These apple cinnamon rolls are free of dairy and refined sugar and made in under an hour using instant yeast. They’re filled with tender apples and warm spices, making them the perfect fall treat! Overnight instructions also included.
You can probably see from my recipe page, that my family has a thing for cinnamon rolls! They can be plain, pumpkin, orange, or berry flavored. Doesn’t matter, the combo of sweet, soft doughy bread and cinnamon-sugar is addictive! Since it’s fall, I thought it would be a yummy idea to add juicy apples to our next batch. The result was amazing!
Not only do the apples give them plenty of flavor, but they also add moisture so they’re nice and gooey in the center—my favorite part!
My hubby, the apple pie lover, said these were his new fave! He says that about almost everything I make though. 😉
Since I don’t like things super sweet, I used mostly granny smith apples in the filling. It adds the apple flavor without the sweetness, but feel free to use your favorite apple. Using coconut sugar adds a little caramel-y flavor to the filling and also makes these rolls free of refined sugar! Win-win!!
Although they’re good on their own, I topped these rolls with a maple sweetened + cinnamon spiced cream cheese frosting, which is such a delicious and creamy addition. Feel free to use your favorite buttercream or a simple powdered sugar glaze instead, if it suits your fancy.
We enjoyed every single, apple-filled bite of these cinnamon rolls! I hope you give them a try! Enjoy!!

Apple Cinnamon Rolls
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
Description
These cinnamon rolls are free of dairy and refined sugar and made in under an hour using instant yeast. They’re filled with tender apples and warm spices, making them the perfect fall treat! Overnight instructions also included.
Ingredients
- 3–4 1/4 cups (405g–570g) unbleached all-purpose flour, just enough to form a soft dough plus a little more for kneading (can use up to half whole-grain flour—spelt, einkorn, or whole wheat, if you’d like)
- 2 1/4 teaspoon (.25oz packet) rapid rise or instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (177ml) warm almond milk or other milk of choice (approximately 110º F)
- 1/2 cup (118ml) warm water (approximately 110º F)
- 1/3 cup (80ml) avocado oil
or other oil
- 1/4 cup (60ml) maple syrup
, cane sugar, or other sweetener of choice
Filling:
- 1/2 cup (113g) softened butter, separated (can use dairy-free)
- 3/4 cup (110g) coconut sugar
or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of ginger
- 4 apples, peeled, cored, and diced small (I used granny smith and gala)
- 1/3 cup water
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (or 1/2 recipe of this Vanilla Buttercream, pictured)
- 4 oz. cream cheese or mascarpone (can use dairy-free)
- 4 oz. softened butter (can use dairy-free)
- 3–4 tablespoons maple syrup
or honey (can use more or less sweetener, to taste)
- splash of vanilla
- pinch of cinnamon, optional
Instructions
Prepare Apple Mixture:
- In a small bowl, mix together coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; Take out 1/4 cup of the sugar/spice mixture and set the rest aside.
- Place a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter, then add the chopped apples and water. Saute for 1–2 minutes. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of sugar/spice over the apples and continue to cook for another 1–2 minutes, just until sugar has melted and apples are slightly tender. Let cool.
Prepare dough: (for visual help, you can watch my regular cinnamon roll video here)
- Combine 2 cups of flour, instant yeast, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add warm milk, water, sweetener, and oil, blending until mixture is combined and smooth.
- Knead in extra flour, a little at a time, until it forms a soft dough. You may need more than the specified amount, but be careful not to add too much flour or the rolls will be dry and hard.
- Cover and let dough rest in a warm place for 5 minutes.
Putting it Together:
- Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a large rectangle.
- Spread softened butter generously over the surface of the dough and top with the sugar/spice mixture. Top evenly with cooled apples.
- Beginning at the long edge of the rectangle, tightly roll dough into a log.
- You can use a sharp knife, but I prefer to cut each roll with dental floss, which doesn’t flatten them.
- Place a long piece of floss under the middle of the log and criss cross each end and pull it straight to slice the roll in half.
- Divide each half into six equal portions and place into a greased or parchment lined 13×9 baking dish. (To make the next morning, skip down to the instructions for Overnight Rolls)
- To make rolls immediately: Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Close to the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 350ºF.
Overnight Rolls:
- To make the rolls the next morning, after putting the cut rolls into the pan, cover the pan tightly with tin foil and place into the refrigerator.
- The next morning, take the pan out of the refrigerator and set in a warm place to rise, about 30–60 minutes, or until puffy (they may not take that long if they had risen some overnight.) Once the rolls have risen, preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Baking the Rolls:
- Place pan onto the middle rack and bake for 25-35 minutes, just until rolls are lightly golden around the edges and centers are puffed. Depending on how large you cut your rolls, they may need time to bake. Check the center for doneness and remove when fully cooked. Careful not to overbake.
- Remove and let cool slightly before topping with glaze/frosting.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Blend together cream cheese, softened butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon until creamy. Add milk, if needed, to thin. Spread over warm rolls.
- If using the vanilla buttercream recipe, spread onto slightly cooled rolls and serve.
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Vegan, Breakfast, Dessert
I made these today exactly as the recipe is written. I did use all the 4 1/4 cups of flour and still the dough was so sticky and challenging to work with. I am not a novice cook/baker and next time will use more flour. Cutting the rolls with floss with the sticky dough made them almost unmanageable to place in the lined pan. I think what was the most time consuming, but necessary, is to be sure to chop the apples in small cubes which I did.
There was no way to add to my above comment. I baked these 30 minutes and they were brown and puffed up. Once cooled I found they were not baked completely through. My oven is calibrated correctly so I think more flour or longer baking time, or both. Also, I would spread half of the frosting next time since it would better on the side for those who want more. Great recipe so thank you. I try to make according to instructions first time around but will adjust next time.
Hi Cindy, I’m happy you enjoyed these rolls! As you know, working with bread dough varies from kitchen to kitchen so I only give an approximation for the flour amount and advise to continue adding flour until a soft dough forms. I’d rather be more conservative because it’s easy to add flour, but too much flour added will ruin the dough. I’m glad it worked out for you in the end, even though they needed more time in the oven. I will make a note in the recipe to clarify those points for other bakers. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback!
Any suggestions for how I should alter the recipe if I don’t have instant yeast? I only have regular yeast, but these look fabulous and I really want to make them!
Hi Maria, you can use regular yeast, but you just have to activate (proof) the yeast in the warm liquid first. Also, the rising times will be longer. The dough needs to rest in a warm place for 20-30 minutes, then after filling and slicing the rolls, they’ll need to rise in the pan again before baking, about another 20 minutes or so. Hope you enjoy them!! 🙂
Thanks so much!!
Forgot to reply when I made them, but they turned out great! Only thing was they were a tad messy. I think I need to chop the apples even smaller next time! Thanks again!
I’m so happy to enjoyed them, Maria! Thanks for giving them a try and popping by to leave a review! Have a great weekend!
Could you tell me how to make these without sugar for my diabetic father? It sounds so good!
Hi William, thank you! I’ve heard others using Splenda as a sugar alternative, so you might could try that in place of the sweetener in this recipe. If you do end up trying it, I would love to hear your feedback which might help others with the same question!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I never leave reviews but these were just spectacular! I’ll be making them on the regular for sure!
Aww, yay! So happy to hear that you enjoyed these rolls, Allie! They are one of our faves! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review 🙂 Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!
These apple cinnamon rolls look absolutely gorgeous! Perfect for weekend brunch!