Soft & Fluffy Easy Vegan Cinnamon Rolls (Overnight Option)
These unbelievably vegan cinnamon rolls are honestly the best cinnamon rolls you will ever eat! Even non-vegans LOVE them! Soft, fluffy, sweet, and cinnamon-y, and they’re incredibly easy to make with a straight forward method and an overnight option too. You’ll be a vegan cinnamon bun pro in no time, and you won’t even miss the dairy nor the eggs!
These cinnamon rolls are SO good that I had to develop a small batch cinnamon roll recipe that gives you just 6 giant rolls (because this full batch version is just TOO EASY to keep eating)!
Quick Look: Vegan Cinnamon Rolls (Overnight Option)
- Method: Four step-process; make the dough, rest the dough, roll into cinnamon rolls, then bake!
- Why Make THIS Version? Not only is this recipe incredibly easy, but non-vegan readers have said these rolls are better than Cinnabon.
- Secret to Success: Use dairy-free yogurt in lieu of eggs (or any vegan egg replacement for that matter!). The results are incredible!
- Key Ingredients: All-purpose flour, dairy-free yogurt, dairy-free milk, vegan butter, yeast, sugar.
- Calories/Serving: 362 kcal.
- Pairs Well With: Hot coffee, cold milk, and fresh fruit!
- Freezer-Friendly: Yes. Freeze your finished cinnamon rolls for up to 3 months. You can also freeze the dough to bake later!
Table of contents
- Quick Look: Vegan Cinnamon Rolls (Overnight Option)
- Why you’ll love these AMAZING vegan cinnamon rolls
- Ingredients and substitutions:
- How to make the BEST easy vegan cinnamon rolls:
- Vegan Cinnamon Rolls FAQ’s
- Final Cinnamon Roll Tips & Tricks
- How to make overnight cinnamon rolls:
- Watch how to make vegan cinnamon rolls:
- Soft & Fluffy Easy Vegan Cinnamon Rolls (Overnight Option) Recipe
Why you’ll love these AMAZING vegan cinnamon rolls
This is the only vegan cinnamon roll recipe you’ll ever need. Seriously, they’ve been fully approved by even non-vegan eaters, who have noted that they’d prefer these to the classic! These cinnamon rolls are truly my favorite vegan breakfast recipes to make (next to the ultimate vegan French toast, super fluffy vegan buttermilk pancakes, and vegan baked oatmeal recipe!).
This post is packed with all of the tips, tricks, and troubleshooting questions to ensure that your vegan cinnamon rolls are undetectably healthy, dairy-free, low in sugar, lower in fat, and refined sugar free!
These vegan cinnamon rolls are:
- Soft, tender, and fluffy
- Just like the classic cinnamon buns you remember as a kid! The taste and texture are identical!
- Full of gooey cinnamon sugar filling
- Super easy to make
- Stress-free using the overnight option
- Perfect for Christmas breakfast or holiday brunch
- Approved by all eaters (meaning some were vegan, some were not, some were dairy free, some were not!)
With a super gooey and sweet cinnamon filling, and the creamiest cinnamon roll icing, any vegan skeptics will be absolutely speechless when they try these cinnamon rolls!
In fact, that’s why this is the base recipe for my other delicious sweet rolls recipes, from my vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls, banana bread cinnamon rolls, and gingerbread cinnamon rolls to even my newer newer gooey vegan chai cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting!
I even made a JUMBO giant cinnamon roll cake (with maple brown butter no less!!) after this recipe too 🙂 It’s HEAVEN!
Ingredients and substitutions:
- All Purpose Flour: I have worked with bread flour with this recipe, and personally the results are just not the same! If you want plush, soft cinnamon rolls, always use all-purpose flour over bread flour. Bread flour contains more gluten, which in theory sounds nice for a vegan cinnamon roll. But it actually creates too much stiffness in the ultimate bake, making the rolls feel tougher. If you are gluten free, please see my unbelievably gluten free vegan cinnamon rolls!
- Active dry yeast: you can also use rapid-rise yeast. Just be aware that you cannot determine whether the instant/rapid-rise yeast is good or not until you get to the proofing stage! I personally use the active dry yeast from the packet, but I’ve provided gram measurements for anyone who has jarred yeast.
- Dairy-free milk: I like oat milk, soy milk, or cashew milk, but use your favorite dairy-free milk! Almond milk and coconut milk also work great.
- Sugar: Be sure that that the granulated sugar that you’re using is vegan!
- Vegan butter: I am currently making these rolls with only my homemade vegan butter (recipe coming soon!). However, they will work with Country Crock’s plant butter sticks.
- Unsweetened dairy free yogurt: this replaces the eggs found in traditional homemade cinnamon rolls. You can also use applesauce as well!
- Vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon
- Powdered sugar (for the icing)
In terms of equipment, you really don’t need much to make cinnamon rolls:
- A medium and a large bowl (one for mixing, one for rising) and/or a stand mixer
- Rolling pin
- Rectangle or round pan
- Spoon or pastry brush (I prefer the brush for spreading the filling because it yields a more even filling, but you can use a spoon if that’s all you have on hand!)
- Twine or floss or a pizza cutter (you’ll see why I like to use a pizza cutter in the below sections!)
How to make the BEST easy vegan cinnamon rolls:
1. Bloom the yeast: Make sure that your dairy free milk is 110F. Use a food thermometer to check: you won’t be able to detect this with just your hands! Too hot, and the yeast will be deactivated, and too cold and the yeast just won’t activate at all. There is no real trick to fixing this later on in the recipe, so it’s best to get it right the first time!
2. Mix the wet ingredients: Then you’ll add in the dairy free yogurt, sugar, and bloomed yeast mixture to a stand mixer or large bowl. Whisk together to combine.
3. Add in the flour and mix: You’ll add in the flour then turn the stand mixer on to mix on medium speed until a shaggy dough forms.
4. Add in the vegan butter. Continue mixing until you get a smooth and tacky dough, about 10 minutes.
5. Proof until NEARLY double in size. Proofing until doubled in size risks over-proofing. Place the bowl in a warm area to rest for 40-60 minutes (sometimes longer during the winter months).
6. Once nearly doubled in size, we’ll roll out the dough!
7. While the dough is proofing: Make the cinnamon sugar filling by mixing together the vegan butter, light brown sugar, and ground cinnamon.
8. Roll out the dough. The rectangle should be about 12×15″.
9. Smear the filling on top of the dough. Spread it to the edges of the dough.
10. Slice each roll. Use a pizza cutter to slice each roll to be a 1.5×12″ strip. Then individually roll each strip.
Why use a pizza cutter instead of floss for slicing cinnamon rolls:
I’ve used both methods for making cinnamon rolls, and I just adore using a pizza cutter. While you can get really clean and nice slices with the floss, you have even LESS of a chance of squishing the spiral and getting an even more beautiful roll with the pizza cutter.
It takes slightly more time, as you’re slicing each individual roll. But in my mind, it’s worth it!
11. Proof again. We’ll let the rolls proof a second time by the oven until nearly double in size again as the oven preheats to 350F.
12. Drench in heavy cream. Dairy-free heavy cream that is! Then you’ll place into the oven to bake for 28-30 minutes.
The KEY to gooey, plush cinnamon rolls: vegan heavy cream
I’ve tried this recipe with and without heavy cream added to the bottom of the pan just before baking. I LOVE the heavy cream version. The rolls are even softer and more plush and melt in your mouth.
To me, it’s worth it if you want to make these vegan cinnamon rolls really stand out. However, rest assured that this recipe is really just as delicious without if you don’t have access to the heavy cream.
For vegan heavy cream, I recommend using Plant Crock or Silk. You can also use coconut cream! I use this same heavy-cream trick in my gooey vegan pistachio sweet rolls with pistachio cream, which keeps that enriched dough especially soft and plush.
13. Once baked, we’ll let the rolls cool and make our maple cream cheese frosting.
14. Slather on the frosting! Slice and serve!
Vegan Cinnamon Rolls FAQ’s
Not this particular recipe, but try this super quick and easy gluten free vegan cinnamon rolls recipe here! They taste just like the classic!
A good sign that the yeast isn’t activating properly is right at the start. You should see a foamy mixture sitting on top of the liquid when you first activate the yeast. If you don’t and if it doesn’t smell yeast-y, scratch the mixture and start again. However, if you’re already in the process of making the dough and you’re noticing that the dough isn’t rising properly during the first proof, you can try to get it to rise by placing a damp warm towel over the bowl and ensuring it’s in a warm environment. A warm environment is key. A little extra dampness can go a long way too! Here’s another great post that goes into detail about how to determine if your yeast is good.
The key to our vegan egg replacement for these cinnamon rolls is dairy free yogurt. Like I mentioned above, it’s very similar (especially Greek-style) to a traditional egg in terms of nutritional composition. This will in turn produce the same results that an egg would give us in a traditional cinnamon roll recipe.
Final Cinnamon Roll Tips & Tricks
- Make sure that all liquid ingredients that are not heated are room temperature: This mainly is speaking to the applesauce. If you refrigerate your applesauce, simply allow the sauce to come to room temperature before beginning. Cold ingredients when met with hot ingredients will mess up the texture and result of these cinnamon rolls
- Add the glaze or cream cheese icing when the rolls are still warm: This just makes the rolls extra gooey and sweet. They turn out to be essentially like a cinnabon- but WAY better in my opinion! You’ll never know these vegan cinnamon rolls are healthy!
- Check out my guide for troubleshooting yeast: I have a comprehensive and exhaustive guide in my vegan brioche bread that goes over what to do if your bread isn’t rising! This applies to vegan cinnamon roll dough as well 🙂
- Want chocolate cinnamon rolls? I used this recipe to create a small batch chocolate cinnamon roll recipe that is INCREDIBLE!
How to make overnight cinnamon rolls:
If you’re like me, then you probably have zero desire to go through an hour process in the morning of making some vegan cinnamon rolls. It’s the weekend, and you just want something easy!
Not a problem at all. This recipe is easily made the night before, so you can wake up Christmas morning for the easiest holiday breakfast. All you’ll need to do is prepare the cinnamon rolls by following Steps 1-10 below in the recipe card:
- After the second proof, keep the rolls covered and place them in the fridge overnight.
- The next morning, place the vegan cinnamon rolls into the oven (the oven is turned off), and turn on the oven light. Let the rolls warm for 20-25 minutes in the oven.
- Remove the rolls from the oven, and preheat the oven to 350F, while the rolls rest near or on top of the oven (they still need to be in a warm environment).
- Once the oven is preheated, bake per the instructions and ice!
And if you’re planning a holiday brunch and want something even more caramelized, try my gooey vegan maple sticky buns with pecan caramel next.
Watch how to make vegan cinnamon rolls:
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Soft & Fluffy Easy Vegan Cinnamon Rolls (Overnight Option)
- Prep Time: 120
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These unbelievably vegan cinnamon rolls are honestly the best cinnamon rolls you will ever eat! Even non-vegans LOVE them! Soft, fluffy, sweet, and cinnamon-y, and they’re incredibly easy to make with a straight forward method and an overnight option too. You’ll be a vegan cinnamon bun pro in no time!
Ingredients
Vegan Cinnamon Rolls:
- 4 1/4 cups (540 g) + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, divided (plus more for flouring surface)
- 1 packet (7 g) activated yeast
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 1/4 cup (270 mL) dairy-free milk, unsweetened, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (87 g) unsweetened applesauce or dairy free yogurt, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (57 g) salted vegan butter, melted and room temperature
Vegan Cinnamon Roll Filling:
- 1/2 cup (113 g) salted vegan butter, softened
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) vegan heavy cream
Dairy Free Icing:
- 2 (240 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (57 g) vegan butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (57 g) vegan cream cheese, room temperature
Instructions
- Please read through all instructions before beginning. The overnight option and gluten free option are down below in the notes section.
- Prep: Grease a medium sized bowl with olive oil or coconut oil, and set aside. Make sure the vegan butter for the dough is melted and cooled.
- Activate the yeast: In microwave-safe bowl, heat the dairy-free milk until it reaches 110F- use a food thermometer to accurately measure the temperature. Any cooler or hotter, and the yeast won’t activate properly. Add in 1 tbsp coconut sugar and the extra 1 tbsp flour. Gently whisk together, then sprinkle yeast, mix with a spoon lightly, cover, and let activate for 10 minutes in a warm area.
- Make the dough: When activated, pour the mixture into a large bowl or a stand mixer with the dough attachment. Add in the remaining sugar, applesauce, melted vegan butter, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until combine. Then add in about half of the flour and mix on medium speed until the flour starts to incorporate into the wet mixture. Add the remaining flour, and mix on medium speed until a shaggy dough forms. Lightly flour a clean surface and place the dough onto the surface, sprinkling some extra flour on top or kneading.
- First proof: Knead the dough lightly, for 2-4 minutes, until it forms a smooth dough ball that’s not sticky. Then place the dough into the greased medium bowl, cover with a cloth or wrap, and place into a warm area to let rise for 1 hour. It should be double in size. If it’s at least 80F outside, you can place the bowl outside, otherwise you can place it in the oven (which is turned off) and turn on the oven light.
- While the dough is rising: grease a large casserole dish with oil and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon, and set aside.
- Make the vegan cinnamon rolls: After the dough has doubled, lightly punch down the dough. Lightly flour a clean surface, and place the dough in the middle. Sprinkle a little extra flour on top of the dough and flour the rolling pin. Roll the dough out to be a large rectangle (12 in x 18 in). Lightly spread the dough with vegan butter to the edges of the dough. Then sprinkle on the coconut sugar cinnamon mixture evenly. Don’t add the vegan heavy cream just yet. That will be AFTER the second rise. Roll into tight rolls and away from you. Slice the roll into 12 even cinnamon rolls. To easily slice, you can use a piece of thin twine or unflavored floss. See notes section for pizza cutter option. Place into the oil-greased dish.
- Second proof: Cover again with a clean towel or wrap, and place over or by the oven while the oven preheats to 350F. Let the cinnamon rolls rise for 30 minutes while the oven is preheating.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls: When ready to bake, pour the vegan heavy cream into the crevices between the cinnamon rolls (see photos in blog post). Place the cinnamon rolls into the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes while you prepare the icing.
- Make the dairy-free frosting: in a medium bowl or stand mixer, cream the vegan butter and vegan cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, and cream again until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Serve and enjoy! Spread the frosting onto the vegan cinnamon rolls and serve warm. If you have any leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container and place them in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, simply warm them on a baking sheet with parchment paper at 350F for 5-7 minutes.
Notes
If making a day ahead of time, complete Step 7 through the second rise, then cover the cinnamon rolls and place them in the fridge overnight. When ready to bake, allow the rolls to sit in the oven (not started) with the light on for 20-25 minutes. Then, remove the rolls from the oven, and allow the cinnamon rolls to rest over or by the oven as it preheats.
Pizza cutter option: I sometimes like to roll the cinnamon rolls individually. To do this, I slice each roll into 1.5″ strips using a pizza cutter, and roll the rolls individually.
Gluten free vegan cinnamon rolls: Please see this post for our favorite gluten free vegan cinnamon rolls!
Alternative icing: Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/2 cup dairy free cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Cream the cream cheese and the powdered sugar together until smooth.
- Spread onto cinnamon rolls and enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 roll with icing + made with vegan butter
- Calories: 362
- Sugar: 35.2 g
- Sodium: 96.1 mg
- Fat: 4.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 72.4 g
- Fiber: 3.3 g
- Protein: 7.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Can you make the dough and follow instructions through step 7, 2 days ahead of time or just 24 hours prior?
Hi Bethany! I have not personally tried this so I don’t know- but I’d recommend trying to sticking to the morning before, so 24 hours ahead, if you can!
Making these again for Christmas morning this year and they turned out sooooo well of course! This time I felt much more confident making them and it went much quicker for me. Thanks again britt!
This is awesome!! So happy to hear it 🙂 Enjoy!! Thanks for the review!!
Hi! I saw your gluten free version, but wondering if I could make this recipe with Bob red mill 1:1 GF flour ?? Thanks!
Hi Britt! Unfortunately, it won’t really work with the bob’s- the texture won’t be the same! I’m so sorry!
These are super soft and fluffy and delicious!
The only thing is that I would definitely add just a pinch of salt to the dough (maybe 1/8 – 1/4 tsp). I am super sensitive to salt so I assumed the salt in my vegan butter (earth balance) would make the recipe salty enough, but it just didn’t. There is definitely a bit of blandness. I made a glaze that helps with the blandness but I’d def need to add salt next time.
I’ll definitely make them again.
So happy to hear it!! I can totally see that on the salt- I’m super sensitive to salt too and just like the addition of the Miyoko’s salted vegan butter- but I will add this note to the instructions! Thank you!
Hi, I’ve got a question 🙂
If I want to make this, but only half of this, would that affect the baking time? Reduce it?
It does really look amazing though!
They’ll bake for about the same time, especially if you’re using a smaller pan! I would keep an eye on it with about 10 minutes left to bake!
I’m planning on making this recipe soon, and I was wondering why you add a spoonful of flour in the yeast mixture before combining it with the rest of the flour. Does it help with the blooming?
Hi Natasha! Yes this is for blooming the yeast!
I’ve been meaning to make these for years, and I finally got around to it this Christmas. They were a hit! The recipe was easy to follow, and the overnight option worked beautifully. The rolls were amazingly fluffy and soft fresh out of the oven. Definitely a new holiday tradition!
This is so wonderful to hear!! So glad everyone loved it, and SO happy to hear about the overnight option!! Enjoy, merry Christmas, and happy New Year!
I made these for Christmas and they were AMAZING! I prepped them on Christmas eve and took them out of the fridge for about an hour before baking on Christmas morning. These will become a Christmas tradition!
Aw my goodness this is wonderful!! Thank you!! So happy to hear this 🙂 Merry Christmas and happy holidays!!
If I’m making the overnight recipe do I let rise a second time THEN place in the fridge? Or just place it the fridge after cutting and the second rise is in the morning? Sorry don’t quite understand what you mean by “complete through the second rise”
Hi Kate! So sorry for the confusion! So you can allow the cinnamon rolls to complete nearly a second rise (so rest for about 20-30 minutes) then cover them and place them into the fridge to chill overnight if your fridge is very cold like mine is. OR if your fridge isn’t that cold and you’ve noticed that your doughs can still rise a bit over night, then you can allow the rolls to rest for just a few minutes before covering them and placing them in the fridge to rise overnight! I hope that helps!
Thank you!! Merry Christmas / happy holidays
These were absolutely amazing!!! Super easy to make and turned out delicious. I had some chocolate icing leftover from another recipe so I did half vanilla icing and half chocolate and my goodness. Thanks again for another hit!
This is so wonderful!! Thank you so much for the review!! Good call on the chocolate icing 🙂 Yum! Happy holidays!
Do you think I can freeze, thaw the day before and then cook them?
I would recommend just making the dough the day before and chilling in the fridge overnight! I haven’t experimented with this recipe frozen so I can’t say how it will turn out!
AMAZING!!!!!!! Best ever cinnamon buns! Drooling for more😋😋
Aw thank you so so much!!! SO happy you loved them!! 🙂
These Cinnamon Rolls are incredible – the perfect balance of sweet and bread with a hint of salt. I enjoyed my roll with a cup of coffee and thought it was the best breakfast ever!
So happy to hear it! Thank you so much!! 🙂
These are absolutely delicious. I only did an icing drizzle over the top but they were so yummy, my vegan and non-vegan guest absolutely loved them. I don’t know if it’s because I have a fan assisted oven but they were very slightly overdone on the top, (next time I would turn the temperature down a little) it didn’t stop anyone from devouring them though. Great recipe, thanks.
(Also made your chocolate & zucchini -or courgette to us English folk! – cake, that went down a treat and was utterly delicious too!)
Aw my goodness this is wonderful!! Thank you so much for the kind words!! For the slightly more golden tops, yes that could absolutely be because of the fan oven- you could also try placing them on the lower rack as well to see if that helps! So glad everyone loved them 🙂
tried these yesterday (half quantity) and oh my God, so gooey and delicious !
I added crushed roasted almonds and raisins to the filling and it was amazing !
thank you for your work and for sharing these recipes
Oh my gosh, Vanuzzi, these are beautiful!! LOVELY topping with the almonds! Thanks so much for the kind review, and for uploading the photo 🙂 Enjoy, and thanks for being here!
Thank you so much! Completely understand that 🙂 So glad you tried them, and enjoy!