These gluten-free cinnamon rolls are big, fluffy, and SOFT! Plus thanks to a secret ingredient, they’re so easy to make!
I have been a gluten-free food blogger for over 10 years and never shared a gluten-free cinnamon roll recipe until now!
I tested and re-tested this recipe to get it just right. I am so proud of this recipe and I hope you love it too!
Are you ready for the BEST gluten free cinnamon rolls of your life?
I haven been eating gluten-free since 2012 and have tried dozens of gluten-free cinnamon rolls over the years. I’ve finally perfected my recipe and I’m so excited to share it!
This gluten-free dough is made with King Arthur gluten-free bread flour, which makes all the difference in creating a soft texture and lightly chewy dough.
Trust me when I say these cinnamon rolls are JUST as incredible as regular cinnamon rolls. They’re big. They’re fluffy. They’re soft and never dry! They really are the real deal.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A tested & perfected recipe! I tested and re-tested this recipe to get these cinnamon rolls just right
- Big, fluffy, and SOFT
- Make-Ahead option – can be made the day before and baked in the morning
- Easy to make with gluten-free bread flour
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Cinnamon Rolls
- Gluten-free bread flour: THIS IS THE SECRET INGREDIENT! I’ve been loving using this gluten-free bread flour, which contains wheat starch that is completely gluten-free. It’s easy to shape and yields a similar texture to traditional bread. It’s great for sweet breads, rolls, and any other gluten-free bread dough! I also use this flour in these gluten-free crescent rolls.
- Water and milk: I prefer whole milk for these cinnamon rolls. It gives the dough a richer flavor!
- Sugar: You need white granulated sugar in the dough, both for flavor and to feed the yeast.
- Baking powder: Any baking powder will work for this recipe! It’s an important ingredient that helps create a light, fluffy gluten-free cinnamon rolls dough.
- Instant yeast: Instant yeast can be added right into the dry ingredients. It doesn’t need to be mixed with warm water to create a yeast mixture. Be sure to get this type rather than active dry yeast!
- Eggs: Eggs create a rich, soft dough. For best results with these gluten-free cinnamon rolls, use large, room temperature eggs.
- Butter: Like the eggs, the butter creates a rich and flavorful dough. I recommend using salted butter for this recipe. It provides the best depth of flavor!
- Salt: I like to use fine sea salt for this gluten-free cinnamon rolls recipe!
- For the filling: I love a classic, easy filling with brown sugar, cinnamon and butter!
For more gluten-free special breakfast recipes, try this gluten-free coffee cake, gluten-free blueberry muffins, gluten-free scones and gluten-free baked donuts.
Dairy-Free?
These cinnamon rolls can easily be made dairy-free. You can use dairy-free milk in place of the milk. I like using Elmhurst Unsweetened Cashew milk in place of whole milk. It has a similar fat content to whole milk, and doesn’t have any added gums or stabilizers that could interfere with the rise/crumb of the rolls. I also use vegan butter in place of the butter.
How to Make Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls
Make the Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the gluten-free flour, granulated sugar, instant yeast, salt, and baking powder. Mix to evenly combine.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add the water, milk, eggs and melted butter. Turn it up to medium speed and mix for 3 minutes until very smooth. The dough will resemble thick cookie dough. This is normal!
- Use an oiled spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. (Refrigerating the dough makes it easier to roll out.)
- Turn out the gluten free cinnamon buns dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball.
- Sprinkle with a little flour, then roll the dough out into a 15×15-inch square.
You also might like this gluten-free pizza crust, gluten-free cinnamon sticks or gluten-free breadsticks.
Make the Filling/Shape the Rolls
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
- Spread the melted butter for the filing over the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar all over the dough. Using a pizza cutter, cut the square into twelve 1.25-inch wide strips of gluten-free cinnamon roll dough. Roll each dough strip up into a cinnamon roll.
- Place in the prepared baking dish.
Rise/Bake the Rolls
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Place in a relatively warm place and allow the rolls to rise for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the rolls are slightly golden brown.
- Set the rolls aside to cool for 15 minutes or until just slightly warm to the touch.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Powdered sugar: Any powdered sugar will work for these gluten-free cinnamon rolls!
- Cream cheese: Be sure to set your cream cheese out and allow it to soften to room temperature before making the frosting. This will ensure the frosting is smooth and clump-free.
- Butter: I recommend using salted butter for this recipe. It provides the best depth of flavor!
- Vanilla: I prefer using real vanilla extract for this cinnamon roll frosting.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese on high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add the butter and beat until smooth and combined, then beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla until combined.
- Using a knife or icing spatula, spread the icing over the warm rolls. Serve immediately and enjoy your fluffy cinnamon roll!
Maple Glaze Option
These cinnamon rolls are also delicious with a maple glaze instead of cream cheese frosting! For the glaze mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon maple flavoring, 4-6 tablespoons milk, 2 tablespoons melted butter and a pinch of salt until smooth.
Make-Ahead/Storage Instructions
MAKE-AHEAD/OVERNIGHT RISE: These cinnamon rolls can be assembled the day before and baked the following morning. Make the gluten-free cinnamon rolls as you normally would, following the steps through the “Make the Filling/Shape the Rolls” section. Cover the rolls tightly and refrigerate for 8–12 hours. (16 hours max. 8–12 hours is best, but 16 hours is okay if absolutely needed. Do not exceed 16 hours.) The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise on the counter for 30-45 minutes before baking. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes.
STORAGE: Store these homemade gluten free cinnamon rolls in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap for up to three days. If the cinnamon rolls have cream cheese frosting, I store them in the refrigerator.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- GLUTEN-FREE BREAD FLOUR: This gluten-free bread flour is key for these gluten-free cinnamon rolls to turn out correctly. Other gluten-free flour blends will not work in it’s place.
- DAIRY-FREE: For dairy-free, gluten-free cinnamon rolls, I like to use Elmhurst Unsweetened Cashew milk. It has a similar fat content to whole milk and doesn’t have any added gums or stabilizers that might interfere with the rise/crumb of the rolls. You can also use vegan butter in place of the butter, and make the frosting with dairy-free cream cheese. My favorite brand is Kite Hill.
- I prefer the paddle attachment instead of the dough hook attachment for gluten-free bread. It tends to knead gluten-free dough more evenly!
I also use this same flour/dough recipe in this amazing, gluten-free monkey bread!
Easy, Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls
Video
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 4 ½ cups (680g) King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour
- ⅓ cup (65g) granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast (1 packet)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ¼ cup (295ml) water warm
- 1 cup (236ml) whole milk warm
- 2 large eggs
- 6 tablespoons (85g) butter melted
For the Filling:
- 1 cup (200g) brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 8 tablespoons (113g) butter melted
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces (226g) cream cheese softened
- 4 Tablespoons (56g) butter softened
- 1 ⅓ cup (160g) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Or Simple Glaze:
- 3 cups (340g) powdered sugar
- 1/3 -1/2 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Make the Dough:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the gluten-free flour, granulated sugar, instant yeast, salt and baking powder. Mix to evenly combine.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add the water, milk, eggs and melted butter. Turn the speed up to medium and mix for 3 minutes until very smooth. The dough will resemble thick cookie dough. This is normal!
- Use an oiled spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. (Refrigerating the dough makes it easier to roll out.)
Make the Filling/Shape the Rolls
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball.
- Sprinkle with a little flour, then roll the dough out into a 15×15-inch square.
- Spread the melted butter for the filing over the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar all over the dough.
- Using a pizza cutter, cut the square into twelve 1.25-inch wide strips.
- Roll each dough strip up into a cinnamon roll. Place in the prepared baking dish.
Rise/Bake the Rolls
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Place in a relatively warm place and allow the rolls to rise for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the rolls are slightly golden brown.
- Set the rolls aside to cool for 15 minutes or until just slightly warm to the touch.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese on high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add the butter and beat until smooth and combined, then beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla until combined.
- Using a knife or icing spatula, spread the icing over the warm rolls. Serve immediately and enjoy!
For the Simple Glaze
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the glaze ingredients until well combined.
- Spread over the slightly warm rolls. Serve immediately and enjoy!
I have GF KA Bread Flour sourdough discard, am I able to use any of that in this recipe?
This recipe works! I used it to make a slightly sweet dinner roll – rolling into a circle and cutting into triangles, then rolling into crescents. They rose beautifully. After rising, I brushed them with butter, and they took about 23 minutes to bake. After they came out, I brushed butter on them a second time, and they were perfect. Very nice texture, soft and fluffy inside; and you really cannot tell they are gluten-free. Don’t hesitate to try this recipe.
Hi Hilary, you are very kind to leave such a thoughtful review! So glad these turned out well for you!
Can I use lactose free milk instead of whole milk?
Hi Rachael, yes, that should work great! Just make sure it’s warm (but not too hot) so it activates the yeast.
I am super excited to make these for my daughter!! Do you have suggestions for freezing them? I am making them today and will not be giving them to her for 4 days.
I made these yesterday for the second time and have a tip. Using the 680 g of bread flour made them too cakey/bread-like. Subbing 100 g of the bread flour for 100g of superfine white rice flour made the texture more true to traditional/gluten cinnamon rolls.
Hi Alexis, thank you for your review and smart tip! We will have to try that!
I love these cinnamon rolls, can I just save a bit of the dough to make crescent rolls and save me more work? There’s only three of us, so we don’t need a lot. Will that work?
Hi Mari, smart idea! That should work. Just keep in mind they may not puff exactly like classic crescent rolls and it may be a bit sweeter.
Can these be separated individual servings and not frosted be frozen? If so, how long?
BTW…Love your recipes, even the ones with higher carbs.
Hi Marge, good question and thanks for the kind words! Do you want to freeze baked or unbaked cinnamon rolls? We haven’t tried freezing them unbaked, but others readers have shared it worked for them. To freeze the baked cinnamon rolls, we recommend individually wrapping them unfrosted in plastic wrap and storing in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Thaw, reheat, and frost when ready to serve.
Made these last Christmas and they totally rocked according to my 28 yr old. We’ve been searching for a recipe that made gf cinnamon buns the way we used to remember cinnamon buns before we went GF (both girls highly sensitive to it, not celiac). The bread flour really makes a difference. Also I put them in the fridge 16 hours the night before took them out let them sit room temp as instructed and then baked. Perfection!
I’m going to try and do something similar for Thanksgiving! Thank you for a great recipe!
Hi Kimberley, thanks so much for your feedback! It means a lot! So glad they turned out well for you. Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
I just made these today with King Arthur 1:1 GF Bread Flour. I measured out 4-1/2 cups and weighed it, but it weighed much less than 680g. So I weighed out 680g in a bowl, then used 4-1/2 cups out of what I weighed. But when I was done putting the liquids in, it seemed very wet, so I put the rest of what was left of the 680g in the mixer and they turned out beautifully!
Being new to GF baking, I just had to figure out when I felt the texture was right.
Hi Yvonne, we’re so glad you had a positive experience and enjoyed the cinnamon rolls! Weighing is always the most accurate since different brands of measuring cups can be quite different unfortunately. Still, Erin works hard to make the recipes successful no matter which measuring method people use. Thank you for sharing your positive feedback with us!
I made 3 dozen of these for Galentines Day 2025 and they were a HIT! A friend who is a professional baker even asked me for the recipe. Everyone was shocked to hear they were gluten free too! They turned out so amazing, I’m 20 weeks pregnant and making them tomorrow because I cant stop thinking about them!
Wow, thank you for this amazing feedback, Cynthia! It makes us so happy to hear the recipe was such a hit! Happy baking!
Can I use active dry yeast instead of instant?
Hi Maggie, instant yeast works best. If trying to use active dry, you’d need to proof it in the warm water and milk from the recipe plus 1 tablespoon of sugar from the recipe to help it grow. It could also impact the necessary rising time. We hope you enjoy the cinnamon rolls!
Hello! I’m just wondering if I can freeze these rolls either before or after baking ?
Hi Jenni, we haven’t tried freezing them unbaked, but others readers have shared it worked for them. To freeze the baked cinnamon rolls, we recommend individually wrapping them in plastic wrap and storing in an airtight container (unfrosted works best). Thaw, reheat, and frost when ready to serve. Happy baking!
I have tried quite a few gf cinnamon roll recipes only to feel disappointed…THESE ARE INCREDIBLE!!!! My dough was a little wet so I floured parchment paper and the top of the dough heavily. It stuck in a few places but I just used a scraper (wide thin metal tool) to coax it along. My kitchen was cold so I turned oven on to put out a bit of heat and let rise for an hour. The wait was worth it!!! Save, make and share this recipe with all your friends. Simple and divine!!
Wow, thank you for such amazing feedback, Elise! It makes us so happy to hear you enjoyed the cinnamon roll recipe this much!
These cinnamon rolls are amazing! I’ve been gluten free for over 13 years, and these are the best ones I have tried or made.
And they freeze beautifully. After rolling the rolls I froze them unbaked. When I’m ready to use them I take out however many I need, let them thaw overnight in the fridge, then follow Erin’s instructions to rise on the counter and bake as normal. This is fantastic for a household of two, and allows for fresh cinnamon rolls whenever the mood strikes!
Yay! We’re so happy to hear how much you’ve enjoyed the recipe, Stephanie! It’s great to hear freezing unbaked has worked so well for you too. Thank you for taking the time to share with us!
This recipe is the absolute best gluten free recipe out there! I made these this morning for my husband, in the past the GF cinnamon rolls I’ve made turned out okay, but never like these! I felt so proud rolling them, seeing how big they got, and especially after baking them! Absolute perfection! My husband was so impressed with how fluffy and big they were! Definitely making these again, super easy recipe for such a great outcome! Had no issues with dough being sticky, they rolled out like a charm! When I baked them, I put some ice cubes in a muffin tray in the bottom rack to somewhat steam them while baking so the dough didn’t crack, not sure how much it helped but mine didn’t crack at all! 10/10 in my book! Thank you so much for creating this amazing recipe!
Wow! Thank you for taking the time to share such amazing feedback with us, Danielle! We’re so happy to hear you loved the cinnamon rolls this much!