These sweet potato cinnamon rolls are mind blowing in the sense that they are only a few ingredients and taste so similar to the real deal! They are vegan, gluten and refined sugar-free, but I cannot stress how much they satisfy a cinnamon roll craving. I was a skeptic at first, as I’m not the biggest fan of sweet potato, but you can’t taste it and it truly gives these such a fluffy/moist texture!
To be completely honest, I’ve always been intimidated to make cinnamon rolls because I’m afraid to mess them up. You have the yeast, you have to be delicate, I always crack the dough – so when I made these, and found them to be painlessly easy, I was instantly obsessed! Be sure to tag me @danishealthyeats on Instagram or Tiktok if you try!
What if I don’t like sweet potato?
Okay, hear me out! I am not the biggest sweet potato fan. I can only eat them in savory ways (fries, etc.) But you REALLY cannot taste any sweet potato in this – like nada. And it really gives the rolls this natural sweetness and adds some moisture to the rolls so they turn out the perfect texture!
Can I use regular sweet potato in these cinnamon rolls?
I haven’t tested regular sweet potatoes, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t work! It’ll alter the color of the rolls, as they’ll turn out orange rather than being a more typical lighter, cinnamon roll-esque dough! I opt for white fleshed sweet potatoes or Murasaki (you just peel the purple skin!)
What you will need to make them:
Sweet potato: As mentioned above, I opt for a white sweet potato or Murasaki!
Cassava flour: There’s no sub for this, sorry! It really gives these rolls the perfect texture. I have a tip when shopping for cassava because I know it can be on the pricier side. Try and find it at stores like Home Goods and Grocery Outlet – they usually have it at a discounted price!
Monk fruit or coconut sugar: This will act as the sweetener for the recipe. Either works great. You can also sub another granulated sweetener if you’d like. (You can use code “danisheathyeats” for a discount!)
Coconut oil: You can sub any oil, vegan butter, ghee, etc.
Cinnamon: Obviously a staple for cinnamon rolls!
What should you frost the cinnamon rolls with?
I always say to use your favorite frosting or glaze recipe! There are a few great store-bought options for refined sugar-free frosting – I love Simple Mills and Birch Benders.
If you want to make a homemade glaze, I love using the Lakanto powdered monk fruit sweetener. I just add a little plant milk to it until it reaches a glaze consistency and then drizzle it over top!
How to make the rolls:
- Boil the potatoes until tender. Add to a food processor to break them down.
- Add the remaining dough ingredients, processing again.
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle. Add the filling to the dough.
- Roll the dough up into a log and cut into pieces.
- Add the pieces to a muffin tin and bake.
- Top with your favorite frosting or glaze. Enjoy!
Other paleo/vegan recipes you will love:
Vegan Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 medium white sweet potatoes (enough to make 2 cups mashed)
- 1 cup cassava flour
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3 tbsp monk fruit or coconut sugar
Filling
- 5 tbsp coconut oil or vegan butter melted
- 1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
- 5 tbsp coconut sugar or monk fruit
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F and grease a muffin tin.
- Peel and cube the sweet potatoes and add to a large pot of boiling water, allowing the potatoes to cook until they are super tender. Let cool.
- Once cooled, add the potatoes to a food processor, processing until they've become a mash (takes 20-30 seconds). Then add in the remaining dough ingredients, processing once more until the dough forms and holds together.
- Pour the dough onto a large piece of parchment paper, pressing it out into a large rectangle.
- Mix together the filling ingredients and spread over the dough, keeping a little distance from the edges.
- Use the parchment paper to help roll the dough up into a tight log. Cut into sices.
- Add the slices to the muffin tin and bake for 28-32 minutes, until slightly golden around the edges and firm to touch – you don't want them to be super gooey in the center.
- Once removing from the oven, there may be a little extra liquid in the muffin tins. The rolls will absorb it upon cooling. Top with your favorite frosting or glaze and enjoy!
I am SO DARN INTRIGUED by these. They’re genius! Classic cinnamon buns are just way too heavy for me, so I can’t wait to try these. I think I might try them with orange sweet potatoes since I love anything colorful!
Omg, I totally agree! I love that the sweet potato adds a little extra nourishment to the recipe while still feeling like a treat! The texture is amazing!
I think you need to edit something..the title says sweet potato, I read lower and it says you haven’t tried sweet potato… something about a white sweet potato? But the recipe just says sweet potato… you know how many different kinds there are and one specific potato works? incredibly confusing. Not everyone reads the articles sadly they go right to the recipe.
How do they rise? Do they stay dense? Or will they get fluffy??
Hi Linda! So sorry for any confusion. I just fixed the recipe to say white sweet potato – I was stating I hadn’t used regular sweet potatoes and am not sure if they’d turn out any different. Unfortunately, I can’t fit all that info into the recipe card, which is why I spend so much time on the blog post – discussing subs, textures, etc! They are pretty similar to a regular sweet potato. Slightly fluffy, but obviously not completely bread-like, like a typical cinnamon roll, but pretty dang close! The Casava gives them a great texture.
I gave this recipe a shot because I love cinnamon rolls and thought it would be awesome if they could be healthier and, while it was delicious I had an issue with the consistency. My rolls came out gooey even after I gave them an extra five minutes in the oven. They taste great but I think I’ll try using a whole cup of cassava flour next time to see if that helps with the consistency.
Hi David! I am so sorry – I haven’t had anyone have this issue yet. Did you use white sweet potato? I think using more cassava may fix the issue or maybe even upping the oven time (ovens vary so much!) So sorry for the trouble!
Hi David! I was also curious what brand cassava you used? Im curious if different brands may yield different results.
I used iYa brand cassava flour. I usually try to use red mill products when I substitute things like this but I couldn’t find any in my area. I also used white sweat potato. Like I said the turned great color and flavor wise, just a bit gooey in the center.
Oh i haven’t tried that brand. I would say that may have been the reason why, maybe it baked differently or should have stayed in a few minutes longer. Sorry again you experienced the gooey center!
When I made them a few days ago they came out gooey towards the center. They even stayed that way after an extra five minutes in the oven. That’s all I did since I didn’t want to burn them. I watched your TikTok video and your dough looked different than mine. Any advice?
Hi Jay! I am so sorry you had this issue. I haven’t had anyone struggle with this yet. What type of sweet potato did you use? did you use cassava flour? Sometimes they need to be baked extra (depending on your oven. That could have been the issue!)
Hi Jay! I was also curious what brand cassava you used? Im begging to think certain brands may yield different results.
We make these almost weekly! I also up the cassava to 1 cup to help be a bit firmer but we absolutely love these! My daughter is intolerant to gluten and these are a great alternative
Aww thank you Sarah! I am so happy to hear this. I haven’t tried them using 1 cup but i’m beginning to think that maybe different brands of cassava flour yield different results? Thank you so much for trying them!
Hi! What brand of Cassava do you use? Thanks!
Hi Carly! I use Otto’s!