Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls (Cinnabon Copycat)
Posted: 12/06/19
Updated: 12/24/21
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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!
What Makes This Recipe So Good?
- 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.
- These cinnamon rolls taste just like the ones from Cinnabon, but they are 100% gluten-free. 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! Seriously, it’s so good, this is the only cinnamon roll recipe you will need!
- They can be made ahead of time and reheated for an easy breakfast or brunch option. Keep them in an airtight 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 more moist and more tender reheated cinnamon rolls than the oven.
Can You Freeze This Recipe for Later?
Absolutely! I’m all for getting ahead of the game. I recommend doing this one of two ways:
- 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.
- If you’d rather freeze the cinnamon rolls completely iced and finished, you can do that, too. Just allow them to cool, cover them with plastic wrap and foil, and pop them in the freezer.
Chef’s Tips
- Make sure your warmed milk and melted butter are not too hot; they should feel warm to the touch but not hot.
- Gluten-free flour behaves differently from brand to brand! You may experience different results based on your gluten-free flour. Use the recommended flour from Bob’s Red Mill for the best results.
- If your dough seems overly sticky or unmanageable, gradually add in more flour. Start with just one tablespoon, and add more by the tablespoon as needed.
- Take care not to over-bake the gluten free cinnamon rolls! It’s easy to do and will throw off the taste and texture.
For More Gluten Free Recipes
- Gluten Free Stuffing
- Gluten Free Cornbread with Honey
- Perfectly Crispy Gluten Free Fried Chicken
- Gluten Free Paleo Blueberry Muffins
- Perfect Paleo Brownies (Gluten Free)
- Crispy Gluten Free Onion Rings
- Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
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
cinnamon rolls
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 cup warm milk or alt-milk (like almond, oat, macadamia milk), warmed to 110°-115°F, see Notes
- 1 packet active dry yeast 2 ¼ teaspoons
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled until just warm to the touch, about 110°-115°F, see Notes
- 2 eggs whisked
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 ½ cups Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour see Notes
- 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum only if flour doesn't contain it already, see Notes
- 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Cinnamon Filling
- 1 packed cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened, or margarine
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 6 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Equipment
- Large bowls (2)
- Stand mixer with bread hook (or knead by hand)
- Medium bowl
- Fork
- 9×13 baking dish
- Parchment Paper
Instructions
- 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. Sprinkle the yeast over 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly coat a 9×13” baking dish with softened butter or cooking spray.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper to about 12×18” and lay 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.
- Evenly spread the cinnamon filling on the rectangle of dough, leaving ½” bare at one end (short side, not long side).
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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.
Notes
- IMPORTANT: 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!
- Flour: I recommend using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour. Gluten-free flour behaves differently from brand-to-brand, so you may experience different results based on the type of flour you use. Use the recommended flour from Bob’s Red Mill for best results.
- Xanthan Gum: If your gluten-free all-purpose flour blend does not have xanthan gum, add 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum to the mixer when adding flour blend and baking powder. The recommended gluten-free flour (Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour) already has xanthan gum and does not need this ingredient added.
- Sticky Dough: If your dough seems overly sticky or unmanageable, gradually increase the amount of flour. Start with one additional tablespoon of flour, adding more as needed to make the dough workable.
- Mixer: 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.
- Frosting: 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!
- Storage & 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.
Video
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1cinnamon roll, Calories: 536kcal, Carbohydrates: 74g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 26g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 93mg, Sodium: 245mg, Potassium: 56mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 47g, Vitamin A: 632IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 143mg, Iron: 2mg, Net Carbs: 69g
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
I am an experienced baker. I used the Bobs 1:1, I weighed the flour (as oer bobs website) and used a thermometer for ingredients. The dough was beyond sticky and I got a huge portion stuck on my hands, enough for at least 2 buns. The frustration levels were HIGH. I added more flour, bt sparingly and slowly and didn’t want to over add and make it crumbly so it was still very sticky when I stopped and let it rise. Using two greased pieces of baking paper I managed to roll it out and cut it up nicely (use floss to cut). It took 20mins to bake and they were golden brown but crumbly. The icing did save them somewhat. The icing tasted mostly of cream cheese and needed cream and more sugar to taste nice. I will not be repeating this recipe and have given up on GF cinnamon buns in addition to GF cookies which also always fall short imo.
We’re so sorry you had this experience, Sydney, but we appreciate you sharing this honest feedback.
OMG doesn’t get much closer than this to Cinnabon. I was extremely intimidated to make these, but it was so easy! They turned out INCREDIBLE! I think I allowed the dough to be too dry, but they were still yummy. The icing is incredible and very forgiving. Will make these again and again.
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
WOW this literally tastes just like regular cinnamon rolls and was incredible. I had my aunt-in-law who bakes help me follow this recipe and even those who don’t like sweets LOVED this.
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
These turned out soooo good! I made sure to take my time and measure the temp of my milk and butter and let my dough rise of top of a warmed oven. I used Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour blend and ended up adding about an extra 1/4 cup of flour. The frosting was to die for. Definitely eat these warm from the oven. I did not have a problem with the rolls being to “cakey” these will be my go to cinnamon roll recipe!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for the feedback. 🙂
Made these for Christmas morning having never made the recipe before and they were amazing. The whole family was singing praises and when they found out they were gluten free, they were in awe. Saving this recipe and can’t wait to make them again!!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Why does your recipe use boh yeast and baking powder? I was a bit confused as your instructions don’t mention adding in the baking powder.
Hi, Laura! Step 2 under Instructions in the recipe card explains when to add the baking powder. You’ll find the instructions for the yeast in Step 1. Hope this helps!
This recipe was a very tasty treat, and the instructions are easy to follow. They are a little lighter when they’re baked so definitely don’t over cook them! They’re not chewy without the gluten, more cakey, but still good.
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hands down the best gf cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made. I have tried so many different recipes. These were amazing and my entire family loved them.
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
It’s a rainy day. Used Bobs GF baking flour, not the 1to1. dough very sticky, added another half cup flour a tablespoon at a time. still sticky. Can these be saved by layering dough and not rolling up?
Hey Lynne, we recommend using the flour mentioned in the recipe card and following those instructions. Unfortunately, it’s hard to save dough at that stage of the process.