There’s nothing quite like waking up on a lazy weekend to a warm, gooey cinnamon bun. I bet you’re wishing it were Friday already! As am I, my friends, as am I. I always like to have things to look forward to, though, so here’s a recipe for pumpkin cinnamon rolls to help you start off your weekend right.
As is often the case, the pumpkin here is subtle, and mostly just acts to impart moistness and a warm hue to the dough. I tend to prefer my baked goods without embellishment, but you can totally put your own twist on this recipe. After sprinkling the dough with sugar and cinnamon (but before rolling it up), feel free to add raisins, cranberries, chopped pecans, candied ginger, or any combination thereof for a different flavor profile.
Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- -------BUNS
- 2¼ tsp active dry yeast
- ¼ c warm water
- ¾ c pumpkin puree
- 2 Tbsp margarine, melted
- 2 c flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- -------FILLING
- ½ c brown sugar (packed)
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ c margarine, melted
- -------ICING
- 1 tsp margarine, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1½ c powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp water or vegan milk
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir yeast into warm water; set aside to proof. (It’ll get very foamy in 5-10 minutes if your yeast is any good; if it’s not, hold off on this recipe!)
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, nutmeg and salt.
- Add pumpkin puree and margarine to your foamy yeast mixture; blend well.
- Make a well in your dry mix and add liquid, stirring to incorporate.
- Knead for a couple of minutes until smooth, adding extra flour a little bit at a time as needed to keep it from sticking to everything. (Don’t add too much or your rolls will end up tough!) Gently poke the dough with your finger; if the indent bounces back, you’re good to go.
- Cover tightly with plastic, set in a warm, draft-free place, and go write some letters to vegan political prisoners for an hour while your dough rises.
- Once it’s about doubled, punch it down and roll out until it’s rectangular and about ¼-½” thick.
- Slather with melted margarine and sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the top.
- Applying slight pressure, roll the dough up like a jelly roll. If you want wide, squat buns with a ton of rings, roll it up the long way and make thinner slices; if you’d rather have more, taller buns (like the ones pictured), roll it up the short way and make thicker slices.
- Firmly saw through the roll with a serrated knife to create 8 or so equal slices.
- Arrange in a lightly-greased pan (9×13″ for squatter buns, else a 9″ cake pan); it’s okay for there to be a little bit of room between the rolls, as they’ll expand into each other and create that nice pull-away effect.
- Cover and set in a warm place to rise for another 40 minutes.
- Bake at 375° for 25 minutes.
- While the buns bake, whisk together icing ingredients until smooth.
- Set aside at room temperature (refrigeration will make it difficult to pour).
- Drizzle icing generously onto warm buns and devour, with reckless abandon.
29 comments
Courtney says:
Oct 2, 2012
these look amazing, I am totally nervous to make anything with yeast but I really want to try these!
Joshua Parker says:
Oct 2, 2012
I second that, these look amazing. I am going to have to try this recipe.
Christine says:
Oct 2, 2012
Pinning…
Debbie says:
Oct 2, 2012
The thing I love about fall is all the pumpkin recipes. These look great.
claryn says:
Oct 2, 2012
You should stick around, then, because I’ve got something like 5 more on the way this month!
Ashley says:
Oct 3, 2012
Ooh cinnamon rolls that look so delicious plus the recipe doesn’t sound to hard to make. I’ll think I might give it a try.
claryn says:
Oct 3, 2012
It’s totally not! The length of the description might make it look a little daunting, but once you’ve got the basic idea down, you’re golden. I say go for it!
Vanessa says:
Oct 5, 2012
My goodness, these are going to have to happen. They look delicious! I have to get off my lazy butt and start posting more for Team CT!
Sarah says:
Oct 8, 2012
these were great, thanks! i tried to redo them today with gluten free flours though and it was a FAIL. no rising at all. but gluteny? they’re awesome
claryn says:
Oct 9, 2012
Glad you liked them, Sarah! Sorry about the gluten-free failure. I know shamefully little about gluten-free baking (being an extreme admirer of all things gluten), but I would guess the issue you experienced may have had more to do with yeast not doing its work (was your kitchen too cold? did your yeast proof too long or not foam up at all?) than the flours.
Dina says:
Oct 9, 2012
They look absolutely fabulous, but for the margarine, hydrogenated fats are not part of my diet…
What can I use instead of the marge? Would coconut oil work?
claryn says:
Oct 9, 2012
Not all vegan “margarine” (or “butter,” or “buttery spread”) is hydrogenated. Earth Balance, one of the most common brands out there, is not. In any event, I unfortunately haven’t tried making it that way myself. I am inclined to guess that it would be fine and taste awesome (and expensive!). If you do try it, let us know how it turns out!
Shu says:
Oct 10, 2012
I am making these to bring to work for breakfast, therefore I need to store them overnight, do you have any suggestions?
claryn says:
Oct 10, 2012
If you are an early-riser and have time, you can let the dough do its second rise in the refrigerator overnight (in the pan, tightly covered) and then bake and ice them when you get up. Otherwise, just make sure they’re completely cool before placing them in an air-tight container, and you should be good to go in the AM. Good luck!
Karolina says:
Oct 12, 2012
I’m so happy you put this recipe up again! I’ve made them a handful of times and so good everytime
claryn says:
Oct 14, 2012
Glad you like them, Karolina
STEPHANIE says:
Oct 16, 2012
Nom Nom Nom!
Alicia Sperry says:
Nov 11, 2012
Very easy and yummy results….thanks for a great recipe!
Susie says:
Dec 24, 2012
Hi, these look fabulous! I would love to have them all ready tonight and to be able to bake them in the morning. If I cover them tight and refrigerate them, how long should it be before I place them in the oven in the morning? Do they need to warm to room temperature before going in the oven? Thanks for the recipe, I’m so excited to try these and see how the family reacts!
claryn says:
Dec 24, 2012
Hi Susie! Okay, so once you’ve assembled the rolls and arranged them in the pan, cover them tightly and stick ‘em in the fridge overnight. In the morning, fill a shallow pan about half-way with boiling water and place it on the lowest rack in your oven (turned off!). Place the covered dish of rolls on the rack above it and let them rise for about half an hour until they’re a little puffy. Then take both dishes out, preheat your oven, and bake as directed. Happy holidays!
Natalie C says:
Feb 21, 2013
I made these yesterday and they were absolutely scrumptious! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe, I may have just found my favorite cinnamon roll (:
Lola says:
Sep 29, 2013
Wow! Just made these, I subbed coconut palm sugar for all the sugar and used the coconut earth balance and they are DELICIOUS! Keep up the great work!!!
You know you want these… | Critical, Healthy, Simplified says:
Oct 29, 2013
[...] The next morning, I figured I’d been having such great luck with recipes that I thought I would try a little baking. The result was delectable–is there anything better than the smell of cinnamon buns fresh from the oven? This vegan recipe is better than Cinnabon, in my opinion. Did I mention I’m obsessed with pumpkin? (Recipe courtesy of Hell Yea! It’s Vegan) [...]
Yvonne says:
Nov 4, 2013
Tried this recipe yesterday. It works wonders! Soft and delicious.
nadia says:
Jan 5, 2014
These rolls are the best! I have tried 3 recipes on this site and they are all delicious! Thank you
claryn says:
Jan 6, 2014
Glad you liked them, Nadia! Thanks for reading
Amy says:
Oct 4, 2014
These came out awesome! They are fluffy and moist. I was worried they would be dry without eggs, butter and milk. I used Earth Balance, increased the pumpkin to 1 cup, put 1 TB cinnamon and 1/2 TB clove in the dough, and added a dash of salt to the dough, filling and icing. I plan to double the batch next time and serve as a brunch item. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you!!!
brontrent says:
Oct 11, 2014
These were amazing! Me and my 2 girls made them and our whole family devoured them. The pumpkin flavour is quite subtle (I used fresh, not canned) and the texture is perfectly soft and they melt in your mouth. I can back here to print the recipe so I won’t forget to make them again.
phyllis says:
Oct 13, 2014
I made these with 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour and a cup of unbleached white flour, but decided not to add the oat flour. I added 3/4 tsp of salt. And because I used a yeast that you can just add to the flour mixture, I also added the rest of the dry ingredients at the same time. It made it easier that way.
I mixed the 1 Tbsp. of oil (coconut oil) with the pumpkin puree (fresh pumpkin, microwaved and mashed), and the non-dairy milk, but when I mixed dry and wet ingredients together, I found that I needed to add another 1/4 cup+2 Tbsp. of the milk, even without the additional oat flour, because the mixture was far too dry to knead. I definitely didn’t need to add more flour. I patted it down on a piece of lightly greased parchment paper to more of a rectangle than an oval, and put another piece of parchment on top and rolled it out more, but not quite to the length you mentioned (the dough would have been too thin). I added pecans to the brown sugar and cinnamon, rolled it up, cut the rolls and baked them, and near the end I brushed the tops with a little more coconut oil to give them a nice color. I found them to be sweet enough without the addition of the glaze. I may dust them with confectioner’s sugar – but they are actually quite pretty without it. Thanks!