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The best and easiest Pumpkin Roll recipe with a moist and tender crumb, filled with smooth cream cheese frosting. I have the best trick to make this simple and completely mess-free!
Do you love pumpkin recipes? Try Pumpkin Spice Eggnog, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, or Pumpkin Cake!
Our Pumpkin Roll is No-Fuss, No-Mess, All Flavor
Our Pumpkin Roll is No-Fuss, No-Mess, All FlavorDon't be intimidated to make pumpkin roll! It's the most basic sheet cake, rolled up to look fancier than it is. And we don't mess with your Grandma's old-fashioned method of dumping the cake on a towel covered in powdered sugar –what a mess! My method is the easiest and works great every single time! If you want to take this dessert to the next level, try using homemade pumpkin purée.
How to make a Pumpkin Roll:
Prep Pan: Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 10×15” pan with cooking spray, then line with parchment paper and leaving an extra inch of parchment paper hanging over the long sides so you can easily lift it up after it bakes. Lightly spray the parchment paper with non-stick spray.
Make Batter: Combine flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl. Mix eggs, vanilla, sugar, and pumpkin in a separate bowl, until smooth. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients, just stirring until combined.
Bake: Pour batter in prepared pan, spreading into an even layer. Bake for 13-16 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Watch it closely since every oven is different. Remove from oven. Lift the parchment paper up and place on a heat-safe flat surface. While cake is hot, start at a short end and slowly roll the cake inside the parchment paper all the way. Let cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
- Tip: It's very important to roll up the cake when it's hot from the oven, so it doesn't crack. The hot cake is soft, pliable, and will roll and set in this shape, so it doesn't crack.
Add Filling: Mix cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together with an electric mixer until it's fluffy and smooth. Carefully unroll cooled pumpkin cake then gently smooth the filling in an even layer. Roll up the pumpkin swiss roll back up, without the parchment paper and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.
Serve: Dust the top of the pumpkin roll cake with powdered sugar, if desired. Cut into slices and serve. Keep leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: The assembled pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling can be made and refrigerated, covered, for 1-2 days. Or if you just want to make the cake part ahead of time, you can bake it, roll it in parchment paper to cool, then refrigerate it while it's rolled in the parchment paper for one day before spreading the frosting. Keep leftovers covered and in the refrigerator.
To Freeze: Wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely overnight in the refrigerator before slicing and serving.
More Fall Cake Recipes:
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Fresh Apple Cake
- Carrot Cake Loaf
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Mug Cake
- Apple Coffee Cake
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Gingerbread Cake
- Sticky Toffee Pudding
- Homemade Rum Cake
Pumpkin Roll
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2/3 cup canned pumpkin, (or homemade pumpkin puree)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, , softened
- 2 Tablespoons butter, , softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar, , plus more for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prep Pan: Lightly grease a jelly roll pan (10 x 15'') with non stick cooking spray. Place parchment paper on top so it sticks, leaving an extra inch of parchment sticking up on both long sides of the pan so that you can easily lift the cake out after baking. Lightly grease the parchment paper.
- Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.
- Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, vanilla and pumpkin until smooth.
- Combine: Add dry ingredients to the bowl and stir just until combined and no dry streaks remain. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Every oven is different, so watch it closely.
- Roll: Immediately lift the payment paper and hot cake out of the pan and onto a flat (heat-safe) surface. While the cake is hot, starting at a short end, gently and slowly roll the cake (and parchment paper!) all the way up. Allow it to cool completely, on top of a wire cooling rack. (This allows it to cool underneath the roll, and keeps the cake from sweating).
- Frosting: While the cake roll is cooling, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together with an electric mixer until it is fluffy and smooth. Once the cake roll is cooled completely, unroll it very carefully. Gently smooth the filling in an even layer over the cake, leaving a 1-inch border.
- Roll up the frosted cake without the parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, before serving.
- Serve: Dust the top with powdered sugar, if desired. Cut into slices and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe October 2014. Updated September 2017, October 2019 and October 2024.
Original recipe adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I've added more spices.
This recipe is amazing, but omg!! If you are going to make it, put a clean towel under your roll as soon as it gets out of the oven to roll it. I burnt my hands 🥹. All worth it though because it tastes AMAZING
Wear heat proof gloves like for grilling, no burns
I use parchment paper to bake and roll it up in the same after lifting it out of the pan
Thats kinda common sense something that just came out of the oven would be hot lol
Burned?
In other countries, like Australia or UK, they use ‘burnt’
I had enough parchment paper on the edges that, once I began the roll, I could actually just roll the paper from the outside
I let it cool for ten minutes then rolled up
Love this recipe! I have friends/family ask for these pumpkin rolls on repeat!
Oh my goodness, this recipe is fantastic!!!!!! I made 1 on Thursday to freeze for Thanksgiving, but the hubby liked it so much that he ate half of it. It was easier than I expected and I have since made 2 more that are hidden in the freezer!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Tried this recipe this week, my first time ever making a pumpkin roll cake. It was so easy and so good! I got lots of compliments on it!
I just started making these this week and WOW!! They are a HUGE HIT AROUND THIS HOUSE. THANK YOU.. AN SO EASY TO PUT TOGETHER. . this is a HUGE mood lifter cause I feel like I’m baking like a PRO.. 😁❤
This is the BEST pumpkin roll recipe ever! Made it three times so far, and each time, turned out perfect. So delicious and MUCH easier than the old tea-towel method. Wish I would have had this recipe 30 years ago! Thank you so much, Lauren! 🤗
If I chose the 3x option, would that make 3x the batter? I want to divide it up so that I can make 3 individual rolls. I would like to make a large amount of batter at once
I loved this. I followed your directions exactly. The roll was delicious 😋. I only have one problem. Why did the outside get sticky after I put it in the refrigerator?
I had the same problem. So sticky I couldn’t put powder sugar on it.
I love this recipe! I doubled the recipe. I accidentally forgot to double the powdered sugar in the filling but as it turned out it was a great mistake! The filling turned out absolutely delicious without being overly sweet. Everyone loved it. I’m making two more today and have decided to purposely leave out the other cup of powdered sugar from the filling.
Idk if its because I’m using Splenda sugar I’m making it sugar free but the cake part isn’t rising to the thickness when I used granulated sugar. Do you know of anything i can use to counteract that so it will rise cause its coming out really dense and thin but I’m using the exact measurements just with 1 cup of Splenda instead of granulated sugar.
I made this yesterday following the recipe to an T and served it today. It turned out great! I was nervous because of some of the negative comments – but it turned out to be as easy as the recipe says. It cracked slightly during the final step of rolling with icing, but it was hidden inside of the roll and still looked and tasted great.
This pumpkin roll turned out perfectly. Will be my go to recipe for pumpkin roll. Was delicious!
Forty Thanksgivings/Anniversaries and I *finally* made my man a Pumpkin Cake Roll last night! Not that he’s been begging for one – I just knew he deserves something special and this was one thing I could think of that 1.) I’ve never tried to make 2.) He was sure to like.
I don’t understand all the negative comments. This was my first attempt making one and I had no problem at all, even though I doubled the recipe (filling, too) and used a 15×20 pan. I used Reynolds no-stick baking paper – it’s parchment on one side & foil on the other, and it’s wide enough for the huge pan. (I put it foil side down in the pan & sprayed the parchment side.) BTW, one reason I was attracted to your recipe on Pinterest was the photo – it genuinely had “rolls.” So many I’ve seen should be more accurately classified as a Pumpkin Cake Taco! 😆
Thanks for your hand in making our 40th even more memorable. ♥️
Followed your method exactly and it still cracked 🙁 I’m sure it’ll be tasty anyways.
Mine too!
Tried this twice and it cracked both times. I chilled it for most of the day the first time and chilled it for roughly an hour the second. Rather disappointed. It is tasty; not presentable though.
you mentioned that you chilled the rolls I am assuming before you frosted them? That may be part of the problem, I just cool on a rack on the kitchen counter. Also, some of mine still crack on occasion, just go slowly rolling and unrolling—(I served one with cracks, I never mentioned it, neither did anyone else, and it was still enjoyed!)
Idk what happened , as I make pumpkin rolls every year. I hadn’t tried this recipe before though and I should just stick to my old one.
The filling was just a gooey mess that spilled over the sides of the cake and overflowed when I tried to roll it. That’s even after I added extra sugar (like a whole extra cup) bc it was so thin as I was mixing it. It was basically the texture of royal icing. Everything was unusable then bc both sides of the cake had the icing on it.
I took a few bites with a fork just to try it anyway , and it tasted fine. It was just basically pumpkin cake instead of a roll.