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This Overnight Cinnamon Rolls recipe are the perfect make-ahead breakfast item. These rolls are soft and buttery. They have have a punchy cinnamon flavor and are topped with a fluffy cream cheese frosting. The best part about this recipe is that you can make the dough, assemble the rolls and have them rise in the fridge. The next morning all you have to do is bake!
You can say that I am a cinnamon roll lover. I love pumpkin cinnamon rolls, mocha morning rolls, gingerbread rolls and more!
Cinnamon rolls are a labor of love. They require two rises, making three separate components (the dough, the filling and the frosting), assembling, chilling, slicing, etc. Hence why I like to make the dough, the filling and the frosting the night before. This means we wake up the next morning and we bake!
Ingredients for Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Flour – This gives structure and body to the rolls.
- Butter – This provides richness and flavor.
- Cinnamon – We cannot have cinnamon rolls without cinnamon.
- Eggs – These provide richness to the dough and make it taste oh so good.
- Active yeast or instant yeast – We need lift and rise and we get it from yeast!
- Brown sugar – Brown sugar and cinnamon are best friends. (PS: If you have rock hard brown sugar, here’s a post on How to Soften Brown Sugar that is very helpful.)
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe card below!
How to Make Cinnamon Rolls Ahead
Doing this all in one day (if you’re not a pro-baker and used to projects) might be a bit aggressive. If you do make these straight through, here’s how the steps will go:
Day #1
- Make the dough. Mix the dough until it’s all sticky and soft.
- Mix up the filling. The cinnamon sugar paste makes for a very neat cinnamon roll.
- Let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
- Make the frosting. I like to get this out of the way so we have it all prepped for the next day!
- Assemble the rolls. Roll out the dough, spread on the filling and then roll up the log and slice the rolls.
- Transfer them to a baking dish. And wrap that dish tightly with plastic wrap. Place it in the fridge to rise overnight.
Day #2
- The next morning, let the rolls come to room temperature for 1 hour. During this time, they’ll shake off their chill and become soft and fluffy again.
- Bake them and then add the frosting on top!
Tips and Tricks
- Activating yeast can be tricky! You want to wait until it gets nice and foamy. If no foam or bubbles form, you’ll have to start again to ensure activation.
- Instant yeast vs active dry yeast: Active dry yeast has to be activated in liquid until it’s foamy and alive. Instant yeast can be added to dry ingredients. You can use instant yeast with this recipe. To do that, mix into the dry ingredients (you can skip activating it).
- If you like, you don’t have to assemble the rolls. You can mix up the dough, place it in a greased bowl, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise in the fridge overnight.
- For gooey cinnamon rolls: Pour about 1/4 cup of heavy cream to the bottom of the baking dish and spread it around. Then add the cinnamon rolls on top. Or you could drizzle the heavy cream on the top right before baking.
More Cozy Breakfast Recipes
Breakfast
The Fluffiest Pancakes
Breakfast
Breakfast Burritos
Holiday
Buttermilk Biscuits
Dinner
Chilaquiles
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Overnight Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Overnight cinnamon rolls that are ooey and gooey and soft. Make the dough the night, assemble the rolls the night before and allow it to rise in the fridge overnight. Just bake up the next morning!
Equipment
- 1 9×9-inch baking dish (or 9×13-inch)
- 1 Measuring cup
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1/4 cup lukewarm milk, (about 115F)
- 1 (8g) tablespoon active dry yeast, (see below for instructions on using *instant* yeast)
- 2 3/4 (357g) cups all-purpose flour
- 3 (38g) tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs, beaten in a bowl
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- 1/2 (113g) cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
Cinnamon Roll Filling:
- 1/2 (113g) cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 (30g) cup ground cinnamon
- 3 (39g) tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
- 3 (38g) tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- Pinch kosher salt
Cream Cheese Glaze:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 (200g) cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- Pinch kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Instructions
To Make the Dough:
- To the bowl with of a stand-up mixer (alternatively, you can do this in a large bowl by hand), add the lukewarm milk. Mix in the active dry yeast and allow to stand and activate, about 8 minutes, until foamy and alive!
- To a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. To the bowl with the yeast mixture, add the beaten eggs and vanilla extract; then all at once, add the flour mixture. Attach the dough hook to your mixer and mix on low until the dough starts to become cohesive. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the cubes of butter.
- Knead on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Alternatively, if you’re doing this by hand, you’ll need to knead the dough for about 5 to 8 minutes. The dough will go from crumbly and separate to completely cohesive and smooth. The dough will be a little bit sticky. If it's super sticky, add another two teaspoons of flour. Remove the dough from the hook and bowl and form it into a ball.
- Transfer the ball of dough to a clean, lightly greased bowl (I used the flour bowl and just wiped it clean with a kitchen towel and then greased it with olive oil). Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let it rise for about 30-45 minutes, until super supple and a little less than double in size.
To Make the Filling:
- To the bowl of a stand-up mixer (with the paddle attachment) or using a medium bowl and a fork, add the butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix and mash until the filling is completely smooth.
To Assemble the Cinnamon Rolls:
- Lightly flour your work surface and place the dough into the center. Lightly flour your rolling pin and roll the dough into a 1/4-inch thick square that measures 15“ x 15“ If it’s not a perfect square, then that’s totally ok.
- Add the filling to the dough and spread into a thin layer, using a butter knife or offset spatula. I smeared the filling pretty close to the edges. Starting from the edge furthest from you, roll the dough towards you, horizontally, into a firm log.
- Taking a piece of dental floss, trim off the ends. Cut the rolls into 1 inch rolls, for about 12 rolls. OR you could do 1 1/2 rolls for 9 rolls. I've done both depending on how many servings I need.
- Transfer to a greased 9 x 9 baking pan (or something comparable). Cover the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge overnight.
To Make the Cream Cheese Icing:
- To the bowl of a stand-up mixer (or a large bowl) with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugars, vanilla paste, salt and heavy cream. Beat for about 20 seconds.
To Bake the Rolls:
- The next morning, remove the rolls from the fridge. Allow them to stand on the counter to come to room temperature for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. This will depend on how cold your fridge is. I like to make sure they feel soft and supple. *See below for instructions on assembling the rolls and then allowing them to rise overnight in the fridge.
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Remove the plastic wrap from the baking dish and transfer to the oven to bake for about 18-20 minutes, until they've puffed up a bit and are medium golden brown.
- When the cinnamon rolls come out of the oven, let them stand for about 5-10 minutes. Then add on the icing to the warm cinnamon rolls.
Notes
Using Instant Yeast:
Instant yeast is different than active dry yeast. Active dry yeast has to be activated in liquid until it’s foamy and alive. Instant yeast can be added to dry ingredients. You can use instant yeast with this recipe. To do that, mix into the dry ingredients (you can skip activating it).
Nutrition
Serving: 12g | Calories: 405kcal | Carbohydrates: 25.7g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9.3g | Saturated Fat: 5.3g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 264mg | Potassium: 81mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3.5g | Calcium: 140mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this Recipe? Please Rate & comment below!
Just curious if this can be converted to work as pecan sticky buns. Thinking about trying this recipe for NYD but my partner and I really enjoy pecan sticky buns so I’m weighing my options.
Hi! It definitely could. But I haven’t made pecan sticky buns before so I don’t have a recipe for the sticky pecan part but I should definitely try!! Haha sounds amazing.
I tried and it was successful! The bake time takes a little longer but overall it was delicious!
I made these and they were so good, my mom is gluten free and i wanted to make her some. So, I was wondering if you could use gluten free bread four or gluten free all purpose flour instead or the regular flour?
i think you could use gluten-free all-purpose flour. i have never tried it but it should work out ok!
Frustrating! Ive made this dough twice now and it won’t rise and it stays greasy like there’s too much butter.
I tried activating the yeast. I tried adding it to the dry ingredients. (Its brand new instant yeast) and it won’t rise to save my life. I dont want to waste the filling and frosting but at this point im about to just roll it up and see what happens in the oven
Hi Cassi, I’m making it right now. And the dough is pretty soft and supple. It’s been rising for 30 minutes. I’m about to roll it. It might not double in size completely and that’s ok. but it should feel airy and soft. Does yours feel similarly.
Do you think I could use bread machine to make the dough?
I don’t see why not! The first rise should rise them pretty quickly!
Can you make the rolls two days in advance? I’m wondering if I could make the dough Tuesday afternoon/evening, put in the fridge and then take them out Thursday morning?
Im afriad they’ll taste too yeasty if you do that. They’ll overproof. I would make the dough, assemble them, and then stick them in the freezer the first night. And then you can thaw them in the fridge from Christmas Eve to Christmas morning. I would wake up a bit earlier and take them out of the fridge so they can come to room temperature before baking!
If I’m using instant yeast do I need the milk for the recipe still?
absolutely! you definitely need the milk. that’s what keeps it soft.
Adrianna is that girl! Her recipes are amazing and she always answers my silly questions when I DM her. I had been trying to make cinnamon rolls for months but couldn’t figure out my yeast and how to make my dough rise, but it finally worked and I have her to thank! This recipe is bussin as the young folks say.
OMG this comment give me reason to live hahaha. Thanks so much for being here, Danielle, and I’m so glad this recipe was IT!!
The best cinnamon rolls ever!! Never fail and every time I make them people always ask for the recipe!!