I’m all about easy healthy recipes for breakfast, but sometimes you need easy and indulgent! This decadent and delicious cinnamon bun pancake recipe is just that, making it a perfect Sunday morning treat — or any morning you have a few spare minutes and a need for some brunch fare.

Perfect fluffy pancakes with a generous swirl of cinnamon and brown sugar cooked into them, and topped with a cream cheese drizzle; these pancakes have all of the flavour of a great cinnamon bun with a fluffy cake texture.

These cinnamon bun pancakes absolutely melt in your mouth and are a perfect brunch option for when you want to really spoil your family, or wow some overnight guests.

I used my favourite buttermilk pancake recipe to make the pancake portion, but feel free to use your favourite pancake recipe. I like the sweet and tart contrast of the buttermilk-cinnamon-cream cheese combination, but this will be a delicious breakfast even if you choose to use a favourite pancake mix or if you need to use a gluten-free recipe.

Of course, you could skip the cream cheese drizzle (to shave off some calories or for dietary restrictions) and it still makes a gorgeous, delicious breakfast.

These pancakes and the drizzle can be made the night before, just make sure to keep them separate until just before serving. They even make a great lunch for the kids (especially if you use a protein pancake recipe for the pancake).

All in all, this recipe takes just over ten minutes to make, depending on how many pancakes you’re making. Make the cinnamon swirl mixture first to allow it to cool a bit before adding it to the piping bag, and the cream cheese drizzle can be quickly whipped together while you are waiting to flip the pancakes.

Ingredients for Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

Cinnamon Swirl:

• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream Cheese Glaze:

• 4 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 Tablespoons milk, optionally, to thin out

Tip: you can swap out our pancake recipe for 2 cups of your own preferred pancake batter.

How to Make Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

Melt the butter in a pan, stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon, let cook for 30 seconds and set aside to cool.

Heat your pancake skillet, add oil or nonstick spray if necessary.

Make your pancake batter by stirring together all pancake ingredients with a wooden spoon.

Scoop a 1/3 to 1/2 cup portion onto the skillet.

As the pancake starts to cook, spoon the cinnamon swirl mixture into a piping bag or plastic bag.

Once the pancake is almost fully cooked on one side, snip off the end of the bag and add a swirl of cinnamon ontop of the cooking pancake. Allow the cinnamon mixture to set for at least one minute before flipping and cooking full on the other side.

Repeat for all pancakes. Meanwhile, whip together the cream cheese glaze. You can drizzle this over the pancakes with a spoon or with an additional piping bag – or, be like my daughter and apply generously with a butter knife.

 

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Make sure to pin this cinnamon bun pancake recipe for later and let me know if you give it a try!

For more delicious cinnamon-bun inspired recipes, check out our cinnamon bun crackers and slow cooker cinnamon bun recipe.

Check out our other Breakfast Recipes here: