Last updated on October 9th, 2020
These classic gluten-free cinnamon rolls are tender and gooey with a crisp shell. Make them the night before and pop them in the oven when you wake up for warm freshly baked cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing.
This morning on the way to school, I told Zoella, “You know how much I love you? I love you to the moon and back!” In her most annoyed tone ever, she quipped back, “I already know that because you tell me all the time! Stop telling me – I just know that mom!”
She’s three. Going on Sixteen.
If I’m not allowed to tell my daughter how much I love her anymore, I’ll profess my love into this pan of gluten-free cinnamon rolls instead. It doesn’t talk back and rewards me generously.
Best Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls
Since I posted my pumpkin gluten-free cinnamon rolls last year, I’ve received dozens of requests for a classic gluten-free cinnamon rolls recipe. They’re finally here!
These gluten-free cinnamon rolls are tender and fluffy with a warm gooey center. A crisp shell softens as the cream cheese icing nestles among the layers. Everything you love about classic cinnamon rolls, but with nutritious flavorful gluten-free flours.
Gluten-Free Flour Blend for Cinnamon Rolls
For their flavor and structure, these cinnamon rolls use a combination of sorghum flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, and oat flour.
Together, sorghum flour and oat flour offer warmth and cozy sweetness to baked goods and the delicate tender crumb.
Tapioca starch and sweet rice flour bind the flours into a flexible dough and produce a cinnamon roll that is all at once soft and chewy.
Can I use gluten-free all-purpose flour for gluten-free cinnamon roll dough?
I don’t recommend using all-purpose gluten-free flour for this recipe. Not all pre-made gluten-free flour blends are the same. One might work for a recipe, but using a different brand/blend will produce entirely different results.
I’ve found the best results when I use a different blend of flours depending on what I’m baking. What makes the best gluten-free cinnamon rolls recipe is different than what works great for chewy crisp cookies. While an all-purpose blend may work great for one recipe, it won’t work great for all recipes.
Many pre-made gluten-free flour blends rely heavily on starches and gums without as many nutritional or flavorful flours. When you select gluten-free flours for the specific recipe you’re making, you can optimize for that recipe for texture, flavor, and nutrition.
Gluten-free cinnamon roll dough is very particular. This recipe took many tries and tests and tweaks to get a recipe that was fluffy and chewy and it was specifically designed with the flours in the recipe.
Gluten-Free Baking with Yeast: Does Gluten-Free Flour Rise?
While traditional yeast dough requires a dual rise to create the smaller gluten structure, gluten-free dough works best with just one rise. If you punch down a gluten-free dough and let it rise again, you’ll end up with a baked good that’s dense without much crumb or structure. Traditional bread dough reacts with yeast to create large air bubbles, but gluten-free dough needs few modifications to encourage and trap more air bubbles.
Single rise
The first modification, as mentioned, is to let the dough rise just once. Roll it into cinnamon rolls right away then let it rise right in the pan before baking. Bonus: you’re that much closer to freshly baked cinnamon rolls!
Milk
Use milk as the liquid. Cinnamon roll dough work well as a gluten-free dough because traditional cinnamon rolls already use milk in the dough. Just as in my gluten-free soft pretzel recipe, the proteins in milk (caseins) mimic gluten, providing structure to the dough. Milk can help trap the air, creating a soft tender crumb.
Apple cider vinegar
A small amount of apple cider vinegar in the dough every so slightly increases the acidity and strengthens the dough. In these conditions, the yeast will grow better and your dough will rise easier! Don’t worry, you won’t taste it!
Easy Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls
With just one rise, these cinnamon rolls are super easy to make! Activate the yeast in warm milk. Mix the dry ingredients, then the wet ingredients. Knead the dry into the wet then roll out and top with butter, cinnamon, and sugar. Roll it up and cut them into rolls. Rise, bake, eat.
While you certainly can make these the night before, they come together so quickly you don’t have to plan ahead. You can wake up Sunday morning and still have freshly baked cinnamon rolls on the table by brunch!
Make-Ahead Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls
If you want these gluten-free cinnamon first thing in the morning, without having to assemble, rest, and bake, you can make them the night before!
Put them in the fridge to rise overnight in lieu of the 1.5-hour rise. Remove them from the fridge and allow them to sit on the counter for 30 minutes, then bake as usual.
Warm gooey gluten-free cinnamon rolls straight from the oven!
How to Store Leftover Gluten-Free Cinnamon Buns
Cinnamon rolls, especially gluten-free cinnamon rolls, are best eaten warm fresh from the oven. If you plan to have leftovers, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat for 5-10 minutes at 375°F or for 45 seconds in the microwave.
As they sit, the moisture from the filling can make the dough just a little more dense than fresh out of the oven. Don’t worry though, if you can’t finish them all in one sitting, reheated gluten-free cinnamon rolls are still delicious!
More Gluten-Free Brunch Recipes
Gluten-Free Breakfast Oatmeal Jam Bars
Instant Pot Gingerbread Oatmeal and Buckwheat Porridge
Roasted Butternut Squash and Cardamom Granola Yogurt Bowls
Gooey Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls
These classic gluten-free cinnamon rolls are tender and gooey with a crisp shell. Make them the night before and pop them in the oven when you wake up for warm freshly baked cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing.
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls
- 1 cup + 1½ tablespoons whole milk
- ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cane sugar, divided
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 ¼-ounce package - not instant)
- 1 cup + 1½ tablespoons (141g) sorghum flour
- ¾ cup + 2½ tablespoons (146g) sweet rice flour (such as Mochiko - different from "white rice flour" or "brown rice flour")
- ¾ cup + 3½ tablespoons (110g) tapioca starch/flour
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (69g) gluten-free oat flour
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
Cinnamon Filling
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled, and divided
- ½ cup packed dark or light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cane sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1¼ cup powdered sugar
- Pinch salt
- 1-2 tablespoons whole milk or cream, as needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- First prepare a 8-inch baking pan or an 8x8 pan by lining it with parchment paper and buttering the paper with 1/2 tablespoon of the cinnamon sugar filling butter (Alternatively, skip the parchment paper and butter the pan directly - it's just more messy, but works great!).
- Prepare the cinnamon sugar mixture. Combine the filling light brown sugar, cane sugar, and cinnamon, in a small bowl. Set aside
- Warm the milk in a small pot to between 105-115°F (if you go over, let it cool until the temperature is within that range). Transfer to a wide mixing bowl and mix in 1 teaspoon sugar. Slowly sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk and use a spoon to mix completely. Let set aside for 10 minutes while the yeast activates and foams. If your yeast hasn't foamed up after 10 minutes, you may have bad yeast and you should try again with a new packet.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the tapioca starch, oat flour, sorghum flour, sweet rice flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, combine 4½ tablespoons melted butter, remaining ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons sugar, and apple cider vinegar and mix until smooth. Add the egg and mix until completely incorporated. Add the milk yeast mixture and mix until completely incorporated.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until completely incorporated. Change to the dough hook and knead the dough on low for 1 minute. Let it rest for 1 minute. Knead again for one minute. Repeat 2x. The dough will be very sticky (more so than gluten yeast dough), but if you pinch a tablespoon of dough off an set it on the surface, it should hold its shape. If it doesn't, add 2-4 more tablespoons of tapioca starch until it's a little less soft and holds its shape.
- Sprinkle your surface with tapioca starch. Using a tapioca starch covered hands or spoon, scrape the dough out onto the surface and sprinkle it well with tapioca starch on top too. Roll your dough out to an 11x16 rectangle.
- Brush the dough with 4 tablespoons of the filling butter, reserving 1/2 tablespoon for brushing on top. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar filling over the surface.
- Starting with the long edge, tightly roll up the dough into a spiral. I use a bench scraper to help me roll it to make sure it doesn't stick to the surface. If you need to add more tapioca starch on the spiral as you roll, that's fine! It will just make your filling a little gooier, which, in my opinion is good.
- Tap in the edges so they're flat or cut the edges off and use a ruler to divide your log into 9 equal pieces (about 1.75 inches long). Cut into spirals using one of two methods: 1. Use uncoated dental floss or 2. A serrated knife with very gentle back and forth movements and no downward pressure. Place your cut rolls face up in the prepared pan. Brush tops with remaining butter. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm draft-free place for 1.5 hours until it has doubled in size and the cinnamon rolls are kissing each other. I let mine rise in the "proof" setting of my oven. If making ahead, you can also put them in the fridge to rise overnight in lieu of the 1.5-hour rise. Note: Your rolls WILL appear cracked on the top. This is normal and okay because it affects the taste none and you're definitely going to cover that up with icing.
- If you chilled your cinnamon rolls overnight, remove them from the fridge and allow them to sit on the counter for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls for 40-45 minutes, until they're firm to the touch (and if you have a meat thermometer, the bottom third of the rolls reads at least 205°F.).
- While the rolls bake, prepare the glaze. Mix the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and salt and mix until combined. Add 1 tablespoon milk and the vanilla extract. Add more milk as desired until you get your desired consistency. I make mine halfway between thick frosting and drizzle-able icing.
- When the rolls come out of the oven, cover them in icing and serve warm! Cinnamon rolls are best served warm fresh out of the oven and will become more dense the longer you wait. If you don't eat them right away, you can reheat leftover buns in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 375°F or for 45 seconds in the microwave.
Emily R -
I’m so excited to make these! I think that the ingredients for the cream cheese frosting are missing though? And the instructions regarding the cream cheese frosting aren’t totally clear to me: “Add 1 tablespoon and vanilla extract and mix until spoon” I’m assuming that mix until smooth. Or mix with a spoon? :)
Sarah Menanix -
Well that’s very embarrassing! I copied the recipe over from my notes while sick earlier this week but apparently didn’t update the ingredients with the glaze – I’ve fixed that! I also made the instructions more clear so it doesn’t sound like it was written by someone with too much wine;) Thank you SO MUCH for catching that so quickly!!
Emily R -
Thanks for the fixes! I’ve had so many writing moments like that where I don’t even understand what my brain was doing. :)
Emily R -
These were yummy! I found the dough very easy to work with and it was nice to have some more whole grain flours as some other versions I’ve made are essentially only starch. Thank you!
Nicole -
Stunning photos.
Patti S -
Could you clarify when it would be okay to put the uncooked dough in the fridge? After the 1.5 hrs of rising?
Sarah Menanix -
I can see how my language was unclear – sorry about that! Funny how when I first wrote it I thought it was so clear;) I would put them in the fridge right after rolling and placing into the pan, before the 1.5 hours of rising. Thanks for the note – I’ve updated the recipe to be more clear!
Kat -
These turned out AMAZING!! Super easy to follow recipe and the dough works like real gluten-ous dough!! It even rises! I’ve been looking for a great gf cinnamon roll recipe for years and here it is!! Well done!
Amanda -
These are amazing!! They made for a super special and excellent Christmas morning breakfast in my house. Thank you Sarah for all your wonderful GF recipes that have made my baking world what it was before Celiac. I am so thankful for your creativity and expertise!
Johanna -
Your recipes are DELICIOUS! Question: Do you activate the yeast with MILK or WATER? In the printed recipe it says to use milk, but the written description (with photos) says “activate the yeast in warm water” under the paragraph Easy Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls. THANK YOU for creating tempting gluten-free recipes that are the ultimate comfort foods people actually want to eat!!! I’ve made so many of your bakes – your chocolate cake is a revelation! Your skills are supernatural. Happy New Year!
Sarah @ Snixy Kitchen -
Oy! That’s a mistake! Definitely follow the recipe – activate in the warm milk. I’ll update the text – silly brain! Thank you!!
Debbie Feely -
Sarah you did it again! These are lovely. I made a few changes due to allergy and they are still the best I’ve tried. My new recipe for sure. Thank you! Do you mention that most of the rising is in the oven? I put mine in the oven thinking oh well gluten free doesn’t really rise but they had an impressive oven spring.
Grace -
Thanks for another fantastic recipe! I made my inaugural batch of cinnamon rolls using this recipe and they were delicious and soft.
I made some changes to the recipe. I used a simple glaze (1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, 1 tablespoon coconut milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla) since I don’t have vegan cream cheese during these COVID-19 times. I accidentally mixed the 4 tablespoons of melted butter into the dough rather than brushing it across the rolled out dough–the rolls still had a nice texture.I let the dough rise for two hours since I went on a bike ride.
My dough yielded 10 rolls plus a mini end roll. I gave 8 rolls to my old coop.
If you have dry active yeast, this is a good recipe to make during the shelter in place order. The recipe is straightforward but each step takes time. It’s more efficient to make the dough and bake on the same day.
Joy -
Looking forward to giving these a try, but wondering if you or anyone has tried soy, pea or coconut milk as an alternative. I can’t do whole or almond milk due to allergies.
Jenn -
Can you use 1:1 gluten free flour if you don’t have all of the others?
Sarah Menanix -
While I’ve not tried it so I can’t say for certain, I would try Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gf baking flour! I can’t guarantee the results will be the same, but that’s my favorite gf ap flour!
Dana -
How well would this dough work for making monkey bread? Would I make dough balls(prior to letting the dough rise) freeze them and then proceed as normal for the monkey bread recipe? Most monkey bread recipes start with frozen dough balls that rise in a warm oven overnight. I asume this recipe would work the same or is there a different bread dough recipe that would work better. Looking forward to making these!
Sarah Menanix -
Hmmm – that’s a good question. I’ve never made (or eaten) monkey bread, so I’m not entirely sure! The way you’ve described it, it sounds like it would work to me, but I just can’t say for certain – sorry! If you do give it a try, please let me know because that sounds DELICIOUS.
Liz -
Hi! Just wondering what I could substitute for the rice flour? My husband can’t have rice. I was thinking of using the same amount of extra sorghum flour or oat flour instead. He also has to be dairy free, so I was planning on using coconut milk. Has anyone tried that successfully?
Thanks!
Sarah Menanix -
Substituting the sweet rice flour is tricky – Sweet rice flour is the same flour used to make mochi, and as such, its stickiness helps to bind the cake together, creating chewiness like a classic cinnamon roll recipe. You might have success replacing it with tapioca flour by weight, but I haven’t tried it. This is what I would try first! You could def sub the milk for water or coconut milk, but your cinnamon rolls may be a bit less fluffy.
Ginny -
This recipe looks amazing! Our son is allergic to so many things with rice being one of them. What could I use instead in this recipe?
Unfortunately he is allergic to cinnamon to but I may use nutmeg or something else.
If he could have cinnamon rolls he would LOVE it!
Thanks in advance for your help!
Sarah Menanix -
While I haven’t tried it, I would try subbing in additional tapioca flour or potato STARCH (not flour) in place of the sweet rice flour – subbing out by weight. Your results will vary, but if I were to adapt it, this is what I would try first!
Sarah -
Hi! Do you have any thoughts on substituting psyllium husks or chia seeds for the xanthan gum? I’m going to make these for Christmas :) very excited.
Sarah Menanix -
I think it might work – for either you’ll need a bit more liquid, but I just haven’t tried it yet so I am not sure exactly how much or how it would affect the texture/baking. My guess would be around 20-25g psyllium or chia seeds, then adding enough water to bring it together.
Sarah -
Thanks, Sarah. I went ahead and made them as written to be safe, and they are soooooo good! Thank you so much for the recipe, it’s so nice not to have to sacrifice a Christmas brunch tradition. If I try experimenting in the future, I’ll report back. Happy holidays!