This no yeast homemade cinnamon rolls recipe is the quickest and easiest way to make everyone’s favorite cinnamon-filled bakery item. Nothing compares to the taste of a soft, gooey cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven.
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Without Yeast
You may be scratching your head a bit and wondering, “How the heck do you make cinnamon rolls with no yeast?” Well, the answer is actually quite simple, baking powder.
By swapping out just the right amount of baking powder in place of the yeast you arrive at the perfect homemade cinnamon rolls that can be made in under an hour.
You might be thinking this is too good to be true. I can ensure you, that it’s not. These cinnamon rolls are just as fluffy and filled with gooey deliciousness as any other cinnamon rolls!
The only difference is that you don’t have to wait for them to rise. It makes it so easy to put these together at a moment’s notice.
Why We Love This No-Yeast Cinnamon Rolls
- Homemade cinnamon rolls are way better than the bakery version.
- You don’t need to wait for them to rise because there is no yeast!
- Easy to make – only about 20 minutes prep time.
- Bonus: your house will smell amazing!
Ingredients for Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Whole milk
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Cream cheese
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
Additions & Substitutions
- Cream cheese icing: You can substitute your favorite vanilla glaze for the cream cheese icing in this recipe. I do however like how the cream cheese icing holds up to these cinnamon rolls and it makes them extra indulgent.
- Cinnamon: You substitute either a pumpkin spice blend or apple pie spice blend for the cinnamon in the filling part of the recipe. These are all warm spices that pair very well with both the cream cheese icing and the dough.
How to Make No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls
- Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. And butter and milk and stir until well combined.
- Place the dough onto a floured surface and roll it to form dough balls.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together light brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to a 10×12 rectangle.
- Spread cinnamon sugar over the rectangle dough.
- Carefully roll the dough starting with one of the 12” sides into a log.
- Cut the log into 12 rolls. Place the rolls on 9 inch round baking dish.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
- Add cream cheese, butter, salt, vanilla and milk in a bowl and mix together until completely incorporated. Beat in the powdered sugar until creamy and smooth.
- When cinnamon rolls finish baking, cover them in the cream cheese icing.
Tip from our recipe developer
- Due to the nature of these being a quick and easy cinnamon roll, without yeast, they are the texture of a soft and tender dough but they will not have that big fluffy, pillowy texture that a traditional cinnamon roll has. They also will not rise and spread like a traditional roll. However, these cinnamon rolls are very delicious and are a great quick version of a favorite breakfast treat.
- This dough is very easy to work with. It may be a bit sticky but please resist the temptation to add more flour to the dough. This will make the tough and similar to a scone texture and not the soft and light texture of these rolls.
Storage
- To Store: Serve while still warm. You can store any leftovers in a covered container, in the refrigerator, for up to 2 days. You will want to note that as these cool and sit, they will not be as soft as when they are warm.
- To Reheat: Gently warm them back up in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds..
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No Yeast Cinnamon Roll
Serves — 12
This recipe for no yeast cinnamon rolls is the quickest and easiest way to make everyone’s favorite cinnamon-filled bakery item.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Ingredients
Cinnamon rolls
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour divided
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2½ teaspoons cinnamon
Cream cheese icing
- 2 ounces cream cheese room-temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter room-temperature
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
Instructions
Cinnamon rolls
- Preheat oven to 350* F. Spray an 8 inch round baking pan with baker’s spray. Set aside.
- In a medium sized, spouted, measuring cup add the whole milk and 4 tablespoons of the unsalted butter. Heat in the microwave for 1 – 1 ½ minutes on high or until the butter has melted and the milk is warm but not boiling. Mix together and allow to cool slightly.
- In a large mixing bowl add 2 cups of the all-purpose flour, baking powder, granulated sugar and salt. Stir to combine.
- Using a spatula, slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the flour mixture. You will gently stir the dough together until all the milk is absorbed by the flour. Lightly flour your hands and use your hands to lightly knead the dough to form a ball inside the mixing bowl. Cover the bowl of dough with a damp paper towel or tea-towel and allow the dough ball to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare your filling.
- In a small bowl stir together the light brown sugar and cinnamon. In a small dish melt the remaining two tablespoons of unsalted butter. Set aside.
- On a clean counter, or rolling mat, add the remaining ¼ cup all-purpose flour and spread it out to roll out your dough. Using a rolling pin, which has been lightly floured, roll your dough out into a 10×12 inch rectangle.
- Brush, using a pastry brush, the 2 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter onto the entire surface of the dough. Evenly sprinkle the entire surface of the dough with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Roll the dough, from the 12 inch long side, into a log. Carefully trim off each end of the log so that you have a nice even log of cinnamon roll dough.
- Slice your cinnamon rolls evenly into 12 rolls. These should be about an inch wide per roll.
- Gently place each roll into the prepared 9 inch round baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the no yeast cinnamon rolls are just lightly golden on the edges. You do not want to over bake your cinnamon rolls.
Cream cheese icing
- In a medium sized mixing bowl cream together, with a handheld mixer on medium-low speed, the cream cheese, unsalted butter and salt for 1 minute or until there are no lumps.
- Add the vanilla extract and whole milk to the cream cheese mixture and beat for an additional 30 seconds until completely incorporated.
- With the mixer on low, beat in the powdered sugar until creamy and smooth. You may need to add an additional 1-2 teaspoons of whole milk to thin out your frosting if it is too thick to spread.
- Once your no yeast cinnamon rolls have come out of the oven you can frost your cinnamon rolls while they are warm with the cream cheese icing. *You can use a pinch of cinnamon to sprinkle onto the top of your frosted cinnamon rolls if desired for a garnish*
Jenn’s Notes
Storage :
Serve these NO Yeast Cinnamon Rolls while still warm. You can store any leftovers in a covered container, in the refrigerator, for up to 2 days. You will want to note that as these cool and sit, they will not be as soft as when they are warm. You can gently warm them back up in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds if desired.
Tips:
- Due to the nature of these being a quick and easy cinnamon roll, without yeast, they are the texture of a soft and tender dough but they will not have that big fluffy, pillowy texture that a traditional cinnamon roll has. They also will not rise and spread like a traditional roll. However, these no yeast cinnamon rolls are very delicious and are a great quick version of a favorite breakfast treat.
- This dough is very easy to work with. It may be a bit sticky but please resist the temptation to add more flour to the dough. This will make the tough tough and similar to a scone texture and not the soft and light texture of these rolls.
- You can substitute your favorite vanilla glaze for the cream cheese icing in this recipe. I do however like how the cream cheese icing holds up to these cinnamon rolls and it makes them extra indulgent.
- I sometimes like to substitute either a pumpkin spice blend or apple pie spice blend for the cinnamon in the filling part of the recipe. These are all warm spices that pair very well with both the cream cheese icing and the dough.
-
I recommend opting for an 8-inch round cake pan to ensure that the cinnamon rolls are positioned in close proximity to each other. Alternatively, you may consider utilizing a 9-inch pie pan, noting that its base measures 8 inches in diameter.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 259kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 141mg | Potassium: 163mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 263IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 1mg
Really quite a lovely recipe. Easy to make and oh so good. The frosting especially. Mine did not rise well – but I used a different sized pan. They were still wonderful as there was a larger frosting to pastry ratio 🙂