These truly are the BEST gluten free cinnamon rolls! They are soft, fluffy and so full of ooey, gooey deliciousness.
This is actually one of my favorite gluten-free recipes because they are so close to traditional cinnamon rolls that nobody will believe they are gluten-free. I promise you will never find a better gluten-free flour based recipe out there! Well, maybe you will in our gluten free crescent rolls…
You guys, my mom, has done it; she has truly achieved the best homemade gluten-free cinnamon rolls ever! While it’s hard to believe you could get a big, fluffy cinnamon roll like this gluten-free, it’s now possible.
The secret lies in the technique of making these gluten-free cinnamon rolls so special. After many times of trials and error, we found that you just can’t get enough filling inside the rolls unless you first freeze the brown sugar and butter into a block.
It’s the same tried and true techniques that go into the BEST gluten-free crescent rolls and gluten-free sourdough crescent rolls you will ever have as well. They are so flaky and delicious! There is a bunch of rich, creamy butter grated onto the dough before rolling.
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What makes these cinnamon rolls the best?
- Made with a special blend of gluten free flour, you seriously cannot tell that they’re gluten free.
- It’s a recipe that’s been in my family for years so it’s safe to say that it’s perfected!
- They’re packed with more than enough ooey gooey filling that will make your taste buds dance.
- You can make them dairy free and/or vegan.
- They keep well and can also be frozen.
- They have just the right amount of sweetness for a cinnamon roll but if you love sweet, our honey gluten free cornbread is amazing as well.
Can I make them with gluten-free all-purpose flour?
I am going to put this in all caps so there is no misunderstanding…
IF YOU WANT THIS TRUE CINNAMON ROLL RESULT, YOU MUST NOT EXCHANGE OUT THE INGREDIENTS IN THE RECIPE FOR A GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR BLEND.
These measurements have been tested over and over (and over and over and over again) to get the cinnamon rolls just perfect.
With that said, they do work with high-quality gluten-free all-purpose flour, it is not quite the same as blending as we do here as flours vary so much by brand.
How to make gluten-free cinnamon rolls
Step 1: Prepare
The day before, combine 1 lb slightly melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Shape it into a block, then freeze it.
Step 2: Make the dough
When you are ready to make your gluten-free cinnamon rolls, mix wet ingredients together in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Slowly add the dry ingredients making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Step 3: Flatten it out
Place plastic wrap on the counter in one large rectangle. Then add some flour to it and place the dough on top. Sprinkle with additional flour and roll it out into a rectangular shape.
Step 4: Add the filling
Remove the frozen butter/sugar block from the freezer. Evenly grate the mixture over the dough.
Step 5: Roll it up
Starting at one end, roll the dough into a cylinder. As you go, tuck the edges in with your hands so it stays even. Slice the dough into ten equally sized pieces and make them into nice circles.
Step 6: Bake
Place the cinnamon rolls in a greased pan and let them rise for one hour in a very warm place. Bake for 22-24 minutes or until golden brown.
Pro Tip: Spray your hands with non-stick cooking spray before removing the dough from the stand mixer. This will help keep your hands from sticking to the dough.
Expert Tips
- Sticky dough – The dough will be sticky; that’s how it is supposed to be. Otherwise, you will have overly dry dough once it’s baked.
- Soften butter – Learn how to soften butter quickly for this step.
- Rice flour for surfaces – When flouring the counter and rolling pin, rice flour works best.
- Save frosting – Only frost what you plan to eat immediately. Save the remaining frosting for the next time you plan to eat a cinnamon roll.
- Extra filling -After frosting, drizzle with the leftover brown sugar and butter sauce from the baking pan for extra flavor!
- Don’t overfill the pan – Don’t try to place all the cinnamon rolls in one pan. Place 6 in a greased 9×13 pan and 4 in an 8×8 pan for best results (Shown below).
What brand of individual gluten-free flours do you recommend?
I personally like Bob’s Red Mill sweet white rice, brown rice, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, and arrowroot powder. They come in smaller, more budget-friendly priced bags. They are also readily available at most grocery stores.
I also like Anthony’s brand of those same products on Amazon. He also has the potato starch that I use. Remember NOT to purchase potato flour, it is much heavier. You definitely want potato starch.
I recommend buying small bags of each individual flour until you know how much you will use in general gluten-free baking. Then you can purchase the flours you use more often in bulk.
Get all the flours and baking items I love HERE.
Many of our best gluten-free baking recipes, including these peanut butter oatmeal bars use multiple flours to get that perfect taste and texture. But mixes work too like in our school breakfast pizza.
As you all know my mom (Tana Besendorfer) is an incredibly talented baker. I can’t say enough about how talented my she is! Once you make these just once, you will know exactly what I mean.
In our cookbook, Gluten-Free on a Budget, she created 70% of the recipes. This includes her famous flaky pie crust that can be rolled out and sliced into a lattice pie crust.
Can you make them dairy-free?
Yes, these can be made dairy free with vegan butter, full-fat coconut non-dairy milk, and vegan cream cheese. We’ve done it before, and they are fantastic!
For best results, use the full-fat coconut milk as it helps the recipe come together the same.
Storage
Storing – These gluten-free cinnamon rolls are fantastic right out of the oven, nice and warm, but they are also good at room temperature the next day. Once they have cooled, you can store them in an airtight container. They are good for up to 5 days at room temperature on the counter but are best within the first three days.
Freezing – These freeze well in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To unthaw, let them sit at room temperature in the airtight container. When you are ready to eat them, warm them in the microwave for 45 seconds, then spread cream cheese frosting on thick.
What other gluten-free goodies do you recommend I make next?
These Gluten-Free Raspberry Toaster Pastries are also incredible! Our big, Gluten-Free Buttermilk Biscuits have pockets of soft butter throughout and they are always a hit on our dinner table.
My husband always asks for these Gluten-Free Belgian Waffles, and he isn’t gluten-free, so I would say they are really good. They go great with my friend Abbey of The Butter Half’s baked frittata.
If you want another incredible baked good recipe, I highly suggest this cinnamon roll cake from my friend Chrystal at Gluten-Free Palate. My friend Michelle or My Gluten-Free Kitchen also has a great pull apart cinnamon rolls recipe also.
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The BEST Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1 cup white sticky flour sweet rice flour
- 1 cup tapioca flour or starch (they are the same thing)
- 1 cup potato starch
- 1/2 cup arrowroot powder
- 3 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon gelatin
Yeast Mixture
- 1 tablespoon rapid rise active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup warm milk or 1 C water and 3 T buttermilk powder
Wet Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 tablespoons ground or milled chia
- 1/2 cup warm water
Filling
- 1 pound butter
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 8 oz packages cream cheese soft
- 1/2 cup butter soft
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free vanilla
Instructions
- The day before combine 1 lb butter, 2 C brown sugar and 4 T cinnamon well then shape into a block that can be frozen and grated then freeze it (if you cant do the day before, freeze for at least two hours)
- Place 2 T milled chia and 1/2 C warm water in a cup, let soak 2 minutes
- Meanwhile, dissolve yeast and 1 T sugar in warm milk, let sit to proof
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine all flours, starches, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, sugar and gelatin
- In another bowl, mix the soaked milled chia and yeast mixture together with eggs, coconut oil, butter and apple cider vinegar then slowly add that mixture to the flour mixture in stand and combine until well blended
- Roll the dough out to a rectangle shape about 18×24 inches on plastic wrap that is heavily sprinkled with white rice flour and grate the frozen butter brown sugar mixture onto the dough evenly, it will be a large pile
- Starting at one end, roll the dough into a cylinder and as you go, tuck the edges in with your hands so it stays even (this will keep from dough hanging out on the ends and gives you an even roll)
- Slice into 10 equally sized pieces and round them out into nice circles with your hands
- Place 6 in a greased 9×13 pan and 4 in a 8×8 pan and let rise for 1 hour on bread proof or 100 degrees
- Once risen, bake at 350 degrees for 22-24 minutes
- Meanwhile, prepare the frosting by whipping the butter, softened cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar together until smooth and creamy
- Remove from oven and frost what you plan to eat immediately
Marita Malo says
If I use King Arthur gluten free flour how much do I put and do I put gelatin too? Thanks
Chandice says
Hi Marita, use it in place of the Ingredients
▢ 1 cup brown rice flour
▢ 1 cup white sticky flour sweet rice flour
▢ 1 cup tapioca flour or starch (they are the same thing)
▢ 1 cup potato starch
▢ 1/2 cup arrowroot powder
and then leave out the,
▢ 3 teaspoon xanthan gum
and the gelatin but keep the salt, baking powder and sugar
We’ve made them this way and love them! Enjoy! 🙂
Marita Malo says
Okay thank you! I’ll put 4 1/2 cups flour.
I appreciate your recipes. I’m so excited to try these!
Heather says
Hi! So excited to try these! Is the butter and coconut oil melted or room temperature? Thanks!
Chandice says
Room temperature 🙂 Enjoy!