Easy Cinnamon Rolls (no yeast required!)
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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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Wonderful !!
I made these and they are delicious. No more store bought rolls for me!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Nina! 🙂
These cinnamon rolls are amazing! Not only are they quick and easy but they also are super rewarding! This is my family’s go-to recipe for Sunday morning!
I am so glad everyone enjoys them so much, Sarah! 🙂
Made these twice now and really love them. I’m wondering how it would be to make the ball of dough the night before? Any thoughts?
Hi Andrew! You could make it the night before, just store in the refrigerator covered tightly so it doesn’t dry out. 🙂
The rolls turned out perfect; flaky, moist, and they truly reminded me of the ones from the local bakery. The icing was delicious as well. I found that the filling didn’t stay in the roll but rather fell to the bottom of the pan which created a cinnamon, sugary chip. This also caused the bottom of the roll to be crunchy. It was quite delicious however I was hoping for more cinnamon filling in the roll.
My oven thermometer showed the appropriate temperature and I did follow the recipe as directed. Are there any suggestions to help with this issue? Thanks in advance for the time and help.
Hi Liz! I’m glad you enjoyed them! If it all ran completely out you may have needed to press it into the dough a little bit, but that’s odd that it would all come out the bottom. Some of it will melt out and give you a nice gooey bottom but it shouldn’t all leak out.
These were fantastic and great for Christmas morning. Thank you!
Is it possible to make these ahead of time, like the night before and bake them in the morning? Can you freeze unbaked rolls?
Hi Roxanna! They can be made the night before and you should be good to freeze the unbaked cinnamon rolls. 🙂
Love this recipe, everyone wants cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast this year. This recipe is cutting my work time in half. I have a lot of people to bake for, community baking. They came out carmel. Yummy. Thank you and Merry Christmas 🎄
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jeannie! Merry Christmas! 🙂
Quick question pls, does this come out doughy/stretchy or more crumbly like cake/breakfast biscuits? Thanks!
Also wanted to add, I notice you used cornstarch in the other 1hr cinnamon roll recipe. Why couldn’t cornstarch be added to this one as well to achieve that softer texture? Just curious! thanks!
Hmm you could try it. I didn’t really feel it was necessary here. 🙂
Still soft, but more like biscuits, if you’re looking for a doughy one I would recommend my (yeast) recipe for one hour cinnamon rolls. I hope that helps!
Love this recipe. Made for my partners birthday instead of a cake and it went down a treat with the birthday Man and the kids. Currently making another batch to take to my sister’s for pudding.
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Katie! 🙂
I substituted a few of the ingredients for gluten and dairy free ones, since I have extreme allergies, and the recipe turned out DELICIOUS!!! They were the first batch of cinnamon rolls that I’d been able to eat since three years ago, when I developed my allergies. These used to be my favorite breakfast dish, and I’m so glad to have them back. Thank you so much!!!
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jenifer! 🙂
Overall fun and tasty recipe, but my filling was sandy. The sugar remained granulated after cooking. Any suggestions? Your icing is absolutely delicious!
Hmm I haven’t experienced that before. I am looking to add a video for this recipe so that is something I will keep in mind when making the video. 🙂
Try warming your butter in the microwave. I hit my defrost button for about 20 seconds. Just enough to give it warmth. Then pour it in with the sugars.
These are the best cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted!! Thank you so much for the recipe. For someone with 4 kids 5 and under i was a little intimidated by the amount of steps. But it was super easy and amazing and thank you. It’s not letting me put 5 stars but I totally give this 5 stars
Thank you so much for the 5-star review, Lydia! I am so glad that your family enjoyed them and you found the steps to be simple and easy to follow. 🙂
I made these this morning, bug I added diced Granny Smith apples to the filling. YUM
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Rebekah! 🙂
I’m excited to try this! Is it possible to prep the rolls the night before, leave in the fridge and bake in the morning (making the icing while the rolls bake)? Or will putting the prepped rolls in the fridge overnight ruin it? Probably will have to bake longer, though, right?
Hi Veronica! You can make these the night before and just refrigerate it overnight. I would make sure to cover them tightly so they don’t dry out. It may add another minute or two to the bake time but I would check them sooner rather than later. You don’t want to over-bake them. Enjoy! 🙂
Can whole wheat flour be used?
Unusually nasty wet sunday morning in Madrid, so thought I would surprise my son with a warm yummy breakfast, but he cannot have lactose, so I replaced butter for veg oil, same quantities, used almond milk. For the icing I also used oil instead of butter, and since we try to cut down wherever possible on unnecessary calories, I used (lactose free) light cream cheese, only 1/3 of the icing sugar it said in the recipe and almond milk until pouring but not drip consistency, and piped it on in a criss-cross zig-zag while they were still hot from the oven. 30 min at 190 centigrade they came out meltingly soft in the centre (yet cooked through) and a teeny bit crunchy on the outside so were easy to handle with fingers and super satisfying to bite into… thanks sugarspun for the basic recipe it was PERFECT an super quick to whip up, bake and surprise 😉
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Maria! Thank you so much for your substitution feedback. 🙂