These mouth-watering cinnamon roll pancakes are a sweet twist on a breakfast favorite. All the flavors of cinnamon rolls in a delicious buttermilk pancake recipe.

Cinnamon rolls and pancakes are two of my favorite breakfast foods. Although different, they’re both deliciously sweet breakfast meals, and they’re both easy to make. I’ve been making cinnamon rolls for sweet breakfasts and desserts for years and years, and I’ve been making pancakes even longer than that. So I decided to put the two together. After all, there’s just enough overlap between the two for this mashup to have to potential to be the perfect breakfast. And guess what? It is! These delicious pancakes make the perfect sweet breakfast or brunch, and absolutely no one can turn them down.
Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
These delicious pancakes start with an easy, classic pancake batter that cooks up soft and fluffy. Then, I add a sweet cinnamon sugar swirl to the pancakes as I cook them on the griddle. Finally, these delicious pancakes are topped with a rich, sweet, and tangy cream cheese icing that completes the flavor profile. When it’s all said and done, I have deliciously sweet pancakes that taste just like cinnamon rolls, right down to the classic cream cheese icing that we all love with our cinnamon rolls. You won’t find a better breakfast cinnamon roll recipe!
Why You’ll Love This Cinnamon Roll Pancake Recipe
- They taste just like cinnamon rolls but take far fewer steps.
- They’re thick and fluffy, and everyone always asks for them.
- Everyone loves pancakes, and these are such a special breakfast treat.
Cinnamon Roll Pancakes Ingredients
This recipe uses simple ingredients, most of which are probably in your kitchen right now. Anything you don’t have is easily found at your local grocery store. And, the actual measurements are in the recipe card below at the bottom of the post.
- All purpose flour
- Sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Large egg
- Vanilla extract
- Melted butter
- Buttermilk
- Light brown sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Milk
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
How to Make Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
This recipe is super easy to make. The pancakes are almost the same as traditional ones, and the icing comes together very quickly. This is a simple breakfast that feels fancy but is actually so simple even beginners can make it.
Step 1: Make the Cinnamon Mixture
Whisk the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together. Then, add the melted butter and milk. Stir and set aside.
Step 2: Combine the Dry Pancake Ingredients
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Step 3: Combine the Wet Pancake Ingredients
Combine the buttermilk, egg, vanilla, and melted butter in a 2-cup measuring cup.
Step 4: Make the Pancake Batter
Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until the batter is just combined.
Step 5: Cook the Pancakes
Lightly spray a griddle with nonstick spray, and heat it over medium heat. Pour ¼ of batter onto the hot griddle and cook until bubbles appear on top of the pancakes. Then, pipe a swirl of cinnamon mixture onto the pancakes and flip. Cook until the other side is lightly browned. Wipe the griddle and respray, then continue cooking until all pancakes are done.
Step 6: Make the Cream Cheese Icing
While the pancakes are cooking, melt the butter and cream cheese for 40 seconds in a microwaveable bowl. Stir and continue to melt in 10-second increments until completely melted. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Stir until combined.
Step 7: Frost
Top the freshly-cooked pancakes with butter, swirl cream cheese icing over them, and serve with maple syrup. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Be sure you only mix your batter ingredients until just combined. Overmixing makes tough pancakes.
- Always cook your pancakes over medium heat so they cook evenly and don’t burn.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, you can combine 1 cup of regular milk with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar and let it sit for about 5 minutes to make your own.
Variations
- Try adding chocolate chips to the pancake batter.
- Try adding chopped walnuts or pecans to the cinnamon mixture.
What to Serve with Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Like all pancakes, these are delicious when topped with syrup. Enjoy them on their own, or pair them with your favorite breakfast items like:
- Eggs
- Bacon
- Sausage
- Breakfast ham
- Biscuits and gravy
Recipe FAQ
When do you flip a pancake?
Flip pancakes when bubbles that pop and stay open on the surface appear in the batter.
Why are my pancakes not fluffy?
The usual culprit is overmixing. You should stir your batter ingredients until just combined. That means that there are no flour streaks but plenty of lumps. If you overmix, you’ll form a ton of gluten which makes tough pancakes.
What is the secret to making good pancakes?
There are two things that make the best pancakes. First, always use buttermilk. The acidity in the buttermilk makes for delicious pancakes with a classic flavor. Second, mix your batter ingredients until just combined. Overmixing makes tough, chewy pancakes.
How many times should you flip a pancake?
Once and once only. Cook the pancakes until bubbles form and pop on the top. Then flip and cook until the underside is golden brown. Flipping too soon can lead to messy, undercooked pancakes that you’ll have to flip again. Too much flipping also leads to deflated pancakes.
How to Store Leftover Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Store these pancakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
How to Freeze Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Let the pancakes cool completely. Then, place the pancakes in single layers separated by wax paper in an airtight, freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months.
How to Reheat Frozen Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then, place the frozen pancakes in a single layer on a nonstick baking sheet, leaving ½-inch space between them. Cover with foil, then bake for 5 to 10 minutes until heated through.
Try These Delicious Cinnamon Roll Pancakes Today
These cinnamon roll pancakes are as easy as they are delicious. They’re soft and fluffy like all good pancakes should be, but they’re also loaded with the flavors of cinnamon rolls that we all love. Serve these on their own or as part of a larger breakfast with all of your favorite savory dishes, but just serve them. I know that once you try these delicious pancakes, they’ll become a regular part of your recipe rotation.
More Delicious Pancake Recipes You’ll Enjoy
Pancake Sausage on a Stick – A delicious breakfast recipe made with a sausage link that is dipped in pancake batter and fried until golden brown.
Blueberry Pancakes – Fluffy and delicious pancakes that are loaded with fresh blueberries and make a great breakfast or brunch.
Banana Macadamia Nut Pancakes – Fluffy pancakes that are made with fresh bananas, macadamia nuts, and then topped with maple syrup. A delicious breakfast recipe.
And, these Raspberry Crepes from Deliciously Seasoned. Crepes are similar to pancakes, but a bit thinner. These are filled with a fresh raspberry filling, and homemade whipped cream.
Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon melted butter
- ¾ cup buttermilk
Cinnamon Swirl
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 4 tablespoon melted butter
- 3 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon milk
Cream Cheese Icing
- 2 ounce cream cheese
- ¼ cup butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
Cinnamon Swirl
- In a small bowl, whisk brown sugar, flour and cinnamon together.
- Add melted butter and milk. Stir until combined. Set aside.
Buttermilk Pancakes
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
- Using a 2 cup measuring cup, pour buttermilk into the cup and whisk egg, vanilla and melted butter together.
- Slowly pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture, Stir or whisk until batter is evenly mixed until just moistened.
- Heat griddle over medium heat and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Pour ¼ cup of batter onto the hot griddle and cook until bubbles appear on pancakes.
- Pipe a swirl of cinnamon filling onto the pancakes and flip over.
- Cook each pancake until the other side is lightly browned.
Cream Cheese Icing
- In a microwave safe bowl, add butter and cream cheese. Microwave for 40 seconds, stir. Continue microwaving for 10 seconds at a time, stirring until melted completely.
- Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Stir until combined.
- Top pancakes with butter, swirl cream cheese icing over the pancakes, top with maple syrup, if desired, and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
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