Easy cinnamon rolls are a made-from-scratch soft cinnamon roll recipe that’s ready in just one hour! Great for breakfast or for dessert.
I love quick and easy yeast bread recipes!
Over the past few years, I’ve come up with several roll and knot recipes that can all be made from scratch in an hour or less. Even my monkey bread recipe uses a quick homemade dough.
I’ve made several versions of one hour cinnamon rolls over the years, and this one is great for beginners. I adapted the dough from my 60 minute roll recipe.
It makes for a nice, soft roll. Then, I added a cinnamon sugar filling that has plenty of both cinnamon and sugar. It’s more crumbly than a normal cinnamon roll filling, but it makes for a roll with plenty of gooey filling.
Then, I topped the rolls with a thick cream cheese frosting. The frosting isn’t too sweet so that it balances nicely with the gooey cinnamon rolls.
These one hour cinnamon rolls are the perfect thing to make any time that the craving strikes, but you don’t want to spend all day waiting for cinnamon rolls to rise.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Milk: Any milk from skim milk to whole milk will work. Whole milk will give you a slightly softer, richer dough.
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe.
- Cream cheese: I use regular cream cheese, but reduced-fat cream cheese would also work. I don’t recommend using fat-free cream cheese in this recipe.
How to make cinnamon rolls
Step 1: Heat the milk, sugar, and butter in a saucepan until the butter melts. Let the mixture cool to 100-105F.
Step 2: Pour the milk mixture, yeast, and warm water into the bowl of a large mixing bowl.
Tip >> If using instant yeast, continue with the recipe. If using active dry yeast, let the yeast sit for 5-10 minutes, or until foamy.
Step 3: Add 2 cups of the flour and salt. Continue adding flour until the dough clears the side of the bowl.
Step 4: Cover the dough and let rise for 10 minutes.
Step 5: Roll out dough into a 12×16-inch rectangle.
Step 6: Stir filling ingredients together, and spread over dough.
Tip >> Since the filling is a little crumbly, I gently press it into the dough to help it stick.
Step 7: Spread the filling over the dough.
Step 8: Roll up lengthwise, pinching the seam.
Step 9: Slice cinnamon roll dough with a serrated knife and place in the prepared pan. Bake.
Step 10: While the rolls are baking, prepare the frosting. Beat the butter and cream cheese together.
Step 11: Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix in until combined. Let the baked cinnamon rolls cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
Step 12: Spread the frosting over the warm cinnamon rolls.
Recipe FAQs
I don’t recommend it. These cinnamon rolls were meant to be made in a shorter time with shorter rising times. Letting the dough rise longer can lead to an over-risen dough.
You can! Just mix the dough by hand and add an additional 2 minutes to the kneading time.
It does! Water that is too cool will slow the rising down. Water that’s too hot will kill the yeast and the dough will not rise.
Storage
Store any leftover cinnamon rolls in an airtight container. The cinnamon rolls are best eaten in the first 2 days.
More easy sweet roll recipes!
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Easy Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 1/3 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 ½ teaspoons instant yeast
- 3/4 cup warm water 105F – 115F
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup butter softened
Frosting
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1/4 cup cream cheese softened
- 1 ½ cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan; set aside.
- In a small saucepan, stir milk, sugar, and butter together. Heat over low heat just until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to about 100-105 F.
- Pour the milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add the yeast and warm water.
- Add 2 cups flour and salt to yeast mixture. Using a dough hook, mix on low speed for about 1 minute.
- With the mixer still going, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Mix about 1 ½ minutes, or until dough starts to clean the sides of the bowl.
- Knead on low speed for about 2 more minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic – the dough will still be slightly sticky to the touch.
- Place dough in a greased bowl, turning it to grease the top. Cover the dough with a clean, dry dish towel.
- Let it rise in a warm place, free from draft, for about 10 minutes.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface, and roll into a 12×16-inch rectangle.
- Stir filling ingredients together, and spread over dough. Since the filling is a little crumbly, I gently press it into the dough to help it stick.
- Roll up lengthwise, pinching seam to seal.
- Cut into 12 pieces, and place in prepared baking dish. I use a serrated knife to cut the dough.
- Cover the baking dish with the dish towel, and let the dough rise for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 F.
- Bake at 20-25 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown.
- While the rolls are baking, prepare the frosting.
- Beat butter and cream cheese together until combined.
- On low, mix in powdered sugar and vanilla until well-combined.
- Let the cinnamon rolls cool for 5 minutes, and then spread frosting over warm cinnamon rolls.
Notes
- Milk: Any milk from skim milk to whole milk will work. Whole milk will give you a slightly softer, richer dough.
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe.
- Cream cheese: I use regular cream cheese, but reduced-fat cream cheese would also work. I don’t recommend using fat-free cream cheese in this recipe.
- Nutrition facts are estimates.
Nutrition
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Original published 3/6/19.
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Comments & Reviews
Krystal Faulkner says
These were the first cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made and were so easy. I was wondering if you can substitute buttermilk for regular milk?
Kate says
I’m so glad to hear that! Yes, buttermilk will work.
Rebecca L Saadeh says
These are fabulous and the easiest cinnamon roll recipe I’ve ever made, my husband ate the whole pan in a day and a half ha ha. I’m wondering if I can make them the night before and refrigerate before baking? Also, I’m trying to think through how to make them smaller For serving at a brunch where people might not want that much sweet because of the other things on the buffet. Struggling to think this went through. Happy for any tips!
Kate says
Yes, you can refrigerate them overnight before baking. You may need to let them rise a bit before baking. I usually have to set the rolls out for about 30-60 minutes before baking. You should be able to just cut the rolls smaller for smaller rolls.
Ellie says
Wonderful…it was amazing how quick and easy the ingredients came together and made such delicious rolls. I put a couple in the freezer to see how they would thaw….again, wonderful.
I made a simple glaze as my husband doesn’t care for cream cheese and put some pecans on top….so good…
I may try baking the dough as a bread…I will let you know if or when I do and how it came out.
Thank you so much for this recipe…it is definitely a keeper.
Kate says
Thank you so much!
Noor says
Hai kate, what should I do if I want to make it as a frozen dough?
Thank you
Kate says
Hi! At which point would you like to freeze the dough?
Emma Kry says
Amazing
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked the cinnmamon rolls! =)
Elena Müller says
Cinnamon rolls and sticky buns are sure very tasty for traditional breakfasts. What a pity, that we can not afford to eat them every day without feeling guilty. Thank you very much for a very good recipe.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad that you liked it. =) Thanks for commenting!
James says
Excellent recipe used 3 times with superb results
Thank you!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked them! Thanks for commenting! =)
Judy says
Please start adding the name of the recipe and your site to the pics of your recipes so I’ll know it’s your recipe I’m making and not someone else’s. Thanks!!
Kate says
Hi! Are you concerned when you’re looking through my site or a different site (like Pinterest)? When you’re on I Heart Eating, all of the recipes and photos are mine. I have made every single recipe and taken every single photo on the site. =) Almost every recipe has a photo with the title of the recipe. I have 600+ recipes, and there are a few that I’ve missed. However, if you ever have any questions about the recipe while on my site, please let me know, and I’ll be happy to answer those questions.
Linda says
Some of the best cinnamon rolls I’ve had! This recipe is very easy to follow, and the cinnamon buns are delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
Kate says
Yay! I’m so glad! Thank you for coming back to comment! =)