Homemade Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

This easy vegan cinnamon roll recipe is sure to be your new favorite! You will love them for holidays, weekend brunch, or any time you’re craving a sweet treat. Even better, they are way easier than you would think to make them! That’s a win-win in my book!

Now you can make fresh gooey delectable cinnamon rolls that are vegan at home! That means you can enjoy them any time you want. They’re perfect for special occasions and are the ultimate brunch sweet fresh-baked treat!

Whether you make them just for yourself or for a group of friends and family coming by for brunch, they go great with eggless benedicts, a veggie tofu scramble, and cinnamon orange quinoa porridge.

Why This Recipe Works

I won't pretend that these are healthy or remotely good for you.  But it’s perfectly ok to have a sweet break now and again. These homemade vegan cinnamon rolls are sure to be a hit!

• Quick and easy. I made these in under 25 minutes, from preparing the ingredients to making the icing and doing the dishes while they cooked, to eating!
• Budget-friendly. In total, I spent under $6.00 for everything I needed, which means this cost about .60 cents a roll. 
• Fluffy, soft, and gooey texture that everyone will love.
• Perfect for all types of eaters - even non-vegans are going to LOVE these!
• Make ahead so you can have them hot and delicious for brunch!

What Goes Into This Recipe

Before we get started making the BEST vegan cinnamon rolls, let’s take a look at what you will need to have to make them. The ingredients are pretty simple and you should be able to easily pick them up on a trip to the grocery store.

• All-purpose flour: This essential ingredient provides structure and texture to rolls.
• Sugar: You will need regular granulated sugar, brown sugar, and powdered sugar for the different parts of this vegan cinnamon roll recipe.
• Instant yeast: Make sure you are using instant yeast rather than active dry yeast. Active yeast must be activated first but in this recipe, we are mixing the yeast directly into the dough.
• Flax meal: A vegan substitute for the egg in most cinnamon roll recipes.
• Plant-based milk: Use your favorite but make sure it is unflavored for best results.
• Vegan butter: Adds flavor but also helps the cinnamon and sugar mixture stick to the dough inside the cinnamon rolls.
• Cinnamon: The classic flavor for cinnamon rolls.
• Dairy-free yogurt: This recipe uses vegan vanilla Greek-style yogurt for the glaze.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: For the best flavor. 

For the full list of ingredients and their quantities, check the recipe card further down the page.

How To Make Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

There are a few stages to making this recipe. Let’s look at what goes into making these vegan cinnamon rolls.

Step 1: Make the Dough

• 1) Combine the dry ingredients. Place the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk together.

• 2) Make the flax egg. Combine the flax meal with six tablespoons of warm water. Whisk until it becomes gelatinous. 

• 3) Melt the vegan butter. Combine the water, plant-based milk, and vegan butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until the vegan butter melts (about 30 seconds). Remove the heated plant-based milk and melted vegan butter from the microwave and add to the flax meal mixture. Whisk everything together thoroughly. 

• 4) Combine the wet and dry. Stir the liquid mixture into the bowl with dry ingredients. Mix together until well-combined, about 3 minutes. Once it forms into a smooth dough, let it rest in the bowl covered in tin foil for 10 minutes.

Step 2: Shape the Cinnamon Rolls

• 5) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• 6) Roll the dough. Lightly sprinkle your work surface with flour and then roll out the dough into a thin rectangle.

• 7) Add the filling. First, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Then spread the softened vegan butter on top of the dough, followed by a sprinkle of the brown sugar mixture all over the dough.

• 8) Roll it up. Tightly roll the dough from the long edge and cut it into 9 even pieces. Place each roll in a well-greased 9-inch square pan and cover with tin foil. 

• 9) Let them rise. Turn off the oven and place the covered cinnamon rolls in the oven for 20 minutes to rise.
• 10) Bake in the oven. Remove the tin foil from the cinnamon rolls, turn oven temperature to 375 degrees F, and bake for 20 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.

Step 3: Make the Vegan Icing for Cinnamon Rolls 

• 11) While cinnamon rolls are baking, combine the powdered sugar, vegan yogurt, and vanilla extract in a small bowl and mix together until smooth and creamy.

• 12) When the cinnamon rolls are done cooking and the tops are slightly golden brown, remove the pan from the oven. Let them cool down for about 5 minutes, and then add the glaze.

• 13) Serve up warm and enjoy!

Expert Tips 

• Roll the dough tightly. This keeps your cinnamon rolls from falling apart when baked. For best results go slowly to make sure it’s rolled up plenty tight.
• Use a sharp knife to cut the dough. You don’t want to squish the rolls or have all the filling come out when cutting. 
• Serve up the vegan cinnamon rolls right away! They taste best when warm and soft.

FAQs

How to Cinnamon Rolls Make Ahead

Now, you might think these take a lot more time and work than you have in the morning, but that’s okay because you can make them ahead of time so that all they have to do is bake in the morning. Let’s look at how easy it is!

Make the Night Before

Make the recipe all the way up until cutting the cinnamon rolls and placing them in the baking dish. Then cover the dish well with aluminum foil or an airtight lid and store in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, remove them from the fridge and let them sit on the counter for an hour to warm up a bit. To speed this up, you can also preheat the oven and let them sit on top of it for 15-20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and when it’s hot, place the vegan cinnamon rolls in the oven to bake.  

While they are baking, mix up the glaze and continue with finishing up the cinnamon rolls as directed in the recipe.

Can you freeze unbaked vegan cinnamon rolls? 

Yes, you can. This works great for smaller households who don’t want to bake all 9 cinnamon rolls at once. This may also be a good idea if you need more than one batch and want to make them further ahead of time.

To freeze, make the dough, roll out the cinnamon rolls, and cut them as instructed in the recipe. Once they are cut you can store them.

TOP TIP: I suggest placing them in an airtight container lined with parchment in a single layer. If you want to stack, place a piece of parchment paper between the layers.

When you want to bake, remove the desired amount from the freezer and place them in a greased baking dish. Let them thaw out in the fridge or on the counter. Then continue baking them per the recipe instructions.

More Sweet Brunch Recipes

• Vegan French Toast
• Vegan Blueberry Banana Muffins
• Protein Chocolate Waffles
• Easy Vegan Breakfast Recipes
• Blueberry Pancakes

Photos by Alfonso Revilla