Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls
If you’ve been craving cinnamon rolls, I am about to blow your mind. These sweet potato cinnamon rolls are deliciously indulgent, comforting, and 100% plant-based.
Using sweet potatoes in baking is nothing new. I’m sure by now everyone has heard of sweet potato brownies. But did you know you can use sweet potatoes to make delicious, fluffy vegan cinnamon rolls? These sweet potato cinnamon rolls are a perfect dessert for the autumn: warming, comforting, and infused with classic fall flavors!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Using sweet potatoes in this recipe gives it the lovely soft texture that the cinnamon rolls are famous for. Sweet potatoes also give this dish a beautiful warm hue.
- Sweet potatoes and maple syrup are natural sources of sugar, which means the dough requires no refined sugar!
- One of the best things about cinnamon rolls is how easy they are to make. There is a good reason why cinnamon rolls are such a popular dessert!
- If you or someone if your family struggles to eat their veggies, these sweet potato cinnamon rolls are a godsend! They are a great way to indulge while keeping your gut healthy.
- Sweet potatoes are truly a powerhouse ingredient! They are rich in beta carotene, potassium, fiber, as well as Vitamins B and E.
How to Make This Recipe
Making these sweet potato rolls is so easy. They require no yeast or fancy baking skills.
You just cook your sweet potatoes until they are soft on the inside. You can either microwave them or bake at 400F for about 50 minutes. Then mash, add a little maple syrup, and combine with flour and baking powder. Once your dough has set, you can roll it out and add your cinnamon and brown sugar.
Slice, roll, bake and enjoy. It’s really that easy and such a fun, nutrient dense recipe to make with the kids!
Hack It!
- Why not use the sweet potato skins for these scrappy cooking nachos? You won’t be disappointed, I promise!
- If you’re in a rush, you can cook your sweet potatoes in your microwave instead of baking them. Make sure to let them cool down before you proceed with the rest.
- For a real pumpkin spice experience, you can add some ground nutmeg, ginger, and clove to the filling.
- Traditionally, cinnamon rolls are iced with white, creamy glaze made with icing sugar. It’s super-easy to make at home using powdered sugar, plant-based milk, and vanilla. Alternatively, you can use sweet cashew cream. Either way, these rolls will be delicious!
- Feel free to top your sweet potato cinnamon rolls with toasted nuts, pumpkin seeds, sprinkles, or even flaky salt.
Other Recipes You’ll Love
- Fudgy Sweet Potato Brownies
- Hidden Veggie Cookies
- Vegan Protein Blondies
- Vegan Oat Pulp Cookies
- Homemade Vegan Magic Shell
If you are a fan of simple, healthy recipes that use whole-food ingredients, you have got to check out the PlantYou Cookbook. This cookbook was truly a product of love and hard labor, which is reflected in every page. The book contains 140+ delicious vegan recipes for any taste and occasion. Each recipe is accompanied with a helpful infographic outlining the ingredients, making food shopping a breeze!
And if you prefer the more dynamic way to run your kitchen, you’ll love the PlantYou Planner! The digital meal planner programme allows you to browse over 600 WFPB recipes in its database to select your menu for the week. You can use one of the carefully curated meal plans and customize it to your taste, or create a meal plan entirely from scratch. The app even generates a shopping list to make it easier for you to plan your week. Plant-based living has never been easier!
The Recipe: Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes, medium, cooked, peeled and mashed
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
For the filling
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 3 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Equipment
- Clean kitchen surface
- Baking dish or cast iron pan
- Pizza Cutter
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400F. Pierce the skin of your sweet potatoes with a fork. Bake the sweet potatoes for about an hour, until the inside is soft and squishy. Allow the potatoes to cool down, then peel off the skin.
- In a bowl, mixed the mashed sweet potato with the maple syrup until combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour with the baking powder and baking soda. Add in the flour to the sweet potato mixture half a cup at a time, and mix well until a dough is formed. You can use your hands to knead the dough into a firm ball, ensuring the sweet potato and flour are incorporated. Once the dough is formed into a firm ball, cover with a tea towel and allow that to rest for half an hour, and up to an hour.
- Once the dough is formed into a firm ball, cover with a tea towel and allow that to rest for half an hour, and up to an hour.
- On a floured working surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle, approximately 10 by 15 inches. Brush the dough with a little bit of oil, then sprinkle on the cinnamon and brown sugar. Using a pizza cutter, slice the dough into 1 inch wide strips. Roll into cinnamon rolls.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400F.
- Place the rolls into a greased baking dish or cast iron pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Once done, serve warm with sweet cashew cream or vegan icing as desired.
I made these with squash instead of sweet potato, worked well but used a bit more flour. without yeast I thought these weren’t going to expand much, but boy where they fluffy. Recipe is delicious, I melted some vegan chocolate on top, yumm. Will definitely make again 🙂
I’m glad to hear it 🙂