Easy cinnamon rolls without yeast that makes delicious, buttery, homemade rolls in less than an hour! Perfect for when you want cinnamon rolls without as much work.
Traditional cinnamon rolls are delicious but so much work! That is where this easy cinnamon roll recipe comes into play.
These rolls can be made in less time than traditional, but still gives you the warm rolls and delicious treat like traditional. The perfect sweet breakfast, these easy homemade cinnamon rolls are the easiest way to enjoy a cinnamon roll on a Saturday morning, holidays like Christmas morning, or anytime you are craving something sweet!
Free from: Yeast, dairy (optional), casein (optional), soy, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, celery, corn, sesame, mustard, lupin, sulfites, and more
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Why You’ll Love the Yeast Free Cinnamon Rolls
- Ready in less than an hour
- Soft, buttery, and super full of cinnamon
- Covered in sweet cream cheese frosting
- Make them in ONE bowl!
Not to mention that there is no kneading, no rising, and no waiting overnight. This dough comes together in one bowl and then you roll them out, fill them, and pop them in a normal baking dish.
This recipe is seriously dangerous because of how easy these cinnamon rolls are to make!
Ingredients
This recipe uses a few simple ingredients to make the most amazing cinnamon rolls. Here is what you will need:
- Baking powder and baking soda - Since we aren’t using yeast, we use this to help the dough puff up and rise in the oven. You need both since they work using different principles: Baking powder reacts to the heat of the oven to puff up. Baking soda reacts to the tangy apple cider vinegar to help the rolls puff. Both are needed for the perfect roll.
- Melted butter - By melting the butter, it can more easily coat the flour, making for a softer and more tender crumb. It also helps to make a chewy texture.
- Milk and Apple Cider Vinegar - I recommend this combo as it’s one I think more people have on hand as opposed to buttermilk. This helps not only give the dough flavor, it also helps with the rise and softness. You can use whole milk, or even a dairy free milk. In this recipe, I used rice milk and had it turn out great.
- You’ll also need - Cinnamon, eggs, all-purpose flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract, and salt
Allergy Substitutions
To make these dairy free, replace the milk with your favorite dairy-free milk. In fact, for these images I made them without dairy! I used rice milk in these cinnamon rolls every time and they taste amazing. Replace the butter with your favorite dairy free butter in an equal amount.
To make these corn free, replace the cornstarch with an equal amount of tapioca flour. Use a corn free baking powder and vanilla extract.
Instructions
For the full instructions, complete with recipe measurements, please see the recipe card below.
So this recipe is basically four steps to go from ingredients to delicious cinnamon rolls in an hour. Here’s the rough steps of how this works.
- Make the dough. In a small bowl combine the dry ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. You can do this by hand; no stand mixer required! Add the wet and dry ingredients together. The dough will be really soft and kinda tacky, but not sticky. If you need to add a little more flour, do so by the spoonful. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling.
- Roll and cut the cinnamon rolls. On a lightly floured surface, or even floured parchment paper, roll the dough to about a 10x14 inch rectangle. Spread the soft butter on top and cover with the cinnamon brown sugar mix. Roll up the dough from the long side and cut into 12 equal pieces. Place them in a buttered baking dish.
- Bake the rolls. These rolls really puff in the oven! They take a bit longer to bake than other cinnamon rolls, about 35 minutes. I’ve had a few batches take over 40 minutes till they were done. The rolls will be golden brown and the inside temperature will be 195-200F when they are fully cooked.
- Make the icing. After removing the cinnamon rolls from the oven, make the icing with soft cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Drizzle the icing on top and enjoy!
The dough is really soft but shouldn’t stick to your hands. Use extra flour as needed.
A bench scraper can really help in shaping the cinnamon rolls! I also use it to quickly slice the rolls. You can also use a sharp knife, or even unflavored dental floss!
Place the rolls in a well buttered baking dish to bake. You can also use a pie pan or even a muffin tin. Just make sure it is a jumbo muffin pan as these rolls get huge!
Cream Cheese Icing
For this icing, I love the tangy taste of cream cheese on top of the cinnamon rolls. It also helps to keep them soft after baking.
Mix together the soft cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla extract. You could swap out the vanilla for maple syrup for an autumnal twist!
FAQ
Sure. You can make and assemble the rolls the night before. Cover and refrigerate the rolls. Bring them to room temperature before baking as directed. They won’t get as fluffy since the baking powder didn’t react to the heat of the oven right away. For the best results, you should make and bake right away.
I like to use a 9x13 baking dish with sides. This gives me a lot of room for the rolls to bake. You can also use a pie dish, round cake pan, or even a muffin tin! Place each roll in an individual muffin tray that has been well sprayed with oil or butter. I recommend that you use a jumbo muffin tray, however, as these rolls get huge! While you could use a sheet pan, I don't recommend that as you need the sides to help the soft dough rise.
How to store
Cover the unfrosted rolls and keep on the countertop at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Cover the frosted rolls and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Rolls will begin to dry out after 3 days.
Baked and cooled rolls can be frozen for up to 2 months in an airtight container. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and warm before frosting and enjoying.
More Cinnamon Recipes
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Recipe
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- mixing spoons
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Rolling Pin
- Bench scraper or knife
- baking dish
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 cup milk I use rice milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 8 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Cinnamon Filling
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter, vegetable shortening, or neutral cooking spray. Set aside.
- Make the dough. Begin with adding the apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice) to the milk. Let this sit for about 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a different large bowl, stir together the melted butter, milk mixture, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until a dough balls forms. The dough will be soft and tacky, but shouldn’t be sticky. If it is too sticky to roll, add more flour, one spoonful at a time, until it will roll.
- Roll the dough. Place the dough ball onto a well floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough into approximately a 10x14 inch (25x35 cm) rectangle.
- Fill the dough. Spread the softened butter on the dough, coming to all the edges. Mix the brown sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle it all over the dough.
- Roll the dough again. Roll the dough tightly into a 14-inch log. A bench scraper can help with this. Using a sharp knife, cut it into 12 rolls. Place them in the baking dish.
- Bake the rolls. Bake for 35 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown. If the tops are getting too brown, you can tent the dish with aluminum foil and continue baking. The rolls are done when an instant read thermometer reads 195-200F. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool.
- Make the icing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the soft cream cheese, with powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread over the cooled rolls (rolls should be warm, not hot) and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- How to store
- Cover the unfrosted rolls and keep on the countertop at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Cover the frosted rolls and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Rolls will begin to dry out after 3 days.
- Baked and cooled rolls can be frozen for up to 2 months in an airtight container. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and warm before frosting and enjoying.
- Allergy Substitutions
- To make these dairy free, replace the milk with your favorite dairy-free milk. In fact, for these images I made them without dairy! I used rice milk in these cinnamon rolls every time and they taste amazing. Replace the butter with your favorite dairy free butter in an equal amount.
- To make these corn free, replace the cornstarch with an equal amount of tapioca flour. Use a corn free baking powder and vanilla extract.
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