This lightened up quick cinnamon roll bread is a healthier alternative to a cinnamon roll and pairs perfectly with that morning cup of coffee!
By the time January rolls around, I feel immensely guilty about all the cookies I’ve eaten (for months now, because I bake from October through December, haha) and I make an effort to eat a little healthier. Unfortunately, this is a real struggle for me because I’m a baker and a baking blogger, so…giving up baking (even for a short time) isn’t really an option.
One thing that saves me is making lightened up versions of some of my favorite recipes. I’ll try anything from cookies to banana bread and sometimes they turn out yummy and other times, well, my family will politely say ‘you don’t have to make that one again.’
This cinnamon roll bread is one of my success stories. I have a full version that has lots more sugar and a thick (and totally delightful, I might add) cream cheese frosting. It is insanely good, but it’s not insanely good for cutting down on sugar and calories.
So, as I sat in my office planning out recipes to experiment with, I just knew I had to try to make my cinnamon roll bread recipe less bad. Cinnamon rolls at breakfast time are a traditional (and essential) favorite for us on the weekends, so this cinnamon roll bread allows us to still feel like we are getting our Saturday morning cinnamon roll, but we are doing it in a healthier way! And I love that!
This cinnamon roll bread has everything you love about cinnamon rolls, but without the guilt! Go ahead, try it!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 TBS baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
For the cinnamon swirl:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 TBS water
For the glaze:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 TBS milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a loaf pan, line with parchment paper and/or spray with coconut oil spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sea salt, and sugar.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, vanilla, and Greek yogurt.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
- In a small bowl mix the sugar, cinnamon, and water and spoon over the top of the dough. Using a knife, swirl the cinnamon around to incorporate into the bread.
- Bake for 40 minutes, rotating halfway through.
- Cool in pan for 30 minutes, then remove.
- When ready to serve, mix powdered sugar and milk to form glaze and drizzle over the loaf prior to slicing.
Nutrition
And if you’re loving lightened up recipes right now, you’ll want to try these whole wheat banana muffins or these whole wheat blueberry muffins too!
Kristine, Love the recipe for cinnamon roll bread – yumminess without the guilt!
Thank you so much Sandhya! It’s like having your cake and eating it too LOL!
Oh – my that top-down photo of the bread looks amazing. I just want to reach through the screen a snag a slice!
Thank you so much Lisa! π
A healthy cinnamon roll! Now I’ve truly seen everything! Can’t wait to try it – love the addition of Greek Yogurt – must make them so sinfully moist! Absolutely irresistible! Gorgeous pictures too!
The Greek yogurt does make it soft and moist for sure and adds little protein – win! Thank you so much Tina, I appreciate your kindness! π
Love this made healthier than traditional cinnamon rolls. I know my kiddos would love this. Love that you used grek yogurt to keep this light and delicious. Yum.
Oh yes Ali, my kiddos scarfed it up! Thank you so much!!
Very tempting pictures and easy recipe! Looks delicious!
Thank you so much!! I’m all about easy, haha! π
Lightened up cinnamon roll bread?! YES PLEASE. Those cinnamon swirls have me swooning!
Right?! Me too Kara! Thank you so, so much! π
Cinnamon roll BREAD?! Holy moly yum. I love cinnamon rolls so I’ll take it in a loaf too!
Haha, yes exactly Sophia! Thank you so much!
Seems a shame to lighten up something so perfect as a cinnamon roll, although the lighter version does indeed look rather darn tasty! Happy new year to you all π
Janie x
LOL! I sort of agree with you there Janie, but it is pretty tasty even in lighter form! Thank you so much, Happy New Year to you too! π
This cinnamon bread looks so nice. I can imagine having a huge piece of this with a cup of tea!
Thank you Jovita! It goes perfectly with tea!