Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe

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Looking for a delicious breakfast treat? This Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe can be mixed up the night before so they are ready to bake fresh in the morning!

Looking for a delicious breakfast treat? This Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe can be mixed up the night before so they are ready to bake fresh in the morning! #easycinnamonrollrecipe #overnightcinnamonrolls #cinnamonrolls #makeaheadrecipe 

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Nothing says “home” quite like warm cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven. The smell of cinnamon and sugar, the sweet gooeyness of the filling, the icing dripping down your fingers as you bite into that delicious piece of heaven. Unfortunately, cinnamon rolls are a pain in the neck. They take hours to mix up, let rise, punch down, let rise again (and maybe even again), roll out, and let rise…again. To have these delicious pastries for breakfast you’d have to get up before the sun!

I am not an “up before the sun” person. I am an “up when my kids drag me out of bed” kind of person. Usually, when the kids are dragging me out of bed it’s because they’re hungry, so I certainly don’t have time to perform the cinnamon roll rituals. Fortunately, I’ve pieced together a recipe that is incredibly easy. But, being easy doesn’t make it any less delicious! Trust me, when you bite into one of these amazing rolls, you’ll wonder why you ever got up before the sun to sit through three (or four) risings.

This cinnamon roll recipe is so, SO, easy and doesn’t sacrifice any of the taste! What makes it so easy? They only have ONE initial rise, and that and all the mixing is done the night before! All you have to do in the morning is pull them out of the fridge, let them sit 20 minutes, and bake!

–Looking for a traditional cinnamon roll recipe? Try these Amish Cinnamon Rolls.

Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe

What You Need:

Dough:

  • 2 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees. Like warm bath water)
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon yeast
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 7-8 cups flour

Filling:

  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons cinnamon
  • 1 cup butter, softened

Icing:

  • 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 3-4 tablespoons milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

How to Make Easy Cinnamon Rolls:

1. Mix dough ingredients in order in a mixer using a dough hook. Add enough flour that the dough starts to pull away from the edges of the mixer. (Tip: This dough won’t form a ball like regular bread dough does. It will still be VERY sticky when it’s ready, so just watch for it to pull away from the edges.)

2. Allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes to an hour covered with a cloth.

3. Mix the filling ingredients until smooth.

4. Punch down and roll out the dough into a rectangle – approximately 18″x 24″.

5. Spread the filling evenly over dough.

6. Roll the dough from wide end to wide end forming one long roll.

7. Using a serrated knife, cut 1″ slices.

8. Spray two 9″x 13″ baking dishes with cooking spray.

9. Place cinnamon rolls snugly into the pans.

10. Wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning…

11. Take out of the refrigerator, unwrap, and set in a warm place covered loosely with a cloth. (I set mine on top of the stove as it’s preheating.)

12. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

13. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

14. Mix the icing ingredients.

15. Drizzle the icing over the cinnamon rolls.

That’s it! Time to enjoy!

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Want to print this recipe for Easy, Overnight Cinnamon Rolls? Grab it below:

Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 2 1/2 cups warm water about 110 degrees. Like warm bath water
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 3 eggs beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon yeast
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 7-8 cups flour

For the filling:

  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons cinnamon
  • 1 cup butter softened

For the Icing:

  • 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
  • 3-4 tablespoons milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

  1. Mix dough ingredients in order in a mixer using a dough hook. Add enough flour that the dough starts to pull away from the edges of the mixer. (Tip: This dough won't form a ball like regular bread dough does. It will still be VERY sticky when it's ready, so just watch for it to pull away from the edges.)
  2. Allow dough to rise for 30 minutes to an hour covered with a cloth.
  3. Mix filling ingredients until smooth.
  4. Punch down and roll out into a rectangle - approximately 18"x 24".
  5. Spread filling evenly over dough.
  6. Roll dough from wide end to wide end forming one long roll.
  7. Using a serrated knife, cut 1" slices.
  8. Spray two 9"x 13" baking dishes with cooking spray.
  9. Place rolls snugly in pans.
  10. Wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight.

In the Morning:

  1. Take out of the refrigerator, unwrap, and set in a warm place covered loosely with a cloth. (I set mine on top of the stove as it's preheating.)

  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  3. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

  4. Mix icing ingredients.

  5. Drizzle icing over the cinnamon rolls.

Looking for more breakfast ideas you can make in advance? Here are a few to try:

Simple Scone Mix Recipe
Make Ahead Breakfasts for a Busy Season
Cream Cheese Danish Recipe From Scratch
Make Ahead Casserole – French Toast
20 Delicious Oatmeal Breakfast Recipes
Simple Cheese and Bacon Quiche Recipe


If you love this Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe you will absolutely love my book, Little House Living: The Make Your Own Guide to a Frugal, Simple, and Self-Sufficient Life. It features 130 recipes just like this one that your family will love!

Are you a cinnamon roll lover? Have you tried an overnight recipe before?
Let me know if you try this one and how you like it!

jessicabio

This Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe was originally published in September 2014. It has been updated as of October 2019.

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13 Comments

  1. You can also freeze them and put them out on the counter to thaw the night before. By the time you get up in the morning they will have thawed and risen and are ready to go into the oven. I’m with you though about getting up early enough to make them in the morning while everyone whines about being hungry!

  2. Wow – these do sound incredibly easy – I like being able to do something the night before, and just popping them in the oven when I wake up – awesome!

  3. Thank You so much for that recipe looks a lot easier then the last ones I made. Those little pigs are so sweet. Have a Happy Halloween.

    Blessings,
    Connie

  4. They look so good and with a fresh cup of coffee, perfect! I’m new to your site and a new follower. Thanks for sharing, guess what I will be making soon. Blessings

  5. Hi, I am French and I have lived in Boston in 1996 … and 5 years in Ottawa . That’s when I have discovered those yummy cinnamon rolls.. I have been trying your recipe. Oh boy, were the rolls big !! 🙂 I have not been able to make a roll (it must be due to the difference between the us and metric measurements, anyway…), so I had just dropped the mix in a muffin pan… but they were AWESOME anyway !
    I really like your website…
    Talk to you soon ..