A slightly more nutritious version of this beloved sweet, this quick and easy vegan cinnamon rolls recipe contains spelt flour, yet makes super soft and gooey buns. Ready to bake in about 2 hours. A brown sugar glaze drizzled on top makes for a delicious sweet indulgence with a cup of coffee or for Sunday brunch.
Easy Gooey Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Who can resist a warm gooey cinnamon roll? Cinnamon and sugar enveloped in a soft, fluffy dough and baked to perfection is akin to magic. Considering how irresistible they are, I can't believe it's taken this long to share my vegan cinnamon rolls on here. Alas, it's finally come to fruition.
I'm not going to pass these off as super healthy, but in all my experimentation, this is the version that I am happiest with (and I hope you are, too). They're satisfying, super gooey, and a tad healthier than traditional cinnamon rolls.
This recipe uses a simple sugar glaze for the topping instead of powdered sugar. However, feel free to glaze these buns with whatever you want-there are plenty of delicious recipes for vegan cream cheese glaze for example.
Spelt flour for flavour and nutrition
My vegan cinnamon rolls are made with a portion of spelt flour, however, whole wheat flour can be used in exchange. As such, they contain more fiber than traditional rolls, yet they're still really soft and gooey thanks to a secret ingredient.
Why you’ll love my vegan cinnamon rolls
These vegan cinnamon rolls are super easy to make and certainly reminiscent of traditional brioche-style versions. Sweet roll dough uses egg yolk, melted butter and milk to create that unmistakable texture. But, this recipe uses none of those.
Olive oil (my secret ingredient) makes for a soft and supple dough that also happens to be a tad healthier. Yes, these vegan cinnamon rolls are made without butter or eggs, but they are so good!
Topped with an optional brown sugar glaze, they become extra gooey and totally indulgent.
6 Tips to make the perfect gooey vegan cinnamon rolls
- 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.
Instant Yeast for quick vegan cinnamon rolls
This recipe uses instant yeast to reduce the rising and proofing time. Instant yeast (sometimes called rapid rise yeast) reduces the rising time by roughly half that of active dry yeast.
Both can be used interchangeably. However, if you're short on time, you can use instant yeast in place of active dry for any recipe. Just be sure to adjust the amount of yeast by about ¼ (25%) to prevent your cinnamon rolls from over rising.
It should be noted that a longer rising/proofing time can be a good thing, especially when it comes to developing flavour. However, there is no need to have a longer proofing time for this recipe. As such, use active dry or instant yeast to your liking.
Want more recipes like this one?
If you love my easy gooey vegan cinnamon rolls recipe, why not check out some of my other favorites?
Vegan Cinnamon Rhubarb Oat Crumble
Fluffy Vegan Cinnamon Spelt Pancakes
Easy Gooey Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
A healthier version of this beloved sweet, this quick and easy vegan cinnamon rolls recipe contains spelt flour, yet makes for soft and gooey cinnamon buns. A simple brown sugar glaze drizzled on top of the warm cinnamon buns makes these super delicious. The dough can also be made the night before for easy Sunday mornings (see below for instructions).
Ingredients
For the Cinnamon Rolls
- 12 ounces (1 ½ cups) of warm almond milk (100'F)
- 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups spelt flour or whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
For Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
For the Glaze
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or vegan butter
- ¼ cup almond milk
Instructions
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Line a 10" round pan with parchment paper. set aside.
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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 (foamed).
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In a medium bowl, sift together the flours and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the milk mixture and stir until rough ball forms.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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In a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat, stir together the glaze ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool (stirring occasionally) until the glaze ribbons off the spoon.
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Drizzle the glaze over the warm cinnamon buns and serve.
Recipe Notes
whole wheat flour can be used in exchange for spelt flour in a 1:1 ratio.
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SD says
These are really good considering there is no butter of egg yolk in the dough. Well done!
Heidi Richter says
Thank you 🙂 Glad you like them xo
Lisa says
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. ❤️
Heidi Richter says
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback, Lisa! I'm so happy to hear you love the recipe as much as I do 🙂
Khadija bajnaid says
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.
Heidi Richter says
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 🙂
Khadija says
Thank you it turned out amazing. And instructions for keeping them? Fridge? Room temp? How many days? Heating instructions?
Heidi Richter says
I’m so happy to hear it! They’re best the same day, but they can be kept covered at room temp for up to three days. You can also freeze them for up to a month. Reheat them in the microwave until evenly warm 🙂
Aj says
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?
Heidi Richter says
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.
Premila Varsani says
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?
Heidi Richter says
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!
Sophie says
Hi Heidi, I'm really looking forward to making these! Just one question - Can I use oat milk instead of almond?
Thanks so much!
Heidi Richter says
Hi Sophie! Yes absolutely. You can use any plant-based milk for this recipe.
Nini says
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!
Heidi Richter says
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.
JY says
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?
Heidi Richter says
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.
Jy says
Thank you Heidi, will change the amount of liquid measure.
Sorry accidentally re-posted, please ignore it.