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These Quick Soft Cinnamon Rolls are super fluffy and light, and are made with a simple homemade dough. Smother them with the easiest cream cheese icing and devour them! These homemade cinnamon rolls are just as soft, if not softer than our Easy Soft Dinner Rolls and pulling them apart is absolute heaven!
It’s actually surprisingly easy to make them, and they taste way better than those store-bought cinnamon rolls. For me, Sunday mornings are all about whipping together a warm, gooey batch of homemade soft cinnamon rolls, topped with a generous coating of cream cheese glaze!
These rolls are right up there on the top of my list of favourite sweet treats, alongside my Best Fudgy Brownies and my Chocolate Chip Cookies, and once you give them a try, you’ll know why.
Why this Recipe Works
I won’t hesitate to say that these quick soft cinnamon rolls are life changing! They turn out incredibly soft and fluffy every single time, and yes – they’re made completely from scratch with a fast rise dough thanks to my special oven proofing method.
Once you give them a try, you won’t go back to any other recipe- it’s a promise.
If you love cinnamon-sugar inspired recipes, also check out my Cinnamon Star Bread and Cinnamon Cheesecake Swirled Pumpkin Brownies, which are perfect to feature on your table when you’re hosting.
What Goes into this Recipe
- Yeast: Use instant yeast or quick rise yeast for best results.
- Butter: Melted butter, for the icing, filling and the yeast.
- Sugar: You’ll need granulated sugar (for the yeast), powdered sugar (for the icing) and brown sugar (for the filling).
- Egg: To lend the cinnamon rolls that structure and lots of richness.
- Flour: Just your regular all purpose flour.
- Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon, for the filling.
- Cream cheese: For that rich, irresistible icing.
- Vanilla: For the sweet aroma.
- Milk: For the icing and a little to help the yeast bloom.
- Cooking oil spray: To grease the bowl.
Note: please see recipe card at the bottom for list of full ingredients and measurements
Substitutions & Variations
- You can use any kind of milk here, but I would recommend using whole milk to get that rich, creamy flavor.
- If you have high protein flour or bread flour, try using it instead of all purpose flour to get even softer cinnamon rolls.
- For a deeper flavor, use dark brown sugar for the cinnamon sugar mixture.
How to Make Quick Soft Cinnamon Rolls
- Warm the Oven: Preheat your oven to 200°F (100°C). This gentle heat will help the dough rise later. Once heated, turn it off but keep the oven warm inside.
- Activate Yeast: In a bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, sugar, and yeast. Let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes, until it becomes foamy and fragrant.
- Make the Dough: Add the whisked egg, flour, and salt to the milk mixture. Mix until a soft, sticky dough forms. Turn it onto a floured surface and knead for about 2 minutes, adding flour only as needed.
- Let Dough Rise: Grease a bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough inside, turning it once to coat. Cover with a damp towel and place in the oven. Let rise for 30 minutes, then punch and rest another 30 minutes until doubled.
- Shape: Roll dough on a floured surface into a 19×13-inch rectangle. Brush with butter, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, and rub the mixture in.
- Roll and Slice: Starting from a long edge, roll the dough tightly into a log and pinch the seam to seal. Trim uneven edges and cut into 12–15 even rolls.
- Second Rise and Bake: Arrange rolls in a greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Cover with a damp towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Uncover and bake for 25 minutes.
- Make the Icing: While baking, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat again until creamy. Spread icing over warm rolls before serving.
Enjoy these quick soft cinnamon rolls on their own as a sweet treat whenever you want to, or make them a part of a breakfast spread when you’re entertaining. I love teaming them up with my Dalgona Whipped Coffee, a hearty Breakfast Casserole with Bacon or Sausage and some easy Egg Muffins.
Recipe FAQ’s
If your cinnamon roll dough isn’t rising enough, it could be because the yeast isn’t active or fresh enough. Make sure you use fresh instant yeast for this recipe for the most soft, light and fluffy rolls.
To test if the yeast is fresh and active, simply check the date on the package or look for bubbles and frothiness when you let it bloom.
You can! If you’re sensitive to dairy, try using a plant based milk like almond milk as a swap, and use coconut oil as a replacement for butter in the recipe. And of course, skip the cream cheese icing and just use some vegan frosting instead.
Watch It Made
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Soft Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
YEAST:
- 1 cup milk warmed to the touch, NOT HOT – temp at 110°F or 45°C
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2-1/2 teaspoons quick-rise yeast or look for instant or rapid-rise yeast
ROLLS:
- 1 large egg lightly whisked
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose or plain flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 spray cooking oil spray
FILLING:
- 3/4 cup brown sugar loosely packed
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
ICING:
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 2 tablespoon butter melted
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Heat oven to 200°F (100°C).
FOR THE YEAST:
- Combine the warm milk together with the melted butter, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Allow to stand for 10 minutes, until frothy.
FOR THE ROLLS:
- Add the whisked egg to the milk mixture. Add in EXACTLY 3 1/2 cups flour and salt, and mix until a soft dough forms (the dough will be sticky). Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 2 minutes kneading), occasionally rolling into the flour on your bench top to prevent the dough sticking to your fingers.
- Lightly coat a large bowl with cooking oil spray and transfer the ball of dough to the bowl, turning once to coat in the oil. Cover with a damp towel. TURN OVEN OFF and transfer bowl of dough to the warm oven. Allow to rise for 30 minutes. (To check if dough is ready, gently press two fingers into dough. If an indentation remains, dough has not risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest for an additional 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Roll out dough onto a lightly floured surface, into a 19-inch x 13–inch rectangle. Brush the melted butter over the dough and sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and cinnamon. Gently rub the cinnamon mixture into the butter. Beginning at one long side, roll up dough tightly like a jelly-roll; then gently pinch the seam down to seal. Trim the ends for even slices, and cut dough into 12 or 15 slices.
- Arrange the rolls in a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Cover with the damp towel and allow to rise for a further 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
- While rising, preheat oven to 175°C | 350°F.
- Uncover rolls; bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly golden. Cool slightly before glazing.
FOR THE ICING:
- Prepare icing while rolls are baking. Beat together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla, until smooth and creamy. Beat in the powdered sugar until lump free. Spread icing over rolls. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have been trying to make great cinnamon rolls, this was my 4th recipe attempt and worked amazingly! I used powdered milk instead of normal and it still worked amazingly. Fluffy and incredible!
I made this for my daughter inlaw’s Birthday her favourite and turned out amazing thank you will make again
Just a quick question, were we supposed to put the bowl of dough in the oven after we preheated it at 200°?
Hi, I’m sorry – I swear I posted a question and I have read through every single comment still left with a question.. by the way your recipes are amazing, I am culinary trained myself but ended up making a career change but now have a boyfriend with no taste buds and your recipes are bringing good food back into my life lol. Anyway, I usually only use metric recipes as US standard can be very finicky especially when it comes to flour. Does anyone have the measurement for the flour in grams? Is it the standard 3 1/2 cup of flour = about 438 grams? Thank you so much in advance and hope you’re having a great start to the week!
My go to recipe for Chelsea Buns aka Cinnamon buns.The recipe delivers and my family gets to enjoy these delicious soft fluffy bundles of yumminess.10/10
I made these cinnamon rolls in April 2020 and wrote on my printout that these were amazing!. I added almost double the butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar for the filling at that time. I am glad to see that the filling portion was increased on the website.
I have a batch in the oven baking now and can’t wait to eat them. They are super simple to make, despite what seems like a lot of instructions. But detail is important and I appreciate it.
I can’t stress enough the importance of using a thermometer when warming the milk. I add the 1 cup of milk to a 2-cup glass measuring cup and microwave about 1 minute, which gets me close to the 110 degrees F on my thermometer. Nothing worse than killing the yeast and not getting a good rise.
I tried the recipe out and it turned out better than any other recipe I have tried. However, I am at 8,000 feet elevation and feel that I would need to change something to have the rolls come out like you show.
Perfect cinnamon rolls. I am always on the search for a better cinnamon roll recipe, but I cannot conceive of a better recipe than this. Easy to follow, and the recipe produces a soft, delicious cinnamon roll. I did change one thing: I proof the yeast in the milk, then add the rest of the ingredients. Thanks for sharing!
OMG! I tried this for the first time and it came out well! Thank you so much for this recipe
So soft and so delicious!!!