Fluffy Eggless Cinnamon Rolls

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These fluffy eggless cinnamon rolls are light and pillowy soft, thanks to olive oil. They’re vegan, easy to make and ready in about 2 hours!

Eggless cinnamon rolls with a walnut brown sugar glaze in a white baking dish on a white surface.

Who doesn’t love soft, gooey cinnamon rolls, especially for breakfast? Can you make cinnamon rolls without eggs? Absolutely!

If you'd like to make your own cinnamon rolls without milk or eggs, you've come to the right place.

I love cinnamon rolls! And, honestly, making cinnamon rolls from scratch couldn't be simpler than with this recipe! And this recipe is also vegan, too.

These cinnamon rolls are super soft, light, and fluffy. The olive oil makes a wonderful filling, too. They’re not too sweet plain, and the brown sugar walnut glaze really brings out the cinnamon flavor.

Love egg free and vegan desserts? Try my Easy Dairy Free Sugar Cookies, my Vegan Chocolate Truffles or my Greek cinnamon cookies with olive, Ladokouloura.

READER REVIEWS

"The dough turned out beautiful. They cooked up nicely. I let the glaze boil a little longer so it would get thicker. Thanks." - Rachele

"Thanks for this recipe. I needed one without eggs but with oil. So easy and good!!" - Lois

Jump to:

Why this recipe works:
What you need to make this recipe
How to make eggless cinnamon rolls
Add-ins & Variations
Tips for success
Make-ahead eggless cinnamon rolls
Frequently asked questions
More eggless and vegan recipes to try!
Recipe

Why this recipe works:

Only a few simple ingredients are needed. You only need 7 ingredients to make these eggless cinnamon rolls, most of which you probably already have in your pantry!
It’s easy to make. I knead the dough by hand for a few minutes, but you could use a stand mixer, if you prefer.
Easy to adapt. If you aren't vegan, you can use regular butter and milk.
It has an incredible fluffy texture. These cinnamon rolls are very soft, thanks to the olive oil.

Two eggless cinnamon rolls on white plates on a white and gray surface next to a kitchen towel and forks.

What you need to make this recipe

Ingredients for eggless cinnamon rolls

Olive oil: I suggest using a light, high-quality olive oil. I use a light extra virgin olive oil. I think a light olive oil really suits the overall flavor. The lighter the oil, the better. You could also use vegetable oil.
Instant dry yeast: I use instant dry yeast because it doesn’t need to be proofed.
Sugar: I use both granulated white sugar for the dough and brown sugar for the glaze.
Flour: I use all purpose flour, but you could also use bread flour.
Cinnamon: I use ground cinnamon for the rolls and a cinnamon stick for the glaze.
Milk: I use unsweetened almond milk, but you could use your favorite plant-based milk or regular milk, if you aren't vegan - I've made this recipe with both kinds of milk.
Salt: I use a bit of salt for the dough.

Ingredients for the brown sugar glaze

Labeled ingredients for brown sugar walnut glaze.

Sugar: I use light brown sugar.
Water: I use water instead of milk or cream to make it light as opposed to a thick and rich, caramel sauce.
Butter: I use vegan butter, but you could use margarine or regular butter.
Cinnamon: I use a cinnamon stick because I think it really adds a nice depth of flavor to the glaze.
Walnuts: I use some chopped walnuts for the glaze, too.

A closeup of a hand holding an eggless cinnamon roll over a white plate with a baking dish of cinnamon rolls in the background.

TOP TIP

Before I begin making the rolls, I like to heat the oven a bit so that the dough is in a nice, warm place which will help it rise faster. Just turn the oven on to 140°F ( 60°C) and then turn it off when the temperature is reached.

Equipment you'll need

mixing bowls
rolling pin
baking dish
saucepan
whisk
parchment paper (optional)

How to make eggless cinnamon rolls

Stirring salt and flour in a metal mixing bowl with a spoon.

1 In a bowl, mix the flour and the salt together.

Whisking warm plant milk, oil, sugar and instant yeast in a glass bowl.

2 In another bowl, whisk together the warm milk, oil, sugar, and yeast.

Adding flour to wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

3 Pour the yeast mixture into a large mixing bowl. Then gradually add the flour mixture.

A hand picking up kneaded dough from a large mixing bowl.

4 Start kneading. You may need to add some more flour. The dough is perfect when it comes together and doesn’t stick to the bowl any more and you can pick it up in one piece.

Dough in a greased metal bowl covered with plastic wrap before it has risen.

5 Grease another clean bowl with oil and place the dough in it. Cover the dough with oil, too. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the preheated warm oven.

Risen dough in a large mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap.

6 Let the dough rise until it doubles in size. This should take about an hour.

Meanwhile, make the filling and set it aside. Now it’s time to roll the dough.

Dough rolled out into a rectangle on parchment paper.

1. Roll the dough into a rectangle, about 12 X 14 inches (30 X 36 cm).You can do this on a lightly floured surface or on parchment paper.

Spreading cinnamon sugar filling over dough with the back of a spoon.

2. Spread the filling over the rolled-out dough, using the back of a spoon, leaving about 1 inch on the sides.

Rolling up cinnamon roll dough into a log.

3. Roll up the dough, starting from the bottom.

Pinching the edges of rolled up cinnamon dough.

4. Pinch the ends together so the filling doesn't ooze out.

Slicing cinnamon roll dough with a knife.

5. Cut the roll in half and then cut each half into 6 pieces. That way you get 12 even rolls.

Twelve cinnamon rolls in a baking dish before they have risen and before baking.

6. Place them in the baking dish. Make sure there’s enough space between each roll.

Twelve cinnamon rolls in a baking dish that have risen and are ready to be baked.

7. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and let them rise for about 30 minutes so or until they puff up slightly.

Twelve baked eggless cinnamon rolls in a white baking dish.

8. Bake the rolls until they’re nice, golden brown.

Now it's time to make the brown sugar glaze!

Whisking together water, a cinnamon stick, sugar, butter in a saucepan.

1. Put all the ingredients except the walnuts in a saucepan and whisk together on medium heat until it gets thick and bubbly.

Stirring chopped walnuts in a saucepan with brown sugar glaze.

2. Stir in the chopped walnuts. Then top the cinnamon rolls with the glaze!

Add-ins & Variations

Add-ins

You can knead some raisins or dried cranberries or blueberries into the dough.
For a citrus flavor, add some lemon or orange zest to the dough.

Filling ideas

Add some mini chocolate chips over the cinnamon filling! Chocolate goes so well with cinnamon!
Before rolling the dough, you could add some chopped nuts for more texture.

Topping Ideas

I included a brown sugar walnut glaze for this recipe, but you could just make a simple glaze from my Classic Cinnamon Rolls recipe.

For non-vegans, try my maple cream cheese frosting from my Cinnamon Cupcakes, or classic cream cheese icing from my Red Velvet Brownies .

You could also drizzle some homemade salted Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce over these cinnamon rolls!

Make eggless cinnamon roll muffins!

Instead of baking the rolls in a baking dish, you could put them in a muffin pan.

Tips for success

Using instant yeast: Before starting make sure your yeast hasn’t expired. If it’s expired, the dough won’t rise.
Meausure the flour properly for best results.
When you warm the milk, make sure it isn’t too hot because it’ll kill the yeast and the dough won’t rise. The temperature should roughly be between 105° F - 115° F (40°C – 46°C) degrees. The milk should feel comfortably warm on your wrist, not hot.
The olive oil really makes this dough a dream to work with! Make sure you use an olive oil that you enjoy. I suggest a really light olive oil that doesn't have a strong flavor.

Make-ahead eggless cinnamon rolls

There are lots of ways you can make these cinnamon rolls in advance.
If you want freshly-baked cinnamon rolls for breakfast, just put them in the refrigerator as soon as you slice them and cover them tightly with plastic wrap. You don’t even have to let them rise (they will rise in the fridge). The next day, take them out of the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven. Then remove the plastic wrap and bake as instructed.

Substitutions

You can easily substitute the plant-based milk with regular milk and the vegan butter or margarine with real butter. Also, instead of olive oil, you can use melted butter, instead.

Storage Tips & Freezing Instructions

Store these cinnamon rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for about 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5-6 days.

You can easily freeze these cinnamon rolls, either in an entire pan, or just freeze individual rolls. If you want to freeze the pan, just cover it tightly with plastic wrap and then some aluminum foil or use a lid if your pan has one.
To freeze individual rolls, place them on a baking sheet and then put them in the freezer until they freeze completely (about 2 hours). Then take them out of the freezer, wrap each one with plastic wrap and then put them in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Put them back in the freezer. I often label them, too. I usually keep them in the freezer for about a month. When you’re ready to bake them, just let them thaw at room temperature overnight and bake as instructed.

How to reheat cinnamon rolls
I usually reheat them in the microwave for about 20 seconds.

Frequently asked questions

How long will homemade baked cinnamon rolls last in the fridge?

You can store them in the refrigerator for up to about 5-6 days.

Can I use dry active yeast?

For this recipe, I use instant dry yeast because it’s faster and you don’t need to proof it. If you only have active dry yeast, you can still make these cinnamon rolls, but you’ll have to proof it first. Check out my tutorial in this post to see how to do it.
If you want, you could also use fresh yeast. Fresh yeast has a lot of moisture so you need more of it. For this recipe, I use 1 packet of instant dry yeast, which is about 2 ¼ teaspoons (¼ ounces / 7 grams). To replace it with fresh yeast, 3 times this amount, about 0.74 ounces (21 grams). Then you need to activate it. Crumble it in some warm water or milk that’s between 105° F - 115° F (40°C – 46°C) with a pinch of sugar. Then wait about 10 minutes for it to get foamy and bubbly.

More eggless and vegan recipes to try!

Let me know how these Eggless Cinnamon Rolls turn out for you in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you!

Recipe

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