This Cinnamon Roll recipe is wonderful. These are some of the best Cinnamon rolls you’ll eat (and they are completely vegan!). The pastry is perfectly sweet and bakes with a nice soft center and lightly golden exterior. The rich gooey cinnamon brown sugar filling is warm, buttery, and will fill your home with the coziest, warming aromas. This recipe has become one of my favorite wintertime staples for a reason, and for that reason, I know you will love them too!
Can I freeze them to bake later?
Yes! If you decide to freeze them for baking on a later date, I recommend laying them spaced out on a cookie sheet immediately after cutting. Cover them with plastic wrap or even another cookie sheet then place in the freezer. Once frozen you can remove them from the cookie sheet and consolidate them into a smaller container or bags. If you don’t have room in your freezer for a cookie sheet, I’d recommend using 2-3 smaller containers. All you’re looking to do is keep them from touching each other for the first 4 hours or so of freezing. I’d recommend baking the frozen rolls off within the first month of them being frozen. Thaw them covered overnight at room temperature, preheat the oven in the morning, and follow the rest of the steps.
How long will they last once they have been baked?
In an air-tight container at room temperature, they should be good to eat for 2-3 days, 2 days if you frost them with the cream cheese frosting.
Can I swap bread flour for AP flour?
You can, but trust me when I say the texture of these rolls will be much better if you stick with bread flour.
Why weigh the ingredients?
It really all boils down to the flour. The only way to get consistent measurements of flour is to weigh it. I Have noticed inconsistencies in weight as large as 70g for the same volume measurements in flour.
Do I need to frost them?
You certainly do not, I have included a quick cream cheese frosting and a simple icing recipe but they will still be great without. Topping with sifted powdered sugar is also a really good option.
Tips and alterations
Rolling out the dough
In this Cinnamon roll recipe directions, I say to roll it out into a 14×24 inch rectangle. But if you prefer the bread on the thick side you can go down as small as 8×24 inches.
Pre-heating the oven
I recommend preheating your oven as soon as you have placed the rolls in the pan for their final proof before baking, this will ensure that your oven is relatively up to temp. If you really want to be sure you can use an oven thermometer but that’s certainly not necessary.
The filling
In this recipe I recommend first spreading the butter out on the dough, then evenly sprinkling the brown sugar cinnamon mixture over it and gently rubbing it into the butter. You can mix all the filling components together into a paste and just spread it like you would the butter, though it will make it harder to get an even coating, it is also rough on the dough and could lead to ripping holes in the dough sheet as you spread, so for those reasons, I recommend doing it in two the steps I mentioned above and in the recipe directions.
The butter
Use a salted vegan butter for both the filling and the dough, its easy and works perfectly in this recipe.
Quick tips
Make sure all your ingredients are at room temp before moving along with the recipe
Weigh and measure everything before hand, this will make sure the whole process runs smooth
If your stand mixer is moving on the counter top and making a ruckus, place a folded kitchen rag underneath it
Grease the pan before placing the parchment paper, this will make the parchment stick to the pan
The Best Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer Optional though highly recommended.
- 1 13×9 inch baking pan You want 2 inches deep or deeper.
- 1 String/twine You can use a knife though I find the twine makes really clean cuts.
- 1 Bench Scrapper Optional though very helpful for many recipes.
- 1 Oven This one goes without saying… right?
Ingredients
The Dough
- 720 grams Bread Flour You can substitute for AP flour though Bread Flour will give you the best results
- 70 grams Granulated Sugar
- 14 grams Instant Yeast
- 9 grams salt
- 75 grams Melted Vegan Butter
- 404 grams Oat, Soy, or Almond Milk
The Filling
- 1 cup Brown Sugar I like using dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tbsp Flour This will help minimize filling leaking out
- ⅓ cup Softened Vegan Butter
Cream Cheese Icing (optional)
- 8 oz Vegan cream cheese
- ½ cup Butter
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 cups Powdered sugar You can adjust the amount of powdered sugar used to achieve the texture you prefer.
Glaze (optional)
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 ⅓ tbsp Oat, Soy, or Almond Milk
Instructions
- Place the softened butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle and mix for 2 minutes on medium/low speed.
- In a separate bowl, combine the room-temperature milk and instant yeast. (Give it about 5 minutes for the yeast to foam up, this isn't necessary if you know your yeast is good and alive).
- Add the yeast-milk mixture and salt to the whipped butter and sugar. Mix on low until combined (about 2-4 minutes)
- Add the flour and mix on low speed for about 2 minutes or until evenly combined.
- Remove and scrape the paddle attachment, then replace it with a dough hook attachment. Bring the mixer to medium-low speed (a 2 on my kitchen aid stand mixer) for about 8 minutes until you have a smooth dough. Cover with a damp rag or plastic wrap and allow it to rest in a warm spot for 90 minutes.
- In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Set aside.
- Once the dough has rested and risen significantly, gently pat it down and place it onto a lightly flowered table. Roll it out evenly until it becomes a rectangle measuring 14×24 inches.
- Rub the softened vegan butter evenly on the surface of the rolled-out dough, making sure to leave ½ an inch of the dough blank at one of the long (24-inch) ends.
- Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar cinnamon mixture over the buttered dough, and gently rub the sugar mixture into the butter.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉
- To roll, start on the 24-inch side that isn't blank, and tightly roll toward the blank side. Position the roll seam side down. (You can also lightly dampen the plain end of the dough with water and a pastry brush before rolling to help seal the roll).
- You will more than likely need to trim a little off the ends of the roll for consistency. Now cut the roll into 12 even rolls, each about 2 inches.
- Line a 13×9-inch Pyrex pan with parchment paper. Load the pan with the rolls lined 3×4. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for 30-60 minutes.
- Once the oven has preheated and the rolls have risen, remove the plastic wrap and place the cinnamon rolls in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Once done, remove from the oven to cool. (don't forget to turn off the oven!)
Cream cheese icing (optional)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar, and whip for about 1 minute, or until an even consistency is achieved. Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool for at least 10 minutes before topping with icing.
Glaze (optional)
- Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, and plant milk in a bowl with a whisk until smooth. Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool for at least 10 minutes before topping with icing.
The recipe is very easy to follow, and the cinnamorolls don’t just taste like suger. They’re perfect for sharing with my family!!!
you would never guess that this recipe is completely vegan! One of the best tasting treats i have ever eaten!
So moist and sweet, can’t eat any other cinnamon roll without thinking about these 🤤
These are really good, I tried rolling it to 8×24 like recommended in the notes for a more bready/fluffy roll and they came out amazing!