Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

Making warm and gooey vegan cinnamon rolls doesn’t get much easier than this! This recipe is fairly simple to make and the rolls bake up to be big, fluffy, and bursting with cinnamon sugar. Slathered with vanilla icing on top, they’re the perfect treat for special breakfasts and brunches! 

Fluffy, Sweet, and Easy Vegan Cinnamon Rolls!

Have you been too intimidated to work with dough to try making your own vegan cinnamon buns? That all stops now! This easy vegan cinnamon rolls recipe is so simple to prepare! No funny ingredients or complicated steps included!

Just like our crescent roll cinnamon rolls, these vegan cinnamon rolls are big, fluffy, and gooey treats that catch everyone’s attention (vegans AND non-vegans). They’re made with baking staples, instant yeast for a quick rise, and a 3-ingredient cinnamon sugar filling. Once they come out of the oven, the gooey buns are slathered with a simple 4-ingredient vanilla icing to make them truly irresistible.

A fresh batch of homemade cinnamon rolls (or these easy cinnamon muffins) is a must at brunches with friends and family, for fun weekend breakfasts, or during the holidays! The best part is that you can prepare them the night before and bake them fresh the next morning. After all, what’s better than waking up to the smell of sweet cinnamon buns baking in the oven?

Looking for more sweet brunch favorites? Try our vegan baked oatmeal, blueberry pancakes, and vegan waffles!

The Ingredients and Substitutes

Cinnamon Roll Dough

• Plant-based milk: I used unsweetened soy milk, but any vegan milk should work well.
• Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar, preferably.
• Sugar: Granulated white sugar is used to sweeten the dough.
• Rapid yeast: Use rapid or instant yeast, not active dry yeast. Rapid/instant yeast doesn’t need to be activated first, making these vegan cinnamon buns beginner-friendly.
• Vegan butter: To help flavor the dough. Coconut oil works as a substitute, but try to use refined coconut oil to skip the coconut flavor.
• Flour: All-purpose flour is essential!
• Oil: Use any neutral-flavored oil, like vegetable oil or canola oil.

Cinnamon Sugar

• Sugar: I like using brown sugar for its caramel-like flavor, but coconut sugar should also work.
• Cinnamon: Because it simply wouldn’t be a cinnamon bun recipe without the cinnamon!
• Nutmeg: An optional spice, but it makes the cinnamon sugar filling a touch more warm and cozy.
• Vegan butter: Melted vegan butter brushed on the rolled-out dough helps the cinnamon sugar stick.

Icing

• Powdered sugar: No substitutes, please! Just like vegan buttercream, only powdered sugar will work here.
• Plant-based Milk: I like using plain unsweetened soy milk, but any non-dairy milk will work.
• Vanilla extract: For flavor.
• Salt: Just a pinch!

What Could I Add to Vegan Cinnamon Buns?

• Chopped nuts: Sprinkle chopped pecans or walnuts over the cinnamon sugar filling before rolling the cinnamon rolls for a nice crunch! Don’t forget to save some extras to sprinkle on top, too.
• Dried fruit: Just like the nuts, you can sprinkle raisins or dried cranberries over the cinnamon sugar for a delightfully chewy texture.
• Vegan chocolate: For ooey gooey chocolate centers, sprinkle dairy-free chocolate chips or chocolate shavings over the cinnamon sugar before rolling or add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the cinnamon sugar filling. A drizzle of melted vegan chocolate on top of the baked buns would be divine, too.
• Caramel: Swap the frosting for a generous drizzle of vegan caramel sauce on top of the cinnamon rolls.
• Pumpkin spice: Substitute 1 tablespoon of the cinnamon with 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice for a festive twist! You could even add a dollop of pumpkin puree to the icing or decorate the buns with our pumpkin spice glaze for vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls. Yum!
• Vegan cream cheese frosting: Swap the vanilla icing for vegan cream cheese frosting if you like a thicker, tangier icing on top.

How to Make Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

• Stir the plant milk and apple cider vinegar together in a heat-proof bowl to make the vegan buttermilk.

• Heat the “buttermilk” mixture in the microwave in 30-second increments until it’s slightly warm to the touch.
• Stir the white sugar into the vegan buttermilk.

• Next, add the yeast.

• Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let it rest until the mixture is slightly foamy.

• Slowly stir the melted vegan butter and flour into the buttermilk.

Gently mix in 1 cup of flour at a time until it’s just incorporated into the buttermilk. The dough will be very flaky and broken apart by the time all the flour is incorporated.

• Knead the dough with your hands until you have a smooth ball.

• Remove the dough from the bowl.
• Pour the oil into the empty bowl.

• Place the dough back in the oiled bowl and cover it with a damp kitchen towel.
• Let the dough rest until it’s doubled in size.

The time it takes for your dough to rise will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. My dough took about 1 hour to double in size, but yours could take less time or even longer (around 1 ½ to 2 hours) depending on your environment.

• Meanwhile, make the cinnamon sugar by stirring the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a small bowl.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle. 

The dough rectangle should be about ¼ inch thick and 20 inches long by 12 inches wide.

• Brush the melted vegan butter onto the dough rectangle.
• Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over top.

• Roll the dough into a log shape.

Keep in mind that the dough might stick to the surface. If it is stuck, gently use a spatula to scrape and lift the dough. 

Work little by little to slowly achieve an even and tight roll. Rolling too fast will yield loose cinnamon rolls.

• Slice the log into 9 cinnamon rolls.

• Place the rolls in a prepared baking dish, making sure they aren’t touching each other. Then cover the dish with plastic and set aside. Let the rolls rise for 10 minutes.

Make sure the rolls are NOT touching when you first add them to the baking pan. If they’re still not touching after the 10-minute rise, continue to let them rise in a warm place.

• Remove the plastic from the baking pan and bake the cinnamon rolls until they’re puffy and lightly golden brown.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting by whisking the powdered sugar, plant milk, and vanilla extract together in a medium bowl.

• Take the baked cinnamon buns out of the oven. Then, let them cool for 10 minutes before spreading the frosting on top. Serve and enjoy!

FAQs

Pro Recipe Tips

• A tight roll is key: This keeps your cinnamon rolls from falling apart when baked.
• To avoid squishing the dough, use a very sharp chef’s knife to cut the rolls.
• For the easiest cleanup, place a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil on the bottom rack of your oven. It will catch any vegan butter that may spill out of the pan.
• Decorate and serve them warm: Decorate the rolls with the icing after letting them cool for 10 minutes. Plate ‘em up and pass them around to everyone at breakfast or brunch while they’re still warm!

Storage Instructions

Place the frosted cinnamon rolls in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 3 days. We don’t recommend storing them in the fridge because it dries them out quickly.

Make ahead option

To prepare the vegan cinnamon rolls the night before baking, make the recipe up until you place the cut cinnamon rolls in the baking dish. Cover the dish with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store it in the fridge overnight.

The next morning, set the baking dish on the kitchen counter for 1 hour so the rolls can come down to room temperature and rise a little more. Bake the cinnamon rolls in a 375ºF oven for about 20 minutes or until they’re golden brown. Decorate with icing and serve warm!

To freeze the cinnamon rolls before baking, repeat the step above but place the baking dish in the freezer instead of the fridge. Let the rolls thaw in the fridge or on the counter before baking as normal.

More Vegan Brunch Recipes

• Vegan Banana Pancakes
• The Best Vegan Tofu Scramble
• Easy Vegan French Toast
• Apple Cinnamon Waffles
• Vegan Potato Frittata
• Vegan Blueberry Banana Muffins

Photos by Alfonso Revilla