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Home Recipe Index Baked Goods

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

★★★★★ 4.9 /5 Updated: 1/17/23
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I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve made these Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls. My kids cheer when they find out I’m making them. You’ll be the one cheering when you realize how easy it is to make homemade cinnamon rolls in the bread machine! Overnight and non-bread machine instructions are included. Let’s get baking!

Baked cinnamon rolls being lifted out of a glass baking dish

There is one thing my kids can agree on: Mom’s cinnamon rolls are the bomb.

We’ve tried all sorts of variations of cinnamon rolls over the years: canned, sourdough, store-bought, farmers market, etc. Despite the hefty competition, this cinnamon roll recipe rises to the top. The kids love to watch the dough dance around in the bread machine and I always have lots of help when it comes to rolling out the dough.

My hope is this Cinnamon Roll recipe finds a permanent place in your home like it has ours.

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Why Use a Bread Machine to Make Cinnamon Rolls?

Yes, there are thousands of recipes out there that don’t require a bread machine. And I’m sure they are delicious. But, I assure you, you are not compromising flavor or texture when using a bread machine to do the hard work of making the dough for your cinnamon rolls. In short, it’s a no-brainer approach that has served me well for years!

While you still have to roll and bake, the dough setting on a bread machine will ensure you have amazing dough to work with before you even begin!

Here is the bread machine I personally use. Many bread machines will have a yeast dispenser at the top. If yours has it, go ahead and use it. Mine does not but I’ve found my dough to turn out fine when I nestle the yeast in right on top of the ingredients.

What If I Don’t Have a Bread Machine?

I’ve gotten this question a lot so I tested out this exact recipe without using a bread machine. And guess what? It worked!

If you don’t have a bread machine, use a stand mixer to combine all of the dough ingredients. Using a dough hook, let it knead the dough for 7-8 minutes. Transfer the sticky dough to a grease-lined bowl. Cover with a towel and let it rise for about 1-1.5 hours (or until twice its size.) It will be sticky so use lots of flour when rolling it out.

Cinnamon rolls made in the bread machine with icing drizzled on top

What Is The Difference Between Instant and Active Dry Yeast?

Quick Rise (aka Instant) and active dry yeast are essentially the same ingredients. They are just slightly different in forms and applications.

The main differences between the two are:

  • Active yeast needs rehydration. Active dry yeast must first be dissolved and rehydrated in warm water. I like to think of it like, “It needs to be activated!”
  • Quick Rise Yeast needs less time to rise. Since instant yeast has a finer texture than active dry yeast, it’s possible to skip the initial rise time that Active Rise Needs. This is why it works great for bread machines!

I’ve tested both types of yeast with this recipe in my bread machine and the Quick Rise Yeast works much better! Active yeast will work. It will just need more time and more warmth to rise.

Be sure to keep opened packets/jars in the refrigerator!

How to Make Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

1. Make the Dough

Place the ingredients for the dough in your machine in the order listed in the recipe below. If you don’t have a yeast dispenser, just nestle the yeast on top of the flour.

Run your machine on a dough cycle. (Mine takes around 45 minutes but times will vary on this.)

After the dough is done, take it out and split the dough into two mounds.

Roll one of the dough mounds out into a rectangle shape. To get it flattened out, it might take a few minutes of working with it, but it will get there.

Cinnamon roll dough rolled out

2. Make the Filling

Spread half of the melted butter out on your dough and then top it with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. This is a great job to have kids help with and it can be far from perfect.

filling for cinnamon rolls spread out over dough that was made in the bread machine

3. Roll and Slice Them

With the long edge in front of you, begin to gently roll the dough.

Rolling up the cinnamon roll dough

Starting at one end, slice the dough into about 1 inch thick pieces. The result will be a pinwheel-shaped form when turned on its side.

Place pinwheels on greased baking sheet. I like mine touching each other so they all are soft and not too browned on the outside but if you want them not touching, spread them apart on the sheet.

Repeat the steps above with the second mound of dough.

4. Let Them Rise

Cover assembled dough with a lightweight hand towel and let rise for another 25-30 minutes. If it’s cooler weather, I turn on my oven for just a minute or two and then turn it off in order to get it a little warm. I then let it rise in there.

5. Time to Bake

Bake at 350°F for 17-20 minutes or until lightly brown on top (they will need longer if you’re baking them in a casserole dish instead of a sheet pan). Tap the middle of the roll to see if it bounces back. If it does, it’s probably done!

Baked cinnamon roll being cut into

How to Make the Icing

I keep my icing pretty simple. While there are many variations out there, here is what I use:

  • 3-4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 4-5 tablespoons milk + more if you want it thinner

Mix all of this together until it forms the desired consistency. Drizzle it over the cinnamon rolls.

Can I Refrigerate or Freeze Cinnamon Rolls Before Baking?

Another beauty of this recipe is you can prep the cinnamon rolls ahead of time. I’ve done this a lot when I know we will be feeding guests for breakfast or for holidays. The biggest tip I can give you on this is to make sure they come back to room temperature and have time to rise before you bake them.

If you want to prepare the rolls ahead of time, assemble them as normal, let them rise, and then refrigerate for 24-48 hours. Make sure to let them come back to room temperature and rise back up again before baking.

If you want to freeze the cinnamon roll dough, assemble them as normal, let them rise as directed and then wrap them tightly or place them in an airtight container with a lid and freeze. Just make sure you let them thaw and warm up to room temperature and rise a bit before baking.

Homemade cinnamon rolls

What to Serve with Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

Here are some ideas that would go great alongside cinnamon rolls

  • Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole with Bacon and Gruyere
  • Perfectly Cooked Bacon
  • Cheddar Chive Egg Bites
  • Fruit Salad

Hope you enjoy these rolls as much as we have.

Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!

★★★★★ 4.9 from 72 reviews

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Homemade cinnamon rolls. Let the bread machine whip up this cinnamon roll dough for you and follow the easy instructions to bake! Once you’ve made them from scratch, you’ll never go back to canned cinnamon rolls.

Yield: 22 cinnamon rolls 1x
Prep: 1-2 hoursCook: 17 minutesTotal: 3 hours 17 minutes
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Ingredients

Dough

  • 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water (110-115°F is perfect)
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) room temperature butter, cut into small chunks
  • 5 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon quick rise yeast

Filling

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar (brown sugar works great too!)
  • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted

Icing

  • 3–4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 4–5 tablespoons milk, plus more if you like it thinner

Note: This recipe was changed slightly in 2021. I removed 1/4 cup powdered milk from the ingredient list.  I made these once when I didn’t have it on hand and couldn’t tell the difference. But, it’s up to you if you use it or not! I also opt for quick rise yeast vs. active yeast now.

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions

  1. Place the ingredients for the dough in your bread machine in the order listed. If your machine doesn’t have a yeast dispenser, just nestle the yeast in on top of the flour (don’t let it touch the wet ingredients). 
  2. Run your machine on a dough cycle.
  3. After dough is done, take it out and split the dough into two mounds.
  4. On a lightly floured surface, roll one mound of your dough out into some sort of a rectangle. 
  5. Spread half of the melted butter over the rolled-out dough.
  6. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar over the melted butter making sure to cover as much surface with the filling as you can.
  7. Starting at one long ends of your rectangle of dough, roll it up.
  8. Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into about 1 inch pieces. The result will be a pinwheel shaped form when turned on its side.
  9. Place pinwheels on greased baking sheet or in a casserole dish. I like mine slightly touching each other so they all are soft and not too browned on the outside but if you want them not touching, spread them apart on the sheet pan.
  10. Repeat the steps above with the second mound of dough.
  11. Cover assembled rolls with a lightweight hand towel and let rise for 25-30 minutes.
  12. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until lightly brown on top (add a few extra minutes if using a casserole dish). Tap the middle of the roll to see if it bounces back. If it does, it’s probably done!
  13. Combine ingredients to make icing and spread over warm rolls so it melts into them.

Equipment

8×8 Glass Baking Dish with Lid (Freezer Container)

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Bread Machine

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Notes/Tips

Every bread machine is a bit different. The dough setting on mine is 90 minutes. This is the first rise. 

The second rise will be after you assemble the rolls. 

If using a glass baking dish, allow for a few extra minutes when baking. 

© Author: Thriving Home
Cuisine: American Method: Bake

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Polly Conner

Polly Conner

As co-founder of Thriving Home, Polly’s passionate about helping busy parents get dinner on the table. With a house full of kids, dogs, and (usually) a DIY project in the works, she knows firsthand how every minute (and every dollar) counts. As a business owner, she enjoys wearing multiple hats and serves best as a project manager for Thriving Home.

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  1. AvatarDolores says

    Posted on 2/3/23 at 11:42 am

    My family loved them!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 2/3/23 at 12:12 pm

      Wonderful, so glad to hear it Dolores!

      Reply
  2. AvatarKaren says

    Posted on 1/26/23 at 2:42 am

    The texture is great; I’ve never had sweet dough come out as nicely as this. I think next time I would cut them into 2 inch slices to create a larger cinnamon roll. They rose but tend to flatten somewhat with baking.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 1/26/23 at 10:47 am

      Who doesn’t love large cinnamon rolls? 🙂 So glad you found this recipe. Thank you for leaving a review Karen.

      Reply
  3. AvatarJackie says

    Posted on 1/22/23 at 11:03 am

    Your conversion to metric and your conversion to 2x, 3x doesn’t work.

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 1/22/23 at 1:00 pm

      Hi Jackie. Thank you for letting us know. It does appear to be working in Firefox if that helps you while we work on fixing it.

      Reply
  4. AvatarMatt says

    Posted on 1/21/23 at 9:33 am

    Honestly they weren’t sweet enough and the icing was just OK.

    Think I’ll pass on making this again

    ★★★

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 1/22/23 at 1:06 pm

      Hi Matt. Thanks for the feedback.

      Reply
  5. AvatarAlissa Everett says

    Posted on 1/18/23 at 9:09 pm

    Hi! I’m wondering if there’s a way to freeze these for the future and if so when during the process would you do it? Before the second rise or after?

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 1/19/23 at 11:21 am

      Hi Alissa. Here is what Polly wrote about freezing cinnamon rolls: If you want to freeze the cinnamon roll dough, assemble them as normal, let them rise as directed and then wrap them tightly or place them in an airtight container with a lid and freeze. Just make sure you let them thaw and warm up to room temperature and rise a bit before baking.
      So you would want to go all the way through Step 11 (which is what I think you are referring to as the second rise) and then freeze.

      Reply
  6. AvatarShannon says

    Posted on 1/16/23 at 2:10 pm

    Love all your recipes but there is something wonky about the way they are printing out. There is a huge gap between the picture and title and when the recipe instructions start. I thought maybe it was my printer settings because it wasn’t like this before but I finally went and checked a few other websites and there is not this issue on there. Can you fix? I love your recipes and I love printing them out! I’m not sure when this started being weird but I have one I printed in July of last year and it wasn’t doing that?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 1/16/23 at 3:38 pm

      Hi Shannon. We are looking into this and appreciate your feedback. We want the printer version to work well.

      Reply
  7. AvatarTammy says

    Posted on 1/15/23 at 8:10 pm

    I made this as a king cake, not cutting into slices but braiding three rolls and forming an oval. Let it rise again and baked. Delicious !

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 1/16/23 at 3:22 pm

      How fun Tammy! Thank you for leaving a review.

      Reply
  8. AvatarBrenda says

    Posted on 1/15/23 at 7:18 pm

    I made these today and my family loved them. I made 2 more pans for in the morning.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 1/16/23 at 3:22 pm

      Great! So glad to hear it Brenda. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.

      Reply
  9. AvatarJessie says

    Posted on 1/15/23 at 3:18 pm

    I’ve always wanted to make my own cinnamon rolls but it was a little daunting to do by hand. So when I got my bread maker for Christmas I was so excited! This recipe was easy to follow, makes a huge amount with just one roll ( I froze the second to give to a family member) and is definitely one I’ll be making again. My only thing is that my husband prefers them a little crispier on the outside so we needed up cooking them for 28-30 mins in a glass dish.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 1/16/23 at 3:29 pm

      Hi Jessie. Thank you for taking the time to let everyone know what you did to make them a little crispier. I’m so glad you found this recipe.

      Reply
  10. AvatarAshley says

    Posted on 1/15/23 at 11:41 am

    Delicious! I made these last weekend, and my kids are already requesting them again!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 1/16/23 at 3:25 pm

      Gotta love it when they can’t get enough. Thanks for leaving a review Ashley!

      Reply
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