Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls

These Easy Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls are made with store-bought crescent roll dough and a few basic pantry staples to make the best gooey cinnamon rolls with minimal effort! A great, quick and easy sweet treat for breakfast, dessert, or celebrating holidays with family. 

​Happen to have a tube of crescent rolls and a deep craving for sweet, ‘buttery’ cinnamon rolls? Today I’ll teach you how to turn these basic canned rolls into a delicious breakfast treat in under an hour. They’re perfectly light, fluffy, gooey, and complete with a cinnamon filling – everything homemade cinnamon rolls should be! 

​Have a couple cans of crescent rolls? Make my Apple Crescent Rolls and Mini Vegan Pot Pies next!

Why You’ll Love These Crescent Rolls

• Semi-homemade cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon rolls made from scratch are undeniably delicious, but they’re also a lot of work. Skip the time-consuming work of preparing your own dough and swap in a pop-can of crescent rolls. Perfect for lazy weekend mornings or Christmas morning!
• Requires just a handful of ingredients. Just 7 simple ingredients required, including making your own sweet vanilla glaze from scratch! 
• No rising time. The key to making fluffy cinnamon rolls from scratch is raising the dough until doubled in size (sometimes twice!). This gooey cinnamon roll recipe requires no rise time and can be made start to finish in less than an hour.
• Make ahead friendly. ​This easy cinnamon roll recipe can be prepped the night before and refrigerated until ready to bake the next day. 
• Naturally vegan. It may come as a surprise that most tubes of crescent rolls are accidentally vegan (made with oil or vegetable shortening instead of animal-based butter). This easy breakfast treat is accidentally vegan and is one the whole family will love. 

The Ingredients

• Crescent rolls: Pillsbury’s original crescent rolls are naturally dairy-free and vegan. If you are in the United States, Trader Joe’s also has a vegan-friendly crescent roll pop-can dough.   
• Vegan margarine: Use any softened dairy-free margarine or vegan butter. Vegan margarine softens faster than stick vegan butters, but use what you have. 
• Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon is an essential in any cinnamon roll recipe!  
• Brown sugar: Combine with the cinnamon to make the gooey brown sugar filling. Light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, and coconut sugar all work well.  
• Powdered sugar: Used to make the vegan frosting. If you cannot find powdered sugar in stores, make Homemade Powdered Sugar yourself with a mixture of cane sugar and cornstarch.  
• Plant-based milk: Any plant-based milk of choice will work, but unsweetened vegan milks will work best for a neutral-tasting frosting. 
• Vanilla extract: Optional, but adds additional flavor and sweetness to the vegan frosting.

How to Make Crescent Rolls

• 1) Open the crescent rolls can and roll the dough into a ball, kneading it to work out the perforations. 

• 2) Using a rolling pin, roll the crescent roll dough into a large rectangle. 

• 3) Spread 1 tablespoon of softened vegan margarine over the dough. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle it over the dough on top of the vegan margarine.

• 4) Roll the dough into a long roll, then use a sharp knife to cut it into 1-inch discs. 

• 5) Place the cut cinnamon rolls into a lightly oiled muffin tin or place on a baking sheet with a bit of space in between each roll. Transfer the muffin tin or baking sheet to the oven and bake the crescent roll cinnamon rolls until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool, then prepare the icing. 

• 6) In a small bowl, combine the softened vegan margarine with 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar with a hand mixer. Add in the plant-based milk, vanilla, and remaining sugar, beating until smooth. Add additional plant-based milk or sugar to get the consistency you prefer. 

• 7) Drizzle or spread the frosting over top the mini cinnamon rolls and enjoy immediately while warm.  

Recipe FAQs

Top Recipe Tips 

• Use a very sharp knife to cut the rolls. If the knife is dull, the cinnamon roll dough will squish down and the filling will likely spill out. A serrated knife can be useful to cut the dough with very little pressure.
• Bake until just golden brown. Over baked crescent rolls can become dry, hard, and crumbly in texture. Begin to check the cinnamon rolls around the 12-minute mark and monitor closely. Once the rolls become lightly golden, pull them from the oven. As they cool they will continue to cook! 
• Cut into 9 rolls. The bake time for these cinnamon rolls is based on cutting the crescent rolls dough into 9 rolls. If you choose to cut them into more or less rolls, the bake time will need to be adjusted accordingly. 

Serving Suggestions 

These easy crescent cinnamon rolls can be served just like your favorite traditional cinnamon rolls. Enjoy on their own with a cup of coffee or tea, or serve with a few of your favorite breakfast sides like fresh fruit or a dollop of coconut yogurt. 

Storage Instructions and Make Ahead Tips

Leftover crescent roll cinnamon rolls will keep at room temperature for up to 24 hours or in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Before storing, allow the cinnamon rolls to cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container. 

If you’d like to prep these cinnamon rolls the night before holiday mornings or weekend brunch, follow the recipe through recipe step 4. Place the cut cinnamon rolls in a prepared muffin tin or spread on a baking sheet and tightly cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. The next morning, allow the rolls to come to room temperature while the oven preheats, then bake and frost as usual. 

More Sweet Breakfast Recipes 

• Healthy Protein Chocolate Waffles
• Easy Vegan French Toast
• Vanilla Scones
• Vegan Walnut Oat Scones
• Banana Pancakes

Photos by Alfonso Revilla