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Home Recipes Course Breakfast Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
DF Dairy Free V Vegan

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Jump to Recipe Rate Recipe
Posted:10/7/21
Updated:1/16/23

These Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls are to.die.for. With pumpkin baked into the dough, and a pumpkin pie spice gooey filling, plus a cream cheese frosting! Egg free, vegan friendly recipe.

Friends, get ready for your new favorite way to enjoy homemade cinnamon rolls – pumpkin spiced! AND we’re using pumpkin puree, too.

These luscious rolls are made without eggs and the recipe can be made dairy-free and vegan friendly as well.

If you haven’t made cinnamon rolls yet, I walk you through everything in this post so you feel confident during all of the steps. The recipe card looks long but I am just being extra thorough, so don’t be nervous!

Baking with yeast really isn’t as scary as it seems.

Once you make these pumpkin cinnamon rolls once, you’ll want them every weekend!

Why You Should Make These

  • The perfect weekend baking project. Who doesn’t want to enjoy warm cinnamon rolls on a weekend morning?
  • Homemade cinnamon rolls using pumpkin puree in the dough and pumpkin pie spice in both the dough and filling for a pumpkin spice lovers’ dream fall dessert.
  • Soft and fluffy with a perfect gooey filling
  • Try something new! You will love challenging yourself with a new recipe. Everyone needs to know how to make cinnamon rolls from scratch!
pumpkin cinnamon rolls on plate

Cinnamon Roll Ingredients

  • cashew milk – or your choice of milk
  • rapid rise yeast – I prefer using active or quick yeast. One packet is equal to 2 1/4 tsp
  • brown sugar or coconut sugar – either works here!
  • butter – unsalted, vegan butter or conventional butter is best, but coconut oil works too.
  • pumpkin – I used canned here and can’t speak to the results using homemade pumpkin puree, but it should work. You may need more flour to compensate for the extra moisture in homemade puree.
  • flour – bread flour will give you the fluffiest rolls, but unbleached all-purpose flour works too. While you can use whole wheat pastry flour, the rolls will be more dense.
  • spices – pumpkin pie spice and ground cinnamon for a delicious, flavorful filling
  • cream cheese – softened is important here! So let it sit at room temperature as you’re preparing and making the cinnamon rolls.
  • vanilla extract – for a hint of flavor in the frosting
  • powdered sugar – for the cream cheese frosting

Making the Dough

Start with proofing the yeast – you do this by combining sugar, yeast and warm milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes, until the top is foamy.

If the mixture did not get foamy, your yeast is not active. So make sure you’re not pulling old yeast packets out from months and months ago – check the dates.

Then for this recipe you’ll then add the pumpkin puree and melted butter, then stir in the flour (and touch of salt) about 1/2 cup at a time. The dough will start to come together around the 3 cup mark. You’ll know it’s time for the dough hook when the dough looks elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

making dough in a kitchen aid mixer

Next I change to the dough hook attachment and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. You’ll need to add more flour here as well when dough begins to ball up but likely stick to the bottom. I add about 2 tablespoons at a time, take the dough off the hook to reshape and then place back in the bowl to continue kneading.

Once you’ve kneaded the dough for 5 minutes, it needs to rise in a draft-free environment.

TIP: Set the oven to 170ºF, turn off once it reaches temperature and allow the dough to rise in a lightly greased large bowl until it doubles in size – about 45 minutes.

multiple picture gif of cinnamon roll making process

Rolling the Dough

Now it’s time to ROLL OUT.

Using a rolling pin, be gentle as you roll the dough out into a large rectangle, on a floured surface, about 15 inches long by 9 inches wide.

Then the softened butter, sugar and cinnamon plus pumpkin pie spice filling goes on, and you’ll roll up the rectangle into a long roll to slice the cinnamon rolls.

Easiest Way to Slice Cinnamon Rolls

The floss method! 

Trust me, it’s so easy and you won’t run the risk of smushing your dough roll as you try to cut into it.

The way you use floss is to shimmy the floss under the log, pull the floss together towards each other in the center and pull down until you’ve cut the roll.

pan of cinnamon rolls on a pastry sheet

Tips for Baking

Make sure you leave enough room in your baking dish for the rolls to rise again. I spread mine out just a little bit so as you wait for the second rise, they don’t overcrowd each other.

freshly baked cinnamon rolls in a pan

Bake the cinnamon rolls until the tops are lightly golden and when you push them they kind of spring back a little bit. Check the rolls half way through baking and if the tops are browning too quickly, cover the cinnamon rolls with foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.

Cinnamon Roll Frosting

You can make a classic cream cheese frosting for this recipe, using a vegan cream cheese as needed.

In medium bowl using an electric mixer, beat the softened cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla extract, powdered sugar and non-dairy milk or yogurt and mix on low speed until combined.

Then spread over the warm cinnamon rolls!

multiple picture gif of cinnamon roll frosting process

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls Method

If you’re looking to have fresh cinnamon rolls in the morning but don’t want to be up super early, here’s what you do:

  • Prep the recipe up until you’ve sliced the dough, and place rolls in a baking pan.
  • Cover and place in the fridge overnight.
  • Bring the pan out of the fridge about 45 minutes before pre-heating the oven.
  • Place the rolls in the preheated oven and bake for about 25-35 minutes.

Substitutions

Butter vs. coconut oil. I used butter in these cinnamon rolls, but coconut oil works too, you just won’t get the same flavor. I recommend a dairy-free, plant based butter if possible.

Flour. Unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour will give you the fluffiest rolls and taste amazing. If looking to add whole grains you can use 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour + 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour. OR 3ish cups of whole wheat white flour or whole wheat pastry flour. I didn’t test this with any gluten-free flours. 

Frosting. I love a traditional cream cheese frosting for these pumpkin cinnamon rolls. It’s really the perfect pairing. If you’re looking to make cinnamon roll icing dairy free you could either sub the cream cheese frosting with a dairy-free, vegan-friendly brand, or make a simple powdered sugar glaze.

pan of cinnamon rolls in a pan on a linen towel

More Cinnamon Roll Recipes

  • Fluffy Banana Cinnamon Rolls
  • Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls
  • Chai Spiced Cinnamon Rolls
  • Giant Cinnamon Roll

Let me know if you make these pumpkin cinnamon rolls by leaving a comment and star rating below! It helps others learn more about the recipe too! Xx Ashley

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The Best Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

pumpkin cinnamon rolls in pan with frosting
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★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

These Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls are to.die.for. With pumpkin baked into the dough, and a cinnamon pumpkin pie spice gooey filling, plus a cream cheese frosting – you will love them! Egg free and vegan friendly recipe.

  • Author: Ashley
  • Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
  • Yield: 12 cinnamon rolls 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: oven
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Units Scale

Dough

  • 1 cup cashew milk (or your choice of milk)
  • 2 & 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise yeast (1 packet)
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar or coconut sugar
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, vegan butter or coconut oil, melted & cooled
  • 3/4 cup canned pumpkin purée
  • 3.5– 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
  • 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Filling

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter or vegan butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Frosting

  • 5 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons milk or yogurt, to thin frosting as desired
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Mix warm milk: In a microwave safe bowl or glass measuring cup, heat milk for about 20-30 seconds. Allow temperature of mixture to reach 110F (or lukewarm). If it’s too hot it will kill the yeast. Add yeast and sugar into large mixing bowl of stand mixer and gently add milk. Stir until combined and allow to sit for 10 minutes, until top is foamy. If your mixture doesn’t get foamy, the yeast did not activate. 
  2. Make Dough: Once the milk and yeast mixture is foamy, add melted butter and canned pumpkin mixing low speed until combined. Add 1 cup flour, cinnamon, pumpkin spice and salt and start to mix on low speed. Then begin adding more flour, about 1/2 cup at a time. You will likely need about 3 1/2 cups. Dough should be elastic and start to pull away from edge of bowl when it is ready. At this time, change the attachment to the dough hook, and allow the hook to knead the dough on low speed for about 5 minutes. Dough should remain soft but not overly sticky – this is typically where I add another 1/4 cup of flour with the mixer running, then stop the mixer once the flour has mixed in slightly, reposition the dough and start the mixer again to continue kneading the dough.
  3. Rise: Lightly oil large bowl and shape dough into ball, place dough in bowl and cover with towel and let rise in warm environment until dough has doubled in size, about 45 minutes. TIP: set oven to warm or preheated to 200F then turn off. Place bowl in the warmed oven and allow to rise.
  4. Roll out & slice: Grease a 9×13″ baking dish with butter or coconut oil, set aside. Once the dough has about doubled in size, lightly cover rolling pin and flat surface with flour. Roll out dough into a 15×9 inch rectangle. Be patient, and roll gently. Don’t use too much flour or your dough will be stiff. Spread on softened butter, sprinkle sugar and spices; gently pat to let sugar absorb into butter slightly. Using the heels of your hands and thumbs, gently roll dough into a long roll, placing seam side down. Use floss method to slice rolls (this video helps for a visual) or a serrated knife to gently cut into about 1 1/2″ width. You should get about 12 rolls for a 9×13 pan. Place rolls in greased pan, leaving room to rise, and put pan in draft-free environment. You can use the warm oven tip above. See notes below for overnight adaptation. 
  5. Bake: Once the rolls have risen again slightly (about 15 minutes), preheat oven to 350ºF (take rolls out and wait for oven to get up to 350F). Bake cinnamon rolls for 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Then, if necessary, cover top of rolls with foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Covering the rolls for the last 5-10 minutes will prevent them from getting too brown on the top.
  6. Make the cream cheese frosting: In medium bowl using electric hand mixer (or stand mixer with paddle attachment) beat softened cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla extract, powdered sugar and yogurt (or milk) and mix on low speed until combined. Spread on slightly cooled pumpkin cinnamon rolls. Best served warm – enjoy!

Notes

This recipe is already egg free, and can be made vegan using a dairy-free cream cheese for the frosting. Use a plant based butter for the filling and dough as needed.

For overnight method:  Prep the recipe up until you’ve sliced the dough, and place rolls in baking pan. Cover and place in the fridge overnight. Bring the pan out of the fridge about an 45 minutes before pre-heating the oven. Place the rolls in the preheated oven at 350ºF and bake for about 25-35 minutes, until tops are lightly golden.

Keywords: cinnamon rolls, pumpkin cinnamon rolls, pumpkin spice cream cheese frosting

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @fitmittenkitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #fitmittenkitchen

About Ashley

"Ashley Walterhouse is the founder of Fit Mitten Kitchen, based in the Greater Lansing Area of Michigan, AKA “the Mitten.” Ashley grew up as a picky eater but later discovered that eating healthy was actually easy and fun. She started FMK in 2015 as a way to share her newfound love of developing healthier recipes for all to enjoy."

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Reader Interactions

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  1. Chelsey says

    11/28/2020 at 9:17 am

    YUM! These were delicious, just the right amount of pumpkin. And the icing was SO GOOD. I don’t have a stand mixer so I had to improvise a bit, but these are my new pumpkin recipe favorites!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Alison says

    11/28/2020 at 10:06 am

    So delicious! Not too sweet, great flavor, chewy and fluffy/soft all at the same time!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Kelly says

    12/21/2020 at 1:45 pm

    I don’t see the overnight adaptation note you mentioned…help ?

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      12/21/2020 at 1:58 pm

      Will add right now!

      Reply
  4. Sonia Scott says

    12/28/2020 at 3:39 am

    Cinnamon rolls and pumpkin!? This combination caught my attention right away, especially for Christmas morning. I did the overnight version and they couldn’t have been more fluffy and perfect (I used unbleached flour).

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  5. Laurie says

    10/17/2022 at 9:33 pm

    Does this recipe work with gluten free flour?

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      10/18/2022 at 9:47 am

      Hi Laurie, I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour so I am afraid I can’t confidently recommend. It would likely change the texture / outcome of the recipe quite a bit.

      Reply

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