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!
Keywords: no yeast cinnamon rolls
I wanted to love this recipe, but it wasn’t my favorite. I baked them a combined time of about 60 minutes and they are still doughy in the middle. I love Cinnamon buns and these just fell a little flat for me. This is the first of your recipes that I’ve tried that didn’t turn out, though. I love this website! Thank you for the challenge!
★★★
I have to revise my previous comment; I found out today that one element in my oven was broken, and that’s why the cinnamon buns weren’t baking properly. Oops! I will have to retry these when my oven is working properly again!
I forgot to add the rating to my previous comment.
★★★★★
So fast and so easy! Not as fluffy as regular cinnamon rolls but definitely would make again.
These were incredible! I may actually prefer the texture of these to yeast rolls. I made them on a whim on a weekday to surprise my family with a treat for breakfast. They loved them! These rolls come together so quickly and easily. The cream cheese icing is what takes them over the top.
★★★★★
Cinnamon rolls are one of my favorite sweets and I love that this recipe let me satisfy my craving without having to go through the longer processes of a dough with yeast. These cinnamon rolls have a texture that resembles a biscuit, but they are still a delicious! I made them in a muffin pan and they can out quite beautiful! Would be a nice looking, yet easy snack idea for a gathering
★★★★★
What a challenge! I underestimated it because yeast was not involved, but here the flour becomes the tricky part: I had to add a bit more flour to the dough, as it was super-sticky and impossible to roll. I was afraid of getting it too dry, so I stopped when it looked okay… I rolled the dough into a rectangle and it seemed good enough, I added the filling, but then… what a struggle to roll it up!
Yet it was delicious anyway after baking *_* A good reason to try it again, and adjust the flour better.
Oh, and I replaced the cinnamon filling with Nutella, and on his first bite my husband said it tasted like a muffin-sized Nutella babka, which was exactly what I hoped to get.
★★★★★
These turned out amazing! Definitely my new favorite over the traditional yeasted style. I thought at first there would be too much icing, but I put it all on anyway, and it was the perfect amount.
★★★★★
I absolutely love a classic cinnamon roll but so grateful to now have this recipe in my reportoire for the days you need a sugar fix but can’t wait hours! Not as soft as the usual but delicious nonetheless. Would definitely make it again. 🙂
★★★★★
The second time I made it, I had to run with the rolls to take a picture before my family gobbled everything up! Absolutely delish. Will definitely make them again.
★★★★★
Delicious cinnamon rolls and so much easier than traditional yeasted ones. I will still make ones with yeast once in a while but these will definitely be on the menu too. Not too sweet, so perfect for breakfast and everyone loved them.
★★★★★
I made these for a trip up north! They came out amazing. Easy to make and I put them in muffin tin so they would be individual.
Easier than I thought! My dough was very sticky, but I didn’t want to risk a dense roll so I didn’t add any flour. They weren’t super pretty, but they tasted so good!
★★★★★
I made this recipe today and I can already tell it’s going to be a new favourite! All the deliciousness of cinnamon rolls without having to plan in advance so I’ve got time for proofing. They came out really well first time – I didn’t have to make any adjustments to the recipe, the amount of flour was just perfect and I got a nice soft dough.
The rolls were so fluffy and delicious – they had a way softer texture than I was expecting. It’s a bit addictive, I can’t wait to try them for breakfast! I’m in the UK and can never find American-style cream cheese, so I topped mine with the ‘Perfect Vanilla Icing’ instead. I will definitely be coming back to this recipe in the future! 😀
★★★★★
I’m glad I tried this recipe! It was definitely different from a yeasted cinnamon recipe (and I still would say I prefer the longer method) but these are good in a pinch.
★★★
This is a quick and easy recipe. . The result is not really similar to yeast cinnamon rolls, but still good! They’re especially good when served warm with icing. I think if they were called cinnamon roll biscuits, people would think better of them, because they will not be expecting the traditional cinnamon roll.
★★★★
Hi! Just made them with my kids … We enjoy them warm and they are really good! Thank you!!
★★★★★
These were easy and fast to make. The best part is how delicious they turn out. Bonus- they are kid approved!
★★★★★
I usually make yeast cinnamon rolls, but these came together so fast and were really very good. My husband (he does not eat sweets in the morning) finished the plate. So I will be making these again and again! Thank you Sally!
For as easy and fast as this recipe is, these rolls are awesome! Not too sweet. They are more like biscuits-and they don’t last long at my house!
★★★★★
Had these for breakfast this morning, sitting on our deck and enjoying the sunshine. These are very yummy, and the recipe is much simpler that yeasted cinnamon rolls, as promised. The only issue I had was rolling up the dough – it was sticky and tore in a few places. That was due to user error, I’m sure, since I was being very careful not to add too much flour like it says in the recipe. In the end it didn’t matter because I chose to put the rolls in a muffin pan, so the few torn spots couldn’t be seen!
★★★★★
Perfect the first time!
I made the cinnamon rolls an evening prior to a breakfast garden club meeting and frosted them in the morning. Perfect! A big hit!
Had to make a second batch so my husband could taste them. I mixed the dry ingredients in a covered bowl, and the cinnamon and brown sugar as well the evening before to save time in the morning. I mixed up my “butter milk” too. Set out the egg and butter, and in the morning was all set to go!!
I added chopped pecans to the cinnamon-sugar-butter layer. Happy family!
I experimented with making 6 rolls in a muffin pan, 5 in a small baking dish, and one in a silicone muffin cup. All worked perfectly well! I prefer the muffin tins!
★★★★★
Really good frosting and easy to follow recipe. Will try the butter for the pan next time for more gooey texture!
★★★★
Made these because I had no time for yeast rolls. They were good but different than classic yeast options. Still really good. They didn’t last an entire day.
I made these this morning for Sally’s August Challenge and they were delicious! My husband doesn’t usually like sweets for breakfast, but he loved these! The frosting isn’t too sweet and it pairs so well with the cinnamon roll! Thanks for another great recipe, Sally!
★★★★★
So good!
While the recipe turned out fine, it was lacking the classic flavor and texture you expect from cinnamon rolls. I wouldn’t make these again.
★★★
This was a quick, easy soft biscuit cinnamon roll recipe. We made 8 rolls in a pie pin and the remaining 4 in a small glass dish. One family member commented the next time we make the rolls, we need to add nuts to the filling and more powdered sugar to the icing. They were a nice treat warm from the oven.
★★★★★
Love that you don’t need to plan ahead to make these! They came out great!
★★★★★
I have made a different Cinnamon roll recipe from Sally, but decided to give this a try! They didn’t rise much in the oven, but the taste and flavor were great!!
★★★★
Mine rose beautifully! I have found that replacing my baking powder even if it’s not empty is sometimes a good idea!
I love this version of cinnamon rolls! it came together so quickly mixing by hand and it was easy to roll out. Definitely a nice way to get cinnamon rolls in a fraction of the time!
★★★★★
These were really good, but I was missing the yeast a little. Great for a quick go to and I would make again
My first time to make cinnamon rolls and they turned out great! Your video was helpful in making them, especially seeing how you roll up the dough.
★★★★★
Easy, fast, and delicious. Highly recommend. They definitely aren’t the same as a yeasted cinnamon roll but they’re delicious none the less!
★★★★★