Search no further for the perfect Dairy Free Cinnamon Rolls recipe - this is it! This simple recipe creates the most fluffy, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth Cinnamon Rolls using just a handful of simple ingredients and the best part - no stand mixer, rolling pin, or fancy equipment required!
If you have never made homemade Cinnamon Rolls before, this is the recipe to try! Watch the recipe video here.
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are a classic every year during the holidays. There's nothing like waking up on Christmas morning to the smell of warm cinnamon rolls baking away in the oven. It pairs so nicely with a Vegetarian Strata to get a perfect blend of savory and sweet.
They are honestly good any time of year though - Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthdays, brunches with friends. You can enjoy for breakfast, a mid-day snack, or a post-dinner dessert. Talk about versatile!
If you are looking for more flourless/gluten free Holiday dessert, might I suggest my flourless ginger molasses cookies or healthified pecan pie bars.
DISCLAIMER: I know the directions are a little lengthy, I just really want to make sure these come out well for you. I promise they are not hard to make, there's just a lot to explain!
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Ingredients & Substitutions
These easy Cinnamon Rolls only use a handful of simple ingredients, and you likely already have everything you need in your pantry. See the recipe card for detailed quantities.
I've found a lot of Cinnamon Roll recipes are either excessively indulgent and packed with sugar, or on the flip side, healthy versions sound like they'd taste like cardboard and are super unappealing. I wanted to create a middle ground
- Almond Milk. To keep these cinnamon rolls dairy free, we use Almond Milk in place of whole milk to make the dough. You can also use Soy Milk, Oat Milk, or any non-dairy beverage of your choice.
- Apple Cider Vinegar. Just a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with the Almond milk creates a perfect dairy-free Buttermilk substitute.
- Vegan Butter. Vegan Butter is used in both the dough and the cinnamon-sugar spread. You can substitute some melted Coconut Oil here, but it will alter the taste of the final product.
- Yeast. Instant Yeast is what makes Cinnamon Rolls rise like mini ski hills and bake up so fluffy! Arguably the most critical ingredient - unfortunately you can not leave this out or substitute!
- Egg. Just one large egg helps to bind the dough together really well. If you wanted to make Vegan Cinnamon Rolls, you could leave the egg out, you may just need to knead the dough a bit extra. If you are not Vegan, I would recommend leaving the egg in.
- All Purpose Flour. We use regular flour to make the fluffy dough in this recipe. If you want to bake up some Glute Free Cinnamon Rolls, you can use a 1:1 Gluten Free Flour substitute like this one, though note the rolls may be more dense and not as fluffy.
- Cinnamon. Can't have Cinnamon Rolls without Cinnamon! I recommend Ceylon Cinnamon always, but whatever Cinnamon you like will work here.
- Coconut Sugar. Using Coconut Sugar to make the Cinnamon Sugar Mixture keeps these rolls refined sugar free and a little lower in the glycemic index. If you don't have Coconut Sugar, you can always use regular brown sugar, which is what a more traditional cinnamon roll recipe would call for.
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for quantities.
Instructions
There are a few steps to follow in this recipe, but I promise it is so worth it. You need to make the dough, let it rise, roll it out, roll it up, cut it up, let it rise again, and finally bake. It seems daunting, but a lot of the steps involve idle time - your hands on time is less than 20 minutes! I promise this is the perfect beginner Cinnamon Roll recipe for someone who has never made them before.
- Make the dough and roll it into a flat, large rectangle after letting it rise.
- Make the cinnamon sugar filling and spread it all over the rolled out dough.
- Roll the dough up into a tight log. Mark with 12 even marks to create slices.
- Use a serrated knife (or dental floss!) to slice the log into 12 equal rolls. Leave covered in a warm place for a second rise.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls in the oven.
- Allow the rolls to cool slightly before frosting and serving!
Hint: Use the dough rise time to clean any dishes or wipe down your work surface. That way you can enjoy your rolls in a clean kitchen when they are all done!
Kneading the Dough
One of the best parts of this recipe is no fancy equipment is required - meaning no stand mixer!
Instead, we knead the dough with our hands. To do this, you want to make sure you liberally flour your work surface (a large cutting board or directly on a clean kitchen counter).
You then want to pull and fold the dough.
Pull it out towards you, fold it back over itself away from you. Use the heel of your hand to push it down. Turn the dough ball to the left. Repeat.
Keep kneading until the dough becomes one smooth, non-sticky ball. This can take 5 - 10 minutes, depending on various factors like how moist your dough is, and how strong your knead is. Don't worry if its still a little sticky and you are tired of kneading - it may just need a little extra time to rise, but this recipe is very forgiving.
Storage
These cinnamon rolls are best enjoyed fresh, but you can store them in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days, the fridge for up to 1 week, or you can even freeze them in individual slices for an easy snack to heat up.
Recipe Tips
Make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature, unless otherwise specified. This will create a more cohesive dough and you won't have to worry about any ingredients getting cooled down or warmed up.
Let your dough rise in a warm place. This can be by a heater, a sunny window, on top of the oven, or even inside the oven - just make sure its turned off!
Use a sharp knife to slice your log into rolls. Using a dull knife will create an uneven cut and can affect the shape and integrity of the rolls.
Top Tip
No Rolling Pin? No Problem! Simply wrap any cylindrical object in your house in parchment paper and use that - a wine bottle works great!
FAQ
Your dough will rise best in a warm place. Some of my go-to spots are by a sunny window, inside the oven with the light on (oven off), or by a heater or fireplace, if you are baking in colder months.
Traditional Cinnamon Rolls contain dairy in the form of butter and milk. This recipe uses Almond Milk and dairy-free butter to keep the recipe dairy free.
Almond Milk and a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar makes a great Buttermilk substitute!
You can reheat Cinnamon Rolls in the oven, covered at 300 degrees for 5 minutes. Or microwave, 1 minute for 1 roll.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairings
These are my favorite breakfast or brunch dishes to serve with Cinnamon Rolls:
Pin the recipe for later!
Dairy Free Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Rolling Pin (Or use a wine bottle!)
- Food thermometer
Ingredients
The Dough
- 1 Cup Almond Milk
- 1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Vegan Butter Sub: Coconut Oil
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Sugar
- 1 packet Instant Yeast 2.5 tsp
- 1 Egg Room Temperature
- 2.5 Cup All Purpose Flour Use 1:1 Gluten Free Flour if ncesarry
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the Cinnamon Filling
- 1 tablespoon Vegan Butter Room Temperature, softened
- 4 tablespoon Coconut Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Frosting
- 3 tablespoon Dairy Free Yogurt
- 3 tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
The Dough
- Melt the Vegan Butter with the Almond Milk in a small bowl in the microwave in 30 second increments. Use a thermometer to measure until the mixture is between 100 and 110 degrees Farenheit.
- When the butter and almond milk is between 100 - 110 degrees, add the Apple Cider Vinegar and Coconut Sugar and mix well. Then, sprinkle the instant yeast on top. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes. The yeast should start to foam at the top and you should be able to smell the yeast activate.
- In a seperate large bowl, whisk the egg. Add the liquid milk and yeast mixture.
- To the same bowl, add the flour and salt, half a cup at a time, stirring as your go, until the dough becomes very thick. This will probably be around 2 cups of flour.
- Knead the dough! Once all dry ingredients are combined, add the dough to a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. This involves folding the dough over itself, rotating the dough, and repeating. Do this for about 10 minutes or until the dough begins to smooth out and become less sticky.
- Once the dough is in a smooth ball, spray the inside of the large bowl with cooking oil and place the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and a warm, damp kitchen towel and leave to rise somewhere warm for 30 minutes.
- Poke your dough ball lightly with your finger. If the indentation stays, punch the center of the dough and let it rise another 20 minutes. If the dough is ready, roll out into a rectangle on a well floured surface. In a pinch, you could stretch it out with your hands if you don't have a rolling pin.
The Rolls
- Brush the rolled out dough with enough melted vegan butter to lightly coat. Mix the coconut sugar and cinnamon to create a Cinnamon Sugar Mixture and sprinkle all over the dough.
- Roll up the dough lengthwise into a long, tightly but gently. Use a serrated knife (or dental floss!) to slice into 12 equal pieces. (Tip: Mark the dough with the knife first to measure out the pieces).
- Place the 12 rolls in a glass baking dish. Cover again with plastic wrap and a damp kitchen towel and allow to rise somewhere warm for another 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 while the cinnamon rolls are rising.
- After 30 minutes, uncover the rolls and bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before drizzling with the frosting, serve immediately.
The Frosting
- Whisk all the frosting ingredients together in a bowl. Adjust for taste.
Emily
This looks absolutely delicious! Planning on making this for the new year,but I have a couple questions. Where does the coconut oil come in,like mixed with the cinnamon and sugar? And is there any way to make these the night before and bake that morning?
granoladiaries
Yes, you mix the coconut oil with the cinnamon and sugar. It doesn't need to mix perfectly, it sort of just makes the mixture more "wet".
I haven't tried making the night before, but I don't see any reason that shouldn't work! Just prep up to #7 and then store in the fridge overnight, bring to room temp and then bake in the morning!
Stacey
I made mine the night before but the dough is still kind of crumbly - while I was mixing in the flour (I tripled the recipe) I had packed some of the flour down so maybe too much flour got in? It’s not rising either - I put in active yeast but not instant yeast. That’s just what I had. Is this still salvageable?
thegranoladiaries
Sorry to hear this didn't turn out. I wouldn't use Active yeast, as that requires "activation" and this recipe does not have a step for that. You could try adding more milk or water if the mixture stayed crumbly. Or did it turn out okay after some rise time?
Kim Rojas
Do you have a brick and mortar or can I place an order? I will be in Seattle in eart August. Thanks!
Kim
thegranoladiaries
That is so sweet! Unfortunately I do not (yet), just sharing what I make on digital platforms! I wish I could send you some fresh baked cinnamon rolls 🙁
Georgette
Is there a vegan version of this? Thanks!
thegranoladiaries
Hi Georgette, yes! You can use vegan butter for a vegan option!
Andrea
Hey how many eggs do we need you dont mention them in the ingredients . . . by saying crack the egg and whisk is that 1 egg? Im sorry Im new at baking and I take everything literately. . .
Thanks in advance!
Andrea
thegranoladiaries
Yes 1 egg!
Jenna
Hi, there! These look so amazing and I can't wait to try them out 🙂 I'm wondering if you can use either regular or rapid rise yeast for these? It would be my first time working with yeast. I've always shied away due to the time commitment but your recipe makes it look easy!
thegranoladiaries
I use Rapid Yeast!
Michelle
Hi, your instructions say to add coconut sugar with apple cider vinegar to the milk/butter mixture, but I don’t see coconut sugar listed under dough ingredients. How much sugar do you add in this step?
thegranoladiaries
Updated, thanks!
Nicole
This is the easiest cinnamon roll recipe I have ever made! Turn out amazing every time!