Do you love Cinnamon Rolls as much as I do? They are one of my favorite indulgences and I love it when they are fresh, full of cinnamon flavor, mile high, and loaded with delicious cream cheese icing. Well, Ken made these and they sure fit the bill for everything that I love. So today, I am excited to bring you Copycat Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls.
There’s nothing like the smell of cinnamon rolls from the oven – have you ever stopped dead in your tracks in the mall when you walk past that delicious smell when Cinnabon cinnamon rolls are baking or they’re straight out of the oven? Also for something different try our Lemon Sweet Rolls. You will go crazy over these too.
Helpful Items for This Recipe
This post contains affiliate links.
Watching the icing melt on the still-warm cinnamon rolls is one of life’s greatest pleasures. But, the cinnamon buns from the mall can be big and they cost a pretty penny. Why not try this recipe for homemade cinnamon rolls that taste just like Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls but are made from scratch with quality ingredients and come out of your oven perfectly golden brown ready to frost?
Once you see how easy these are to make and how amazing they taste, you won’t ever be tempted by the Pillsbury make at-home cinnamon buns again! I can’t promise that the smell in the food court won’t be tempting, but knowing you can make these at home is a good reason not to buy any!
Everything you dreamed of in a perfect cinnamon roll and made fresh at home. There is nothing like the smell of fresh bread baking!!
We have made cinnamon rolls before but never quite this big and beautiful. These were outstanding and really not that difficult to make considering the end result is this deliciousness! If you want to make mini rolls (and get more of them in a batch) you can do that too, but these big beautiful rolls don’t last long in our house!
We made these when we were having Ken’s cousin over for brunch. They were thoroughly enjoyed by all. They make a great treat from morning until night, from breakfast right through to dessert!
The recipe makes the perfect amount of 12 scrumptious rolls. Enough to share at any meal and some leftovers for gifts too!
How to Make Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls at Home Recipe
Notes:
While I use a stand mixer for this, you can make it by kneading it by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer. Mix it in a bowl with a spoon for as long as you can. Then knead with your hands until all the flour is incorporated into the dough. The dough should be tacky to the touch when it’s ready. The advantage of kneading by hand is that you’ll be able to tell when it’s fully mixed by how it feels in your hands.
You want to use warm water – it should be a few degrees above room temperature but not hot – and mix it with ½ cup of sugar. The warm water helps the sugar dissolve more quickly than room temperature or cold water. Sprinkle the active dry yeast over the water and sugar mixture – it needs to go on top and work down – if you put it in first it may need to be stirred to fully activate.
Make sure you have a light dusting of flour on your work surface whenever you’re rolling out or kneading the dough. When the dough is worked it gets stickier so the flour stops it from sticking to the surface you’re using. I recommend plastic cutting boards (that are only used for dough) or a silicone mat to knead the dough. You can use your (clean!) countertop to roll the dough if you want.
Put the Cinnabon recipe in a baking dish or baking pan that will hold them all or as we do two 8×11″ pans. They need room to rise!!
Hints:
You want to put your dough in a warm spot in your kitchen but not in direct sunlight or over a heating vent – that can make it too warm. Don’t attach the plastic wrap to the bowl – the dough is going to expand so it needs room to do so.
Use a light kitchen towel – if it’s too heavy it can make it harder for the dough to rise. Be careful not to let it rise too much – it should be roughly doubled in size.
Finally, make sure to do the icing in stages – half about 5 minutes after the buns come out of the oven and then the other half when they’re cool. This is because the first half melts down into the buns (oh so good!) so you want the second half to stay on the top!
Enjoy!
Copycat Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Copycat Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls
Copycat Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls are everything you dreamed of in a perfect cinnamon roll and made fresh at home.
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup warm homogenized milk
- 2 large eggs
- 7 Tbsp. butter, divided
- 5 1/2 - 6 cups flour
Filling
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
Icing
- 4 oz. light cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup icing (confectioners) sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 1689Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 86mgSodium: 274mgCarbohydrates: 314gFiber: 11gSugar: 48gProtein: 39g
Comments & Reviews
nibbles by nic says
Warm out of the oven….these are delicious!!!
Erica (@Erica's Recipes) says
Ohhhh my gosh. I’m in heaven. Want one of these so badly!!
Johna says
Can you prepare these the day before so that you can bake them first thing in the morning? And can you freeze half of the rolls for the future?
Tara Noland says
I would say you can make the dough the day before and let rise and then refrigerate. I would do the second rise in the morning. They would freeze well after baking if they aren’t iced. Then reheated and iced before serving. I love the freezer for so many things so I think they would be great done that way.
Dana says
I always package four to a bag and freeze my cinnamon rolls with frosting on them, frosting is no problem when freezing.
Janette@culinaryginger says
Oh my, this looks better than Cinnabon I’m literally drooling 🙂
Serena | Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch says
Can you ship a few too me! These look like the best!
Peter @ Feed Your Soul Too says
Total gooey goodness. Yum!
Thomas Wilcox says
Is the dough recipe adaptable to a bread machine?
Tara Noland says
I would say yes Thomas, but I couldn’t give you specifics. All bread machines differ and call for an adjustment of ingredients.
Pattie says
These are on the second rise as we speak, can’t wait to try one !!! 🙂 thanks so much for sharing
Tara Noland says
I am jealous, man are they good!
Laura Dembowski says
OMG! Those pics are making my mouth water. Those are some serious cinnamon rolls!
Gabrielle says
Hello. Are these supposed to have a crunchy filling or gooey?
Tara Noland says
More gooey than crunchy I would say!
Gabrielle says
Ok thank you! I believe I over baked them. I don’t have a 8×11 pan can I sub it with another size?
Tara Noland says
You could use a 9×13″ but there may be some gaps and not turn out as well.
Gabrielle says
Ok. Thank you! Getting ready to attempt them again. 🙂
Tara Noland says
Good Luck, ask me if you need anymore help!!
Katrina says
Does it matter what kind of flour is used? I usually have bread flour but I’m out and I’m wondering if I can substitute all purpose flour? Or would that totally ruin it?
Tara Noland says
If it just says flour in a recipe it would almost always mean AP (all purpose) white flour and that is what was used.
Holly says
I just made these and they were awesome! Thanks for the recipe.
Tara Noland says
So glad to hear Holly, we sure love them also!!
Julia says
Can I use a 2% milk instead of homo?
Tara Noland says
I think that would be fine Julia.
Isabella Tran says
What is homogenized milk and how to make it? Please reply. Thank you.
Tara Noland says
It is whole milk or 3.25%
Mel G. says
Can you make rolls with this dough?
Tara Noland says
Good question, we haven’t made them but I don’t see why not!
Joyce says
Can you use refrigerated biscuits as a starter then add the other ingredients
Tara Noland says
I would say you could give that a try and see if you like it for sure!
April says
I made these this weekend for my family and all I can say is WoW!!! It was a long process but totally worth It! They turned out big, and beautiful, and taste exactly like Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls!
Tara Noland says
So so happy to hear!! Thanks April!!
Debra Langlois says
I made these. They look amazing, icing was so silky, texture seemed great however they tasted very blah! I checked recipe and went over everything I did can’t figure out why. I did notice no salt in recipe?
Tara Noland says
Next time you can add salt if you like for sure!
Amy says
Approximately how long does it take from start to finish? I noticed at the top of the recipe, it says bake time is 20 minutes, total time is 20 minutes. How long is prep time?
Tara Noland says
You need to do 2 risings of 60-90 min. each, plus the time to make the dough and then the 20 min. bake time and time to ice also. It is a recipe that you will want to give yourself lots of time to do.
Olga says
I’ve never seen this before. Whats the purpose of corn starch in the filling?
Serene says
These look delicious! What does the corn starch in the filling do?
Tara Noland says
It will help keep the filling in the rolls and not run out.
Patty says
These are amazing. I made these about a month ago and they are awesome. I am making these again now. Thet really aren’t hard to make and totally worth the wait.
Tara Noland says
So glad you love them and thanks so much for taking the time to tell us!
Ronda says
I have been looking and trying so many recipes for the perfect cinnamon rolls and finally I have. This is the most amazing cinnamon roll I have ever had before 😁❤️😊. Thanks for sharing this with us. I would love to try other recipes you have …
Tara Noland says
Those cinnamon rolls are the bomb and it is hubby that loves making them. I hope you try lots of our recipes!! Enjoy!!
Jenesis says
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Tara Noland says
Salted, I guess it is presumed that it is salted unless it is noted as unsalted.
Mike says
Are you using regular sugar or confection sugar?
Tara Noland says
Salted, I guess it is presumed that it is salted unless it is noted as unsalted.
Tara Noland says
Just regular white granulated sugar in the dough, brown sugar in the filling and confectioners sugar in the icing.
Lisa Burgess says
Can I substitute GF flour? Will the recipe still work out?
Tara Noland says
I am sorry but I have not tried a gluten-free version of this recipe so I can’t recommend it.
Maria says
Has anyone tried to substitute with oat milk? Dairy free household here, but not sure if the lack of fat in the milk will not work.
Tara Noland says
Personally, I haven’t so I am sorry I can’t get a suggestion on that.
Kathy says
I tried 3 times and failed to get the yeast to proof with so much sugar in the water. When I only put 1/2 tsp sugar in the 1/2 cup water, it proofed perfectly. Then I added the rest of the sugar (1/2 cup less 1/2 tsp), and continued with the rest of the recipe. Turned out great! Love that your recipe has lemon in the icing, as it should.
Tara Noland says
Glad you figured it out and love the recipe!!
Beckee says
Waiting on the second proof. Sending my kids pics as the steps ok. 😉 looking forward to the visit when I call and say they are ready. Thanks for the inspiration.
Tara Noland says
Enjoy!!
Suzanne says
This looks so good! I’ll be making this next weekend!! I noticed you didn’t scald the milk…..In bread making, scalding the milk serves a scientific purpose. The whey protein in milk can weaken gluten and prevent the dough from rising properly. Scalding the milk deactivates the protein so this doesn’t happen.
Tara Noland says
Thanks for the tip, awesome!!
Sherry Pennington says
These are the BEST Cinnabons EVER!!! I’m addicted. Yes, they are time consuming to make, but so worth the effort!!
Tara Noland says
So glad you liked them, now I want them again. LOL