The fluffiest, softest, most decadent vegan cinnamon rolls you’ll ever taste. With only 8 ingredients, this recipe couldn’t be simpler – and it’s entirely plant based! Vegan comfort food at its best.
Let’s make vegan cinnamon rolls. How difficult can it be? (Spoiler alert: not at all.)
Sure, there’s eggs and butter and milk in the “usual” cinnamon roll dough, and a whole lot of cream cheese in the frosting… but are these really crucial to capture the essence of a good cinnamon roll?
You see, this is how I develop vegan (or gluten-free or whatever-free) recipes. I search for the very best recipes online, and then strip them down to their bare bones. I look at every ingredient and decide its role and importance.
There’s no point starting from scratch. Why would I try to completely re-invent cinnamon rolls, when other people have spent years and decades perfecting the recipe? My aim is to give you a VEGAN cinnamon roll recipe that tastes just as good as the “original”. To do that, I first need to find the best original.
The best original is usually an average of many very good recipes. (I’m a scientist at heart, so taking averages and comparing variables and pondering trends is kinda my thing.)
And then, the fun begins.
To answer my own question: no, eggs and butter and milk aren’t 100% necessary for delicious cinnamon rolls. Their main purpose is to provide the liquid element in the dough, as well as give the cinnamon rolls their richness.
For this vegan cinnamon rolls recipe, we’ll achieve the same results with almond milk (as the main liquid element) and coconut cream (to make the rolls extra soft and decadent and almost buttery).
The filling usually requires butter to stick the sugar and cinnamon to the dough… but coconut cream will do the job just as well.
As for the frosting… we mainly need to replace the cream cheese (although some recipes also use butter and cream). Again, easy. We’ll go with the… you guessed it: coconut cream! Why complicate when it can be oh-so simple?
The end result, though? Spectacular.
There’s a point to this. To my giving you a glimpse into my thought process as I develop recipes. It’s a strange mix of scientific approach and intuition developed through years and years of throwing things together and seeing what works. But it does work, and it can work for anyone – regardless of experience level.
The point is to get you into the kitchen and start experimenting. It’s not difficult. Vegan baking isn’t scary. It’s not impossible.
There’s this idea that vegan baking is bland and inaccessible to the average mortal. Sure, there will be spectacular fails, but with time, the balance between fails and successes will tip in your favour. Just… give it a go. It’s worth it. Promise.
And if my words don’t convince you… let these vegan cinnamon rolls do the talking.
They’re fluffy. And soft. And so so cinnamony.
The frosting is perfect. Especially when you drizzle it onto still warm vegan cinnamon rolls and it melts slightly, soaking into the dough… It’s giving me chills just thinking about it.
And all of this?
Easy to make.
8 ingredients only.
Vegan.
Now, if that doesn’t prove that vegan baking can be freakin’ amazing… I don’t know what can. (Though if you’re still not convinced… I’m willing to sacrifice myself and make another batch of these. You know, in the name of scientific advancement, taste testing, veganism and my sweet tooth.)
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The Best Vegan Cinnamon Rolls You'll Ever Eat
Ingredients
For cinnamon roll dough:
- 1 cup (240 mL) almond milk, lukewarm
- 3/8 cup (75 g) white sugar
- 1 heaped tbsp (9 - 10 g) active dry yeast
- 3 3/4 cups + 1 tbsp (460 g) plain flour, divided (Note 1)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup (75 g) coconut cream, melted
For cinnamon filling:
- 2 - 3 tbsp (~40 g) coconut cream
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup (100 - 150 g) white sugar
- 1 - 2 tbsp cinnamon
For frosting:
- 1/2 cup (110 g) coconut cream
- 1/4 cup (30 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
For cinnamon roll dough:
- In a small bowl, combine the the lukewarm almond milk, sugar, yeast and 2 tbsp flour. Whisk lightly until no flour clumps remain and leave to stand for ~5 minutes.
- Add the rest of the four and the salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the yeast mixture and start kneading the dough with the dough hook attachment. When the dough starts coming together, but there is still some flour left, add the coconut cream.
- Leave the dough to knead for at least 15 minutes. The final dough should be slightly sticky.
- Transfer the dough into a lightly floured bowl, cover the bowl with cling film, and allow the dough to proof/rise for about 1 hour at room temperature, or until doubled in volume.
For cinnamon filling:
- In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon. (The exact amounts depend on how sweet and cinnamony you want your cinnamon rolls to be.)
Assembly and baking:
- Prepare a round 11-inch (28 cm) baking pan (or a 11 x 11 inch square one) by lightly greasing it with coconut oil.
- After the dough has doubled in size, transfer it to a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a roughly 18 x 9 inch rectangle. (Don't fuss too much if you don't get these exact dimensions.)
- Spread 2 - 3 tbsp coconut cream over the dough and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top. Then gently rub the cinnamon sugar into the cream – this will prevent it flying everywhere when you roll up the dough.
- Roll up the dough tightly (length-wise) so that you get an (approximately) 18 inch roll. Place the seam side down and cut ~1.5 inch (~3 - 4 cm) thick slices using floss or a very thin thread. I don't recommend using a knife, as this will flatten the cinnamon roll pieces while you cut them.
- Place the cinnamon rolls into the greased baking pan, leaving a bit of space between them.
- Cover the baking pan lightly with a tea towel or cling film, and leave to rise for 30 minutes - 1 hour.
- Pre-heat the oven to 355 ºF (180 ºC).
- Bake the vegan cinnamon rolls in the pre-heated oven at 355 ºF (180 ºC) for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown on top.
- Allow to cool slightly.
For frosting:
- Mix together the powdered sugar and coconut cream. If the frosting is too thick, add a splash of almond milk.
- Drizzle the frosting all over the still slightly warm cinnamon buns.
- Enjoy!
Storage:
- The vegan cinnamon rolls are best eaten on the day they are baked, but they keep well in a tightly closed container in a cool dry place for about 2 - 3 days.
Notes
Looking for more delicious vegan desserts?
You’re in the right place!
I am so thrilled I found this recipe! Although I consider myself a somewhat experienced vegan baker, my attempts at cinnamon rolls always went wrong. The dough was too sticky to roll, they turned out dense, or they got ruined when trying to cut them. I tried this recipe on a whim and they turned out absolutely gorgeous! Soft, pillowy, sweet and cinnamon-y. Plus, the dough rolled and cut like perfection (the floss trick yielded super clean lines). The only change I made was using vegan butter in the filling instead of more coconut cream. They seriously looked professional and everyone loved them (they were devoured by mostly non-vegans). Thank you so much for this recipe, it will be my go-to from now on!
Hi! Great recipe 🙂 Quick question(s): can I use almond flour instead of all purpose flour? And can I replace yeast with baking powder/soda instead?
Thank you!
Hi Alina, this recipe won’t work with almond four and without yeast.
Can I prepare everything the night before and cook in the morning? Planning to do these for Xmas morning this year. Thanks.
It should definitely work – I’d recommend preparing the dough, letting it proof, rolling it out, filling and cutting it, and arranging the cinnamon rolls in the baking pan on day 1, then refrigerate them overnight (covered with cling film or similar). In the morning, proof them in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour, and bake as per the recipe.
Is coconut cream the same was coconut oil? How do I make coconut cream?
Coconut cream isn’t the same as coconut oil. You can get coconut cream from a can of coconut milk – just put it in the fridge overnight, and the coconut milk will separate into coconut cream (very thick and lovely) and coconut water (which you can use in smoothies and such).
OMG this rolls look amazing! can i sub the coconut cream with vegan butter in the dough?
I’m not sure, but I think vegan butter should work – let me know how it goes!
Did it work with subbing the coconut cream for vegan butter? That was my question as well… 🙂
I subbed vegan butter and it came out great!!
Did u sub vegan butter for the coconut cream everywhere? In the dough, the filling, and the topping??
What kind of coconut cream do you mean? Do I buy the canned Thai coconut cream and just use the top stuff of the can where is like whipped cream. Or do I mis it into the liquid below?
Just the top part, which should be thick and creamy – don’t use the coconut water below.
La crema di cocco e` quella in lattina?
Si! 🙂
Is the coconut taste super dominant?
Not in the rolls themselves, but you can taste it in the frosting. If you want to avoid that, you could make a water- or non dairy milk-based icing.
Can’t wait to make these! Can you freeze the dough in portions before letting it rise to bake them at a later date?
Hi Tori! I’ve never tried freezing the dough, but I think it should work. I would try it on a smaller portion first, just to make sure. 🙂
I only had gluten free flour on hand and they turned out hard and didn’t spread.. but the inside were yummy still!
Hi Zandi, this recipe is definitely meant to be made with “normal” what flour – though I am working on a GF cinnamon roll recipe as we speak! 🙂
Have you come up with a vegan GF version of this yet?
Not yet, working on it! 😀