Cinnamon Roll Recipe (Overnight)

Love the thought of homemade cinnamon rolls but dread the early mornings to make them happen? Then this Easy Overnight Cinnamon Rolls is for YOU! And it uses two tricks that take them from basic to mindblowing!

We Love This Overnight Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Fill your home with the cozy smell of freshly made cinnamon rolls without sacrificing sleep or causing a kitchen mess first thing in the morning! Don’t worry; this isn’t too good to be true. This recipe for Easy Overnight Cinnamon Rolls delivers ALL of that AND more!

These Overnight Cinnamon Rolls allow you to do the work the day (or night!) before so all you have to do is slide them into the oven and bake in the morning! This way you can skip spending time in the kitchen and soak in a slow morning with your family!

Start a new Christmas Tradition by making these Overnight Cinnamon Rolls on Christmas Eve to enjoy Christmas morning!

They’re also a must-have delicious choice year-round, especially for slow weekends at home or to even enjoy as dessert!

When creating this recipe, I didn’t just want a convenient overnight recipe, I also wanted the cinnamon rolls to be the softest EVER and even a bit gooey!

Therefore, I made them using THREE secret methods that create the softest, fluffiest cinnamon rolls to make them just like your favorite bakery or even Cinnabon Style, for that matter! Keep scrolling, and I promise I’ll spill them shortly!

Make Ahead Cinnamon Rolls Ingredients

• whole milk
• water
• bread flour
• powdered milk
• granulated sugar
• instant yeast
• salt
• large eggs
• additional large egg yolk
• salted butter
• vegetable or canola oil
• dark brown sugar
• corn starch
• ground cinnamon
• heavy cream
• powdered sugar
• vanilla bean paste

Secret #1

This overnight cinnamon roll recipe is not only the most convenient recipe it also yields the softest cinnamon rolls EVER! This is because the dough is made with tangzhong which is a paste-like mixture that’s created by cooking bread flour with whole milk and water on the stovetop.

Once the tangzhong is incorporated into the dough it locks moisture into the dough which then turns to steam during baking. This then delivers fluffy, light cinnamon rolls that are unforgettably delicious, even days later!

Once the fluffy dough is ready it’s covered in a sweet, cozy cinnamon sugar mixture, rolled up, and baked to pillowy perfection!

Secret #2

Oh yes, we’re bringing in Taste of Lizzy T’s famous heavy cream hack that everyone uses to make TikTok Cinnamon Rolls – I promise these homemade ones are WAY better!

The cream gets poured over right after shaping the rolls and placing them in the pan, then absorbs into the dough as it rises and bakes for an extra gooey bottom, just like Cinnabon!

Secret #3

To finish them off, they’re covered with a homemade 4-ingredient vanilla icing that doesn’t include cream cheese – although you could if you wanted to.

The icing is made with heavy cream instead of traditional milk to make it extra rich and thick, and the addition of vanilla bean paste just takes the flavor over the edge!

While Cinnamon Rolls can be time-consuming (hey, rise time) and maybe even a bit daunting to make, I promise this recipe is pretty simple and you can find a step-by-step instruction and photo guide (and video, too) with FAQs and Tips and Tricks below the recipe card!

How To Make Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

1. Prepare the tangzhong by whisk whole milk, water, and bread flour together in a small saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Cook the mixture until it thickens and becomes gelatinous, and then remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.
2. Combine the bread flour, powdered milk, granulated sugar, instant yeast, and salt together in a large bowl or stand mixer that’s fitted with a dough hook attachment.
3. Mix in the whole milk, large eggs, and additional large egg yolk.
4. Add in the melted salted butter and the prepped tangzhong. Mix the dough until it’s thoroughly combined and resembles sticky dough.
5. Cover the bowl of dough and allow it to rest.
6. Once the dough has rested, knead it at medium-high speed until it becomes smooth and elastic. After kneading the dough, add vegetable oil to a large, clean bowl and turn the dough out into it.
7. Rotate the dough in the bowl so that it becomes oiled on all sides. Afterward, cover the bowl with cling wrap and allow it to rise somewhere warm in your home until the dough doubles in size.
8. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down in the center and then transfer it to a lightly floured surface.
9. Step 8: First, shape the dough into a rectangular shape using your hands and then use a rolling pin to roll it out into a rectangle.
10. Step 9: Brush partially melted butter all over the surface of the rolled-out rectangle dough.
11. Step 10: Stir together dark brown sugar, corn starch, and ground cinnamon in a medium bowl until the filling mixture is thoroughly combined.
12. Step 11: Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar filling mixture over the buttered dough.
13. Step 12: Use a rolling pin to roll over the filling, pressing the sugar into the dough.
14. Step 13: Cut the dough into a dozen strips with cuts starting from the shorter end of the dough. Then, roll up each strip of dough into a pinwheel and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
15. Step 14: Pour the heavy cream over the top of the cinnamon rolls. Next, cover the rolls with plastic wrap and transfer the covered pan of rolls into the refrigerator for a second slow rise.
16. Step 15: Bake the overnight cinnamon rolls in a preheated oven on the lowest rack of the oven until they become golden brown. Then, transfer the pan of homemade cinnamon rolls to a wire rack to cool.
17. Step 16: Prepare the icing as the cinnamon rolls cool by first melting salted butter in a medium bowl in the microwave. Then, whisk powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla bean paste into the melted butter. Finally, use a rubber spatula or spoon to spread the icing over the top of the warm rolls!

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls Recipe Variations

• Christmas Morning Variation – Add some holiday flavor to these overnight cinnamon rolls by using eggnog instead of heavy cream.
• Extra Gooey – Double the icing recipe to enjoy extra gooey cinnamon rolls that will have you licking your fingers!
• Less Gooey – For a less gooey treat you can omit the cream altogether.
• Cream Cheese Frosting – Top these overnight cinnamon rolls with your favorite cream cheese frosting instead of icing!

How To Serve This Overnight Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Serve these cinnamon rolls up smothered with vanilla icing while they’re still warm! Pair it with a tall ice-cold glass of milk or your favorite up of coffee or tea.

Enjoy overnight cinnamon rolls on and around the holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas! They’re also a great weekend treat that you can just pop in the oven upon waking up.

Treat friends and family to a batch at brunch or bring them into work for co-workers to devour!

How To Store Make Ahead Cinnamon Rolls

Place any leftover homemade cinnamon rolls into an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 3 days. Since this overnight cinnamon roll recipe is made with tangzhong you’ll be able to enjoy their soft, fluffy for the entire three days!

How To Freeze Make Ahead Cinnamon Rolls

These Cinnamon Rolls can be frozen after rolling and placing in the pan BEFORE the second rise and then taken out of the freezer and allowed to thaw at room temperature and rise as indicated in the recipe.

You can also freeze fully baked cinnamon rolls (unfrosted) and thaw at room temperature.

Do NOT freeze between the second rise and baking.

More Cinnamon Roll Recipes:

• Cinnamon Roll Shortbread Bars – Tasty cinnamon roll flavor collides with shortbread!
• Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls – Finished off with a thick layer of sweet, cream cheese icing!
• Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls – An elevated breakfast treat for chocolate lovers!
• Easy Cinnamon Rolls – Made with NO yeast, NO rise time, and ready in under an hour!
• Cinnamon Roll Casserole – An easy breakfast casserole made with canned cinnamon rolls!