These easy Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls are perfectly soft and fluffy, generously slathered with a vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. I can't get enough of this recipe, reminds me of Cinnabon cinnamon rolls.
The easiest part of this easy cinnamon rolls recipe is making the yeast dough. Many people are scared to make yeast dough as it seems complicated, and needs time to rise. A bread machine does all the hard work for you.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy - bread machine takes the hard work away of yeast dough
- Copycat - based on my love of Cinnabon, homemade tastes even better
- Frosting - the hero topping that elevates your cinnamon rolls
Ingredients You'll Need
Bread Machine Dough
- lukewarm milk
- melted butter
- eggs
- flour
- white sugar
- salt
- packet of bread machine yeast
Cinnamon Sugar Spice Mix
- white sugar
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
Cream Cheese Frosting
- icing sugar
- room temperature butter
- room temperature cream cheese
- vanilla bean paste
How to make Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
- Make the Dough - place ingredients, in the order listed, into your bread machine and select the DOUGH program (this will take about 90 minutes).
- Prep - mix sugar and spices to make cinnamon sugar and prepare the cream cheese frosting and set aside.
- Roll and Cut - roll dough on a lightly floured surface. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Roll the dough tightly and cut into 12 even pieces. Place on baking paper in baking pan.
- Proofing - cover cinnamon rolls with a kitchen towel. Keep in a warm place and allow to rise for 20-30 minutes until they double in size.
- Bake - bake until golden brown, approximately 12 minutes.
- Slather - generously spread vanilla cream cheese over the rolls before serving
Cream Cheese Icing for Cinnamon Rolls
Of course, you have to use cream cheese frosting for your homemade cinnamon rolls. You need lots of cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and vanilla bean paste (or vanilla).
Take the softened cream cheese and butter and beat together, while slowing adding icing sugar and vanilla bean paste. This frosting recipe makes a very generous serve of cream cheese.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
- Sticky Dough - when the dough comes out of the bread maker, it will be sticky. Place it on a floured surface, just don't knead it to death, it needs to be fluffy but not sticky.
- Melting Butter - it's easy to use your microwave to melt butter - heat butter at 50% power for 30-60 seconds until melted.
- Less Cream Cheese - if you don't like a lot of frosting on your cinnamon rolls, use half of the cream cheese frosting recipe. I like to dip each bit into extra frosting, I think you can never have enough!
- Vanilla Bean Substitute - you only need a bit of vanilla bean paste as that's the secret to the amazing flavor. You can substitute with regular vanilla essence.
- Instant Yeast Substitute - if you don't have a packet of bread machine yeast, you can substitute with 2¼ teaspoons of Instant Yeast
Storing
Cinnamon Rolls are best served warm. Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days. Keep refrigerated for up to a week.
To freeze cinnamon rolls, best to freeze unfrosted. Place in a Ziploc bag and freeze, for up to 1 to 2 months. Allow to defrost and warm up in oven before adding frosting. If freezing frosted rolls, cover with foil or cling wrap to minimize the stickiness in the freezer bag.
Reheating
This is easy - microwave for 10 seconds, then add more cream cheese! You can also reheat in a warm oven.
No Bread Machine? No Problem!
Not everyone has a bread machine to make dough, but you can still make this tasty recipe. I have an easy sweet Master Yeast Dough recipe that works perfectly with this recipe. Just prepare the dough as per instructions from the link (or video) and follow along for the rest of the cinnamon roll recipe.
Easy Dessert Recipes You'll Love!
- Easy Apple Turnovers
- No Bake Cherry Cheesecake
- Honey Joys - Cornflake Cupcakes
- Easy Pavlova Trifle
- Sticky Date Pudding with easy Butterscotch Sauce
- Passionfruit Curd
Easy Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls, light, fluffy and packed with flavor A vanilla bean cream cheese frosting will have you asking for more. This recipe is my homage to Cinnabon, creating my Cinnabon copycat recipe, using a bread machine. Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!
Equipment
- Bread Machine
Ingredients
Dough Recipe
- 1 cup milk lukewarm
- ⅓ cup melted butter
- 2 eggs
- 4 cups of flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 packet of bread machine yeast
Cinnamon Sugar Spice Mix
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 ½ cups icing sugar
- ¼ cup butter room temperature
- 1 cup cream cheese room temperature (about 8oz.)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
Making Dough
- Place ingredients, in the order listed, into your bread machine and select the DOUGH program (this will take about 90 minutes).
Cinnamon Sugar Spice Mix
- In a bowl, mix together white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until evenly combined. Set aside.
Making Cinnamon Rolls
- Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C fan forced oven. Line baking paper in a 9"x13" baking pan.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, into a 12"x15" rectangle. Brush melted butter all over the dough and generously sprinkle all the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Starting on long edge, tightly roll up the dough and cut into 12 even pieces. Each piece is about 2½ inches wide. This recipe make 12 cinnamon rolls. Place cinnamon buns on baking paper in a baking pan.
- Carefully cover with cling wrap, cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for about 20-30 minutes until they double in size. I place them in a slightly warm over that is turned off.
- Bake until golden brown, approximately 15 minutes.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Take the softened cream cheese and butter and beat together with icing sugar and vanilla bean paste. Be generous! Spread on warm cinnamon buns before serving, with extra cream cheese while you eat!
Notes
©PetersFoodAdventures.com *originally posted April 2018, updated February 2023
Trish
I made this today but used soy milk and egg replacement as my kids are allergic to dairy and egg. It tastes amazing!! My whole family devoured it and am making another batch soon. 😊 I did skip the cream cheese frosting because of my kids' allergies, and instead made a simple sugar glaze.
Excited now to try your other recipes (new follower here)!
Peter Kolesnichenko
Love that! Thanks so much for sharing soy milk variation! Glad it was a hit! 👍
Tamiko
I made these today and they are absolutely amazing. My kids love them. Now have to find a vegan option to make for my oldest daughter. One question: When it cooled completely down (yes we I couldn’t wait for it too cool completely we all dug right in) the sugar recrystallizes making it crunchy is there a way to stop that from happening?
Peter Kolesnichenko
So glad it's a hit! With regards to crystallization, there are a few factors that can impact that, heat being the most common. Ensure that the buns are fully cool (not just cool enough) that's likely the culprit. Also adding extra icing sugar to the mix and make it too sugary (causing more crystallization). Adding an acid can prevent crystallization (like lemon juice but that changes the flavor too much for me). Cream of Tartar adds acidity and I wouldn't only add no more than ⅛ of a teaspoon or a pinch (less is more in this case). Hope these tips help 😊
Jenn
I just made these and they turned out amazing! I’m wondering for next time, Are you able to made the cinnamon rolls and put in fridge for the next day without waiting for it to rise and without waiting for them to bake? Like do the prep in advance?
Peter Kolesnichenko
I haven't tried refrigerating uncooked cinnamon rolls before, only the dough. However, that should be fine if you use within 24 hours is my suggestion. If you try it, please update and let us know. So happy you love these as much as I do!
Renee
These rolls are fantastic! Have you ever used the dough recipe for a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread?
Peter Kolesnichenko
Thanks! They are definitely one of our favorites! I haven't, but the dough is versatile and would work!
Debbie Abbott
How much yeast do I use if I have a jar of bread machine yeast and not a package?
Peter Kolesnichenko
A packet of bread machine yeast is 2¼ teaspoons if measuring from a jar 🙂
Sk09
This might be a silly question, but should it be bread flour or all purpose? Thanks!
Peter Kolesnichenko
Great question - I always use All Purpose Flour... 👍
Conni
I had the chance to make these last week. I used the "sweet master yeast dough" and mixed it up in the Kitchenaid Mixer as I don't have a bread machine. Thank you Peter for posting this one, I have had several other homemade cinnamon buns, but this dough and recipe is by far the best I've ever tasted; The only additional item I added to this was dried currents sprinkled into the sugar butter mixture. The cream cheese icing is absolutely over the top good! Thanks again, I have enjoyed every recipe I have made from your blog, they all turn out delicious.
Peter Kolesnichenko
Wow, thanks so much for sharing! Great tip about the dried currants, so happy that you are enjoying the recipes! 🤗
Danel Fick
I have been wanting to make these for a while, and finally made them over the weekend! This was AMAZING! So much beter than the store bought ones. I love the sweet dough, which was easy to make, and the fact that you can add as much icing as you want is a winner! I will definitely make them again. Came out perfect!
Peter Kolesnichenko
So happy to hear that! Everyone always loves these at our house too, especially the icing! 👍🏻
Karen Smith
Made these today and they were absolutely delicious. Using the real vanilla paste is a must. It’s a keeper
Peter Kolesnichenko
I think so too! Thanks so much for your comments! Nothing beats fresh cinnamon buns!
Andrea
Can I use either Quick-RISE instant yeast or Traditional Active Dry yeast, instead of bread yeast? If so, how much do I use (I have jars not packets)
Peter's Food Adventures
Hi, yes you can use Active Dry Yeast for this recipe. I'd use 2 ½ teaspoons 😊
Annie
I have made these cinnamon rolls 3 times and every time they come out dark on top and still doughy on the inside. What am I doing wrong?
Peter's Food Adventures
Hi Annie, It's hard to say. Every oven is a bit different. If using fan forced, try baking it without the fans to see if that makes a difference. Also check that you have the temperature correct, Fahrenheit vs Celsius. I have both temperatures on posts and sometimes people can get it mixed up. You could also try turning down the temperature, and bake until it's golden brown. It should definitely not be doughy on the inside. Hope this helps!
Trish
I made this today but used soy milk and egg replacement as my kids are allergic to dairy and egg. It tastes amazing!! My whole family devoured it and am making another batch soon. 😊 I did skip the cream cheese frosting because of my kids' allergies, and instead made a simple sugar glaze.
Excited now to try your other recipes (new follower here)!