Cinnamon Pancakes
Cinnamon roll pancakes are fluffy buttermilk-style pancakes with a cinnamon-sugar swirl baked right into each one and a smooth cream cheese glaze poured over the top. They take everything you love about a warm cinnamon roll and turn it into a stack you can have on the table in under 30 minutes, no rising, rolling, or oven required. If you have wanted the flavor of a bakery cinnamon bun without the wait, this is the recipe.
Inspired by the Classic Cinnamon Roll
Pancakes themselves are ancient, with versions cooked on hot stones across dozens of cultures long before modern kitchens existed. The idea has barely changed: a thin, flat batter cooked on a hot surface. What makes this version special is the swirl. It borrows directly from the American cinnamon roll, which itself traces back to Scandinavian sweet buns like the Swedish “kanelbullar“. Somewhere along the way, someone decided that swirl belonged in a pancake, and I am grateful they did.
What You’ll Need
There are three simple parts to this recipe, and each one comes together in its own bowl before you ever heat the pan.
- The pancake batter: all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt for structure and lift, plus milk, a little olive oil, and one egg to bring it together into a pourable batter.
- The cinnamon swirl: melted butter, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon whisked into a thick, spoonable paste. The brown sugar is what gives you that deep, molasses-like cinnamon roll flavor, so do not swap it for white sugar here.
- The cream cheese glaze: cream cheese loosened with powdered sugar, a splash of milk, and vanilla extract until it pours in a smooth ribbon. This is the topping that makes people think you ordered these from a bakery.
A little advice on cinnamon: it does a lot of heavy lifting in this recipe, so use one that still smells strong and fresh. If you want to understand why some cinnamon tastes bolder than others, I put together a whole guide on how to cook with cinnamon.
How to Get That Signature Cinnamon Swirl
The swirl is the fun part, and the trick is to add it once the batter is already in the pan. Spoon your cinnamon filling into a piping bag or a small zip-top bag with one corner snipped off. Pour about half a cup of batter onto a greased, medium-heat pan, then pipe the cinnamon mixture in a spiral, starting from the center and working outward, like a snail shell. Let the pancake cook until small bubbles appear on top, then flip it once and cook the other side.
Keep the heat at medium rather than high. The cinnamon-sugar swirl is full of sugar, and sugar burns fast. A moderate pan gives the inside time to set while the swirl caramelizes instead of scorching.
Tips for Light, Fluffy Pancakes Every Time
- Do not overmix the batter. Stir just until the flour disappears. A few lumps are fine, and overmixing develops the gluten, which makes pancakes tough and flat.
- Let the pan fully preheat. A drop of water should sizzle and dance before your first pancake goes in. A cold pan gives you pale, dense results.
- Flip only once. Wait for those bubbles to form and the edges to look set. Flipping too early tears the swirl; flipping repeatedly deflates the pancake.
- Glaze while warm. A warm pancake lets the cream cheese glaze melt slightly into every crevice instead of sitting on top.
Making Them Dairy-Free or Vegan
As written, these pancakes are vegetarian, since they use milk, butter, an egg, and cream cheese. If you want to lighten the dairy load, you have easy swaps. Use a plant milk such as homemade rice milk in both the batter and the glaze, and reach for my homemade vegan butter in the cinnamon swirl. For more ideas on replacing cream cheese and other dairy staples, my guide on how to replace dairy in your diet covers the options. If you would rather start from a fully plant-based base, my vegan banana pancakes and gluten-free vegan pancakes are reliable places to begin.
Serving and Storing
Serve these warm, stacked, and drizzled with the cream cheese glaze right before eating. They are rich enough to stand alone as a weekend breakfast or an easy dessert. Leftover pancakes keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days; reheat them in a dry pan or a low oven so the swirl stays soft. Store the glaze separately and add it fresh, since it firms up when chilled. To freeze, layer cooled pancakes between sheets of parchment, freeze flat, and warm them straight from frozen whenever a craving hits.
More Pancakes Worth Waking Up For
If you want to explore more of the wonderful world of pancakes, I also recommend my Dutch baby pancake, my little Dutch mini-pancakes (poffertjes), thin French-style crepes, tall and jiggly Japanese souffle pancakes, and the hands-off American sheet pan pancakes. There is a pancake for every kind of morning.
If you make these cinnamon roll pancakes, I would love to know how thick you drew your swirl. Come back to rate the recipe and leave a comment telling me whether you kept the glaze light or drowned the whole stack in it. Both are correct.
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Cinnamon Panakes
Ingredients
For the cinnamon roll pancakes:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large egg
Cinnamon filling:
- ⅓ cup melted butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the glaze:
- ¾ cup cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon of milk
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add the ingredients for the filling. Mix well until homogenized and transfer to a piping bag. Put it aside.
- In a separate bowl, add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix then incorporate, with the milk, olive oil and egg.
- In another bowl, add cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk, whisk until you get a creamy glaze.
Cooking the cinnamon pancakes:
- On a frying pan, heated to medium heat and greased with oil, cook the pancakes for 1-2 minutes each. Use about ½ cup of mixture for each pancake.
- Squeeze the filling from the piping bag over each pancake in the pan. Start from the middle and squeeze out a thin strip in the shape of a snail.
- When small bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake, turn the pancake to the other side.
- Repeat the process with all the pancake batter.
- To serve, decorate by drizzling over the cream cheese glaze.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are fluffy pancakes with a cinnamon-sugar swirl piped into the batter as it cooks, then finished with a cream cheese glaze. The result tastes like a warm cinnamon roll but comes together in a skillet in under 30 minutes, with no dough to knead or proof.
Cook the pancakes over medium heat, not high. The swirl is mostly brown sugar and butter, which caramelizes and can scorch quickly on a hot pan. Medium heat gives the pancake time to set while the swirl turns golden instead of bitter.
Yes. Swap the milk for a plant milk such as rice milk in both the batter and glaze, use vegan butter in the cinnamon swirl, and use a dairy-free cream cheese for the glaze. As written the recipe is vegetarian because it contains milk, butter, egg, and cream cheese.
The most common cause is overmixing the batter, which develops gluten and makes pancakes dense. Stir just until the flour is incorporated and a few lumps remain. Also make sure your baking powder is fresh and your pan is fully preheated before the first pancake.
Yes. Cooked pancakes keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days or freeze well between sheets of parchment. Store the cream cheese glaze separately and add it fresh, since it firms up when chilled. Reheat the pancakes in a low oven or dry pan so the swirl stays soft.
Whisk melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon into a thick paste and spoon it into a piping bag or a zip-top bag with one corner snipped off. Once the batter is in the pan, pipe the mixture in a spiral from the center outward, like a snail shell, then flip once bubbles form on top.
