eaten up by the yeast BEFORE it even goes into the oven, I leave the sugar in the calculation when I enter the ingredients into Cronometer. You may keep that in mind as you peruse the nutrition information here. Personally, I would rather over-estimate the net carbs than under-estimate when I am tracking.

According to Cronometer, one of these vegan keto cinnamon rolls (without frosting) has:

• 228 kcal
• protein 20.27g
• fat 13.21g
• fiber 16.46g
• net carb 8.42g (without subtracting sugar which is eaten by yeast before baking; actual should be 0.97g less)

For my new keto-ers, net carbs is the amount of carbohydrate our bodies can digest and absorb from the food. 

I also inputted the vegan keto cinnamon rolls with frosting into Cronometer. Please keep in mind I added the whole amount of cream cheese frosting into the calculation. This is more than I put onto the rolls in the video; maybe you’ll use more or you’ll use less. That said, here are the numbers:

• 348 kcal
• protein 21.16g
• fat 26.12
• fiber 17.35g
• net carb 8.43g (without subtracting sugar which is eaten by yeast before baking; actual should be 0.97g less)

 

Troubleshooting Vegan Keto Bread Dough

Since posting this my original keto rolls recipe, many people have reported fantastic results including this video from Random Keto. But I’ve also received a couple comments from people whose shaped loaves did not rise very well. This led me to two reasons this might be happening. If you’ve ruled out the most common bread-making issues, it’s probably due to the following:

Problem 1: Too MUCH oat fiber or Too LITTLE Vital Wheat Gluten. These ingredients are notoriously difficult to measure by volume (cups and spoons). That’s why in this recipe, I place the weight first. The best way to get accurate results is to use a kitchen scale.

But if you must measure by volume, use the “sift, spoon, and level method” for all the ingredients EXCEPT for the oat fiber. I found it impossible to get consistent volume measurements with this standard dry ingredient method. Instead, use packed spoons to measure (similar to how you would measure brown sugar).

Problem 2: Mistakenly letting the dough proof for too long (especially during the 1st proof). As there is only a small amount of sugar for the yeast to use in this recipe, there is no wiggle room for proofing at the wrong stage. This recipe limits the 1st proof to only 15 minutes to let the dough relax and rise just about 50%. If it’s left to rise to double or triple in size like a regular dough recipe, the yeast will eat up all the sugar and it won’t have any left to do its work after you shape your rolls.

More Keto Bread Things

Vegan Keto Pizza Crust

Vegan Keto Sandwich Bread Loaf

Vegan Keto Sandwich Rolls

Vegan Keto Pita Bread

Gluten-Free Vegan Keto Sandwich Rolls

Printable Recipe for Vegan Keto Cinnamon Rolls