Gluten Free Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

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This is the only gluten free vegan cinnamon rolls recipe you’ll ever need. These cinnamon rolls are PERFECT: pillowy-soft, fluffy and wonderfully squishy, you’d honestly never guess that they don’t contain any gluten, eggs or dairy. They’re also incredibly easy to make and the dough is a joy to work with. There’s also an overnight, make-ahead option, so you can prepare them the night before and have them for breakfast the next day!

Prep Time 45 mins

Cook/Bake Time 30 mins

Proof Time 1 hr

Total Time 2 hrs 15 mins

Servings 12 rolls

INGREDIENTS

Gluten free vegan enriched dough:

▢12 g (1 tbsp) active dried yeast (If using instant yeast, use 10g.)

▢75 g (¼ cup + 2 tbsp) caster/superfine or granulated sugar, divided

▢180 g (¾ cup) non-dairy milk, warm (You can use almond, rice, soy or oat milk (provided that you’re not sensitive to oats), but I don’t recommend using coconut milk.)

▢30 g (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) whole/rough psyllium husk (If using psyllium husk powder, use only 25g.)

▢360 g (1½ cups) warm water

▢315 g (2¾ cups) tapioca starch (You can use an equal weight of arrowroot starch, cornstarch or potato starch instead.)

▢270 g (2 cups) millet flour, plus extra for flouring the surface (You can use an equal weight of finely milled/ground brown rice flour instead, but your cinnamon rolls might be slightly less fluffy.)

▢50 g (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) sorghum flour (You can use an equal weight of light buckwheat flour, white teff flour or oat flour instead. Use the latter only if you’re not sensitive to oats.)

▢10 g (4 tsp) xanthan gum

▢10 g (2 tsp) salt

▢12 g (1 tbsp) baking powder

▢100 g (⅓ cup) vegan condensed milk (I used Nature’s Charm sweetened condensed coconut milk, but other vegan condensed milk alternatives will also work well.)

▢70 g (½ stick + 1 tbsp) vegan butter, melted (I used the Stork baking block, but other firm vegan butter blocks will also work well.)

Cinnamon-sugar filling:

▢70 g (½ stick + 1 tbsp) vegan butter, melted (I used the Stork baking block, but other firm vegan butter blocks will also work well.)

▢100 g (½ cup) caster/superfine or granulated sugar

▢1½ tbsp ground cinnamon

Simple vanilla icing:

▢180 g (1½ cups) powdered/icing sugar, sifted

▢30 g (2 tbsp) non-dairy milk (You can use almond, rice, soy or oat milk (provided that you’re not sensitive to oats), but I don’t recommend using coconut milk.)

▢1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

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INSTRUCTIONS

Making the gluten free vegan enriched dough:

• Activate the yeast: In a small bowl, mix together the yeast, 15g (about 1 tablespoon) sugar and warm non-dairy milk. Set aside for 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture starts frothing.Tip: If using instant yeast, you don’t need to activate it. Instead, just add it straight to the dry ingredients along with the sugar. Add the milk that would be used in activating the active dried yeast to the dry ingredients along with the psyllium gel, vegan condensed milk and melted vegan butter.
• Make the psyllium gel: In a separate bowl, mix together the psyllium husk and water. After about 30-45 seconds, a gel will form.
• For the following steps, I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. You can also make the dough by hand, but the mixer makes it much easier and results in a smoother dough.
• In the bowl of the stand mixer, whisk together the tapioca starch, millet flour, sorghum flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder and the remaining sugar.
• Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the vegan condensed milk, melted vegan butter, yeast mixture and psyllium gel.
• Knead the dough until smooth and all the ingredients are evenly incorporated, then knead for a further 5 minutes (if using a stand mixer) or 8-10 minutes (if kneading it by hand). Use a rubber spatula to occasionally scrape along the sides and bottom of the bowl to prevent any dry patches of unmixed flour.Tip: This extra kneading time will make the dough EXTRA smooth, which is the key to perfect gluten free vegan cinnamon rolls.
• The final dough will be soft and very slightly sticky to the touch, but if you give it a quick, gentle knead on a lightly floured surface, you’ll see that it’s very easy to work with. Just make sure that your work surface and your hands are floured as you handle it.Tip: If the dough feels too soft to handle, you can chill it in the fridge for about 1 hour – but in my experience, that’s not necessary with this specific dough.

Rolling out the dough & shaping the cinnamon rolls:

• Lightly brush a 9×13 inch (23x33cm) rectangular baking pan with some of the melted vegan butter.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into an approximately 12×18 inch (30x45cm) rectangle.
• Brush it generously with melted vegan butter. You will probably have some butter leftover – you can use that to brush the baked rolls once they come out of the oven (see below).
• Mix together the cinnamon and sugar, and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the rolled-out dough.
• Cut the rectangle widthways into twelve 1½ inch (3.8cm) wide strips, so that they’re 12 inches (30cm) long. I like to use a pizza cutter for this, but a sharp knife will also work well.
• Roll up each individual strip into a roll – this will give you the perfect swirl.
• Arrange the cinnamon rolls in the buttered baking pan, they should only just touch each other.

Proofing the cinnamon rolls:

• Proof the cinnamon rolls in a warm place for about 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes or until about doubled in volume. Lightly cover them with a sheet of plastic wrap (cling film) to prevent them from drying out during proofing. Tip: If your kitchen is on the cold side, you can proof them in a lukewarm oven (the ideal proofing temperature is around 79ºF/26ºC).

Baking the cinnamon rolls:

• While the rolls are proofing, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).Tip: Note that the oven temperature above refers to a conventional/non-fan oven. If you’re using a convection/fan oven, reduce this temperature by 25ºF (20ºC). This is a general rule of thumb that holds true for most recipes. I don’t really recommend using the fan oven setting for this recipe, so if possible, use a conventional/non-fan oven.
• Once the cinnamon rolls have doubled in volume, bake them in the pre-heated oven at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 30 minutes until light golden brown on top. This gives cinnamon rolls that are perfectly baked through but are also perfectly squishy and soft.
• Immediately out of the oven, brush the cinnamon rolls with a bit of extra melted vegan butter. This makes them extra rich and ensures that they have a perfectly soft exterior.
• Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool until warm before spreading the icing on top.

Simple vanilla icing:

• Combine all the icing ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together until smooth and no clumps remain.
• You can adjust the consistency of the icing if necessary. Add more powdered/icing sugar if you want to make it thicker, or more non-dairy milk if you want to make it runnier/looser.
• Pour or drizzle the icing evenly over the warm cinnamon rolls, and then spread it out with the back of a spoon.
• Serve and enjoy!

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