These vegan whole wheat cinnamon rolls are soft and gooey, despite containing whole grain flour. A brown sugar glaze drizzled on top makes for a delicious sweet indulgence with a cup of coffee or for Sunday brunch. These vegan cinnamon rolls are quick to make—they're ready to bake in about 2 hours and the dough can be made the night before to save on time.
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Praise for the Recipe
"Made these today. They were delicious and easy. Thanks so much for creating these. I was concerned with the lack of conventional ingredients that they would be dry or not gooey enough, but they were delicious. Family approved and I'll be making these often. Even my youngest that always eats one bite of a cinnamon roll enjoyed these and ate a small one! I would never have imagined that a roll with this small amount of oil would be so perfect. ❤️"
Why this recipe works
Cinnamon and sugar enveloped in a soft, fluffy dough and baked to perfection is akin to magic. This recipe is satisfying, super gooey, and less sugary than traditional cinnamon rolls. My vegan cinnamon rolls are made with a portion of whole wheat flour, however, whole spelt flour can be used in exchange. As a result, these rolls have a slightly nuttier flavour than traditional rolls, yet they're still super soft and gooey, like traditional versions.
Instead of egg yolk, melted butter and milk to create the beloved texture cinnamon buns are known for, this recipe uses solely plant-based ingredients—one of which might surprise you. Olive oil (my secret ingredient) makes for a surprisingly soft and delicate crumb.
Instead of a cream cheese based frosting, these cinnamon buns are drizzled with an brown sugar glaze. However, feel free to top these buns with whatever you want—there are plenty of delicious vegan cream cheese recipes available.
Ingredients & Substitutions
For this recipe, you will need the following ingredients. For the full list and amounts please see the recipe card below.
Unsweetened almond milk: any other plant based milk will work for this recipe, however, avoid using full fat coconut milk as the fat content will make the buns too dense.
Extra virgin olive oil: adds lightness and moisture to the dough. Be sure to use extra virgin olive oil and not a full bodied one as the flavour can overpower. Any neutral flavoured vegetable oil will work here.
Instant yeast: you can also use active dry yeast in equal measure.
Granulated sugar: I like to use organic cane sugar, however regular granulated sugar will work as well. This is used for the dough as well as the filling inside.
Vanilla extract: for flavour
All-purpose flour: this creates the structure and base for the dough.
Whole wheat flour: or whole spelt flour in equal measure. This adds a slightly nutty flavour to these buns which I know you will love. Be sure to use fresh flour as the natural oils in whole grain flours will go rancid over time and make the cinnamon buns taste off.
Ground cinnamon: added to the dough before rolling and slicing for baking.
Brown sugar: for a beautiful, sweet, caramel-like glaze
Coconut oil: added to the brown sugar for a shiny smooth glaze.
Step by Step Instructions
The following is a brief outline of the steps involved in making my vegan whole wheat cinnamon rolls. For the full detailed instructions, please see the recipe card below.
STEP 1: Prepare a 10" round pan with parchment paper.
STEP 2: In a large bowl, stir together the almond milk, yeast, olive oil, sugar and vanilla. Let stand for 5 minutes or until the yeast becomes foamy.
STEP 3: Sift together the flours and salt.
STEP 4: Add the dry ingredients to the milk mixture and stir until a rough ball forms.
STEP 5: Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead. Form the dough into a ball and place back in the mixing bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
STEP 6: Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough into a 12"x18" rectangle (approx ¼" thick).
STEP 7: Combine the cinnamon and sugar, then sprinkle evenly over the surface of the dough.
STEP 8: Starting at the short end, roll the dough in on itself into a log shape.
STEP 9: With a serrated knife, cut the roll into 8 equal slices and arrange them in the prepared pan.
STEP 10: Cover and let rise in a warm place or cover and place in the fridge overnight for baking the next morning (see notes).
STEP 11: Preheat the oven to 350°F and bake the proofed rolls. Remove from the oven and let cool.
STEP 12: In a medium saucepan bring the glaze ingredients to a boil, stirring constantly, then remove from heat and let cool until the glaze ribbons off the spoon.
STEP 13: Drizzle the glaze over the warm cinnamon buns and serve warm.
Helpful Tips
Use fresh yeast - with any bread or sweet roll recipe, make sure your yeast is active. When in doubt, purchase a new package of yeast. It's best to store your yeast (once opened) in the fridge to prolong it's life.
Crumple the parchment paper - parchment paper with load of wrinkles in it will take the shape of your baking dish much easier. As such, crinkle a large piece of parchment into a small ball, then smooth it back out before placing it in the dish.
Knead by hand or use a stand mixer - I prefer kneading dough by hand, although, you can easily prepare and knead the dough in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Rest the dough before rolling - dough often stretches and springs back when it's being rolled out. Allowing it to rest for about 5-10 minutes relaxes the gluten-strands and will make rolling out the dough much easier.
Use a serrated knife - when portioning the rolls, a serrated knife will make this job easy; it won't tug, squish or pull on the dough as much.
Drizzle sugar glaze once the rolls are cool - it is best not to glaze the cinnamon buns when they are still hot. Letting them cool to room temperature will help the sugar glaze set up and make a gooey topping for these buns.
Overnight proofing Option
After filling, rolling and slicing the rolls, you can opt to place them into the baking dish then cover and place them in the fridge overnight. Be sure to lightly spray the lid or plastic wrap covering with oil to prevent any sticking. Remove the rolls from the fridge roughly 30 minutes before baking to allow them to come to room temperature. If you're rolls have not doubled in size overnight in the fridge, remove them from the fridge to finish proofing (about 30-40 minutes or until they have doubled in size).
How to Store
Storage: Cinnamon rolls will last at room-temperature for up to 2 days covered. Alternatively you can cover and refrigerate the baked cinnamon buns for about 5 days.
Freezer: It's best to store these cinnamon rolls baked but unglazed. I like to individually wrap the them in freezer safe paper and then place them in an airtight freezer-safe bag before popping them in the freezer. They will last up to 2 months when stored properly. Thaw them in the fridge overnight before you plan to reheat them.
Reheat: Preheat the oven to 325°F and place the thawed roll(s) on baking tray lined with parchment. Place them in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until warmed through. Then add the glaze.
More Recipes
If you love my whole wheat vegan cinnamon rolls, why not check out some of my other favourites below:
Fluffy Vegan Cinnamon Spelt Pancakes
If you made my fluffy vegan cinnamon rolls please leave me a comment below with a star rating; it really helps others who are interested in making the recipe. For more from The Simple Green, follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest. Consider becoming a subscriber to receive emails of new recipes and posts.
Vegan Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the Cinnamon Rolls
- 1 ½ cups (12 ounces) unsweetened almond milk , warmed to 100°F
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour, or whole spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
For Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
For the Glaze
- ½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, or vegan butter
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
Instructions
- Line a 10" round pan with parchment paper. set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the warm almond milk, yeast, olive oil, sugar and vanilla. Let stand for 5 minutes or until the yeast has bloomed (becomes foamy).
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flours and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the milk mixture and stir until a rough ball forms.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes. If the dough becomes sticky, add more flour to the surface and your hands. Form the dough into a ball and place back in the mixing bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 ½ hours or until doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough into a 12"x18" rectangle (approx ¼" thick). In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar, then sprinkle evenly over the surface of the dough. Use a rolling pin to gently press the sugar mixture onto the dough to help it adhere.
- Starting at the short end, roll the dough in on itself, using a scraper if the dough sticks to the surface. With a serrated knife, cut the roll into 8 equal slices and arrange them in the prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, or cover and place in the fridge overnight for baking the next morning (see notes).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F bake the proofed rolls for 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze.
- In a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat, stir together the glaze ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then remove from heat and let cool (stirring occasionally) until the glaze ribbons off the spoon.
- Drizzle the glaze over the warm cinnamon buns and serve warm.
Notes
Reheating: Place the roll(s) in an oven-safe dish and reheat at 325°F for about 10-12 minutes or until they're evenly warmed through. Add the glaze thereafter.
Nutrition
This is an approximation of the nutrition offered in this recipe, and is created using a nutrition calculator. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your preferred calculator.
Disclaimer
all recipes on The Simple Green are developed and tested in a Canadian kitchen, at normal elevation, using electric appliances and ingredients available in Canada. Results may vary.
These are really good considering there is no butter of egg yolk in the dough. Well done!
Thank you 🙂 Glad you like them xo
Made these today. They were delicious and easy. Thanks so much for creating these. I was concerned with the lack of conventional ingredients that they would be dry or not gooey enough, but they were delicious. Family approved and I'll be making these often. Even my youngest that always eats one bite of a cinnamon roll enjoyed these and ate a small one! I would never have imagined that a roll with this small amount of oil would be so perfect. ❤️
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback, Lisa! I'm so happy to hear you love the recipe as much as I do 🙂
Hii, looks amazing I can’t wait to try it. But I prefer square or rectangular pans so 8inch square pan or 9x13 inch rectangular pan. Which one do you suggest and how many Peices.
Hi Khadija! That’s a great question! I would suggest baking them in a 9x13 pan as it will be closer in volume to a 10” round pan. There should be a total of 8 rolls/pieces. I hope this helps 🙂
Thank you it turned out amazing. And instructions for keeping them? Fridge? Room temp? How many days? Heating instructions?
I’m so happy to hear it! They’re best the same day, but they can be kept covered in the fridge for 2-3 days. You can also freeze them for up to a month (see recipe notes). Reheat them in an oven safe dish at 325°F for about 10-12 minutes or until they're evenly warmed through.
I made them last night and they were perfect!! But i was wondering if how i could make the flour in all Whole Wheat Flour but i want the texture to still be the same? Would that be possible? What would be the measurements if so?
HI Aj! I'm so happy to hear that! You could definitely use all whole-wheat flour in equal measure, however you may need to increase the liquid measure to account for higher absorption rate of whole-wheat flour.
I made them yesterday and they turned out very soft and yummy! Everyone loved them. No eggs and no butter makes it a more healthy version. I'll make them more often now.
Can we use all spelt flour instead of using spelt flour and plain flour?
Hi Premila! Yes you can use all spelt for this recipe, however, they may be slightly less soft (but still very good)! So happy you like my recipe!
Hi Heidi, I'm really looking forward to making these! Just one question - Can I use oat milk instead of almond?
Thanks so much!
Hi Sophie! Yes absolutely. You can use any plant-based milk for this recipe.
Hi Heidi,
I think I must have done something wrong as my dough was extremely sticky and didn't work. Do you have a video on how to make these delicious looking rolls? Or photos of the steps?
Thanks!
Hi Nini! Was the dough possibly over-proofed? If your ambient room temperature is quite warm, that could be the cause. I'm sorry to hear you had trouble with your dough, and I will endeavor to make a video for this recipe.
Hii!
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe. I made them yesterday and they were soooo delicious!!! But I was wondering if i change the whole wheat flour to all purpose flour, do I need to change the amount of milk mixture?
Hi Jy! Yes you will likely need to decrease the amount of liquid measure to account for more all purpose flour- it absorbs less water than whole wheat does.
Thank you Heidi, will change the amount of liquid measure.
Sorry accidentally re-posted, please ignore it.
This was my very first attempt at cinnamon buns, with great success. Thank you.
In step 6, you mention placing the raw rolls in the fridge overnight. Is there a point before or after that the rolls need to proof at room temperature, before baking?
Hi Janet! I'm glad to hear it! That is a great question; I usually leave them out for about 30 minutes before baking to allow them to come to room temperature (I usually set them on the counter near the oven while it preheats). Also, sometimes the rolls have doubled in size nicely in the fridge, other times, they need a little help, so I remove them from the fridge earlier to help them finish proofing at room temperature before baking. I hope that helps! I've updated the recipe card to be more clear about this.