Easy Vegan Cinnamon Rolls with Dairy-Free Icing | Fluffy & Delicious Recipe

Growing up, our cinnamon rolls came from a can (no shade). They always seemed way too complicated to make from scratch. If you’re from the Midwest, you might be familiar with the kinds of recipes I grew up with—think a box of cake mix, two sticks of butter, and two tubs of cream cheese type of stuff.

In college, I was the self-proclaimed cupcake queen, but those definitely still came from a box. Shortly after getting married, I started trying my hand at making these from scratch. While none of those recipes were vegan or plant-based, they helped me build a solid foundation. Breakfast goods were definitely one of my first stops on my learning journey.

Fast forward to today. Making cinnamon rolls in the autumn and winter brings an instant level of coziness and grounding to our weekends. These are what I’d call "Saturday Rolls" because of the time commitment and patience involved. They’re not difficult, but the two rises contribute to a longer overall process.

So, put on your favorite cozy playlist and gather up your ingredients—we’re about to make some Vegan Cinnamon Rolls that kick canned cinnamon roll butt. __________________ Detailed Instructions Step One: Make sure that you're working in a warm kitchen. This doesn't mean you need to turn up the heat in your house, but if it's an awesome, crisp fall morning and you'd normally have the kitchen window open, you'll want to leave it closed. We need our dough to stay warm until it goes into the oven.

Step Two: Combine the salt, sugar, yeast, olive oil, and water in a medium bowl. Let the ingredients sit for about 20 seconds, then gently stir to combine.

Note on the water: It took me some trial and error to get my water temp right. I'd always been told to use a thermometer for the water temperature, but that feels like way too much work. I often start my water running while I'm combining my other ingredients. It should be very warm to the touch, but not scalding. If you get it too hot (think boiling/near boiling), it kills the yeast and it won't rise. If you get it too cold, the yeast won't bloom (think about the wrist-test they do for bottles after heating them—that's too cold).

Step Three: Let your water mixture sit for about 10 minutes until the yeast blooms.

Step Four: Measure your flour into your stand mixer bowl (if using). It's important with this recipe to level your cups of flour, or your dough will not come together correctly. Make sure you have your kneading attachment on.

Not using a stand mixer? That's totally okay! It just takes a little more time and muscle. You can add your flour to a large bowl.

Step Five: Combine your water mixture with the flour and start your stand mixer on speed 2, working your way up to 4 or 6, depending on what your dough needs.

If you're not using a stand mixer, combine and stir the flour and water together until you can no longer stir.

Step Six: Knead the dough (by hand or machine) until it comes together in a smooth-ish ball. The dough should still be slightly stretchy but not elastic. If you're using a mixer, it typically takes 2-3 minutes. By hand, it takes roughly 10 minutes.

Step Seven: Leave your dough ball in a warm place in your kitchen, lightly cover it with a towel, and let it rise. Don't remove the towel until you're ready for the next steps. Your dough should double in size. This took me about 40 minutes, but when my kitchen is a little colder, it takes closer to 60 minutes.

Step Eight: Combine your sugars, cinnamon, and cardamom in a small bowl and set aside.

Step Nine: Melt your butter about 10 minutes before Step Eleven so it has a little time to cool.

Step Ten: Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.

Step Eleven: After your dough has doubled, roll it into a rectangle. I rolled mine out to the size of my cutting board, which is roughly 11x16 inches.

Step Twelve: Pour and spread your butter over the dough.

Step Thirteen: Sprinkle your sugar mixture evenly over the dough.

Step Fourteen: From the top of the dough, tightly roll the dough forward.

Step Fifteen: Cut the dough log into 8 or 9 rolls.

Step Sixteen: Slightly tuck the end of each roll under before arranging them in the pan. This helps keep all the buttery, sugary goodness in the roll.

Step Seventeen: After all your rolls are in the pan, gently cover them with a tea towel for a second rise. Ideally, you're giving them slightly longer to rise (45 minutes to an hour) than the 25 minutes I gave these because I was running out of time.

Step Eighteen: About 10 minutes before you uncover your rolls, preheat your oven to 400°F.

Step Nineteen: Bake the cinnamon rolls for 25-30 minutes. I baked mine for 25 minutes, and they were exactly how we like them.

Step Twenty: While the rolls are (slightly) cooling down, we'll start making our icing. Keep in mind that the hotter they are when you put the icing on, the more it will melt in.

Step Twenty-One: Combine the powdered sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and milk. Whisk or use a fork to combine.

Step Twenty-Two: Pour the icing over your cinnamon rolls to your heart's content.

Step Twenty-Three: Serve and enjoy!