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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I’ve made these 3 times now in the past couple of weeks and they are amazing!!
First time I made them I only had bread flour which I’m guessing is why they didn’t turn out so great texture wise but, they were still good.
Hi Mary! Bread flour can definitely affect the texture. I’m so glad you were able to enjoy them though. 🙂
I was sceptical of this recipe beacuse i’m super picky with what recipes I like. And everything I make has to be approved by the food critics (my siblings lol)
I needed cinnamon rolls in a pinch and the reviews were so good. And they were for a reason! These rolls were a total hit with my family. I made mini rolls a day early, for a church event and couldn’t keep them out to cool, because they were vanishing right off the rack lol! I will totally make them over and over again!
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them, Tina! 🙂
Hi! Made these today they are delicious!!!!! How do you recommend storing? In the fridge or leave out?
Hi, Dani! They will be fine at room temperature in an air tight container for a few days. 🙂
Perfect! My family loves this recipe! It tastes like every piece is the center of the cinnamon roll!
I am so glad you enjoyed the cinnamon rolls! 🙂
Could I replace the milk in the rolls with buttermilk instead?
I haven’t tried it but I think that would be fine
Very good and very easy
Can you make these the night before, refrigerate, and bake in the morning?
Yes that will be fine! Enjoy!
I made these this morning, they taste good, but mine came out kind of lumpy and crumbly in texture, any idea why? Too much working or not enough working the dough ball?
Hi Whitney! It sounds like the dough may have needed to be worked together a bit more if they were lumpy and crumbly. I hope that helps, and I’m glad you otherwise enjoyed the taste!
I made these last night and they turned out SO good! Let me just start by saying that I am known for being awful when it comes to making food. No matter how hard I try, it just never pans out well. But this recipe was incredibly simple and turned out to be very impressive. The flavors and the texture were perfect, and my entire family was thrilled. I’m saving this one for sure. I made them for my husband’s birthday and I actually had to convince him I was the one who made them. Now I have to use self control not to eat the rest of them in one sitting.
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Dana! If you are able to refrain from eating them all at once, you are a stronger person than I am. 😂
Thank you for the easy recipe
But I don’t have an oven and my question is can I cook it on the stove? If so how?
Hi, Mary! I would be afraid the bottoms would burn and the tops would be underdone, so I don’t recommend it. 🙁
Hello! I know you cut the rolls about an inch but just wondering how tall they end up being? I want to make this as a cake for my friend’s birthday so trying to see if I should double the recipe or cut the rolls longer to make the final result higher/more “cake” looking. So excited!
Hi, Tracey. The cinnamon rolls end up about 2 inches tall. I’m not sure how this would go as a cake. It would probably be tough to cut, and I don’t think they would stick together too well so you may just end up with a pile of cinnamon rolls, but tasty! If you do try it, let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Hands down the most delicious cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had! I won’t store buy anymore! Thank you for sharing!!
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Amanda! 🙂
Do you have a recipe for an icing without cream cheese?
You can use the glaze I use for my Coffee Cake. 🙂
They are great I use raisins in mine.Cant seem to make enough of them .They are awesome
I was looking for a no yeast recipe…this is an easy, quick and very good recipe! Made them Christmas morning, and they were a hit!
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Steve! 🙂
The filling is way to thin and liquid, all of it poured out all over the counter when I tried to roll it up. Also in other recipes I’ve seen it says to chill the dough before even starting the process of rolling it out and making into a log to cut – this technique works way better and I wish I applied it to this recipe.
Hmm, with just 4 Tablespoons of butter it really shouldn’t be that thin, are you certain all of the filling ingredients were measured properly?
Chilling really shouldn’t be necessary with this recipe so long as you flour your surface and add any flour to the dough as needed.