Any plans for Valentine’s Day? I know mine is going to be absolutely KILLER because I’ll be at the Mariah Carey concert in Vegas. Talk about a true dream come true for this girl.
Seriously, I begged Tony for 6 months to get me those tickets and finally got them for Christmas. BEST GIFT EVER.
Another great gift for the valentine in your life? These beautiful cinnamon rolls with…
Wait for it…
CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SPREAD.
PISTACHIOS
+ AN EASY ORANGE ICING.
And they’re vegan too!
Absolutely certain you need these in your life now, right?
I created this recipe in partnership with my grocery-delivery friends over at Peapod. They asked me to create a recipe for their recipe site for Valentine’s Day. At first I thought about french toast, but come on… it’s just french toast. So then I started dreaming about things I could stuff in a cinnamon roll and found a jar of Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter from a previous Peapod delivery.
As soon as I knew it, I was spreading chocolate on the dough and glazing them with sweet orange icing. Somehow all the flavors in this recipe just work. I would know, I tested them three times and made Tony eat each version. Hah.
Let’s chat quickly about a few things so you can make sure this recipe is a success!
Coconut milk: We’re using it from the can, not the carton.
Coconut sugar: If you don’t have this on hand, regular sugar will work just fine. Although I do recommend organic cane sugar if it is available to you.
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: This is basically a lighter version of whole wheat flour. It’s fine and resembles regular flour, except it still has all the nutrition of regular whole wheat flour. I mean, I guess I tried to make these a little better for you than Cinnabon. Ha!
Chocolate Hazelnut Butter: I use Justin’s or sometimes just make my own chocolate almond butter and use that! You could also be a complete badass and use nutella. It’s all up to what you’re feeling.
Let me know if you have other questions about this recipe!
If you make this recipe, leave a comment below or tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram so I can see your creations. xo!
More healthy brunch recipes to try:
The Best Cinnamon Rolls You’ll Ever Eat
Whole Wheat Banana Bread Pancakes with Chocolate Chips
Vegan Paleo Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips
Dreamy Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins
Dark Chocolate, Almond & Sea Salt Banana Baked Oatmeal
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Whole Wheat Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls with Pistachios + Orange Icing (vegan!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned lite coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 packet active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut butter*
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachios, chopped
- zest of 1 orange
- For the Orange icing:
- 1/2 cup vegan powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Place coconut milk and coconut oil in a saucepan over medium low heat. Heat until temperature reaches about 110 degrees F. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer. Immediately stir in coconut sugar and yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast. You should see the milk get slightly foamy and form a paste.
- Next add in 1/2 of the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add in the rest of the flour and stir again until just combined.
- Place dough hook on your mixer and run on medium low speed for about 8 minutes. Alternatively you can knead the dough with your hands for 10 minutes.
- Once dough is kneaded, transfer to a large bowl coated generously in oil (any oil will work here). Cover with plastic wrap and a towel, then place in a warm place to rise for a little over an hour or until doubled in size.
- Once dough is doubled in size, place onto a large surface dusted with flour. Punch dough down and roll into a 15x9 inch rectangle.
- Spread chocolate hazelnut butter over the dough leaving a 1/2 inch border on the edges. Sprinkle cinnamon, pistachios and orange zest over the top.
- Beginning at the 15 inch side, roll up tightly and pinch edges together to seal. Using a serrated knife or floss, cut into 9 large rolls.
- Grease the bottom of a 9x9 inch pan with coconut oil or cooking spray. Place cinnamon roll slices in pan and cover again with a towel. (I like to place my cinnamon roll pan on the oven while it preheats to allow for faster rising!) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place covered pan on the stovetop; the heat from the oven will help the rolls to rise even more. Allow them to rise for 1 hour total.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until barely golden brown. Cool for 5-10 minutes.
- While the rolls are cooling, make the frosting by combining the powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest in a small bowl. Drizzle over the rolls and top with extra pistachios, if desired.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
This post is in partnership with Peapod. All text and recipes are my own. Thanks for continuing to support AK and the brands that help make this site possible!
Hi Monique! Can the dough for these be made a day ahead of time and refrigerated overnight?
hey Monique! so i tried out the recipe, mine were yummy , however they dont look as fluffy and they didnt really rise.. liek yours.. i was wondering if i did something wrong or if there is something i can do differently to give them that warm cinnamon roll taste :).
(also i didnt have plastic wrap so i let the dough sit in oiled tupperwear for an hour instead of covering it in a bowl with a warm towel and plastic wrap for an hour… could that be why ?)
Hi! Did you use whole wheat pastry flour or a different kind of flour? Also it’s important to put the dough in a warmer place to help it rise. That’s why a warm towel helps. 🙂
Hi there! I am allergic to peanuts, hazelnuts, and almonds. Is there any other alternative to the chocolate spread that does not include those three nuts?
Monique, these make me so happy! I’d love to eat the entire pan. 🙂 Happy Valentine’s Day to you!
I am dying over how good these look. Seriously chocolate hazelnut butter on a cinnamon roll? YASS!
This might be the most delicious recipe I’ve ever seen. I didn’t even think it was a healthy recipe until I saw the ingredients list, WOW! This will fool my kids into thinking they are having a dessert and it’s actually healthy!!!
I was literally just talking about Peapod this morning! I’m shooting a cookbook in Boston and we will be using Peabody to order all the ingredients!! We used to use it all the time when we lived there and miss it here in Grand Rapids!! PS: I want 100 of these!
Orange is always a terrific addition to cinnamon rolls! And pistachios???? Sign me up!
These look so damn heavenly, I could just face plant into them right now. Thank you for making them vegan!!! Or maybe not thank you…because now I want all of them… 😉
These look amazing! Justin’s is the best ❤️
I saw these bad boys on your Instagram first and freaked out a little. NEEEED!
I am so in love with these…such thoughtful and wholesome ingredients. Pinning now because I am so making them this weekend…or right now! 😉
Um, so I know what I’m making this weekend! Can these be prepped the night before and baked in the morning?
Great question. You can prepare them the night before, just stick them in the fridge after you rolling up into rolls, then the morning of, simply let them rise at room temp for 1-2 hours before baking.
Oh my gosh, these flavors together sound incredible girl!
These look so delish!
Was wondering, what could I substitute for coconut milk? I’m not the biggest fan of coconut. I was thinking maybe evaporated milk, or buttermilk – or would it be too low in fat?
Well, it’s a vegan recipe… so neither of those. Have you tried using cashew milk?
These look delicious!
holy YUMMM! These cinnamon rolls could not be any more perfect! I mean you can’t go wrong with chocolate, citrus and nuts!
Umm, I LOVE that you used Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut butter!!! I seriously love them & their products so much. These look amazing!!
Here’s MY plan for Valentine’s Day: wake up, workout, make an infinite amount of chocolate treats, and eat ’em all! I’d add some cacao powder to these bad boys and make CHOCOLATE CINNAMON ROLLS!
Oh, my, gosh. These look so good! A bit ambitious for me but I might just give them a try!
Vegas is going to be AMAZING! Super jealous. And these rolls also look divine – I love the coconut milk addition!
Wow, these look spectacular!! I love the combination of chocolate, orange, and pistachio. I had no idea that Justin’s chocolate hazelnut butter was dairy-free – good to know!
Yep! All of their nut butters are dairy-free and most are vegan, excluding Honey Almond Butter and Honey Peanut Butter.
That looks absolutely delectable!!!
These look like the PERFECT Valentine’s Day breakfast. 🙂 Have so much fun at the Mariah concert, Tony is definitely a keeper for agreeing to go with you! 😉