These Cottage Cheese Cinnamon Rolls are soft, fluffy, perfectly sweet and topped with a Greek yogurt glaze. Easy to make and sneak in 10 grams of protein each!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If cinnamon rolls have ever felt intimidating, these cottage cheese cinnamon rolls will change that. They are way more simple than my healthy cinnamon rolls recipe – you just roll the dough to a common sense size, cut into 10 rolls, and bake.
Adding cottage cheese to the cinnamon rolls dough makes them soft and moist and adds extra protein when compared to traditional cinnamon rolls. Also I replaced yeast with self-rising flour so there is no rising time, some recipes require even 2. If all you have is Greek yogurt, make my Greek yogurt cinnamon rolls.
Greek yogurt frosting surprised me as well – it doesn’t curdle, is creamy and delicious and full of protein without being overly sweet. Way healthier than the cream cheese frosting!
Both my photographer and I made this cottage cheese cinnamon rolls recipe and loved how not overly sweet it is. Yet my kids and their friends loved them too! And you can easily adjust the sweetness in the dough or filling.
Ingredients for Cottage Cheese Cinnamon Rolls
- Cottage cheese: I like using 2% or whole milk cottage cheese for extra creaminess and flavor, though any cottage cheese works and brings plenty of moisture and protein.
- Milk: I used 3.25% dairy milk, but any milk or dairy-free option works, but non-dairy will be slightly less flavorful.
- Maple syrup: Adds a touch of natural sweetness to the dough, but you can easily swap in agave nectar or honey if you like. If you use sugar, you will need to add more milk.
- Vanilla extract: Adds a sweet, warm flavor.
- Self-rising flour: It’s store-bought all-purpose flour that already has baking powder and salt in it. To make your own, for every 1 cup of self-rising flour, combine 1 cup all-purpose flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- Butter: Use melted salted or unsalted butter for brushing the dough before sprinkling on the filling. You can also use coconut oil, if you prefer.
- Brown sugar and cinnamon: The classic duo that makes cinnamon rolls filling. You can also use coconut sugar.
- Greek yogurt: You can use any plain Greek yogurt, I used 4%. The thicker, the better. I do think regular yogurt will be too runny.
- Powdered sugar and vanilla: I mix these together with the Greek yogurt to make a sweet, smooth glaze.
Substitutions Tip
I haven’t tested these high protein cinnamon rolls with substitutions like gluten-free flour, whole wheat flour or Greek yogurt, but if you are an intermediate baker you may try. The goal is to end up with the dough that’s soft and fluffy, and just stops sticking to your hands but is possible to roll.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Cinnamon Rolls
There’s no wait time, just bake the rolls and spread the frosting while they are still warm.
Preheat your oven to 350 F and grease an 8×11-inch baking dish with melted butter.
- Blend wet ingredients: Blend the cottage cheese, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and scrape down the sides.
- Make the dough: Stir in the flour with a spatula, then use your hands to form a thick dough. You can add a little extra flour if it’s sticky, so it’s easy to handle.
- Mix cinnamon sugar: Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Roll it out: On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangle. I made it about 11×8 inches, but don’t worry about being exact, just make it big enough to cut into 10 rolls.
- Add the filling: Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly on top.
- Roll and slice: Roll the dough tightly lengthwise, then cut it into 10 pieces and place them in your baking dish randomly. Bake for 30 minutes until lightly golden and puffed.
- Whip up the glaze: While the rolls bake, mix the Greek yogurt, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl until you have a smooth glaze.
- Finish and enjoy: Let the rolls cool for a few minutes, spread on the glaze, and enjoy them warm!
Make Ahead
You can refrigerate your cinnamon rolls ahead of time, then bring them to room temperature and bake as per recipe.
Tips for Best Results
- Scrape walls of blender well: To make sure all the liquid ingredients get fully incorporated.
- Dough should be soft: Don’t add too much flour. If it sticks to your hands a little, that’s fine. Just lightly flour your hands and the surface, this way they won’t be dry.
- Don’t overmix the dough: Mix just until the dough comes together. Overmixing can make the rolls tough instead of soft and fluffy.
- Don’t overbake: These cinnamon rolls don’t brown a lot, so watch the clock and keep them soft.
Variations
- Pumpkin spice: Stir a bit of pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice into the dough for a cozy fall version.
- Nutty: Sprinkle chopped walnuts or pecans over the cinnamon sugar for a crunchy layer.
- Apple cinnamon: Mix in finely chopped apples, I like Granny smith, to the filling for a fruity upgrade.
- More sweet: Add more sugar to the filling and a little to the dough if you like. If you’re using dry sugar, no other changes are needed, but if you use maple syrup, you’ll need a bit more flour.
How to Store
Store: I leave my cinnamon rolls on the counter overnight under a kitchen towel, then keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also refrigerate them right away if you prefer.
Freeze: Keep in an airtight container for up to 3 months and thaw in the fridge overnight.
Reheat: I love warm cinnamon rolls, so I pop them for 30 seconds in the microwave before eating.
More Dessert Recipes to Try
- Greek yogurt cinnamon rolls
- Almond flour cinnamon bread
- Cottage cheese pumpkin bread
- Pumpkin cottage cheese scones
Cottage Cheese Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
Video
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese, I used 2%
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/3 cups self-rising flour, more for dusting + if necessary
For the Filling
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
For the Glaze
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Get 8×11 baking dish ready.
- In a blender, add cottage cheese, milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract and blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl, scraping walls of the jug with spatula.
- Add flour and stir with a spatula, then proceed mixing with your hands until thick dough forms. Add a bit more flour at a time, if needed, to make sure dough is not sticking to your hands.
- Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a large rectangle, approximately 11×8 inches, doesn't have to be exact, just long enough so you can cut it into 10 pieces.
- Brush dough with some melted butter, brush bottom and sides of baking dish with remaining butter.
- In a small bowl, add brown sugar and cinnamon, stir with a spoon to combine and sprinkle onto buttered dough evenly.
- Roll the dough tightly lengthwise and cut into 10 even pieces and place into previously prepared baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly golden and puffed up.
- While cinnamon rolls are baking, in a small bowl whisk together Greek yogurt, powdered sugar and vanilla to make the glaze.
- Remove rolls from the oven, let cool for 2 minutes and top with the glaze. Enjoy warm!
Notes
- Store: I keep cinnamon rolls on the counter overnight loosely covered with kitchen towel. After, I refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 5 days and reheat in a microwave. If you are worried about Greek yogurt frosting, you can refrigerate them right away.
- Freeze: Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Looks delish! Perfect recipe for my husband who is trying to up his protein intake. Thank you 🙂
So glad it’s a good fit for him! Hope you both enjoy it.