Soft Cinnamon Rolls
Soft Cinnamon Rolls recipe is an absolute no-fail easy homemade cinnamon roll recipe filled with cinnamon and covered with cream cheese frosting. Vanilla pudding in the dough keeps the whole roll soft not just the center. Although yeast is involved, I promise you can make these perfect cinnamon rolls from scratch easily for breakfast or for a special occasion like Christmas morning.
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I may earn commissions for purchases made through links on this post.
CINNAMON ROLLS RECIPE
I’m not one for surprises. I remember when I was nine months pregnant with my second son I had spent the afternoon making homemade cinnamon rolls for a friend. My love for cooking and my huge belly never played well together.
If you’ve seen me pregnant you know that my babies like to lay Superman style in my abdomen. Don’t make me show you a picture. By the end of the day my belly was covered in whatever I was making that day in the kitchen.
Most of it I tried to wash off but considering I couldn’t see under my belly, the treasures of the day’s adventures hid on the underside. On this particular day I had tons of flour all over my belly. I don’t know why I didn’t have an apron on but I had tried to kind of pat the flour off my blue shirt.
Changing clothes wasn’t an option because if you’ve been 9 months pregnant you know that there are about two shirts that fit you those last couple of days.
So I headed out the door with my flour dusted belly, scarce makeup, and cinnamon rolls in hand to give to my friend. I hollered to my husband that I would be home in a half hour. He said something along the lines of aren’t you going to change?
I should have known something was up then because my husband has never, except for that instance, said anything like that regarding my appearance in our marriage (although I’m sure there were many times he wanted to).
CINNAMON ROLLS
I headed to my friend’s and walked into a house filled with people for…MY surprise baby shower. And boy was I surprised. As I excused myself to the bathroom I was horrified to see my appearance.
It was then that I realized I don’t like surprises. I don’t like all of the attention on me (which is why I struggled with my cookbook release). I don’t like feeling like I have to react in a way everyone expects me to. I like to know what’s going on.
So now every time I make homemade cinnamon rolls I throw a little flour on my belly for good luck and think about that moment.
HOW TO GET YEAST TO RISE
- It’s important to have the water the right temperature so that it rises. If it’s too hot it will kill the yeast, if it’s too cold the yeast won’t activate.
- Yeast loves a dark warm environment. I cover my yeast mixture with a dish towel. This traps the heat in and the darkness helps the yeast grow.
- If your yeast mixture isn’t foaming, either your yeast is old (check the expiration date) or your water was too hot or too cold. Start over.
I know many of you love these Cinnabon cinnamon rolls and I do too! They’re fabulous but in my opinion these are the best cinnamon rolls.
But I’m a food blogger and I’m always looking for another fabulous version of everything.
You know how the middle of a cinnamon roll is the best part? Well these rolls stay so soft – the entire roll. I ate about a dozen which was fine because it made two. These are divine!
HOW TO MAKE CINNAMON ROLLS
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First, in a small bowl combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside.
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Next, in a large bowl, make pudding mix according to package directions. Add butter, eggs and salt to the pudding mixture and mix well.
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Add the yeast mixture and mix together. Gradually add flour; knead until smooth. Add additional flour until dough is soft but not sticky (I added 7 cups total). Do not add too much flour.
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Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled.
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Roll dough with a rolling pin onto a lightly floured surface about 34 X 21 inch rectangle in size. Take 1 cup soft butter and spread over surface. In bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon filling over the top. Roll up very tightly starting with the long side. With knife put a notch every 1 1/2 inches. Cut with thread or serrated knife. Place on lightly greased baking dish 1 inch apart. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm place until double again.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove when they start to turn golden brown. Do not overbake! Frost rolls after rolls have cooled just a couple of minutes (directions below). You still want to frost them with cream cheese icing while they’re warm just not super hot!
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING FOR CINNAMON ROLLS
The best frosting for cinnamon rolls is cream cheese frosting.
8 ounces of cream cheese, 1 stick of butter, 4 cups of powdered sugar, and vanilla.
CAN I MAKE CINNAMON ROLLS THE DAY BEFORE?
Yes. If making ahead of time cover and refrigerate after the unbaked rolls have been rolled and sliced instead of a second rise. The next morning, when ready to bake remove from the fridge and allow rolls to rise.
ANY EASY WAY TO CUT CINNAMON ROLLS
Use dental floss. Unflavored of course. Just slide it under the roll and cross over the top to cut cinnamon roll dough without squishing it. Sure a sharp knife will work as well but this is way more fun!
OTHER BREAKFAST RECIPES:
- Blueberry Croissant Puff
- Apple Cider Cinnamon Rolls
- Baked Oatmeal
- Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Bake
- Red Velvet Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls
- Orange Rolls
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- French Toast Roll-ups
- Overnight French Toast Casserole
- Cheesy Baked Eggs
Soft Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- ½ cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding (and milk called for to prepare it)
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 cups all-purpose flour, (plus more as needed)
Filling:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons whole milk or cream
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside.
- In large bowl of a stand mixer, make pudding mix according to package directions. Add melted butter, eggs and salt to the pudding mixture and mix well.
- Add the yeast mixture and mix together. Gradually add flour; knead until smooth. Add additional flour until dough is soft but not super sticky (somwhere between 6-7 cups total).
- Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled.
- Roll dough onto a floured surface about 34 X 21 inches in size, sprinkling with flour until it doesn't stick. To be honest, mine is usually around 30 X 16 which makes a thicker cinnamon center roll. Take 1 cup soft butter and spread over surface. In bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top. Roll up very tightly starting with the long end. With knife put a notch every 1 1/2 inches. Cut with thread or serrated knife.
- Lightly grease two 9x13 baking dishes and place rolls 1 inch apart. Cover and let rise until double again. *If making ahead of time cover and refrigerate instead of letting rise. When ready to bake remove from the fridge and allow rolls to rise.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove when they start to turn golden brown. Do not overbake! Frost rolls after rolls have cooled just a couple of minutes (directions below). You still want to frost them while they're warm just not super hot! Makes about 24 very large rolls.
- Frosting: Mix together cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons milk. Add more milk as needed.
Notes
Freezing Instructions: To freeze rolls, place them on a baking sheet after they have been rolled and cut. Wrap in plastic wrap and foil and freeze. Thaw rolls at room temperature and allow to rise. Bake as directed.
My favorite recipe. Turns out everytime.
Thank you!
I haven’t tried them yet as I made them to take to my dads tommorow to help him cut wood for the winter! Two questions: Anyone have any advice on spreading the butter. I kept tearing the dough and did not get it over they whole thing. I gave up. I used real butter and it was at room temperature and I even mashed it up first:) Also i made them today and will be eating them tommorow should i keep them in the refrigerator or can they be left out on the counter! Thanks can’t wait to dig into them!!
I put my butter into microwave using the soften feature for about 1.5 minutes. It softens enough to spread smoothly.
I make these cinnamon rolls often. They never fail!! Delicious!!!
Thank you!
I was intrigued with this cinnamon roll recipe because it called for vanilla instant pudding. It actually called for the pudding to be made up with milk and then adding the flour mixture to it.
My husband said it made the best cinnamon rolls he has EVER tasted.
Another bonus was it was much faster to make these cinnamon rolls rather than using my traditional recipe. It was a WIN all the way around!
Oh wow. Great to hear!
Thanks for this recipe!! I also read in the comment about using cold milk that it might retard the rise. But not a concern to you. Can you clarify this question. Just making sure I make the pudding like I am making a instant pudding and putting that right in the dough.
Thanks!
Yes make the pudding according to the package instructions
The whole family loved these soft cinnamon rolls. Making them again for the weekend.
I made these cinnamon rolls last year for my kids and it has been our ultimate go-to cinnamon roll recipe ever since!
Would love your recipes
My granddaughter and I have made these rolls several times. They are SO soft and tender and stay that way for days. That is…. if they last that long. I have given them away to people who just love them. I personally prefer a light frosting to a cream cheese frosting, but most people love the cream cheese, so that is what I use. They are so delicate, I could eat them straight out of the oven with a bit of butter melted on them and no frosting.
I made them into orange rolls too, and they were great. I love adding fresh lemon or orange zest to the frosting and filling. When I made the orange rolls, I reduced the brown sugar to 1 cup and used Smuckers No sugar added orange marmalade in the filling. They were heavenly.
I want to try some cinnamon apple rolls next time. This recipe can’t be beat.
Thank you!
With being Empty Nesters, my hubby and I would love these but we’d need to freeze a bunch of them. Hi do I freeze extras to enjoy later?
I would freeze them before frosting. Then bake to reheat. Then frost. You can even freeze the frosting in a separate bag and thaw in the fridge.
These are the best Cinnamon Rolls!!! I make them often and share half of them with friends and family. These rolls are soft and yummy. Much better than any cinnamon rolls you can buy!!
Thank you. I agree!
Here in the UK, if you want cinnamon rolls it’s either a big discount warehouse brand or make your own. These are delicious. I’ve made them for the first time for my daughter’s 25th birthday breakfast. Instant vanilla pudding mix is not a thing over here but can sometimes be found in South African shops. I made them dairy free using oat milk and goat butter, yes goat and buffalo milk is fine for lactose intolerant folks. They are amazing and calorie free! Thank you from the family who ate everything (except dairy).
Haha the family who ate everything. I love it!!
I only have a package of sugar free vanilla instant pudding. May I use it if I add sugar ( how much? ).
It’s still plenty sweet. No need to add more sugar.
This is the exact same recipe posted on Mels Kitchen Cafe, exactly the same
I got this recipe from Allrecipes and linked in my recipe card. Mel links her recipes too if you look at the bottom of her recipe cards.
Fantastic tasting! Everything loved them!!
Thank you!
Can I make these with instant yeast? If so do I need to proof?
No need to proof but you can use it in this recipe.
Two tablespoons of yeast?
Yes
I would to cut this recipe in half do I need to cut the pudding in half too
Yes you would need to cut all of the ingredients in half to half this recipe.
If I,choose to,use my kitchen aid for making these cinnamon rolls, withmpudding mix how,,long,should,I mix,with kitchen,aid?
Yes, I actually always use my stand mixer. You just want to knead until smooth.
Best cinnamon rolls ever I can’t stop making and eating them!
Ha me either!
WE love the Soft Cinnamon Rolls!!! I make them often and my family loves them. I like the fact that the recipe makes enough to either freeze and enjoy some later or you can share with friends. These cinnamon rolls make a great gift!!
So happy to hear that!
Made these cinnamon rolls today for my grandson it’s his eleventh birthday!They are so good who needs cake. He wants them every year but said I could make them anytime no need to wait a year. Thanks for sharing these with our family.
Thank you! I love these too!
Can u make these folks in muffin tins don’t like spreading
Sure! might get a little sticky though!
I haven’t made these yet, but they sound amazing! Curious question…do they (even remotely) taste like vanilla pudding? I don’t like vanilla pudding at all, so I wanted to know before making them.
No they don’t taste like vanilla pudding.
These cinnamon rolls were a big flop. Not sure what happened but the dough rose and was very sticky. Then I added more flour and it was nice and elastic but doughy when baked. Will stick to traditional with no vanilla pudding
Sorry they didn’t work for you. We’ve made these hundreds of times!
I’m curious on the rise times. I’m sure it would depend on the temperature of the room. Half hour?
Usually around 45 mintutes.
This recipe is the absolute Best Cinnamon roll I have ever eaten and believe me, I’ve eaten them all. This recipe is well written and the results are outta this world. They are soft and flavorful and the frosting is smooth and delicious. This is definitely my go to recipe. My daughters co worker suggested I open a bakery, lol.
Thank you!
How long does it take for the dough to double in size? Both in the bowl and on the greased baking pans? Just trying to get a general idea! 🙂
About an 45-60 minutes.
Is this tablespoons, not teaspoons of yeast? As in about 3 packets worth? These are amazing but I just wanted to double check since I finished making these for the 3rd time tonight and realized most other recipes I’ve seen call for one packet (2tsp)
Just went through the comments and saw the answer! Second question instead – I made these with cook n serve pudding that I bought on accident and froze them to keep for another time. I prepared the pudding correctly on the box and then let it cook before adding the rest, will they still cook normally?
Not a typo. It is tablespoons!
These are amazing! Don’t be afraid of 7 cups of flour. Mine needed every bit of it. If your dough is sticky after raising, you will have dough that is too soft to maintain its shape and will tend to cave and sink. This recipe needs lots of flour, and no real needing. I used dough hooks on my hand mixer, nothing fancy, and worked it long enough to really. Mix the flour well, and turned it into the greased bowl. This is definitely a keeper. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Thank you so much! You are right. You definitely do not want it sticky.
Thank you so much, Christy, for this recipe.
I have tried quite a few cinnamon bun recipes but this is by far the best. My search for the perfect recipe is finally over!
I did half the recipe without any difficulty.
I poured a 1/2 cup of heavy cream over the rolls just before placing them in the oven. This makes the bottom of the rolls super ooey-gooey. I got this idea from another recipe.
I have also used eggnog in place of the milk in the pudding and to pour over the rolls before baking. I love the idea of using instant lemon pudding. Great mistake Peggy. Ooh, maybe chocolate pudding next time.
You must try these rolls. They are so incredibly soft!
I bet all the things you did made them magical!
I made these twice. The second time I used lemon instant pudding, only because I bought it by mistake. I really liked the citrus flavor that the lemon added and it wasn’t over powering. Thanks for such a great recipe
You’re welcome!
Absolutely amazing! Fluffy yet moist ! Best recipe for cinnamon rolls!!!!
Thank you!
Can these be frozen ? I have guest for several days and want to make ahead. If so should I freeze before or after baking? Thanks
You can do it either way. For me I think they would be more fresh if you froze them after shaping them. Then let thaw and rise to bake.
For the 2 rise cycles, about how long should I plan to allow them to double in size?
Depends on how warm your house is. About 45-60 minutes.
Do I use unsalted butter or salted butter? Thank u
I always use unsalted butter when baking so I can control the salt.
The best ever!! I made a different recipe before these that had called for heavy cream poured over rolls right before baking. I didn’t have cream so I whipped up some instant pudding & used it instead. My boyfriend loved them& I was amazed how soft they turned out! I was making cinnamon rolls again when I stumbled onto this recipie that had pudding added to the dough. So I used this recipe which was a bit different than the other one but not much. These rolls were amazing!! So soft & unbelievably delicious!! You can’t go wrong!! It’s got to be the instant pudding, it has to be!!!
Wow interesting! Thanks for sharing.
Step 2 says follow the instructions on the pudding package. But using cold milk will retard the rise. Can I use lukewarm milk instead?
Trust me. It doesn’t! I do it every time.