These easy Overnight Cinnamon Rolls are made ahead the night before, so you can wake up to fresh, fluffy homemade cinnamon rolls with minimal morning effort. Perfect for Christmas morning, holidays, or weekend brunch.
You'll thank yourself in the morning for Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
You'll thank yourself in the morning for Overnight Cinnamon RollsWhen you do the work the night before, these Overnight Cinnamon Rolls change the breakfast game! In the morning all you have to do is let them come to room temperature, bake, and enjoy. No early morning kneading or waiting around for dough to rise while your stomach growls.
You can use a traditional glaze, or my favorite is the thick and creamy cream cheese frosting. These homemade overnight cinnamon rolls bake up big, fluffy, and ridiculously delicious, perfect for Christmas morning or weekend brunch.
Try more of my breakfast recipes, like Raspberry Scones, Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, French Toast Casserole, Blueberry Muffins, and Breakfast Burritos!
How to make Overnight Cinnamon Rolls:
Make Dough: Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk with a little sugar, letting it rest for 5 minutes. Add salt, sugar, egg, butter, and 2 cups flour. Add more flour slowly as needed, until the dough pulls away from the bottom and sides of the bowl. The key to bread dough is not adding too much flour. The dough should be smooth and elastic but slightly sticky. Let it rise for 1 ½ hours, or until doubled.
Roll Out and Shape: Punch the dough down then roll into a 20″x18″ rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Now we slather the fillings on–butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar–leaving a ½ inch border. Roll the dough into a tight log, starting at the short end! Slice 1.5 inch thick slices with a serrated knife or dental floss. (Alternately, you could cut the dough into 12 strips, and roll each individual strip up).
Refrigerate Overnight: Arrange the cinnamon rolls in a buttered 9×13 dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Place in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, take the pan out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature and rise for 1 1/2-2 hours, or until doubled.
Bake these make ahead cinnamon rolls at 375 degrees F for 18-23 minutes, until cooked through and golden. Make cream cheese frosting and spread on top of warm rolls and enjoy!
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Recipe
Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- Stand Mixer optional
Ingredients
Dough:
- 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast*
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar + ½ teaspoon, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 3 ½ – 4 cups bread flour , or all-purpose
Filling:
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese , ½ block softened
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 6 Tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Proof Yeast: In a mixer add yeast, warm milk, and ½ teaspoon sugar and gently stir. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes for the yeast to “proof” and the mixture to get foamy on the top (if this does not happen, try again with fresh active yeast).2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast*, 1 cup warm milk
- Make Dough: Add salt, sugar, egg, butter, and 2 cups of flour to the mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until combined. Add another cup of flour and continue mixing. Add more flour as needed until dough pulls away from the bottom and sides of bowl. Mix for 5 minutes. Dough should be smooth and elastic but slightly sticky.¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 large egg, ⅓ cup unsalted butter, 3 ½ – 4 cups bread flour
- First Rise: Remove dough to a large greased bowl, cover, and allow it to rise for 1 ½ hours or until doubled in volume.
- Roll and shape: Punch dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured or greased work surface. Roll dough into a 20''x18'' rectangle.
- Fill and cut: Smooth butter over the top of the dough, Mix cinnamon and brown sugar together and sprinkle evenly over the top, leaving about 1/2inch border. Starting at the short end of the dough, roll the dough into a tight “log” and use a sharp serrated knife or some tooth floss to cut the dough into 12 slices about 1.5 inches thick.6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
- Refrigerate overnight: Place rolls onto a buttered 9×13'' or rimmed bakers half sheet (18×13''). Cover pan with a lid or tightly with plastic wrap and tinfoil and refrigerate overnight, 8-12 hours. (You could also freeze at this point, if desired. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.)
- Second rise: Remove rolls from the refrigerator and allow to rise until doubled in volume, about 1 ½ – 2 hours.*
- Bake: Bake at 375 degrees F for 18-25 minutes, until golden and cooked through in the center. Spread frosting over warm from the oven rolls.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Add cream cheese to a mixing bowl and beat with electric mixers until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and beat well until smooth. Add additional milk or powdered sugar to make the frosting thicker, or thinner, as desired. Smooth frosting over cinnamon rolls.4 ounces cream cheese, 2 ½ cups powdered sugar, 6 Tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Notes
- Instant Yeast: to substitute instant yeast, skip the first step of proofing the yeast and add the yeast, 2 cups flour, sugar and salt to stand mixer before adding water, milk, egg, and butter.
- Orange Rolls
- Classic Cinnamon Rolls
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Lemon Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe February 2017. Updated December 2021 and December 2025.
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These were EXCELLENT! Thank you for the awesome recipe!
I made these for Christmas. It was the most absolutely amazing thing that I’ve ever created. I feel like a Michelin chef. I’m making them again today for New Year’s Eve. I will never eat or buy cinnamon rolls from the store or eat at Cinnabon. thank you so much Lauren I’m always on this website getting great recipes. My wife’s loves for me to cook for her especially when I use your recipes.
Just made these. Did the overnight version to have this morning. The cinnamon rolls turned out great and I will make them again. The cream cheese frosting turned out gloppy and sickening sweet to me. Won’t use that again. Easy and tasty recipe.
If I were to use this recipe to make mini cinnamon rolls is it okay to still let them sit in the fridge overnight?
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times and everyone loves it! I want to make mini rolls for a Christmas party!
Thanks!!
Hi!
Looking to make and freeze as gifts for Christmas. When freezing do you frost them before freezing or would you frost after reheating them?
If you plan to heat them, then freeze them unfrosted.
“Place rolls in a buttered 11×13 dish ?” But then I read further down and it stated 9×13 ? These are my go-to sweets, raised money for our church youth… fantastic recipe.
Hi Ken, I am so glad you enjoy this recipe. Thanks for finding that typo, it should be 9×13 in both places. It’s fixed.
These turned out good but were not as fluffy as I was expecting. I followed the recipe exactly and only used three cups of flour. Also the amount of frosting was ridiculous. I made half and it was more than enough for twelve rolls. They are very sweet to begin with.
I followed your overnight recipe to a T using instant yeast and the cinnamon rolls turned out perfectly. Soft, tender and insanely delicious! My only wish is that I’d doubled the recipe so there would be some leftover after Christmas morning. Thank you for sharing this 5-star recipe!
Hello, could you please double check conversion of flour from US customary to metric, it states 4-cups = 937, which is incorrect, it should be 500-g.
Regards, Johanna
I would like to make these rolls today but can you clarify how much water you are referring to when you say ….
“Instant Yeast: to substitute instant yeast skip the first step of proofing the yeast and mix the yeast with 2 cups flour, sugar and salt before adding that to the stand mixer with water, milk, egg, and butter.”
I don’t see water mentioned in the ingredients.
Thanks!
Thanks for pointing that out Barabara! You are right there in NO water in the recipe so it should say milk, egg, and butter. Hope you love them!
If used instant yeast then mixed all ingredients together for dough and you can use water instead of milk,if you wanted, to make a dough. Enjoy 😊
Oh my word these are delicious!! The flavor is really better by letting them refrigerate overnight. I did melt the butter with the cinnamon and brown sugar (and let cool slightly) and it was easily spread onto the dough before rolling it up. I’ve we made sourdough cinnamon rolls before and these were just as soft and tasty. Saving this recipe!!