Anabolic Cinnamon Roll
One warm, soft cinnamon roll with a thick protein cream-cheese glaze — 26 grams of protein and 360 calories in a single serving. A Greek-yoghurt dough, a cinnamon swirl, and breakfast that tastes like a treat and feeds you like a meal. This is the one I make on slow mornings, and I want you to have it too.
Plate 01 / Finished
When I was a boy in Stockholm, Saturday meant kanelbulle. My grandmother would walk me past the bakery on the corner, the window steamed up, the whole street smelling of cinnamon and cardamom, and she’d buy me one roll the size of my small fist. I have never once forgotten the warmth of it. That smell is half my childhood. I’m not going to pretend a protein recipe can replace a real bakery bun — it can’t, and I won’t lie to you about it.
But here’s what it can do. It can give you that same soft, cinnamon-swirled comfort on a Tuesday morning when you’ve got macros to hit and a long day ahead, and it can do it for 26 grams of protein and 360 calories. The dough is just Greek yoghurt and self-raising flour, no waiting around for yeast to rise, no kneading for an hour. The glaze is protein powder folded into light cream cheese, thick enough to sit on top in a proper ribbon. It comes together in about half an hour, start to plate.
I make one for myself most weekends now, love, usually still in the pink apron, coffee going cold beside me because I get distracted watching the glaze melt into the warm top. It is not a sad imitation of a treat. It is a real, good breakfast that happens to have the protein of a chicken breast tucked inside it. Make it once and I think it earns a place in your mornings. I’ve got you.
01Who it’s for & when to eat it
This is a high-protein breakfast that flexes to your goal. The roll itself stays the same soft, cinnamon-swirled base; you nudge the glaze and the portion to match what you’re doing. Here’s how I steer it.
The smart treat
Make the glaze with a sugar-free sweetener and lighter cream cheese, and let this one roll be the satisfying centrepiece of breakfast. High protein, sensible calories — the kind of morning that keeps you full and keeps you from feeling deprived.
Build it up
Same roll, more around it. Serve it next to a couple of whole eggs or a scoop of Greek yoghurt and berries, and use the brown sugar in the filling for easy extra calories. Comfortable, calorie-dense, still high in protein.
Steady fuel
A balanced morning plate — one roll with some fruit and a coffee. Lean protein and slow carbs to start the day full and even, without overshooting. Easy on the stomach first thing too.
Timing: this shines as a weekend or rest-day breakfast when you’ve got ten quiet minutes. It also works beautifully after a morning session — fast carbs and a solid hit of protein to start recovery while you’re still warm from training.
02Ingredients
Makes 1 roll — one good serving. Want a batch? Scale every line in proportion and bake them together in a small dish; the dough ratio (equal parts yoghurt to flour, by feel) is what keeps it soft, so hold that.
Servings 1 · adjust on the live recipe card- Greek yoghurt dough · 0% or 2%60 g · ¼ cup
- Self-raising flour or plain + ¾ tsp baking powder60 g · ½ cup
- Salt dough1 pinch
- Butter or light spread, softened filling5 g · 1 tsp
- Ground cinnamon filling1 tsp · 3 g
- Brown sugar or granulated sweetener filling1 tbsp · 12 g
- Vanilla or plain protein powder glaze15 g · ½ scoop
- Light cream cheese glaze30 g · 2 tbsp
- Milk glaze · to loosen1–2 tsp · 5–10 ml
Swaps I actually use: no self-raising flour? Use plain flour with ¾ teaspoon of baking powder stirred through — same result. For a deeper cut, swap the brown sugar for a granulated sweetener and use fat-free cream cheese in the glaze. Casein or a thicker whey blend makes the nicest glaze; a thin whey can go runny, so add the milk a few drops at a time. Out of cinnamon? A little mixed spice or cardamom leans it Swedish.
03Step by step
Stir yoghurt and flour into a soft dough
In a bowl, mix the Greek yoghurt, self-raising flour and a pinch of salt with a spoon until it clumps, then bring it together with your hands. It should be soft and a little tacky, not wet. If it’s sticking badly, work in a teaspoon more flour at a time.
Magnus says: don’t drown it in flour out of fear. A slightly tacky dough bakes up softer than a dry one.
Roll it flat, spread the cinnamon swirl
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangle about 5mm thick. Spread the softened butter right to the edges, then scatter the cinnamon and brown sugar evenly over the top. Press it in gently with the back of the spoon so it stays put when you roll.
Roll it up tight and tuck the seam
From the long edge, roll the dough up into a snug log, keeping it tight so you get a proper spiral. For one big roll, curl the log into a coil and tuck the end underneath. For a small batch, slice the log into rounds and stand them cut-side up.
Magnus says: tight rolling is the whole trick to a swirl that holds. Loose dough unwinds in the heat.
180°C for 18–22 minutes, until golden
Set the roll in a small lined or lightly greased dish and bake at 180°C (355°F) for 18 to 22 minutes, until the top is golden and the centre is set, not doughy. Let it cool for five minutes — warm is perfect, but glaze too soon and it’ll slide straight off.
Magnus says: a skewer in the middle should come out clean. Pale and wobbly means a few minutes more.
Whip protein into the cream cheese
While it cools, stir the protein powder into the light cream cheese until smooth, then loosen with milk a few drops at a time until it’s thick but pourable — like soft icing. Add the milk slowly; you can always thin it, but you can’t easily thicken it back up.
Ribbon it over the warm roll
Spoon the glaze over the still-warm roll so it softens and melts down into the swirl. Eat it right away while the middle is soft and the glaze is just starting to run. This is the moment, love — don’t let it go cold on you.
Magnus says: a little glaze on the plate to drag each bite through is not optional in my kitchen.
04The spec sheet
Real numbers, calculated — not guessed. One serving is the whole roll plus its glaze, about 140g of finished food. Here’s what that serving and a flat 100g actually give you.
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 360 kcal | 257 kcal |
| Protein | 26.0 g | 18.6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 45.0 g | 32.1 g |
| — of which sugars | 12.0 g | 8.6 g |
| Fat | 8.0 g | 5.7 g |
| — of which saturates | 4.0 g | 2.9 g |
| Fibre | 3.0 g | 2.1 g |
| Sodium | ~0.42 g | ~0.30 g |
Moderate, for a sweet breakfast. For something that eats like a bakery treat, that’s a kind number — and the protein and fibre keep you full far longer than a shop-bought bun would.
Strong for a cinnamon roll. A normal one is mostly flour and sugar; this one carries the protein of a small meal in the same warm, soft package.
- Calcium~200 mg · 15% DV
- Phosphorus~260 mg · 37% DV
- Selenium~22 µg · 40% DV
- Vitamin B12~0.9 µg · 38% DV
- Manganese~0.5 mg · 22% DV
- Iron~1.4 mg · 8% DV
Macros are calculated from standard food-composition data and will shift a little with your exact ingredients, brands and protein powder. Micronutrient figures are estimates against general adult Daily Values. Numbers are for guidance, not medical advice — see our Nutrition Disclaimer.
05Bulk / Cut / TRT variations
One roll, three jobs. The base bakes the same — you adjust the filling sweetener, the glaze, and what you put alongside it. Macros below are for the full serving plus the additions listed.
The lighter swirl
Swap the brown sugar for a granulated sweetener and use fat-free cream cheese in the glaze. Same warm, cinnamon-rolled comfort, fewer calories — a satisfying breakfast that still leaves room in your day.
Build it up
Keep the brown sugar, glaze it generously, and serve the roll next to two whole eggs or a bowl of Greek yoghurt with berries. Easy extra calories around a high-protein centre — comfortable fuel for a hard training day.
Steady & balanced
One roll with a piece of fruit and a black coffee. Lean protein, slow carbs, a little fat — full and even to start the day, with nothing overshot. The morning plate I reach for most.
06Meal prep & storage
This one’s best fresh and warm, but it preps well if you keep the glaze separate. I’ll bake a small batch on a Sunday, cool them fully, and glaze each one as I eat it through the week.
Store baked, unglazed rolls in an airtight container. Keep the glaze in a separate pot and spoon it on just before eating so the roll doesn’t go soggy.
Freeze the cooled, unglazed rolls wrapped individually. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then warm through before glazing. Make the glaze fresh.
A short blast in the microwave brings back the soft, warm centre. Or a few minutes in a low oven if you’ve got time. Glaze after, not before.
For meal prep, I treat the rolls and the glaze as two separate jobs — bake a batch, keep a tub of glaze in the fridge, and you’ve got a warm, high-protein breakfast in under a minute on a rushed morning. That little bit of planning is what makes it stick.
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07Common questions
My dough is too sticky to roll — what do I do? +
Don’t panic, love. Work in a teaspoon of extra flour at a time until it’s tacky but manageable, and flour your surface and rolling pin lightly. Different Greek yoghurts hold different amounts of water, so the exact flour can wander a little. Aim for soft and just-slightly-sticky, not dry — that’s what keeps the baked roll tender.
I don’t have protein powder — can I still make the glaze? +
You can. Whisk the light cream cheese with a spoon of Greek yoghurt and a little sweetener and vanilla for a tangy, lighter glaze — you’ll lose a few grams of protein but it’s still good. Or stir the cream cheese with a touch of milk and sweetener on its own. The protein powder just bumps the macros and thickens it up.
Can I swap the self-raising flour? +
Yes. Plain (all-purpose) flour with ¾ teaspoon of baking powder stirred through gives the same lift. Wholemeal works too — it’ll be a touch denser and nuttier, so add a splash more yoghurt if it feels dry. A 1:1 gluten-free blend also rolls fine; just handle it gently as it can be more delicate.
Can I make this ahead for the week? +
Absolutely, and it’s how I do it. Bake a small batch, cool them fully, and store the rolls unglazed with the glaze in a separate pot. Warm a roll and glaze it fresh each morning — that keeps the swirl soft and the top from going sticky. See the meal prep section above for fridge and freezer times.
Can I make it dairy-free? +
You can get close. Use a thick dairy-free yoghurt for the dough and a dairy-free cream cheese plus a plant protein powder for the glaze. The dough behaves a little differently depending on the yoghurt’s thickness, so adjust the flour by feel. The macros will shift with your chosen products, so check the labels and recalculate.
This roll lives inside a full week of meals.
This cinnamon roll is one breakfast in my high-protein meal plans — full weeks of food with the macros counted and the grocery list written for you. You pick the goal; I do the maths.
See the meal plans →08Pairs well with
Magnus Olafsson
I’m Magnus — twenty years under the iron, from a cold gym in Stockholm to the classic-physique stage, and now mostly in my kitchen in a pink apron. I’ve cut for shows, bulked through winters, and I’ve been on TRT since I was thirty-five. I know what it takes to eat for the body you’re chasing, and I know it shouldn’t come with a side of shame.
Everything here is food I actually cook and macros I actually count. I don’t diagnose, I don’t promise, and I never make a number up. I just feed you well and tell you the truth.
Slim Diet Era shares recipes and general nutrition information. It is not medical or dietetic advice, and we do not provide guidance on obtaining or using any controlled substance. See our Medical Disclaimer and Nutrition Disclaimer.