Here is the famous recipe for vegan cinnamon rolls that can absolutely hold their own against any non vegan version. People are always asking me for the recipe!
Easy Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
These sweet cinnamon pastries are soft, fluffy, unbelievably gooey and delicious.
Trust me, you will absolutely not regret making this vegan cinnamon roll recipe, even if you have no interest in ever becoming a vegan.
They are the perfect recipe to make any time you have guests staying over, or for potlucks, brunches, birthdays, or simply for a leisurely family Sunday breakfast.
I’ve served the cinnamon buns so many times over the years to both vegans and non vegans. People always go crazy for them!
Plus, they make your entire home smell like you are walking through the aisles of IKEA.
As long as you’re good with that (Who wouldn’t be good with that?), let’s proceed.
You may also like: Overnight Oats– 15 NEW Flavors
Vegan Cinnabon Recipe
You can definitely serve these rolls to a crowd without worrying. They are made with traditional ingredients just like regular cinnamon buns, nothing crazy.
(I see you, Avocado Chocolate Mousse.)
In fact, many big brands of packaged cinnamon rolls are accidentally vegan already, including Annie’s, Immaculate Baking, and Trader Joes (both their regular and pumpkin rolls are actually vegan!).
Even Pillsbury and Kroger cinnamon rolls don’t contain eggs. The Pillsbury cinnamon rolls are not vegan because they do contain milk products, but their original crescent rolls are vegan and could easily be turned into cinnamon rolls.
However, with both hydrogenated oils and food dyes, they’re not exactly healthy.
So I still think it’s better to make your own cinnamon breakfast pastries from scratch. Homemade baked goods taste better anyway.
No Butter, No Eggs, No Corn Syrup
The vegan cinnamon roll recipe can also be made without vegan butter or coconut oil.
Low carb recipes are great and all (seriously, this Keto Cheesecake is amazing), but there’s just something about a hot-from-the-oven soft and fluffy homemade cinnamon roll, covered in cream cheese frosting, in all its carb filled glory.
Don’t worry, these are still much healthier than Cinnabon and yet completely satisfy even the most fervent cinnamon roll cravings.
There is also no need for a stand mixer or bread machine. While most of my recipes do include gluten free options, I haven’t yet tried these rolls with a gluten free flour such as oat flour, almond flour, or gluten free all purpose flour (gluten feeds yeast).
I would love to know if anyone experiments, and I am also working on a cinnamon roll recipe without yeast. So hopefully that one will be ready to publish soon.
Trending recipe: Applesauce Muffins
How to Make the Best Cinnamon Rolls
Trick 1: Make the dough super thin
If you can get the cinnamon roll dough just under 1/4-inch thick, that’s perfect. Thinner dough is better because it will rise and expand more than you might think in the oven, and starting with super thin dough ensures you will get sweet cinnamon sugar filling in each and every bite.
Trick 2: Roll them up as tightly as you can
The reason for this is the same as above: it distributes the filling more evenly and prevents large expanses of plain dough in the finished product.
Trick 3: Cut slices before rolling = NO messy filling!
My mom taught me this trick, and it forever changed the way I make cinnamon rolls. Once all the filling is spread on the dough, cut slices before rolling up and you won’t have to worry about filling oozing out.
It seems like such an obvious trick that I’m surprised so many recipes—including my own in the past—still call for rolling the dough first and then cutting with a knife, thread, or floss. This way is so much easier!
Also try these: Easy Cinnamon Rolls – Just 4 Ingredients
Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
If you want hot cinnamon rolls first thing in the morning, just assemble the day before, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next morning, simply put the pan into the oven and bake 20 minutes. Frost as desired, and serve hot.
Leftovers can be covered and refrigerated for two to three days or frozen to reheat in the microwave or oven any time you are craving cinnamon rolls.
The recipe was inspired by this Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal
Vegan Cinnamon Roll Frosting Options
1. Melted Coconut Butter – add sweetener of choice if desired.
2. Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting: combine 8 oz store bought or homemade Vegan Cream Cheese with 4 oz plant based butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, and 1 tsp pure vanilla extract. Slowly add a little milk of choice to thin if needed.
3. Easy Glaze Icing: mix 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar or sugar free powdered sugar with 2-4 tbsp milk of choice. Whisk ingredients together to form a glaze. Using a spoon, drizzle the sticky glaze evenly over the rolls.
4. For a less sweet version, feel free to leave them unfrosted, and the healthy cinnamon rolls will have a sweetness similar to a muffin, great for a healthy breakfast. The unfrosted version is especially good if you add raisins and walnuts to the filling.
5. And if you are feeling adventurous, you can turn them into Cookie Dough Cinnamon Rolls by filling the vegan cinnamon buns with Chickpea Cookie Dough Dip.
Above, watch the step-by-step vegan cinnamon roll recipe video
Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 2 tbsp sweetener of choice
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 2 1/2 cups flour (see note)
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup sugar of choice
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 tbsp oil, butter spread, or applesauce
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 5 tbsp flour (see note)
- 1/4 cup sugar of choice
- 1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
- optional 1/2 cup raisins
- 2/3 cup butter spread or applesauce
Instructions
- Notes: The recipe works with regular all purpose, spelt, or whole wheat pastry flour. I haven’t tried others, but be sure to report back if you experiment! For the first 2 tbsp sweetener, you can use sugar, pure maple syrup, agave, etc. – don’t use a sugar-free sub because it will not feed the yeast. The butter/oil version is much more decadent (and still just 230 calories each!), but applesauce or almond butter work if you prefer a healthier-tasting version that’s oil-free.Warm milk in a bowl (not boiling – 110 F if you have a candy thermometer). Stir in the sweetener, sprinkle yeast on top, and set aside 5 minutes. (If it doesn’t bubble up, either your yeast is no good or milk was too hot or cold.) In a new bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, 1/2 cup sugar, the salt, and 2 tsp cinnamon. Stir oil/butter and vanilla into the milk mixture, then stir into the dry-ingredient bowl to form a dough. If needed (depending on flour used), add more flour until it’s dry enough to form into a ball. Place ball in a greased bowl, cover loosely, and set in a warm place for 1 hour, during which time it should double in size.After the dough has risen, punch to deflate. Knead with your hands for 5 minutes, adding the 5 tbsp flour as you knead so the dough isn’t sticking to your hands. On a floured surface, roll dough into a very thin rectangle (just under 1/4in). Stir together all remaining ingredients, and spread over the dough. Cut long strips, then roll each up as tightly as possible. Place in a greased 9×13 pan. Loosely cover 30 minutes OR cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 325 F. Bake rolls 20 minutes. Serve hot – Frosting options are listed above in this post. If you make them, be sure to leave a review or rate the recipe. I hope you love them!View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
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More Popular Vegan Recipes
(With an oil free option)
Kathryn says
Man, these look fantastic! I need to try them. I have the hardest time getting my cinnamon rolls fluffy. Thanks for the recipe and the great tips! Maybe this weekend I’ll have time to bake *fingers crossed*
Amy @RidingWithEsther says
Yum! I can practically smell these through the screen. And thanks for that “cutting before rolling” tip. Awesome recipe Katie!
Lauren D says
I’ve made the cinnamon roll recipe from your cookbook so many times (with the applesauce option) and they have always tasted absolutely incredible and still decadent! This post is such a great reminder that I’ve gotta make them again soon. 🙂
Chocolate Covered Katie says
❤?
Rhiannon says
I have made these twice now! Really love how they turn out. The only issue is I end up using almost 3/4 bag of flour (I’ve been using standard all purpose) because the dough is just so sticky. And I still put it in the greased bowl to rest without it being fully floured… I mean I still get a good outcome but this seems to happen
Rhiannon says
Here is my attempt!
Jason Sanford says
Those look so good! The stickiness might be a climate thing – are you located in a humid climate or low/high elevation?
Jason
Kristi at Tasty, Easy, Healthy says
These look amazing! Thanks for sharing!
Melissa says
These look absolutely incredible! I’m always on the lookout for vegan dessert recipes and these sound ideal!
Julia says
I make these all the time from your cookbook and I actually find the applesauce version (no oil) rises more than the version with oil, both are delicious though
Deshna says
Hey! Which oil do you use?
I don’t have coconut oil with me. I was wondering with other vegetable oils would work..
Olivia says
Hey! I’m sure avocado oil or grape seed oil will work!
Ela says
They look so amazing, Katie! I adore cinnamon rolls! 🙂
Nici says
Hi Katie, what is a measurement of the cup you use? Thank you 🙂
Grace says
I just made this & WOW! Very easy and delicious. I added a cream cheese frosting to them, because, why not? I also used a bit more yeast because I used two preset packets (totaling like 1.5 tbs)
The rolls turned out fluffy, big, and decadent (but secretly kinda healthy!). Next time I am going to make these with a cinnamon-sugar-pumpkin filling.
Grace says
Picture didn’t show!
Cassie Autumn Tran says
Ah, these cinnamon rolls look absolutely incredible! Cinnabon WHO?! Using whole wheat flour would be a great way to add nuttiness and variation in texture and flavor. The glaze though, damn, it looks absolutely wonderful!
Ary says
Super delicious :). Just wanted to check the oven temp; when I baked them at 325 for 20m they were very raw and doughy. I had to bake them around 400 for an additional 15 mins before they were fully cooked. They were very tasty though and we’ll definitely be making them again
Stephanje says
These really were the best vegan cinnamon rolls. I have tried a few other recipes and they have been mediocre at best. These however where delicious and rose like crazy. The tip about rolling them thin and cutting in strips was very helpful. I opted for the applesauce option in the dough and for the filling I did 3/4 earth balance and 1/4 applesauce. Next time I will try half earth balance half applesauce. I also did 3/4 all purpose flour and 1/4 whole wheat flour. Thanks!!
Eluney says
I definitely need to make this recipe! Could I use fresh yeast instead of dried? If so, how much? Thank you!
yumzen says
The yummy recipe I will definitely try it soon.. Thanx for sharing such a healthy breakfast recipe. Upcoming Sunday I will make it.
Lisa says
Wow these are incredible! Thank you so much!
Drake Peterson says
Anyone found a good gluten free flour replacement for this recipe?
Lisa says
Hi, how many did this make? I see it listed in the recipe that it makes 13 but I only see 9 in the baking dish. Thanks!
Sistah Judah says
Peace , used your recipe todayyyyyy and it was a pleasure making them ! I baked mine at 375 for 20 minutes and they came out great except the center where the rolls met with the others were still a little doughy. I put them bake in at 400 for 14 minutes… perfecto :))))
Also I snapped the pic before I put on the icing I made with the powdered sugar/Almondmilk cause they were so fluffy that all my icing would flow out of my pan
Dee says
My husband really liked these, and he’s not easily pleased! I used almond milk, white sugar for all sweeteners, all-purpose flour, and applesauce in place of all oil/butter. They were delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
Denice Swinnen says
These were very tasty. I did make a mistake and add 2 tbsp of yeast. It was a very tender dough but didn’t rise that much even though the yeast was very active.
Will definitely make again!
Ryan Gianos says
Hello,
Thank you for sharing, those cinnamon rolls look delicious.
Lynne says
Made these vegan for my Omni family and everyone loved them. Easy to make and tasted delicious
Amanda says
A little bit of work, but very yummy! They were perfect for a big family holiday breakfast, and everyone loved them (even the non-vegans)
Brooke says
These were delicious. This was my first attempt at homemade cinnamon rolls and I will definatly use this recipe again. I chose to use white sugar and vegetable oil for my dough and unsalted butter for my filling. I baked at 350 F° for 28 minutes and they were perfect in every way.?
Alicia says
Delicious! I used all purpose flour but the dough was too runny I ended up adding a little more then 1/2 cup more and used my kitchenaid mixer to kneed the dough. The result was amazing! Excellent recipe
Debbie says
Can I use maple syrup to replace all the sweetener in the recipe?
Nicole says
Uh, these are so ridiculously yummy! And considering this was my first go at making cinnamon rolls, they turned out really well. Like others commenting here, I added way more flour than the 2.5 cups to form the dough ball. Easily started with 3 cups before it would even hold its shape. I probably could have used more than I did but I left it as a very soft ball. And I used olive oil in the dough, applesauce for the filling
As for baking, reading that some had problems with the 325F not cooking everything through, I baked mine (after refrigerating overnight) at 375F for 25 minutes. Turned out beautifully with a light crust on the outside, fluffy on the inside. So worth the time it takes to make these! Thanks for this recipe, Katie!
Jason Sanford says
Wow those look amazing!
Linnea says
So incredible. I just made these with whole meal Indian flour (atta) and glazed when warm. The BEST cinnamon rolls I have ever eaten!
Megan Griffin says
Hello! I am not really a baker but I have been baking in my extra spare time lately, and I loved these cinnamon rolls! They were delicious. One thing was that I doubled the recipe and only got 10 rolls out of it, do you have a tip on what could.be going wrong?
I also made your vegan chocolate peanut butter cookies and they were so delicious! I’ll definitely be baking more things in the coming weeks from your website 🙂
Jason Sanford says
Hmmm, make them smaller? The photos are the size of one recipe, so if you make them that size then you should get the correct amount 🙂
Jason
Emily says
How thick should the strips of dough be?
Jane says
Mine were pretty narrow, like about and inch and a half I would say? They rise quite a bit. Once the dough was rolled out I cut out equally into 9 strips. Depends on how you roll your dough out though I suppose ?
Jane says
These are soooo deadly, I will never buy store bought cinnamon rolls again! I made mine with instant yeast, I just added it to the dry ingredients right before combining the wet and dry ingredients and they worked out perfectly. Made them with the vegan cream cheese icing. Delicious!
Claire says
These are absolutely amazing! I made them yesterday and the whole batch is already gone. Making them today with applesauce instead of the butter. Thank you!
Erin says
Delicious but two issues: the baking time is not enough. I used regular all-purpose flour, canola oil for the dough, and applesauce for the filled, then baked at 350 (slightly higher than the recipe calls for) for 30 minutes and when I took them out of the oven, the bottoms were still raw. I ended up baking another 20 minutes total before the dough was cooked through.
Visually: adding cinnamon to the dough tastes AMAZING but makes the dough look like whole wheat…it’s darker and gives the illusion of being healthy (a total turn off for my eaters.) I think in the future I will only add cinnamon to the dough if it’s going to be heavily frosted to hide the appearance of being whole wheat when it’s not.
Jen Robbins says
I have made these for 4 weeks in a row and the whole family likes them. I use maple syrup for the first sugar, spelt flour, avocado oil, coconut sugar, and apple sauce for the filling. I bake for @45 minutes covering if it browns too much. Delicious everytime! I think the applesauce filling adds a ton of moisture and increases the baking time.
Cris says
Thank you for this! …just what I was looking for 👍🏻
Randy says
Made these using gluten free flour and they didn’t rise. My ball stayed the same size when rising for an hour. Baked them at 350 for 25 minutes and they were very good and my wife was pleased. Made 12 cinnamon rolls with plenty of room between in the 9×13″ pan. They stayed about the same size after coming and never expanded. 1/3 cup of butter spread with the cinnamon and sugar was plenty for the filling.
Jen Kayhan says
I know it has been a while since you posted, do you recall which GF flour you used?
Beth says
I am looking for a gluten free flour too. I typically use King Arthur 1:1 but find it can make the rolls come out very hard ☹️
Andrea says
These are fantastic.
Samantha says
So this recipe does not work with paleo flour i found out (almond coconut mix) but it made a great cinnamon cookie bar. Will be trying again with regular flour.
Nicolette Juice Mansueto Ferniz says
Excellent recipe! I seldom leave reviews but this is just too delicious! Didn’t have applesauce so I substituted it with crushed pineapple and it tasted great! Would’ve posted photos if it was possible! Thanks so much for this!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making them!
ML says
Hi! I made these last night and they were amazing. Although, I had trouble with the filling. I melted the 2/3 cup earthbalance but the sugar didn’t mix well and I just had separated butter and sugar. Was I supposed to keep the butter cold? To confirm, these would be the ingredients for the fillings:
1/4 cup sugar of choice
1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
optional 1/2 cup raisins
2/3 cup butter spread or applesauce
Thank you!
CCK Media Team says
Hi! Sorry for the confusion! Yes, definitely best to use buttery spread that is softened (so it’s spreadable) but not melted.
Genevieve says
These were so delicious! Will definitely be making them again, but will make a bit more filling so it really oozes out 😀
ola says
I need to ask this question – 2 tbsp or 2 tsp baking powder?
Best regards!
Amy says
I’m also wondering about the baking powder. It’s a lot of baking powder and I looked up other recipes that call for 2 tsp of baking powder. So wondering if it was a typo.
Wendla says
Hello,
I am currently trying the recipe. Just hope I interpreted correctly the ingredient’s list : “4 tbsp oil, butter spread…” is for the dough, and the “2/3 cup butter spread or applesauce” is for spreading over ? Not the contrary ?
I’ll come and write a comment if it turns out all right 🙂
Janelle says
Just finished mixing the dough. As written the dough was like pancake batter. Adding a little at a time, I added about one more cup of AP flour to make a ball, and it’s still very sticky. Hoping they don’t end up tough 🤞🏻🤞🏻😊
Lisa says
Just made this and they are AWESOME. Used way more flour than the recipe called for also – about 1/3 of the flour that I used was whole wheat flour, and 2/3 all purpose flour. They did taste a bit wheaty, but I don’t mind it. Also, used applesauce instead of oils/butters (did not miss the fat one bit!), and used honey to activate yeast and regular white sugar for filling. Sooo scrumptious!
Mason says
Hi there, what flour did you base the nutritional information off of?
Ha says
Awesome! And healthyish 🙂
I used coconut sugar for the first 2tbsp and only a 1/4 c for the dough itself. The rest I swapped in applesauce and ripe bananas for the spread. I also used half oat flour and half AP.
Definitely have to increase the oven temp to 375 or 400 at 20 min, otherwise still doughy.
Thanks Katie!
Michelle says
These are the best vegan cinnamon rolls I ever made. I tried a recipe from a different blog first and wish I had found yours instead. Thank you from a new vegan!
Megan says
Oh these were so good! We made the cinnamon rolls for a soccer sleepover party where no one was vegan and they were all gone within minutes. Perfect and easy to make.
anonymous says
The best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever tried!
Marsha says
I made these for breakfast for myself and my vegan daughter, and the rest of the family loved them so much that I need to make a second batch because us vegans barely got any!
Momma Bear says
SO soft! The whole family loved these vegan cinnamon rolls. Thank you 🙂
Jodi says
These look fantastic! (I haven’t made them yet, so I cannot leave a Recipe Rating.) One easy question: Which of the frosting options did you use for the photos here? That’s the one I want to do. Is it the cream cheese?
CCK Media Team says
Hi, if we remember correctly, it’s the cream cheese frosting gently heated for a few seconds then drizzled over the cinnamon rolls.
Joanna says
I’ve been on a search for the perfect cinnamon rolls for a while. I previously tried Katie’s recipe where pizza dough is used which was good but not perfect. I tried many other recipes as well. I made this one with my 3yr old. A few mistakes were made. We didn’t always get a perfect measurement. But despite all of that these gave me the perfect cinnamon rolls I was looking for!! Soft and not too sweet. We added some store brought icing on top. Perfect!!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you for making them 🙂
Katie says
Can I use my bread machine with this recipe?
CCK Media Team says
Hmm sorry we have honestly never tried it so really don’t know!
Benn says
Are the temp settings for the oven for a fan or non fan assisted oven?
Vanessa says
As written this recipe doesn’t work. There is no way that amount of AP flour is enough for all the liquid. If the amounts are that different for the other types of flours (and shouldn’t be for spelt), then different amounts should be given based on type. I don’t know how much more I added but it was much more than the recipe stated. The recipe was also unclear on the dimensions of the rolled out dough and the size of the strips. I ended up with strips that I’m guessing were too long and skinny.
Gramma says
Made these vegan cinnamon rolls with the grandkids and they got thumbs up from everyone. We are eating low cholesterol and love your recipes.
Cyndi Earle says
I have been vegan cooking and baking for over 20 years. I have attempted cinnamon rolls countless times and they have never been that great. I followed this recipe to the letter and they baked up to fluffy perfection! This is the BEST cinnamon roll recipe I have ever found! Thank you so much for sharing this. (I made a simple icing with powdered sugar, full fat coconut milk, vanilla extract, and nutmeg.) Fantastic!
CCK Media Team says
This makes us so happy, thank you for such kind words and for making the cinnamon rolls!
Connie says
I made these cinnamon rolls for my daughter who is recently gluten free. The flour I used said 1 to 1 ratio but dough was way too wet so I kept adding more flour. My mistake. It was very hard to roll up and tasted too ‘flowery’.. Is that a word…lol?
I definitely put too much frosting so all in all, I need to work on this recipe. My daughter loves your chocolate chip cookies and I have made them GF successfully. She is always asking for more. And hints I ou might have re GF Cinnamon rolls would be helpful. I’ll keep trying!
CCK Media Team says
Unfortunately this is one of Katie’s few recipes that we have not tried gf because gluten feeds yeast so we do not know what would replace that if using gf flour. Hopefully you can find something that works!
Sam says
Made these rolls with applesauce instead of butter and the result was incredible! Everyone devoured them almost instantly.
Michelle Kalaw says
These cinnamon rolls are sooo delicious! They came out better than I had hoped! I tried both the oil and applesauce recipe varieties. Both were really yummy…though I was partial to the “more decadent” kind made with olive oil :o) ! These will be a breakfast staple from now on!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for trying them!