March and April were a couple of the hardest months we’ve had since becoming parents of two. We were struggling to stay afloat and not sleeping much. I started to feel depressed/anxious on and off (which worried me a bit, given my past struggles), and was at a loss for how to write about what I was going through. For a while, I lost the motivation to do many of the things I normally enjoy. The past few years have been amazing and intense and emotional and exhilarating and exhausting. The phrase “burning a candle at both ends” comes to mind. My kids are my world and being a mother is my favourite role in life, but it’s so damn hard sometimes. That’s just the honest truth. Some days you just survive. But then there are those daily moments that take my breath away…make my heart burst with love and my eyes well with tears, and it’s like…oh yeah. THIS. This is it. This is what makes it all worth it a million times over. Grateful doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel.
Thankfully, we seem to be in a better phase right now: we’re all getting more sleep, and the kids have been much happier. I’m soaking it up! My motivation has also returned and inspiration seems to be everywhere lately. Despite the incessant rain of late, things are feeling fresh and new again. My birthday is coming up in a week, so the timing couldn’t be better.
If you’ve been following me on Insta Stories, you may have seen the development of these cinnamon rolls over the past couple weeks. Cinnamon rolls for DAYS, you guys!! Working off my Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Rolls recipe from way back in 2010, I made a classic cinnamon roll—vegan styles, of course. Why the heck didn’t I have one already? I do not know. My goal was to make the recipe foolproof without sacrificing that amazing cinnamon roll experience we all know and love, and based on my taste testers’ reactions I’d say it’s a big crowd-pleaser. (One of my pals said they remind her of her grandmother’s cinnamon rolls!) Don’t be put off by the number of steps; I wanted to provide a lot of detail so you wouldn’t be left hanging (that’s the worst). Also, be sure to see my notes on how to prep these the day before (you know I tested that, too), so you can wake up and bake fresh cinnamon rolls with minimal bleary-eyed fiddling in the kitchen. I know what we’ll be enjoying on Mother’s Day, and I can’t wait to celebrate with our crazy little fam…
Classic Cinnamon Rolls
Yield
12 rolls
Prep time
Rest time
1 hour, 45 minutes
Cook time
Total time
Fluffy cinnamon rolls topped with a sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting; these are great to whip up for special occasions or laid-back weekend mornings. There are quite a few steps, but don’t panic! I promise, as long as you read everything over before you begin, you'll be fine—they're actually quite easy to make. Even though this recipe technically requires about 2 hours and 45 minutes total time, only 30 to 40 minutes of that are active. The remainder is rest and bake time, during which I encourage you to kick up your feet and relax! See my tips below for how to make these the night before, too. I adapted this recipe from my Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Rolls (2010).
Ingredients
For the yeast:
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) warm water
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) sugar
- 1 packet (8 g) quick-rise instant dry yeast
For the dough:
- 2 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons (430 g) all-purpose white flour, plus more for kneading
- 1/3 cup (67 g) vegan butter
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsweetened almond milk
- 1/3 cup (73 g) cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) fine sea salt
For the cinnamon sugar filling:
- 1/2 cup (110 g) cane sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (10 g) cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (50 g) vegan butter, melted
For the pan sauce and frosting:
- 1/4 cup (50 g) vegan butter, melted
- 2 1/2 tablespoons (25 g) unpacked brown sugar or cane sugar
- Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Directions
- Set aside a 9- by 13-inch casserole dish.
- For the yeast: In a small bowl, add the warm water. Make sure it’s not too hot; it should feel like warm bath water (approximately 110°F/45°C). Stir in the sugar until mostly dissolved. Now, stir in the yeast until dissolved. Set aside for about 6 to 7 minutes so the yeast can activate (it’ll look foamy when ready).
- For the dough: Flour a working surface for later. Add 2 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl.
- Melt 1/3 cup butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove the pot from the burner and stir in the almond milk, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt. The mixture should be lukewarm—if it’s any hotter let it cool off for a minute. Stir in all of the yeast mixture until just combined.
- Pour the wet yeast mixture over the flour and stir with a large wooden spoon. Stop mixing once all of the flour is incorporated and it looks a bit like muffin batter, about 15 seconds.
- Add in the remaining 1/2 cup and 3 tablespoons flour. Mix with a spoon for several seconds. Lightly oil your hands and roughly knead the mixture until it comes together into a shaggy, sticky dough. It’ll probably stick to your fingers (even with the oil), but that’s normal. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface.
- Knead the dough for about 3 to 4 minutes until it’s no longer sticky to the touch; it should be smooth and elastic. While kneading, sprinkle on a small handful of flour whenever the dough becomes sticky to the touch. Don’t be afraid to add some flour; I probably use between 1/2 and 3/4 cup while kneading. Shape the dough into a ball.
- Wash out the mixing bowl and dry it. Oil the bowl (I love to use a spray oil for ease) and place the ball of dough inside. Flip the dough around so it gets lightly coated in the oil. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the oven with the light on (or simply in a warm, draft-free area). Let the dough rise for 60 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the cinnamon sugar filling. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon and set aside.
- Make the pan sauce: In a small pot, melt 1/2 cup butter (you can use the unwashed pot from before). Remove half of the melted butter (eyeballing it is fine) and put it in another small bowl (this will be spread onto the rolled-out dough before adding the cinnamon sugar). With the scant 1/4 cup melted butter remaining in the pot, stir in the 2 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar until combined (this is the pan sauce). Pour the pan sauce into a 9- by 13-inch casserole dish and spread it out.
- After the first dough rise, re-flour your working surface and grab a rolling pin. Roll the dough into a large rectangle, approximately 20 by 14 inches.
- With a pastry brush, spread the remaining melted butter onto the dough, covering the entire surface. Sprinkle on all of the cinnamon sugar filling, leaving a 1/2 inch around the edges without any sugar.
- Grab the end of the dough (short side of rectangle) and roll it up, rolling as tightly as possible. Place it seam-side down once it’s rolled up. Use a serrated knife to slice 1 1/2 inch–thick rolls. You should have 10 to 12.
- Grab your cut rolls and place into the prepared pan, cut-side down, a few inches apart from one another. Cover the pan with plastic wrap, place into the oven with the light on, and allow them to rise for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting.
- After the second rise, remove the rolls from the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Remove the plastic wrap. Bake the rolls for 23 to 26 minutes at 350°F (180°C), until lightly golden in a few spots. Remove from oven and allow the rolls to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Frost the rolls with the cream cheese frosting. Slide a butter knife around each cinnamon roll and lift it out. (Alternatively, you can pop them out first and frost each roll individually.) Serve immediately and enjoy!
- If you have leftovers, you can wrap them up and chill them in the fridge for up to 48 hours. I like to reheat unfrosted rolls in the oven on a baking sheet for 5 minutes at 350°F (180°C). The oven returns them to their amazing gooey-soft state! Alternatively, you can freeze the cooled unfrosted rolls (wrap them in a layer of plastic wrap, followed by tinfoil) for a week or two. To reheat, simply unwrap and pop them frozen onto a baking sheet and into the oven for 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F (180°C) until warmed throughout. The edges get a bit crispy, and it’s oh so good!
Tip:
Want cinnamon rolls prepped for breakfast the next day? Simply follow the recipe until you complete the second rise. Place the wrapped dish in the fridge overnight. In the morning, remove the dish from the fridge and let the rolls sit in the oven with the light on for about 20 minutes. After that, remove the dish from the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Remove the plastic wrap, and bake as directed. They can be prepped up to 18 hours in advance. Just be sure to cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap while in the fridge.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Keep your eyes peeled for a step-by-step cinnamon roll video coming soon! Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don’t miss it.
And as an aside, to anyone out there battling the bad flooding happening throughout Eastern Canada, our hearts go out to you!
These were amazing! I have been watching your stories lately and waiting for the final recipe to come out. I rushed to the grocery store to pick up a couple of the missing ingredients from my pantry and after picking up my bundle of boys from daycare we got making them! Just enjoyed our first one and they taste as amazing as they look! My vegan journey started with your first cookbook and I will never look back now. You create an amazing balance of whole foods and these cinnamon buns are a great treat! Keeping on glowing!
-Amberdubs
Thank you! So fun that you were following along on Insta. I’m happy to hear you all enjoyed the recipe! :)
Thanks for sharing your stories&experiences. / I’m craving for some cinnamon rolls right now. They look super good! I’m definitely going to try the recipe:)
Dabin / http://dabindb.blogspot.kr/
I hope you just love these rolls if you give the recipe a try, Davin!
I just made these and followed the recipe exactly. They were perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing. They are cafe quality! My cousin isn’t vegan and she loved them as well. Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear they were a hit!!
Super easy, the little ones will love it, you rock!
I tried to make these but my dough didn’t seem to rise :( yeast was foaming, and I followed the directions exactly but my dough was definitely not as ‘sticky’ as you described when I was kneading. Only change is that I used real butter instead of vegan butter. Would this have been the problem?
Hi Hilary, I’m so sorry to hear that! I tested these with real butter as well, so I’m not sure that would’ve been the issue. It sounds like something went awry though. It could’ve been not kneading it long enough? Kneading the dough helps develop the gluten and it results in a light and airy end result. Without kneading it properly, the dough doesn’t rise well. Another thought: Maybe it was too much flour since your dough wasn’t sticky? Or another measurement was off? I provide the metric measurements (weights) so my suggestion would be if you try it again to weigh each ingredient for the most accurate result. And of course, double check that your yeast isn’t expired. I hope this helps! :)
These were amazing! Recent vegetarian gone vegan. Have had a few Pinterest fails recently and was doubting my life choices. I have both your books and I think I will use your recipes only for awhile! Even my husband (who’s an at home vegetarian/meat eater diner) loved them!
Thank you for helping me stay the vegan course!
Oh, I’m so glad this recipe was a winner for you, Lindsay! Making the transition to a plant-based diet can be challenging sometimes, but finding recipes you love makes such a difference. I hope you enjoy whatever recipe of mine you try next just as much!
Hi Angela,
I’m thinking of doing a collection of vegan recipes and I would like to know if you authorize me to translate a recipe from your wonderful website ^_^
Thank you ❤ (and sorry for my awful english)
Hi Mel, Please shoot us am email to press[at]ohsheglows[dot]com detailing the scope of your vegan recipe collection and we’ll get back to you. Thanks!
I made these last night and baked them this morning – thank you so much for the make ahead option! I work at a hospital and this past week was Nurses Week which means Cinnabon was giving out free cinnamon rolls. I was craving them and wondered if I could make a plant-based version so your post could not have come at a more perfect time!
I thought I would share some of the substitutions I made in case it’s helpful for others. I live a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle which is oil-free so I substituted unsweetened applesauce instead of vegan butter in the dough, filling and pan sauce. I was worried the rolls might taste too apple-y but they were great! I also used white whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose. I think that substitution worked well too, but the rolls were definitely a bit more dense/chewy than a traditional cinnamon roll. Not sure if it’s because of the white whole wheat flour or if I overkneaded the dough.
Overall, my husband and I LOVED these and will definitely make them again! They do take a bit of work, but it was fun to knead and roll out the dough. I could see this being a fun (but messy!) recipe to make with your kids. These cinnamon rolls were divine and I can’t wait for Christmas morning so I can make these for our family!
I’m so glad this recipe was a hit, Danielle! Thanks for sharing your substitutions–it’s definitely helpful to know what you tried and how you found the results :)
I made them this morning for coffee with friends. They were amazing!!! I had three and forced me to stop (which barely ever happens as I’m not a big over-eater). WOW! Btw: I used coconut sugar (as I had no cane sugar) – very delicious but a bit browner than yours.
So great to hear they were a hit, Nina!
I made these yesterday/today for Mother’s Day and had to report back before I forgot! I didn’t have time to do the full make-ahead option, so I just made the dough and let it rise in the fridge overnight and did the remaining steps in the morning, so that’s a semi-make-ahead option if anyone is inclined ;) I thought I’d add my other substitutions and changes for anyone curious:
Because I refuse to make anything with all white flour, I opted to do half and half to start. I did 1 1/3 cups using whole wheat BREAD flour (I find whole wheat pastry isn’t great in anything yeast-based), plus a tablespoon of gluten flour for boosting the lost elasticity. The the remaining cup and all added flour for kneading and rolling was unbleached white. It was perfect and there were no issues with rising/rolling/taste.
I ran out of Earth Balance, so I made a batch of homemade vegan butter (aside from emulsifiers and flavourings, it’s mostly refined/deodorized coconut oil and virgin canola oil), so I can say that for those wondering about using coconut oil, it would probably be a success, especially if you cut about 1/4-1/3 of it with a neutral liquid oil.
For texture, I sprinkled a cup of finely chopped walnuts over the cinnamon sugar mixture, so I’d highly recommend that for those who love a bit of crunch!
I didn’t have the right size glass casserole dish, so I used a non-stick cake pan which worked great, but definitely cooked and browned the rolls faster… 20 minutes was more than enough cooking time, so beware of that if you aren’t using glass!
I didn’t have powdered sugar on hand, so for the frosting I beat 1/2 cup Daiya, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 2 Tbsp sweetened vanilla almond milk, and a few tablespoons of vanilla coconut yogurt. It was exactly enough to cover the rolls and super delicious, without being sickeningly sweet.
WHEW! So, I can’t say how your undoctored recipe turns out exactly, but I can tell you that it’s a very forgiving and wonderful base recipe, so it must be great as is too! Thanks, Angela!
Thanks so much for leaving such a detailed comment, Sarah! It’s super helpful. And it’s great to know you found the recipe so adaptable! :)
Oh my! I am always nervous to try making baked goods because I am usually not very good at it, but this recipe is so well laid out that it was a breeze! I prepped everything the night before, so that I could bake them this morning and it all worked! They are delicious.
The only thing I did was let them rise a little longer on the second rise because they didn’t quite look like yours did. I waited until they looked like your picture and voila!
Love the blog, the app, and the books. Just gave the two of them to my mother-in-law for Mother’s day. She is thrilled!
Brava!!
I’m thrilled to hear you had success with the recipe and found it easy to follow, Tobi! That was my big goal as I was writing it up, and I’m so glad I hit the mark. Thanks for spreading the cookbook love, too. I hope your mother-in-law has fun with them! :)
I’ve been cooking and baking vegan recipes for over 5 years now (made possible by following this blog), and made this recipe last night. This is definitely the BEST vegan dessert I have ever made! It is so so good, and the vegan cream cheese frosting is delightful. Thank you, Angela, for this recipe!
Oh, you’re too sweet, Becca! Thanks so much for the glowing review. I’m thrilled to hear you enjoyed the recipe so much. :)
OMG!!! These were amazing!! I did one batch with regular flour and one with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour (my grandma has a hard time with gluten) and it still turned out amazing! The gluten free dough was really hard to work with since it was such a different texture, but after the final bake, they were perfect!! Just thought you should know that the gluten free flour worked for me!! :)
Thanks so much for sharing, Lexi! It’s great (and super hepful!) to hear the recipe worked out well for you with that GF flour. :)
Thanks for sharing that. I’m really wanting an GF and vegan cinnamon roll recipe!
Great recipe! The pan sauce is definitely what puts these cinnamon rolls over the top! I loved how it made the bottoms sticky and caramelized. I was a bit worried when the dough didn’t rise as much as I expected, but after the second rise they looked better and continued to expand in the oven. I used Kite Hill almond cream cheese and Miyoko’s cultured vegan butter for the frosting. With the frosting melted over the warm buns it tasted just like the Cinnabon frosting!! My mom could not stop talking about how yummy these were. Thanks for the recipe…these made my mom’s Mother’s Day for sure!
Also, forgot to add…my Dad suggested pecans in the filling, so I’m going to try adding those next time!
Made these cinnamon rolls for a Mother’s Day gathering with family (I’m the lone vegan in the bunch), and they were a MASSIVE hit! It always makes me smile when a vegan dish is the most talked about and beloved recipe at a party full of oodles of dairy-laden treats. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Hey Ashley, Yay, I’m so happy to hear that they were a crowd-pleaser. I totally agree with you on that feeling when a vegan dish steals the scene…hah. I loved seeing your Insta Stories as you made them too!
These look amazing and I’m going to make these right now! And as a momma I totally understand what your going through. Mine are 4 and 6. Thankfully each year gets easier as they get older. I got diagnosed with thyroid cancer when my youngest was 6 months old and then colon cancer when my girls were 2 and 4. Thankfully I’m alive and kicking, huge thanks to my girls for motivating me to fight for them and to God watching over me. Definitely made me appreciate all the moments more even the tough ones because I was there. Hang in there mama! Always impressed with your blog and work!!!
Hey Sally, My heart goes out to you with all that you’ve been through. I can’t imagine. Huge hugs, and high fives for getting through cancer not once, but twice. You are a superhero, and I bet your kiddos think the same. I wish you all the best in the future!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I had so much fun making the rolls for mother’s day morning and eating them too, and my husband and kids are already begging me to make them again. I have a ton of cream cheese frosting left over and it’s going to be hard not to just start spreading it on everything. SO DELICIOUS!
Sounds like they were a hit, Kate! I’m so glad to hear it. Happy belated Mother’s Day to you, and enjoy that leftover cream cheese frosting ;)
Excellent recipe! My first time making these cinnamon rolls and they turned out perfect!
That’s great, Lauren! So happy to hear the recipe worked out so well for you. Enjoy!
Please help me!! I’m already on the third cinnamon roll and I can’t stop eating these. I’m kind of embarrassed I’m 60 years old and I’ve been afraid to use yeast in a recipe. Your directions were on point. Thank you so much. I can’t wait for my family to try them. Hopefully there will be some left. hahaha
Hah! I’m so happy the recipe was a hit, Jeannie. :) I hope your family loves them, too!
My cinnamon rolls are waiting for the oven to heat. I kept them overnight. I’m soo excited for my parents and siblings to wake-up to hot cinnamon rolls (hoping they’ll turn-out great.) I have one question though, do I have to cover them with aluminum foil while baking? I would imagine it mattering depending on the level the dish is placed in the oven. I’ll be placing it on the second row from the top without aluminium foil for now.
Update:
They were a success! :)
I always end-up with a lot, 2/3rds of what I made, of frosting left-over. I’ll be eyeballing a tiny amount on the side next time.
I’d like to find a less sweeter alternative as well for the frosting.
I generally don’t like frosting because it’s way too sweet, so I made a less sweet version and it was perfect: beat 1/2 cup Daiya cream cheeze, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 2 Tbsp sweetened vanilla almond milk, and a few tablespoons of unsweetened vanilla coconut yogurt. Just thin it out as much as you need to with milk and/or yogurt :)