This easy Pumpkin Roll is a soft and moist gluten-free pumpkin cake rolled up around a smooth dairy-free cream cheese filling! It’s easy to make with healthy paleo-friendly ingredients and is the perfect fall dessert! Freezer-friendly and includes low carb and keto sweetener options.
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Easy Homemade Pumpkin Roll Recipe
Looking for a crowd -pleasing and healthy pumpkin dessert for fall? This Healthy Pumpkin Roll isn’t a plain old pumpkin cake recipe. It’s a fun and festive treat to make all through October and November when it’s prime pumpkin season.
My family loves all things pumpkin and this pumpkin cake roll is a huge family favorite at our house – every bite has the perfect ratio of pumpkin spice cake and dairy-free cream cheese filling!
The gluten free cake only takes 15 minutes to bake, and the filling is made in under five minutes. You can serve it for breakfast or brunch when you don’t feel like going through the hassel of making Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls and comes together wonderfully with canned pumpkin puree. Topped with a dusting of powdered maple sugar, everyone will want a second slice of this pumpkin roll to go along with this delicious Pumpkin Spice Latte.
What we Love About This Fall Dessert
Our family loves the flavor of this pumpkin cake and the creaminess of the filling. Not only does this dessert taste amazing, but it also looks beautiful as a roll and as individual slices. It’d make a great addition to your Thanksgiving dessert table. This dreamy gluten free pumpkin roll is also grain-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free with low carb and keto sweetener options!
Recipe Ingredients
Classic pumpkin roll recipes typically call for all purpose flour and granulated sugar. Since we are trying to keep our pumpkin spice cake healthier and grain-free than most classic pumpkin cake ingredients, you are going to need:
For the Pumpkin Cake
Wet ingredients
- Eggs: you’re going to need to separate the yolks and whites. The eggs should be room temperature for this recipe.
- Granulated Maple Sugar: You can substitute this with coconut sugar or your preferred granulated sweetener of your choice. Simply use golden monk fruit sweetener to make this a keto pumpkin roll that is low carb and sugar-free.
- Pumpkin puree (be sure to use pure sugar free canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) or homemade fresh pumpkin puree by roasting your own sugar pumpkins
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: The two leaveners we use to make the pumpkin cake roll rise
- Pure vanilla extract – adds flavor, balances sweetness and makes this healthy pumpkin roll delicious
Dry Ingredients
- Super fine blanched almond flour + coconut flour: our favorite combination of paleo, low carb gluten-free flours to use in place of all purpose flour
- Xanthan Gum: highly recommended to help bind the gluten free flours. If you don’t have xanthan gum, you can also use gelatin.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Use pre-made pumpkin pie spice or make your own in 2 minutes!
- Baking powder and baking soda: this combination of leaveners help the paleo pumpkin rolls rise
- Fine sea salt – just a pinch to balance out the sweetness
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- Dairy-free Cream Cheese: We like Kite Hill or Miyokos but you can use regular cream cheese as well if you have no dietary issues. Be sure to bring your cream cheese to room temperature.
- Powdered Coconut Sugar: If desired, you can substitute this for regular powdered sugar, powdered monk fruit sweetener or granulated maple sugar.
- Vegan Butter: Or use regular, room temperature butter.
- Vanilla Extract
How to Make a Pumpkin Roll
This paleo pumpkin roll is pretty simple to make. You just have to bake the cake, roll it up, let it cool while you make the filling and roll it up again with the filling inside! Be sure to follow the step-by-step instructions and watch the video below.
Make the Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake
- Prepare for Baking: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease or spray a 15×10-inch jelly roll pan. Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and leave an inch overhanging on each short end of the pan – this will help make it easier to remove from the pan once baked. Lightly grease or spray the parchment paper with non-stick cooking spray.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together ¼ cup of coconut sugar and egg yolks together for 2 minutes until well combined and thick. Mix in the pumpkin purée and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Whip Egg Whites: In a separate clean bowl whisk the egg white until it reaches soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining coconut sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pumpkin mixture into the stiff egg whites.
- Sift in Dry Ingredients: Place a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and sift in the almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder and salt. Mix until everything is combined.
- Bake: Spread the batter evenly into the lined pan and use an angled spatula or gently wiggle the pan to level the batter. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or until the top of the cake springs back when touched.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes. - Roll it Up: Use your hands with the parchment paper still on the bottom to carefully roll the cake from one short (narrow) end to the other short end until it is completely rolled up. You can use gloves or a dishtowel if the roll is too hot.
- Let Cool: Transfer the cake roll to a wire rack and let it cool for 2-3 hours.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting
- Combine Ingredients: While your cake is cooling, use a hand mixer to beat together the filling ingredients.
- Unroll Cooled Cake: Once the cake is cooled, transfer it to a flat surface and carefully unroll the cake until it’s flat again (or mostly flat, it’s ok if the ends curl up a bit).
- Add the Cream Cheese Mixture to Cake: Spread the filling evenly over the cake, leaving a 1/4-inch border on all sides.
Roll the Pumpkin Cake
- Roll it Up Again: Carefully and tightly roll the cake again, from one short end to the other end, while gently peeling away the parchment paper as you roll until you can completely remove and discard it.
- Chill: Tightly wrap the pumpkin roll in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least one hour.
- Serve: Remove and unwrap the pumpkin roll and transfer it to your serving dish. Lightly dust the pumpkin roll on all sides with powdered sugar, if desired. Cut it into 1-inch slices and serve!
How to Prevent Your Roll From Cracking
Take note of these quick pointers so you can make a flawless pumpkin roll!
- Roll the Cake While Warm: Start rolling up your cake as soon as you remove it from the oven. This way, it will be easy to manipulate and a lot less likely to crack.
- Let it Cool Completely: The cake should be 100% cooled before you unroll it to add your filling. It will take slightly longer to cool than a normal cake would because it’s rolled up. If you’re in a rush, you can put it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process.
- Unroll Slowly: You shouldn’t use much force when you unroll your cake to add the frosting. Work slowly and don’t worry if the ends don’t flatten out all the way.
Tips for the Best Pumpkin Roll
- Grease Parchment Paper: It’s super important that you grease the parchment paper you’re lining the pan with. If you don’t grease it, it may stick to the cake and disrupt the rolling process.
- Leave a Border When Frosting: The frosting will spread a little as you roll up the cake, so don’t forget to leave a 1/4 inch border to compensate.
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients: For the best results, let the refrigerated ingredients come to room temperature before you make this pumpkin roll.
- Slice Off the Ends: To make your cake look as amazing as it tastes, slice off the edges to reveal the beautiful cream cheese swirl inside the cake roll!
How to Store Leftover Pumpkin Roll
Tightly wrap any leftovers back in the plastic wrap and store them in the fridge. This cake will stay fresh for 4-5 days. You can also store it in the freezer to make it last longer. If you freeze your pumpkin roll, enjoy it within two months and thaw it out in the fridge before you eat it.
More healthy pumpkin recipes
This easy Pumpkin Roll is a soft and moist gluten-free pumpkin cake rolled up around a smooth dairy-free cream cheese filling! It's easy to make with healthy paleo-friendly ingredients and is the perfect fall dessert!
- 4 large eggs , room tempature, yolks and whites separated
- 3/4 cup granulated maple sugar divided, or sub with other granulated sweetener such as coconut sugar or golden monk fruit sweetener for low carb / keto
- 2/3 cup canned pumpkin puree , not pumpkin pie filling, at room temperature if refrigerated
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup superfine blanched almond flour
- 3 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or make your own using 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 8 oz dairy free cream cheese , may sub with regular cream cheese at room temperature, if not dairy-free
- 1 cup powdered coconut sugar , may sub with powdered monk fruit sweetener, granulated maple sugar or with regular powdered sugar,
- 5 tbsp vegan butter may sub with regular at room temperature, if not dairy-free
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease or spray a 15×10-inch jelly roll pan. Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and leave an inch overhanging on each short end of the pan – this will help make it easier to remove from the pan once baked. Lightly grease or spray the parchment paper with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together ¼ cup of coconut sugar and egg yolks together for 2 minutes until well combined and thick. Mix in the pumpkin purée and vanilla extract until smooth.
In a separate clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they reach soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining coconut sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pumpkin mixture into the stiff egg whites.
Place a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and sift in the almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, pumpkin spice, baking powder and salt. Mix until everything is combined.
Spread the batter evenly into the lined pan and use an angled spatula or gently wiggle the pan to level the batter. Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or until the top of the cake springs back when touched. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Use your hands with the parchment paper still on the bottom to carefully roll the cake from one short (narrow) end to the other short end until it is completely rolled up. You can use gloves or a dishtowel if the roll is too hot.
Transfer the cake roll to a wire rack and let it cool for 2-3 hours.
Meanwhile, make the filing. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together the dairy-free cream cheese, powdered maple sugar, butter and vanilla until smooth.
Once the cake is cooled, transfer to a flat surface, and carefully unroll the cake until it is flat again (or mostly flat, it’s ok if the ends curl up a bit).
Spread the filling evenly over the cake, leaving a 1/4-inch border on all sides.
Carefully and tightly roll up the cake again, from one short end to the other end, while gently peeling away the parchment paper as you roll until you can completely remove and discard it.
Tightly wrap the pumpkin roll in plastic wrap and chill it for at least one hour.
Remove and unwrap the pumpkin roll and transfer it to your serving dish. Lightly dust the pumpkin roll on all sides with powdered granulated maple sugar.
Cut into 1-inch slices and serve with powdered granulated maple sugar, if desired.
wendy -
this was amazing, thanks