These are the best Cinnamon Buns you’ll ever make! They are soft, fluffy cinnamon rolls with the best gooey caramel sauce in the bottom of the pan. They’re easy to make ahead and freezer-friendly!
Can’t get enough cinnamon rolls? Try this Easy Cinnamon Roll Casserole recipe, Cinnamon Roll Bites, or Healthier Cinnamon Roll Baked Pancake with Maple Cream Cheese Syrup!
Table of Contents
- Why we love this homemade cinnamon roll recipe:
- Dough ingredients:
- Sauce, filling, and frosting ingredients:
- How to make Cinnamon Buns:
- Tips for making the best cinnamon rolls:
- How to store Cinnamon Buns:
- Can I make these gluten-free?
- Frosting for Cinnamon Rolls or Cinnamon Buns:
- More breakfast bread recipes you’ll love:
- The Best Cinnamon Buns Recipe
These Cinnamon Buns are perfectly soft and fluffy, and my family’s top secret (not really) cinnamon bun sauce coats the bottom of the pan, taking them over the top. The sauce is key to making these the best cinnamon buns you’ve ever had!
With two rises, these cinnamon rolls become super fluffy! A warm cinnamon filling and smooth, and tangy cream cheese frosting make these the real deal.
Why we love this homemade cinnamon roll recipe:
- Classic: Cinnamon rolls are a classic breakfast with a warm cinnamon filling, fluffy dough, gooey caramel sauce, and tangy cream cheese frosting! It’s a breakfast treat you’ll come back to again and again.
- Make-ahead and freezer-friendly: Who doesn’t love having gooey cinnamon buns ready to eat at a moment’s notice? These Cinnamon Buns can be made a day ahead of time and baked the next morning, or you can freeze the baked rolls and reheat them later!
- Perfect for a special occasion: These buns are perfect for Christmas morning, brunch with family or friends, or any time during the year when you want a homemade breakfast treat!
Dough ingredients:
- Warm water: Activates the yeast by creating the ideal environment to start fermenting, which is crucial for the dough to rise.
- Active dry yeast: The leavening agent that makes the dough rise, giving the cinnamon buns their light and fluffy texture. You can also use instant yeast if you want the dough to rise more quickly!
- Milk: Adds moisture to the dough, making it softer and richer. It also helps with browning during baking.
- Unsalted butter: Butter is the heart of any good cinnamon bun. It makes everything richer—from the dough to the filling and frosting—giving each bite that melt-in-your-mouth texture! Use room temperature butter.
- Sugar: Sugar feeds the yeast, helping the dough rise, and adds that irresistible sweetness to every layer, especially when it caramelizes during baking.
- Salt: Enhances the overall flavor of the cinnamon buns and balances the sweetness.
- Egg: Adds structure to the dough and helps it to rise higher!
- All-purpose flour: This is the foundation of your cinnamon buns. Flour gives the dough its structure, helping it hold together while still being soft and fluffy.
Sauce, filling, and frosting ingredients:
- Heavy cream: I only recommend heavy cream for this sauce, because it won’t curdle when it’s cooked. This is essential for making the sauce smooth.
- Corn syrup: Corn syrup prevents the sauce from crystallizing, giving you that perfect sticky texture without any graininess.
- Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and a deep, molasses-like flavor to the filling and sauce. It also caramelizes, giving the buns a sticky, gooey texture!
- Ground cinnamon: Provides warmth and spice to the filling.
- Cream cheese: This is the base for our frosting. Make sure you’re using room temperature cream cheese, as it will mix more smoothly. Full fat or light will work great!
- Vanilla: A splash of vanilla in the frosting adds a lovely, warm flavor that complements the cinnamon and cream cheese.
- Powdered sugar: This gives the frosting its sweet, smooth finish. It melts into the cream cheese, making the frosting perfectly spreadable and delicious!
How to make Cinnamon Buns:
This Cinnamon Bun recipe is super easy to follow! Check out the recipe card for more in-depth instructions.
- Dissolve yeast in warm water until frothy.
- Combine yeast and milk mixtures with the egg.
- Add flour to the mixture.
- Knead the dough until a slightly tacky ball forms.
- Place dough in a large bowl.
- Let dough rise until doubled in size.
- Heat cream, corn syrup, sugar, and butter until boiling, then simmer.
- Pour the sauce into a pan and set it aside.
- Place buns on top of the sauce.
- Let the buns rise until doubled in size, then bake until golden brown and frost as desired.
Tips for making the best cinnamon rolls:
- Bloom the yeast: You want to make sure that your water isn’t too warm or too cold, or it won’t activate the yeast. Thankfully, you can see if your yeast is blooming before you add it to your dough. If it doesn’t bubble and froth, you may want to start again with a fresh packet of yeast.
- Let it rise: you don’t want to skimp on the rise time, as this is what makes your Cinnamon Buns fluffy and soft. I like to place my dough, covered, in the oven with the light on. It provides a warm, draft-free environment that is optimal for proofing dough.
- Roll it up tight: You want to try to keep the dough tight when you’re rolling so that all of that sugary cinnamony goodness will stay inside and not leak out.
- Use the right knife: I prefer to use a serrated knife for slicing cinnamon rolls as there will be less squishing, and your rolls will be rounder and hold in more of that cinnamon sugar filling.
How to store Cinnamon Buns:
On the counter:
The baked Cinnamon Rolls can be stored on the counter for 3-4 days without frosting. Because I use a cream cheese frosting, that can’t be left out.
If you want to store them at room temperature, simply leave the frosting in a container in the fridge and frost them only when serving.
In the refrigerator:
You can place your pan of rolled, unbaked cinnamon buns in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap, up to 24 hours before baking. Place in the refrigerator before the second rise.
When ready to bake, simply leave it on the counter for 20-30 minutes while your oven preheats, then bake it as directed.
You can refrigerate the baked cinnamon buns for up to 1 week with frosting in the fridge. But I bet they won’t last that long 😉
How to freeze Cinnamon Buns:
You can freeze the prepared pan of unbaked rolls for up to 3 months, but I actually don’t recommend this because I’ve never found them as fluffy as baking them right away.
You can freeze the baked cinnamon rolls with frosting, covered tightly, for up to 3 months. This is the way I prefer to freeze them! You can also leave the frosting off and reheat them gently in the oven at 225 degrees F for 20 minutes, and they will taste fresh out of the oven!
Can I make these gluten-free?
Unfortunately, I don’t have much experience with gluten-free baking, but I encourage you to check out this Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls recipe from my friend Erin. They look incredible!
Frosting for Cinnamon Rolls or Cinnamon Buns:
There is really only one answer here: it’s gotta be cream cheese. The way the tanginess of the cream cheese complements the sweet, sticky, gooey sauce…. it’s just unreal. Crazy good.
If you want it to sink into all of those crevices, be sure to spread it on while the cinnamon buns are still warm and let it get a little melty all up on those rolls.
Since these are so ridiculously good, you can skip the frosting and just eat them as is, and I’m pretty sure you’ll have no complaints 😉
More breakfast bread recipes you’ll love:
- Peanut Butter Streusel Banana Bread — take your banana bread up a notch!
- Lemon Bread Recipe — when you want something tangy and sweet.
- White Chocolate Cranberry Sweet Rolls — a festive twist!
- Maple Glazed Apple Crisp Cinnamon Buns — when you’re feeling a little extra 😉
The Best Cinnamon Buns
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
Dough
- ½ cup warm water (between 105 and 110 F is best)
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 package)
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup sugar (50 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg (room temperature)
- 3-4 cups all purpose flour (500 grams)
Sauce
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup corn syrup
- ½ cup brown sugar (about 85 grams)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Filling
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- ¾ cup brown sugar (128 grams)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 ounces cream cheese room temperature (¼ package)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Cinnamon Bun Dough
- Dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside for 5-10 minutes until frothy.
- In a medium bowl, combine milk, butter, sugar, and salt and microwave on high for 45 seconds. Whisk until butter is melted. Set aside until it is lukewarm in temperature.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can mix and knead by hand), combine milk mixture and yeast mixture. Stir in egg (be sure it is not cold!).
- With the mixer on low speed and the dough hook on, gradually add in just enough flour so that a soft dough ball forms. It should be soft and slightly tacky, but not sticky.
- Drizzle some oil over a large glass bowl. Place dough ball in bowl, and turn so that the dough is lightly coated in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel if desired. Let sit in a warm, draft-free place for 1.5 hours or until doubled in size (the inside of the microwave or the oven with the light on are great options!)
Cinnamon Bun Sauce
- Just before your dough is ready to roll, make the sauce.
- In a medium saucepan, combine cream, corn syrup, sugar and butter. Heat over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Lightly grease a 9×13″ pan and pour prepared sauce into the bottom. Set aside.
Cinnamon Bun Filling**
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Once the dough has risen, remove from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a roughly 12″ by 18″ rectangle (you can really make them as large or small as you want — a wider rectangle or square will give fewer, larger rolls. A long skinny rectangle will give more, smaller cinnamon buns).
- Spread butter over the dough and sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and cinnamon
- Roll the rectangle up tightly, starting at the long end. Pinch the dough together to form a seam at the end.
- Trim the ends and slice log in half. Slice each half in half, so you have 4 equal pieces. Cut each piece into 3 equal sections so you have 12 buns. Place in prepared pan on top of sauce.
- Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel or piece of plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 23-27 minutes, until light golden brown on top and bubbling at the edges.
- If desired, turn out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let the caramel sauce run down into the buns. (If you are frosting them, I recommend leaving the gooey sauce at the bottom).
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add the vanilla and sugar and beat until combined and fluffy. If desired, add a touch more sugar for a thicker frosting.
- Spread over cinnamon buns. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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shirley phillips says
hi
I have baked for many years for my family but this recipe is above and beyond all. They turned out perfect and believe me I have made many cinnamon rolls in my day. This one I am forwarding to my family members . the Carmel sauce did the trick and I made the cream cheese icing and put it on the plate when serving so they could add as needed. wonderful recipe
The Recipe Rebel says
So glad you enjoyed it, Shirley!
Christine says
I had a very hard time getting the recipe due to ALL the ads on this page. It is actually quite annoying and distracting. You may want to get rid of all the ads. Other than that the recipe is great!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Christine, I’m truly sorry for any inconvenience the ads caused you. I will certainly keep paying close attention to the number of ads and how they load, as I never want them to hinder your ability to view the recipe or the blog post. I do truly appreciate your feedback and apologize again for the inconvenience! Also, there is a quick and convenient “jump to recipe” button that will help you get to the recipe faster and a print button to have the recipe quickly at your fingertips. Hope this helps
Jolin Dhillon says
These are hands down the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had! I use honey instead of syrup and it reminds me of a bee sting cake 🤤 Amazing job!
The Recipe Rebel says
Great to hear, thank you Jolin!
Shari Clough says
Thinking of doubling the recipe since my kids are home from college! We’d love extras! I usually would make cinnamon rolls and have one13x9 and two round pans!
The Recipe Rebel says
Enjoy!
Alyson R says
Made these today and they didn’t seem to rise a ton before baking. Your video you don’t show the rising step after rolling and slicing but in the recipe it states to do such. Just curious if I did something incorrectly. Also, you used dark corn syrup in the video, recipe doesn’t state light or dark. I used light today. Have you noticed a difference between light and dark??
The Recipe Rebel says
I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with the recipe, Alyson. It would be really hard for me to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you. A few factors to why the buns don’t rise. It could be the yeast. Was it fresh? Did it proof correctly? During the rising time was the dough in a warm place? This helps with the first and second rise. The only difference you may see using light or dark is the color of the caramel topping when you flip them over. The light would give you a lighter color, the dark gives a darker color. This won’t affect how your buns rise. Hope this helps!
Kiran matharu says
Hello! How can i make these ahead of time overnight and bake in the morning? Thank you
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Kiran! Yes you can! I’ve written about it a little in the blog post! Hope you enjoy them!
Barbara Lochmondy says
Can I do steps 1-4 of the dough portion in my bread maker on the dough setting? (Recipes for bread makers would be appreciated!)
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Barbara! I’m sorry I don’t have a bread machine so I can’t advise if it would work or not and that’s why I don’t have any recipes for it because I don’t want one. If you decide to experiment let me know how it goes!
Kate says
Can you please explain how you would freeze them? Are they baked first or can you freeze the rolled buns ready to bake? Thanks! I am sure this will be a hit!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Kate! Yes! I actually have a section in the blog post called “How to Freeze Cinnamon Buns” that goes in detail on what to do. Hope this helps!
Reggie T says
I have made these buns many times. They are certainly a go to. Always compliments! Great recipe.
Thanks so much!
The Recipe Rebel says
Thanks Reggie!
Nikki says
Hi Ashley,
These cinnamon buns are absolutely amazing!! My only concern was not adding sugar into the yeast mixture for the activation process, I added a tblspn anyway to be safe. But going forward, is the sugar necessary in this stage of the recipe or no?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Nikki! I test my recipes multiple times before they get to you guys. I’d follow the recipe as written.
Alisha says
What can you use instead of heavy cream? Would whipping cream or regular milk work instead?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes whipping cream and heavy cream are pretty much the same 🙂
Karrie says
Made these and they turned out amazing! I definitely recommend!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Karrie!
Robin Yanke says
Would there be a substitute for corn syrup? I’m not really a fan.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Robin! I’ve only tested the recipe as written. If you decide to experiment with something else, let me know how it goes!
Nikki L says
I made these today using liquid honey and they turned out amazing. They say brown rice syrup is also a good sub for corn syrup but keep in mind different sweetners may add a slightly different taste to the recipe. Stick to a mild flavoured honey if you go that route.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Nikki! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
AM says
These turned out as good as the best cinnamon buns I’ve ever had. Thanks so much for the recipe.
I used 1 cup of milk and no water, yielding very soft rolls, which I really liked. I imagine using 1:1 water:milk gives the bread a bit more structure. I’ll try it next time.
I noticed a few things about the ingredient list that could be corrected or clarified. First, 1/4 cup sugar is 50g, not 100g. Second, I notice in the video you use dark corn syrup; I just added a bit of molasses to my light corn syrup. Finally, it looks like the brown sugar is loose rather than packed based on the gram equivalents; maybe that could be made clear.
Thanks again!
Ashley Fehr says
You’re right! I will update the weight of the granulated sugar. The rest of the recipe is as written 🙂
Eddy says
Hi, it really is the best recipe !!! Thank you Ashley
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Eddy!
Megs says
I have never made cinnamon buns before, but it was a request for my sons birthday…OMG! I ate 2 in the first couple minutes after they were baked, they are so delicious. Soft and fluffy, delicious gooey sauce, I added raisins to the mix..these are purely amazing buns of perfection. Thanks so much!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Megs! I’m so glad they turned out well for you!
Heather says
Ive made cinnamon buns off and on for years and this is by far the easiest best recipe I’ve ever come across. The sauce stays goey and doesn’t turn to hard candy. The buns are soft and don’t dry out. The flavour is balanced and yummy! I didn’t have corn syrup so used maple syrup instead. Now I use the maple trip every time. I did reduce the sugar a wee bit for our personal taste and I don’t ice. Thanks for this recipe.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Heather! I’m so happy to hear you loved them!
Carly says
Can you use instant yeast?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes! I often use instant yeast and don’t change anything about the recipe.
Afnan says
Hi there,
I always hear and see cinnamon rolls but I never wanted to try them out. I personally don’t like the spice cinnamon that much as it’s too strong for me.
But one day in lockdown haha I was scrolling down insta and I saw your video. I was forced to give a try and my my my !!! They were the best thing I had in a long time. So fluffy, yum and tasty and oh the baked smell was just heaven ?
My family and I loved it and it became a star overnight. Can’t wait to try again !
Thank you so much for recipe and such elaborate explanation and spreading such lovely and heartwarming recipe ?
Thank you once again. Lockdown days just got better .
Ashley Fehr says
I am so happy to hear that! Cinnamon Buns are a big hit around here too!