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best vegan cinnamon buns
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5 from 7 votes

The Best Fluffy Plant Based Cinnamon Rolls

These Plant Based Cinnamon Rolls are made with simple ingredients like an easy yeast dough, cinnamon filling, softened vegan butter, and a vegan cream cheese frosting. They are the perfect breakfast for Christmas morning or whenever you have family coming to town who want a delicious vegan cinnamon roll recipe.
Prep Time3 hours
Cook Time18 minutes
Total Time3 hours 18 minutes
Course: Vegan
Cuisine: American
Servings: 20 cinnamon buns
Calories: 447kcal

Ingredients

FOR YEAST MIXTURE

  • ½ cup lukewarm water
  • 2 packages traditional active dry yeast
  • 2 tsp sugar

FOR CINNAMON ROLL DOUGH

  • ¼ cup vegan butter melted
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¾ cup warm water
  • 1 cup almond milk hot
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 pasture raised eggs beaten
  • 5 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

FOR FILLING

  • ½ cup vegan butter
  • 1 ½ cups brown sugar packed
  • 4 tsp cinnamon

FOR CINNAMON ROLL GLAZE

  • 1 cup full fat coconut milk if you're not vegan you can also use heavy whipping cream
  • 1.5 cups brown sugar packed
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

FOR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (OPTIONAL)

  • ½ 8 oz block vegan cream cheese I used Tofutti
  • ¼ cup vegan butter
  • 3 cups icing sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

MAKING THE YEAST MIXTURE

  • Start by getting lukewarm water from the tap, approx 115 degrees F. I rarely use a thermometer, but this step will ensure you do not kill your yeast from the water being too hot, or not activating the yeast from the water being too cold.
  • In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Add both packages of active dry yeast to water (do not mix). Put the bowl onto a thick dish towel or in the oven with the light on (without heat). Must be in a warm place to let stand to get foamy. If it doesn't foam up, throw away and start again.

MAKING THE CINNAMON ROLL DOUGH

  • Add the vegan butter to a large mixing bowl. Then add the sugar, warm water, warm almond milk, and salt.
  • Once mixture has cooled, add the eggs (you do not want to cook the eggs in too hot of liquid). Then add the yeast mixture.
  • Begin adding one cup of flour at a time. Once you have added about 4.5-5 cups, the mixture will be too tough to mix with a spatula. Switch to using your hands and begin kneading the dough for approx 8 minutes, until the dough looks smooth and doesn't fall through your fingers while holding it.

LET RISE

  • Grease a large bowl all around the sides (bowl must be 3 times the size of the dough). Put a clean tee towel over the bowl and put in the oven with the oven light on (again, no heat). Let rise for 1.5-2 hours or until doubled in size.

ROLL IT OUT

  • Flour the surface and rolling pin. Cut the dough into 2 equal sections. Roll out the dough into a thin rectangle (approx 1/2 inch thick).
  • Take 1/4 cup vegan butter and add evenly to rolled dough. Sprinkle the 3/4 cup packed brown sugar evenly over the butter, then finish with 2 tsp cinnamon.
  • Starting at the long end, roll the dough up. Once it's tight, pinch the ends so the rolls stay together. For bigger cinnamon rolls, cut into 2.5 inch pieces and for smaller cut into 1.5 inch pieces. You can use dental floss or a very sharp serrated knife. Follow same steps for other half of remaining dough.

SECOND RISE

  • Grease a few baking dishes. For bigger buns I use round baking cake pans or 9 x 13 baking dishes. Leave lots of room between the buns as they rise again. Cover with tee towel and put back in the oven for a second rise with light on and heat off. They may take 45-60 minutes and will double in size again.

MAKE THE GLAZE AND CREAM CHEESE ICING

  • In a medium size bowl, whisk the full fat coconut milk, brown sugar and cinnamon then set aside. This mixture will continue to thicken as it sits. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the vegan cream cheese and vegan butter. Add in icing sugar and vanilla. Put frosting in the refrigerator till the cinnamon buns are cooked.

BAKE THE BUNS

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Pour the coconut milk glaze mixture evenly over the cinnamon rolls. Uncovered, bake for 18-20 minutes.
  • Let cool in the pan for 3 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter or large plate. Scrape remaining filling from the pan onto the rolls. Lather on the cream cheese icing, and enjoy! Pro tip - brag about these babies because they were an all day affair!

Nutrition

Serving: 1grams | Calories: 447kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 140mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 49g