Sweet and spiced vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls with an easy vegan cream cheese frosting!
These vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls are a warm and gooey treat that is perfect for fall and winter mornings.
The dairy free and egg free dough comes together easily and they rise beautifully in the oven! Filled with pumpkin in the dough and spiced with a pumpkin pie spiced brown sugar filling, these rolls are delicious.
Free from: Dairy, casein, eggs, 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 these Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Super soft and fluffy
- Filled with warm spices
- Easy to make
- Perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning
- Dairy free, egg free, nut free, and corn free
Ingredients
You only need a few ingredients to make these cinnamon rolls, 11 ingredients in total!
- Yeast: I recommend using regular active dry yeast and not the rapid rise. I find that it gives me a better rise when I use yeast that has to bloom. It’s an extra step but if I’m making cinnamon rolls from scratch, I want them to be the best!
- Pumpkin: Use a plain 100% pumpkin puree and not a pumpkin pie mix. This will give you the best flavor.
- Dairy free milk: Use unsweetened and unflavored milk here. I love rice milk but coconut milk, almond milk, or oat milk would all work well.
- You’ll also need: White sugar, vanilla extract, oil, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, vegan cream cheese, and powdered sugar.
Allergy Substitutions
To make these soy free, make sure that you use a vegan butter that is free from soy. I find that Earth Balance Soy Free sticks work great.
To make these nut free, make sure that you use a vegan butter and vegan cream cheese that are not nut based. There are several available that each use a different nut or tree nut so find one that works for you. For a truly nut free cream cheese, I like Tofutti cream cheese which is made from soy milk.
If you can’t find a cream cheese that works with your unique allergies, you can make a plain icing for the cinnamon rolls. The cream cheese is only used in the icing. See the notes for details.
Instructions
Making vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls isn’t really difficult, but it is time consuming. Trust me, these are sooooo delicious, they are worth it!
For the make ahead instructions, keep reading!
For the full instructions, complete with measurements, please see the recipe card below.
Bloom the yeast
Warm the milk of your choice to about 100F and stir in the yeast. Cover it with a towel and let rest for about 10 minutes, or until it gets fluffy. If you don’t have a reaction, either the milk was too cold, too hot, or the yeast was dead.
Make the dough
Mixing this is so much easier in a stand mixer with a dough hook! If you have that, I really recommend that you use it. It not only mixes the dough but also kneads it for 5 minutes. If you don’t have one, you have my full permission to use the kneading of the dough as your arm workout for the day.
Proof the dough
Place the smooth dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl. I find that dough rises better in a ceramic or plastic bowl instead of a metal. Cover it loosely with a kitchen towel; you don’t need to use plastic wrap or anything like that. Place the bowl in a warm spot in your house. I always make a cup of tea and place the hot kettle next to the bowl, turning the bowl every 10 minutes or so. The oven on the proof setting, in a warm window, or on top of the oven that is running all work. You could even place it outside if it is a hot day!
Make the rolls
Roll the dough out onto a floured surface. Don’t be afraid about using more flour; these rolls can handle a bit of extra flour. I use a bench scraper to cut my rolls, however, you can use a piece of unflavored and unwaxed floss if you want to make slices that aren’t pinched.
Second rise
Pop the pumpkin cinnamon rolls into a greased baking dish and let it rise for a second time. Same rules apply here as to the first rise. Place it in a warm spot and cover it with a towel for about 30 minutes.
Bake and enjoy!
Finally, bake these rolls at 375F for 22 minutes. Remove them from the oven when they are golden brown and let them cool about 10 minutes. Then serve with the icing and enjoy!
How to Make Ahead of Time
You can totally make these the night before to make it quick and easy in the morning! Make the pumpkin cinnamon rolls through the second rise. Then, instead of letting the rolls rise for a second time in a warm spot, wrap them with plastic wrap and place the rolls in the pan in the fridge. Let them rest overnight.
When you are ready to bake in the morning, preheat the oven to 375F, remove the plastic wrap, and bake for 22-25 minutes.
Top Tips
- Don’t place cinnamon in the dough. Did you know that cinnamon can inhibit yeast from making the dough rise? It’s true! That’s why the cinnamon is only in the filling and not the dough itself.
- It’s important that the dough rises in a warm spot. If you don’t get a good rise in an hour, your kitchen may be too cold. But don’t give up! Just let it rise for another 15 minutes before you continue with the recipe as written.
How to Store
Fridge: Keep the baked and iced rolls in the fridge, covered, for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Store the baked rolls in a freezer safe container for up to 2-3 months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and warm before serving.
More Pumpkin Recipes to Love
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Recipe
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- mixing spoons
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Stand mixer with dough hook (optional)
- Rolling Pin
- Knife or bench scraper
- baking dish
Ingredients
Pumpkin Rolls
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- ¾ cup dairy free milk warmed to 100F
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons oil canola or other neutral oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cup all purpose flour
Cinnamon Filling
- ¼ cup dairy free butter softened
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin spice see note for alternative
Icing
- ½ cup vegan cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Proof the yeast. Mix the warm milk with the yeast and let rest for 10 minutes to proof. Make sure that the milk is at 100F to no hotter than 110F. If the temperature isn’t right, the yeast won’t activate. Please use a thermometer to check. After 10 minutes, the yeast should look fluffy and have many bubbles.
- Make the dough. In the stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, or in a large bowl with a sturdy spoon, add the yeast mixture as well as the sugar, pumpkin, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed to combine. Add in the flour and let mix on medium-low speed for 5 minutes until a soft dough ball forms. You may need to add more flour by the spoonful if the dough is sticking to the bowl too much.
- First proof of the dough. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl (preferably plastic or ceramic for the best rise). Let the dough rise in a warm place for an hour, or until the dough is doubled in size.
- Make the filling. While the dough is rising, in a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice together. Pull the vegan butter out of the fridge and let it soften on the countertop.
- Shape the cinnamon rolls. On a floured surface, place the dough and begin to roll out with a floured rolling pin. Roll the dough into a roughly rectangle shape that is about 8x11 inches (about the size of a computer paper). Spread the softened vegan butter all over the dough. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar filling you made. Tightly roll the dough up on the long side (hot dog style) so that you have a roll that is 11 long. Slice the ends off of the roll, and then slice into 8 even slices.
- Second rise. Place the 8 rolls into a greased 8x10 pan. Cover with a towel and let them rise a second time for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls. After the second rise, place the cinnamon rolls in the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes, depending on your oven. The rolls will be lightly golden brown and reach an internal temperature of 195-200F when fully baked. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the hot pan for 10 minutes.
- Make the icing. In a medium sized bowl, combine the soft vegan cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla extract. The vanilla will turn it a light brown color. You can also add an additional ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to the icing if you want! Spread the icing on the slightly cooled cinnamon rolls and serve warm. Enjoy!
Notes
- To make icing without cream cheese, mix 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of water. You may need a little more water or a little more sugar depending on the weather outside. Mix until you get the thickness of icing you like!
- Homemade Pumpkin Spice Blend: 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon allspice, ⅛ teaspoon cloves, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
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How to Store
- Fridge: Keep the baked and iced rolls in the fridge, covered, for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Store the baked rolls in a freezer safe container for up to 2-3 months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and warm before serving.
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Allergy Substitutions
- To make these soy free, make sure that you use a vegan butter that is free from soy. I find that Earth Balance Soy Free sticks work great.
- To make these nut free, make sure that you use a vegan butter and vegan cream cheese that are not nut based. There are several available that each use a different nut or tree nut so find one that works for you. For a truly nut free cream cheese, I like Tofutti cream cheese which is made from soy milk.
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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