Cinnamon rolls are a very popular baked treat and with good reason.
They are delicious and sweet, and the cinnamon gives them a warming feeling which is especially appealing during colder months.
Cinnamon rolls are also often quite small in size and therefore can be considered a treat by people who are on a calorie-controlled diet.
However, despite their small size, they are still a pastry that contains high levels of sugar and fat and the calorie content should be considered when looking to incorporate them into your diet.
In this article, we will look at how many calories are in an average cinnamon roll and the other important aspects of the nutritional profile of these baked goods.
Calorie Content Of Different Sized Rolls
The calorie content of cinnamon rolls is massively influenced by the size of the roll and where the roll is made or sold.
Below is an outline of the most common calorie counts for cinnamon rolls that can be purchased from different retailers.
The calorie counts stated below are estimates and will vary depending on the specific outlet that a roll is purchased from.
If you are incorporating a cinnamon roll into a calorie controlled diet, you should check the calories for the specific roll you are purchasing to ensure that you do not exceed your daily calorie limit.
Large Cinnamon Rolls
For clarity, the large cinnamon rolls being referred to are the large, fresh cinnamon rolls that are commonly found at stalls in malls throughout the country.
Although these cinnamon rolls can be a great and well deserved treat after a long day of shopping, they are definitely not diet friendly.
Despite their light and fluffy texture, and the fact that they will not keep you feeling full for very long, these cinnamon rolls can contain as many as 880 calories per serving.
That can be the majority of your daily calorie intake if you are on a 1500 calorie per day diet plan without any of the nutrients that your body needs to function properly and healthily.
Fast Food Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon rolls that you can purchase from fast food restaurants come in at a lower calorie count than the large cinnamon rolls mentioned above.
However, this does not necessarily indicate that they are any better for you.
Rather, the cinnamon rolls that you can purchase from fast food outlets are often significantly smaller in size than the large mall cinnamon rolls and therefore are even less filling.
On average, fast food cinnamon rolls contain around 420 calories. While this is half of the calories mentioned above, the size of fast food cinnamon rolls can mean that they are actually more calorie dense than the large ones.
This calorie count is also based on basic fast food cinnamon rolls rather than deluxe ones.
Miniature Cinnamon Rolls
Miniature cinnamon rolls are understandably lower in calories than the two types mentioned above.
Again, this is mostly due to their smaller size. Average miniature cinnamon rolls contain around 100 calories.
However, because of their small size, it can often be tempting to have more than one as a snack which can soon make the calories pile up.
If you have the willpower to only eat one, then these can be a good option to get your cinnamon roll fix.
Ready-To-Bake Cinnamon Rolls
If you want to fill your home with the smell of fresh cinnamon rolls but aren’t a confident baker, you might be tempted by the ready-to-bake cinnamon rolls that you can purchase from grocery stores.
These are one of the best options for cinnamon rolls, containing on average only 145 calories per serving.
You can also control how many you make and therefore, how many need to be eaten before they go stale.
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
The best option for cinnamon rolls by far is ones that are homemade from scratch.
Although this may take more time and effort, you can adjust recipes to make them more healthy.
For example, You can switch regular flour for wholewheat flour to add extra fiber to the rolls.
The average homemade cinnamon roll contains around 180 calories and can feature a much better nutritional profile than other options.
How To Make Healthier Cinnamon Rolls?
If you have a strong craving for cinnamon rolls but don’t want to derail your diet too badly, there are some ways that you can make cinnamon rolls at home that are much healthier and lower in calories than regular store bought or homemade rolls.
Making swaps in your recipe such as wholewheat flour as mentioned above can help increase the nutritional value of your cinnamon rolls.
However, if you want to take it a step further, you can swap the sugar in the recipe for a low calorie sweetener.
This will help to significantly reduce the amount of calories in your cinnamon rolls.
Similarly, the frosting for the topping can be made with low calorie sweetener, low fat cream cheese, and even 0% milk, all of which will help to lower the overall calorie count of the rolls.
Other Healthy Alternatives
If even the homemade cinnamon rolls with healthier or low calorie swaps feel like too big a dent in your diet, there are other options to get that cinnamon roll fix without having a calorie filled pastry.
Oatmeal is a great option that can be modified to taste like a delicious cinnamon roll with a fraction of the calorie or fat content, simply adding cinnamon and sweetener to your oatmeal can fill the cinnamon roll shaped hole.
Cinnamon roll inspired smoothies can also be a great healthy alternative to an actual cinnamon roll if you prefer liquid snacks.
Final Thoughts
Cinnamon rolls contain lots of calories no matter where you purchase them from, however, there are options to create diet friendly or lower calorie versions easily.
From making swaps in homemade recipes to creating cinnamon roll flavors without a single pastry in sight, if you are craving cinnamon rolls, you don’t have to derail your diet to get your fix.
One of the most common things I talk to my clients about is calories, but so few of them actually know anything about them.
Calories is not a dirty word. If you remove emotion from it, it is simply a unit of energy.
We need calories to live and thrive, and knowing how many to consume is important to ensure that you’re living a healthy lifestyle.
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