Gooey sticky sweet cinnamon buns are already top tier, but adding chorizo for a unique twist turns turns them in a totally new direction! Chorizo actually pairs really well with cinnamon, and sugar balances it’s intense savory flavor. The soft buttery bread is the perfect vehicle for this sweet and spicy masterpiece!

The inspiration for this recipe

After posting my lucky charms burger a few weeks ago, someone commented that they unrolled a sticky bun and rolled it back up with chorizo on the inside. First of all, y’all are awesome! I really liked the sound of that, so I decided to make my own version. After some back and forth in my head about whether or not to put the chorizo inside the buns, I went with a traditional sticky bun recipe but used chorizo instead of pecans. It served as the sticky topping and dripped down the buns as they cooled. I loved how these came out and would make them again as a quirky appetizer/bread course for a dinner.

Make the buns first

The bun recipe was straightforward until I got to the topping part. I used the one from Simply Recipes as a guide. The filling is just cinnamon, butter, and sugar. Roll this into a big log and then slice it into rounds.

brushing the cinnamon sugar onto the dough

Put the buns onto the chorizo topping

I made a sticky topping for the buns with lots of sugar and chorizo. These are the ingredients of the topping.

brown sugar
butter
honey
light corn syrup
chorizo

You just cook it all together in the pan until the sugar is melted and the chorizo is just cooked. Then add the filling to a pan and top with the buns. Let them rise in the pan for a half hour before baking.

putting the buns onto the sticky chorizo topping

After they bake they are nice and puffed up!

Flip the buns out of the pan

The sugary meaty goodness will drip down the chorizo sticky buns and get into all the crevices.

Serving the chorizo sticky buns

After they sit a few minutes, split them up and put them on a plate. I actually drizzled a little sour cream on top which is not pictured. It was fun because it kind of looked like a sweet glaze!

I slightly dialed back the sugar throughout the recipe, but not much! The chorizo is salty and flavorful enough to balance it, so the chorizo sticky buns don’t feel overly sweet.

Cinnamon is a common Mexican spice, so to me it didn’t feel weird to have it with the chorizo in this sweet and salty application.

Twists on this recipe

The obvious one is BACON! You could definitely do this with bacon and it would be awesome and add a nice smoky taste. You could also add some chili flakes to the chorizo sticky buns and make it spicy! A little bourbon in the topping mixture would also be pretty great!

If you love unique sweet and salty breakfasts, check out my cornbread pancakes with breakfast chili!

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Chorizo Sticky Buns

A fairly straightforward recipe for sticky buns, but instead of using pecans it has crumbled Mexican chorizo.

Prep Time3

Cook Time30

resting time1

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast

Cuisine: American, Mexican, Southern

Keyword: Mash-Up, Over the Top, Spicy

Servings: large rolls

Calories: 318kcal

Ingredients

Dough

2 tablespoons warm water
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter melted
2 egg yolks
3/4 teaspoons salt
2 cups flour

Filling

2 tablespoons butter melted
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar

Topping

1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
4 ounces loose chorizo

Instructions

Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes. I cut it in half and used chorizo instead of pecans.
Combine the warm water and yeast and let it sit about 5 minutes until the yeast starts to bubble.
Whisk in the milk, butter, sugar, and yolks. Stir in the flour and mix to combine. Pour out onto a floured surface and knead the dough for 5 minutes. You can do this in a stand mixer if you would rather.
Shape the dough into a ball and put it into a buttered bowl, roll it around to coat the dough with butter. Cover and allow to rest for 1 to 2 hours until doubled in size.
Make the filling by mixing the butter cinnamon and brown sugar.
Roll the dough out into a thin rectangle, about 12 x 12. Brush on the cinnamon filling, then roll it up tightly. slice it into 9 rolls.
Make the topping – Add the sugar, butter, honey, and corn syrup to a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Add in the chorizo and cook about 2 minutes, mixing to break up the sausage. You want the chorizo to be cooked but just barely, it is more important to break it up into small pieces. Remove from heat.
Pour the topping into a baking dish. Mine was 6×8. Allow to cool fully. Put the dough rolls on top of the filling evenly spaced. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 375. Bake the buns until golden, about 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and flip them out onto a platter. Serve.

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