Last month, my mom flew to Southern California for a short business trip, and she extended her stay to spend the weekend with me. Although we took care of lots of little things around my house, like installing a drip watering system for my back patio, we still carved out time for fun, too.
On our first evening together, we drove to the beach to watch the sunset, and we stopped by Panera on the way. We asked for our order to go so we could eat dinner while at the beach, and as we waited for the kitchen to prepare our meal, Mom looked through the glass display case of pastries, searching for her favorite one… But since Panera was completely sold out of it, we left without any sweet treats.
At the beach, we found a little rock ledge facing due west, and we sat there to unwrap our food and eat our casual dinner. We watched a couple of crabs scuttling back and forth on the sand, and we admired the deep dusty rose color staining the clouds as the sun sank beneath the horizon.
The very next day, we drove back to the beach for the sunset again, although we skipped Panera because we were running late… And the sunset never came because a thick layer of clouds completely covered the sky. Oops!
Although a little belated, our first dinner and beach night actually inspired me to bake these Healthy Chai Spice Cinnamon Rolls! Mom absolutely loves her morning chai ritual, so I took those same cozy spices and sprinkled them in these healthy cinnamon rolls. Yet unlike traditional recipes, these contain no refined flour or sugar, and they’re only 108 calories!
Definitely much healthier than any of the pastries in Panera’s display case!
So let’s talk about how to make these healthy chai spice cinnamon rolls!
There are two key components to this recipe: the whole wheat flour and the yeast. Yes, this is a yeast-based recipe… But baking with yeast isn’t hard or scary—I promise! I started baking with yeast by the time I was eight years old, and if I could do it at that age, I know you can do it today!
Especially if you use my favorite yeast! After baking with multiple different brands in lots of different yeast-based recipes, Red Star Yeast consistently performed the best, especially in cinnamon rolls. My healthy cinnamon rolls always rise at least double in size and turned out with the perfect light and fluffy texture. I’m obsessed!
And to achieve that tall and puffy perfection, I pair Red Star Yeast with Gold Medal whole wheat flour. I’ve also tested multiple different brands of flour in my yeast-based recipes, and Gold Medal flour always rises higher than others. Some brands don’t even rise at all!
So the moral of the story? If you want your healthy chai spice cinnamon rolls to be tall, light, and fluffy, use the combination of Red Star Yeast + Gold Medal whole wheat flour!
But before you mix those two together, you also need a few other ingredients for these healthy chai spice cinnamon rolls… Like warm water, coconut sugar (this kind!), and salt. The water should be warm, but not hot! Too hot water will kill your yeast. Aim for 100-110°F, or around the temperature of a hot tub. I use the pinky test: if I can dip my pinky finger into it and it feels hot but not burning, then it’s the right temperature.
Once you’ve mixed together your dough, it’s time to knead! I almost always knead by hand. I find it so soothing and almost therapeutic. Just remember to liberally sprinkle your work surface and hands with more flour so the dough doesn’t stick! Once you can gently press your finger into the dough and it springs back almost all of the way, then you’ve kneaded enough. (You can watch my video here for a visual!)
After rolling out the dough, it’s time to add your filling. You’ll brush a teensy tiny amount of melted butter across the top of the dough first. Then you’ll sprinkle the sweet spiced filling on top.
Your healthy chai spice cinnamon rolls’ filling consists of coconut sugar (remember, this kind!), cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and cloves. Those are four of the main spices in chai. I always seem to forget how much I love cardamom until I bake something with chai spice flavors… But it’s definitely worth keeping in your pantry, and I have an extra special idea for Christmas cookies that I want to bake with it later this year! (Stay tuned!)
When you’re ready to slice your chai spice cinnamon roll dough into individual rolls, then I have a special trick for you… Use dental floss! You can see exactly how I do that in my video here. The dental floss easily slices through the dough and filling, so your cinnamon rolls still turn out perfectly round—not lopsided, like if you used a knife to cut them!
Then place a towel over your pan of healthy chai spice cinnamon rolls, stick that in a warm place to rise for a bit…
Admire your cinnamon rolls after they magically rise and puff up to twice their previous size… Place your pan in the oven to bake…
And enjoy your delicious breakfast treats! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy chai spice cinnamon rolls!
| Healthy Chai Spice Cinnamon Rolls | | Print |
- for the dough
- ¾ cup (180mL) warm nonfat milk (100-110°F)
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp (12g) coconut sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 ¼ tsp (7g or one ¼-oz package) dry yeast
- 2 – 2 ½ cups (240-300g) whole wheat flour
- for the filling
- 6 tbsp (72g) coconut sugar
- 1 ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter, melted
- Lightly coat a 9”-round pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. (See Notes.)
- In a large bowl, stir together the milk, butter, coconut sugar, and salt. Sprinkle the yeast on top, and wait 10-15 minutes or until the mixture turns frothy. Mix in 1 ½ cups of flour. If the dough is still wet, continue stirring in flour 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead for 3-5 minutes or until the dough springs back most of the way when you gently press your index finger into it. Let the dough rest while preparing the filling.
- To prepare the filling, stir together the coconut sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and cloves in a small bowl.
- On a clean, well-floured surface, roll the dough out into a 16x10” rectangle. Brush with the melted butter, leaving a 1” border on the two longer sides. Sprinkle with the spiced coconut sugar, leaving a 1” border on the two longer sides again. Carefully roll up the dough into a log, starting at one long edge and rolling towards the other one. Pinch the ends to seal. If the dough won’t stick together, gently brush the second longer edge with water before pinching to seal.
- Slice the log into 12 pieces using dental floss (recommended) or a sharp serrated knife. Place the rolls into the prepared pan, and cover the pan with a clean towel. Set the pan in a warm, draft-free spot, and let the rolls rise for 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 18-22 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the sides feel firm. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before serving.
For the whole wheat flour, I highly recommend Gold Medal whole wheat flour. It performs the best out of any brand I’ve tried, and it ensures your cinnamon rolls fully double in size while rising in Step 6. (Other brands of whole wheat flour don’t rise nearly as high, if at all!)
White whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour, but the cinnamon rolls might not rise as high (see Note directly above this one!). All-purpose flour may be substituted, and the cinnamon rolls should rise just as high as with Gold Medal whole wheat flour.
For the yeast, I used Red Star Quick Rise Yeast. It performs the best out of any yeast I’ve used, so I highly recommend it! It always easy to find in grocery stores, so I buy mine online here. (Both their quick rise dry yeast and regular active dry yeast work equally well!)
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
For a vegan version, substitute your favorite non-dairy milk and Earth Balance sticks in place of the butter. (You may substitute coconut oil, but the cinnamon rolls will taste different, and the yeast won’t turn frothy in Step 2.)
Brown sugar may be substituted in place of the coconut sugar, but the cinnamon rolls will no longer be clean-eating friendly.
I haven’t had good luck substituting gluten-free flours in this recipe. The cinnamon rolls don’t rise the way they do with wheat-based flour due to the lack of gluten.
To see how these cinnamon rolls are made, watch my video here (located directly above the recipe!).
{clean eating, low fat, vegan option}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Cinnamon Rolls
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
♡ Healthy Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls
♡ Healthy Slow Cooker Cinnamon Rolls
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte Cinnamon Rolls
♡ Healthy Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls
Love the beach connection to these warming cinnamon rolls!
You’re so sweet — thanks Liz!! 🙂
Am I able to substitute the whole wheat flour for ground cream of wheat? or even Oat flour?
This looks so yummy! I hope I can make this
Although wheat-based flour will definitely yield the best results, I think oat flour would be the better option of those two. Your cinnamon rolls probably won’t rise as tall, if at all, but they should still taste good! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of them if you try this recipe Tara!
I read the pretty story, then got to coconut sugsr. I am allergic to coconut oil and flesh so no so healthy for me.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Susan! I’ve actually provided an alternative for the coconut sugar in the Notes section of the recipe, located directly underneath the Instructions. I know it can be easy to miss that bit! Perhaps that will be a better option for you than the coconut sugar? 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these cinnamon rolls!
Could I substitute for GF flour?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Amanda! I’ve actually covered my experience with gluten-free flour in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know it can be easy to miss that part! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these cinnamon rolls if you decide to try making them!