Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
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These pumpkin cinnamon rolls are soft, fluffy, and completely dairy-free. Made with bread flour and pumpkin puree for a tender crumb, they are worth every minute of the rise.
Homemade cinnamon rolls were Isaac’s grandma’s specialty, and while I never got to learn from her directly, these pumpkin cinnamon rolls are my attempt at carrying that tradition forward with a festive twist. I did not get there alone. A friend of mine who went to culinary school and now works as a pastry chef came over the first time I tested this recipe and walked me through it, and her input is genuinely why these turned out the way they did.
My first batch was a little dry and not fluffy enough, so I adjusted the ratios and landed on this version. They are dairy-free and completely vegan, and I will say plainly that they taste just as good as any cinnamon roll made with butter and cream. Serve them alongside a warm mug of my pumpkin spice latte for the coziest fall brunch!
Table of Contents
- Why I Love These Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Ingredients Needed
- Substitutions
- How to Make Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Brittany’s Tips for the Best Cinnamon Rolls
- What to Serve with Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- How to Store and Prep Cinnamon Rolls in Advance
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
“These cinnamon rolls were amazing! I am actually having one right now with maple flavored coffee…yum! Love that they are vegan and the extra time to mix and let rise compared to my other cinnamon roll recipes was well worth it!”
Why I Love These Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Bread flour is what makes them fluffy: This is the change that fixed my first batch. The higher protein content develops more gluten, which means a lighter, chewier, more bakery-style roll instead of a dense one.
- The pumpkin does more than add flavor: It keeps the crumb moist for days, which is unusual for a cinnamon roll. These are still good on day two, and most rolls really are not.
- They can be almost entirely made the night before: Assemble, refrigerate, and bake in the morning. This is why they work for Christmas morning or a holiday brunch when you do not want to be starting dough at 6am.
Ingredients Needed
- active dry yeast – I used Fleischmann’s Original ActiveDry Yeast, but any brand of active dry yeast will work! Just make sure it’s active dry yeast instead of instant yeast.
- warm water – temperature matters more than almost anything else here. You want 105°F to 115°F, warm to the touch but not hot. Too cool and the yeast will not activate, too hot and you kill it outright.
- bread flour – the reason these come out light and fluffy rather than dense. All-purpose flour works but you will notice the difference in texture. I do not recommend gluten-free flour here since it behaves completely differently with yeast.
- coconut sugar – a small amount goes into the dough to help feed the yeast. Cane sugar works just as well.
- pumpkin puree – adds moisture, color, and that subtle fall flavor. Canned or homemade pumpkin puree both work. Check the label and make sure it is 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
- coconut oil – used in both the dough and the cinnamon sugar filling. Vegan butter works as a swap and gives a slightly richer flavor.
- light brown sugar – the base of the cinnamon sugar filling. It melts into that gooey layer you want running through the middle of each roll.
- ground cinnamon – be generous. This is a cinnamon roll and the filling is where all that flavor lives.
- almond milk and confectioners’ sugar – whisked together into a simple glaze. Two ingredients and it sets up beautifully on the warm rolls.
Find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card below.
Substitutions
- Bread flour: All-purpose flour works and the rolls will still be good, just slightly less airy. Do not swap in a gluten-free flour blend here, use my gluten-free cinnamon rolls recipe instead since it is built for it.
- Pumpkin puree: Butternut squash puree works beautifully. One reader used squash from her farm and reported great results.
- Coconut oil: Vegan butter is a direct swap in both the dough and the filling.
- Glaze: For something richer, make my cream cheese frosting using vegan cream cheese and a dairy-free yogurt.
- Add-ins: Diced apples and chopped walnuts sprinkled over the cinnamon sugar before rolling are a great addition if you want to make these feel even more like fall.
- Want more protein? These are a treat, not a high-protein breakfast. If that is what you are after, my protein cinnamon rolls are a better fit for a regular weekday.
How to Make Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
First thing first, cinnamon rolls do take a little bit of attention and time, so make sure you have enough time set aside for this process!
Step 1: Stir the yeast into 1/3 cup warm water and let it sit for 10 minutes until foamy. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Step 2: Whisk together the pumpkin, coconut oil, and remaining warm water. Add this and the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until the dough is smooth and makes a slapping sound against the bowl.
Step 3: Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour until doubled in size. Meanwhile stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and coconut oil for the filling.
Step 4: Roll the dough into a 14 x 12-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Spread the cinnamon sugar mixture all over the surface with your fingers.
Step 5: Roll the dough into a tight log, pinch the seam closed, and cut crosswise into 12 pieces. Place in a greased baking dish, cover, and let rise 45 minutes until doubled.
Step 6: Bake at 375°F for 18 to 20 minutes until golden. Whisk the almond milk and confectioners’ sugar together and spread over the warm rolls.
Brittany’s Tips for the Best Cinnamon Rolls
- Check your water temperature with a thermometer: This is the single most common failure point with yeast dough and it is completely avoidable. 105°F to 115°F. If you do not have a thermometer, it should feel like comfortably warm bath water, not hot.
- Proof somewhere genuinely warm: A cold kitchen will slow your rise dramatically. If your house runs cool, turn on your oven’s bread proof setting, or drape a kitchen towel that has been soaked in hot water and wrung out over the covered bowl. One reader in November needed three hours instead of one, and this is exactly why.
- Grease the bowl and the pan: As the dough rises it will grab onto an ungreased surface and tear rather than expanding. It is a thirty second step that protects an hour of rising.
- Cut with a serrated knife or dental floss: A regular chef’s knife squashes the log and you lose those clean spiral layers. A serrated knife saws through cleanly. Plain unflavored dental floss works even better if you have it.
What to Serve with Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
I am already dreaming up an epic spread for Christmas morning or Easter brunch to pair with these pumpkin cinnamon rolls. Here’s what I’m thinking would pair well with them:
- A savory egg dish: Sweet and savory together is my favorite way to do brunch. My dairy-free spinach quiche can be made ahead and reheats while the rolls bake.
- Something fresh: A bowl of mixed berry fruit salad cuts through the sweetness and is the easiest thing on the table.
- Coffee, obviously: A pumpkin spice latte doubles down on the fall flavors, or go with cold brew if you would rather have something chilled.
- A brunch cocktail: Apple cider mimosas are what I reach for in the fall, or classic mimosas any other time of year.
How to Store and Prep Cinnamon Rolls in Advance
- Overnight method: Assemble the rolls through placing them in the greased baking dish, then cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, pull the pan out and let the rolls rise in a warm spot for 1 to 2 hours until doubled, then bake as directed. In a cold house this can take up to 3 hours, so give yourself a buffer.
- Freeze before baking: Assemble through placing the rolls in the dish, cover tightly, and freeze. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then let rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours until doubled and bake as directed.
- Freeze after baking: Cool completely, then freeze the whole pan or individual rolls in a tightly covered freezer-safe container. Freeze them unfrosted and add the glaze after reheating. Thaw and warm in the microwave or toaster oven.
- Room temperature: Baked and frosted rolls keep covered at room temperature for 2 days. After that, move them to the fridge for up to 5 days and warm before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Almost always the yeast. Either the water was too hot and killed it, too cool to activate it, or the yeast itself was past its expiration date. After you dissolve the yeast in warm water it should look foamy and smell yeasty within 10 minutes. If nothing happens, start over with fresh yeast rather than proceeding.
This recipe is written for active dry yeast and I would stick with it. Instant yeast does not need to be proofed separately and works on a different timeline, so the steps as written will not translate cleanly.
Yes. Knead by hand for 2 to 10 minutes using the push and fold method until the dough is smooth and no longer sticks to your hands. One reader hand-kneaded a batch of 50 rolls on a community farm, so it is absolutely doable.
More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Pumpkin Dough
- 1 0.25-oz. pkg. active dry yeast
- ⅔ cup warm water, divided
- 3 ⅓ cups bread flour, plus more for rolling dough
- 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar, or cane sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- ⅔ cup canned pumpkin or homemade pumpkin puree
- 3 Tablespoons melted coconut oil, plus more for greasing
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
Frosting
- 2 Tablespoons almond milk
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Stir yeast into 1/3 cup warm (105°–115°F) water until dissolved. Let stand 10 minutes.1 0.25-oz. pkg. active dry yeast, 0.33 cup warm water
- Combine flour, sugar, and salt in bowl of your stand mixer and combine using the dough hook on low speed for about 1 minute.3 ⅓ cups bread flour, 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- In a medium bowl, whisk together wet ingredients: pumpkin, coconut oil and 1/3 cup warm water. With mixer running at low speed, add yeast mixture and pumpkin mixture to your dry ingredients by pouring them down the inside of the bowl. Increase speed to medium-low, and mix 2 minutes.⅔ cup canned pumpkin or homemade pumpkin puree, 3 Tablespoons melted coconut oil, 0.33 cup warm water
- Let dough rest 5 minutes. Mix at medium-low speed 5 minutes, or until dough is smooth. Increase speed to medium and mix 2 minutes. Kneading is done when dough makes a slapping sound as it hits the side of the bowl. Dough temperature should be close to 90°F.
- Once combined, place dough in oiled bowl and cover. Let rise 1 hour, or until doubled in volume.
- While dough is rising, make cinnamon sugar filling by stirring together brown sugar, cinnamon and coconut oil in a bowl. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking sheet or round 9.5-inch pie pan with coconut oil.⅓ cup packed light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
- Sprinkle extra flour on your surface and rolling pin and roll dough into 14 x 12-inch rectangle.
- Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over dough and smear it all over the surface with your fingers.
- Starting at the top, roll the dough toward you into a large log, moving back and forth down the line of dough (in a "typewriter" motion) and always rolling toward you. Roll it tightly as you go so the rolls will be nice and neat. When it's all rolled, pinch the seam closed and turn the roll over so that the seam is facing down. Cut roll crosswise into 12 1-inch-thick pieces and place on prepared baking sheet or pie pan.
- Cover, and let rise in warm place 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake cinnamon rolls for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden in color and cooked through and no longer doughy.
- To make frosting, combine confectioners’ sugar and almond milk in a small bowl. Spread frosting over warm cinnamon rolls and serve.2 Tablespoons almond milk, 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Notes
- Overnight Prep: Assemble through placing rolls in the pan, cover and refrigerate. Let rise 1 to 3 hours in a warm spot before baking depending on how cold your kitchen is.
- Freezing: Freeze before or after baking. If freezing baked rolls, leave the glaze off and add it after reheating.
- Storage: Covered at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge up to 5 days. Warm before serving.
- Recipe inspired and adapted from Vegetarian Times.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
Thank you for the nice recipe.
Omg this was so good! Amazing to find vegan friendly recipes that check the texture and taste box. They even were approved by my younger brother and sister who are so picky. 👍👍
Woo! Love to hear that, Sequoia! Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review, I really appreciate it 🙂
I was craving sweets but Im not allowed to have dairy right now. I decided to bake these and it was the first vegan thing Ive baked. They were awesome. It was my first time baking with yeast and I messed up a little bit somewhere because they didnt rise that much lol but the taste was still soooo good Im definitely going to try again to perfect these!
Woo! So glad these were a hit for you, Macy. Yeast can be fickle but I’m glad you are going to try it again!
Lovely recipe! My sister made these for me last month for my birthday, and they were delicious. I live on a community farm and made them this week– a huge batch of 50 cinn rolls that I hand kneaded and they turned out great! I used some of our farm butternut squash instead of pumpkin, and filled the rolls with diced apples, walnuts, and more pureed squash. Yum!! I made them the night before I baked them and put them in the fridge overnight, but it took more like 3 hours for them to proof the next day before baking. Perhaps because it’s November and our house is cold. Thanks for the recipe and I’ll probably be making it again next week for Thanksgiving!
So glad these are such a hit!! I love hearing that. 🙂 Thanks for the review, Chloe. I appreciate it!
Sorry – another question – would it work to knead these by hand? Has anyone tried this?
Hi Amanda! Yes, you can totally knead the dough by end if you’d like! Here’s what I recommend based off the instructions from the Vegetarian Times recipe: flatten the dough ball by pushing down and away from you with the heel of your hand. Pull the far edge and fold it back over the dough. Turn dough a quarter turn and repeat. Kneading can take anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes. You’ll know it’s fully kneaded when the dough is smooth and doesn’t stick to your hands.
These look delicious! Do you think I could swap vegan butter for the coconut oil in the filling?
Yes, you can definitely use vegan butter. Just make sure it’s softened (and very soft) or melted.
Going to make these for thanksgiving morning breakfast! Do you think you could do all of the steps up until baking the night before, then bake straight from the fridge the next morning?
I haven’t tried it, but it should be just fine! Once you roll up the cinnamon rolls and place them in your baking dish, cover well with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge overnight. When you are ready to bake, bring the cinnamon rolls to room temperature and let them rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in size in a warm place before baking as directed.
These cinnamon rolls were amazing! I am actually having one right now with maple flavored coffee…yum! Love that they are vegan and the extra time to mix and let rise compared to my other cinnamon roll recipes was well worth it!
Oh yay!! That makes me so happy to hear, Kim. I’m glad these cinnamon rolls were a hit. Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it!
I made these last fall for my newly vegan daughter (due to allergies, not choice). She adored them. She currently is in school in Oregon and I’m in Colorado and she just asked me to see if I could send these to her for her birthday cake next month. Oh the things us mama’s do for our babies – I’m sure gonna try!
Ahh I’m so glad these cinnamon rolls were a hit, Amy! What a nice mom to try and send them to her for her bday. 🙂 Let me know if they make it successfully. 🙂
Hi. Can I use whole wheat flour for this recipe? I want to make this tomorrow!
Hey Hannah – You can certainly try it, they just might not be as fluffy as if you were to use the bread flour. Let me know how they turn out for you!!
I want to make these for Christmas!! Is bread flour the same as a all-purpose GF flour?? Can I use a GF flour instead of a bread flour?
Hi Ruth! Gluten-free flour isn’t the same as bread flour, but you should be able to use a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour instead of the bread flour for this recipe, the cinnamons rolls won’t be as fluffy and will likely seem a little more dense. Let me know if you try it.
Hi! Thank you for the recipe! I have a question. What can I use to replace confectioners’ sugar?
Hi Joshua. Confectioners’ sugar is the same thing as powered sugar and it’s a key ingredient for homemade icing/frosting. If you’re looking for a low sugar option, you can use something like Swerve powdered sugar. I personally don’t use this a ton because my body doesn’t agree with sugar alcohols.
I love anything pumpkin flavored during the holiday season. I’ve never had Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls before… but let me tell you OMG, this recipe is so delicious it just melts in your mouth. Thanks Brittany=)
Yay, this makes me so happy to hear!! Thank you so much for trying this recipe, Lynn. I’m so happy you loved it. And thank you for coming back to leave a comment and star rating as well. I so appreciate it. <3
We love cinnamon rolls in our house, but admittedly, I have never made them from scratch. These actually don’t seem that complicated and we for sure need these this weekend!
Yes!! They really aren’t hard to make and it’s so rewarding to see and eat the finished product. 🙂 I hope you get a chance to make these and I can’t wait to hear what you think!
I just read the title to this and audibly said out loud, “Oh I need that in my life…” Guess I know what I’m doing Saturday morning!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Woot woot!! Can’t wait to hear what you think of these babe!