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These Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are soft and fluffy with the best buttery and cinnamon filling. A classic sweet roll recipe that is topped with fluffy buttercream. These are the best thing for brunches or holiday breakfasts.

Who doesn't love a warm, gooey cinnamon roll? These rolls are easy and are going to become a new favorite for every occasion and celebration.

Top view of frosted cinnamon rolls in glass baking dish.

Homemade Cinnamon Roll Ingredients

Substitution Suggestions:

Milk: I prefer to use 2% or whole cows milk for cinnamon rolls. However, if needed you can substitute a nondairy milk.
Salted Butter: I almost always use salted butter in my baked goods. You can use unsalted butter, but I would add an extra ¼ teaspoon of salt to the dough and the cinnamon sugar filling.
Quick Rise Yeast: Quick rise yeast makes these rolls come together faster. 1 packet or 2 ¼ teaspoons of active yeast can be used, but remember the rise time is going to be much longer.
All Purpose Flour: I prefer to use nothing but all purpose flour because it gives the rolls a softer texture. Bread flour can be used, but the rolls will have a more chewy texture.
Brown Sugar: I like to use a blend of sugar and brown sugar in the filling, but if you prefer you can use all white sugar.
Frosting: If you love Cream Cheese Frosting you can make a batch of that and frost the rolls. Here's my perfect Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe!

Close up side view of one cinnamon roll frosted on white round plate.

How to Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

First step, is to make the dough. Melt the butter until just starting to bubble. Remove from heat and stir in milk and sugar. Add the mix to a stand mixer or large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with the instant yeast and let sit for 5 minutes.

Bloomed yeast in warm milk and melted butter.

Add the salt, and 1 cup of all purpose flour at a time, mixing on low with the dough hook attachment or a wooden spoon/rubber spatula. A good way to test if you have enough flour is to pinch the dough with your fingers, the dough should be smooth and a tad tacky, but it should not stick to your fingers when pinched. If the dough is still too sticky, add a couple tablespoons of flour at a time.
Bump up the speed and knead the dough on medium for 1 minute or knead by hand until smooth.
Cover the bowl with a clean towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place and let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Complete dough ready to for first rise in mixing bowl.

How to Roll the Dough

Once the dough is doubled, dump it out on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 15x10 inch rectangle that is about a ½ inch thick.
Melt the butter, and spread it out over the dough leaving a 1 inch space on one long end of the dough. This is for sealing after rolling up the dough.
Mix together the sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle it evenly over all the melted butter.

Cinnamon sugar added on top of butter and dough.

Now, roll the dough up tightly starting from the long side with butter and cinnamon sugar. Pull the end up and pinch it slightly to seal. Adjust the ends of the roll if needed so they are flat and smooth.
Cut the log into 12 rolls using a dough cutter or serrated knife. For even rolls, cut the log in half, and then cut each half in half. Then cut each quarter into thirds to make 12 rolls.

Dough rolled into log ready for slicing on pastry mat.

Cinnamon roll cut into 12 slices on pastry mat.

Place rolls in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover with towel or plastic wrap and let rise again for 30 minutes in warm area.
Preheat the oven to 375°F while the rolls rise.
Bake the rolls for 15-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the center is no longer doughy.

Sliced rolls placed in glass baking dish.

Cinnamon Roll Buttercream Frosting

While the rolls are baking, make the frosting. Beat together the softened butter and 1 cup of powdered sugar until smooth.
Add the vanilla extract, remaining powdered sugar and milk. Beat on low until fully combined, then bump up the speed and beat on medium until light and fluffy.

Frosting in mixing bowl for cinnamon rolls.

Dollop each roll with frosting and then using an off set spatula spread the frosting to cover the entire roll.

Dollops of frosting added to baked rolls in baking dish.

Tips for the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Don't boil the butter or scorch the milk. This can kill the yeast. Melt the butter just until it starts to bubble. While the butter is melting, let the milk sit out at room temp. Then stir in the milk and sugar and add it to your mixing bowl. A perfect temperature is not over 115°F. I don't ever take the temp of the butter, as long as you don't boil it you'll be safe.
Make sure your yeast isn't old and expired. I keep my yeast in the freezer and it lasts a very long time.
Fluff your flour and then spoon it and level it off to measure. This will help eliminate adding any extra flour which can make the rolls dense and not fluffy.
For a quicker rise, preheat your oven to 175°F. When the dough is ready to rise, shut the oven off and place the covered dough in the oven to rise. It will only take 15-20 minutes to rise this way. Do the same thing after the rolls have been cut and are ready to rise again.

Make Ahead Instructions

These rolls can be made ahead of time, and then just popped in the oven when ready. Make the rolls until they are sliced and placed in the baking dish. Then cover and place in the fridge overnight. When ready to bake, take the rolls out and let sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. Then bake and frost! The frosting can also be made the day before. Just mix it again until fluffy before frosting the rolls. This makes holiday mornings super easy!

Cinnamon roll cut in half on white round plate showing inside layers.

Storing Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Store the frosted rolls tightly covered for 3 days at room temperature or in the fridge for 5 days. Reheat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.

Freezing Baked Cinnamon Rolls

The baked rolls can be frozen for up to 4 months. Tightly wrap them with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Thaw the rolls overnight in the fridge or on the counter for a few hours. You can warm them individually in the microwave. If you froze them without frosting you can reheat the rolls, covered with foil, in a 325°F oven for 10-15 minutes. Frost them after warming.

How to Freeze Cinnamon Roll Dough

The dough can also be frozen. Prepare the rolls up until they are sliced and in the baking dish. An aluminum foil pan works great for freezing. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and foil. Then freeze the dough. When ready to use the dough, thaw it overnight in the fridge. Once thawed, remove from fridge and let it rise in a warm place for an hour or so. Then bake and frost. Or you can let the dough thaw on the counter overnight. It will thaw and rise and then be ready for the oven once you are awake!

Top view of frosted cinnamon rolls in baking dish and one roll on white round plate.

Other Easy Homemade Bread and Rolls:

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