These Easy Eggless Cinnamon Rolls are fluffy, soft, and ready in a flash! Made from scratch and totally delicious, this Eggless Cinnamon Rolls recipe is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or just dessert. Step-by-step photos and overnight instructions are included.
My Favorite Egg-Free Cinnamon Rolls
When you have an egg allergy – or intolerance – buying treats in stores is not an option! That is the reason I am so excited to share this Easy Eggless Cinnamon Rolls recipe.
My little princess, diagnosed with egg allergy when she was one yo, was over the moon when she tried these cinnamon rolls for the first time! And I couldn’t be happier.
These Easy Eggless Cinnamon Rolls are fluffy, soft, packed with cinnamon filling, then slathered with super luscious and creamy frosting. What can I say? Totally irresistible!
Besides being delicious, they are also very easy and quick to make. They take about 90 minutes from start to finish. I also love that this recipe can be prep the night before, and the next morning you just have to let the rolls rise for 25-ish minutes and then bake them.
Easy Eggless Cinnamon Rolls Highlights
- They’re fluffy, soft, and packed with cinnamon flavor.
- Easy and quick to make.
- Made with simple ingredients.
- You can prep the night before and have them ready to bake in the morning.
Believe me… you need to make these ASAP! Warning: Your house will smell like heaven.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Please check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions (scroll down).
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
For the Dough:
- Egg Substitute: To substitute the eggs, you can use a flax egg (golden flaxseed meal +water) or evaporated milk. You don’t have evaporated milk? No problem!! Check out my post about How to Make Evaporated Milk at home.
- Water
- Milk: For baking, I like to use whole milk. However, you can use any milk you have handy.
- Flour: You can use regular all-purpose flour or bread flour. For best results, skip the cake flour and wheat flour.
- Yeast: You can use either instant yeast or active yeast. If using instant yeast, you don’t need to activate it, just mix it with the dry ingredients.
- Sugar: Regular white granulated sugar o caster sugar.
- Salt: I prefer kosher or sea salt. If you only have table salt handy, I recommend reducing the amount to half.
- Butter: I prefer unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter handy, you can use it. In this case, skip the salt called in the recipe.
For the Filling, you will need brown sugar, ground cinnamon, salt, and unsalted butter.
For the Frosting, you will need unsalted butter, cream cheese, pure vanilla extract, salt, heavy cream, and powdered sugar
Step By Step Recipe Photo Tutorial
Please check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions (scroll down).
1- Make the Dough
- Warn up the milk and water in the microwave.
- Place flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl; mix to combine. Make a well in the center. Add the warm water/milk and knead in a stand mixer with the hood attachment for 3 minutes. Then add melted butter, and flax mixture or evaporated milk into the well; knead for 5 -8 minutes or until the dough is well combined and no longer sticky, smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rest in a warm place for about 10 -15 minutes.
2 – Form the Rolls
Roll the dough out in a 15×9 inch rectangle.
Spread 2 tablespoons of the softened butter on top. Sprinkle sugar-cinnamon mixture all over the dough
Roll dough to form a log.
Cut the log into 8 rolls. Then, place rolls in the prepared baking pan.
3 – Rise
- Preheat the oven to 200º F (90º C) for 10 minutes; turn off the oven.
- Cover the baking pan with the roll, place it inside the warm oven, and allow the rolls to rise in the oven for 30 minutes or until nearly double. After the rolls have risen, take them out of the warm oven.
4 – Bake
- Preheat the oven to 375º F (190º C).
- Uncover the rolls and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown and the center of the rolls are cooked through.
- While the rolls are baking, prepare the frosting. Spread the frosting over the warm rolls and serve immediately.
Extra Recipe Tips
Yeast. If using active yeast, you need to activate it. To do so, mix warmed water and milk (bath temperature), yeast, and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a small and stir. Cover with a paper towel and let sit until bubbly, about 5 – 8 minutes. If using instant yeast, you don’t need to activate it. In that case, add to the flour in step 1. I recommend using a fast-acting yeast (instant yeast).
Make sure your liquids are not too hot. It must be slightly warm to the touch but not steaming, about 105-115º F. Anything hotter is likely to kill the yeast, which means the cinnamon rolls will not rise. TIP: Dip your finger in the milk — it should feel warm like warm bath water but not HOT. If you warmed it up too much, simply wait a few minutes until it cools down enough to touch.
Knead long enough. The windowpane test is one of the best ways to tell if you’ve sufficiently kneaded your bread dough. If properly kneaded, the dough should stretch, without tearing or breaking, into a thin membrane that you can see through. It means that the gluten is well-developed, and your dough is ready to rise.
Best Frosting for Eggless Cinnamon Rolls
Beat together 8 tablespoons of softened unsalted butter, and 4 ounces of softened cream cheese until well combined and creamy. Add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon heavy cream; mix to combine. Add 1 ½ cup powdered sugar and continue mixing until well combined and smooth.
Overnight Eggless Cinnamon Rolls
- Prepare the dough, roll out, sprinkle with filling, roll into a log and cut into rolls following the steps in the recipe below. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and let them rest for 10-15 minutes in a warm place. Then, store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 200º F (90º C) for 10 minutes; turn off the oven. Place rolls in the warm oven, close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy approximately 30 minutes. Remove rolls from the oven.
- Then preheat the oven to 375º F (190º C). Uncover the rolls and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown, and the center of the rolls are cooked through (or until the internal temperature reaches 185º F / 90º C). While the rolls are baking, prepare the frosting.
- Spread the frosting over the rolls and serve immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend using highly active yeast (or rapid rise yeast). That’s what makes this recipe so quick.
Just add a little more flour. I would recommend adding a tablespoon at a time until it is slightly tacky and smooth.
Absolutely! You can make these up to 16 hours ahead of time. Simply make the dough, roll them out, fill, cut, and place them on a baking sheet. Let sit for 10 -15 minutes in a warm place to rise and then cover tightly with foil. Refrigerate overnight. Then in the morning, remove from the fridge and let rise about 30 -60 minutes before baking. Then bake as directed. More detailed instructions are above.
The windowpane test is one of the best ways to tell if you’ve sufficiently kneaded your bread dough. If properly kneaded, the dough should stretch, without tearing or breaking, into a thin membrane that you can see through. It means that the gluten is well-developed, and your dough is ready to rise.
If you are allergic to flaxseed or don’t have it available, you can substitute it for 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of evaporated milk. In that case, omit the first two ingredients ( 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal and 3 tablespoons cold water ) and add the evaporated milk along with the butter (step 3).
Storing & Freezing Instructions
Store leftover rolls in an airtight container for 2 days at room temperature. You can also wrap them in plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze them for up to 1 month.
Freeze
To freeze unbaked rolls: Make them through the rolling and cutting step and place them in the pan. Cover them tightly to avoid freezer burn, and freeze. When you want to bake them, defrost them in the refrigerator overnight. Let the rolls rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. Bake as directed in the recipe.
To freeze baked rolls: I recommend freezing the baked rolls without frosting. You can choose to either freeze the entire pan or freeze individual cinnamon rolls. Make sure they are well covered to avoid freezer burn. When ready to eat, defrost the cinnamon rolls at room temperature, then warm in the oven at 350º F for 10-15 minutes, or in the microwave for 20-30 seconds intervals until warmed through.
How To Reheat Leftover Cinnamon Rolls
Reheat leftover rolls in a 300º F oven until warmed through, about 10 minutes, or in the microwave for 30 – 45 sec.
More Egg-Free Bread Recipes You’ll Love!
- Soft No-Knead Eggless Dinner Rolls
- Eggless Apple Cinnamon Rolls
- Easy Eggless Biscuits
- BEST Eggless Brioche Bread Recipe
- Homemade Eggless Monkey Bread
- Eggless Homemade Hawaiian Rolls
- More recipes…
Easy Eggless Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 tablespoon golden flaxseed meal
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) cold water (see notes for substitute)
- ½ cup (120 ml) water
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
- 3 1/4 cups (455 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 package (7 g) instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon)
- 4 tablespoons (48 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter, melted
For the Filling:
- 1/2 cup (100 g) packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- pinch kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, softened
For the Frosting:
- 8 tablespoons (115 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) heavy cream
- 1 ½ cup ( 180 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200º F (90º C). When the oven reaches the temperature, turn it off.
- Grease a 9 x 13-inch (35 x 24 cm) baking pan with 2 tablespoons of softened butter. Set aside.
Make the Dough:
- Mix 1 tablespoons golden flaxseed meal and 3 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl until well combined. Let it rest for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Combine water and milk in a small bowl and microwave for 1 minute to warm up the liquids. It must be slightly warm to the touch but not steaming, about 105-115º F. Anything hotter is likely to kill the yeast, which means the cinnamon rolls will not rise. TIP: Dip your finger in the milk — it should feel warm like warm bath water but not HOT. If you warmed it up too much, simply wait a few minutes until it cools down enough to touch.
- Place flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl; mix to combine. Make a well in the center. Add the warm water/milk and knead in a stand mixer with the hook attachment for 3 minutes. Then add melted butter, and flax mixture into the well; knead for 5 -8 minutes or until the dough is well combined and no longer sticky. If you don’t want to use a stand mixer, you can use your hands to knead the dough for 8-10 minutes on a well-floured surface. The dough will be ready when is smooth and elastic, and when pressed lightly with a finger, the dough should spring back slightly.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rest in the warmed oven for about 10 minutes to kick start the rising process.
Make the Filling:
- Mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
Form the Rolls:
- After the dough has rested for 10 minutes, roll it out in a 15 x 9-inch rectangle.
- Spread 4 tablespoons of the softened butter on top of the dough.
- Sprinkle sugar-cinnamon mixture all over the dough.
- Roll dough to form a log. Cut the log into 8 rolls and place rolls in the prepared baking pan. Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise in the warm oven (turned off) for 30 minutes or until nearly double in size. After the rolls have risen, take them out of the warm oven.
Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 375º F (190º C).
- Uncover the rolls and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown, and the center of the rolls are cooked through.
- While the rolls are baking, prepare the frosting.
- Make the Frosting:
- In a large bowl, combine butter and cream cheese using an electric mixer. Add vanilla extract salt, and heavy cream; continue mixing until well combined. Then add powdered sugar. Beat until combined.
- Spread the frosting over the warm rolls.
Overnight Eggless Cinnamon Rolls Instructions:
- Prepare the dough, roll out, sprinkle with filling, roll into a log and cut into rolls following the recipe's steps above. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking pan; cover tightly with aluminum foil and let rest in the warmed place for about 10 – 15 minutes to kick start the rising process. Then, store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 200º F (90º C) for 10 minutes; turn off the oven. Place rolls, covered, in the warm oven, close the oven door, and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy, approximately 30 – 45 minutes. Take the rolls out of the oven.
- Then, preheat the oven to 375º F (190º C). Uncover the rolls and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown, and the center of the rolls are cooked through (or until the internal temperature reaches 185º F / 90º C. While the rolls are baking, prepare the frosting.
- Spread the frosting over the rolls and serve immediately.
- To freeze unbaked rolls: Make them through the rolling and cutting step and place them in the pan. Cover them tightly to avoid freezer burn, and freeze. When you want to bake them, defrost them in the refrigerator overnight. Let the rolls rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. Bake as directed in the recipe.
- To freeze baked rolls: I recommend freezing the baked rolls without frosting. You can either freeze the entire pan or individual cinnamon rolls. Make sure they are well covered to avoid freezer burn. When ready to eat, defrost the cinnamon rolls at room temperature, then warm in the oven at 350º F for 10-15 minutes or in the microwave for 20-30 seconds intervals until warmed through.
- Yeast. If using active yeast, you need to activate it. To do so, mix warmed water and milk (bath temperature), yeast, and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a small and stir. Cover with a paper towel and let it sit until bubbly, about 5 – 8 minutes. If using instant yeast, you don’t need to activate it. In that case, add to the flour in step 1.
- Make sure your liquids are not too hot. It must be slightly warm to the touch but not steaming, about 105-115º F. Anything hotter is likely to kill the yeast, which means the cinnamon rolls will not rise. TIP: Dip your finger in the milk — it should feel warm like warm bath water but not HOT. If you warmed it up too much, simply wait a few minutes until it cools down enough to touch.
- Knead long enough. The windowpane test is one of the best ways to tell if you’ve sufficiently kneaded your bread dough. If properly kneaded, the dough should stretch, without tearing or breaking, into a thin membrane that you can see through. It means that the gluten is well-developed, and your dough is ready to rise.
Nutrition
Eggless Baking Frequently Asked Questions
You’ve asked, and I’ve answered! Read on for a handful of answers to the most frequently asked questions about eggless baking.
Originally posted in January 2019, the post content was edited to add more helpful information, with no change to the recipe in June 2022.
