These truly are the BEST gluten-free cinnamon rolls! They are soft, fluffy and so full of ooey, gooey deliciousness. I promise you will never find a better gluten-free flour based recipe out there!
You guys, my mom has done it; she has truly achieved the best 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.
What makes these gluten-free cinnamon rolls the BEST?
The secret lies in the technique of making these gluten-free cinnamon rolls so special. After many times of trial 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.
As with all good things, they take a bit more time and effort. I recommend making them for special occasions like Christmas morning and Easter (along with our other gluten-free Easter recipes). These are 110% worth the energy put into them.
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 like we do here as flours vary so much by brand.
How to make gluten-free cinnamon rolls
The day before, combine 1 lb butter, 2 C brown sugar and 4 T cinnamon in a stand mixer then shape into a block that can be grated and freeze it. If you can’t get the butter frozen the day before, just make sure to freeze it at least 2 hours before you make them.
I like to line a square tupperware with plastic wrap before putting the mixture in so it pops out easily and the plastic can be peeled right off (shown in photos 3 and 4).
When you are ready to make your gluten-free cinnamon rolls, mix the dough together in your stand mixer and then place it on a large white rice floured piece of plastic wrap (shown in photo 1).
It will be sticky, that’s how it is supposed to be. Otherwise, you will have overly dry dough once you bake it.
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.
Next, you will lightly white rice flour the dough and roll it out into a rectangle shape about 18×24 inches (shown in photo 2). Next comes that ooey, gooey filling!
Remove your butter from the freezer and take off the plastic wrap if you used it. Begin grating the block over the rolled out rectangle of dough (shown below).
It takes some elbow grease but you can doooo iiiit! Make sure the grated butter is evenly distributed on the dough. It will be a large pile.
What a genius my mom is to come up with this method right? I mean, how else can you possibly get THAT much gooey filling in without it melting right out? It is an extra step, but it’s the key and totally worth it.
Starting at one end, roll the dough into a cylinder (shown in photos 5 and 6). As you go, tuck the edges in with your hands so it stays even. This will keep the dough from hanging out on the ends and gives you a pretty, even gluten-free cinnamon roll.
Slice the dough into 10 equally sized pieces (shown in photos 7 and 8). Round them out into nice circles with your hands (shown in photo 9). Place 6 in a greased 9×13 pan and 4 in a 8×8 pan (shown in photo 10).
Let rise for 1 hour on bread proof or at 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Once they have risen for an hour, bake them at 350 degrees for 22-24 minutes.
While the gluten-free cinnamon rolls are baking, prepare the frosting. Simply whip the butter, softened cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar together until smooth and creamy.
Remove from rolls from the oven and frost what you plan to eat immediately. Save the remaining frosting for the next time you plan to eat a cinnamon roll so that you are able to warm it slightly first.
Pro tip: After frosting the gluten-free cinnamon rolls, drizzle with the leftover brown sugar and butter sauce from the baking pan. This is, of course optional, but let me tell you, they make these gluten-free cinnamon rolls extra incredible!
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 decadent peanut butter bars use multiple flours to get that perfect taste and texture.
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 piecrust.
How do I store gluten-free cinnamon rolls?
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 3 days.
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
- 1 C brown rice flour
- 1 C white sticky flour sweet rice flour
- 1 C tapioca starch
- 1 C potato starch
- 1/2 C arrowroot powder
- 3 tsp. xanthan gum
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 C sugar divided
- 1 tsp. gelatin
- 1 T yeast
- 1 T sugar
- 1 C warm milk or 1 C water and 3 T buttermilk powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 C coconut oil
- 1/2 C butter
- 2 T ground or milled chia
- 1/2 C warm water
- 1 lb butter
- 2 C brown sugar
- 4 T cinnamon
- Frosting:
- 2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, soft
- 1/2 C butter soft
- 2 C powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. 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 18x24 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 9x13 pan and 4 in a 8x8 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
Nancee Hoffmann says
I am wondering if you can substitute flax seed for the ground or milled chia? Will there be a noticeable difference in taste or consistency? Just hate when the cinnamon rolls I make fall flat the day after removing from the oven.
Chandice says
Totally get that…I would not recommend changing it. The chia is incredible for texture in these. They are so worth it! 🙂
MRD says
These were amazing! I am not gluten-free, but have many special people around me that are! I wanted to freeze these and give them to a friend as a birthday present. Have you figured out a way to do that and have them turn out well? Thanks!
Chandice says
Thank you so much for the comment. 🙂 Please feel free to hit that 5 stars so Google shares us with more folks. I usually par bake or just freeze them uncooked. When you pull them out, you can then finish baking them just like normal.
Cathleen says
Wow! I can’t believe these are gluten free! I am so excited to make them over the holidays, thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
Chandice says
You bet! I hope you love them as much as we do!
Liz says
These look delicious! A must try!
Jessica says
While I don’t follow a GF diet personally, I have a close friend that does. I’m going to pass this recipe along to her or maybe just surprise her with a prepared pan of them. I’m sure she will love them. They look truly fabulous! I’m excited to try as well.
Gwynn says
These cinnamon rolls will be a delicious addition to our holiday brunch menu this year!
Terry says
These sound like a dream come true! Any chance for the ingredients in metric? I’ve learned that with gluten free baking it’s best to weigh your ingredients for best results.
Chandice says
Absolutely, working on it now…
Sarita Shanley says
My husband was diagnosed with celiac 3 years ago. Since then it has been trial and error on baked goods (mostly errors!). One thing that he loved before his diagnosis was cinnamon rolls. I am very happy to say that he was practically in tears this morning when he tried these. He has really missed some things but my heart is warm knowing that he has cinnamon rolls again. Thank you for a great recipe. Absolutely delicious!
Chandice says
This just made my day! So glad your husband was pleased. Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
Katie says
Hi! I followed the recipe exactly, but my rolls didn’t rise at all within the hour on oven bread proof. Any ideas on what could have gone wrong or how I can fix?
Thank you!
Chandice says
I’ve never heard that. Did you make sure to proof your yeast before adding it to the dough? Maybe your yeast was no longer good.
Katie says
Hi!!! Yes, it proofed perfectly in the bowl. Brand new package of yeast. After about an hour and a half in the oven, I ended up putting boiling water in the oven with them and it worked after another hour. It’s been pretty cold, so I’m wondering if the air is too dry in our house??? It was strange, but it worked eventually! They were delicious.
Planning to make again for Christmas. Any advice on making ahead of time and then baking fresh Christmas morning?
Katie says
Hi!! Yeast was brand new and proofed well in the bowl. I think maybe our air was too cold/dry! I ended up adding boiling water to the oven and gave them another hour and they fluffed up pretty well! They ended up being delicious!
Planning to try again for Christmas morning – any advice on making them ahead of time and baking fresh morning of?
Breanna says
I have had celiac for half my life and have tried many different recipes. These are by far the best cinnamon rolls. Me and my mom make them at least once a month. We freeze and eat throughout the month.
Chandice says
Awww! You have NO idea how much this comment means to me!! My mom and I love making them together too. 🙂
Janet O. says
Another baked good that I made so often prior to my celiac diagnosis. I haven’t tried a gluten free recipe for these yet. My attempts with GF dinner roll recipes left me discouraged. I am going to make your crescent roll recipes first, and then I will be trying these cinnamon rolls! My celiac sister is going to be thrilled–and so am I!! 🙂
Chandice says
I am so glad to hear this! You will love them 🙂
Jaimee Johanning says
These are amazing! I’ve tried 3 or 4 GF cinnamon roll recipes and they all claimed to be the “BEST!” They were all good, but still left us a little disappointed. Today, we found a winner. My family declared them perfect and couldn’t think of a single improvement! They were soft and squishy and just delicious! I did not plan ahead enough so I wasn’t able to freeze the butter, so I ended up just melting the butter and mixing it with the cinnamon and sugar (I only used 2 sticks of butter-instead of 4) and spreading it on the dough, and they still turned out perfect. Thank you!
Chandice says
Hi Jaimee, I am so so happy to hear this! Thanks for taking the time to let us know. They are definitely our favorite too. 🙂 So glad it worked with less butter and not having to freeze. I will add that tip to the post. If you haven’t tried our crescent rolls yet, I highly recommend them!
Amanda LaRose says
These are absolutely incredible!!!!! Thank you! My husband, who is not gluten free, liked these more than my regular flour cinnamon rolls which are also amazing! I also sprinkled white rice flour over the top before rolling because the dough was so sticky.
Chandice says
Aw thanks Amanda, I absolutely love receiving messages like this! Have you tried our crescent rolls?
Amanda LaRose says
These are absolutely incredible!!!!! Thank you! My husband, who is not gluten free, liked these more than my regular flour cinnamon rolls which are also amazing! I also sprinkled white rice flour over the top before rolling because the dough was so sticky.
Erin says
I’ve made these twice now and they truly taste the closest to “real” cinnamon rolls of any GF recipe! Love how bready and delicious they turned out. Grating the butter is genius too!
Debra Robinson (Mary Probst’s sister) says
Just made these cinnamon rolls, for the second time, for my daughter-in-law! They are the best!!! So grateful to have this recipe! Thank you!
Chandice says
Oh this makes my heart so happy! We are so glad you love these, thank you for taking the time to leave this message. It made my day! 🙂
Tera says
Seriously amazing!!
Chandice says
I am so glad you guys like them!
Brooke Besendorfer says
They’re so delicious and soft!!
Chandice says
Thank you, I am glad you liked them! Yes, I definitely love how soft and buttery they are too! 🙂
Abbey says
I always struggle with getting the right texture in my gluten free baking, and the apple cider vinegar definitely helps! Thanks for all the detailed tips. Really great recipe!
Chandice says
I am so glad the detailed tips helped you. Once you have a really good gluten-free cinnamon roll, you can never go back, right? 🙂
Cindy G. says
These rolls were a lot of work to make but they are AMAZING! I made the recipe as directed using all of the different flours, etc. The only thing I did differently was made only half of the frosting. Next time, I will put more of the rice flour on the plastic wrap when I roll out the dough. It kind of stuck to the wrap but that was my fault, the recipe said to use a lot! So glad I found this recipe!
Chandice says
This just made my day! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this reply and rating Cindy. I always love hearing others experience with my favorite recipes. I hope it becomes a new family classic for you. 🙂 If you love this, you will also love our crescent rolls and buttermilk biscuits…