These small batch apple cinnamon rolls are stuffed with a gooey cinnamon apple filling for just 6 perfectly soft and plush rolls topped with a maple ‘cream cheese’ frosting. And you’ll never believe they’re entirely dairy free and vegan- so you can forget the eggs! 

Small Batch GOOEY Apple Cinnamon Rolls - No Dairy, Vegan! in a pan

The best of apple pie and cinnamon rolls combined- and SMALL BATCH!

There is so much to love about autumn and fall-inspired foods, and I think top of that list is the definition of comfort food: the apple pie stuffed cinnamon roll.

These apple cinnamon rolls are gooey in all of the right ways and perfectly caramelized with soft, “buttery” apple bits in every bite of tender and plush cinnamon roll dough. Then there’s the glaze of maple cream cheese frosting, which is just the chef’s kiss.

small batch apple cinnamon rolls being scooped out of pan

But I think what’s even more amazing than the combination of two of my favorite foods (apple pie and cinnamon rolls) is that these cinnamon rolls are not only small batch, but they’re also undetectably vegan and dairy free.

Yep, no butter nor eggs went into the making of these cinnamon rolls. And I’m going to show you how!

The key to gooey apple cinnamon rolls:

Dicing the apples super fine. And I mean, super fine. I aim for pieces that are about the size of puffed rice cereal, or maybe a bit bigger (but not by much).

This is so that there is apple pie filling in every single bite of that cinnamon roll. And so that it gets even more gooey and caramelized, rather than just a bunch of big, ugly, half-cooked chunks of apple (you KNOW what I’m talking about).

bitten apple pie cinnamon roll

Overview: how to make small batch apple cinnamon rolls (and vegan too!):

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

dough before rising
First, we’ll make the dough. You can use a stand mixer or make the dough by hand.
apples being sautéed
Once it’s rising, we’ll make the apple pie filling so that it can cool before we roll our sweet rolls.
Rolling the sweet rolls
You’ll roll out the dough as you would traditional cinnamon rolls, followed by the vegan butter and cinnamon brown sugar mixture. Then spread the apple pie filling on top. I like to individually slice the rolls and roll, as it’s easier than rolling one big log and potentially squeezing the filling out.
apple pie cinnamon rolls before rising
Once the cinnamon rolls are shaped, you’ll rise them by the oven while it preheats.
baked apple pie cinnamon rolls
Bake the cinnamon rolls until golden brown.
close up of baked apple pie cinnamon rolls
You want to really make sure they’re done, as they have extra moisture from the apples. Allowing them to bake even slightly longer than intended will ensure that they don’t rise then fall once removed from the oven.
glaze for cinnamon rolls
Make your cream cheese glaze.
frosted cinnamon rolls
Spread onto the vegan apple cinnamon rolls, and enjoy!!

Can I make these ahead?

Absolutely! I detail this in the notes section of the recipe card below, but essentially you’ll stop at Step 6 and rise the cinnamon rolls overnight in the fridge.

Then the next morning, take the cinnamon rolls out an hour before you want to bake them. Let them warm up at room temperature, then continue on baking with Step 8.

Which apples are best?

You want a super sweet variety: Gala, Fuji, Braeburn, and Cortland are great. Some people really like apple pie with Granny Smith, and seeing as these are quite sweet cinnamon rolls, that will do too.

bitten apple pie cinnamon roll

Is there a gluten-free option?

You bet there is. I have an awesome gluten-free small batch cinnamon roll that I’ve linked below in the notes section. You simply need to follow that recipe and fill it with your apple pie filling!

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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bitten apple pie cinnamon roll

Small Batch GOOEY Apple Cinnamon Rolls – No Dairy, Vegan!

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 4 reviews
  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 35
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: 14 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

These small batch apple cinnamon rolls are stuffed with a gooey cinnamon apple pie filling for just 6 perfectly soft and plush rolls topped with a maple ‘cream cheese’ frosting. And you’ll never believe they’re entirely dairy free and vegan- so you can forget the eggs! 

Ingredients

Scale

Cinnamon Roll Dough:

  • 1 1/3 cups (200 g) all-purpose flour, divided (plus more for flouring surface)* see notes for Gluten Free
  • 1/3 packet (3 g) quick rise dry active yeast
  • 2 tbsp (30 g) granulated sugar or coconut sugar, divided
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/3 cup (90 mL) dairy-free milk, unsweetened, warmed
  • 2 tbsp (30 g) unsweetened dairy free yogurt or applesauce, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp (30 g) salted vegan butter, melted and room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Apple Pie Filling:

  • 2 large gala apples, diced
  • 1 tbsp vegan butter
  • 2 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 2–3 tbsp water

Cinnamon Roll Filling:

  • 1/4 cup (57 g) vegan butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup (70 g) light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Optional for baking: 1/4 cup (60 mL) vegan heavy cream or cashew cream 

Maple Cream Cheese Icing:

  • 1/2 cup (113 g) vegan cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 cup (120 g) organic powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Prep: Measure out all ingredients. Grease and line a small casserole dish (about 7×5″) or an 8″ cake pan with parchment paper. 
  2. Make the dough: Either in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough attachment or in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Then add in the warmed dairy free milk, dairy free yogurt, vegan butter, and vanilla extract. Either turn on the stand mixer to medium speed or begin to mix the dough with a wooden spoon then knead the dough in the bowl until a smooth ball forms, about 10 minutes.
  3. Rest: Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest in the bowl in a warm area (about 85F or warmer) until about doubled in size (about 20-30 minutes). 
  4. While the dough is resting: Make the apple pie filling. Remove all skin from the apples, and finely chop the apples. You want them to be minuscule little bits, because then more apple is evenly distributed throughout the cinnamon rolls. Aim of the size of puffed rice cereal, or a little larger. In a medium skillet, heat the vegan butter until melted, then add in the apples, followed by the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Toss together then cover and cook on medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes, or until the apples become tender. Remove the lid and add in the flour, and water, stirring to evenly combine, then cover and cook for another 5-7 minutes on simmer. Once the apples are super soft and tender, remove from heat and set aside to cool for the remainder of the rising period.
  5. Fill the cinnamon rolls:  Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar together in a small bowl and set aside. Flour a clean surface and rolling pin, and place the dough in the middle. Roll the dough to be about 9″ by 12-15″. Brush the dough with the vegan butter, then sprinkle on an even layer of the brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Spread the apple pie filling evenly over the top of the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.
  6. Slice: I like to slice the dough into individual strips before rolling, but you can also just roll the dough and slice it into 6 cinnamon rolls with either floss or a knife. To roll them into strips, slice the dough in half so have two strips of 4.5×15.” Then slice them into thirds so you have six strips of 1.5×15.” Then roll each strip tightly and place the rolled cinnamon roll into your prepared baking dish.
  7. Rest the rolls: Cover the baking dish and rest the rolls by the oven while it preheats to 350F. Let the rolls double in size.
  8. Bake: This is where you’ll add in the additional 1/4 cup of vegan heavy cream. Pour the vegan heavy cream between the crevices of the cinnamon rolls where they meet. You can use this as a way to make the rolls even softer and more plush, like brioche cinnamon rolls. Place the cinnamon rolls into the oven to bake for 33-35 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden. Let the cinnamon rolls cool for 10-15 minutes before serving, as they’ll be really hot!
  9. Make the maple cream cheese frosting: In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients. 
  10. Serve and enjoy! Spread the maple cream cheese frosting on top of each cinnamon roll, and serve warm. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer. 

Notes

Make ahead: Prep the rolls and the filling through Step 6. Once the rolls are shaped, cover and store in the fridge to rise overnight. The next morning, place the rolls by the oven 1 hour before baking, and let them warm up. Then bake per Step 8!

Gluten free: See my vegan small batch cinnamon rolls post for the alternative for GF, and use gluten-free flour in the apple pie filling portion!