Cinnamon rolls are one of my all-time favorite treats.
Not a casual preference — a deep, committed, would-choose-them-over-almost-anything love. The warm dough, the cinnamon sugar filling, the icing pooling into every layer. There is genuinely nothing else like a fresh cinnamon roll straight from the oven and I have never once felt bad about that.
This pregnancy, the craving has been real. Consistent. Persistent. The kind of craving that is not going to be satisfied by a rice cake or a piece of fruit — it wants what it wants.
So instead of white-knuckling past it or giving in to a traditional recipe that delivers very little protein and a lot of refined sugar, I made these. Cottage cheese dough — the same magic base that has taken over my kitchen in wraps, pancakes, and donut holes — rolled out, filled with coconut sugar and cinnamon, cut into rolls, baked until golden, and drizzled with a monk fruit icing that adds exactly zero calories on top.
161 calories per roll. Nearly 6 grams of protein from the roll itself — and if you want to push it higher, pairing these with a protein coffee or matcha with collagen is the easiest way to get the full breakfast or dessert moment closer to 15 grams of protein without changing the recipe at all.
A cinnamon roll that tastes like an actual cinnamon roll — because it is one, just built smarter.
Pregnancy craving: handled.
Why This Dough Works
The cottage cheese dough situation continues to be one of the most genuinely useful discoveries in my kitchen and this application might be my favorite yet.
Blending cottage cheese with egg and a touch of vanilla creates a soft, pliable dough when combined with flour — one that rolls out smoothly, holds its shape when cut and rolled into spirals, and bakes into something tender and slightly golden without the hours of rise time that traditional yeast dough requires. No yeast. No proofing. No waiting.
The cottage cheese brings 36 grams of protein to the full batch alongside calcium, slow-digesting casein that adds a slight richness to the texture, and a neutral flavor that completely disappears into the finished roll.
Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 baking flour swaps in seamlessly for all-purpose flour with no change to the texture or the method — the dough comes together identically and the rolls bake up just as tender and golden. A genuinely great option for anyone who is gluten free or simply digests GF flour better.
Coconut sugar in the filling instead of refined white or brown sugar delivers a deeper, more caramel-adjacent sweetness with a lower glycemic impact than standard sugar. It melts into the cinnamon and coats the dough beautifully while keeping the recipe free of refined sugar throughout.
Powdered monk fruit mixed with a small amount of water makes an icing that drizzles and sets exactly like a traditional sugar glaze with zero calories and zero blood sugar impact. You would not know the difference.
The Recipe
Makes 9 rolls | ~40 minutes total | Gluten free | No yeast | No proofing
Per roll (1 of 9, with monk fruit icing) — Calories: ~161 | Protein: ~5.9g | Carbs: ~27.5g | Fat: ~2.3g | Fiber: ~0.9g
Full batch — Calories: ~1,445 | Protein: ~53.1g | Carbs: ~247.5g | Fat: ~21.1g | Fiber: ~7.8g
Icing adds 0 calories — monk fruit and water only. Macros will vary slightly depending on brands used.
Ingredients:
Dough:
1.5 cups Good Culture 2% cottage cheese
1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp baking powder
2 cups Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 baking flour (plus extra for dusting)
Cinnamon filling:
3 tbsp organic coconut sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
Monk fruit icing:
3 tbsp powdered monk fruit sweetener
1-2 tsp water — added gradually until drizzle consistency
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking dish or sheet pan with parchment paper.
Make the dough: Add cottage cheese, whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract to a blender. Blend until completely smooth — no lumps remaining. Transfer to a large bowl, add baking powder, and stir to combine. Add GF flour and mix until a soft dough forms. It will be slightly sticky — this is normal. If it feels unworkable, add flour one tablespoon at a time until it is rollable.
Roll it out: Lightly flour a clean surface or cutting board. Turn the dough out and roll into a rectangle approximately 12 x 9 inches and ¼ inch thick. The more even your rectangle the more uniform your rolls will be.
Add the filling: Mix coconut sugar and cinnamon together until combined. Sprinkle evenly over the surface of the dough — all the way to the edges.
Roll and cut: Starting from the long edge, roll the dough tightly into a log. Use a sharp knife or unflavored dental floss to cut into 9 even rolls. Place cut side up in your prepared baking dish — close together so they support each other as they bake.
Bake: Bake for 25–30 minutes until lightly golden brown on top and cooked through. The centers should feel set — not doughy — when lightly pressed.
Make the icing: While the rolls cool slightly, whisk powdered monk fruit with water one tablespoon at a time until it reaches a smooth drizzle consistency. You want it thin enough to drizzle but thick enough to set — add water very gradually.
Finish: Drizzle icing generously over the warm rolls. Let set for 2 minutes and eat immediately.
A Few Notes Worth Knowing
The dough is stickier than traditional cinnamon roll dough and that is expected — the moisture from the cottage cheese is what makes it tender. Flour your surface and rolling pin generously and work quickly. If the dough keeps sticking, pop it in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up slightly before rolling.
Unflavored dental floss is the best tool for cutting cinnamon rolls cleanly — slide it under the log, cross the ends over the top, and pull. It slices through without compressing the roll the way a knife can. If using a knife, make sure it is very sharp and use a gentle sawing motion rather than pressing straight down.
Placing the rolls close together in the baking dish is intentional — they lean on each other as they rise and bake, which gives you that classic pull-apart cinnamon roll shape. If you space them apart you will get individually baked rolls with crispier edges, which also works beautifully if that is your preference.
These are best eaten warm and fresh. If you have leftovers, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days and reheat in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds or in the air fryer at 300°F for 3 minutes before adding a fresh drizzle of icing.
Cinnamon roll cravings met. Zero refined sugar. Gluten free. This is the whole point.
If you want more recipes built around this same approach — real ingredients, genuinely satisfying, smarter than the original — my free macro-balanced recipe e-book has a full collection waiting for you.
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