Easy Cinnamon Rolls from Frozen Bread Dough

Make easy homemade cinnamon rolls with frozen bread dough, cinnamon sugar, butter, and cream cheese frosting. A simple shortcut for breakfast!

If you love homemade cinnamon rolls but don't necessarily love making yeast dough from scratch, this recipe is for you. A simple loaf of frozen bread dough does most of the hard work, leaving you with the fun part: butter, cinnamon sugar, rolling, baking, and frosting!

I've recently discovered just how versatile frozen bread dough can be. My experiments started with my Copycat Dollywood Cinnamon Bread, and before long I was turning those little frozen loaves into all sorts of sweet and savory breads.

Naturally, cinnamon rolls had to be next.

Easy Cinnamon Rolls Without Making Dough from Scratch

The beauty of this recipe is the shortcut. There's no yeast to proof, no mixer required, and no wondering whether you've kneaded the dough long enough.

Simply thaw a loaf of frozen bread dough, roll it out, add a buttery cinnamon-sugar filling, roll it up, slice it, and let the individual rolls rise before baking.

One loaf of frozen bread dough made about 14 cinnamon rolls for me, which is a surprisingly generous batch considering how small that frozen loaf looks when it comes out of the package.

Ingredients

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here's a quick glance at what you will need. These are simple ingredients you might already have in your pantry or refrigerator.

For the Cinnamon Rolls

• 1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• ⅓ cup granulated or brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Milk or heavy cream, as needed

How to Make Cinnamon Rolls with Frozen Bread Dough

Start by thawing your frozen bread dough according to the package directions. You want the dough completely thawed and soft enough to roll. Lightly flour your work surface and place the thawed dough on it.

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle. Don't worry about achieving exact dimensions. You're simply trying to create enough surface area for the cinnamon-sugar filling.

Spread the softened butter evenly over the dough.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, then sprinkle the mixture evenly over the butter.

Starting along one long edge, roll the dough into a log.

Use a sharp knife or unflavored dental floss to cut the log into approximately 12–14 rolls.

Place the rolls into a generously greased baking dish, leaving a little space between them for expansion.

Cover the dish with plastic wrap that's been lightly sprayed on the underside with nonstick cooking spray.

Allow the rolls to rise until they're noticeably puffy and beginning to fill the spaces between them.

Note: Mine took about an hour to rise but this will vary depending on how "risen" the dough was before rolling and cutting.

Bake the Cinnamon Rolls

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Bake the risen cinnamon rolls for approximately 20–25 minutes, or until lightly golden and baked through. Mine needed the full 25 minutes.

Allow the rolls to cool slightly while you prepare the frosting.

Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat the softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until well combined.

Add milk or heavy cream a teaspoon at a time until the frosting reaches the consistency you prefer. Spread the frosting generously over the warm cinnamon rolls.

What to Expect from These Cinnamon Rolls

These aren't enormous bakery-style cinnamon rolls. They're smaller, soft and fluffy, with plenty of buttery cinnamon flavor running through the spirals.

And I actually think their size is one of the best things about them.

One frozen loaf gave me roughly 14 rolls, which means a single loaf could easily provide breakfast for a family. Serve them with fresh fruit, eggs, bacon, or sausage for a full breakfast—or just grab a warm cinnamon roll and a cup of coffee and call it good.

Variations

Once you've got the basic technique down, there are plenty of ways to change these up.

Try adding chopped pecans to the cinnamon filling, raisins if your family enjoys them, or a little maple extract to the cream cheese frosting.

You could also use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar for a deeper caramel flavor.

And now that I've discovered what frozen bread dough can do, I've got plenty more experiments planned!

How to Store Cinnamon Rolls

Because these cinnamon rolls are topped with cream cheese frosting, store leftovers covered in the refrigerator. Warm an individual roll briefly in the microwave before serving to bring back that lovely soft texture. They are especially good warm, when the frosting gets just a little melty.

More Frozen Bread Dough Recipes

If you've got more frozen bread dough in your freezer, don't stop here!

• Copycat Dollywood Cinnamon Bread
• Caramel Apple Pull-Apart Bread
• Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread (coming soon)
• Everything Bagel Pull-Apart Bread (coming soon)
• Ham, Cheddar & Ranch Breakfast Pull-Apart Bread (coming soon)

Thanks for Stopping By

If you make these delicious cinnamon rolls with frozen bread dough, I hope you'll stop back by and let me know how they turned out. And if you love easy shortcut baking recipes, don't forget to pin this one so you can find it again!

About the Baker

I'm Janice, the baker and recipe developer behind Out of the Box Baking. I love taking simple ingredients and convenient shortcuts and turning them into desserts and baked goods that taste homemade. Frozen bread dough has become one of my newest favorite shortcuts—and I'm having entirely too much fun discovering what I can make with it!