Fluffy Cinnamon Roll Sheet Pan Pancakes

These Cinnamon Roll Sheet Pan Pancakes exist because sometimes a girl just does not want to do all that. No yeast. No rising time. No standing at a griddle flipping pancake after pancake. Just buttery brown sugar swirls piped right into a sheet pan filled with pancake batter, baked until puffed and golden, and finished with a thick swipe of cream cheese frosting.

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These Cinnamon roll sheet pan pancakes are everything you love about a warm, frosted cinnamon roll - fluffy with buttery brown sugar swirls and cream cheese frosting on top - baked in a baking sheet, no flipping required. They taste like a weekend but come together like a Tuesday morning.

I already had a lot of cinnamon roll recipes on this blog. There are the overnight cinnamon rolls that I make when I'm feeling ambitious, the quick biscuit dough cinnamon rolls, and even a version built on a simple two-ingredient dough cinnamon rolls. I love every single one of them. But one morning, I was craving that cinnamon roll flavor without committing to any of that. So I did what any reasonable person would do: I grabbed a sheet pan.

I mashed together my cinnamon roll pancake recipe and my sheet pan pancake recipe, piped cinnamon swirls onto the batter, and popped the whole thing in the oven. When I shared it on Instagram Stories that same morning, my inbox kind of went sideways. Hundreds of messages, all saying the same thing: put this on the blog. So here we are. This one is for you. ❤️

Why you'll love this recipe

• No flipping - The oven does all the work. You don't stand over a hot griddle for a single second.
• Feeds a crowd - One pan makes 12 portions. Brunch is handled.
• Cinnamon roll flavor - Brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and cream cheese frosting in every single bite.
• Beginner friendly - If you can whisk a bowl of batter, you can make these.
• Showstopper looks - The piped swirls and frosting make this pan look like it took way more effort than it did.

If making pancakes has ever felt like a full-time job - standing at the stove, flipping batch after batch while everyone else sits and waits - this is the recipe that fixes that. The pan goes from oven to table and everyone gets their own frosted cinnamon roll pancake.

Ingredients & Substitutions

The photo below shows everything you need to make this recipe. I even divided them up for you so you can see what's needed for each step. Let's go over the ingredients worth talking about and how you can swap things around if you need to.

• Cream cheese - Use full-fat block cream cheese, softened to room temperature. Whipped or low-fat cream cheese won't give you the same thick, pipeable frosting.
• Brown sugar - Light or dark both work here. Dark brown sugar gives you a deeper, more molasses-y flavor in the swirl. I love it either way.
• Butter - There's butter in three places: the batter, the swirl, and the frosting. All of it matters. Use unsalted throughout so you control the salt.
• Milk - Room temperature milk helps the batter come together smoothly and keeps those eggs from seizing when they hit the melted butter. Whole milk gives you the richest result, but 2% works just fine.
• Eggs - Room temperature here too, for the same reason. If yours are cold, set them in a bowl of warm tap water for 10 minutes.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Variations

Once you have the base recipe down, this pan is endlessly flexible. Here are a few ways to make it your own:

• Apple cinnamon - Fold some of my cooled maple sauteed apples into the batter before pouring it into the pan. It bakes right in and pairs beautifully with the cinnamon swirl.
• Pumpkin spice - Swap the cinnamon in the swirl for pumpkin pie spice. Fall on a sheet pan.
• Nutella swirl - Replace the cinnamon sugar mixture with Nutella thinned slightly with melted butter. Pipe it in the same spiral pattern. You're welcome.
• Maple glaze - Not feeling the cream cheese frosting? A simple drizzle of powdered sugar mixed with maple syrup is warm, sweet, and takes about 30 seconds to make.
• Mini chocolate chips - Scatter a handful over the batter right before baking. They melt right in and make every bite extra.

Quick Recipe Video

Step-by-Step Instructions

Take a breath. These are easier than they look, especially once you see the process. Follow along with the photos and you'll have a pan of cinnamon roll pancakes ready in about 30 minutes.

Step 1: Heat your oven to 425°F. Generously grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13-inch rimmed quarter sheet pan with butter or nonstick spray. Get into the corners - that's where things stick.

Step 2: Make the batter Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk in melted and cooled butter.

Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently mix together. Stop as soon as everything is incorporated. Lumps are fine. If you have time, let your batter rest for 15 minutes.

Step 4: Make the cinnamon swirl Stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Remove ¼ cup of your prepared pancake batter and stir it into the cinnamon mixture until combined. Transfer to a piping bag or zip-top bag.

Step 5: Assemble Pour the remaining batter into your prepared sheet pan and spread it gently to the corners. Snip a small opening in the cinnamon swirl bag.

Step 6: Divide the pan into 12 portions - 3 rows of 4. I actually use a paring knife to do this because I am terrible at dividing things evenly in my head 🥴

Step 7: Pipe one spiral in the center of each portion, starting in the middle and working outward, like you're drawing a snail shell. Pop into the oven.

Step 8: Make the frosting Beat the softened cream cheese, softened butter, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt together until completely smooth. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and beat again. Add more milk, one teaspoon at a time, until the frosting is thick but can still be piped. Transfer to a piping bag or zip-top bag and set aside.

Step 9: Bake for 15 minutes, or until the pancake is puffed and set in the center and a toothpick inserted into the pancake part comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Step 10: Frost Snip the end of the frosting bag and pipe in a zigzag pattern over the whole pan. Use the back of a spoon to swirl and spread the frosting over each portion, following the spiral shape.

Serve: Cut between the swirls into 12 portions and serve warm. Be ready to be absolutely shocked that you're not eating an actual cinnamon roll. Shocked 🫪

Try Another Sheet Pan Pancake

Sheet pan pancakes are one of my favorite things to make for a crowd, and if you haven't tried my strawberry sheet pan pancakes yet, that's your next move. Same low-effort, high-reward energy.

Serving Suggestion

Warm from the oven with the frosting barely melted into the swirls is absolutely the move. I love these with a side of candied maple pecan bacon because the salty-sweet combo with that cream cheese frosting is highly delicious. A vanilla latte doesn't hurt either.

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