Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

We LOVE this vegan cinnamon roll recipe in the pumpkin season. It will become your favorite too for several reasons even if you are not following a vegan diet.

Jump to:

• Why We Like This Recipe
• About The Ingredients
• Expert Tips
• How To Make
• How To Store
• Variations
• FAQs
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Why We Like This Recipe

• These are loaded with fall flavors like pumpkin and spices.
• The filling makes the difference. The combination of brown sugar, vegan butter, pumpkin pie spice and pecans takes these rolls to a whole new level.
• It is a foolproof recipe. Even novice bakers can make it following the steps in this recipe.
• These are eggless cinnamon rolls that are completely vegan. We use plant-based butter in the dough, filling and frosting.
• These pumpkin cinnamon rolls are vegan as a bonus. You will love them even you are not vegan.
• You can easily substitute any ingredient. This is already a dairy free pumpkin roll recipe, but you can use regular milk as well. You can also substitute flour, yeast, and vegan butter for easier-to-find ingredients.
• It is a very versatile recipe. You can even make vegan pumpkin dinner rolls using the same dough, leaving out the filling and frosting and following the steps in our soft dinner rolls recipe.

About The Ingredients

• Flour: We use all-purpose flour for these homemade cinnamon rolls. You can also use bread flour if you'd like but stay away from self rising flours or coarse flours.
• Yeast: If you don’t have instant yeast, you can also use 4 times the amount of fresh yeast (36 grams). Fresh yeast can be melted in slightly warmed milk before adding it to the recipe.
• Sugar and salt: These are essential ingredients for the yeast to be activated. Do not remove or change their quantities. You can use brown sugar instead of white sugar.
• Pumpkin pie spice: You can use a store-bought pie spice, or make your very own. We like making our own mixes so that you can adjust them to the exact quantities you need. To make your own pumpkin spice mix, whisk together cinnamon, powdered ginger and nutmeg.
• Pumpkin puree: Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. You can have a look at our informative post on making your own all-natural pumpkin puree at home. The puree should be completely smooth and not watery.
• Almond milk: You can use any non-dairy milk in this vegan cinnamon roll recipe with pumpkin. We also like soy or coconut milk.
• Vegan butter: Make sure to use unsalted vegan butter because the recipe already contains salt. Is it new to you? For more information, read more about vegan butter on Healthline.

The filling consists of brown sugar (coconut sugar is a good substitute), pumpkin spice, vegan butter and chopped pecans (or walnuts). If you don't want nuts in your cinnamon rolls, just leave them out.

As for the frosting ingredients, we use vegan butter, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract and powdered sugar. If you want you can substitute maple syrup for powdered sugar.

Expert Tips

• Make sure the ingredients are at room temperature. This is a rule for all recipes with yeast. If they are fridge-cold, yeast won't work properly and your dough won't rise well.
• Let your dough rest to rise at a warm place. You can leave it on the counter if the weather is warm enough. Alternatively, preheat the oven to 350°F. Switch the oven off and place the dough near the top with the door slightly opened.
• You have to grease your bowl before putting the dough inside. Otherwise, the dough will stick and your perfect pumpkin sweet rolls will be misshapen.
• For the second rise (after the rolls have been sliced), cover the rolls with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and place them next to the oven while it is preheating.
• To easily slice the rolls, use a sharp dough scraper, sharp thin-bladed knife, or a piece of thin twine or even fish line.
• If somehow your rolls look too loose after you slice them, you can fix them with your hands by gently squeezing and sticking the edges before placing them in the baking dish.
• Spread the frosting on the rolls when they are still warm so that it melts a bit.
• To reheat these pumpkin cinnamon buns, place them inside a preheated oven for 5 minutes or inside the microwave on high for 10 seconds. 
• To make these rolls ahead of time, keep them covered inside the fridge overnight after the second rise. Once ready to bake, place them on the stove while the oven is preheating so they come to room temperature. Bake them as usual. Make the frosting on that day.

How To Make

Despite taking some time to make, this is still a very easy cinnamon pumpkin roll recipe. It is completely vegan and nearly every ingredient can be substituted to meet your needs. And, you can even make a ton of different products using this one dough! Let's learn the steps now.

Make the dough: Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisk well. Then add in pumpkin puree, warm milk and softened butter. Mix until they come together. Knead the dough roughly in the bowl for 5 minutes or until it’s smooth and non-sticky.

Grease the bottom and the edges of the bowl with some oil and put the dough sit inside. Cover with some plastic wrap and let the dough rise for at least 1 hour or until it doubles in size.

Make the filling. While the dough is resting, combine dark brown sugar, butter and pumpkin pie spice. Add in chopped pecans and set the paste aside until needed.

Assemble the pumpkin spice rolls. After the first rise, punch down the dough and transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin and roll the dough into a large rectangle about 5 to 10mm thick. You can sprinkle extra flour on the dough when it gets sticky as you are rolling it out.

Evenly spread the filling with a spoon over the surface, leaving space on the edges. Optionally, you can sprinkle over extra brown sugar and chopped pecans or walnuts.

Tightly roll the dough lengthwise into a log. Use a sharp knife to cut the log into 10-12 rolls.

Arrange the rolls on a lined baking pan, cover them with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for about 30 minutes.

Bake and serve: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Bake the rolls inside the oven for 20 minutes or until they are lightly golden brown. Allow them to cool for 15-20 minutes.

Make the frosting. Cream the vegan butter using an electric mixer until it is light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, pumpkin spice, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

Spread the frosting on top when the rolls are still warm. Serve while they’re still warm. Alternatively, you can make a vegan cream cheese frosting if you want.

How To Store

These rolls are best served on the day you baked them while they’re still warm.

You can store them inside airtight containers at room temperature for one day, or inside the fridge for between 2-3 days. When you are ready to serve, reheat in the oven first and then serve.

To freeze these vegan cinnamon rolls with pumpkin, allow them to cool completely. Do not add the icing on top if you know you will be freezing them. Wrap the rolls in a baking pan and place them inside freezer-safe bags or an airtight container. Defrost them inside the refrigerator or at room temperature before reheating them.

Variations

• To make no yeast pumpkin cinnamon rolls, use one tablespoon baking powder instead of the instant dry yeast. You will also need to add ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar to the wet ingredients (this helps activate the baking powder).
• To make these vegan cinnamon rolls plain, leave out the pumpkin puree and add 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk instead of ⅓ cup. Also, use cinnamon in the filling instead of pumpkin spice.
• To make pumpkin protein cinnamon rolls, add some protein powder. You can add vanilla protein powder in the dry ingredients of the dough and follow the rest of the recipe as it is. Make sure the powder is vegan if you still want vegan pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls.

FAQs

As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!

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