Easy King Cake Knots

Easy King Cake Knots – refrigerated french bread dough coated in cinnamon and sugar, baked, and topped with a quick homemade icing and colored sugar. Perfect for Mardi Gras!! Serve these cinnamon knots for breakfast or dessert on Fat Tuesday! #cinnamonrolls #breakfast #dessert #mardigras #kingcake

king cake knot on a plate

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Easy King Cake for Mardi Gras

I made these easy mini king cakes to go with our Slow Cooker Jambalaya, because no Mardi Gras celebration is complete without King Cake.  What is a king cake? In the simplest of terms, a king cake is a giant cinnamon roll. It is made from a sweet yeast dough and filled with cinnamon, sugar, and sometimes pecans. It is frosted with a sugar glaze or cream cheese frosting and coated with yellow, purple, and green sugar.

I really like king cake, but I don’t want to spend all day kneading dough and waiting on it to rise. This recipe uses refrigerated french bread dough and only takes a few minutes to assemble. We had just enough time to recover from dinner before we gobbled these up. These would even be good for breakfast.

How to Make Easy King Cake Knots

These knots are super easy to make. Start with opening a tube of refrigerated french bread dough. Carefully unroll the dough and roll into a large rectangle. Spread softened butter over the dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Cut the dough into strips. Twist the strips together and tie into a knot. Place on a baking sheet and bake. Once the cinnamon knots have cooled, top with a quick powdered sugar glaze and sprinkle with yellow, green, and purple sugar.

  • You can substitute a tube of refrigerated pizza dough if you can’t find the french bread dough.
  • Feel free to add finely chopped pecans to the knots. Sprinkle them on when you add the cinnamon and sugar before tying into knots.
  • I find it easier to cut the dough into strips with a pizza cutter.
  • You can find colored sugar at the grocery store or craft stores.
  • If you are making these for a Mardi Gras party, feel free to hide a plastic baby in one of the knots before icing them.
king cake knot on a plate

What to Serve for Mardi Gras Parties

While we don’t have large Mardi Gras parades in our town, I still love to celebrate with cajun/creole themed food on Fat Tuesday. These cinnamon knots are great for breakfast or dessert. Here are a few more of our favorite Mardi Gras recipes from the blog to finish off your celebration:

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Slow Cooker Jambalaya – a Mardi Gras staple! Easy to make and tastes great! Chicken, smoked sausage, diced tomatoes, chicken…

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta – THE BEST! Reminded me of Red Lobster’s Cajun chicken pasta. Chicken, linguine, cajun seasoning, butter,…

King Cake Bubble Up

King Cake Bubble Up – We loved this!! Cinnamon rolls, eggs, milk, vanilla and cream cheese. Ready in 30 minutes.…

king cake knot on a plate

Easy King Cake Knots

Yield: 12 knots
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Easy King Cake Knots – refrigerated french bread dough coated in cinnamon and sugar, baked and topped with a quick homemade icing and colored sugar. Perfect for Mardi Gras!!

Ingredients:

  • 1 (11-oz) tube loaf refrigerated french bread dough
  • 3 Tbsp butter, softened
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 4 tsp milk, may need more to get right consistency
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • colored sugar – yellow, purple, green

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  • Unroll the french bread dough into a large rectangle, about 16 by 12 inches.
  • Brush the dough lightly with softened butter. Mix together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over butter.
  • Cut the dough in half lengthwise and then cut crosswise into strips about 1¼ inches wide.
  • Twist two strips together. Tie each strip loosely into a knot, stretching gently if necessary, and place on baking sheet about 2-inches apart.
  • Bake for 25-28 minutes. Cool.
  • Mix together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Dip each knot into icing and then sprinkle with colored sugar.

Notes:

  • You can substitute a tube of refrigerated pizza dough if you can’t find the french bread dough.
  • Feel free to add finely chopped pecans to the knots. Sprinkle them on when you add the cinnamon and sugar before tying into knots.
  • I find it easier to cut the dough into strips with a pizza cutter.
  • You can find colored sugar at the grocery store or craft stores.
  • If you are making these for a Mardi Gras party, feel free to hide a plastic baby in one of the knots before icing them.

Steph

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Comments

  1. Hi Steph!!! How long would you think these would keep fresh. Would they stay fresh, for example, if I made them today and took to church potluck tomorrow?

  2. These look amazing! Do you have any recommendations for the bread dough?

    Thanks so much! Can't wait to make these!

  3. I'm making these because I think you have them on my Pampered Chef Bamboo Cracker Tray and that is what sold me! I can see exactly how small and cute they are!

  4. Great idea! Seems easy and doable! My boyfriend and I are obsessed with king cake, so we'll try this out soon!

  5. I'm so glad I checked out your blog today because I will be making these tonight to bring to our cook up at the parade tomorrow!! Happy Mardi Gras!!

    Melissa M.

  6. this looks amazing! thanks for sharing. I am so glad to have found your blog … just browsing it makes me hungry 🙂

    War Eagle!

  7. So cute! And they fit into my "good things simple" lifestyle! I could make these. Always love your recipes!

  8. Every year someone in our office orders a king cake that's shipped up from New Orleans. And every year I wonder, why would anyone want more than a bite of this?

    Yours is perfect. 🙂

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