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SUPER excited to be sharing these soft and simple Vegan Cinnamon Rolls. They’re just like the classic recipe you grew up eating but with no dairy and no eggs! This is easily one of my favorite vegan breakfast recipes on the blog and I’m excited for you to try it out!
I’ve made a lot of cinnamon roll recipes in my days but these are seriously the BEST Vegan Cinnamon Rolls that you will ever make! I’ve made these so many times over the past couple of years and they never disappoint.
Lately I’ve been making them as overnight cinnamon rolls so that on the morning of, VERY little work is actually required (which is how all mornings should be lived). But more on that later.
I kept these simple and as close to the classic as possible which is always how I prefer my vegan recipes to be. I used almond milk in place of dairy milk (although I think that light coconut milk or oat milk would also work well!), vegan butter in place of regular (see my note below about preferred brands), and left the egg out completely.
All of the other ingredients are simple and traditional to regular cinnamon rolls!
One of the key elements to making this recipe turn out perfect is getting the milk warmed up, not too hot but not too cold. It’s an art and I HIGHLY suggest using a kitchen thermometer to get the milk around 110 degrees F. THIS is the one that I have.
Here are the ingredients that we’re working with:
- Organic cane sugar: plain white sugar works as well but I’ve been really liking cane sugar in my baked goods lately.
- All purpose flour: I suggest getting a higher quality flour for this recipe. I’ve never tried making this particular recipe gluten free but if that’s something you’re interested in, your best bet is to use a gluten-free 1-1 flour.
- Plant-based milk: as mentioned above, I think that any kind of plant based milk would work well in this recipe including coconut milk, soy milk or oat milk.
- Vegan butter: I’ve been really liking the Country Crock plant butter lately!
- Active dry yeast and salt
- Brown sugar and vegan butter for the filling
- Orange juice and zest: I used these in the frosting because I LOVE the extra flavor that it adds to the cinnamon rolls. However, you could certainly leave out the zest and use milk in place of the orange juice.
How to make Vegan Cinnamon Rolls:
I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that you can whip these cinnamon rolls together in a jiffy. They take a little but of time but overall are very easy to make!
You’ll first to warm the milk. Having the milk at a temperature around 110 degrees F helps to activate the yeast. Once warm, stir in the yeast and sugar and let sit for a few minutes. It should puff up a decent bit. If the yeast still looks exactly the same after about 5 minutes then it might be bad (and your dough won’t rise properly).
The remaining dough ingredients are mixed together and then everything gets left to rise for about an hour. No kneading or anything required….just a nice long rest :)
After the initial rise, we’ll add a bit more flour before rolling the dough out into a rectangle and covering it in butter and cinnamon sugar! Then it’s left to rise ONE more time (just 30 minute this time!) before being baked.
AND that’s it!
I like a classic cinnamon roll frosting of powdered sugar and a splash of almond milk. I also LOVE my frosting with orange juice and orange zest in there for added flavor! Alternatively, you could make a cream cheese frosting using a dairy free cream cheese. Everyone in my family prefers the cream cheese frosting…every one except me that is :D
How to make OVERNIGHT Cinnamon Rolls:
As I mentioned before, you can easily make these the night before so that very little work is required morning of. This is pretty much the only way that I make these cinnamon rolls anymore and I highly recommend it.
Here’s what to do:
- Make the recipe as written up until step #9. Once you’ve cut the dough into 12 rolls and placed them in the greased baking dish, cover the dish with plastic wrap and immediately place it into the fridge to chill overnight. Do NOT let them rise a second time but instead get them right in the fridge.
- Morning of, take the cinnamon rolls out 1 hour before you’re ready to bake them. Leave them on the counter to do their second rise and to come to room temperature.
- Pre-heat the oven and proceed to bake as usual for 30 minutes.
- Prepare frosting as written in the recipe and ENJOY!
More vegan breakfast ideas for you:
AND that’s it for these cinnamon rolls! If you want to see me making them, check out my video here:
Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 ½ cups of almond milk, at room temperature*
- ⅓ cup vegan butter, melted
- ¼ cup organic sugar
- 1 packet active dry yeast, 2 1/4 teaspoon of yeast
- 4 cups flour, divided
- ¾ teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- ½ cup of vegan butter at room temperature, you want it to be soft enough to spread along the dough
- ¾ cup of brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons of cinnamon
For the frosting:
- 1 cup of powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon of orange juice**
- ½ teaspoon of orange zest
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, mix together the milk, butter, and sugar. Cook over low-medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid reaches 110 degrees F. It should feel like a nice hot bath but should NOT be too hot to touch. If your liquid gets too hot, you need to let it cool down (roughly to 110 degrees) before proceeding or else you will ruin the yeast. Remove from the heat.
- Sprinkle the packet of yeast over top of the almond milk mixture and let sit for 2 minutes so the yeast can activate. Pour the mixture into a large bowl.
- Add in 3 1/2 cups of flour and the salt. Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 1 hour. It should rise to nearly double.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a roughly 9x13 inch casserole dish and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling. Set aside.
- Add an additional 1/2 cup of flour to the dough and mix with your hands until combined. It will be a little shaggy at this point. Turn out onto a well floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes. If the dough is sticky at all, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle that's roughly 15 x 9 inches. Stretch the corners just a bit to make sure that everything is even.
- Spread the softened butter on the dough leaving about a 1/4 inch margin around the edges. Evenly sprinkle on the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.
- Starting at one of the longer edges, tightly roll up the dough and place the log seam side down. Cut the dough into 12 even pieces and then place them into the prepared baking dish. Cover the dish and let rise again for 30 minutes. If desired, you can cover the dish and place it into the fridge overnight so they're ready to bake in the morning.***
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Prepare the frosting by whisking together the frosting ingredients.
- Once out of the oven, frost immediately and ENJOY!
Notes
These are my go to cinnamon rolls to bake! I’ve made them so many times and they always come out amazing. My husband loves them. And my neighbors. And my friends lol. They never guess it’s vegan and they think it’s better than Cinnabon which 10000% it is. 😊 I never get to make them with the glaze because he always wants cream cheese frosting on top but they are amazing! 😊☺️ one day I hope to get to make the glaze instead lol.