Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls (Cinnabon Copycat)

These gluten-free cinnamon rolls are out-of-control delicious! They taste like Cinnabon copycats, but with zero gluten. They’re soft and tender with a perfect swirly filling and cream cheese frosting. Perfect for Christmas morning breakfast or anytime!

Why These Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls Are So Good!

• These cinnamon rolls taste just like the ones from Cinnabon, but they are 100% gluten-free.
• They can be made ahead of time and reheated for an easy breakfast or brunch option.
• The cream cheese frosting is so good, this is the only cinnamon roll recipe you will need!

How to Make Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls

1. Important note: Make sure your warmed milk and melted butter are not too hot; they should feel warm to the touch but not hot. If they’re too hot, they can kill the yeast. Check them with a thermometer before each step in which they come in contact with the yeast for foolproof gluten-free cinnamon rolls!
2. Add the white sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer (Or large mixing bowl if you prefer to knead by hand) and pour warm milk over. Stir to combine. Pour the yeast in and set aside until bubbly or frothy; you should see a sort of film on the top of the mixture at least. This will take about 5 minutes.
3. Add the melted butter (About 110º F; warm to the touch but not hot) to the yeast mixture. Stir in whisked eggs and apple cider vinegar. Add in gluten-free flour, baking powder, salt, and xantham gum if your gluten-free flour does not contain it (See Note). Attach the bread hook to the mixer and mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl and is soft. It should not feel dry but a bit sticky. See Note to mix by hand.
4. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl and transfer dough to bowl. Cover and place in a warm spot. Let rise for 1 hour. If your spot is cooler, it may take a little longer to rise, but the dough should be a bit puffier and should leave an indentation when poked. It will not double in size.
5. Meanwhile, make the cinnamon filling. In a medium bowl, add all ingredients and use a fork to mix very well. Alternately, beat all ingredients together with a stand mixer and paddle attachment.
6. Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly coat a 9×13” baking dish with softened butter or cooking spray.
7. Lay a 12×16” piece of parchment paper on the counter. Scrape the dough on top. Press the dough to fit the parchment sheet; the dough should be about 12×16” as well. It’s OK if it doesn’t quite fit the entire sheet.
8. Evenly spread the cinnamon filling on the rectangle of dough, leaving 1/2” bare at one end (short side, not long side).
9. Carefully, use the parchment sheet to begin tightly rolling the dough. Use the parchment to fold over the first 1” or so of the short side with filling all the way to the edge. Continue rolling the dough by folding the parchment over to the other side. It will roll naturally.
10. Cut the roll into 12 equal pieces. Place evenly into a baking dish and bake 25-30 minutes. They will not puff up like cinnamon rolls with gluten in them but will become a bit fuller and should be a little golden brown. Do not overbake!
11. Meanwhile, make your cream cheese frosting. Add cream cheese and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl and beat until completely combined. Cream cheese should be totally smooth with no solid lumps. Add in powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt; beat on medium speed until combined.
12. When cinnamon rolls are finished baking, remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes before slathering tops with cream cheese frosting (A butter knife or offset spatula work well). Serve with additional cream cheese frosting.

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls Are the Perfect Make-Ahead Breakfast For the Holidays

We love having cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, and these are perfect when you are catering for overnight guests. For a stress-free morning, you can also make these ahead of time.

Keep them in an air-tight container at room temperature up to 3 days; 5 days in the fridge. To reheat, warm in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Microwaving produces moister and more tender reheated cinnamon rolls than the oven.

They Taste Just Like Cinnabon!

Even those these rolls are gluten-free, they taste just like Cinnabon and they are so good! Because they are GF, they won’t rise as much as dough with gluten would, but I promise you they taste exactly the same! The cream cheese frosting is to die for!

Can You Freeze Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls?

You can easily get ahead of the game by freezing these rolls…

You can freeze the rolls, baked but unfrosted. Later, you can thaw them out, warm them for just a few minutes in the oven, and ice them while warm.

You can also freeze the rolls completely iced and finished. Just allow them to cool, cover with plastic wrap and foil and pop in the freezer.

Top Tips To Make These Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls

• Make sure your warmed milk and melted butter are not too hot; they should feel warm to the touch but not hot.
• Different gluten-free baking flours are different! You may expect different results based on your gluten-free flour. Use the recommended flour from Bob’s Red Mill for the best results.
• Take care not to over bake the rolls!

For More Gluten-Free Recipes:

• Gluten-free Stuffing
• Gluten-free Cornbread with Honey
• Paleo Blueberry Muffins (GF)
• Perfect Paleo Brownies (GF)

Hey – you’ve made it this far, and now we’re best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, too!

5 from 15 votes

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Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls (Cinnabon Copycat)

These gluten free cinnamon rolls are out-of-control delicious! They taste like Cinnabon copycats, but with zero gluten. They're soft and tender with a perfect swirly filling and cream cheese frosting

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cinnabon, cinnamon rolls, gluten free

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Rise Time 1 hour

Total Time 2 hours

Servings 12 cinnamon rolls

Calories 535 kcal

Author Cheryl Malik

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 cup warm milk or alt-milk like almond, oat, macadamia milk, warmed to 110°-115°F, see Note
• 1 packet active dry yeast 2 1/4 teaspoons
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled until just warm to the touch, about 110°-115°F, see Note
• 2 eggs whisked
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour See Note
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 12×16” sheet of parchment paper

Cinnamon Filling

• 1 cup brown sugar packed
• 3 tablespoons cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons butter unsalted softened, or margarine

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
• 6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Important note: Make sure your warmed milk and melted butter are not too hot; they should feel warm to the touch but not hot. If they’re too hot, they can kill the yeast. Check them with a thermometer before each step in which they come in contact with the yeast for foolproof gluten-free cinnamon rolls!
2. Add the white sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer (Or large mixing bowl if you prefer to knead by hand) and pour warm milk over. Stir to combine. Pour the yeast in and set aside until bubbly or frothy; you should see a sort of film on the top of the mixture at least. This will take about 5 minutes.
3. Add the melted butter (About 110º F; warm to the touch but not hot) to the yeast mixture. Stir in whisked eggs and apple cider vinegar. Add in gluten-free flour, baking powder, salt, and xantham gum if your gluten-free flour does not contain it (See Note). Attach the bread hook to the mixer and mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl and is soft. It should not feel dry but a bit sticky. See Note to mix by hand.
4. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl and transfer dough to bowl. Cover and place in a warm spot. Let rise 1 hour. If your spot is cooler, it may take a little longer to rise, but the dough should be a bit puffier and should leave an indentation when poked. It will not double in size.
5. Meanwhile, make the cinnamon filling. In a medium bowl, add all ingredients and use a fork to mix very well. Alternately, beat all ingredients together with a stand mixer and paddle attachment.
6. Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly coat a 9×13” baking dish with softened butter or cooking spray.
7. Lay a 12×16” piece of parchment paper on the counter. Scrape the dough on top. Press the dough to fit the parchment sheet; the dough should be about 12×16” as well. It’s OK if it doesn’t quite fit the entire sheet.
8. Evenly spread the cinnamon filling on the rectangle of dough, leaving 1/2” bare at one end (short side, not long side).
9. Carefully, use the parchment sheet to begin tightly rolling the dough. Use the parchment to fold over the first 1” or so of the short side with filling all the way to the edge. Continue rolling the dough by folding the parchment over to the other side. It will roll naturally.
10. Cut the roll into 12 equal pieces. Place evenly into baking dish and bake 25-30 minutes. They will not puff up like cinnamon rolls with gluten in them but will become a bit fuller and should be a little golden brown. Do not overbake!
11. Meanwhile, make your cream cheese frosting. Add cream cheese and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl and beat until completely combined. Cream cheese should be totally smooth with no solid lumps. Add in powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt; beat on medium speed until combined.
12. When cinnamon rolls are finished baking, remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes before slathering tops with cream cheese frosting (A butter knife or offset spatula work well). Serve with additional cream cheese frosting.

Recipe Notes

I recommend Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour.

If your gluten-free all-purpose flour blend does not have xantham gum, add 1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum to the mixer when adding flour blend and baking soda. The recommended gluten-free flour (Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour) already has xantham gum and does need this ingredient added.

Different gluten free baking flours are different! You may expect different results based on your gluten free flour. Use the recommended flour from Bob’s Red Mill for best results.

If mixing by hand instead of using a stand mixer, add all ingredients as directed in steps #3 and #4 to a large mixing bowl. Stir with a spatula until mixed well. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 1-2 minutes. You are not creating gluten by kneading this dough, but kneading will help incorporate all ingredients as smoothly as if you used a stand mixer.

This recipe makes plenty of cream cheese frosting because I’m pretty sure that’s the best part! You will not need all of the frosting when glazing the cinnamon rolls in the baking dish; keep for serving and reheating!

Keep in an air-tight container at room temperature up to 3 days; 5 days in the fridge. To reheat, warm in the microwave about 30 seconds. Microwaving produces moister and more tender reheated cinnamon rolls than the oven.

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls (Cinnabon Copycat)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 535 Calories from Fat 234

% Daily Value*

Fat 26g40%

Saturated Fat 15g94%

Cholesterol 93mg31%

Sodium 165mg7%

Potassium 136mg4%

Carbohydrates 75g25%

Fiber 5g21%

Sugar 47g52%

Protein 6g12%

Vitamin A 822IU16%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 136mg14%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.