The BEST Healthy Cinnamon Sugar–4 Ways {keto and sugar-free}
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If you love cinnamon sugar, but you're watching your sugar intake, you are going to LOVE this Healthy Cinnamon Sugar. It's keto and sugar-free, plus I've got 4 delicious variations that we taste tested. It's really funny which one came out as the family favorite!
Making your own homemade seasoning blends is a great way to save money and avoid unwanted additives in your food.
I already make my own:
but never really had a recipe for cinnamon sugar.
I typically would just break out the cinnamon and a sweetener and mix them ad hoc to make a blend when I needed it.
I have fond memories of my mother driving me to preschool in the car while I savored a piece of toast that was topped with some margarine (yes, we were a completely processed food family) and christened with a just-right-amount of cinnamon sugar.
I'm sure the cinnamon sugar came in a pre-blended container too :-).
It tasted and smelled soooo good.
I was quite young and I was an early reader. I would munch on my toast and read the names of the street signs out loud on our way.
Funny how fragrances and flavors can trigger memories, isn't it?
Well, I still love cinnamon sugar (my kids do too) but like everything I needed to be able to make my own and have it on hand.
How We Found the BEST Cinnamon Sugar Ratio
So I wanted to make the best homemade cinnamon sugar (and make it healthier) but what proportion to use? And why make your own?
As for the why, you can read my post on Homemade Seasoning Blends to see why I recommend making your own blends.
And for the how, here's what I did.
We did a blind taste test (my family members were the panelists) and tested four different blends.
The results were well–basically hilarious!
Each blend won!
Each person in my family had a different favorite.
So what's the best ratio for cinnamon sugar?
You decide.
You now have 4 cinnamon sugar blends to choose from. One for every taste in your family!
Sweetest Blend
The sweetest blend (the least amount of cinnamon) was my youngest's favorite. He has quite the sweet tooth, just like his mama.
I predicted he'd like this one the best. I made all four blends up this morning and let him try them all once he woke up. He got a great big smile on his face after tasting the mildest (aka sweetest) version and said “This one!” when I asked which was the best.
Least Sweet Blend
The strongest was my husband's favorite and he even said that it could still use more cinnamon. (But then, this is the man who puts Tabasco on everything.)
Medium-sweet Blend
The one in the middle was my favorite (followed closely by the sweetest version).
Cinnamon Sugar with Nutmeg Blend
The cinnamon-nutmeg blend was enjoyed by all as having just that little-extra-something. I guess technically we could have 6 blends, by adding nutmeg to each.
How to Use This Blend
This is the perfect topping for my Super and Easy Baked Oatmeal / Oatmeal Cake – Two Ways It's a great Christmas breakfast idea but great for anytime!
Of course this works great for use in these Gluten-free Cinnamon Roll Cookies and on these Cinnamon Baked Doughnuts. It would taste great on this Pumpkin Chia Pudding too.
Directions
- Place ingredients in a bowl (Photos 1 & 2)
- Mix well and store in an airtight container. (Photos 3 & 4)
Where Should You Buy Cinnamon and Nutmeg?
We did taste tests (yes, we really did) and found that Frontier's was by far the best cinnamon, with Costco's coming in a close second.
We also tested Mountain Rose Herbs and Penzeys, but alas, they were not the winners. I purchase the whole nutmeg from Frontier and grind it fresh with my much-beloved Microplane grater–must-have tool.
For those of you who use white sugar, I would recommend switching to Sucanat or Rapadura or even Coconut Sugar.
And for those who cannot have sugar at all (I'm in that camp) due to diabetes or candida, I recommend xylitol, allulose, or erythritol. You can read more about my experience at The Beginning of My Sugar-Free Life.)
In any case, you will for sure be doing yourself a favor by making this blend healthier than the standard white sugar and cinnamon version.
Recipe Notes
- Sweetener Choice: If you would like a low-carb version, xylitol works well and erythritol does as well, but it is about 70% as sweet as sugar so you will need more. If you aren't on a strict low-carb diet, organic sucanat, organic rapadura, or organic coconut sugar are typically considered to be better options than regular sugar.
- Which version of cinnamon to use? Whichever you like. I'll try to post on cinnamon varieties later. However, if you use Vietnamese cinnamon, cut the recommended amounts by 1/3 since Vietnamese is typically a stronger cinnamon variety. You can use whatever amounts you would like, though.
Other Homemade Seasoning Blends
- Homemade Taco Seasoning – you for sure won't ever need to buy those overpriced packets again once you try this!
- Pumpkin Pie Seasoning
- Mild Curry Powder
- Chat Masala (a wonderful Indian spice that we have on our table all the time)
- Vegetable Broth Mix | All-Purpose Seasoning (and a really special way to use it!)
Healthy Cinnamon Sugar (keto)
Ingredients
Sweetest Version
- 1 cup low carb sweetener (or alternative granulated sweetener as desired)
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
Medium Strength Version
- 1 cup low carb sweetener (use xylitol for low-carb option)
- 4 tablespoons cinnamon
Strongest Version
- 1 cup low carb sweetener (use xylitol for low-carb option)
- 5 1/3 tablespoons cinnamon (or 16 teaspoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly-ground recommended)
Cinnamon-Nutmeg Blend
- 1 cup low carb sweetener
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly ground recommended)
Instructions
- Place ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- Store in an airtight container (if you are making all three blends, you could have a small container of each :-)).
- Sprinkle on anything where you might like a nice sweet topping (toast, oatmeal, coffee (coffee substitute for me), etc. This would also be the perfect topping on my Pumpkin Snickerdoodles if you'd like to vary the topping a bit.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Hope you like it!
Do you have a special flavor or fragrance memory to share?
Watkins cinnamon is the best! 🙂 Naturally much sweeter than others! 🙂
How interesting! I hadn’t heard of them. Where did you hear about them. Is it just the variety that they use? Cassia is different than Vietnamese, for example.
I noticed that you recommend xylitol in your recipes. Although other food items can be dangerous to dogs, xylitol in small amounts can be even more deadly and it very under publicized.
Can you please inform your readers that even a very small amount of xylitol can kill dogs? Many pet owners don’t know this and since you recommend it, it would be a wonderful service to let people know how dangerous even a small amount can be for dogs.
Thank you.
Most sincerely,
Molly
Hi Molly–yes I do but actually I might be changing that up in the future…not sure yet.
In any case, I am aware of it but according to sources I have read other foods in small amounts can be deadly as well–like chocolate. So I’m kind of conflicted about putting warnings on my recipes. My recipes are made for humans. Also there are foods that can kill birds and cats so I could end up with a lot of additions to my recipes.
Does that help? Thank you again!
I don’t know if I missed it or not, but it should be mentioned that Xylitol is deadly to dogs. They cannot process it like we can. Ethyritol is what we use so we know our furbaby is safe.
I didn’t mention it b/c it wasn’t germane to the post. There are other foods that are toxic to animals such as raisins, grapes and chocolate but I don’t put those disclaimers in my post. But yes, you are correct.
Use real cinnamon, not cassia. Sri lanka cinnamon is what I buy from my healthfood store by the pound, Frontier brand. Great depth of flavor, tastes like theres nutmeg, cloves and allspice in there already! Its the type used in studies showing how beneficial cinnamon is for your health. I will never buy cassia again.
I too love that kind of cinnamon.
Most standard recipes call for 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. I have mixed my own for years and eyeball about 1:1. The more cinnamon, the better the flavour and the more beneficial nutrient effects. In the future, I may use Stevia, but cut the sweetener volume a lot.
Sounds great. Do you use ceylon?
When I was a kid, I experimented with blends to achieve my desired taste. I came up with your “strongest” blend, though I always just eyeball it, into a glass spice jar (for easy shaking on toast). For readers who have no desire to measure 16 tsp, that is the same as 1/3 cup. Or simply use any spoon you want and measure a 3:1 sweetener to cinnamon ratio (3 scoops of sweetener, 1 scoop of cinnamon). My 5 year old loves this combination as well. She regularly requests it for breakfast. Yum. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much! I miss having this – haven’t made it in awhile.
hi Adrienne, Can you use the Cinnamon Sugar on popcorn for a sweet taste profile? Alison
Of course – great idea!!
yay!!
I love home made for cost, and wholesome ness. Your website is the best..and I have looked at many! You cover all the bases with cheer and good information. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks so much – hope to see you around again!
Since most xylitol is made from GMO corn, I think I would just as soon use cane sugar. Sucanat is very expensive, as is Rapadura, and they are both basically brown (cane) sugar, admittedly less processed and likely Fair Trade, but I could never afford them. Obviously if cane is a problem for you, you need to find something else, but how about Stevia? Anyway, I enjoyed your article……cute how you used your family for a blind taste test.
I use only xylitol that is made from birch. Stevia won’t work b/c it is way too sweet – well, maybe it would. I guess I could try my hand at it but sprinkling it will be tough. Thanks!
Is evaporated cane juice a good sweetener?
I consider it to be just a step above table sugar so I would go for sucanat if you are trying to be healthier.
Your cinnamon sugar calls for a sweetener. So which sweetener do you use?
I typically use xylitol but sometimes coconut sugar. Thanks!