As the days grow shorter and cooler, it’s time to welcome baking season in style with my tirelessly tested Vegan Cinnamon Roll recipe! These eggless, dairy-free cinnamon rolls are made with just 10 simple ingredients and are perfect for cozy mornings and holiday gatherings.
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📖 Recipe Overview
- Made With Only 10 Ingredients - These vegan cinnamon buns are proof-positive that simplicity and deliciousness go hand in hand.
- Soft & Fluffy - Using plant-based buttermilk helps to create a pillowy soft texture that makes these vegan sticky buns absolutely crave-worthy.
- Perfect for Lazy Mornings - If you prep them the day before and pop them in the fridge, all that’s left to do is finish proofing the dough and bake!
If you love sugar, spice, and everything nice, you should try my vegan recipes for homemade speculoos cookies, snickerdoodles, soft & chewy molasses cookies, and cinnamon roll cheesecake next!
🧾 Ingredients Needed
These homemade vegan cinnamon rolls require just a few simple pantry staples. Here’s what to grab:
Ingredient Notes
- Vegan Buttermilk - Soy milk makes the best vegan buttermilk, so try and grab some if you can! This is what makes these the very best vegan cinnamon rolls.
- Vegan Butter - Make sure to reach for block-style butter for the best results.
- Vanilla Extract - For added warmth and complexity. Feel free to swap in vanilla paste or powder instead.
- Instant Yeast - This recipe calls for instant dry yeast. If you are using active dry yeast, it will need to be activated first. To activate, add the yeast to warm buttermilk with a spoonful of sugar and stir. Once the mixture begins bubbling and foaming (about 5-10 minutes), it’s ready to go!
- Brown Sugar - I use light muscovado, but conventional light or dark brown sugar or grated jaggery can also be used.
- Ground Cinnamon - Feel free to use up to 1½ tablespoons depending on how much spice you like in your vegan breakfast rolls. Alternatively, warming spice blends like pumpkin pie spice can also be used for a fun twist on the original.
- Powdered Sugar - Also aptly known as “icing sugar,” this powdery white sweetener ensures your dairy-free cinnamon roll icing is perfectly luscious and smooth. If you’re fresh out, you can easily make your own using granulated sugar, cornstarch or potato starch, and a food processor.
🥣 How To Make Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
This dairy-free, eggless cinnamon rolls recipe comes together with just 15 minutes of active prep. Here’s how:
Step 1: Make the dough. In a jug or small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (melted non-dairy butter, vegan buttermilk, and vanilla extract). In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, instant yeast, and sea salt). Combine the wet and dry ingredients with a spatula to bring the mixture together into a shaggy dough.
Step 2: Knead. Turn the dough out onto a clean dry surface and knead for 5-7 minutes until it forms a smooth ball. DON'T be tempted to flour the surface - I know this is tempting! The dough will be very sticky at the start but it will come together once ready.
Step 3: 1st Proof: Place the dough into a clean bowl lightly greased with some oil. Cover the top of the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place it in a warm part of your kitchen to proof for 1-2 hours until the dough has puffed up and doubled in size.
Step 4: Punch out the air. This is one of the most satisfying parts of making homemade yeasted dough!
Step 5: Roll out the dough. Transfer the dough onto a clean surface that's very lightly dusted with flour. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle (about 11”x16”).
Step 6: Fillings. Carefully spread the softened butter in a thin layer using a spatula or your fingers - going all the way to the edges.
Step 7: Cinnamon sugar. Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the butter in an even layer.
Step 8: Roll up the dough. Carefully and tightly roll the dough into a log. Mark the log into 9 portions.
Step 9: Cut the rolls. Use unflavoured tooth floss to slowly cut them into sections, or a very sharp knife - tooth floss works best!
Step 10: Transfer the rolls to the baking dish. Place the rolls in a baking dish (I use a 10.5"x7.5" dish) lined with parchment paper + cover the plastic wrap or foil.
Step 11: 2nd proof. Let them proof in a warm place for 1-2 hours until they rise and double in size (or overnight in the fridge).
Step 12: Bake. Preheat the oven to 175°C(347°F). Bake for 20-24 minutes until the tops are light golden brown. Cool slightly for 15 minutes.
Whisk together all powdered sugar, non-dairy milk, and vanilla for the frosting.
Drizzle the icing over the sweet rolls while they are still warm for perfectly iced cinnamon rolls.
🍯 Variations
As much as I love this vegan cinnamon bun recipe, there are plenty of ways for you to make it your own. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Different Filling - Have fun experimenting with different swirls in these morning buns. Homemade pumpkin butter or apple butter would be fun for fall. For a springier take, try filling the buns with strawberry chia jam. You could even try using date caramel and chopped pecans for a vegan version of caramel sticky buns.
- Different Glaze - While a basic vanilla glaze is lovely, you have lots of other options too. Add a dribble of maple extract for an autumnal flavor twist, or use lemon zest and some lemon extract for spring buns.
📝 Recipe Tips
Store yeast in the freezer. You can easily extend the lifespan of your yeast packets by several months or more by tucking them in the door of your freezer.
Measure with a digital kitchen scale. This will give you the most accurate results, alternatively if you must measure with cups make sure to measure your flour correctly.
Watch the dough, not the clock. When working with yeasted doughs, you need to tap into your baker’s intuition. While 3 hours is a good guideline for proofing the eggless cinnamon rolls, it may go faster or slower depending on the temperature and humidity where you live. The dough is ready when a slight indentation made with your finger slowly expands back into place. If it springs back immediately, the dough needs more time to proof.
Don’t flour your work surface. The dough for these egg-free cinnamon rolls is rather sticky, so you’ll be tempted, but avoid the impulse. It will come together after some kneading. Also, remember: if it gets too messy, you can wash and dry your hands halfway through the process.
A dough scraper is also very useful to help scrape up any dough that sticks to the surface.
Measure the cinnamon buns. Measure out and gently mark 9 rolls with a knife. A silicone baking mat is helpful for this - it also doubles as a rolling mat!
Grab some unflavored tooth floss. It’s the best way to cut these tasty vegan cinnamon rolls into perfect rounds! Make sure you pull the floss and cut them slowly, so that the dough doesn't compress too much with the pressure!
Add the vegan cinnamon roll icing while the buns are still warm from the oven. It’ll help the glaze spread out evenly over the top.
💬 FAQs
They can if they make this dairy-free no-egg cinnamon rolls recipe! Otherwise, it depends on the cinnamon roll. Many are made using dairy (e.g. butter & milk) and eggs, so you’ll want to avoid those if you’re a vegan.
ABSOLUTELY! When you smell the cozy cinnamon goodness wafting through your kitchen, you’ll start to see why. But the true test is diving into a warm, soft, fluffy bun. Once you taste one of these bad boys, I have a feeling you’ll want to put this egg-free dairy-free cinnamon rolls recipe on repeat.
Tightly cover any leftover rolls, or place them into an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for 2 days, or you can refrigerate them for up to 5 days. Take them out of the fridge an hour before serving to let them soften. You can also gently warm them in a toaster oven if you’d like.
Of all the flours, pastry flour has the lowest protein content, hovering around 8%. (For reference, all-purpose flour has about 10-12% protein.) By using a lower-protein flour, there is less gluten development, which results in supremely tender baked goods.
That said, yeasted doughs (like for these cinnamon rolls without eggs) rely on gluten structure to poof up and become fluffy. I personally haven’t tried making this recipe using pastry flour, so I wouldn’t recommend it. If you try it, though, let me know how it turns out in the comments below!
🍞 More Vegan Brunch Recipes
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Description
Equipment
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 batch (1 cup) vegan buttermilk, (236ml soy milk + 1 tbsp acv)
- 75 g (2.65 oz) vegan butter (block-style), melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 460 g (3⅔ cups) all-purpose flour, *see note 1
- 60 g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
- 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast, *see note 2
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Filling
- 60 g (2.12 oz) vegan butter (block-style), softened *see note 3
- 60 g (⅓ cup) brown sugar, I use light muscovado
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, use up to 1½ tbsp, depending on taste
Frosting
- 200 g (1⅔ cups) powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- 3-4 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Please read the recipe thoroughly before getting started. For the most accurate results, measure with a digital kitchen scale.
- Preparation: Make a batch of vegan buttermilk. Slowly melt the vegan butter (for the dough) in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave. Be careful not to heat it, you just want to warm it enough to melt.
- Make the dough: Add the melted butter and vanilla extract to the vegan buttermilk and mix. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.Pour the buttermilk mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and use a spatula to bring the mixture together into a shaggy dough.
- Knead: (By hand) Turn the dough out onto a clean dry surface. Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes until it forms a smooth ball. DON'T be tempted to flour the surface, the dough will be very sticky at the start but it will come together once ready. If it gets too messy, you can wash and dry your hands halfway through the process. A dough scraper is also very useful to frequently scrape up any dough that sticks to the surface.
- 1st proof: Clean and dry the bowl and lightly grease it with some oil. Place the dough ball into the bowl and cover the top of the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Place in a warm part of your kitchen to proof for 1-2 hours until the dough has puffed up and doubled in size.
- Punch the air out of the dough + roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle (about 11”x16”).
- Fill the rolls: Carefully spread the softened butter in a thin layer using a spatula or your fingers - going all the way to the edges.Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the butter in an even layer.
- Carefully and tightly roll the dough into a log. Mark the log into 9 portions. Use unflavoured tooth floss to cut them into sections, with slow and steady pressure. You can also use a very sharp knife - tooth floss works best!
- 2nd proof: Place the rolls in a baking dish (I use a 10.5"x7.5" dish) lined with parchment paper + cover the plastic wrap or foil. Let them proof in a warm place for 1-2 hours until they rise and double in size. Alternatively, to make overnight cinnamon rolls you can place them in the fridge for up to 24 hours at this stage. Then take them out to sit at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until they double in size.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 175°C(347°F). Bake for 20-24 minutes until the tops are light golden brown. Cool slightly for 15 minutes.
- Icing: Whisk together the ingredients until smooth + swirl on top of the warm buns.
- Storage: Tightly cover any leftover rolls, or place them into an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for 2 days, or you can refrigerate them for up to 5 days. Take them out of the fridge an hour before serving to let them soften.
Notes
-
- I recommend measuring with a scales. If you must measure with cups make sure to measure your flour correctly.
- Yeast: This recipe calls for instant dry yeast, if you are using active yeast, it will need to be activated first. to activate, add the yeast to warm buttermilk with a spoonful of sugar and stir. Once the mixture begins bubbling and foaming (about 5-10 minutes), it’s ready.
- The butter for the filling needs to be quite soft to help it spread nicely without damaging the structure of the dough. I recommend taking it out of the fridge at least an hour ahead.
- Watch the dough, not the clock. When working with yeasted doughs, you need to tap into your baker’s intuition. While 3 hours is a good guideline for proofing the eggless cinnamon rolls, it may go faster or slower depending on the temperature and humidity where you live. The dough is ready when a slight indentation made with your finger slowly expands back into place. If it springs back immediately, the dough needs more time to proof.
- Add the vegan cinnamon roll icing while the buns are still warm from the oven. It’ll help the glaze spread out evenly over the top and the glaze will stick to the buns better.
Nutrition
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