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Last Updated on April 30, 2025
These classic Paleo Cinnamon Rolls are not only sweet and creamy but have a delicious, gooey white frosting that is heavenly! Finding a healthier version of my Paleo Cinnamon Rolls has been a passion for me and these are sensational!
Why this Paleo Cinnamon Roll recipe works:
This is my second Paleo Cinnamon roll recipe and by far the absolute closest to the real deal. While I was eating this I kept thinking I was eating wheat. I’ve also made Gluten-Free Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls so this was a huge revelation for me!
I’m not kidding you.
You will be able to fool the most hardcore anti-Paleo, grain eating person with this recipe.
It’s all in the Tapioca Flour!
Y’all stop messing about and pick some up. This is such a strange flour as it can be somewhat spongy before the baking process but it really makes the most “bread-like” recipes I have found.
What you’ll need:
- Coconut Oil
- Water
- Sea Salt
- Tapioca Flour
- Coconut Flour
- B grade Maple Syrup or honey
- Large egg
How to make Paleo Cinnamon Rolls:
You will want to start with the dough. Place the coconut oil, water, sea salt, maple syrup/honey in a pan and bring to a boil for 30 seconds.
Remove from the stove and add the Tapioca flour and stir with a spoon until you have a sticky dough. Let this cool for a few minutes (1 to 2 minutes) and add the coconut flour and egg.
Mix with a spoon until you have a soft dough. Remove from the pan and knead for about a minute on a piece of parchment paper.
Place the second piece of parchment paper on top and roll the dough into a 7″ x 11″ rectangle that is 1/4″ thick.
For the filling, combine the maple syrup/honey, cinnamon, and water in a small bowl. Add in the coconut flakes, nuts, and raisins, and mix until well coated.
Spoon this filling onto the dough, leaving about 1/2″ board around the sides.
Roll the dough into a log and lightly press to pinch the seam. Cut 1/4″ off the ends and slice into 1″ pieces.
Place the slices and ends flat side down on parchment paper or you can use a muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
While the dough is baking, you’ll make the frosting. Mix the palm shortening, coconut milk, maple syrup and cinnamon with a hand blender.
Remove the rolls from the oven and let cool. Spread the frosting on top and enjoy!
If you like this Paleo Cinnamon Rolls recipe, you’ll love:
Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Did you make and love this recipe? Give it your review below and make sure to share your creations by tagging me on Instagram!
Notes:
I would consider this recipe to be an advanced cooking level recipe.
I have had numerous people try this Paleo Cinnamon Rolls recipe and it has been hit or miss.
Some people can make this recipe as is and it comes out perfectly. Some need to add more tapioca flour to get it to work.
Some need to use a food processor or a kitchen stand mixer to get the dough to come out.
There are a lot of factors that go into baking this recipe
- Your Oven
- Your altitude and humidity and possibly even the flour you are using. I only use Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour in all of my baking.
Another tip: Read through the comments to see what others have done!
Paleo Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 2 Tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 large egg or gelatin egg
Filling
- 1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans omit if AIP
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1 Tablespoon B grade maple syrup or honey
- 2 Tablespoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon powder
Frosting
- 1/4 cup Palm Shortening
- 1 Tablespoon coconut milk
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon powder
Instructions
- Place the coconut oil, water and sea salt, maple syrup/honey in a small pan and bring to a boil. Let boil for 30 seconds.
- Remove from the stove and add the tapioca flour into the pan and mix with a spoon until you have a sticky dough.
- Let this cool for 2- 3 minutes (should be really warm just not hot) and then add in the coconut flour and egg.
- Mix with a spoon until you have a soft dough and then remove from the pan and place on a piece of parchment paper. Knead for 1 minute.
- Place the second piece of parchment paper over the top and then roll the dough into roughly a 7" x 11" rectangle that is 1/4 thick.
- For the filling combine the maple syrup/honey, cinnamon, and water in a small bowl. Toss in the coconut flakes, nuts, and raisins until well coated.
- Spoon this mixture evenly over the dough leaving a 1/2" board from the sides.
- Now roll the dough into a log and lightly press to pinch the seam.
- Cut 1/4" off the ends of and then slice into 1" pieces.
- Place the slices and ends flat side down on to a piece of parchment paper and bake at 350 for 30 – 35 minutes.
- For the frosting mix the palm shortening, coconut milk, maple syrup, and cinnamon with a hand blender.
- Remove the cinnamon rolls from the oven and let cool for 3 – 5 minutes. Frost with the frosting and enjoy!!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Please read the post and comments to see the best way to create this recipe.
If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below — I’ll walk you through it!
It looks amazing!
Hello, delicious! Maybe I can do Paleo after all. LOL
So are these calorie free? I would probably start eating and never stop!
Ha! No not calorie free 🙂
You are making it harder for me NOT to go Paleo …. bread and baked goods have been why I haven’t yet. Even though my body would be healthier … I lurrrrve me some bread and cinnamon rolls!
Ha! This is most definitely a treat on the diet but man so yumnmy!
Those look so yummy! I might have to give it a try.
Oh yum! Pinned, liked, and tweeted this post~!
Oh my those look gooood!!! I don’t do Paleo but….if I can eat food like this, maybe I should consider it!
I don’t know if you can convince me when talking about beloved cinnamon rolls but those do love amazing! Hey, as long as you load on the frosting I’ll be good!
I haven’t had a cinnamon roll in soooooooo long. Man oh man, those look good!
It’s 11pm and I want these like now!! MmmmMM they look delicious and I love the ingredient list
You only posted this at 9:05
My husband is a big cinnamon roll fan, and every now and then I’ll make some gluten free cinnamon rolls for him. The gluten free flours always leave his stomach a little unhappy, though. (Though not as unhappy as the gluten-filled does!) I love the combination of tapioca and coconut flour, and I’ve used it to replicate bread-like products before, and when I saw your post today at work, I knew I had to go home and try it. I followed the recipe for the dough exactly, and for the filling I used a butter/coconut sugar/cinnamon/pecan mixture. I topped it with a caramel icing I made from powdered coconut sugar, butter, and a bit of heavy cream. My husband, who is picky when it comes to paleo breads/baked goods, came home and promptly ate four of them. They were very good, and I loved how the outside got crisp and the inside had the warm, gooey-ness of traditional cinnamon rolls without the cloying sweetness. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Thanks Nessa! I’m so glad it worked for you 😛 My son ate two and my husband ate 3 and asked me to make more 🙂
Can i use arrowroot starch instead of tapioca?
Yes 🙂
I’ve been craving cinnamon rolls, those look fantastic!
Yummy!
Those look really good! I love some cinnamon rolls. 🙂
I like to think of tapioca flour as one of my gluten free favorites. These look amazing!
holy tasty treats I’m in those look delicous
That looks like a wonderful treat!!
This looks amazing. Everytime I see your recipes I find it easier to cross over to the Paleo side. 🙂
I LOVE Cinnamon rolls and this is awesome they have a paleo option.
This I could do! 🙂
These look absolutely amazing!
These look delicious!
Oh I love the filling!! Looks amazing!
I had no idea there was tapioca flour. THese look great!
They look so good!
I never would have guessed that tapioca flour worked for cinnamon rolls. They look good!
Wow these look so tasty!
I love using tapioca flour for my cinnamon rolls too. (Makes good pizza crust as well.) Think I’ll try your recipe tomorrow! Thanks for sharing with everyone.
I hope you like it Lynne 🙂
Those look great. Do you ship by mail? (Just kidding.) Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I am allergic to tapioca… which is a real bummer! Any suggestions for successful substitutes?
Oh, I’m sorry Jan. You might try arrowroot but I’m not sure that it would turn out right.
Thank you!!! I have an amazing and totally non Paleo/Primal cinnamon roll recipe from my MIL – I loved them and now I can safely say I have found a wonderful alternative. I ended up cutting the dough in half and making 8 from each half, which worked out to 3 per person in my 5 person home with one extra for…..well, we shall see:) Thanks for the great idea! A wonderful way to help transition my family along with myself to the Primal/Paleo world.
You are so welcome Jen! I’m so glad that you liked them 🙂
I made these a couple of days ago– they tasted very delicious, but we all felt like the dough was too gummy. When I added the 1 cup tapioca flour it basically turned into a giant glob which made incorporating the other ingredients nearly impossible, and the final result was rubbery. I rescued them a bit by drizzling some melted ghee on them. I’m thinking next time I’ll try 3/4 cup tapioca and 1 1/4 cup coconut flour, or maybe almond flour.
Hrmm. .. when you add the tapioca flour to the water/oil mixture, it does get really gooey. The egg helps to break that up so you can mix in more ingredients. I hope that by making small tweaks it gets better for you!
Sorry but these did NOT work for me. I hate wasting food. The “dough” was crumbly, I could not roll it out. I tried to save it by making little scones but it would not hold any shape, just crumbled. Disappointed :/
Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that Vee. I hate wasting food also so I know how disappointing that is. I know when I’ve made someone else’s recipe and it’s crumbly, I’ve added another egg to try to help stick it together. I think I’ll work on a video tutorial to show how to make these.
I’ve had mixed success trying to make some paleo foods… more fails that successes I must admit.
I just made these for breakfast today and they are absolutely INCREDIBLE. This is the first time I’ve fed my family paleo cinnamon rolls and everyone (including my non-paleo friend) agreed they were the best cinnamon rolls they’ve ever had (as in tastier than any we’d had from before going paloe). This is one of my new favorite sweet recipes ever now! Thank you SO MUCH! I am forever grateful =)
Aw, I’m so glad you liked them 🙂 I could not believe how much they reminded me of “regular” cinnamon rolls. It is one of my favorite recipes I have ever created.
🙁 Mine turned into a big glob of goo and I threw it away. Thinking I’ll try the same measurements as the garlic bread, which I have made 3 times and love love love.
Bummed..
Aw, Sorry hun.
I just trued these as well and had the same problem as a few others with crumbly dough. I tossed it out. If you do a video tutorial I will watch and try again. One question though… when adding the egg to the dough, how hot is the water/tapioca mixture? Your instructions say to let it cool for a few minutes but after only a few minutes mine was still so hot I couldn’t touch it and I worried I would cook the egg if I tried to move to the next step. Was I wrong? Thank you!
Hi Karen, I’ll be working on a tutorial for this but I did just do one for my pizza crust that is very similar and I’m sure will help with some tips – Here’s the link http://agirlworthsaving.net/2013/05/video-how-to-make-paleo-pizza-crust.html
I try to force myself to wait at least 5 minutes. It is pretty warm – not hot, actually in my video I add the egg in really quick, maybe minutes but please wait for at least 5 minutes.
Was just about to make these for my boyfriend when I saw I barely has 1/4 cup of tapioca starch left! How disappointing…will be reordering and trying this soon though! Kelly, is it good to refrigerate the dough for a bit so it’s easier to roll out?
I’ve never refrigerated this and honestly, I would be worried it would become too hard to roll out. It rolls out fairly easily 🙂
Would you be able to substitute the tapioca with arrowroot?
Hi Nick, honestly, I am not sure. So many people say you can but I’ve never made it with arrowroot and it is not from the same plant as tapioca. Most grocery stores have tapioca flour in the gluten-free section.
I made these as “pulla” for Christmas, a Finnish sweet bread roll, with cardamom and raisins added to it. I used arrowroot (My daughter has a cross-reaction with tapioca), and I used butter instead of coconut oil. The “dough” was like a sponge, and I had to kneed the raisins into the dough, and cook it extra long, BUT my hubby said these were HANDS DOWN the BEST allergy-free version of pulla I have ever made! MAJOR WIN for my family! (I’ve been trying gluten free versions or 8 years!). When the arrowroot turned to a sticky sponge I was nervous, but I kept going, and the result was amazing… the texture was so REAL! 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing your creation with us!
ok I actually just made these for the 3rd time, and STILL amazing! 🙂
Last time I prepped the dough and refrigerated over night, but even after letting it warm up on the stove top for a while, they took a lot longer to bake. This time I popped them into the oven right away and it took the normal amount of time, maybe a little less, before they began to brown.
A couple other tweaks I forgot to mention:
I left out the salt because I used salted butter.
I added my cardamom to the arrowroot before stirring into the butter mixture.
I used my kitchenaid for adding the coconut flour and egg because it was too hard to do by spoon.
Yeah! Thanks for sharing those tips Spring!
Yeah! I need to try this. I’ve never made Pulla before 🙂
Just made these…and I’m only going to give them a “good”. I’m curious, why olive oil? I knew as soon as I mixed the dough it was the wrong choice. I’d use butter or coconut oil. With enough frosting you can kind of mask the olive oil taste…but the flavor of olive oil in a baked good if just weird. Other than that I liked them. Not my favorite paleo baked good ever…but I’d try again with a different oil.
Thanks for you feedback Sarah. I can see how a strong olive oil taste would be off-putting. Butter would make an excellent oil replacement.
Sorry, I forgot to answer your question. Honestly, I’ve never had an issue using olive oil – flavor-wise while with coconut oil, sometimes it doesn’t bind as well – like it will sometimes leak out of the dough. This is why butter or ghee would be good considering how much oil is required for this recipe.
What if melted palm shortening was used (like in your pizza tutorial)?
That would work great!
Would it be possible to refrigerate the dough overnight after rolling it up, so all I have to do is slice and bake in the morning?
Nikki, I’ve found the dough is harder to work when it’s cold. You could let it sit in the morning to warm up a bit 🙂
Hi! I don’t have any palm shortening on hand, do you think I could substitute butter or ghee or something else? thanks 🙂
Ghee or butter would work perfectly 🙂
@Kelly Bejelly,
Could Coconut Oil be used instead of Palm shortening?
IN the recipe yes, for the frosting, maybe. It’s really going to be liquidy and not hold up like the palm shortnening.
Hey Lady!
Just made these. I gotta say: they totally rocked. But I can see where some could find them a little challenging. The tapioca is tough to work with initially. I did make some changes, quite a few, actually, but used your dough base (I added coconut oil and more egg), and we had a lovely breakfast. Thanks for the idea!!
Ally
Yeah! yes, tapioca is a tricky beast but once you nail the flour, you rarely get it wrong. I’ve made a couple video tutorials to help light the way for some 🙂
These are GENIUS! Amazing! For those who had trouble with the dough, I mixed mine in a stand mixer using the dough hook attachment. (After boiling the oil, water, syrup mixture, I transferred it to my mixer and let it cool slightly before adding the tapioca flour.) Also be sure to sift the coconut flour when you add it. The dough worked beautifully- it was smooth and pliable; close consistency to gluten-y dough! And these baked perfectly. Instead of the frosting, I decided to top mine with some ghee and a tiny drizzle of maple syrup. They made me deliriously happy this morning. Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them 🙂 thank you for the tips also!
These are amazing!! I have been Paleo for over 4 years and have not had a cinnamon roll since. I was craving one but most recipes sounded complicated. This was pretty easy and super delicious! Thanks!
You are so welcome Tamra 🙂
Nice! I had crumbly dough too, before reading the comments, and just squished it together after cutting the rings. (I only hand-mixed it, then was waylaid by burnt fingertips from the flat stove top (oops!). 🙁 They just came out of the oven and taste great!
By the way, are your icing photos without cinnamon? They look so white, so I’m just curious, but I really enjoy the cinnamon-y icing, in which I used butter instead of palm shortening since I had no palm shortening on hand.
Yikes, I’ve burned my fingers a time or two on my flat top stove. I’m glad that you were able to get the recipe to work 🙂 Also, yes there is cinnamon in my icing. It might be a little harder to since because of the light in the photo. Palm shortening makes the BEST frostings.
When measuring the palm shortening… should it be melted or “room temperature” which for mine is like a butter?
Thanks
Mine did not come out as pretty as yours but they were still delicious. My dough was very gooey and was really hard to roll out. I ended up rolling it very slowly and baking it in log form first as I would never be able to cut it. I sliced it after 30 mins in the oven and then baked for another 5 mins. Any suggestions on the gooey dough? Should I add a little more coconut flour next time? Thanks!
Yes, I would add more coconut flour. Add 1 tbsp at a time. Be sure to mix and let it sit because it takes a second for coconut flour to start to thicken a recipe. I’m glad that you enjoyed it!
Great I was just about to ask this question as i have just made the dough and it’s very wet. Am letting the mix sit whilst I read these comments! I’ll add a bit mite coconut flour and see how it goes,…
I hope it worked out Julena!
These are really great. I used a mix of almond flour/cashew flour/coconut sugar/coconut oil for the middle. My kids eve ate these and they are picky, picky. Thanks.
Also, your other recipes are inspiring. I’ve got kids who love breads/crackers/cereal/poptarts so I’m hoping I can replace some of that with your recipes.
I’m so glad to hear that Erin! I hope you find some great recipes on my site to keep your kiddos happy 🙂
Kelly,
These look amazing. I’m doing the autoimmune paleo diet and there isn’t much treats you can make on that. Looks like I can make this minus the nut filling and egg. Could I replace the egg with something else?
Thanks!
Bianca, I’ve had quite a few people tell me the energy egg replacer has worked well. I hope you like it hun!
woudl a flax egg work?
Hi Amanda, yes the flax egg will work 🙂
thanks! for some reason my dough was wet so i added tapioca and then added too much and it got crumbly..then added some liquid then added tapioca again to finally get a dough ball (am i supposed to have that?) somewhat like the consistency of pamelas gluten free flour blend and i rolled it out..they were pretty crumbly tho..and baked and they ended up hard..what did i do wrong? thanks!
Thanks for the recipe! I just made these and they came out great. I was a little confused because the dough recipe calls for coconut oil, but in one of the comments you refer to olive oil, and then in the pizza recipe video you used palm shortening I think. Anyway, I only had coconut oil so that is what I used. I think in one of your comments you mention coconut oil bleeds out of the dough. That happened to me while I was mixing the tapioca flour in. This was a big glob of goo almost impossible to mix, sitting in a pile of oil. I’m wondering if this is where some people get stuck? I just kept mixing away – or more like beating away at it. Then I let it cool and once I added the egg and coconut flour it was a bit easier to mix and the oil eventually blended in, but it’s still globby. Once I started kneading it it became more workable. I didn’t have palm shortening so I replaced with coconut cream concentrate (I had to add water). I wouldn’t suggest this as an alternative. It was ok, but I’m anxious to try palm shortening next time. Great recipe! Thanks!
Sorry it was such a trial for you Liz. I’ve been testing and tweaking the recipe and coconut oil will work. Do you have a food processor? I’ve found that this is the best tool to make the recipe. Simply throw it in there with the dough attachment and let the machine do the work. Honestly, I love Palm shortening for any kind of frosting because it does not have any kinda of taste to it. Coconut cream is gritty as a frosting so I don’t use it often.
I love these. I’ve made them 3 times so far. They always come out great and I really like the texture. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe.
Yes, I’m so glad you love them Stephanie 🙂 Happy Holidays hun!
I planning on making these delicious looking rolls for Christmas! 🙂 I know someone asked if you could make and then back the next day…but how about just making/baking them the night before (don’t frost) and then reheat the next morning? Just trying to find ways to keep my kitchen time to a minimum so I too can enjoy the festivities…right?! 😉
That works well! I just did that this morning 🙂 I hope you enjoy them!
You’re the BEST, Kelly!!! Thank you! I’ll let you know how it goes! Happy Holidays to you and your family! 🙂
These look absolutely amazing! I was planning on making them for Christmas brunch. Would the recipe still work if I made the dough, then refrigerated them overnight so I could just pop them in the oven in the morning?
I’ve tried this and it didn’t work out as well. I would make them and warm them in the oven in the monring and then apply the frosting. I hope you enjoy them!
I notice that you call for 2T maple syrup in the roll mix but the directions never call for it to be added in. I added it after the coconut flour and egg. Perhaps this is why some people got a crumbly dough instead of a kneadable one?
Actually, it’s in the very beginning of the recipe, when it says to add the maple syrup/honey to the water before you bring it to a boil.
These turned out amazing! I admit I was skeptical when I was mixing the tapioca flour in with the water, etc. It was so odd, but once cooked, even my husband thought they were awesome. I highly recommend this recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Sue!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I made these this morning for Christmas brunch and they were absolutely AMAZING!!! People were raving about them- yum!!! We agreed to start a new tradition and make these next Christmas too. Thank you for sharing your recipe for such delicious Paleo Cinnamon Rolls!.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Megan 🙂
I tried this recipe. The Dough was grainy and could not roll. I ended up making layered squares. Very disappointed. The dough is NOT elastic enough to roll. What did I do wrong?????
Wendy, I highly recommend checking out the video tutorial for my pretzel recipe http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NRHR5gOnQrQ since it’s so similar. A lot of people have been able to get this to come together in their stand mixer or food processor.
I’m not normally one to comment or write recipe reviews, but this time I couldn’t help myself. These turned out PERFECTLY for me, and I have had a lot of coconut flour baking fails. My kids hardly ever get to eat treats because they are celiacs, and they went crazy over these. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. I can’t wait to try some of your others :).
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Therese 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! I’ve been craving something bread-like!!! It’s been only a few months since I cut out all grains in hopes of healing a medical condition…and it’s been a long few months!!! I’m a little stumped as to how to adjust all these recipes for high altitude…only a problem with baking…but I’m sure I’ll figure it out. These were a little dry…next time I’ll add another egg or some more coconut oil.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I hope you get that high altitude baking dialed in soon 🙂
I just made these and they were quite tasty! I actually just ate 4, even without the frosting 😛 #Ineedselfcontrol
They rather chewy though, at least for me. I think they’d be a great base for substituting other fillings, such as scallions/garlic/chili oil for a savory version, or even paleo-friendly-nutella & bananas. YUM.
I can’t find palm shortening here in Sydney. What could I use as a substitute to make the icing?
Hi Nancy! I love your ideas 🙂 If you can do butter, I would use butter. If not, try coconut butter.
Kelly, I thought the Paleo diet didn’t include eggs? I have a friend who can not tolerate eggs. Would she have to substitute a flax egg in this recipe, and if so, would it still have the light texture?
Thanks!
Hi Sherry, the Paleo diet does include eggs hun. I have had many readers sub energy egg with no issues.
Hey, Kelly!!
I was wondering, what are some acceptable substitutes for the palm shortening in the icing?
Butter or lard are the only real close substitutes.
Hi! My hubby and kids are gonna make this for me for Mother’s Day Tom! Any chance coconut yogurt or coconut greek could be a sub for the egg? Or is energy egg replacer the only option? Lmk, thanks:)
Hi Melissa you will need more of a binder to make this come together so I would use the egg replacer or make chia seed egg replacer.
I made these tonight as a special breakfast treat for my son in the morning. Because we are trying to avoid added sweeteners in our diet i made a few modifications. I omitted the sweetener in the dough and for the filling i made a paste from dates, almond butter, coconut oil cinnamon. These came out perfectly! The centers are gooey and lovely and the dough worked out perfectly for me. I cant wait for my son to wake up tomorrow for his sweet surprise!
I WILL be making these again !
Yeah! I’m so glad to hear that Violette! Happy Mother’s Day hun!
Thank you! I hope yours was great also Kelly!
You need to revisit this post and add pictures at least and more specific directions. I stopped making this early on, after i added the tapioca flour to the boiling mixture and i couldn’t stir it any more, it just.globbed up on my spoon. You dont need to answer me as I will be finding a different recipe to use but here are some examples: how long does the mixture boil? Just starting to boil, one min, 30 secs? Do you transfer that mixture to a seperate bowl to stir in flour?
Thats all i have.since i decided to save.the rest of my ingredients. Pictures, step by step are an excellent guide as well. Keep trying!
Amy I really appreciate your feedback and have adjusted the recipe and am now working on a video.
WOW! These are amazing! I just ate three! I followed the instructions to a T and had no problem. I will say that after I added in the tapioca and it turned into an alien blob, I was worried, but kneading brought to life such a ‘realistic’ dough!!!
I don’t have palm shortening.. but let me save someone some trouble:
I tried to use coconut butter, because you melted it’s so frosting-like.. I melted it with some coconut oil and vanilla and as soon as I added honey, a dough appeared.
So, I melted just coconut oil with coconut butter and drizzled that on unsweetened.. but it’s just okay. I think it takes away from the flavor of the muffin. Real frosting maybe not.
So, I drizzled half the batch with raw honey and it is like a sticky bun! So amazing!
OH, one more important thing to mention. I was out of raisins, so I replaced with dates: pureed into paste with a little extra water, honey and I doubled the cinnamon. This was the spread I used. Gooey and and amazing.
Great recipe, thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Gio!
First of all, I totally appreciate recipes like this! I followed the directions exactly & everything turned out as promised. I used EnerG tapioca flour.
I’m glad you enjoyed it hun.
Hi. I made these and dough was gooey but he bread came out nice. My question is, how can I make the filling sweeter? I find the filling a little blunt, can I substitute Maple syrup with Coco Sugar? Or add some on top of the filling and the frosting? Thanks
Yes, you could swap for the coconut sugar and add more 🙂
I’m not paleo, but I don’t eat grains, so I always turn to paleo recipes when I want to bake something. These just came out of the oven and they’re delicious! Will definitely make these again.
Yeah, I’m so glad that you enjoyed them Marisa!
You, my Dear, are a Paleo Goddess!!! Thank you! I didn’t make the frosting but, IMO they didn’t need it. I’ve made the pizza crust and pretzels too and am SOOOO happy I found you!
Yeah! I’m so glad you enjoyed them Jessica!
I have made these twice and the paleo garlic bread many times now. I don’t feel like this is stressed in anyone’s comments or your recipe (although I could be wrong!), but the tapioca starch has to partially cook in order for it to activate to the correct consistency. For that, the water/oil/salt/sweet mixture can’t be too hot, but it can not be too cool either. If I accidentally cool it too much, I put it back onto the burner and stir for 30 seconds to cook it. Once you see it starting to come together, you can take it off. I’ve usually add more coconut flour to make it come together, or at times when I didn’t have enough tapioca I’ve added flax/chia seeds to the tapioca (maybe not strictly paleo…?) to create a similar texture. They always turn out and are amazing! In terms of texture, it really is similar to bread as opposed to many paleo ‘bread’ recipes out there. Kelly, you are a genius!
Thanks for the tip Katrina!
thanks! for some reason my dough was wet so i added tapioca and then added too much and it got crumbly..then added some liquid then added tapioca again to finally get a dough ball (am i supposed to have that?) somewhat like the consistency of pamelas gluten free flour blend and i rolled it out..they were pretty crumbly tho..and baked and they ended up hard..what did i do wrong? thanks!
Girl, you are really so worth saving! Made those in a Sunday afternoon, they were an instant hit! Thanks for the recipe, turn out amazing!
Aw, thanks Rivka! I’m so glad that it worked for you hun!
Do you think it would be okay to prepare these the night before and bake in the morning? Was wanting to make these for Christmas morning.
I would just let them warm up a touch on the counter in the morning before baking. Enjoy hun!
can u make these ahead of time and refridgerate the prepared rolls overnight before baking?
Yes, just let them come to room temperature before baking.
Confused. In one place, someone asks if these can be made ahead (sans frosting) and in the fridge overnight (already sliced) and bake in the morning. That place, the answer was that you tried it and it didn’t work out well. This most recent post asking the same thing says it is just fine to let them come to room temp before baking in the morning. Is there a difference in these questions that I’m missing?
I didn’t let it come to room temp when I tried it the fist time. You need to let warm up before baking.
I made these this morning – yum! Definitely the closest thing to “real” cinnamon rolls I’ve had! I’ll be honest, the tapioca mixture looked a little gross at first, and I didn’t think they would turn out, But after kneading the dough, it rolled out and cut perfectly! I added a tablespoon of ghee to the filling and also 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract to the frosting. My husband thought the texture was a bit gummy, but he did like the taste, and I will be making these again! Thanks!
Yeah! It can look a little weird when coming together but I’m so glad you enjoyed them hun!
I have to say, I wasn’t holding out much hope at the tapioca flour point. Kind of looked “like a big booger” according to my kids! LOL But after adding the coconut flour and kneading, it turned into a lovely dough that rolled like a dream. I used coconut oil as I had no palm shortening. They are baking as we speak and I cannot wait to try them!
Ha! It does look like boogers! So glad it worked out for you hun! Enjoy!
Any chance this can be doubled without doing a separate, second batch? We are a family of 5 and I’m sure my 5 & 6 yr old girls would want 2, and probably my 14-yr-old-son will want 2-3, plus my husband and me… Just don’t think 6 will be enough?!
I don’t see why this would be an issue hun.
Ours is still a runny mess. I wonder if the tapioca flour coming straight from the freezer would be the problem? Was trying to have them for breakfast this morning but have almost given up…
Also wonder – we used the MCT coconut oil – always liquid. I’m thinking that was a huge issue with these? I guess it depends on the recipe, whether that kind of coconut oil can work or not. Some it does, some it doesn’t. Any ideas if that would have helped – to use regular coconut oil, melted down, rather than the MCT oil?
Oh, yes, I would think the mct oil would not help since it’s always liquid. DId you try adding in more tapioca flour to them to turn into a dough?
So good subbed the tapioca for arrowroot! They turned out good now Im curious if tapioca would be even better.
I”m glad you enjoyed it hun!
Has anyone else had trouble with recipes using Tapioca flour coming out dense and heavy?
I’ve also felt they where a little heavy in the gut too!
I do notice that they are heavier in the gut Natgrrl.
This came out horrible. I tried my best to save it but it had the consistency of mochi. So frustrating.
Sorry it didn’t work for you hun.
Awesome recipe …..
First i thought it won’t work …
was very gluey but then i added an extra egg and put everything in my kenwood ktchenmachine and on highspeed for about 2 minutes and i had the perfect dough…. unbelievable and followed the instructions and we had the best cinnamon rolls . Even my husband loved them …he ate 4 at once…
Thanks
Phew! So glad it worked out hun and the tips helped!
any subs for raisins?
You can skip them hun.
Is tapioca flour the same as arrowroot flour?
Thanks!
No, it’s not but it will work the same in this reipe Suzanne.
My family’s Christmas Eve tradition is caramel rolls. I switched to a low carb diet eliminating all grains about two years ago. (I can’t say I eat paleo since I use cream and cheese products). One thing that can be a challenge is the holidays. I’ve been trying to make and find recipes that will give me those traditions and still eat healthy. I saw this recipe and knew I had to try them. I used grassed fed butter (GFB) instead of coconut oil because I don’t like a lot of coconut flavor. I wanted more of a caramel sauce to make it closer to what I grew up with. Used GFB, organic maple syrup, and cream – boiled a few minutes to thicken and topped the rolls with that. This is an amazing treat! What a great recipe. Wasn’t sure I could believe they had the texture of wheat rolls, but they really do! THANKS! I’m going to my parents for Christmas Eve and will be bringing these. My dad is diabetic and these will be great for him!
So glad you enjoyed them Catherine 🙂
Hmm, okay, so the dough didn’t come out exactly… probably should’ve read all the comments first! Maybe it’s because I subbed 1/2 cup arrowroot for the tapioca, but the dough just became quite globby and the coconut flour didn’t quite blend in… but you know what? They’re still really delicious! (Just glad I’m not making them for anyone but myself heheh) I wanted more of a Swedish kanelbullar/kardammumabullar feel, so instead of the filling I brushed the dough with ghee, coconut sugar and ground cardamom. Plus this recipe was actually relatively quick and easy, so even though it didn’t turn out 100% perfect I’m super excited to do it again! Thank you!
Yeah! So glad it still tasted good hun and I’m sure your next attempt will go smoothly.
Tried these again, fixed the tapioca/coconut problem! I mixed the tapioca starch and coconut flour together in a bowl prior to adding to the wet ingredients—this meant when I added the dry ingredients the mixture didn’t immediately become glooby, and I could still add the egg and make sure everything was incorporated properly. Wonder if this might help people?
Thanks for sharing Annet!
I am not only gluten intolerant, but also coconut and chicken egg allergic. I have duck eggs for the chicken but what can I sub for all the coconut products? ie the flour, the oil I could use butter, just skip it in the filling, I could make my own cream cheese frosting, ok, so I guess the only sub I need a suggestion for is the coconut flour. thank you
There really is not a good sub for coconut flour. .. maybe psylluim husk but it would take some trial and error to get the recipe down Serena.
So I’ve made these twice…both times they were absolutely delicious. The first time it was super easy and they came out great. The second time I let the kitchenaid knead the dough a little too long and it became kind of crumbly. This made it much more difficult to roll out so I did it mostly by hand. The dough sat out for probably an hour (went to church) and when I came home it wasn’t as springy which made it easier to piece together. I think the trick was to use the parchment paper to roll it kind of like sushi (didn’t even bother pinching the ends together). Then I kept it rolled up in the parchment paper when I cut it so it would all stay together.
I didn’t have palm shortening the first time I made the recipe and used coconut oil instead. It was good but a little runny so I decided from now on to save time I’m just going to sprinkle them with cinnamon and drizzle with honey. Couldn’t even tell the difference and still amazing! The whole family loves them.
So glad you enjoyed them Kelsey<3
Has anyone tried this without the coconut flour? I am not a fan of coconut flour and looking for a recipe to replace my tapioca flour only recipe. I am wondering if anyone has had success subbing the coconut flour for more tapioca flour before I try it myself. Thanks!
It would change the texture a bit but it may work hun.
Hi! I’ve been craving some cinnamon roles and yours look absolutely delicious!
Is there any way to replace the coconut flour? We do’nt have it here, and I really mind the coconuty taste….
Thank you!
Michelle
You would really have to do some recipe developement when subbung the coconut flour hun. You would try almond flour.
Holy cow! This recipe is fantastic. I’m eating a roll right now as I type this.
I woke up yesterday morning craving cinnamon rolls (5 months pregnant). I haven’t really craved a cinnamon roll since I was a kid, and I’ve been gluten-free and sugar-free for almost 10 years, but cravings are odd like that.
As soon as I added the tapioca flour, I started laughing, because I realized exactly what this dough is similar to — pate a choux or more precisely in its naturally gluten-free incarnation, pao de queijo (a.k.a. pan de queso or chipas depending on the location). I’ve made pao de queijo hundreds of times, yet I never thought of using a similar technique for a chewy, sweet dough.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I have several recipes that I have been stuck on, and the tapioca flour trick might just get me over the hump with them.
Yeah! You are so welcome hun!
This recipe looks amazing! I love cinnamon rolls, but haven’t had one in so long because of the tummy-issues associated with the gluten, dairy and white flour of regular cinnamon rolls. Can’t wait to try this paleo version!!
I made your Paleo Cinnamon Rolls this past weekend and while they were pretty darn good, the dough seemed to have an underbaked texture. I was wondering if they are supposed to have the baking soda & baking powder in it like the pretzel recipe?
I think the secret is to mix the dough when it’s hot. That should fix the problem hun,
Hi Kelly, I have had this recipe saved forever but don’t make super sweet treats that often. I finally made these the other morning for breakfast when my youngest had a sleepover with friends. My dough came out really sticky and I couldn’t peel the top parchment off after I rolled it out. I am sure it was from my farm eggs being more jumbo sized. I put the dough/parchment sandwich in the oven for 2 minutes and then took it out removed the top parchment, spread on the filling and rolled it up. I ended up baking it unsliced. When finished all the kids raved over it! There is almost always a fix when a recipe doesn’t go as planned. 🙂
Yeah Diana! So glad your family enjoyed it hun!
I’ve made these three years in a row now- the dough is the best paleo dough I’ve tried! I like to add my own twist by adding bacon to the filling. Great recipe all around! Thanks!
So glad you enjoy it Allison!
Hi Kelly, Would you please tell me if you put these cinnamon rolls in a COLD oven and then turn on the heat? I hope to make them for Christmas morning. Thank you for your help.
Yes, place in a cold oven hun! Happy Christmas!
Hi! I’m so excited to have found is recipe and plan to make for my family for Christmas morning! Question, I will need to make them on Friday, but won’t be eating until Sunday morning. Can I make them as usual on Friday and then pop in oven on Sunday to warm up and then apply frosting?
I’ve never let the dough sit for that long hun. I would wrap them in plastic wrap to try to keep them moist.
I think I will bake them and freeze so then Sunday morning will be just warming up in oven and frosting them! Wish me luck ????
The first time I made this it came out very gummy, my husband said it tasted like playdough. Then I watched the video for your pretzel recipe, and noticed the ingredients were very similar, but the amounts of tapioca & coconut flours were opposite. So I tried that for this cinnamon roll recipe, also added in the baking soda & powder, and it came out much better! I think I want to make a double batch so I can make the rolls bigger. 🙂
I’m glad you got a recipe to work hun!
I forgot to mention, I also added cinnamon and vanilla to the dough. 🙂
Oh Kelly, thank you for this recipe! I followed your instructions and had no problems. My family loves cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning and everyone raved about how good yours are. We made a double batch for 16 rolls and they were all gone except for one we saved for a friend who joined us after work Christmas day. I am grateful to have a paleo option to offer our family; we have some of the same health challenges you do. Thank you for modeling good health through wise food choices. Happy New Year!
I really want to try these — but I can’t eat eggs. 🙁 Do you think a ‘flaxseed egg substitute’ would work for this recipe?? Thanks!
Yep, that works well hun.
Do you think these will work with a replacement gelatin egg?
Yes, it should work well hun.
Hi does anyone know how to make the dough thicker?
I would add more tapioca flour hun
Can this recipe be doubled or tripled?
Yes, it can hun.
Oh my gosh the texture is wonderful! I was skeptical of the blend but it truly has that perfect cinnamon roll chewy softness. Very impressed. Will DEFINITELY be making these again.
So glad you enjoyed them hun!
I will make this again and again. Thank you
Enjoy!
WOW!
I don’t typically leave comments but after 12 days AIP (gelatin for egg and no nut version) I was desperately seeking something that made me feel human again.
As I was mixing it all together I could not fathom how it could ever look like yours… Well, they did and they taste amazing (I ate 4) Thank you so much….
SO glad you enjoyed them Neenah!
I just made the recipe and while I haven’t tried a full cinnamon roll yet I did sample the end and it’s definitely dryer than I feel it should be. I watched the video and read the comments and ended up using 1/2 an egg extra to incorporate the ghee/coconut flour that didn’t mix in (which was most). However did I miss something or does this recipe have no leavening agent? The pretzels did so I was curious. That may have helped with how mine turned out. The frosting is yummy though!
Thanks for sharing Erin, no leaving is needed to get the end result hon.
I just made these for my low carb son and they’re baking in the oven. Can you clarify the nutrition facts serving size? How many cinnamon rolls did you split the log into to yield the 35 net carbs per serving? Thank you!!
This recipe makes 6 paleo cinnamon rolls and if you are trying to reduce carbs, I would cut them in half.
Absolutely delicious!!! They definitely tasted like “real” cinnamon rolls. For the glaze i just used coconut milk, maple syrup and sea salt and it was so yummy!
So glad you enjoyed them Amy!
Can I make the dough in advance? I want to make these Thanksgiving morning and am wondering if I could make the dough Tuesday or Wednesday night so all I have to do Thursday morning is bake and make the frosting.
You could make it in advance but you will want to let it come to room temperature before working the dough hon.
Did you ever make a video tutorial for these??? 🙂
Not yet but hopefully before the end of the year.
Made some adjustments for personal preference (ie. Filled with date paste, cinnamon and raisins. No sweetener added to dough, used ghee, topped with coconut manna) this dough is AMAZING. Thank you for figuring this out. I havent seen anyone else use Brazilian cheese ball dough this way.
So glad you enjoyed it!
I am so confused on how anyone made this recipe work!
I tried it twice in a row and both times I had the same issue.
When I add the tapioca flour into the very hot liquid (water,oil,maple) the tapioca itself is clumping up. When I say clumping I mean almost like really hard gummy bears. When I add the other ingredients in it can’t integrate with the clumpy tapioca flour. Does the liquid need to cool down to room temperature? Is this happening because I’m adding it when the liquid is too hot? The instructions only saw remove pan from heat.
I had a completely different recipe for a vegan cheese that had you mix the tapioca with water before adding it into a hot liquid to thicken in. Is that something I should try here? I am not sure what the boiling water accomplishes.
Appreciate any help!
I’ll be making a video soon and hopefully that will help!
Hi Kelly!
I have been wanting to try this recipe for our Christmas brunch, but I’m once again experiencing another health challenge this year and have to keep the oxalates low (hence no tapioca flour). 🙁 How do you think subbing the tapioca flour with potato starch would be? I know the recipe calls for quite a bit of tapioca flour and potato starch is denser so I didn’t know if I would need to adjust the amount of the coocnut flour to do so. Any ideas? I can’t have arrowroot or almond flour either as they are also both very high oxalate. UGH! It’s always something!
Mine also turned into a coagulated mess when I added the tapioca to the oil/water/maple syrup. I think it needs to be cool first to avoid the clumpy congealing.
It should be warm to get it mix correctly.
Hello. I had trouble with this recipe, too, as some others did. Did you ever make a video for it, as you said you might in the comments before mine? My dough didn’t come together well at all, and I didn’t read the comments until after about some using their Kitchen Aid mixers to help. Also, I am wondering if vegan butter would work better than the coconut oil. In the end, it was a rough odd shaped oval I managed to roll out, with cracks and crevices all throughout. I managed to roll it up, and I sliced the individual pieces. I had no choice but to keep the entire log together (so the pieces were upright and not flat) or else it would have fallen apart. I baked it just like that. Next time, I think I’d try the vegan butter and a mixer for sure. Perhaps I’d have better results.
Hi Courtney, I just had a video made so perhaps that will help you get it sorted.
Hi Kelly! I am so excited about this recipe! I really want it to work for me. I have tried three times now. This last time I bought bobs red mill flour just to be sure I was using the exact same ingredients. My dough doesn’t look like a paste after I mix in the tapioca… it is paste like, but piecier, not as smooth looking as the video. I wouldn’t call it sticky, it is more oily- like dripping in oil. It doesn’t seem right? I added more tapioca but it is still very greasy!! Any suggestions for me or is it supposed to be that way? Thanks in advance for the help!! I love your recipes!
Hi Lindsey, first I would try putting it in a food processor and adding 1/4 cup more tapioca and mixing. Do this until you have a dough.
These were a total waste of time and materials. The dough was too crumbly to kneed, so I added more moisture but it wouldn’t stay together even after baking; I put them in jumbo muffin cups in muffin pan and hoped they would bake together, but they are just as crumbly. The best part is eating the filling after the “rolls” are baked.
This recipe just didn’t come together. I followed the recipe to the letter and it went great until it was time to roll the dough into a log. It didn’t roll well, broke, didn’t hold the filling, which I didn’t go heavy on cuz my daughter’s not a nut fan. I just kinda put 9 blobs on the parchment paper. They turned out to be delicious blobs though!
My daughter can’t stop eating them! I’ll make my own filling next time and see if that’ll roll.
I’m glad to hear that the flavor turned out great, despite the challenges you faced with the dough. Sometimes recipes can be tricky, but with a bit of experimentation, you can find what works best for you. To improve the dough’s rolling and holding ability, consider adjusting the dough consistency by adding a touch more liquid or flour if needed. Homemade filling might also provide a better texture for rolling. Keep experimenting, and I’m sure you’ll create the perfect version of these delicious treats! Happy baking, and enjoy the delightful blobs with your daughter!
I just tried making this as I love cinnamon rolls. I make a great pizza crust recipe and it always turns out great. This one was a globby mess that wouldn’t hold together enough to roll out and the coconut oil wouldn’t mix in-it was all over my hands and the paper. My husband gave me the idea of just rolling as thin as possible and even though it wouldn’t hold together, just leave it flat and top it with the cinnamon mixture. It baked up gummy also, although it tasted ok. All in all, pretty disappointing. Bummer.
I hear you, Corie—thank you for the honest feedback. This dough can be tricky depending on your exact brand of coconut oil and flour. I love your husband’s idea of rolling it flat like a slab cookie! If you try again, chilling the dough first can help with shaping. I appreciate you giving it a go.
Can you make these the night before? Store in the fridge and cool in the morning?
Hi Nikki! Yes, you can prep the dough the night before—just store it in the fridge covered tightly. In the morning, let it come to room temp for 30–45 minutes before baking. Great for saving time on busy mornings!