These Quick & Easy Cinnamon Rolls are the BEST simple cinnamon rolls to make in only 1 hour – with my pro tips and tricks! Fluffy, sweet and delicious with an easy cream cheese frosting!
If you’re a fan of homemade cinnamon rolls but hate spending half the day waiting for dough to rise, these Quick and Easy One Hour Cinnamon Rolls are exactly what you need! They’re super soft, fluffy, perfectly sweet, and filled with that classic cinnamon sugar swirl we all love, but they come together in a fraction of the time of traditional from-scratch cinnamon rolls.
Whether you’re making them for a weekend breakfast, a holiday morning brunch, or just because, these cinnamon rolls feel like a special treat but they’re simple enough for everyday baking!
This recipe works so well because it removes one of the biggest barriers to homemade cinnamon rolls: time!
Traditional cinnamon roll dough relies on long rise times to develop structure, texture, and flavour. In this one hour recipe, the dough is designed to rise quickly while still producing a soft, tender texture. You get that same fluffy, bakery-style result without needing hours of rising time.
The dough is easy to handle, which makes rolling and shaping simple even if you’ve never made cinnamon rolls before. It creates a consistent swirl, bakes evenly, and stays soft after baking.
It’s also a very forgiving recipe. Even if your kitchen is a little bit cool or your timing isn’t exact, these cinnamon rolls still turn out beautifully every single time. That reliability is what makes this recipe one my readers come back to again and again!
5 Pro Tips for Quick and Easy Cinnamon Rolls in ONLY 1 Hour!
In order to achieve a fluffy dough that rises well, the temperature of the wet ingredients when they hit the yeast is critical: too cold, and the yeast won’t be able to grow; too hot and the liquid will kill the yeast. Both of these situations will cause your dough to be tough and dry, and you’ll be lucky if it rises at all.
To help these rolls rise quickly, use warm milk that feels like the temperature of a baby’s bath water (not too hot!).
Cinnamon bun dough should be tacky to the touch, but not so sticky that it’s very messy. It should pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl easily and the bowl should appear fairly clean. If the dough appears too sticky, continue kneading and add flour one tablespoon at a time until the dough reaches that tacky texture.
Too little flour and the dough will be too sticky and will result in dense buns. Too much flour and the dough will be tough, resulting in dry, crumbly buns.
The BEST way to get your dough to rise quickly is to use warm water to warm up the mixing bowl as the dough rises. Once you’ve made the dough, place the bowl inside another larger bowl and pour very warm (almost HOT) water into the larger bowl (between the two bowls- just until the water gets at the same height as the dough is in the initial bowl) so the heat from the warm water is absorbed by the first bowl and warms up the dough inside – just be sure you don’t get any water inside the bowl with the dough! Warm dough rises much faster, and with this warm water trick you’ll be able to cut the rise time from the typical 60 or 90 minutes to only 20 minutes!
Placing your dough in a metal bowl to rise when you use this trick helps the dough rise even faster since metal conducts the heat from the water more than a glass or plastic bowl would. If you’re short on mixing bowls you can also place the bowl with the dough in your kitchen sink and fill the sink with warm (almost hot) water to just below the top of the mixing bowl. Again, just be sure you don’t get any water inside the bowl with the dough!
Turn the dough out onto a very lightly greased work surface rather than flouring the work surface. This makes the dough easy to roll out and it helps the surface of the dough to remain soft instead of drying it out like adding more flour would do. I like to spritz my counter top with a little bit of vegetable oil to make sure the dough doesn’t stick and it works like a charm!
There’s no need to let the rolls rise a second time – simply place them in a cold oven and set the oven to the correct temperature. The rolls will complete their final rise as the oven preheats, and this will cut down the baking time too!
Combine your ingredients until a soft dough forms. It should come together easily and feel smooth after a short knead.
Give the dough a short rest so it relaxes and rises, using the warm water trick (see the PRO Tips section above!). This makes rolling it out much easier and helps create a better texture.
Roll the dough out evenly so it’s the same thickness across the surface. This helps the rolls bake uniformly.
Cover the dough with the cinnamon sugar filling ingredients all the way to the edges so every bite has that classic flavour.
Roll the dough into a log, keeping it even from end to end. A consistent shape helps the rolls bake evenly.
Cut the rolls evenly so they bake at the same rate and look uniform in the pan.
Arrange the rolls in your baking dish and let them rise in the oven as it preheats. Start the baking time when the oven gets to temperature.
Bake just until the tops are lightly golden and the centres are set. Avoid over-baking to keep them soft.
Spread the frosting over the warm rolls so it melts slightly into the tops.
- Apple Pie Rolls: Add some diced apples and a pinch of nutmeg into your cinnamon filling for a spiced apple version.
- Chocolate Chip Swirls: Add a generous amount of chocolate chips to the cinnamon-sugar mixture for a sweet, chocolatey version.
- Nuts and Raisins: Mix raisins or chopped pecans into the filling for added texture.
- Strawberry Cheesecake: Try this Strawberry Cheesecake Sweet Rolls recipe, but use the fast-rise trick for quick and easy Strawberry Cheesecake Sweet Rolls.
- Cranberry Orange Rolls: Add fresh orange zest to your dough and cranberries to the filling for a citrusy twist. Top with an orange glaze for extra flavour. Try our Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls recipe!
- Maple Bacon Rolls: Drizzle maple syrup over your prepared rolls and top with crispy bacon bits for a savoury-sweet combination.
- Pumpkin Spice Rolls: Mix pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spices into your dough for a festive autumnal take on the original. Try our Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls recipe!
- Blueberry Lemon Rolls: Fill your rolls with fresh blueberries and lemon zest, and top with a lemon glaze for a refreshing twist. Try our Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls recipe!
- Chai Spice Rolls: Blend chai spices like cardamom, ginger, and cloves into your cinnamon filling for a warm, spicy version of the original.
Store at room temperature
Keep the rolls in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Refrigerate for longer storage
Store in the fridge for up to 5 days, although they’re best fresh. Be sure to reheat before serving if you’ve stored them in the fridge.
Reheat before serving
Warm in the microwave for 15–20 seconds to restore softness.
Freeze for later
Freeze baked rolls (unfrosted or frosted) for up to 2 months. Thaw and reheat before serving.
Why are these called one hour cinnamon rolls?
These are called one hour cinnamon rolls because this recipe is designed to take about an hour, from start to finish, without long rise times.
Can I freeze the dough?
Yes, freeze after shaping the rolls. Thaw in the fridge and allow to rise before baking.
Can I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?
Yes. You can use either active dry yeast or instant yeast in this recipe.
How do I know when they’re done baking?
They should be lightly golden on top and set in the centre without being doughy.
Can I make these cinnamon rolls ahead of time?
Yes. You can prepare them the night before, refrigerate, and place them in a cold oven in the morning, straight from the fridge. Start the baking timer when the oven gets to temperature and bake as directed.
Can I double the recipe?
Yes, this recipe doubles well. Just be sure not to overcrowd your baking pan.
Can I freeze unbaked cinnamon rolls?
Yes! Freeze the rolls in a freezer-safe baking pan and cover well with plastic wrap. Thaw them in the fridge and then bake as directed.
More Cozy Treats You’ll LOVE
- Swedish Cinnamon Buns (Kanelbullar)
- Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
- Cinnamon Sugar Muffins
- Strawberry Cheesecake Sweet Rolls
- Sugary Cinnamon Twists
- Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Carrot Muffins
- Crumb Cake
- Best Ever Whole Wheat Cinnamon Buns
- Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls
- Cherry Almond Coffee Cake
- Rhubarb Streusel Cake
Watch the video below to see exactly how I make this recipe. You can find more delicious recipe videos on my YouTube channel
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Quick and Easy Cinnamon Rolls (One Hour Cinnamon Rolls)
Recipe: Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 1/4 cups warm milk just above body temperature
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant dry yeast (active dry yeast also works)
- 1/3 cup butter melted
- 1 egg
- 3 2/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 – 1 tablespoon cinnamon to taste
For the frosting (optional):
- 1/3 cup full fat cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Recipe: Instructions
- Into the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a large mixing bowl), add the warm milk, the sugar, and the yeast. Mix together with a fork.
- Add the melted (and cooled) butter to the milk mixture. Be sure the melted butter isn't too hot or it will kill the yeast.
- Add the egg to the milk mixture.
- Add the flour and salt to the bowl on top of the milk mixture and set the mixer to low speed (use the dough hook for this). If making by hand, mix with a wooden spoon.
- After about a minute you should see a sticky dough starting to come together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
- Turn up the mixer speed slightly and allow the mixture to knead the dough for about 2-3 minutes. The dough should be tacky to the touch, but not so sticky that it's very messy. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl easily and the bowl should appear fairly clean.
- If you don't have a stand mixer, you can knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured work surface for 3 minutes after the wet and dry ingredients are combined.
- Cover the bowl with some plastic wrap and place it inside another large mixing bowl. Pour some hot water (from the tap or recently boiled kettle) between the two bowls to gently heat up the dough. This will help it rise very quickly. Be careful not to use water that's too hot as this will cook the dough that's touching the mixing bowl. Also, be careful not to get any water into the bowl with the dough (See the information in the blog post for more tips on how to do this!). Let the dough rise for 20 minutes.
- While the dough rises, grease a large cast iron skillet (or a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish also works) with butter.
- In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar and the cinnamon. I use 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, but feel free to use a little less if you'd prefer a more subtle taste.
- Turn the dough out onto a work surface that's been very lightly greased with vegetable oil. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough evenly until you have a rectangle that's approximately 18 inches wide and 12 inches deep. Brush the dough with the melted butter. Spread the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture evenly over the dough.
- Roll up the dough from the long side until you've got one long roll. Cut the long roll in half, then in half again, and then each of those sections into 3 pieces until you have 12 cinnamon rolls. Try to cut the rolls to an even thickness as this promotes even baking. You don't want some rolls to be overdone and others to be raw in the middle.
- Arrange the 12 pieces in the pan you've greased.
- Place the cinnamon rolls in a cold oven and set the oven to bake at 375°F (190°C). The cinnamon rolls will rise for a second time in the oven as it preheats.
- Set the oven timer for 23 minutes. When the oven timer goes off the cinnamon rolls should be baked to a golden brown colour. If 2-3 more minutes of baking are required, allow the rolls to bake for a few additional minutes (every oven preheats differently, so watch them around the 20-minute mark if your oven preheats very quickly!).
For the frosting:
- While the cinnamon rolls are baking, mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the buns cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before smearing the frosting over the warm buns.
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
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I followed the recipe to a t but My dough was SO sticky. Any thoughts on why? Can you add more flour after the dough rises or is it too late?
This dough is a sticky dough, however if it’s not pulling away from the sides of the bowl, you can add up to 1/4 cup of flour. You could also try flouring your work surface or oiling your hands and work surfaace. Hope this helps!
I used this recipe for a bake sale and was able to raise $500 for charity. I had no complaints and the straight forward recipe made it easy to do on my own! Love these cinnamon rolls 🙂
I wasn’t sure these would not be heavy … holly cow they are amazingly light and totally delish!! This is going in my lil book of dessert tricks!!
Loved them, great taste, easy to follow recipe, and great time saver/last minute guest pleaser. ( really LOVED the second rise in the cold oven during preheat… kudos
My friend Mary and I made these yesterday. I had Red Star Platinum yeast. We followed the recipe and they came out awesome!!! This is my only cinnamon roll recipe I will make. Thank you for the great recipes.
We’re so happy you enjoyed them! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
I just have a couple questions?I’ve seen a few other recipes for cinnamon rolls and they say to bring the egg to room temperature. Is this how it should be done with your recipe? Does”body temperature” for the milk also mean that it shouldn’t be no hotter than 110°F??
Using room temperature ingredients in recipes like this one helps yeast rise quickly but using an egg from the fridge won’t ruin your recipe as the raise is helped by the hot water as well. The milk should be warm but not so hot that it kills the yeast (130°F/ 55°C) so as long as yours is under that, you’re safe. Hope this helps!
Absolutely amazing!!!! So easy and so so so delicious (even without the icing)! Will be using this recipe for the rest of my life
I didn’t have instant yeast so I used active dry which I (bloomed with 1 tsp sugar and 1/4 water). I removed 1/4 cup of the milk to compensate for the extra liquid.
Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback. We’re happy you enjoyed our recipe!
Made for Christmas morning & these were delish! I did 1.5x the recipe & they were gone in a few hours!
I only had 2 issues – the dough was still sticky even after adding extra flour, but they rolled out fine with some care. (My mom’s yeast may have been a little old…)
Second issue – the filling seeped out & was crispy the bottom of the pan.
I did add raisins to one pan & they were divine!
Any suggestions for me? Thanks for the recipe!
Different flours have a different liquid absorption capacity so you might just need to see what works for your flour. As for the filling, it’s normal that some of it gets on the bottom of the pan, but if you butter the pan properly that should not be an issue. However you can squeeze each roll a little on the bottom before placing it down. Hope this helps ☺️
LOVE this recipe!!! Thank you so much! Pro tip, use the dough as pizza crust. Double the recipe and you have pizza for dinner and cinnamon rolls the next morning! 1 batch made a family size stuffed crust. I prefer thin crust pizza, so I might make 2 family thin pizzas next time. Definitely putting this one in the recipe box!!
Wow! Such a great hack! Thanks for sharing it and taking the time to leave your feedback.
I love this recipe, it’s very tasty! My only problem is the website is INCREDIBLY glitchy. It repeatedly scrolls to the bottom of the page make it impossible to read the directions. I ended up having to screenshot the page which was still hard because the page kept moving by itself. Please fix the glitches! Otherwise great recipe.
I’m so sorry to hear about your bad experience but thank you for letting us know. We’re always looking to improve our readers’ experience and fix any glitches so our team is on it! I’m happy to hear you liked our recipe and hope you’ll come back for more.
I made these for breakfast and my kids loved them! This was my very first time making cinnamon rolls and they were super easy to make and delicious! I will definitely make these again.
I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
These are perfect! I had a craving for pecan sticky buns and all other recipes took more time than I had; yours is quick, easy and delicious. I did line the bottom of the pan with chopped pecans and a delicious maple sauce. Set the rolls on top and satisfied my craving! This recipe is a definite keeper!
Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback! Your pecan and maple addition sounds AMAZING!
It would have been helpful to note that unlike using water & sugar for the yeast & getting a bubbly result, using milk & sugar, then adding butter makes it appear that the yeast is past its prime & failed to proof. I threw the first try away, then redid the first steps, achieving the same result, but decided to use it any way. It worked, with dough rising as the recipe said it would. It was a great recipe & fast result.
We’re happy you enjoyed our recipe! Yes, it’s good to keep in mind that yeast reacts in different ways, however a live yeast always bubbles even if slightly so.
This recipe ticks all the right boxes — it’s easy to make, it takes much less time, and the result is wonderful. My family doesn’t like overly-sweet baking, so I omit the cream cheese icing, instead, I brush about 2 TBSP of maple syrup on top of the parchment paper (I use a 9″ x 13″ pan). This adds a little Canadian sweetness to the cinnamon buns.
Just made these and they are the best cinnamon buns I’ve ever had! Super quick and easy recipe – I’ll definitely be making these again soon!
We’re happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing your feedback!