Easy Vegan Cinnamon Rolls Bakery Style

Love vegan baking? Try my vegan chocolate cake, vegan chocolate chip cookies, vegan brownies, and vegan birthday cake next. I consider myself a cinnamon roll snob, and when my vegan cousin wanted to challenge me to develop a fully vegan cinnamon roll recipe, I was in. Now, being said snob, these rolls had to look and taste like any good cinnamon roll, and let me just say, these tick those boxes.

Why I love this recipe

It has the perfect texture. Cinnamon rolls need to be fluffy and soft in the middle with a warm cinnamon swirl throughout and ample frosting. My cinnamon buns ticks the boxes with that! You can make ahead. One of my favorite things is making overnight cinnamon rolls. I halt the recipe before the second rise by shifting it to the fridge. I allow the rolls to return to room temperature and bake them fresh the next day. Simple ingredients. I promise you, there are no egg substitutes or hard-to-find vegan ingredients. Everything can be found at any mainstream grocery store!

Ingredients needed

Vegan butter. To enrich the dough. Use good quality organic vegan butter for this recipe. Instant yeast. I have used instant yeast as a leavening agent because it’s fast-acting. You could also use active dry yeast instead. Before mixing with other ingredients, always check the expiry date and activate it in sweet, warm milk/water. Organic ane sugar. Or any white sugar of choice. Plant-based milk. I’ve made these rolls with almond milk, oat milk, and soy milk, so safe to say, any dairy-free milk works. All purpose flour. To make the dough. Be sure to sift the flour to ensure there are no clumps throughout. Salt. Just a pinch to balance out all the other ingredients. Filling. A mix of vegan butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Vegan cream cheese frosting. I like to use either vegan cream cheese or vegan mascarpone, vegan butter, and some powdered sugar. You can also add some vanilla extract if you want.

How to make vegan cinnamon rolls

I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Arman’s recipe tips

Use a thermometer to ensure the milk temperature is between 100-110°F before stirring in yeast. If the milk temperature is too high, the yeast will die, and you’ll have to start all over. Roll out a thin dough. Remember to flour the surface and the rolling pin before rolling out your dough. Also, try to make it as thin as possible to get more cinnamon sugar per bite. Cut into shorter rolls. You can slice the roll as tall or short as you like. If you make shorter rolls, you’ll need two trays to bake. To prevent dough stickiness, don’t be afraid to sprinkle some extra flour. Just be sure not to be to generous with it or else you’ll have a dense dough. Frost when warm. Unless you want uber-thick frosting, I recommend frosting the rolls while still warm. The frosting seeps into the base of the rolls giving each one a gorgeous sweet flavor. If you want these to also be gluten-free, you can use gluten-free baking flour (with added xanthan gum) or try my gluten-free cinnamon rolls.

Storage instructions

To store. Cinnamon rolls keep well at room temperature for 2-3 days when stored in an air-tight container. To freeze. Place leftovers in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to two months. Reheating. Thaw from frozen, then reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds.