Every Cinnabon Menu Item, Ranked Worst To Best

Plenty of malls around the country have a distinct smell of sweet cinnamon that wafts through the air. More often than not, this intoxicating aroma is courtesy of a Cinnabon store or kiosk. The first Cinnabon location opened in 1985 as an effort to perfect the cinnamon roll. It only sold that one item initially and the store, clearly confident in its sole offering, billed them as "World Famous Cinnamon Rolls." These sweet treats were a huge hit, and the first franchise-operated store opened a year later.

Since then, Cinnabon's menu has expanded to include various cinnamon roll-focused treats including mini rolls, cookies, and donut holes. They also have an extensive drink menu that includes flavored coffees, lemonade, and blended drinks. While those giant cinnamon rolls remain Cinnabon's signature item, many of their other options deserve your attention. Here at Mashed, we tried everything on Cinnabon's menu and ranked each item from worst to best. (Note that three items missing from this list include Cinnabon Stix, Churro Swirls, and Hot Cocoa. These aren't offered at every Cinnabon, so if you want to try them you may need to check a few different locations.) 

With that in mind, here's what to order and what you can skip the next time you visit.

Just like their classic lemonade, Cinnabon's frozen variety is overly tart and bitter. It's so sour that it passes the point of being refreshing and becomes distracting instead. This drink gets ranked just above the regular stuff because the ice blended inside does help tone down the sourness of the lemonade itself, though it does so at the expense of cutting down the lemon flavor, which makes this drink more watery. If you want a ton of flavor in your lemonade, this probably isn't the drink for you.

At least the blended aspect makes this drink palatable enough that we were able to finish it. The authentic, "fresh-squeezed" feel was still there as well. Overall, this drink isn't for us but may be the perfect afternoon pick-me-up for someone who likes things on the sour side. On a hot summer day, we might even put up with its tartness to help cool off.

Cinnabon's hot coffee is similar to their cold brew coffee in many ways. Again, it's very strong, which means if you're not generally a fan of black coffee, this one probably isn't for you. Just like with their cold brew, Cinnabon's hot coffee has a bitter aftertaste that isn't very enjoyable. However, we did notice that pairing this drink with a super sweet cinnamon roll helped to balance out those unwelcome notes. (We also think there's a good chance Cinnabon did that on purpose.)

Another bit of credit we have to give Cinnabon is that their plain hot coffee smells amazing. It's exactly the rich, warm aroma you hope for when you enter a coffee shop. If you're a fan of strong coffee, you may enjoy this drink, especially if you add a splash of milk or eat it in conjunction with one of the bakery's sugar-packed treats. Otherwise, per our recommendation for the black cold brew, stick with a flavored iced coffee drink instead.

The caramel pecan flavored Center of the Roll treat is similar to the classic version. It comes in the same packaging but instead of cream cheese frosting, it's topped with a creamy caramel sauce and covered in pecan pieces. The cinnamon roll chunks didn't taste quite as dry as the ones included in the classic version, although that may have been from all the caramel topping and pecans we got in every bite which distracted us from the other textures.

Those extra toppings elevate this treat immensely, but we're still disappointed in how dry the dough is. This is supposed to be the center of the roll, after all. We also wish the caramel and pecans were dispersed more evenly throughout the cup. As with the classic Center of the Roll, we ran out of icing by the time we hit the bottom half of the treat. The flavor itself, however, is very good and the pecans offer a nice crunch plus some relief from the sweetness. 

At first glance, this treat looks like a regular chocolate chip cookie. A slight swirl pattern can be seen on top, but we wouldn't have noticed it if we didn't know what we were looking for. Biting into the cookie, however, reveals a mini cinnamon roll baked inside. This idea is inventive and fun in theory, but the execution still needs some work.

While the cookie itself was pretty delicious, the cinnamon roll interior prevents that satisfying break down the middle that all freshly-baked cookies beg to have. Sure, this doesn't affect the flavor at all, but it did affect our experience a little bit. But the main issue with the Cookie BonBite was that the roll addition was dry and lacked any real flavor. We only got hints of cinnamon when we were really searching for it. And the absence of frosting makes the cinnamon roll experience feel incomplete. We'd order this again for the cookie itself, but we'll probably eat around the cinnamon roll inside next time.

Cinnabon's frozen vanilla cold brew tastes surprisingly similar to the cinnamon roll version. There's no cinnamon flavor, but, as we mentioned above, it was barely detectable in the frozen cinnamon roll cold brew. This cold brew gets the edge, however, because the vanilla flavor is thankfully quite pronounced throughout the drink. We appreciate that and feel like we actually got what we paid for here. The coffee flavor is also prominent without having a bitter or sour aftertaste that was an issue with some of some Cinnabon's other coffee drinks.

Overall, this is a yummy drink that's a refreshing upgrade from a standard vanilla cold brew. As with Cinnabon's other frozen options, the icy aspect of the drink dilutes the overall flavor a little bit, but enough flavor still comes through to keep us sipping until the very end. The frozen vanilla cold brew is a drink we aren't going to get tired of anytime soon.

Cinnabon's vanilla cold brew is a solid option on the menu. It's super creamy and smooth and would satisfy any cold brew lover's expectations. We would love some more vanilla flavor in the drink to really kick it up a notch, but we're not displeased with this drink.

The only reason this menu item doesn't rank any higher on our list is that it's pretty boring compared to the rest of the menu items. Sure, this is solid as far as vanilla cold brew goes, but you can get a good vanilla cold brew at a lot of places. There's nothing that makes this version stand out among the competition. We'll gladly grab one if we're already at a Cinnabon, but we aren't going out of our way to hunt down this drink. Again, that's nothing against their vanilla cold brew, which is very tasty. But if we want something a little more unique, we'll stick to the cinnamon roll cold brew below.

The Caramel Pecan BonBites are quite a bit better than the classic ones for a couple of different reasons. First, the presentation is an improvement with the caramel drizzle and pecans equally covering each roll. There's definitely enough topping to satisfy each bite, which is an important milestone for cinnamon rolls to hit. From looks alone, we're much more excited to dig into these.

Second, the texture is superior with this version. The dough is still pretty dry, unfortunately, but the decadent caramel sauce makes up for it better than the cream cheese frosting on the classic version. The pecans also offer some relief with their crunchy texture that distracts from the dryness of the dough. We still wish these were a little softer, but overall, we thoroughly enjoy this bite-sized treat. We'd get it again for breakfast or as an afternoon snack for a sugary spark in the middle of the day.

This iced drink is a refreshing take on the classic chocolate and coffee combo. It has a strong coffee and chocolate smell right off the bat that made us want to dig in right away. The dark brown beverage is topped with a swirl of whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate syrup. The flavor of this drink definitely leans more toward chocolate than coffee, so you may be a little disappointed if you're a huge coffee fan. However, the coffee flavor does come on strong in the aftertaste, making this frozen drink taste like chocolate milk with coffee added to it.

It's made with Ghirardelli chocolate and the quality is definitely noticed in every sip. According to Cinnabon's website, the Double Chocolate Mocha Chillatta is actually a blend of the bakery's MochaLatta Chill drink and Ghirardelli chocolate, but the ratio must not be equal because the chocolate flavor wins out. That all being said, this is a cold, sweet drink that's super tasty for anyone who likes a combination of coffee and chocolate.

If you're a chocolate lover who wants an over-the-top indulgent drink, look no further than Cinnabon's Oreos & Cream Chillatta. This drink looks like a Starbucks Chocolate Cookie Crumble Crème Frappuccino and tastes like one too. Our favorite part of the drink is the fact that real Oreos are blended inside — you can taste bits of cookie in each sip. This gives it a little texture and keeps the Oreo flavor pure without the need for any artificial chocolate or cream flavors to be added in.

People with low sugar tolerances may not be able to finish this entire drink. It's super sweet and super rich, almost bordering the indulgence level of a cookies and cream milkshake. However, if you're someone who can hold your sugar, you'll want to grab this menu item the next time you're at a Cinnabon. Every sip left us saying, "That's so good," and we promise you'll do the same.

We've finally made it to the top three best Cinnabon menu items. Number three should be no surprise: the Caramel PecanBon. This is one of Cinnabon's massive cinnamon rolls, although instead of the bakery's classic cream cheese frosting, it's topped with a caramel frosting and smothered in pecan bits. The presentation is delightful — this thing is the pinnacle of indulgence and will have at least one person in your party commenting on how big it is. The pile of pecans on top makes it look even bigger and more decadent.

The texture is exactly what you would hope for in a giant cinnamon roll. Unlike the BonBites, each layer of dough is soft and super moist. The cinnamon sugar shines throughout and that flavor still stands out against the caramel and pecans. We also appreciate that there is plenty of caramel frosting and pecan chunks to evenly coat each bite of this massive roll. Our only critique of this menu item is that there are so many pecans that they sometimes overwhelm all the other flavors. A smaller sprinkle of nuts on top and this cinnamon roll would be perfect.

Cinnabon is known for its "World Famous Cinnamon Rolls" for a reason. The classic cinnamon roll is what made the bakery famous and it's the menu item that will have us going back again and again. It is absolutely massive and could probably feed three people, although it tastes so good you probably won't want to share. The sweet cinnamon smell that wafts from it is so tantalizing (Cinnabon should consider a line of scented candles) but the real beauty is in the roll itself.

Although this cinnamon roll is huge, each layer is incredibly soft. It cuts really easily, which makes it easy to pull apart bite after bite. Every layer is packed with cinnamon sugar flavor and gets a nice tangy hit from the cream cheese frosting. There isn't a ton of frosting on these rolls, but they don't need it. All of the flavors balance each other really well and make each bite idyllic. The center of this roll, which is objectively the best part of any cinnamon roll, is just as good as you would hope, with even more sticky cinnamon sugar to enjoy at the end. This is just a really, really great cinnamon roll. If you don't know what to get at Cinnabon, this should always be your first choice.