Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls {1 Hour}

Published April 8, 2014. Updated March 9, 2020

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It’s official, I am pretty sure I hate taking pictures of cinnamon rolls more than anything. They just aren’t very photogenic for me… but on the other hand I like to eat them almost more than anything :).

Since the gluten-free diet I’ve been on will soon be over, I decided I better get another one of  the baking basics posted in a gluten-free version (I also have gluten-free peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, banana muffins, and flourless chocolate cookies posted and a number of other naturally gluten-free baked goods like macaroons and macarons).

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls | Cooking Classy

While I have many different gluten-free flours on hand I’m starting to think the white rice, potato starch and tapioca flour is my favorite blend (it’s seems to be the one that is closest to all-purpose white flour) so that’s the one I’m using again in this recipe (I’m pretty new at this gluten-free baking thing, so I could be wrong on what is the closest).

This batch was my second of the day, the first was also good but it needed some tweaking because #1, the dough was so fragile after rising that half of them began to fall apart when cutting into rolls, and #2, well that was about it :).

These cinnamon rolls taste just like the classic gluten-laden cinnamon rolls they just have a slightly different texture than the traditional.

If you’ve ever made the (gluten version) 1 hour cinnamon rolls then these will remind you quite a bit of those. I seriously couldn’t resist these!

I took them out of the oven and starting eating them without frosting – they were just that good. Of course they only got better with frosting.

Each bite just melted away in my mouth. The real test was my husband and kids. They passed with flying colors with my kids and my husband said after one bite “wow! Those are gluten free? Those are one of the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had!” Success.

Not the fanciest looking cinnamon rolls, but looks don’t matter here. These are amazing!

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls | Cooking Classy

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5 from 2 votes

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls without gluten that are perfectly delicious and ready in 1 hour. 
Servings: 12
Prep30 minutes
Cook25 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour

Ingredients

Filling

Cream Cheese Icing

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, whisk together yeast, 1/2 tsp of the granulated sugar (from the 1/2 cup) and the water. Let rest 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whisk together rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt for 30 seconds, set aside.
  • To the proofed yeast mixture, add warm milk, the remainder of the 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup butter, the canola oil and eggs and blend mixture with paddle attachment to combine (mixture will be slightly lumpy but will smooth when dry ing. are added).
  • With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients. Once dry ingredients have been incorporated, increase mixer speed to medium-low and mix 2 minutes.
  • Spread two long sheets of plastic wrap onto countertop one slightly overlapping the other.* Dust plastic wrap lightly with rice flour then drop dough mixture onto plastic wrap. Sprinkle top of dough lightly with rice flour then spread two more long sheets of plastic wrap over dough, then roll dough out into a 16 by 13-inch rectangle.
  • For the filling: spread 6 Tbsp partially melted butter over dough, then in a bowl, whisk together brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and 1/8 tsp salt and sprinkle evenly over melted butter (leaving a small rim uncovered along all edges).
  • Starting on the 16-inch side, roll dough snuggly to opposite side using plastic wrap to lift and roll the dough, and tucking as needed. Press end seam together with fingertips. Cut dough into 12 equal portions (don't saw back and forth with knife, just do one cut downward).
  • Carefully lift rolls to prepared baking dish, aligning them side by side.** Bake in preheated oven 22 - 25 minutes. Cool slightly then frost with cream cheese icing.
  • For the icing: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), whip together cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, sour cream and vanilla and whip until fluffy, about 2 minutes longer.
  • Best served day prepared. Store in an airtight container and re-warm individually in microwave 10 - 20 seconds (as they are best served warm).

Notes

  • *You will be using it to roll the dough up since it is sticky and rather fragile. You'll need the plastic wrap it to be wide enough so you'll likely have to use two sheets unless you have really wide plastic wrap because it needs to be at least 15 inches wide - for the 13-inch side since you need to leave at least a 1-inch rim on edges for rolling.
  • **You'll have a little extra space on one end which is fine, you can either tuck a rolled up piece of greased foil there or just leave it and the rolls on that end will spread a little more.
  • If on a gluten-free diet, be sure to check all of the packaging labels on ingredients to make sure they are gluten-free.
Nutrition Facts
Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls
Amount Per Serving
Calories 501 Calories from Fat 189
% Daily Value*
Fat 21g32%
Saturated Fat 11g69%
Cholesterol 76mg25%
Sodium 365mg16%
Potassium 311mg9%
Carbohydrates 75g25%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 38g42%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 619IU12%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 103mg10%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

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55 Comments

  • Tammy

    Worked wonderfully!
    I skipped ahead (did not read carefully) and created a paste for the filling instead of the butter then sugar mixture. It worked out great thankfully, and lost no filling on the way to pan.

    Was intimidated to try a yeast roll, but honestly was easy to accomplish using your recipe! Thanks!

  • Rebecca

    I have a gluten free flour blend – this will be my third GF recipe to try and I hope this works well for my GF customers. How much of the blend do you recommend me using since I don’t have the individual flours to blend my own! Thank you!!

  • Helen

    I had no trouble making these exactly following the directions. It really only takes an hour! Thanks so much for the recipe.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I’m glad to hear you were able to get them made in an hour :). Thanks for your comment Helen!

  • Kristi

    What is the consistency of the dough supposed to be like? Mine was like slightly dried-out playdough. They are in the oven right now, but they didn’t look like yours.

    • Kristi

      Ok, I figured out that I used Potato flour instead of potato starch. I thought they were the same. 3rd time was a charm! Yummy!

  • Christie

    Are you using plain white rice flour, or sticky white rice flour? Thanks!

  • Abbey

    These were amazing! Woke up this morning with a craving for cinnamon buns & these hit the spot! First GF recipe for cinnamon buns I have tried that tasted as good as the real thing!

  • Sara lieske

    These were fantastic. My dough was perfect, I weighed my flours instead of measuring, which could be why others are having issues with their dough. I used parchment paper instead of Saran wrap. I didn’t have enough brown sugar so I used coconut palm sugar instead. I made my own icing and accidentally put almond extract instead of vanilla, the almond extract made it extra tasty.

  • Brittany M

    I’m wondering if you would recommend a safe substitute for Potato starch, Jaclyn? I have only 1/2 C potato starch, I know I can go to the store to get more…but I wanted to see if you have any ideas. I looked up a website saying what flours were in the same “family” of flours and starches as potato, but I didn’t want to take a risk if you had an idea. Maybe could I increase tapioca or rice flour?

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Without testing it out I probably should say what would be the best alternative because I’m no expert with gluten-free baking. If I were to test though I’d probably increase the tapioca 1/4 cup and add 1/4 cup cornstarch.