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.
Disclaimer, I have made a lot of cinnamon rolls! This is the perfect “smaller batch” recipe when you don’t want to spend a lot of time. Dough came together quickly, very easy to work with, loved the 10 min first rise. I made these right before bed, put the unbaked rolls in a dish and into the refrigerator. Next morning took them out about an hour to rise, 25 minutes to bake and then a slathering of the cream cheese icing I had made the night before – perfection! I like my cinnamon rolls thicker so I cut them in 2″ pieces which yielded 6 rolls.
Hey there. How do I make sure that my rolls are baking in the middle? I have issues with soggy middles!
Hi Emma, feel free to add an extra minute or two of bake time if the middles seem under baked to you. If the edges are browning too quickly in the meantime, you can tent the edges with foil. Hope this helps!
I’m new to baking, is it possible to use this dough recipe and make doughnuts out of it instead of cinnamon rolls ?
Hi Jerry, we suggest a dough formulated for doughnuts instead, like our homemade doughnuts recipe.
Thank you for the recipe Sally, I too am trying your receipe for the
first time today just put them in the oven I pray they come out
good. But thank you for taking the time to share it.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving (Canada)
Let us know how they go, Pamela – happy baking!
This recipe is simple and easy. Living in an high altitude the only adjustments I made was and a little bit of water until the dough stuck together and I lowered the temperature to 350 and it worked well.
Hi Sally! Sounds like a great recipe! If I don’t add the frosting will the cinnamon rolls be as tasty? Would love to try this out though 🙂
Hi Mika, you can certainly leave the frosting off if you prefer. Hope you enjoy them!
Well I followed it to a T and they came out very dry the cinnamon that goes in the middle also very dry it left a bad aftertaste as well overall just not a good experience and I love to bake but this just didn’t come out good for me.
I have made these rolls before and absolutely love them! Today for the first time I’m freezing the partially baked rolls to finish baking them later in the week. How long do I bake them once they’ve defrosted in the fridge overnight?
Thank you for giving this less-than-confident baker a fabulous recipe that turns out great every time!
Hi Helen! Bake for the recommended time in the recipe still since you’re starting from a cooler temp – but keep an eye on them in the oven to avoid over-baking. Hope you love them!
I have made my Mom’s cinnamon buns from scratch for years, good tips here. Love the ‘coffee’ icing, using strong coffee instead of milk with icing sugar! I have buns in the oven right now, and, will try it
Also, love the ‘bake for 10 minutes’ and freeze. What a great way to welcome guests when you are pressed for time, with the scent of cinnamon buns in the air! Bake on!
Tried this recipe for the first time today and it turned out great! Had the same issue with sticky wet dough like the rest but I just kept adding more flour and it finally yielded to me! The bread portion turned out soft and fluffy. But the next time I definitely have to add more filling!
Still in the making, waiting for the dough to rise, was wondering if I could sprinkle raisins or currants on top of the cinnamon and sugar mixture? Almost like Chelsea buns…
Hi Alison, you sure can! We’d add them to the filling before rolling it up. Try anywhere from 1/2 cup to a cup, to your preference.
Hi Sally, So I made the mistake of trying to do an overnight version of these I i ended up leaving them out of the fridge the whole night.. Are these still good to eat if I bake them?
Thank you!
Hi Brooklyn, the taste and texture will likely be altered since the dough was over proofed. You can certainly still give them a try, though. Thanks for giving this recipe a go!
This is my go-to cinnamon roll recipe! If I wanted to double the batch would that affect rising time or anything? Is it better two make two separate batches or doesn’t matter?
Hi SK, You can double the recipe, but we always find that the taste and texture are better when making two separate batches. The rise time as well as the bake time would be longer if doubling (same oven temperature) but we’re unsure of the exact times needed.
This is my go-to cinnamon roll recipe! Super easy– the dough is a great consistency, and they’re so delicious. I do increase the amount of topping a little. 🙂 I like to make them the night before, and then let them rise and bake in the morning. Highly recommend!
This recipe restored my confidence in making a yeasted bake. Yes, my dough was pretty wet and sticky, so I added a little more flour as suggested. I did try to limit adding, as I’ve seen Paul Hollywood work with wet and sticky dough. It seems like the more you knead, the more “obedient” the dough becomes eventually. Great texture, perfect flavor. One extra step I included was pouring heavy cream over the rolls before they went into the oven to make them extra plush. I love this recipe! I used the same dough base to make buchty for my Czech father-in-law. This
I read the comments and was concerned that the dough might be wet. But i followed the recipe (even followed the oven tip) and it turned out PERFECT. Granted, I did sprinkle a little flour here and there when I was kneading and rolling. Turned out better than expected. Beyond thrilled with the outcome. People are having second helpings. It’s that good. Thank you.
The recipe was simple and easy to follow especially for a novice like me. My dough was a little bit dry after mixing the ingredients, so i add 1 egg yolk, the roll came out really good, but a little airy(like the bread of ensaymada) how can i fix this? And is it okay to add more sugar to the dough, to make it swetter?
I have made this recipe many times and love it the doe is sticky so I usually let it rise for about 10 minutes in warm oven before I roll it out and I don’t have any issues.
Worked great for me and I am not a baker/cook at all, lol. Hubby says I am now in charge of homemade cinnamon rolls. Not sure how I feel about that. I couldn’t find our rolling pin because we just moved but I was able to roll them with a glass which I sprayed lightly with oil. Thanks for the recipe!
These cinnamon rolls are so good and easy. My wife and son love them! Question: Can I lay these out separately on a pan and bake them so that I have individual cinnamon rolls or does this recipe require that they be cooked together in a dish? I’d be interested to try them individually, if you think that would be acceptable. I’m new to the baking game and don’t know what might prevent that from being successful.
Hi Russ, so glad to read that your family enjoys these cinnamon rolls. You can definitely spread them apart on a baking sheet and bake them that way. Same oven temperature, but I’m unsure of the best bake time.
I made these for my boys after my mom made the mistake of opening a can of chemical tasting Pillsbury easy bake cinnamon buns! These filled the bill and then some. No difficulty with the dough and I followed the recipe exactly. My only error was not rolling tightly enough. Still turned out great!
Thank you for including weights in your recipe! I prefer this method to using measuring cups. Love the recipe. I added a bit of cardamom and allspice to the filling, it comes out abfab! Definitely a wet dough, glad I read the comments first. Thanks for the recipe!
Hello Sally,
I am going to try this amazing recipe. I will let you know how it turns out.
Alesha
Hope you love these cinnamon rolls, Alesha!
I made these a few months ago and they were 100% amazing. Question: if we use the oven trick to get them to rise quicker, do we just then uncover the rolls and crank the oven up to 375 without a full preheat?
Hi Rose, we’d recommend taking the rolls out of the oven after the rise, allowing the oven to preheat to 375 degrees, and then sticking them back in for the bake time.
We loved this recipe! The cinnamon rolls were soft and delicious – and went perfectly with the icing! Thanks Sally!
Ok so I hate cream cheese frosting and don’t really like Royal icing on my cinnamon rolls. Can I use store bought cake frosting? Do you think that would be good? Should I melt it in the microwave or let the heat from the cinnamon rolls melt it?
The recipe she gives for the icing isn’t royal icing since it doesn’t have egg whites in it. I wouldn’t recommend store bought canned icing as it doesn’t have the best flavor. You could always add a little melted butter to the powdered sugar and milk
Great recipe, wished I had read the comments about sicky dough as I had the same issue. Adding dough to the rolling pin and board helped a lot but would recommend an extra 1/2 cup or 1/4 cup of extra flour just so you don’t run into the same issues I did.
Followed recipe wasn’t real sure about having the yeast mixed in with the four but did it any way. The dough rolled out beautiful no sticking just nice and easy ☺️
Problem came did not rise very well even with extra time!! Went ahead and baked not light and fluffy more like a cinnamon biscuit.
I tried this recipe a year ago and just tried it again yesterday and it was amazingggg. But i did notice a problem with the dough. It is extremely sticky. Usually when I make bread, the dough would go from sticky to non-sticky but it’s the opposite with this dough. It went from slightly sticky, so I added more bench flour as I kept hand kneading it to more and more sticky again. But it passed the windowpane test so I stopped there afterwards. Can I add less liquid? And do you have a cream cheese frosting recipe for this cinnamon roll?
Hi Veronica, How did your baked rolls turn out? There are a lot of variables that go into the consistency of dough, even down to the weather and humidity in the air. There’s nothing wrong with adding just a little more flour to bring the dough into a less sticky and knead-able consistency. You can certainly try adding a bit less liquid next time also. We love the cream cheese frosting from these Overnight Cinnamon Rolls.
The rolls actually turned out amazing! I made 9 in total using your recipe (guess I cut bigger rolls) and they proof super nicely during the 2nd time, I don’t think I’ve seen them doubling that big before when I made bread. The only problem was how it was super sticky even kneading it for so long. But how much liquid should I add less, in the milk or water section? Or less butter?
First time making cinnamon rolls. They came out great. Thank you.
I’ve made these dozens of times during Covid. My family loves them, easy and delicous.
I made these just this morning. Just TOO wet of a dough. Had it sticking everywhere and the point I couldn’t roll it up. Did the best I could but don’t see using this recipe again.
Hi Stella, there are a lot of variables that go into the consistency of dough, even down to the weather and humidity in the air. There’s nothing wrong with adding just a little more flour to bring the dough into a less sticky and knead-able consistency, if you decide to give this recipe another try. Thanks for giving it a go!
That happened to me as well, but I found out I was using 1 3/4 cup flour isted of 2 3/4 cup. Maybe you had a similar problem?
These came out perfect!