These easy cinnamon rolls from scratch are perfect for yeast beginners because they only require 1 rise. Each cinnamon roll is extra soft with the most delicious cinnamon swirl! The rolls freeze beautifully, so this is a great make-ahead recipe, especially for planning ahead for holidays or the next time you need a special breakfast. Choose from a few easy icing flavors to top the warm & gooey rolls.
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.
This easy cinnamon roll recipe is one of the most popular recipes on my website, for good reason.
These are classic, homestyle cinnamon rolls. It took me lots of recipe testing trial-and-error to develop quick cinnamon rolls that maintain all the flavor and texture of traditional overnight cinnamon rolls. But THIS. IS. IT. And I promise, making these easy cinnamon rolls is 100x more satisfying than that feeling you get from popping open a store-bought can of ready-to-bake rolls.
Here’s Why You’ll Love These Easy Cinnamon Rolls
- All the deliciousness of traditional homemade cinnamon rolls, but in half the time
- Soft and fluffy
- Gooey cinnamon sugar swirl
- Only 1 rise time
- Easy enough for yeast beginners
- Great make-ahead, freezer-friendly recipe—making it an excellent addition to your menu of Easter brunch recipes!
Lately, I’ve had even more success with the dough when I let the yeast dissolve in the warm milk/butter mixture, instead of whisking it into the dry ingredients. The rolls turn out even fluffier and softer, and I know you’ll appreciate that, too! The recipe below includes this small change.
Here’s what some readers are saying about this recipe:
Reader Kristine says: “This recipe is perfect in every way. It is simple to execute and requires a very reasonable amount of time. … The best part for me, however, is that they tasted just like my grandmother’s cinnamon rolls. I have her recipe but it requires hours and hours and I rarely have that kind of time. Tasting these warm from the oven brought back a flood of happy memories and made me feel like I was right back in her kitchen. ★★★★★“
Reader Lana says: “I admit, I was very skeptical about my cinnamon rolls rising in 90 minutes. And I was nervous about making cinnamon rolls because I didn’t think that I could make anything close to what my grandma used to make. But I’ve made other recipes from your site and have been successful so I gave it a try. Let me say, the cinnamon rolls are amazing! And easy! ★★★★★“
Just like grandma used to make! Is there a better compliment than that? I doubt it.
Yeast Beginners Rejoice: Only 1 Rise!
Do you love homemade cinnamon rolls, but are nervous to bake with yeast? You’re not alone! But if you’re curious about learning how to bake with yeast, this recipe is a perfect one to start with. No yeast cinnamon rolls are quick and tasty, but the Fluffiness Factor (I should trademark that) is simply unparalleled when it comes to yeast rolls vs. no-yeast rolls.
Unlike these homemade overnight cinnamon rolls that require hours of rise time, plus a 2nd rise after the rolls are shaped, this easy cinnamon rolls recipe requires only 1 rise, for just 60–90 minutes. And, honestly, they’re every bit as delicious. Bakery-style perfection for beginners!
Are You a Yeast Beginner?
This Baking with Yeast Guide is a wonderful starting point for yeast beginners. I answer many common yeast FAQs in easy-to-understand explanations, so you can learn about the basics before beginning.
Key Ingredients to Use for the Dough
Here’s my #1 tip: I recommend using a strong and dependable yeast. Platinum Yeast from Red Star is a premium instant yeast, which cuts down on rise time. Its careful formula contains natural dough strengtheners and makes working with yeast simple. And simple is always good, right? See recipe Note if using active dry yeast instead.
Here’s the rest of the lineup of ingredients for this rich dough:
- Flour: Flour provides the dough structure. All-purpose flour is best for these cinnamon rolls. You could also use bread flour—the rolls will be chewier.
- Sugar: You need white granulated sugar in the dough, both for flavor and to feed the yeast.
- Salt: Flavor.
- Whole milk: Whole milk is ideal for the richest-tasting cinnamon rolls. Buttermilk works just as well without any changes to the recipe. Many readers have successfully substituted nondairy milks. In a pinch, you can use low-fat milk, but avoid using nonfat milk.
- Butter: This is a rich dough, meaning it has fat to help guarantee softness.
- Egg: Like butter, egg promises a softer, richer dough.
These Step-by-Step Photos Will Help
The first step is to mix your dry ingredients together in a big bowl and this includes the flour, sugar, and salt. After that, warm the milk and butter together, and then whisk in the yeast until it has dissolved. Then you know it can start working its magic in your dough!
Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients, add the egg and then mix everything together. You do not need a stand mixer for this recipe, though you could certainly use one if desired.
Transfer dough to your work surface (below, left), and then knead by hand for 3 minutes until a soft dough forms (below, right). If you’re new to yeasted doughs, my how to knead dough post and video can help with this step.
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes as you prepare the filling—this gives the dough’s gluten a chance to settle and relax, which will make rolling out much easier.
3 Ingredient Filling
- Butter: Use super-soft butter for the filling—not too hard, not too melty. If the butter is too hard, it won’t be easy to spread it evenly over the soft dough. If it’s too melty, it will seep into the dough, and we don’t want that either. Butter that’s had time to soften to room temperature should be just right. If you forgot to get it out of the fridge earlier, here’s my trick for how to soften butter quickly.
- Brown Sugar: Using brown sugar in the filling gives these cinnamon rolls an extra-delicious depth of flavor.
- Cinnamon: You can’t have cinnamon rolls without it!
Roll out the dough and then top with softened butter and the brown sugar & cinnamon mixture.
Many readers have asked about using different fillings. Try using this raspberry cake filling instead—it’s delicious! Or if you love lemons, these lemon sweet rolls use this same dough.
Roll up the dough and then use your sharpest knife to cut into 10-12 rolls.
Why Are My Cinnamon Rolls Not Fluffy?
There are a lot of variables that go into the consistency of dough, even down to the weather and humidity. But the most common reason cinnamon rolls don’t turn out fluffy is because the dough didn’t have enough time to rise. In this particular recipe, with only 1 rise, it’s imperative the shaped rolls double in size in step 5 below. See the next photo? You want a pan of puffy-looking rolls even before baking.
Additionally, be sure to add only as much flour as you need to make a workable dough. This is a soft and tacky dough and it’s not supposed to be tough and hard. Too much flour will give you stiff, dense, dry cinnamon rolls.
Arrange your rolls in a lightly greased 9-inch or 10-inch pan. I appreciate that this recipe makes a slightly smaller batch than most other cinnamon roll recipes.
Here are the rolls before and after rising. This is the only rise! They’re ready to bake after they have nearly doubled in size.
Why Do My Cinnamon Rolls Rise Unevenly When Baking?
Sometimes the centers of the cinnamon rolls can pop up whack-a-mole-style while baking. This is caused by either rolling them too tight, or if the pan is too small/crowded. It’s happened to me many times before. But this is really easy to fix! Pull the pan out of the oven and use the back of a spoon to gently press the overly risen parts back down.
You Have Options for the Icing
I use the same luscious cream cheese icing here that I use for raspberry sweet rolls. It takes just a couple quick minutes to make, and you only need cream cheese, a little butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract. For something even easier, try a vanilla (or even coffee) icing like we use on coffee cake. Simply whisk confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and a little milk or strong coffee together until smooth. The video tutorial in the recipe below shows both icing options.
Spread or drizzle your icing on the warm rolls before serving—both icings seep right into every gooey swirl! The finished rolls pictured above have cream cheese icing, and here is the vanilla icing batch:
These easy cinnamon rolls from scratch are completely irresistible and they take half the time. If you’re looking for that perfect cinnamon roll recipe that doesn’t require 4+ hours, this is the winner.
Success Tips for Making the Best Cinnamon Rolls
- Don’t add more flour than you need. You can add a little more flour to bring the dough into a knead-able consistency, but adding too much will give you dense, dry rolls.
- Don’t kill the yeast. If your butter/milk mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast and you won’t really notice until you’re far into the recipe… when the rolls won’t rise! Keep the temperature warm to the touch, around 100–110°F (38–43°C). An instant read thermometer is a handy tool for this baking recipe and many others.
- Use your sharpest knife to cut the rolls, so they don’t squish down.
- Use the correct size pan. This recipe makes 10–12 rolls, which fit in a 9- or 10-inch pan. If the pan is too small, they’ll be overcrowded. You can use a 9- or 10-inch pie dish, round cake pan, or square baking pan. If you want larger rolls, check out this recipe for jumbo cinnamon rolls!
- Let the rolls rise in a warm, draft-free environment. Here’s my favorite trick: Preheat your oven to 150°F (66°C), then turn it off. Cover the shaped rolls with aluminum foil and place the pan inside the warm oven. Leave the oven door cracked open for about 30 minutes, then close it and let them finish rising (another 30–60 minutes) in the oven with the door closed. Just don’t forget to take them out of the oven before you preheat it to bake them!
Easy Cinnamon Rolls (from scratch)
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 5 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 rolls
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These easy cinnamon rolls are perfect for yeast beginners because they only require 1 rise. You have a few options for toppings. The recipe below includes a simple cream cheese icing, but we also love these with the coffee icing or vanilla icing that’s included in the recipe Notes below.
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 and 3/4 cups (344g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons Platinum Yeast from Red Star or any instant yeast (1 standard packet)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
Filling
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, extra softened
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Cream Cheese Icing
- 4 ounces (113g) full-fat block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2/3 cup (80g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the dough: Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Combine the milk and butter together in a heatproof bowl. Microwave or use the stove and heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is warm to the touch (about 110°F/43°C, no higher). Whisk in the yeast until it has dissolved. Pour mixture into the dry ingredients, add the egg, and stir with a sturdy rubber spatula or wooden spoon OR use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium speed. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Using floured hands, knead the dough for 3-5 minutes. You should have a smooth ball of dough. If the dough is super soft or sticky, you can add a little more flour. Place in a lightly greased bowl (I use non-stick spray), cover loosely, and let the dough rest for about 10 minutes as you get the filling ingredients ready.
- Fill the rolls: After 10 minutes, roll the dough out in a 14×8-inch (36×20-cm) rectangle. Spread the softened butter on top. Mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar. Sprinkle it all over the dough. Roll up the dough to make a 14-inch log. Cut into 10–12 even rolls and arrange in a lightly greased 9- or 10-inch round cake pan, pie dish, or square baking pan.
- Rise: Cover the pan with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the rolls to rise in a relatively warm environment for 60–90 minutes or until double in size. (For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
- Bake the rolls: After the rolls have doubled in size, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Bake for 24–27 minutes, or until lightly browned. If you notice the tops are getting too brown too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil and continue baking. If you want to be precise about their doneness, their internal temperature taken with an instant read thermometer should be around 195–200°F (91–93°C) when done. Remove pan from the oven and place pan on a wire rack as you make the icing. (You can also make the icing as the rolls bake.)
- Make the icing: In a medium bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add the butter and beat until smooth and combined, then beat in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until combined. Using a knife or icing spatula, spread the icing over the warm rolls and serve immediately.
- Cover leftover frosted or unfrosted rolls tightly and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: This dough can be made the night before through step 4. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise in a warm environment, about 1 hour. Continue with step 6.
- Freezing Instructions: Baked rolls can be frozen up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up before enjoying. You can also freeze the unbaked rolls and here’s how: bake the rolls in step 6 for only about 10 minutes at 375°F (190°C). Cool completely, then cover tightly and freeze. To serve, take the pan of rolls out of the freezer and put into the refrigerator a few hours before serving. Then, finish baking them for the remaining 15–18 minutes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Stand Mixer or Glass Mixing Bowl with Rubber Spatula/Wooden Spoon | Rolling Pin | 9- inch Round Cake Pan, 9-inch Pie Dish, or 9-inch Square Baking Pan | Instant Read Thermometer | Cooling Rack | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) for icing | Icing Spatula
- Yeast: I highly recommend instant yeast. If you only have active dry yeast, you can use that instead. Active dry and instant yeast can be used interchangeably in recipes (1:1). Active dry yeast has a moderate rate of rising and instant dry yeast has a faster rate of rising; active dry yeast will take longer to raise the dough.
- Milk: This recipe used to call for 1/2 cup (120ml) milk and 1/4 cup (60ml) water. The rolls taste much richer using all milk, and that is what I recommend. Whole milk or even buttermilk are ideal for this dough. If needed, you can substitute 3/4 cup (180ml) lower-fat or nondairy milk.
- Coffee Icing (or Vanilla Icing): Whisk 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and 2–3 Tablespoons (30–45ml) strong brewed coffee together until smooth. Or swap milk for coffee for regular vanilla icing. Drizzle over warm rolls.
- Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
Easy and really tasty. Added extra butter, sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Will be one of my favorite!
These turned out better than another recipe I tried that didn’t allow the dough to rise. This brings me back to childhood with the Pillsbury rolls but these are healthier and taste so much better!
Can we use salted butter in this recipe ?
Sure can! No changes necessary.
My rolls came out beautifully and rose so well in my preheated oven! They were fluffy and not too sweet, although I did make a cream cheese icing instead of this vanilla icing. This will be my new go-to recipe from now on!! 🙂
Hi Sally!
I made this recipe today and it tasted amazing! My who,e family enjoyed and it was fun to make!
This was a super easy recipe. The only hard part was waiting the 90 minutes for the dough to rise and the 25 minutes for it to cook. The wait was worth the flavor. Yum!
Made this recipe this morning! Absolutely delicious! I will be making them again, and again, and again! Oh! And the next time I think I’ll add raisins!!
Hi Sally,
I made it today…. and its great! It was just a perfect snack for the family.. They love it… my daughter said she forgot her name when she tasted it…. a great complement though for a beginner like me… Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe… God bless you more.
Made this recipe twice. The first time it was really good, but I think they weren’t as soft as I would have loved. But still delicious. The second time…oh my. Absolutely amazing. My fiancé and I ate the whole pan (9 rolls) in just one afternoon. We couldn’t stop ourselves!! Highly highly recommend this recipe! Very easy to follow. My dough was a bit sticky the second time, but didn’t prove to be a problem at all by the time I had to roll the dough.
I just baked it .. make it 2 batch, one for sweet and one for savory . Both are absolutely wonderful . Thank you very much for this recipe . And Hi from Bali
Hi Sally, thanks for this wonderful recipe. I did a batch immediately after I saw it, however my rolls were a little tough and dry, can you advise where I could have gone wrong? Overall its still a good treat
Hi Joerynn, it’s easy to over-bake these rolls and they’ll quickly dry out after too much time in the oven. Reduce the baking time a bit next time if you can. Warming leftovers up in the microwave softens them back up, as does a little extra icing.
Holy. Moly. I just made these… I actually cut the recipe in half and made only 6 rolls. Good thing, or my husband and I would have eaten all 12!! FABULOUS recipe, and I’ve made a LOT of cinnamon roll recipes in my time! 🙂
can I half this recipe
Sure can!
I made these for the first time today and they are amazing!!! I typically make the overnight cinnamon rolls, but it was nice to have a recipe with just one rise. I did make them with the make ahead instructions and baked them this morning. Turned out great!
Yum yum, did them yesterday and making a new batch today, tkanks a lot;)
This is my go-to cinnamon roll recipe. Been making it for over 4 years now and never had a flop!! I like to double the recipe for big rolls in a 9×13 pan and then I make a buttercream frosting. These rolls are just SO easy on a weekend morning.
Amazing! My family has tried your recipe for years and they have turned out great everytime❤️
Wowwww, my first time making cinnamon rolls, but it won’t be my last!! These were SO delicious! The only thing I did differently was I had to accommodate for the type of yeast I was using: I bought a brick of Instaferm Red Yeast online because I could not find any yeast in-store. I have read that the recommended amount for that brand is 1-1.5% yeast to flour weight, so I used a smidge over 1 teaspoon. It’s also storm season over here, so I ended up adding a bit more flour during kneading due to humidity. Thank you for sharing this recipe! I’m so stoked. 🙂
Can these be made the night before and baked in the AM like the overnight recipe? If so, would you recommend letting them rise again before baking?
Hi Annie, see my make ahead instructions.
I made these this morning!! Never will i be scared to work with yeat dough again!! They are BEAUTIFUL!! And smell so good time to bake them off ..cant wait to try them!! Thanks !!
This is the second time I’ve made this recipe. 🙂
The first time (About 2 weeks ago) I messed up. (I put too much yeast.)
I really like it and hope this round is better than the first.
Sally, what kind of glaze is your favorite? Have you ever tried an orange, tea, or apple glaze? (Just wondering! :))
Hi Melinda, I’m so happy you are enjoying this recipe. I really love all glazes, hard to choose a favorite! Right now I’ve been loving orange glaze (like I use on my orange sweet rolls)!
I’ve made this recipe 3 times now and it’s a knockout every time! They’ve been requested for this upcoming weekend again and I’m thinking I will make the dough the night before this time. Do you find you get the same level of rise when you do this?
Thanks!
I’m so happy they are such a hit, Britt! I do make the dough the night before often, see the recipe notes for the full make ahead instructions.
Hi Sally I love this recipe was wondering can i add the apples to this recipe for easy apple cinnamon rolls as i like how it only needs one rise? can it also be adapted for other flavors? I saw your apple cinnamon rolls recipe and noticed it takes more flour and more time to rise and bake so prefer this one in a pinch. Thankyou
You can definitely try using the filling from the Apple Cinnamon Rolls with this dough. I have many other flavors of sweet rolls such as orange, strawberry, lemon, and more (just search “sweet rolls” in the search bar on top of this page!).
Love these! Sent a picture to my in laws and now I’m volunteered to make them this weekend 🙂
Only trouble is that I’d like to make them at home, but we have some travel. Is it possible to make them more than a night in advance? Like 2 days?
HI Max, for best taste and texture, I don’t recommend more than 1 day/night in advance. You can try the par-baking and freezing method detailed though.
Fabulous!!!!!!
Hi Sally,
I’m a great cook, but but am intimidated by baking. Too technical for me.
Tried this recipe today and it was a hit!! So easy and accurate as far as fluffy texture. I’m so glad I stumbled upon this! As we all love cinnamon,
I did sprinkle a tad on top after frosting, not too much. Only question, how do bake them so they all rise to the same height as one or two poked up above the rest. Otherwise so delicious!! Thanks again.
Susan
Hi Susan, I’m so glad you tried and loved these cinnamon rolls! Sometimes a couple of my cinnamon rolls bake up much taller than the rest. The best way to have them rise evenly during the baking process is to make sure you are rolling the dough rectangle as even as possible– totally even thickness. Then cut the rolls as even as possible, too. (A ruler helps with that.) Otherwise, I usually just use a rubber spatula to press down any super tall ones.
Oh. My. Yum!!!! These are delicious!! I had Some green apples that needed using so I chopped them up and added them to the filling. Soooo yummy!
I just made these today for my family and they were devoured in about 10 minutes! They were perfect and it’s my first time making cinnamon rolls ever. Thank you for making it so easy for us to follow. Love your recipes!
So yummy! I’ve made these rolls twice now. Quick question – if I let them rise in the oven do I only let them rise for 30 min or should I still follow the 60-90 min?
Great recipe! I’m a husband and dad and stumbled across your recipe intended for Mother’s day. It was a smashing success. I even took a couple of interesting turns. I forgot to add the egg but still turned out marvelously. What’s up with that? Also, fogot to check ingredients supply and was out of cinnamon. Found out nutmeg as a substitue, about 1/4 the amount of cinnamon and they were delicious.
Since it worked find without the egg, I’m curious what that adds that we missed out on?
Hi Scott! Glad you tried and enjoyed these cinnamon rolls. The egg tenderizes the dough. Add it next time, it helps yield a richer tasting roll.
These were delicious and easy! Made the dough, let it rest, filled the dough, cut and placed them in the pan (covered) and then refrigerated overnight. Took out in the morning and let rise for a couple of hours (slow yeast/cool kitchen) and then baked. They were a bit overdone at 25 minutes in my oven (wish I had pulled them out at 20 minutes) but they are really really good. I might dial the sugar back just a tad next time but the texture was perfect. I made the vanilla glaze and coffee glaze; they were both great.
[I made the rolls a bit smaller by cutting them into 12 pieces (probably why they cooked faster) and they perfectly filled my 9” springform pan.]
Thanks for another great, easy to follow recipe.
Hi. I am going to make these for Mother’s Day and I thought I would make the dough the night before. Do I do your “trick” before I refrigerate or the next morning when they are resting?
Hi Marlene, don’t let the shaped dough rise (step 5) until after refrigeration overnight. If you are using my warmer environment trick, you will do this the next morning when they need to rise. (The rolls will slightly rise overnight in the refrigerator.)