Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
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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.
Fear not: Non-bread machine instructions are included or just make our super easy Overnight Cinnamon Roll Casserole instead. Let’s get baking!
Why You’ll Love These Cinnamon Rolls
- The bread machine makes the dough for you. No kneading.
- It yields fluffy results.
- This recipe makes a huge batch of rolls. Great for groups!
- You can make the cinnamon rolls in advance and freeze.
- They are absolutely delicious. 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.
Serve it up with our Spinach and Bacon Quiche or along side Crockpot Ham for a delicious meal!
My Favorite Bread Machine
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 turns out fine when I nestle the yeast in right on top of the ingredients.
Ingredients
Here is what you will need to make cinnamon rolls in the bread machine.
Ingredient Notes:
Butter – Needs to be softened. Otherwise the bread machine has a hard time mixing it in.
Flour – Regular all-purpose flour works fine.
Quick Rise Yeast – I have found quick rise yeast yields fluffier results than active dry yeast. But active dry yeast will work as well. Just give the dough more time to rise.
Brown Sugar – I used to use white cane sure but have found I like brown sugar more now. White will work though.
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.
The dough setting on bread machines will vary. For reference, my dough cycle takes around 90 minutes. If yours is much different than mine, this recipe may not work as well.
2. Prepare the Dough
Split the dough into two mounds.
On a floured surface, roll one of the dough mounds into roughly a 18×12-inch sized rectangle. Don’t get too caught up on the size. Aim for a large rectangle.
Using a pastry brush, spread about half of the melted butter over the dough you just rolled out.
3. Add the Filling
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread about half of the sugar mixture out over the dough you just rolled out. Just enough to cover the surface.
4. Roll and Slice the Dough
With the long edge in front of you, begin to gently roll the dough. Using a sharp knife, slice the rolled dough into roughly 1-inch pieces.
In a prepared baking sheet (either parchment lined or greased), place the cinnamon rolls close together but not touching. This gives them room to rise.
Repeat the steps above with the second mound of dough.
Optional: If you have extra butter leftover, brush the tops of your dough with it.
5. Let Them Rise
Cover assembled dough with a lightweight hand towel and let rise in a warm environment 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.)
Don’t worry if they don’t get much bigger. They will still bake fine!
6. Time to Bake
Bake at 350°F for about 17 minutes or until lightly brown on top. Tap the middle of the roll to see if it bounces back. If it does, it’s done!
Note: If baking in a glass dish, they will need additional time. Probably 3-4 minutes more.
Cinnamon Roll 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 whole milk + more if you want it thinner
Mix all of this together until it forms the desired consistency. Drizzle it over the cinnamon rolls.
Freezing Cinnamon Rolls
Prepare Rolls for the Freezer:
- Prepare the dough, roll it out, add the filling, and shape the rolls as usual. Place them in a baking dish or on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Tightly wrap the rolls and baking dish in plastic wrap, ensuring no air can get in. Then cover with aluminum foil for extra protection.
- Store in the freezer for up to 3 months for the best quality.
Prepare Frozen Rolls for Baking:
- Thaw: Remove the rolls from the freezer and arrange them on a baking sheet. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- Proof: After thawing, place the rolls in a warm spot to rise. This can take 1-2 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen. A good place for proofing is inside an oven turned off but with the light on.
- Bake: Follow directions as instructed.
What to Serve with Cinnamon Rolls
FAQs
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.
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. In fact, I use it in our Ham and Cheese Crescent Roll recipe. It will just need more time and more warmth to rise.
Yes, the rolls are very forgiving and will usually bake just fine even if they didn’t rise much.
I prefer to use metal baking sheets because it gives a nice caramelization on the bottom of the cinnamon rolls. However, a glass baking dish will work as well. You’ll need more than one!
Yes, follow the instructions above about combining two small rolls into 1 large one.
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.
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Bread Machine 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.
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 brown sugar (cane 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.
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Instructions
- 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).
- Run your machine on a dough cycle.
- Make the cinnamon sugar filling: Combine 1 1/2 cups brown sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
- After dough is done, take it out and split the dough into two mounds.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll one mound of your dough out into roughly a 18×12-inch rectangle.
- Spread half of the melted butter over the rolled-out dough.
- Sprinkle about half of the cinnamon sugar over the melted butter making sure to cover as much surface with the filling as you can.
- Starting at one long ends of your rectangle of dough, roll it up.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into roughly 1-inch pieces. The result will be a pinwheel shaped form when turned on its side.
- Place pinwheels on greased metal baking sheet. 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.
- Repeat the steps above with the second mound of dough.
- Cover assembled rolls with a lightweight hand towel and let rise in a warm environment for 25-30 minutes.
- 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 glass dish). Tap the middle of the roll to see if it bounces back. If it does, it’s probably done!
- Combine ingredients to make icing and spread over warm rolls so it melts into them.
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.
- I prefer to use a metal baking sheet but if you are using a glass baking dish, allow for a few extra minutes when baking.
- 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.
- This recipe yields about 25-30 small rolls. Another option is to make large cinnamon rolls. For large rolls, combine two small rolls by unrolling one and attaching it to the end of another. Wrap the dough around itself to form a single large roll.
These are amazing! The only thing I changed was I used leftover potato water instead of plain water. They turned out so good. This is my go to recipe now. Thank you!
Awesome Cheryl! So glad this is a go-to for you. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
Keeping this recipe. It was fantastic! Made them today. I followed the recipe. It doesn’t need tweaking. I love my bread machine. It’s great for pizza dough too.
Hi Brenda! So glad you loved the recipe. Thank you for the tip about pizza dough and for taking the time to leave a review.
Oh my goodness! Sure a great recipe! My daughter and I made these yesterday and they were prefect! For our filling we used brown sugar and white sugar as well as we added 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice! It was a hit! Such an easy recipe, definitely saving it for special times!
Ooh! I love the idea of the pumpkin pie spice. Thanks for the tip and for taking the time to leave a review Jenn!
It was great! But we used 1/2 applesauce 1/2 butter for anything that required butter, and we added some fresh orange squeeze to the icing and they were amazing! Definitely suggest using a dough cutter to cut the rolls, or chilling the dough for a little bit if you don’t have a clean cutting knife! Overall, it makes two pie plates worth and they look beautiful, and taste even better. Froze some, put some in the fridge, and we just reheat them in the oven and they’re like new 👌 wish I could pose my picture of them!
But definitely try at least one fresh 🤣☺️
Personally, I don’t know how anyone could NOT try one fresh! 🙂
Hi Krista. Thank you for letting us know about your tweaks and how they turned out! You can find us on social media and tag us to share a picture. We’d love to see them!
First time making Cinnamon rolls easy recipe and even better rolls!
Awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review Mary.
OK I made your recipe I haven’t baked it yet but they’re rising for the second time they smell like heaven I just was wondering if using a 9 x 13 pan for each role of Dough that I made will work OK I’ll let you know cause that’s what I’m doing I guess
Totally should work. But would love confirmation!
I bought a dough maker machine, not a bread maker. I didnt use it much so gave to a friend and just bought a dough maker. Will the dough rise in the maker or do I have to take it out, and let rise.? I know in the regular machine you let it rise inside, but the one I have doesnt seem to indicate.
Thank you
Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with a dough maker machine so can’t advise you on this question. Hopefully, they have a manual that will give you those answers? Sorry!
This recipe is light and fluffy. I used brown sugar for the filling and only 3 cups for powdered sugar for the icing. This combination made the sweet verses dough ratio perfect.
Thank you for letting us know what worked for you.
Haven’t.made yet. But plan to try soon. Can I halve the recipe?
I haven’t ever done this personally but I don’t see a problem with it. Might be tricky doing half an egg though!
My family loved them! It was a simple recipe that makes enough cinnamon rolls to bake some now and freeze a pan for later!
I just made this and I must say it was very delicious!! I do have a question.. you mentioned we could freeze the dough after we rolled and cut them.. How long do we let them set out before bee bake them?
Long enough to fully thaw and start to rise back up a bit. Glad you enjoyed them!
The best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever tasted!
Great to hear that feedback, Vikki. Thanks!
Our new favorite and go-to cinnamon roll recipe! So simple, non-finicky recipe. Thank you!
Whoop whoop! Thanks for the review, Laura.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, I have made these cinnamon rolls several times now and they are amazing! They are favorite in our house!
Love the simplicity of this recipe, and they tasted fabulous! It gave me an excuse to pull out my bread machine again. Did anyone else have an issue with the dough overflowing the bread machine?
I’ve not made this recipe yet in the instructions your saying powdered milk are you meaning to say powder sugar? thank you !
Hey Julie! Actually, it’s written correctly. The original recipe had powdered milk in it. I have tested it without it and it worked great so I removed that ingredient since most don’t have it on hand. BUT, when we change a recipe, loyal readers sometimes notice so we usually make a note of any recipe changes. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
We just made this recipe this morning. We use plant-based butter, a Flax egg, and dairy free milk for the icing. Great!! It did overflow the bread maker though
I wonder if your machine is a small capacity than the one I use for this recipe. Could that be the problem? Maybe try active dry yeast instead of quick rise yeast next time.