Fluffy, gooey, and pillowy soft Vegan Cinnamon Rolls are perfect for lazy weekends or special occasions. You will love how the puffy outside and melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon filling inside pair together. Comparable to a vegan Cinnabon recipe, your non-vegan guests won’t even notice a difference!
One of my all-time favorite breakfast foods is cinnamon rolls! There’s nothing better than sleeping in on a Saturday morning and heading to the kitchen to devour a freshly baked cinnamon roll. It just gives me the warm and fuzzies!
These homemade vegan cinnamon rolls are everything you dream of a perfect cinnamon roll being. They’re soft and fluffy with a plush pillowy texture.
It’s so much healthier to make cinnamon rolls from scratch since you know every single ingredient that goes into them, unlike refrigerated/canned cinnamon buns that are filled with processed oils and unnecessary ingredients. This means it wouldn’t be completely out of the question to have 2 or 3 extra helpings, right?? 🙂
What’s even better is these are fairly easy to make, just as easy as making a traditional cinnamon roll.
I have an important question for you: do you say cinnamon rolls or cinnamon buns? I pretty much always say cinnamon rolls, but I’m curious to hear what the consensus is on this!
How to make Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to make this recipe with the full ingredient list and instructions below!
Step 1: Prepare the Dough
In a large bowl, add your dry active yeast, sugar, and milk. Do not stir, just let it sit for 5-10 minutes until you see it starting to foam. If the mixture hasn’t foamed after 10 minutes, the yeast is probably dead and won’t work for the recipe. If your yeast foams, add in some vanilla extract and melted vegan butter.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and baking powder. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing well after each addition. You may need to add an extra 1/4 cup flour, but only do so if the dough is still very sticky. You do not want it to dry out.
Form the dough into a ball, adding a tablespoon of almond milk if needed. The dough might be crumbly, which is fine. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 1 hour.
While the dough is rising, make the cinnamon sugar by adding coconut sugar (brown sugar works too), cinnamon, and nutmeg. The nutmeg is optional but enhances the cinnamon flavor in my opinion.
Step 2: Create the Rolls
Once the dough has risen, knead for 3-5 minutes. Lightly flour a clean surface and start rolling out the dough into a large rectangle with approximately 1/4 inch thickness.
Brush the dough with vegan butter or, for a lower fat option, almond milk. Dash with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Don’t be shy with the cinnamon and sugar filling since you really want the flavor to stand out.
Tightly roll up the dough lengthwise.
I like using floss to cut the dough into rolls since it’s much easier than trying to get a sharp knife to cut through sticky dough. All you need to do is place a long string of floss under the dough log, pull the floss into a tight knot, and voila! An easy way to create rolls.
Note: this recipe makes approximately 6-8 buns depending on how large you create them.
Once your rolls have been cut, pack them tightly into a greased baking dish. This makes them super pull-apart-pillowy when they’re baked together. Cover them with a towel again and let rise for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Bake
Brush the tops with vegan butter (or almond milk) and pop them in the oven at 350 degrees F for 17-20 minutes. Let them slightly cool before serving.
When they cool down, top them with a simple powdered-sugar/almond milk glaze. Here they are in all their glory!
How to Prevent Dry Cinnamon Rolls?
I struggled with the dreaded dry cinnamon roll a couple of times until I finally figured out what was going wrong. Here are some troubleshooting tips:
- Don’t add too much flour. It’s important that you slowly add in the flour to prevent all the moisture from being depleted. Only add in extra flour if your dough is super sticky.
- Adjust for your elevation. If you’re 3,000 feet above sea level, you will need to make a few adjustments with anything you bake, including vegan cinnamon rolls. Since the climate is drier the higher the elevation, try decreasing your baking powder by 1/8th of a teaspoon and adding 1-2 extra tablespoons of almond milk. You can also bake them in the oven at a temperature 25 degrees higher than the instructions list and bake 3-6 minutes less.
- Keep them covered after baking. When you’re finished baking and the rolls have cooled, make sure they are in a tightly sealed container to lock in the moisture and prevent from drying out. You can keep them at room temperature for 3 days or the refrigerator for 5 days.
Can I make these the night before?
Yep! And it’s simple to do. Just prepare the cinnamon rolls as usual and snuggly place them in a baking tray or casserole dish, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator overnight. Then when you’re ready to bake the cinnamon buns, just preheat the oven, remove the plastic wrap, and bake as per the recipe instructions.
This comes in handy when you have company or are hosting for the holidays!
Can I freeze these cinnamon rolls?
Absolutely! I recommend freezing them after they’ve been baked and cooled, then transferring them into a freezer-friendly container. When you’re ready to eat them, they can go straight from the freezer to a baking tray and into the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes. You can also microwave frozen cinnamon rolls for 45 seconds for a quick and easy breakfast.
More Vegan Recipes:
Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1/2 Cup Almond Milk
- 1 1/4 tsp Dry Active Yeast
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 2 1/4 Cup Flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 Cup Vegan Butter
For the Filling
- 2 Tbsp Melted Vegan Butter (or almond milk)
- 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 Cup Coconut Sugar (or brown sugar)
For the Glaze
- 2 Tbsp Almond Milk
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
For the Cinnamon Rolls
- In a large bowl, add warm milk, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and dry active yeast. Allow mixture to proof/foam for 10 minutes.
- In a separate bowl whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and remaining sugar.
- Once the yeast mixture becomes foamy, add in vegan melted butter and vanilla extract. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, stirring in between each addition. Form the dough into a ball. Add in 1/4 cup flour only if the dough is sticky. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rise for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and remaining sugar.
- Once the dough has risen, lightly flour a clean surface and knead the dough for 3-5 minutes. Roll into a large rectangle with approximately 1/4 inch thickness. Brush the dough with melted vegan butter or almond milk and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Tightly roll and cut 6-8 evenly sized rolls
- Place each roll in a lightly greased baking tray. Cover with a towel and allow to rise for an additional 30 minutes.
- Brush the tops with vegan butter and bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 17-20 minutes or until golden. Let cool before topping with the glaze and serving.
For the Glaze
- Mix the powdered sugar, almond milk, and vanilla extract together. Add an extra tablespoon of almond milk at a time for a thinner consistency, or leave the glaze as-is for a thicker one.
Notes
- Double-check your yeast isn’t dead by adding milk and sugar and allowing to proof. If the mixture does not foam, the yeast is likely dead and will not work for the cinnamon rolls
- The easiest way to cut the dough into rolls is by using floss. Simply wrap the floss under the dough log and tie it tightly into a knot.
- If you live 3,000 feet above sea level, remember to properly adjust for baking by decreasing the baking powder by 1/8tsp and adding an extra tablespoon of almond milk to the wet ingredients. You can also increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for 12-5 minutes.
- Adjust the glaze to your preference by adding more almond milk for a thinner consistency, or less for a thicker one.
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