Easy Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Recipe
Growing up, Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls were a staple in my house. There was just something extra special about eating a sweet, cinnamony roll covered with icing that started the day off on a happy note! I wish Pillsbury and Cinnabon would create a gluten free version of their delicious cinnamon rolls, but until they do, those of us who can’t have gluten anymore are left longing for that sweet breakfast roll we once loved…until now! This Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Recipe tastes just like Cinnabon!
Even a trip to the mall stirs up memories of what we’re missing, because let’s face it, Cinnabon’s ovens fill the whole mall with the scent of sweet cinnamony goodness. I think my last trip to the mall is what inspired this recipe. My family was visiting and we went to the mall and walked past Cinnabon and everyone commented about how good it smelled and how bad they were now craving cinnamon rolls. This set me on a mission to fulfill my craving, and after a few failed attempts at creating the perfect gluten free alternative, I’ve finally nailed it! Even my hubby said they taste just like Cinnabon!
Perfecting this Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls Recipe took some time, so I went to my trusty, never fails, cream cheese icing recipe to top these babies!
GLUTEN FREE FLOUR
Let’s talk gluten-free flour…NOT all gluten free flours are created the same. Some contain xanthan gum already and others don’t, so you’ll want to buy some and add it in if your flour blend does not contain it. Do yourself a favor and buy one that already has the xanthan gum included…my favorites are King Arthur Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Mix and Cup4Cup Gluten Free Multipurpose Flour. The King Arthur Baking Mix is a gluten-free flour blend that can be used to make pancakes, waffles, and biscuits as well. But I have to admit, once I tried Cup4Cup flour, it is the one I reach for more often. If you can’t find either of these, King Arthur Measure for Measure is a great alternative that works well in most gluten free recipes.
I do not recommend Bob’s Red Mill for this recipe. I know this brand is mentioned a lot in gluten free baking, but it gives different results. Stick with a different brand, such as King Arthur Gluten Free or Cup4Cup.
WHAT INGREDIENTS YOU NEED TO MAKE THE BEST CINNAMON ROLL RECIPE:
FOR THE CINNAMON ROLLS
- granulated cane sugar: this is what makes the rolls sweet, I haven’t tried coconut sugar in this recipe
- 2% milk or milk of your choice: I’ve use 2% milk and unsweetened almond milk for this recipe and both work great
- rapid-rising dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp): it has to be rapid rise or instant yeast or you’ll have to wait for the dough to rise for over an hour
- eggs: large eggs, whisked together
- apple cider vinegar: I know it sounds weird, but this ingredient is crucial. I use it in my pizza dough recipe too
- butter: melted and cooled
- salt: if you use salted butter, you can leave out the salt
- gluten free measure for measure flour: King Arthur all purpose baking mix and measure for measure flour are great. If you use Cup4Cup, my personal favorite, you’ll need to add about 1/2 cup more flour to the recipe to get the right consistency
- whole psyllium husk powder: Loopy Whisk has an entire post about using psyllium husk in gluten free baking that I highly recommend. It replaces the gluten in the flour and leaves you with a dough that stretches like regular gluteny dough does (it’s the game changer I had been searching for in gluten free baking)
- water: this ingredient is just to make the psyliium husk gel
FOR THE FILLING
- ½ cup salted butter (1 stick), softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
FOR THE ICING
- ¼ cup salted butter (½ stick), softened
- 4 ounces ? less fat cream cheese (½ block), softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST GLUTEN-FREE CINNAMON ROLLS:
Working with active dry yeast takes time and patience, so if you’re planning on making these cinnamon rolls, you’ll want to start the process at least two hours before you want to eat them, or you could even make the gluten-free cinnamon roll dough the night before and bake them the next morning.
- Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees
- Set out 1 and a ½ sticks of butter to soften. (Click here for tips to soften quickly)
- Add sugar to bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl. Add one cup warm milk to the sugar and stir to combine. You’ll want to use warm milk, not hot milk for this because hot milk can kill the yeast whereas warm milk will feed it, and that’s what we want. For best results, heat the milk in the microwave in a ceramic coffee mug for one minute, it will be the perfect temperature
- Once you have the milk and sugar mixed together, sprinkle a packet of instant yeast or rapid rise yeast over the top, stir, cover with a clean dish towel, and set a timer for 5 minutes. When you set the timer, add ½ cup salted butter (1 stick, but not the one you have sitting at room temperature) to a microwave-safe dish and heat for 1 minute until melted. Allow it to cool for the next 4 minutes while the yeast mixture goes to work in the mixing bowl. After the 5 minutes, you should see foam on top of the milk letting you know the yeast is ready
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together two large eggs. Cracking your eggs and whisking them in a separate bowl will prevent any shells from getting into the dough mixture. Add the eggs to the mixing bowl with the yeast mixture
- Add apple cider vinegar, psyllium husk gel, and the cooled melted butter to the bowl and mix on medium speed until combined.
- Next, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour and salt) and slowly add to the wet ingredients while mixing on low speed. (If you’re using a stand mixer, attach your dough hook or paddle attachment. If you’re using a hand mixer, add the dough attachments. If you’re kneading by hand, get ready to put them to work!)
- The dough shouldn’t be dry or wet, instead, it should be slightly tacky to the touch but not stick to your hands.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough into a large ball. Add a dusting of flour as needed until you have a round dough ball that doesn’t stick to you hands
- Roll the dough out into a large rectangle about 1/8 inch think
- Once you get the dough rolled out, you’ll want to make the filling. Place the softened stick of butter in a small mixing bowl and add in 1 cup packed brown sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon. Using the back of a spoon, mash the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until it’s all incorporated. Then spread the cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough
- Now it’s time to turn these babies into gooey cinnamon rolls! Starting at the the long edge of the rectangle, use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 1.5 inch strips (see pic above for reference)
- Starting at the bottom of one of the strips, start rolling the dough onto itself until you have a cinnamon roll. Repeat this process for the remaining strips of dough (see pic above for reference)
- Place cinnamon rolls in a 9×13 greased baking dish and pop them into the oven at 350 degrees for about 18-23 minutes. You want the outer edges to be golden brown while the inside is still a bit undone for the best taste and texture! While the cinnamon rolls bake, make the cream cheese icing
- For the icing, place ½ block (4 ounces) cream cheese and ½ stick butter in a large bowl, and using a mixer, cream the two together. Then add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add in 2 cups powdered sugar ½ cup at a time, mixing until it’s all incorporated. This cream cheese icing is perfect with these homemade gluten free cinnamon rolls and tastes like Cinnabon
- You can warm the cream cheese frosting in the microwave for 1 minute and pour it over the gluten-free cinnamon buns, or you can spread it on as is for a thicker consistency! Both ways taste amazing!
If you’re looking for a healthy gluten-free cinnamon roll recipe, this is NOT it! There are 2 ½ sticks of butter in this recipe, including the icing, so these are definitely reserved for treat days, special occasions, and Christmas morning. They taste very similar to Cinnabon, have a great texture, and will satisfy your craving for fluffy cinnamon rolls!
DAIRY FREE
If you have a dairy allergy or you’re eating a dairy free diet, you can substitute vegan butter and non-dairy milk, such as coconut milk or almond milk for this recipe. Then use a store-bought dairy free frosting in place of the cream cheese frosting.
STORING LEFTOVERS
If you have leftovers, place rolls in an airtight container and store in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Warm in microwave the next day.
To freeze these gluten free rolls, it’s best to freeze them unbaked in an airtight container. Pro tip: make a second batch and freeze that batch for another day because you will definitely want to make these fluffy gluten free cinnamon rolls a second time! Again, it’s best to freeze the cut dough unbaked and then make a fresh batch of icing when you’re ready to bake them. Thaw frozen dough in refrigerator overnight prior to baking. Bake in a 350 F oven for 18-23 minutes for best results.
MORE GLUTEN FREE BREAKFAST RECIPES YOUR FAMILY WILL LOVE:
Easy Gluten Free White Country Gravy
Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Recipe
Equipment
- stand or hand mixer
Ingredients
For the Cinnamon Rolls
- 1/2 cup granulated cane sugar
- 1 cup 2% milk or milk of your choice
- 1 packet rapid-rising dry yeast 2 1/4 tsp
- 2 large eggs whisked
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup salted butter 1 stick, melted and cooled
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 1/2 cups Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour (see above for more recommendations) see note about GF flours above
- 1 tablespoon whole psyllium husk powder
- 1/4 cup water to mix with the psyllium husk to form a stretchy gel (see above for more info)
For the Filling
- 1/2 cup salted butter 1 stick, softeneed
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
For the Icing
- 1/4 cup salted butter 1/2 stick, softened
- 4 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese 1/2 block, softened
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees
- Set out 1 and a 1/2 sticks of butter to soften. (Click here for tips to soften quickly)
- Add psyllium husk and water to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Stir to combine, and within 30 second it will become a gel
- Add the rest of the ingredients for the cinnamon rolls and mix on low speed until combined (do not add the ingredients for the filling or frosting)
- The dough shouldn’t be dry or wet, instead, it should be slightly tacky to the touch but not stick to your hands.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough into a large ball. Add a dusting of flour as needed until you have a round dough ball that doesn't stick to you hands
- Roll the dough out into a large rectangle about 1/8 inch think
- Once you get the dough rolled out, you’ll want to make the filling. Place the softened stick of butter in a small mixing bowl and add in 1 cup packed brown sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon. Using the back of a spoon, mash the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until it’s all incorporated. Then spread the cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough
- Now it’s time to turn these babies into gooey cinnamon rolls! Starting at the the long edge of the rectangle, use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 1.5 inch strips (see pic above for reference)
- Starting at the bottom of one of the strips, start rolling the dough onto itself until you have a cinnamon roll. Repeat this process for the remaining strips of dough (see pic above for reference)
- Place cinnamon rolls in a 9×13 greased baking dish and pop them into the oven at 350 degrees for about 18-23 minutes. You want the outer edges to be golden brown while the inside is still a bit undone for the best taste and texture! While the cinnamon rolls bake, make the cream cheese icing
- For the icing, place ½ block (4 ounces) cream cheese and ½ stick butter in a large bowl, and using a mixer, cream the two together. Then add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add in 2 cups powdered sugar ½ cup at a time, mixing until it’s all incorporated. This cream cheese icing is perfect with these homemade gluten free cinnamon rolls and tastes like Cinnabon
- You can warm the cream cheese frosting in the microwave for 1 minute and pour it over the gluten-free cinnamon buns, or you can spread it on as is for a thicker consistency! Both ways taste amazing!
Nutrition
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