Cinnamon rolls are great all year round, they evoke nostalgia and comfort every time our family eats them. Sometimes though, having alternatives to a traditional recipe can help spice things up and make an old-time family favorite something new and exciting again. I love making breakfast for my family, and we’ve been on a sourdough kick in the morning, I use the sourdough cinnamon roll dough recipe from Farmhouse on Boone when I make cinnamon rolls, but you can use whatever cinnamon roll dough recipe you prefer!
Stay tuned for a post on savory alternatives to the traditional cinnamon roll filling that will be coming out soon!
What is cinnamon roll filling made of?
Typically a traditional cinnamon roll is filled with a mixture of softened butter, Brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Do you have to use butter in cinnamon rolls?
In the traditional cinnamon roll, butter is one of the main ingredients for the filling! These two alternatives don’t require any butter.
What can I put in cinnamon rolls?
There are a lot of different things you can put in cinnamon rolls, the hard thing is figuring out the ratios. These sweet alternatives to the traditional cinnamon roll filling can be changed up by using slightly different ingredients but with the same measurements!
Cinnamon Apple Rolls
I made these cinnamon apple rolls because we had applesauce in our pantry. Baking is something that happens pretty often in our household, and that usually requires a lot of butter. Butter is not currently a cheap thing to buy so we look for alternatives where we can. I know that applesauce is sometimes able to be used in place of butter in some recipes. I used it in place of butter in the traditional cinnamon roll recipe and chose to accentuate the apple flavor by using white sugar instead of brown sugar
In a bowl, I mixed up ½ cup applesauce, ½ cup white sugar, 2 tbsps cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. I spread it as directed on the cinnamon roll dough and baked it as directed. It was messy to roll up because the applesauce did come out of the sides but it was worth it! My kids and my husband loved it.
I would not add diced apples to this recipe because the water content in the apples will mess with the baking process and timing. If you wanted apple slices in it, you could try diced or sliced dehydrated apples.
Alternatives to applesauce that you could try include apple butter or pear sauce. I did not try either one of these alternatives though so if you do, let me know in the comments!
Raspberry Cream Cheese Rolls
These raspberry cream cheese alternatives to the traditional cinnamon roll filling were a huge hit. I have made them several times now for company and for events.
In a bowl, mix up ½ cup softened cream cheese, ¼ cup raspberry jelly, and a pinch of salt. Spread it as directed on the cinnamon roll dough and bake as directed.
I think you could make successful variations to raspberry cream cheese rolls by changing the jelly flavor. You could use peach or strawberry jelly with a high level of success. I’m not familiar with many other types of jellies, but I would love to experiment with them for both flavor and color depending on the season.
Our family is thoroughly enjoyed adding these variations of traditional cinnamon rolls to our mornings. The recipes are both easily halved, so you can make both types out of one cinnamon roll dough recipe. Let us know in the comments below if you’ve tried any sweet alternatives to the traditional cinnamon roll filling, or if you are going to in the near future!
Sweet Alternatives to Cinnamon Roll Filling
Ingredients
Cinnamon Applesauce Roll Filling
- ½ cup applesauce
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 tbsps cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
Raspberry Cream Cheese Roll Filling
- ½ cup softened cream cheese
- ¼ cup raspberry jelly
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Cinnamon Applesauce Roll Filling
- Following your original cinnamon roll recipe, replace the filling ingredients with these.
- In a bowl, combine applesauce, white sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.
- Spread onto cinnamon roll dough as directed in the recipe and bake accordingly.
Raspberry Cream Cheese Roll Filling
- Following your original cinnamon roll recipe, replace the filling ingredients with these.
- In a bowl, combine softened cream cheese, raspberry jelly, and a pinch of salt.
- Spread onto cinnamon roll dough as directed in the recipe and bake accordingly.
