This shortcut recipe for quick no yeast cinnamon rolls makes buttery, homestyle rolls that fluff up beautifully—and in record time! Since you’re skipping the yeast, you can also skip the traditional dough rising and kneading and have cinnamon rolls in about 40 minutes. They’re perfect for the times you crave homemade cinnamon rolls, and don’t want to wait!
You know when you wake up and think, “I wish I could have homemade cinnamon rolls right now,” and then you remember you have to wait a million hours for dough to rise and you cry into your boring bowl of cereal? …No? Just me?
I’ve been on a quest to develop a recipe for quick cinnamon rolls that maintain all the flavor and fluff without the patience and work that yeast requires. (Because, in reality, I’m tired but still want to bake something. LOL.) My homemade cinnamon rolls take about 4 and 1/2 hours, or need to be prepped the night before. Even my easy cinnamon rolls require patience, rising, and kneading.
So if you want from-scratch cinnamon rolls NOW, make today’s no yeast version.
These No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls Are:
- Convenient if you’re busy and tired but still want homemade cinnamon rolls.
- Ready in less than 45 minutes.
- Soft, fluffy, and buttery.
- NOT dense! Surprisingly not dense at all!
- Packed with sweet brown sugar and cinnamon spice.
- Slathered with tangy cream cheese icing.
- Perfect as a special breakfast without all the work and waiting.
Plus, there’s NO kneading, NO rising, and the dough comes together in just 1 bowl. And you can bake them in a pie dish, cake pan, or even as cinnamon roll muffins. This recipe is dynamite.
Key Ingredients & Why This Recipe Works
I used my easy cinnamon rolls dough as the starting point for today’s no yeast version. It’s a popular recipe and I knew it would be perfect as the foundation. From there, I made the following changes:
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Since we’re skipping yeast, we need to replace it with another leavener. (Unless you want to eat cinnamon hockey pucks for breakfast!) I tried the dough with only baking powder at first, but quickly learned the dense rolls benefitted from a little baking soda as well. With the crutch of baking soda, the next batch browned a little nicer and fluffed up more.
- More Melted Butter: Like my chocolate chip cookies, this recipe excels with melted butter! The melted butter helps create a chewy bread-like texture, plus it seeps into every nook and cranny so you can really taste the buttery goodness. Compared with my regular cinnamon rolls recipe, I added a little extra butter for more flavor.
- Cold Buttermilk: Since we’re using a little baking soda, we need an acid in the dough. Buttermilk does the job, plus it also adds a little tang, a little fluff, and a little softness. (Like it does in pancakes!) And grab the buttermilk right from the refrigerator because cold milk keeps the otherwise soft and buttery dough workable.
Baking soda, melted butter, and buttermilk are also key ingredients in my no yeast bread recipe.
After a few trials and errors, I was shocked with the final result. These no yeast cinnamon rolls taste similar to the yeasted version and only took me about 40 minutes total. Obviously they’re not as flaky and doughy as the traditional, but I don’t think anyone would EVER notice or complain that there’s no yeast. (My 10+ taste testers ooh’d and ahh’d without batting an eye!)
Here are all of the ingredients you need for the dough & filling:
How to Make Quick No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls
You can go from craving to eating warm, gooey from-scratch cinnamon rolls in record time. Here’s how my recipe works:
- Make the dough: Whisk the dry ingredients together, then add in the wet ingredients. The dough should be quite soft, but not overly sticky.
- Shape the cinnamon rolls: Roll the dough into a 10×14-inch rectangle. This measurement doesn’t need to be exact, so don’t stress. Spread butter on top and then sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Tightly roll up the dough and cut into 12 pieces. Place in a greased pan.
- Bake: Bake until the rolls puff up and look golden brown, about 22–26 minutes.
- Make the icing: While the cinnamon rolls bake, make the icing using cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Eat: Slather the icing on your warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!
Here are step-by-step photos so you know what to expect:
The assembly steps are exactly like regular cinnamon rolls, only without the rise time.
Before cutting, you can mark the 14-inch log with a knife to ensure you have 12 even rolls. That’s what I usually do:
Success Tip: Expect a Soft Dough
Do not incorporate more flour than you need in this dough. I want you to embrace a soft dough. Instead of mixing more flour INTO the dough to make it workable, use extra flour when shaping the rolls. If the dough is sticking to your counter and rolling pin as you work, dust it all with more flour.
Bottom line: Mixing in more flour than you need could result in crumbly, dense rolls. Instead, use it when assembling the rolls.
Cream Cheese Frosting
This cream cheese icing uses a little more butter and a little less confectioners’ sugar than the icing I typically use on cinnamon rolls. But I love that it doesn’t use gobs of confectioners’ sugar; it’s a nice creamy, buttery, tangy blanket for your rolls. You could also try the maple version used on these pumpkin cinnamon rolls, or for a simpler topping, try this vanilla icing instead.
Can I Bake These as Cinnamon Roll Muffins?
Yes! If you love the slightly crusty, chewy exterior of a cinnamon roll that’s been baked closest to the edge of the pan, try baking these no yeast cinnamon rolls as muffins. After cutting your 12 rolls, place them in a greased standard 12-count muffin pan. Each roll gets that crusty edge all the way around, and they puff up beautifully when they bake. Such a fun recipe!
If you ever need an even quicker and easier option, these mini (no yeast) cinnamon buns use packaged crescent dough.
And if you’re on a roll (ha!), try these cinnamon roll cookies too. 😉
See Your No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
PrintQuick No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This shortcut recipe yields a dozen classic, homestyle cinnamon rolls that fluff up beautifully—without any yeast, kneading, or rise time. They’re perfect for the times you crave homemade cinnamon rolls, and don’t want to wait!
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 and 3/4 cups (345g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for rolling
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup (180ml) buttermilk, cold*
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled
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 brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) butter, softened to room temperature
- 2/3 cup (80g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and grease a round 9-inch pie dish or 9-inch cake pan. (See Notes for muffin pan instructions.) For extra buttery rolls, I like to grease the baking dish with 1–2 teaspoons of melted butter instead of non-stick spray.
- Make the dough: Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Add the egg, buttermilk, and melted butter. Mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a dough forms. Dough will be very soft and slightly sticky. If it’s too sticky and wouldn’t roll, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until dough seems workable. Do not add more flour than you need; a soft dough is good.
- Place dough on a floured work surface and, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough into a 10×14-inch (25x35cm) rectangle.
- Fill the rolls: Spread softened butter (the softer it is, the easier it is to spread!) all over the dough. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle all over the top. Roll it up tightly into a 14-inch log. Using a very sharp knife, cut into 12 rolls; each roll is slightly wider than 1 inch. Arrange rolls in the prepared pan.
- Bake the rolls: Bake for 22–26 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. 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: If absolutely needed, you can make the dough and assemble the rolls the night before. Cover and refrigerate, then bring to room temperature before baking as directed. The rolls don’t puff up quite as nicely since the baking powder initially activates once wet. For best results, bake right away.
- Freezing Instructions: Baked rolls can be frozen for up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up before enjoying.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Pie Dish or 9-inch Cake Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Wooden Spoon or Rubber Spatula | Rolling Pin | Cooling Rack | Icing Spatula
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe, but in a pinch you can make your own DIY version of buttermilk if needed. Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 3/4 cup. Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Cinnamon Roll Muffins: You can bake these rolls in a greased standard 12-count muffin pan. No need for muffin liners. Bake time is about 20 minutes.
- Icing Alternatives: If cream cheese isn’t your favorite, you could top the rolls with vanilla icing, the brown sugar icing from these pumpkin donuts, maple icing from maple cinnamon rolls, or even the caramel icing from apple cinnamon rolls. Lots of options!
This recipe is going to be one of my favorites t make, for simple grab & go breakfast!! It was so quick and easy!!! I will probably add a bit more filling next time but that’s just personal preference! Such a fun and easy recipe!
These were easy and delicious! I made the muffin version, baked them a little under 20 minutes, and they turned out great. Sally’s vanilla icing recipe was a perfect complement!
Easy and very good.
Tasty and extremely easy. I followed the recipe exactly and wouldn’t make any changes. It’s definitely not the same as the traditional two-rise yeasted recipe, but it’s a good recipe to have on hand when you want cinnamon rolls on short notice.
Yummy, easy recipe! A very good introduction to making cinnamon rolls.
Definitely a quick and easy recipe. The rolls were more biscuit like than my yeast cinnamon rolls but still very tasty. Did not have enough brown sugar so mixed with organic cane sugar. Worked out fine. Could half the cream cheese frosting recipe and still have plenty.
This recipe is such a keeper!!!!!!!! My whole family LOVED it so much. It reminded me of my Grandma’s home made monkey bread. So quick and easy too! Thanks for such a great recipe!!!!!!!!!
This was a great simple recipe. I was afraid it wasn’t going to have enough filling but the flavor came through beautifully. I used the maple icing since I didn’t have cream cheese on hand. I substituted a tsp of maple extract instead of maple syrup.
Delicious!
I really fudged this recipe (making half a recipe with a whole egg). The idea to make the rolls in muffin tins worked great, though! Like some other reviewers noted, I might have added more filling. The amount of cream cheese frosting was perfect, however! Thanks, Sally and team for another very accessible recipe!
This recipe is a knock-out. The dough was so easy to work with. I added golden raisins and had a delightful breakfast. Kudos, Sally, for perfecting this recipe!
These were pretty tasty for non-yeasted cinnamon rolls. I don’t think anyone would confuse them for yeasted cinnamon rolls, but they are a good biscuit type cinnamon roll. I agree they could have used a little more cinnamon filling and I would probably try baking them at a lower temperature or in a different pan because mine were a little crispy/dry where they touched the pan. The middle rolls were very soft and light. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
These cinnamon buns went together so easily and even though I expected the dough to be hard to work with, it really wasn’t. This is definitely a winner for last minute cinnamon roll requests from the kids! Thanks for another great recipe!
This recipe is so easy and tasted delish! Very light. Really nice on a winters day
( Australia)
Amazing! I used a honey glaze and they turned out beautifully! Thanks again for the great recipes!
Delicious! I skipped out on the cream cheese frosting and settled for a simple vanilla glaze. I was really worried when making the dough, because it was SO sticky, but I kept with it and was pleasantly surprised!
I subbed in whole wheat flour and coconut sugar. They don’t look as nice as regular yeasted cinnamon rolls but they taste delicious! And so much faster!
I actually prefer these to traditional! These are more moist and tender, very flavorful and easy too. We loved them with the caramel icing option.
These certainly smell like the yeasted version! To avoid any dryness, I let the dough sit, covered in plastic wrap, for 20 minutes before I rolled it out. (I do this with most of my bread/rolls dough. ) I also lowered the temp to 365 after I tented it with foil. It took a little longer to bake, but they were definitely not dry.
The icing is lovely but this recipe yields about twice as much as you need.
I love this idea in theory but the execution was pretty weak. The dough is dry and flavorless and it could use at least x1.5 (probably more like x2) the cinnamon filling.
This recipe was great: easy to follow instructions, no ingredient substitutions or recipe tweaking needed, and the rolls were enjoyed and devoured by all. Thank you!
So yummy!! A bit different from traditional yeast cinnamon rolls with its own unique deliciousness! Easy to make and ready quickly. A great Saturday morning breakfast treat.
I made these for breakfast today, and they were a hit with my family. While I agree the texture differs from a yeasted cinnamon roll, these have cinnamon and are shaped like a roll, so I’ll count them as such. Absolutely delicious and so easy! Thank you for another great recipe Sally and team!
I tried this recipe as a part of the August 2022 baking challenge. If you only have 45 minutes this recipe is great. My family said they preferred the yeast ones I usually make but these were still good. My kids said they wanted a little more filling. I think we are used to super gooey cinnamon rolls. I’ll add a little more if we make it again. Overall, they came together quickly and were pretty good. Thanks for a quick cinnamon roll recipe! I’ve been on the hunt for one for awhile.
Very easy to follow recipe. Came together quickly. I used whole wheat flour and it came out yummy!
A great biscuit type cinnamon roll! Ours came out crusty on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Different texture than my usual cinnamon rolls but definitely will be in the rotation as they came together SO quick I think my oven bakes hot so next time I’ll lower the temp to 350F to maybe lead to less browning.
Fun and easy to make and sooo delicious. I made the vanilla icing because I forgot to pick up cream cheese- still so good!
I was really looking forward to these but the dough seemed really dry. The icing wasn’t my favorite. I’ll probably try the maple frosting next time
These were so easy to make and melt-in-your-mouth buttery! We only had 3 left after breakfast this morning, and I’m betting they’ll disappear by lunch as my boys walk through the kitchen. I usually only make cinnamon rolls on holidays and birthdays because it’s so time consuming, but these took about as much time as making pancakes or waffles from scratch. These are now going to be a regular weekend breakfast!
This recipe is the bomb. Quick, simple to make and oh so tasty!! Thank you for this delicious recipe it’s a keeper
This was way too easy and perfect for me haha! I couldn’t wait to until morning to eat one!