If you want an easy pumpkin cinnamon roll recipe, look no further. These don’t take long at all to prepare. The hardest part is waiting for the dough to rise. It’s worth it! I promise. Plus, these are much healthier than the ones you’ll see online. Why waste all that sugar and when you can have delicious rolls by letting the pumpkin shine?

Pumpkin pie and cinnamon rolls are my two favorite desserts. One day, I saw a picture of pumpkin cinnamon rolls on tv. They looked wonderful. They had to be amazing. I tried a few recipes over the years, but they were always so sickly sweet, I couldn’t even tolerate a bite. Most didn’t even have the taste of pumpkin, had way too much cinnamon to the point of bitterness and were often under-baked. I don’t understand why people think a gooey center of raw dough is palatable. I felt cheated.

After learning the basics behind bread making and how the amount of liquids can drastically take a bread from being sturdy like a whole wheat bread or light and airy like these dinner rolls, I decided to try to make my own version. This time I weighed out every ingredient and decided to go with a sticky dough. You’ll need a mixer for this one or experience in working with dough that sticks to everything.

If you have stuck around, you probably have begun to notice a pattern on the recipes I put up on this blog. I will often make variations of the same basic recipe.

When it comes to having OCD and baking, I find I often get stuck baking the same thing but different variations. On one hand, it helps me master a difficult cookie or develop wonderful flavor combinations. On the other hand, it gets to the point people around me eventually say “Make anything else, just not another granola bar or macaron, please! I’ve been eating them for 6 weeks straight already.” So sorry about that, friends.

On the plus side, you all will get the opportunity to see many variations of cakes, pies, cookies, and breads on this site as I continue baking. Soon, your family will also be saying “Make anything else, just not another cookie or cinnamon roll, please.”

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Super delicious, filled with pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger and all spice. They are also super easy to make. What else could a person want?

Print Recipe

Prep Time20 minutes minutes

Cook Time25 minutes minutes

Rest Time2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Total Time3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings12 rolls

Calories 233.5

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 2 ¼ cups (337.5g) flour
• ½ cup (120mL) milk
• ½ cup (120g) canned pumpkin
• 1 large (50g) egg
• 1 tbs (15mL) oil
• 2 tbs (25g) sugar
• 1 tsp (3.5g) yeast
• ½ tsp (2.5g) salt
• ½ tsp (1g) cinnamon
• ½ tsp (1g) ginger
• ½ tsp (1g) allspice

For the Filling

• ¼ cup (56g) brown sugar
• 2 tbs (28g) softened or melted butter
• 2 tsp (4g) cinnamon
• 1 tsp (3g) flour

For the Topping

• 1 cup (125g) powdered sugar
• 1 – 2 tbs (15-30mL) milk
• ½ tsp (2.5mL) vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Dough

• Heat milk on low until temperature is no higher than 100F (38C.) Remove from heat, add yeast and stir well.  Let sit 5 – 10 minutes until yeast is dissolved.
• In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, allspice, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Add pumpkin, oil, egg and milk mixture. Stir until a shaggy dough forms. Turn out onto a clean work surface and kneed until dough for 10 minutes or the dough is no longer sticking to your fingertips and stretches easily without tearing.
• Cover and let rest for 60 – 90 minutes or until double in size.
• Generously grease a 9×13 (23×33 cm) baking dish with butter or spray with a non-stick baking spray.
• Roll out the dough into a 9×12" (23×30 cm) rectangle.

For the Filling

• Spread the softened butter evenly on the dough.
• In a small bowl, stir together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle 1/2 the mixture on top of the buttered dough.
• Starting from from one of the longer sides, roll tightly into a log. Cut into 12 slices.
• Place the slices into the prepared pan, about 1" apart (2.5 cm.). Cover and allow to rest 60 minutes.
• While dough is rising, preheat oven to 350F (180C.)
• Bake 20 – 30 minutes or until rolls are golden brown and center reaches 190F (88C.)

For the Topping

• In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, one teaspoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
• Drizzle over the top of the cinnamon buns after they have cooled at least 10 minutes.

Notes

Temperature above 120F(49C) begins to damage yeast and after 138F(59C,) it will die.  If you get the liquid too hot (if it feels much warmer than your skin,) cool it several minutes before adding the yeast.  Failure to do so may prevent dough from rising.

An important note on dry yeast: Instant dry and active dry yeasts are not the same.  If using active dry yeast, you must activate the yeast according to the manufacturer’s instructions in order for the dough to rise properly.  You typically need to activate or “bloom” the yeast by adding it to warmed liquid for several minutes. 

Instant dry yeast can be added to the dry ingredients and typically does not need to be activated prior to use.  However, some brands of dry yeasts still require adding warm liquids, so be sure to read the label. Rapid, quick and fast acting dry yeasts will rise much faster than instant and active dry yeasts.  For best results, always read and follow the instructions provided on the packet as the rising time varies widely between manufacturers. 

Nutrition Facts

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Serving Size

 

1 roll

Amount per Serving

Calories

233.5

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

9.8

g

15

%

Saturated Fat

 

6

g

38

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

0.1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

0.3

g

Sodium

 

59.9

mg

3

%

Carbohydrates

 

33

g

11

%

Fiber

 

0.3

g

1

%

Protein

 

3.8

g

8

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

* Calories provided as a courtesy and not guaranteed.