No Yeast Required Cinnamon Rolls are pillowy, sweet, and require no yeast to make them! Easy, tender, and so satisfying.
Today I spent a grey and drizzly afternoon whipping up a recipe from In Jennie’s Kitchen that’s been burning a hole in my back pocket for a few weeks now — dense, gooey, mouthwatering no yeast required cinnamon rolls!
I am obsessed over this recipe! I’ve baked with yeast several times in the past year, and the recipes have turned out well, more or less, but sometimes I just don’t have the time or patience to deal with it, ya’ know?
Homemade cinnamon rolls without the hassle of making sure the milk’s the right temperature? The yeast is activating? The dough has doubled in size?
They exists, my friends, and here’s how you make them:
Start by combining the cinnamon roll filling ingredients in a medium-size mixing bowl: brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt & butter.
Mix it up with s whisk until combined.
In a larger bowl, combine flour, more sugar, and salt, plus the leavening agents that let us ditch that pesky yeast.
Baking powder and baking soda.
Whisk together more butter with buttermilk, then pour the mixture into the dry ingredients.
Stir with a stiff spoon or spatula just until the dough comes together. If you over-mix, you will have hard cinnamon rolls, and we can’t have that.
Gently knead the dough into a ball, then divide into two halves.
Turn each half onto a flat, floured surface, then press on half the filling mixture.
Roll the dough up like a log, then pinch the top seam shut. This is the part where I noticed the biggest difference between a yeast-required vs. non-yeast-required cinnamon roll dough. This dough is MUCH easier to handle. Not as sticky, and more firm.
Slice, slice, baby!
Oh yeah!
The recipe says to place the cinnamon rolls into a greased 11×8″ pan. I seemed to have misplaced mine sometime in the last month, so I spit the rolls between 8×8″ and 6×4″ non stick sprayed pans. Now pop those puppies in a piping hot oven.
In the quick 15 minutes they take to bake, whip up some cream cheese icing.
Mash together powdered sugar and cream cheese with a fork, then drizzle in buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
Next take those GORGEOUS, bubbly, golden-brown rolls out of the oven, (ahhh!)
and pretend you live in a world where Grandmas still place hot pies on their windowsills to cool. Place yours on a wooden stool in front of the open back-porch door instead…
Then breeeeeathe in the Heavenly, sweet aroma that’s swirling around your kitchen.
Now spread the cream cheese icing over the top and spread into an even layer.
I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about a recipe! I just can’t get over how much easier these were than cinnamon rolls made with yeast-required dough. So rich and scrumptious too!
Here are the differences between yeast-required & no yeast-required cinnamon rolls, in my experience/opinion:
- No yeast dough is much more firm and cooperative than sticky, yeast-required dough – which makes it much easier to handle, roll out and cut.
- The texture of a baked no yeast roll is more dense than a yeast-required roll. Not better or worse, just different. Allllmost like a heavy pancake?!
- I saved HOURS in the kitchen by ditching the yeast!
Now YES, there is definitely something to be said about baking with yeast. It’s very rewarding, and I’m not giving it up for good.
BUT, if you get a craving for warm, fresh cinnamon rolls that needs to be squashed NOW, then you need to make these!
Ingredients
For the Cinnamon Filling:
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
For the Cinnamon Roll Dough:
- 2-1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 5 Tablespoons butter, melted and divided
For the Icing:
- 3 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 Tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425. Combine filling ingredients in a small bowl, then mix with a fork until well blended.
- In a another, larger bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together buttermilk and 4 Tablespoons melted butter in a separate bowl, then pour into the middle of the dry ingredients. Stir together until dough just comes together (do not overmix.) Kneed slightly with your hands until the dough forms into a ball, then slice it in half.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a 12x8" rectangle (think slightly longer than a sheet of paper.) Press half the filling mixture into the center, leaving 1/4" of the dough clear on all 4 sides, then roll like a sausage. Pinch together seam, trim ends and cut into 8 slices. Repeat with the other dough half, then place rolls in a non-stick sprayed 11x8" pan, or an 8x8 and 6x4" pan. Brush cinnamon rolls with remaining Tablespoon of melted butter and bake for 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.
- Meanwhile, to make the icing, mash together softened cream cheese and powdered sugar with a fork until smooth. Whisk in buttermilk, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until creamy. Drizzle onto hot cinnamon rolls and spread evenly.
Notes
- From In Jennie's Kitchen
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I used your dough recipe to make fig prosciutto rolls for a party and it was wonderful! The dough rose beautifully in the oven and was sturdy enough to handle savory filling. Thanks!
Yum, that sounds *awesome*!! Thanks so much for leaving your feedback!
Cinnamon roll receipe
I was looking at every picture and the recipe but I was not able to find the max time spent on these… Anyone know? Sorry if I missed it. Not the best eyes.
I just have to tell you, this is my go to cinnamon roll recipe! I always come back to it when I want to make cinnamon rolls. I’ve been making these since I was a freshman in college in 2011! Anyway, I make these a few times a year for guests, especially around Christmas, and just had to say thanks and let you know that it never fails to taste AMAZING! :)
Love it, Julia! So wonderful that it’s a keeper for you, and that you’ve been making them for so many years. Thanks for sharing! :)
I am a baker, that is my college major. i decided to make christmas breakfast for my family and I really do not want to deal with the irritating yeast, I will try this and hope it works
can you sub buttermilk for regular milk?
Hi Shoni! I haven’t tried that swap myself so unfortunately I can’t say for sure if it’d work the same!
I just baked this today using all the same ingredients and following all the instructions…but it came out bad! batter is so wet & sticy that it stick into my rolling pin, very difficult to roll. i ended up spreading it with a spatula. the taste is like a cinnamon biscuit…. not the cinnamon roll that im expecting. it’s either because of how/what i did or must be the recipe.
Can I make these the night before and then keep them in the fridge overnight? Also, how long do you think the dough would be able to stay in the fridge before cooking? Planning a weekend visit but I will not be able to bring my mixer with me so I wanted to make these ahead of time and cook them there! Thank you
Hi Lexie! I haven’t personally tried this, but I think it would work just fine. Will you come back and let us know how it goes?
1) can you place them in the fridge over night for convenience sake to bake them in the morning 2) do you have a favorite buttermilk substitute you can recommend!
Hi Kristin, this is Belgium (Europe) calling! ;) I was wondering if you could use self rising flour instead of the all purpose kind, the baking powder and soda. Do you need to make any other adjustments to the amounts of flour, milk etc? Love the recipe!
Hi! Just made the no yeast required Cinnamon rolls and they are amazing btw! Is there any way that you could make these ahead of time? Would they be ok to put in the frig the night before and cook the next morning?
Hi Amy! I haven’t tried but I tend to think it would work if tightly covered with saran wrap and refrigerated overnight!
Is there any way to prep these ahead of time or make part-way and freeze? I want to do these for day after T-giving brunch
Hi Patti! I haven’t tried prepping or making these ahead of time, but it could work! Let me know if you give it a try!
Loved these. Had to add quite a bit more flour (1/4 cup or so I’d estimate) to get the dough past the “so sticky it sticks to every surface” stage, but after that they rolled up very nicely and are bubbling away in the oven. Thank you! :)