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…
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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 my first time making cinnamon rolls from scratch! I used to just buy them from the grocery and bake them. This was a super fun and easy recipe to follow! I love how Angela adds the weight measurements to her recipes and I always weigh my ingredients because of it and I am sure that helps a lot to get as close as you can to her beautiful photos. My Dad and boyfriend were in love with these. It was getting late and my Dad claimed he would only have a bite because he was going to bed soon… he ended up having a whole one and then 20 minutes later asked for another one!! He is the pickiest eater in the world and he actually adored these. Yay! I shared this recipe with friends already who are excited to see a successful vegan cinnamon roll recipe. My only differences were that I used a 8.6 x 8.6 pan which fit 9 in it (the last 2-3 cinnamon rolls of dough were just dough only and not useful because I didn’t have a rolling pin and I didn’t get enough sugar/cinnamon in it, haha!). I highly suggest a rolling pin, but honestly it still works with just your hands. I was surprised how amazing they came out anyways. I will definitely buy a bigger glass dish and rolling pin. Also, I live in Florida, my oven light is burnt out, and they didn’t rise AS much during the second rise, but it didn’t seem to affect them at all. I also cooked them 6-8 minutes longer than the recipe, maybe because of the position in my oven or that I live in Florida? So I cooked initially 24 minutes, then kept putting it back in up to 30-32 minutes. Seriously though, eyeball them and test them because you wouldn’t want to burn or over cook the outsides to get the insides right. Remember though, I made 9 at once, with those oven times. Enjoy the holidays everyone! x
Hey Rachel, Thank you so much for your feedback! I’m so glad they were such a hit (especially with your Dad…score!) Happy holidays to you as well!
I tried making this during the weekend for my kids, they really love it! Thanks angela!
Hi there! Can I use coconut oil instead of vegan butter for the dough and sugar filling??
Hey Janika, I haven’t tried it yet myself but I think others may have commented about using coconut oil in the comments. Might be worth taking a peek! I can’t see why it wouldn’t work.
Hi, I was looking through your comments and noticed it might be difficult to substitute for Glutin free flour. Since this post was a while back I was wondering if you had any luck or tried GF substitutions with this recipe.
(1) does the GF all purpose baking flour work as a good substitute?
(2) can we substitute sugar, cane sugar, and brown sugar in your recipe for *coconut sugar?
Thank you! Looking forward to trying this recipe out for Thanksgiving brunch
Hey there,
I’m sorry I haven’t tried GF flour, but I think there were some comments from successful blog reader attempts. I haven’t tried using coconut sugar either unfortunately. I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. My only concern is that it tends to be a bit coarse and dry.
I’ve tried the recipe twice and both times the dough was not sticky at all (dry, breaking apart) and didn’t rise. I’m not sure what m doing wrong! The rolls still actually tasted great but the look/textures were off. :/
Hey Missy, That’s so strange, for sure! Since you’re having trouble, I’d recommend weighing the flour and other ingredients so you can replicate what I’ve done. I’ve provided all of the weights in my recipe. Also, I would double check that your yeast hasn’t expired and it’s the correct kind. Hope this helps!
Oh. My. God.
These were AMAZING first try! Even my non-vegan family loved them! (I didn’t even have a chance to tell them dairy-free until they scoffed half of the rolls down.
I will definitely make them again next time. Maybe with some fresh green apple slices!
Hey Elisa, Thank you for letting me know they were a hit! I love the idea of fresh apple slices
I can’t believe how neat your process looked. My kitchen and everything involved in the prep (including the dough) was sooo messy, haha.
Thanks for sharing love.
haha remember you only saw what was inside the camera frame ;) Don’t worry mine gets destroyed too! Especially if the kiddos help…oh dear
This recipe makes PHENOMENAL cinnamon rolls. I just made them last night and had to stop myself from eating most of them, that’s how good they are. I used a combination of coconut and date sugar instead of cane and it turned out just as delicious and sweet.
I also made the vegan cream cheese icing for the topping and it is the perfect consistency for spreading!
Hey Alyssa, Oh I’m so thrilled you love it so much! We also have a hard time not inhaling the whole dish. :)
Can these be made ahead by a week or so and frozen?
Thx!
Hey Kelley, Oh you know what? I was just thinking about this the other day! I’ve found in the past that when freezing individual baked (unfrosted) rolls, they thawed really well. So I’m hopeful that freezing an entire pan/dish would work well too. I think I’m going to make them this Thursday in advance of Christmas and try freezing the cooled unfrosted rolls right in the dish. I may bake them a bit less time (5 minutes maybe), thaw overnight in the fridge, and then pop them in the oven to reheat. I really hope it works! I will try to report back in the post. If you try anything please let us know how it goes :)
What are your thoughts on using bobs red mill GF 1 to 1 flour instead of the white flour?
Hi Larisa,
I’ve heard from readers that they made successful GF versions! I have yet to try it myself though. Here is one comment from Stephanie:
“Ah I AM SO HAPPY! So I used the Bob’s Red Mill pizza crust flour mix and followed Angela’s instructions exactly (replacing the all purpose flour with the BRM pizza crust flour mix) and oh my goodness, I don’t think I’ve had a GF cinnamon bun THIS good. It was like perfect texture with that short and chewy cinnamon heaven in the middle. I really really really recommend my GF people try this out. I was so impressed :) BONUS – it comes with a packet of yeast!”
here’s another report back from Lexi:
“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!! :)”
Hope this helps! Please let us know if you try anything out. :)
Do you think these would turn out with gluten free flour?
Hey Melanie,
I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but I’ve heard from readers that they made successful GF versions! Here is one comment from Stephanie:
“Ah I AM SO HAPPY! So I used the Bob’s Red Mill pizza crust flour mix and followed Angela’s instructions exactly (replacing the all purpose flour with the BRM pizza crust flour mix) and oh my goodness, I don’t think I’ve had a GF cinnamon bun THIS good. It was like perfect texture with that short and chewy cinnamon heaven in the middle. I really really really recommend my GF people try this out. I was so impressed :) BONUS – it comes with a packet of yeast!”
here’s another report back from Lexi:
“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!! :)”
Hope this helps! Please let us know if you try anything out. :) I may have to try a test run before Christmas!
I’m starving when I see these pic
These were the best Christmas morning cinnamon rolls ever! Use the Vegan Cream Cheese too – and for filling, try adding pumpkin butter.
Don’t forget to add a hint of nutmeg to the cinnamon filling!
Decadent!
Hey Robert, I’m so happy you enjoyed these yesterday…we did too. Really nice treat. I love adding pumpkin butter in cinnamon rolls….so glad to hear you do that too.
I don’t love cinnamon so I made these with cardamom and they were amazing!! So so good. Everyone – adults and toddlers – gobbled them up this morning for our Christmas treat. One of my all time favorite recipes!
Hey Karin, We had this yesterday morning too…such a treat! I’m so happy to hear that cardamom worked…sounds delicious.
I made these with Arrowhead gluten free all purpose flour. Made them ahead for baking in the morning. Not sure if this was okay to do from a health point of view, but I left them to rise all night in the oven with the light on. Baked them in the morning. They were great.
Hey Lori, thanks for letting us know about the arrowhead gf success! So happy it worked.
These were SO good! I made them for Christmas morning (prepped the day before, which worked out wonderfully). We have homemade vegan cinnamon rolls every Christmas and my 4 year old declared them “better than all the other years!” so this will be a keeper recipe for sure. I somehow missed buying vegan cream cheese so we just had them with a powdered sugar frosting but next time I’ll be sure to remember the cream cheese because I bet that’s even more delicious.
Just as an aside- my kiddo has milk, egg, and nut allergies so we’ve been partly immersed in forced dairy and egg-free cooking for a few years now but we’re now transitioning the whole family intentionally to a plant-based diet and your recipes and advice (the blog and both cookbooks) have been quite helpful as we figure out how to do this and find new foods we’ll like. Thanks for sharing your wonderful work with the world!
Hey Rachel, Aww, your 4 year old knows how to sweet talk a lady! haha. That’s so great you all loved them. We made them for Christmas morning too (love that make-ahead option). And I’m so glad to hear you are enjoying so many recipes from the blog and books! Thanks for all your support. I hope 2018 is off to a great start!
Delicious! I made mine new year’s eve and went through the second rise, before storing in the fridge, covered tightly. I have done a lot of baking, had new yeast and it proofed well, so not sure why mine came out kind of dense and flatter than I expected. I will try them again when I can do it all in one fell swoop without them resting in the fridge. I also halved the icing recipe since I only had 1/2 a container of vegan cream cheese, and it was plenty! Thanks for the great recipes, and happy new year!
Hey Kathy, So glad to hear you tried this for New Years! I wonder why they came out flatter than expected…very strange, indeed! I’ve had great results when storing them in the fridge after the second rise. Just curious, what kind of flour did you use? Also, did you put the dish in a warm spot for a half hour before baking them the next day? I pop them into the oven with the light on for 20 minutes, then remove them an place on the counter for another 10 while the oven preheats. Hope it goes better next time!
Somehow my husband seemed to recall my making cinnamon rolls last year at Christmas and was disappointed when I didn’t this year. I said the only cinnamon rolls I ever made at one point in my life were likely Pillsbury ones. I do enjoy baking, but cinnamon rolls didn’t seem like territory I’d want to venture into… How can you compete with places like Cinnabon?! Not wanting to disappoint him, I decided to make them to start off 2018! I have never used a recipe from Angela that I didn’t like (and I feel like I’ve made everything in her book!). This was no exception! There are a few steps to making them and some wait time in between, but the ingredients are easy, no fancy equipment required and BOY are they worth it! My husband (who is not vegan) was very impressed!! What a great way to begin Veganuary! Thanks, Angela!
Aww Kathy, I enjoyed reading your story so much! I have a big smile on my face. Thank you so much for the feedback! I’m so glad you tried it out.
These are sooooooo good! My sister made them for Christmas brunch. Has anyone tried making these with a gluten free flour? Almond flour? Coconut flour?
Hey Jessica, Some readers have made them gluten-free so you may want to peek through the comments for tips! I recall a couple people saying that the Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free pizza flour mix worked great (and it comes with a yeast packet inside…score). I have a bag in my pantry so my next trial will be that one! Let us know if you try anything out.
Hi there! I’m having to follow some new dietary restrictions, have you by chance tried these with coconut oil instead of vegan butter? I’m going to give it a shot, but wondered if it had already been done. Thanks!
Hey Ashley, I think a blog reader may have reported on this in the comments:
Sarah wrote:
“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.”
Hope this helps Ashley and please let me know if you try it out!