These no yeast cinnamon rolls are the easiest homemade cinnamon rolls you’ll ever make. With no dough-punching & no waiting for the dough to rise, the hardest thing about these cinnamon rolls is waiting for them to come out of the oven!
This is one of my older recipes on the blog (originally published April, 2015), and also one of my favorites. My old pictures didn’t do justice to these amazing easy cinnamon rolls, so I’m updating the pictures and re-publishing today. Originally I was going to re-write the whole post, but instead I’m leaving about 90% of the original writing, because it just didn’t feel right to change it. I left the old photos at the very bottom of the post, too, in case you wanted to have a laugh.
I present to you: The lazy girl’s cinnamon roll recipe.
No yeast. No dough-punching. No two-hour rise time followed by another hour of rise time.
Nothing but cinnamon-y, gooey, need-a-fork-to-eat-it goodness <3.
I (obviously) enjoy baking, and considering that you’re reading this I assume you don’t hate spending time doing it either. I’ve even previously posted a recipe for orange sweet rolls that require all of those heinous, time-consuming things mentioned above, taking over 3 hours from start to finish.
However… if you want cinnamon rolls for breakfast on a Saturday morning, you shouldn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn just to have them ready before it’s actually lunch time. These cinnamon rolls can be ready in less than one hour (probably faster if you spend more time actually baking and less time sampling the cinnamon filling… or is that just me…).
Since these rolls don’t use yeast they have a softer, flakier texture to them, which is perfect for those of us who love melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon rolls that require a fork to enjoy.
And wait! We haven’t even discussed the frosting yet!
That lovely, crowning cream cheese-based, sticky frosting that any cinnamon roll would just be sad and naked without. Pour this cream cheese frosting on heavy over these cinnamon rolls while they’re still warm, and enjoy!
If you try these out, I’d love to know how you like them! Please leave a comment or tag #sugarspunrun on Instagram!
Easy Cinnamon Rolls (no yeast required!)
Ingredients
Rolls
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons (38 g) sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, + additional 2 Tbsp butter for baking
- ¾ cup (178 ml) milk
Filling
- ⅔ cup (133 g) brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (38 g) white sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing
- 1 oz (28 g) cream cheese softened
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter softened
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup (63 g) powdered sugar
- ½ Tablespoon (7 ml) milk
Instructions
Rolls
- Preheat oven to 375F (190F).
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour, 3 Tablespoons (38 g) sugar, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- Use a box grater to grate 5 Tablespoons of butter into the dry ingredients (alternatively use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter).5 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, + additional 2 Tbsp butter for baking
- Add milk and stir until all ingredients are just combined.¾ cup (178 ml) milk
- Transfer dough onto a very well floured surface and use your hands to work the dough together until it forms a cohesive ball. Continue to flour the surface you are working with as needed.
- Generously sprinkle flour on the top of the ball of dough and use a rolling pin to roll dough out to roughly a 10x12" rectangle. Set aside and prepare your filling.
Filling
- Prepare your filling by combining brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon and then stirring in butter and vanilla. This mixture will be very much like a paste.⅔ cup (133 g) brown sugar, 3 Tablespoons (38 g) white sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 4 Tablespoons salted butter, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Spread the filling over the rectangle of dough, leaving about ¼" of space as a perimeter around the filling.
- Carefully roll dough starting with one of the 12" ends and rolling tightly. Press the edge of the roll into the dough so that it sticks.
- Cut into 10 slices. If the log is not holding its shape well, transfer it to your freezer for about 10 minutes and then try to cut again (it should hold it's shape this way so you will have mostly round cinnamon rolls)
- Place the reserved 2 Tbsp of butter into a 9" pie pan and set it in your preheating oven for a few minutes until the butter has melted. Remove from oven.
- Place your cinnamon rolls in baking dish, they do not need to be touching, they will spread to fill their surrounding area.
- Bake on 375F for 28-30 minutes (beginning to lightly brown around edges). Prepare your icing while the rolls are baking.
Icing
- Use an electric mixer to cream together softened cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract.1 oz (28 g) cream cheese, 1 Tablespoon salted butter, ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- Gradually add sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.½ cup (63 g) powdered sugar
- Add milk, stirring until combined.½ Tablespoon (7 ml) milk
- When cinnamon rolls are finished, remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before spreading icing over rolls.
- These cinnamon rolls are nice and soft. Keep in mind that the warmer they are, the harder it will be to separate one from the other. But if you go in for one cinnamon roll and end up with one and a half, it's really not the worst thing that could happen, right?
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
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Anthony
I helped my mom make these a few days ago. They turned out great! They didn’t last very long , ha ha.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Anthony! They never last long in my house, either 😉
Lesley
these were very good although mine turned out to be a little bit too dense and doughy in the middle. But I think that was my fault, I didn’t roll the dough thin enough so it was very thick in the middle. Great recipe though, and everyone loved them!
Sam
Glad they were a hit overall! 🙂
Rose A.
Surprised ~ no egg needed here? Looks almost too good to believe. Will make very soon.
Sam
I hope you love them!
Anita
I agree with Elisabeth. You give excellent directions. I haven’t cooked them yet but today I’m going to make them for everyone at the office for in the morning so I hope putting them in the microwave for 15 seconds won’t hurt them. I love doing that with melted butter and a glass of milk. Sad part about this is I’m at work and I can’t take a nap. I will let you know how they came out and what the ladies think. I am going to add chopped pecans on top. Thank you again and I’m going to try more of your recipes as well.
Sam
Thank you!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. I’ve reheated them the next day for my coworkers before and they seemed to do fine. The chopped pecans sound like a great addition!
Thank you for commenting! 🙂
Sonya Twyne
We give these a 10 out of 10! Delicious recipe, and easy to make. I wanted to let you know that I made the dough in my food processor and it came out wonderfully. I put all the dry ingredients in and pulsed to combine. Added the butter and pulsed until crumbly then added the milk still pulsing. Then I rolled the dough by hand and the rest was yummy history!
Sam
Food processor is a great move, it really gets the butter worked in well. Thank you for commenting!! 🙂
Gabby Yglesias
I made this guys yesterday… aaaaand we loooove them!! Easy recipes, delicious rolls!!
I made them in 2 different baking pans so they weren’t to crowded…. besides that The only kinda confussing part for ME was the +2tsp if baking cold… haha.
Thank you to this easy to follow recipe!!
Sam
So glad you enjoyed them, Gabby! sorry about that weird +2 tsp part, looks like my recipe plugin mixed some things up so I’ll have to fix that, thank you for pointing it out! 🙂
Veronica Smith
Today was the first time I’ve made homemade cinnamon rolls and they were delicious! Thank you for the recipe. My family was very happy.
Sam
I love hearing this, I’m so glad that you and your family enjoyed these. Thank you so much for commenting, Veronica! 🙂
Elisabeth Graber
I haven’t made these, but I just wrote down the recipe and am going upstairs to make it with my three little girls right now! I just wanted to say THANK YOU for your detailed steps and explanation. I find that too many recipes do not give instructions well and leave me with a million questions which cause me to make a misstep somewhere along the way. Each time I had a question you answered it in the very next step; good recipe writing is hard to find and I plan to check out more of your recipes since I know you give excellent directions!!
Elisabeth
jeremy
Tried these and it tasted good but didn’t turn out so.
I doubled the filling because cinnamon rolls don’t usually have much and I like lots of it.
It didn’t want to roll which was fine but the problem I ran into was getting them out of the pan. They turned out great but how does one get them out of the pan in one piece?
I tried turning the pan over but they stuck to it and wouldn’t move. Then when I turned the pan back the entire middle ones were destroyed.
This was the first time making these and I’ll try again soon but I would like to know how to easily get them out and apart before I try again. Are you not allowed to double the filling? :/
Sam
Hi Jeremy,
I think that doubling the filling was probably the problem here.
You should just be able to use a small spatula to lift them out of the pan one at a time (maybe use a butter knife to cut around the border of each cinnamon roll, first). They shouldn’t stick to the bottom of the pan because of the butter that you melt in the pan first… I’m wondering if the excess filling cooked onto the bottom of the pan, and that’s why they stuck.
I wouldn’t recommend turning the pan upside down because these aren’t quite sturdy enough for that, especially when warm, I think if you use less filling you would have better success.
I haven’t tried it this way myself, but you could experiment and maybe you could even find success increasing the recipe by 50% rather than completely doubling it.
Good luck with your next attempt, and let me know if you have any more questions!
Jeff
Hello! I’m actually 13 (14 next month), and I tried your fried donut hole recipe and they were great! (Even though I used a pan, instead of actually searching up what a saucepan looked like)
Anyway, I had a few questions:
1. How exactly do I know when the rectangle is 10×12? I know it says roughly, but I don’t think I’m that good of a baker yet to estimate dimensions haha.
2. Could I make a cinnamon/vanilla-flavored pastry cream for the filling?
3. Is it possible to roll the dough without a rolling pin?
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your recipes with everyone and to personally answer questions!
Sam
Hi Jeff! So glad you are enjoying the recipes!
To answer your questions:
1) Honestly, I use a ruler. If you don’t have one use a standard sheet of paper. A standard sheet of paper is 8×11, so use the long side (11″) to judge, and make one side slightly (about an inch shorter), and another side slightly (about an inch) longer to make the rectangle.
2) I think pastry cream would be delicious with this dough, but I don’t know that it would bake well inside it. I don’t think I’ve baked pastry cream before, I’d certainly be interested to hear how it turns out if you do try it, but I don’t know that I’d recommend it.
3) I’ve used a well-cleaned, empty, beer bottle to roll dough in one of my more desperate hours before, and if you have a glass bottle like that or something similar lying around you could probably make do, but you’d really be best off using a rolling pin.
I really hope this helps answer your questions, and I hope you love the cinnamon rolls! 🙂
Latesha
i only have baking soda is it okay since it is such a small amount if i can use the soda instead?
Sam
I would not recommend using baking soda instead, it would not turn out the same.
Carol
I would like to make these a few days ahead for Christmas morning. Could I make them and freeze before baking, or would it be better to freeze them after baking and reheat them? If I did bake first, should I frost them before freezing? They look delicious, but I’m cramped for time right before Christmas morning.
Sam
I would make the dough, fill it, roll it, & slice it and then wrap tightly and freeze. Then bake on Christmas morning. You can make the frosting a day or two in advance, too, but keep that sealed in the refrigerator (not freezer) and allow it to come to room temperature before using (stir well before spreading). Hope this helps!
Carol
Thanks for your reply. I am assuming I would bake them frozen and add some extra minutes baking time?? If you suggest defrosting them first, please let me know. Good suggestion to make the frosting ahead and have ready after they come out of the oven–yummy.
Sam
Yup, I would bake from frozen, just as you said 🙂
I hope you love them!
Stephanie
I am thinking of making these for Christmas morning. My first time making cinnamon rolls! I am wondering if I can add 1/2 cup toasted pecans to the filling mix? Will this alter the outcome?
Sam
Oh yum, that sounds delicious Stephanie! You can definitely do that. Hope you love the cinnamon rolls!
Natalie
I am making these right now and they smell so good that I just want to take them out of the oven and eat them raw right now! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Sam
Those cinnamon rolls are SO good, I hope you love them, Natalie! 🙂
Dawn
Can I make these the night before? Any changes?
Sam
You can make them the night before, I’ve done this plenty of times. You can either wrap the pre-cut “log” tightly in clear wrap and then cut that into rolls the next day (that may be easier as it makes it easier to cut the slices), or you can slice them first and cover them with clear wrap and cook them the next day. No changes! I hope you love them, Dawn! Happy Thanksgiving!
Dawn
You’re awesome!!!! Thank you so much for the quick response. Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings!