Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls

These delicious Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls are fluffy, soft, and topped with a perfectly sweet glaze. They are made with simple ingredients, and don’t require a fancy stand mixer!

I have finally done it. I have perfected my gluten-free cinnamon rolls. It has only taken 972 attempts and many tweaks, but they are amazing.

I feel like cinnamon rolls can be really intimidating for most people, or at least they were for me for a long time. They always seemed difficult and time consuming, and a lot of recipes required a fancy stand mixer.

But not this one! I don’t own a stand mixer for several reasons. They’re huge and take up a ton of counter/cabinet space, they’re expensive, and I just don’t do enough hardcore baking to warrant buying one. I know myself, and I know it would collect dust more than I would actually use it.

I created this recipe for MY PEOPLE. And my people are my friends who want to make amazing gluten-free cinnamon rolls on a special occasion (or a random Saturday morning), but don’t have fancy equipment, nor the patience to spend all day baking. Read: also those who may or may not have a toddler hanging on their leg yelling for cinnamon rolls.

This one’s for you.

There are so many companies that have come a LONG way with their GF all-purpose flours. When I first went GF 8 years ago, there were not this many good options. I used Bob’s Red Mill GF all-purpose flour for this recipe, and it did NOT disappoint!

(this post is not sponsored by them, they have no idea who I am, I just love their products ;))

I definitely wanted these rolls to be as traditional as possible, so of course I had to use yeast. If you have ever been intimidated by baking with yeast, not to fear! Just don’t let your milk get too hot, and you should be just fine. You don’t want to kill the yeast with boiling liquid.

And besides that, I used all of the usual cinnamon roll suspects. Butter, sugar, flour, milk. But all just with a few small, healthy tweaks. I used vegan butter (because I don’t do well with dairy), GF flour DUH, organic cane sugar in place of refined white sugar, and almond milk in place of regular.

And then of course for that delicious filling we have the usual: butter, cinnamon, sugar. Except I used coconut sugar just for fun, but you can definitely use any type of sugar you want!

Serious question here… do you prefer a thinner glaze that you can drizzle over the top? Or a thicker buttercream situation that you spread on thick?

I’m team glaze, all the way.

This ah-mazing glaze is made with three simple ingredients: organic powdered sugar, a tiny bit of almond milk, and vanilla extract. And it’s so good that I could swim in it.

But I won’t.

Just drizzle that goodness over the top and have yourself the BEST cinnamon roll breakfast ever. No one will even know that they are gluten-free!

Looking for more breakfast recipes?

• Breakfast Stuffed Sweet Potato
• Breakfast Baked Acorn Squash
• Quinoa Oat Breakfast Bowl
• Creamy Carrot Cake Oatmeal

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Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

• 3½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour *see notes
• 1 package active dry yeast (2¼ tsp)
• 1⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk (or any dairy-free milk of choice)
• ⅓ cup organic cane sugar
• ⅓ cup butter (I used Earth Balance vegan butter)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseeds
• 1 large egg

Filling

• ¼ cup softened butter (I used Earth Balance vegan butter)
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar (or powdered stevia)
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk (you can adjust depending on how thin/thick you want the glaze)

Instructions

• To make the dough: Start by pouring the milk into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Let the milk warm up, but don't let it start boiling. Once it is warm to the touch, pour it into a large mixing bowl. (it is important that the milk is warm, not HOT, because if it is too hot, it will kill the yeast)
• Add the packet of yeast to the milk, and stir it with a wooden spoon. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, you should start to see a thin film on the top of the milk and even a few bubbles.
• Once the yeast is activated, add the butter, sugar, salt, flaxseed, and egg. Whisk to combine, then add 2 cups of the flour. Whisk again until most of the flour is incorporated. Next, add the rest of the flour, and use a wooden spoon to stir it together.
• You will then use your hands to knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. This will help everything to get incorporated evenly. It will feel different than regular (non-GF) dough because you are not activating gluten, so it won't be as stretchy.
• After you knead the dough, cover it with a kitchen towel and leave it on the counter to let it rise for 1 hour.
• After the dough has rested, lay out a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle the parchment with a couple tbsp of flour to prevent sticking. Place the dough on top, and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a rectangular shape, about 1/2 inch thick.
• To make the filling, stir together the softened butter, coconut sugar and cinnamon together. Use a brush (or your hands) to paint the mixture all over the layer of dough.
• You are going to roll the dough from the long end of the rectangle. Starting from one side, carefully use your fingers to tightly roll the dough into itself, working your way all the way down the side. Keep rolling until you have one long roll of dough.
• Cut even pieces by starting in the center, and then working your way out.
• Oil the bottom of a 9×9 baking dish, and place each piece into the dish, right up next to each other.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 20-23 minutes, until lightly golden on top.
• While they are in the oven, make the glaze by combining the powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond milk in a bowl. Use a fork to whisk it all together, adding more almond milk if it is too thick.
• When the cinnamon rolls are done baking, let them cool for about 5 minutes, then pour the glaze over top. You can use a spatula to spread it out if you want.
• Serve and enjoy!