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.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
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Original photos:
The icing is amazing!!!!
Hi Im unsure of what i did wrong? my rolls have been baking for 45 mins and I cannot get them to really bake, unless theyre meant to be this mushy? they browned slightly but not nearly golden.
O no! I’m so sorry this happened! I’m not really sure what could have gone wrong, and without being there it’s really hard to say. They shouldn’t be mushy. 🙁
Hi! I’m just a little confused as I have never done this before. Should the cold butter chunks still be in chunks once the mixture has been mixed with milk?
Hi Victoria! You should still be able to see some chunks of butter in your dough after you’ve mixed in the milk. You don’t want to beat up the dough too much. 🙂
Hello. I’ve made these a few times and now my husband is requesting I make them for his work party. I was going to use a tin pan to bake a double batch. Should I adjust baking time/temp since I won’t be using a glass dish? Thank you!
Hi Mackenzie! The temperature will remain the same. For the time, it’s difficult to say. Usually if you were using a metal pan I would say the time would be shorter, but if you are baking a double batch it may end up taking longer so I would just keep an eye on them. I hope that helps. 🙂
The recipe doesn’t tell how thick to cut the dough and/or how many rolls this makes.
Hi Sharon! Did you scroll down to the recipe card? You will see the information you’re looking for there. We hope you love the rolls! ☺️
OMG I will never go to yeast made rolls again. These were super easy to make and the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made. Thank you!
We’re so happy you enjoyed them so much, Julie! ❤️
You have this step: 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…..But you don’t mention afterwards what to do with the melted butter. I want to make these this weekend, so hopefully they will come out right.
Hi Leigh! You’ll just place your rolls into the buttered dish. Hope that helps! 😊
Hi Emily…can I use lactose free whole milk for the rolls?
Hi Kim! That should work fine. Enjoy 😊
These cinnamon rolls are delicious!!! My family loves them. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
We are so happy they’re a hit for your family, Debbie! Thanks for coming back to leave a review ❤
I added an egg yolk to the dough.
Lisa
Auburn IN
I made these again this morning, as a request for my daughter’s 13th birthday. She demanded that they be your recipe for cinnamon rolls. I have to say, your recipe has completely ruined us! We got a homemade cinnamon roll from a fancy coffee shop awhile ago, and it was just not the same! With every bite, I was wishing it tasted likes these. I won’t even try to set foot in a Cinnabon…your recipe is the best!
Thanks again for a simple, delicious cinnamon roll recipe and for making my daughter’s birthday extra special!
We love your daughter’s taste in birthday breakfast, Blair! Thanks so much for loving our recipe and coming back to write this review. If you ever want to try one of our yeast cinnamon rolls, our funfetti cinnamon rolls would make a lovely birthday breakfast too 😊
Could I make these ahead and give a pan of them to someone for them to just bake the next day?
Hi Kim! That would work fine–just store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight. 🙂
Hello! Can you freeze these prior to baking?
That will work just fine. 🙂
How do you store them?
You can store them at room temperature in an airtight container 😊
I made these this afternoon and they may well be the best cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted.
I ended up under-baking the middle ones because I was too concerned about over-baking the outside ones. I needn’t have worried because even the parts that turn brown remain soft and delicious because the dough is so nice.
I look forward to baking these for friends and family. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
These cinnamon rolls are sooo good and super easy to make!! Highly recommend! 🙂
We’re so happy you enjoyed them, Sadie! Thanks for trying our recipe ❤
The house smelled amazing but the rolls were a disaster. More like biscuits than soft flaky rolls. 🤦♂️ I’m sure it was some sort of error on my part. The frosting was delicious!
Hi Stacy! The texture is more comparable to a biscuit by nature but certainly shouldn’t taste like a biscuit. This is just due to not using yeast, but it should still taste good. 🙂
This was my first time making homemade cinnamon rolls and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this recipe!!! Will be making again. So easy to follow and tastes delicious. I already had everything I needed in my kitchen! Which made my spur of the moment decision so much easier 🤗 Thank you so much for sharing this!
We’re so happy you love them, Tiffany! Thanks so much for giving our recipe a try. Enjoy ❤
I had a thought to make cinnamon buns one morning and found this fool proof recipe. Luckily, I had all the ingredients already at home and an hour later I had cinnamon buns! Thank you for this recipe. It was easy to follow, especially for a non-baker like myself! =)
Wonderful! That’s the beauty of this recipe 😊 We’re so happy you enjoyed them, Donnie. Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review!