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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Original photos:
Heather
Oh my gosh! These hit the spot, and were so easy to make! I did make just a regular glaze because I didn’t have any cream cheese, but still, these were sooooooo delicious! Thanks for sharing this fantastic recipe!
Tanda
Enjoyed the rolls Thanks for sharing your recipe
Sam
So glad to hear this! Merry Christmas, Tanda! 🙂
Bethany
Hi! I’m just wondering what is meant by 5 tbsp + 2 tbsp for baking cold?
Thanks!
Sam
Whoops, looks like some of my wording got mixed up! It should say “5 Tablespoons cold butter, + additional 2 Tbsp butter for baking” and I just fixed it. Sorry about the confusion!
Jessica
Easy recipe, and tastes delicious! We really wanted some gooey cinnamon rolls, and didn’t want to wait a few hours for the yeast. Thank you for sharing this recipe, I’m saving it to make them again.
Sam
I’m glad they were such a hit! Thanks for telling me how they turned out for you, I appreciate it!! 🙂
LINDA
Quick, easy and delicious. Thank you!
Khaliah
They came out amazing
Sam
So glad to hear it! 🙂
Jacey
Hello! These are best cinnamon rolls! Very yummy frosting. My husband and I made the recipe exactly as it was! So delicious!!!!! 😊
Sam
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, Jacey! 🙂
Tiffanie
I’m confused on the filling. In step 8, it says to combine brown sugar, flour & cinnamon, then to stir in butter & vanilla…but in the ingredients list for the filling I don’t see anything for flour or how much…I’ve mever used flour in a cinnamon roll filling before…?
Sam
Hi Tiffanie! No flour, I’m not sure why that is there, I will fix, thank you!! I was just in the recipe Thursday and must have accidentally added that, everything else seems to be correct. Sorry about that!
Ashley
These were so easy to make & delicious! I love icing as much as you do. I will make these again for sure.
Sam
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them, Ashley!! 🙂
Sayanee Engineer
these were sooo good!! Though in my opinion, because of the icing it got too sweet, so we had it alone!! It tasted like heaven!!
Sam
So glad you enjoyed!
Ezra
Just made these and its a keeper for sure. I halved the recipe and got 4, and baked them in a muffin tin with great results. And with no yeast or risings necessary, it can’t get any easier!
Sam
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed, thanks for writing, Ezra!!
Diana
Thanks so much for this recipe which really was everything you said it would be. Quick and easy and sooo delicious. Had to cobble together a glaze with what I had available and they were still a hit. This time I have what I need to make the icing as well.
Sam
I’m so glad that you enjoyed them, Diana! Thank you for writing!!
Kelly
I made this for my in-laws in France today. Thanks for the metric conversions! They were very much appreciated! I did not include the icing (I didn’t find Philadelphia at the French supermarket) but instead used a half recipe of the filling as a crumble for the top. Then we poured Creme Anglaise all over them. Ahhh!!! So good!
Sam
I’m so glad to hear that everyone enjoyed, Kelly! The Creme Anglaise sounds absolutely AMAZING!!! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know how they turned out!
Connie
Thank you very much for this lovely recipe!!! Would be gorgeous for our Easter Brunch… Do you think I could bake it ahead of time and freeze it?
Best wishes!
Sam
So glad you like the recipe, Connie! I wouldn’t recommend baking it ahead of time and then freezing, but I think it would be OK to prepare the dough up to step 10 or 11 and then tightly wrap that and freeze, then bake the day of. You could even prepare the cream cheese frosting in advance, but keep that refrigerated and then set it out to come to room temperature before spreading on the cinnamon rolls. I hope that helps! 🙂
Amber
Hi! I tried out this recipe once and it was perfect! I wanted to know how I would be able to cut it short to maybe 4, 5, or 6 cinnamon rolls. The first time I made it, it was a bit to much for my family. Please tell me if there is.
Sam
Hi Amber! I’m glad you enjoyed them! You could definitely half the recipe, but you would need a smaller baking pan to bake them in.