Low Calorie Cinnamon Roll “Muffin in a Mug”

Today I’m sharing my recipe for a delicious low calorie cinnamon roll mug muffin. Do you love cinnamon as much as I do?

I will be the first to tell you that I add it to E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Blueberry cobbler? And a sprinkle of cinnamon. Boring old toast? And a sprinkle of cinnamon. A fiery lamb curry? Add a sprinkle of cinnamon.

There’s something so warm and comforting about cinnamon to me. And when I was kid, I used to go nuts over Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. If I went to the mall, I’d get a Cinnabon. Something about that intoxicating smell wafting down the corridors would get me, every time.

And then one time, I looked up the nutrition. Did you know a standard classic Cinnabon cinnamon roll has 880 calories, 37 grams of fat (16 saturated), 129 grams of carbs, and 61 grams of sugar. YIKES.

Just for fun, I looked up how many teaspoons of sugar equal 61 grams. FIFTEEN teaspoons.

So that pretty much turned me off cinnamon rolls. I didn’t even think it was possible to find a low calorie cinnamon roll. That is, until we recently visited Northern Europe. Cinnamon rolls are extremely popular in the Nordic countries. (Hey, they even sell them in Ikea!)

In Denmark, they call them kanelsnegl. In Finland, they’re called korvapuusti. In Iceland, they’re called kanilsnúða. In Sweden, kanelbulle. And in Norway, they are known as either kanelbolle, skillingsbolle or kanelsnurr.

Fun, right? And as I sampled my way through, I realized that not all of them were covered in mounds of sticky-sweet cream icing. And they were STILL delicious. In fact, most were just dusted with a bit of pearl sugar and cinnamon.

Low Calorie Cinnamon Roll “Muffin in a Mug”

Because I love cinnamon rolls so much, I wanted to create a satisfying option that I could have without feeling like I might be heading towards a diabetic coma. And this low calorie cinnamon roll recipe comes together so quickly that you can whip it up on any old weeknight when you’re craving a little treat.

In fact, this low calorie cinnamon roll is so good (and easy) that you could even whip it up for a quick breakfast. It’s basically a “mug muffin”. Just stir up a quick batter, pop it in the microwave and 90 seconds later, you’re digging into a cinnamon roll muffin in a mug.

Cinnamon Roll “Muffin in a Mug” Ingredients

Kodiak Protein Pancake Mix

Instead of flour, I like to use Kodiak Protein Pancake mix. It has whole grains and extra protein. You can substitute any brand of protein pancake mix (I think I saw some at Aldi and Trader Joe’s recently).

Baking powder

While there is already baking powder in the pancake mix, I like a little more lift.

Milk

I used a 2% milk, but you can use skim or whole milk. You can also substitute with almond milk or soy milk, or even water.

Sugar-free maple syrup

We always have some SF maple syrup on hand, but you can also substitute with a sugar-free vanilla syrup, or regular maple syrup. Sugar-free syrups are a great ingredient to use in your low calorie cinnamon roll recipe. This is one of my favorite brands.

Oil

I just used regular vegetable oil. You can also substitute melted butter or coconut oil

Vanilla extract

Just a touch for some added flavor. If you use a sugar-free vanilla syrup instead of maple syrup, you can skip this.

Cinnamon and sugar topping

I mix together just one teaspoon of sugar and a bit of cinnamon for the topping. I really prefer the taste of real sugar and love how it sort of “melts” into the top of the cinnamon roll mug muffin but you can substitute a sugar substitute if you prefer.

Even with a teaspoon of real sugar, this low calorie cinnamon roll mug muffin only has 200 calories!

This recipe would pair really well with my easy vanilla milk tea. Check it out!