These gluten free cinnamon rolls create the softest, fluffiest cinnamon rolls that you would never know are gluten free. They are made from scratch and do take some time but they are worth every moment of effort.
The combination of multiple flours truly give these rolls that authentic texture you remember from the traditional treat. But we have a secret step to get even more of that ooey, gooey brown sugar cinnamon butter filling inside!
These are THE BEST cinnamon rolls, period! I have tried many many recipes from well known GF bakers and even my nearest GF bakery. Nothing compares to these! I even had other GF people try them when I made them and they agree! Thank you Chandice for this amazing recipe! - Laura
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Why this recipe is the best
- Unmatched texture: Me tested, retested and retested so many times with different combinations of gluten free flour and finally landed on this blend. These cinnamon rolls have the soft, fluffy texture that you would expect from a traditional cinnamon roll.
- Oh so perfect filling: Thanks to our special, tried and true technique, these rolls are packed with more cinnamon sugar filling than you ever thought possible. It takes and extra step but it is so worth it!
- Different versions: You're able to make this recipe vegan or dairy free without compromising on taste and texture. We've made them dairy free coo many times and they are always perfect. Same with our gluten free monkey bread.
- Perfected overtime: Over the years this recipe has been tested and perfected by my family so you know it's the best of the best! We've heard time and again from people that this issue their go to gluten free cinnamon roll recipe.
Recipe Ingredients
- Flours: You will need a blend of brown rice flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, and arrowroot powder. This plus the gelatin, xanthan gum and baking powder are what give these cinnamon rolls their perfect texture.
- Butter: Unsalted or salted butter will work. Ii love melting the coconut oil just gently but not until it is too melted. But both are crucial in the dough for the perfect moisture needed for the dough. The butter is perfect when mixed with the cinnamon and brown sugar as the filling to give the perfect end result.
- Frosting ingredients: Cream cheese, sugar, butter, and vanilla. This is a simple classic cream cheese frosting recipe but you could do a buttercream if you prefer or just leave them without frosting. They are so gooey, gooey that the frosting isn't always necessary.
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls
Step 1: Make sure your butter is soft but not melted and that your brown sugar isn't dried out to keep this as moist as possible.
Step 2: Always make sure your yeast is fresh or your won't get the rise you are looking for.
Step 3: Add wet ingredients to dry and get them thoroughly covered to moisten it entirely. That is especially important for gluten free.
Step 4: Let the dough moisten by covering and letting it rise and meld together.
Step 5: Add wet ingredients to dry and get them thoroughly covered to moisten it entirely. That is especially important for gluten free as most gluten free baked goods require extra moisture.
Step 5: Make sure to liberally flour (with brown rice) the surface before rolling into a vertical log and slicing.
Step 6: Grating this brown sugar, butter and cinnamon mixture frozen onto the rolled out dough is the SECRET STEP to getting even more gooey filling into the cinnamon rolls.
Step 6: Be careful to really mix the frosting to avoid clumps of powder sugar. You can even sift it first if you prefer.
Chandice's expert cinnamon roll 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. Make sure to grease your hands when handling the dough. I like to spray them with non-stick spray.
- Rice flour for surfaces - When flouring the counter and rolling pin, rice flour works best. Be liberal with it so things don't stick.
- 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. Ii find that this makes it easier to reheat the roll (30 seconds is perfect) when you want another one for breakfast the next day.
- Extra filling -After frosting, drizzle with the leftover brown sugar and butter sauce from the baking pan for extra flavor. This is our favorite thing to do!
- Don't overfill the pan - Don't try to place all the cinnamon rolls in one pan. Place 6 in a greased 9x13 pan and 4 in an 8x8 pan for best results (Shown below). This is for sure the way to go. You can also make mini cinnamon rolls if you prefer.
More gluten free goodies
It's a struggle to find gluten free recipes that don't sacrifice texture and flavor. But, recipes like these cinnamon rolls, my fluffy gluten free crescent rolls, gluten free sourdough bread, and gluten free orange rolls are 100% gluten free and have that authentic taste!
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Homemade, Fluffy 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
- ½ 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
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup butter
- 2 tablespoons ground or milled chia
- ½ cup warm water
Filling
- 1 pound butter
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 8 oz packages cream cheese soft
- ½ 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 ½ 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
Laura says
These are THE BEST cinnamon rolls, period! I have tried many many recipes from well known GF bakers and even my nearest GF bakery. Nothing compares to these! I even had other GF people try them when I made them and they agree! Thank you Chandice for this amazing recipe!
*For those that are dairy free (Like i am), I used Sweetened Almond Milk for Yeast Mixture, Miyokos Butter for filling and Violife Cream Cheese for the frosting. Incredible ya'll! Just simply incredible!
Chandice says
Awww Laura, this just made my whole day! Thank you for taking the time to write such a thorough and thoughtful review. I love that you are helping others with the dairy free as you have tried that too! If you love these, you will also love the crescent rolls and orange knots. Can't wait for you to try them!
DeLaine says
What could I substitute for th arrowroot flour?
Chandice says
Hi DeLaine, you can just use more tapioca starch or use corn starch. Enjoy!
Jeannette says
I have been GF for over 20 years and these are the BEST cinnamon rolls I have ever had. I made them for Christmas morning and no one had any idea they were GF, in fact they even asked for seconds!
Chandice says
What a HUGE compliment! Thank you so much Jeannette, I am so glad that they were a part of your Christmas tradition! I highly recommend our buttermilk biscuits and crescent rolls as well...
Cherissa says
Can the dough be made up the day before and put in the fridge or freezer before baking?
Chandice says
Absolutely!
Jade says
Do you think it would be okay to leave out the xantham gum?
Chandice says
It really is needed...
Carol Taylor says
Your recipes look good but I would very much appreciate dry ingredients listed by weight, much more precise. I’ve had varied success with blends using measuring cups even though I’m careful there is variation. Thank you.
Chandice says
Hi Carol, it is definitely something we are working on. Thank you for letting me know this would be helpful for you.
Tina says
I agree, GF can be so finicky when you don't use gram measurements. If that changes, I hope the creator will comment again here so we can come back and make them!
mani says
hi would this work if refrigerate them the night before and leave out the next day to rise before baking? thank you
Chandice says
Absolutely!!
Marisa says
Hi, Candace! Is there anything that can be substituted for the rice flour? My daughter is allergic to rice of all things! She also has an intolerance to gluten and this is why I really wanted to try making these for her when she flies out here next week.
Chandice says
Hi Marisa, thanks for being here! So you could try sorghum, teff or quinoa flour but they will not be quite the same. I honestly don't know how they will turn out but I'd say sorghum would be your best best. Let me know how it goes please...
Tara says
Please tell me the nutrition info is a typo? 😂 800 cals 152 carbs for ONE roll? 🤨
Chandice says
That is with a generous amount of cream cheese frosting but no, it is correct. The same 800+ calories as a Cinnamon cinnamon roll 😉 They are GOOOOD! Hahah....
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!
AW says
These look good! Would love to try them! Do you have a substitute for the Chia? Possibly Psyllium Husk Powder?!
Chandice says
Hi Alisha, I have only done them with the super fine ground chia but I would also love to know if the psyllium husk would work... Let me know if you try it!