Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
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These soft and fluffy pumpkin cinnamon rolls are made with pumpkin kneaded right into the dough and a pumpkin spiced cinnamon swirl through every bite. Top with a maple cinnamon version of my favorite cream cheese frosting or any of the other frostings linked below. Recipe makes 6 rolls and includes instructions for making ahead to save time!
NOT JUST CINNAMON ROLLS SPICED WITH PUMPKIN
There’s a marked difference between things labeled pumpkin spice and things labeled pumpkin, and these cinnamon rolls are the latter. We’re not just putting pumpkin spices in the dough or the filling, we’re using real, authentic canned pumpkin puree to bring mega moisture, flaky texture, and the subtle taste of actual pumpkin right in my beloved cinnamon roll dough.
Of course, we’re loading up my gooey, buttery cinnamon filling with plenty of pumpkin spice, but the addition of pumpkin to the yeasted dough makes the bread ultra soft and moist. These cinnamon pumpkin rolls are sure to make your fall breakfasts a little more fun!
Love pumpkin breakfasts? Be sure to check out my pumpkin coffee cake, pumpkin overnight oats, pumpkin French toast, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin cream cold brew, pumpkin streusel muffins, and pumpkin spice coffee creamer (to name a few ton).
THIS PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLL DOUGH IS AN ENRICHED YEAST DOUGH
Like all of my cinnamon roll recipes, this is an enriched yeast bread dough, meaning it is made with fat via milk and egg. My traditional homemade cinnamon rolls also use butter, but since we’re using fresh pumpkin in this recipe, I’ve eliminated the butter completely.
This creates a soft and supple bread that is rich in texture and flavor. You can use non-dairy ingredients to make this pumpkin cinnamon roll dough, and if you’re comfortable with egg substitutes, you can make these rolls vegan.
INGREDIENTS FOR EASY PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS
The ingredient list for these rolls might look long, but you’ll be using a lot of the same ingredients in more than one component of the rolls.
Here’s what you’ll need for the dough, filling, and frosting:
- warm water
- dry active yeast
- warm milk
- granulated sugar
- salt
- vanilla extract
- egg
- pumpkin purée
- all purpose flour
- unsalted butter
- granulated sugar
- light brown sugar
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- ground allspice
- ground cloves
- ground ginger
- unsalted butter
- cream cheese
- unsalted butter
- powdered sugar
- maple syrup
- vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon
- salt
CAN I USE DIFFERENT SPICES?
If you don’t have or don’t want to purchase all of those additional spices, you can substitute the nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and ginger, you can replace them with ¾ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Do not omit the cinnamon.
HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS
Below you’ll find an overview of how to make these rolls. If you want more visuals or specifics, you can see a detailed version of these steps in my small batch cinnamon rolls post.
MAKE THE DOUGH: if working with yeast dough is new to you, check out my post about baking with yeast.
KNEAD THE DOUGH: you’ll want to knead this dough for about 8-10 minutes. This dough will be very soft, but you’ll know it’s done when it feels similar to PlayDoh.
LET IT REST: this is how we let the gluten relax, which will allow us to shape it. While it’s resting, I prepare my filling.
MAKE THE FILLING: this is just sugar and spices mixed together. You’ll also need to melt your butter.
ROLL INTO A RECTANGLE: you’ll want a 9″ x 12″ rectangle to work with.
ADD THE FILLING: brush the melted butter onto the rectangle of dough, being sure you leave a border. Sprinkle with your spiced sugar filling. Yes, all of it. It will look like a lot.
SHAPE THE ROLLS: start with the 9″ side then roll your dough into a tight 12″ log. Use a sharp knife (I prefer a serrated one) to cut the log into 6 even rolls, then place in your prepared pan.
ALLOW TO RISE: these rolls only require one rise! They’ll need about 90 minutes. If you’re having trouble with dough that isn’t rising, move it to a warmer environment. You can also warm your oven (only to about 200°F (93°C)), then turn it off, and allow the rolls to rise in the warm oven with the door cracked.
BAKE: once your rolls have risen, bake them! You can cover them with foil if they’re browning more than you prefer.
FROST: while your pumpkin sweet rolls bake, you can make the frosting. I like to wait about 15-20 minutes before slathering them with the frosting, but then 0 additional minutes before digging in.
TOPPING OPTIONS FOR PUMPKIN SPICE CINNAMON ROLLS
The maple cinnamon cream cheese icing you see in the recipe is the same one I use on my brown butter pumpkin cake. It’s ridiculously delicious and the perfect complement to the pumpkin cinnamon buns.
Other options include regular plain cream cheese frosting, brown butter cream cheese frosting, or leaving off the frosting completely! You could even feel free to play with the spices in your frosting to make your own concoction.
CAN I MAKE THESE PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS AHEAD OF TIME?
My favorite part about yeast bread is that YES, you can almost always do things ahead of time, whether it be so that you have fresh cinnamon rolls for the morning but don’t have to get up early, or you just want to have some cinnamon rolls in the freezer ready to go if the craving strikes.
REFRIGERATOR METHOD (SHORT TERM)
Think of the refrigerator as a “pause” button for your yeast bread. After the rolls are shaped and in the pan, you can cover them tightly and chill them for up to 18 hours and turn them into overnight pumpkin cinnamon rolls just like that.
This is a great option if you’re making homemade cinnamon rolls for a holiday– you can spend a bit of time bringing the dough together, then have glorious rolls the next morning with very little hands on time.
You’ll just need to allow the rolls rise for about 1 hour before baking them.
You can also make the maple cinnamon cream cheese frosting and store it at room temperature up to 18 hours in advance.
FREEZER METHOD (LONG TERM)
If you want to completely bake these pumpkin cinnamon rolls and then freeze them, you can keep them in the freezer covered tightly for up to 3 months. Just thaw them overnight in the refrigerator and warm before enjoying.
If you want to freeze unbaked rolls, you’ll need to parbake the rolls for 10 minutes at 350°F (177ºC). Allow to cool completely, cover tightly, then freeze. Remove the rolls from the freezer and allow them to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Finish baking them the next day for the remaining 18-22 minutes before frosting and enjoying.
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
DOUGH
- ¼ cup (60mL) warm water
- 1 and ⅛ teaspoons (3.5g) dry active yeast or half of one packet
- ¼ cup (60mL) warm milk
- 2 and ½ Tablespoons (32g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup pumpkin purée1
- 2 and ¼ to 2 and ½ cups (270-300g) all purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 1 and ½ Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature and cut into 4-6 pieces
FILLING
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 and ½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg2
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice2
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves2
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger2
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter melted
MAPLE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 2 ounces (57g) cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ⅓ cup (40g) powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (15mL) maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Instructions
DOUGH
- Spray a baking dish3 with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Place warm water in a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Whisk with a fork, wooden spoon, or spatula and allow to rest and activate for 10 minutes.¼ cup (60mL) warm water, 1 and ⅛ teaspoons (3.5g) dry active yeast
- Once the yeast mixture is active and bubbly, add the milk, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, egg, and pumpkin purée. Whisk to combine.¼ cup (60mL) warm milk, 2 and ½ Tablespoons (32g) granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg, ⅓ cup pumpkin purée1
- Gradually stir in flour. If using a stand mixer, use your dough hook. If mixing by hand, continue to use a wooden spoon. Add 1 cup of flour, allow dough to come together, then add the softened butter and continue to blend. When butter is mostly incorporated, add the remaining 1 and ¼ cups of flour and blend until dough has mostly come together. It may still be shaggy, but it should pull away from the sides of the bowl fairly easily.2 and ¼ to 2 and ½ cups (270-300g) all purpose flour, 1 and ½ Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- Turn out dough on a floured surface and knead for about 8-10 minutes, adding flour about 1 Tablespoon at a time if the dough is too sticky, until smooth and elastic. Your dough should resemble the surface texture of PlayDoh when it is done. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.
FILLING
- In a medium size bowl, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and ginger. Whisk or stir until well-blended. Set aside.¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (50g) firmly packed light brown sugar, 1 and ½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg2, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice2, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves2, ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger2
- Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle approximately 9" x 12" in size. Dough will be very elastic, so be patient and keep rolling. There is no need to rush this step.
- When you have your rectangle, brush the melted butter evenly over the dough, leaving about ½" border around the edges. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly over the melted butter.2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
ASSEMBLE AND BAKE THE DOUGH
- Starting with one of the long sides, roll the dough up into a tight 12" log. Use your fingers or palms on either end of the log to gently squeeze the log to "contain" the uneven ends. Using a sharp serrated knife and taking care to keep the seam side down, cut the log into 6 even slices. Don't worry if filling spills out.
- Place the slices cut side down in the prepared pan, gather any cinnamon-sugar that fell out, sprinkle over the rolls, then press down gently to flatten slightly. Cover loosely with foil or a kitchen towel. Allow rolls to rise for 1 and ½ hours.
- When cinnamon roll dough has risen, preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Bake the rolls for 28-32 minutes or until rolls just start to brown on top. You can cover the rolls with foil to prevent browning, if desired. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes while you prepare the cream cheese frosting.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth.2 ounces (57g) cream cheese, 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- Turn the mixer speed down to low and add the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt and continue mixing until smooth.⅓ cup (40g) powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon (15mL) maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, pinch of salt, ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Spread cream cheese frosting onto slightly cooled rolls and serve rolls immediately. Leftover cinnamon rolls stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days or in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave for 8-10 seconds before serving. See notes section below for other storage and preparation suggestions.
Notes
- Pumpkin: I always measure pumpkin purée with measuring cups as the moisture content can wildly change the weight measurements, depending on the brand.
- Spices: if you don’t have or don’t want to use the nutmeg, allspice, cloves, or ginger, you can replace them with ¾ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Do not omit the cinnamon.
- Baking dish: I like to use either an 8″ square baking pan or an 8″ or 9″ round cake pan or pie plate. If using a square dish, arrange them in 2 rows of 3. If using a round pan, place one in the center and the other 5 evenly spaced around it.
- Make ahead: this dough can be made the ahead of time through step 1 of the “assemble and bake dough” instructions. Cover rolls with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator overnight or up to 18 hours. In the morning (or when you are ready to bake the rolls), remove them from the refrigerator and allow to rise in a warm environment, about 1 hour. Continue with step 2 in the “assemble and bake dough” instructions.
- To freeze baked rolls: baked rolls freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm before enjoying.
- Two options to freeze unbaked rolls: parbake the rolls for 10 minutes at 350°F (177ºC). Allow to cool completely, cover tightly, then freeze. Remove the rolls from the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Finish baking for the remaining 18-22 minutes before frosting and serving OR freeze them after slicing and pull them out the night before you want to bake them and allow them to thaw and rise covered at room temperature and bake when ready.
- Working with yeast: for a comprehensive look at working with yeast in a recipe, see my post about how to bake with yeast.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.