Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
These Cinnamon Roll Pancakes have all the best elements of a classic cinnamon roll, but in pancake form. They’re perfect for an indulgent weekend brunch!
I’ll go right out and say that these Cinnamon Roll Pancakes are pretty much dessert for breakfast, but sometimes in life there are times for that.
And I mean, cinnamon rolls…and pancakes…combined?!?
Only good things can happen in that situation, and these cinnamon swirl pancakes are much quicker to make than a batch of cinnamon rolls.
I first saw this recipe about 5 years ago here and instantly had to try them for myself. They are admittedly VERY messy to make, but you’re rewarded with something delicious, and I think there’s something very whimsical about them.
You drop big swirls of cinnamon roll filling right onto the pancakes while they’re cooking, then drizzle them with a cream cheese frosting to serve.
Though my usual pancake breakfast is these Whole Wheat Pancakes topped with butter and pure maple syrup or thin and eggy Crepes, it’s nice to have a change every once in a while.
How to Make Cinnamon Roll Pancakes:
To get started, let’s make the pancake batter. Whisk together the dry ingredients, which is flour, baking powder, and salt:
In a measuring cup, whisk to combine milk, an egg, and vegetable oil:
Pancake dry and wet components, done!
Make the cinnamon roll filling by combining melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon:
Whisk until relatively smooth:
Now let’s put everything together!
Add the measuring cup liquid to the dry ingredients:
Whisk together until the dry flour disappears, but making sure to leave the little lumps alone so you don’t overmix the pancake batter:
Drop ladlefuls of pancake batter onto a hot griddle, then when the pancakes start to form bubbles on the first side, drizzle on a swirl of the cinnamon filling:
I find it easiest to use a squeeze bottle, but if you don’t have one, simply use a spoon.
Flip the pancakes and finish cooking, until golden brown on both sides:
You will notice that the cinnamon sugar swirl spreads out and griddles into a crunchy, sweet caramelized “crust” for the pancakes.
Finally, whisk to combine softened cream cheese with butter, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla:
Drizzle the cream cheese frosting on top of the pancakes before serving:
Enjoy, and put these Carrot Cake Pancakes or Bananas Foster French Toast on your list for next time.
I made a full video on how to make these that you can watch after the recipe card below. Happy cooking!
How to Freeze Pancakes:
You can freeze the pancakes, but not the frosting.
First let the pancakes cool completely, then follow one of these two methods so the pancakes don’t stick to each other:
For the first method, place the pancakes on a sheet pan in a single layer, making sure they aren’t touching each other, and freeze for 30-60 minutes, until they are completely frozen. Then you can remove the pancakes and place them in a large plastic bag. This way they won’t stick to each other, and you can take out as many pancakes as you’d like.
For the second method, stack the pancakes between wax paper or parchment paper, and place those stacks in a resealable bag to freeze. This will keep them separated so they don’t freeze stuck together.
Freeze the pancakes for up to two months.
How to Reheat Pancakes:
Here are three methods for reheating, either by using the microwave, oven, or toaster:
Microwave Method (my favorite):
Place 1 to 5 frozen pancakes on a microwave-safe plate. Cook uncovered at 20 seconds for 1 pancake, 30 seconds for 2 pancakes, 40 seconds for 3 pancakes, 50 seconds for 4 pancakes, and 60 seconds for 5 pancakes. Exact timing will depend on the strength of your microwave, but this is a good guideline.
Oven Method:
This is great for a larger numbers of pancakes. Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the desired number of frozen pancakes into a foil packet. Or place pancakes in a flat layer on a sheet pan and cover the pan tightly with foil. Just make sure you seal tightly to prevent the pancakes from getting dry. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the pancakes are warm and soft.
Toaster Method:
This is my least favorite method, but it does work. You are limited to only one pancake per slot, and need to watch to make sure the pancakes don’t become crispy or overcook. Time varies depending on toaster settings.
Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Ingredients
For the pancakes:
- 5 oz all purpose flour (1 cup, if measuring)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 egg
For the Filling:
- 4 tbsp butter melted
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
For the Glaze:
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk to combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk to combine the milk, vegetable oil, and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir until the flour has disappeared, but there are still plenty of lumps.
- Make the filling by stirring to combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- Prepare the glaze by melting the butter and cream cheese together in the microwave. Stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
- Heat up a griddle over medium heat, and if desired, grease the pan with a little bit of butter. Use a 1/4 cup measuring scoop to portion out the pancakes. Once small bubbles start to appear on the surface, spoon over a tablespoon or so of the cinnamon swirl, in an outward circular motion from the center.
- Cook for another minute, then flip. Cook for one or two more minutes.
- Top the pancakes with the glaze, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Updated from the archives with new photos and writing in July 2018. Originally published October 2011.
36 Comments on “Cinnamon Roll Pancakes”
The Flavor was good,but the cinnamon swirl burned on the bottom and made a huge sticky mess that stuck to the pan and my teeth. The batter is very thin,so I added an extra 1/4 cup of flower.
Going to try this again with the cinnamon and brown sugar (minus the butter) in the mix.
So, I don’t understand what happened to mine but the cinnamon swirl ended up just melting off onto the pan once flipped, leaving my pancakes with defecits where the swirl of filling once was and a griddle of melted molten hot cinnamon and brown sugar filling.. I tried making a few rounds of pancakes and methods but nothing really worked to prevent this..
Also, I would only put 1/2 of the vanilla extract the recipe calls for otherwise its very overpowering..
wow, fluffy & yummy pancakes with cinnamon flavors.
I had high hopes but It was a No. Don’t expect a pancake fluffy texture. For the sweet tooth. Followed the recipe exactly. But batter was bland And came out think/thick.. after adding the cinnamon swirl and flipping it; it was a complete mess the sugar hitting the the hot side just burnt it and a was a mess.
I don’t usually make accounts and leave comments, but we made these and they turned out absolutely terrible.
Skip this recipe!
After this disaster, I won’t trust any recipe from fifteenspatulas.
The brown sugar and melted butter doesn’t drizzle but that was the least of our worries.
As expected, when flipped, the brown sugar burns and makes a total mess of the griddle.
The recipe looked good, but these taste awful and made a complete mess.
A total waste of ingredients and a Memorial Day morning.
Didn’t use much of the cream cheese frosting or the filling, recipe calls for way too much!. taste good but the brown sugar and butter mixture burns easily …
Your written recipe is different than the one in the video. I didn’t realize this until after I made them using the written recipe. They were messy and didn’t turn out so well. Trying again tomorrow using the recipe in the video. I’m hoping for better results.
The written recipe here is supposed to supersede the video. Unfortunately the video cannot be edited. I will possibly consider deleting it altogether. Sorry to hear this wasn’t a good experience for you.
OMG wonderful , however my filling got way too think so could not swirl the filling but they we’re wonderful… .
I am going to make this. My kids love pancakes very much. And i hope it come out as good as yours. Looking for more such recipes in future. Thank you.
I’m sorry to say these did not work for us. I followed the directions exactly, and what I did looked just like the pictures. However, the pancakes were very thin and the cinnamon swirl melted out when I flipped them and created a giant mess on my griddle. The pancakes ended up with a swirl-shaped crater on one side that didn’t actually get cooked because it wasn’t touching the hot surface. Once they were done, I didn’t care for the taste… I hoped that would be the redeeming quality from all the mess. There was far too much sugar/sweetness for the amount of bready pancake, and I only used about 1/3 of the cinnamon mixture and the frosting for the batch. Bummer. I was hoping this would be a new fun staple in our house!
Delicious! I like it! Thanks your sharing! I will make it follow introduction of you!
Delicious but if presentation is your thing the bottle for the cinnamon mixture is a must lol
These were amazing! Everybody in my family loved them! A few problems though, I didn’t end up using all the cinnamon mixture and it’s hard to create a swirl unless you have a bottle.. but otherwise these tasted heavenly!! I couldn’t have enough! I’ll definitely be making these again in a few days!
Delightful! The aroma while it’s cooking is tantalising and the flavors delightful on a cool, fall morning. Great recipe!
Delicious! I had to modify a bit due to not having enough if the ingredients however, it was a hit. I didn’t have the required oil/butter, so I used mashed banana accordingly to replace. It was more like a banana cinnamon swirl pancake and my goodness it was like no other pancake I’ve had. Kids had fun adding the swirl too. Can’t thank you enough, this one’s a keeper.
Thanks for the recipe. You don’t know you need it until you try it 🤩🤩.