These blood orange sweet rolls are made with coconut sugar and enhanced with the citrusy flavor of blood oranges. Can also use regular oranges instead. Vegan friendly with a refined sugar free option included. Recipe and photos updated February 2020.
Growing up, my mom would make me orange sweet rolls for breakfast every once in a while. It was a treat I always looked forward to. I would unravel each roll, eat the outer edge first and work my way to the center, which was my favorite part. Each time, I would save the soft, doughy middle section for my last bite, which I savored as I did my “happy dance.”
I literally had a happy dance I did, unintentionally, whenever I ate my favorite foods. I would teeter my head from side to side and swinging my feet as they dangled from the kitchen chair to some unknown beat (I seem to have always marched to the beat of a different drummer 😉 ) Since I was little, any foods consisting of bread have always been my weakness, which I partly blame my mom for, since she apparently couldn’t get enough doughy bread while pregnant with me.
This strange bread addiction has also passed to my children, who both have the same obsession for bread as I do. They don’t seem to have inherited a love for any of their father’s favorite foods…but his silly sense of humor, now that’s a different story!
I’ve been working on a recipe to recreate those yummy rolls that I grew up enjoying and used blood oranges, since they’re in season right now, but you can definitely use regular oranges if you can’t find these particular oranges in your area. Blood oranges look like a lot like regular oranges on the outside, but when opened, often have a beautiful red to reddish-purple color flesh. They are sweet with a slight tart flavor, like berries, and usually less acidic than regular oranges.
Since these blood orange sweet rolls themselves use unrefined sugar, I experimented with a couple of different glazes that didn’t rely on powdered sugar. At first I used cream cheese as the base, and although tasty, I felt like the slight tang competed too much with the citrus flavor, which was what I wanted to shine.
Since I’ve had success creating a creamy texture with cashews, like in my Raspberry No-Bake Bars, I tried them in lieu of the cream cheese. I like cashews because when blended the have the creamiest texture and a very mild flavor, which is perfect for incorporating any flavor you’d like.
I’m also including a traditional buttercream, if you want a more classic taste!
Soft, fluffy blood orange sweet rolls with a hint of citrus and a creamy frosting make these rolls hard to beat, especially since they’re made with healthier ingredients! I promise you, your friends and family won’t even notice! Enjoy!
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Blood Orange Sweet Rolls
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 12–14 rolls 1x
Description
Cinnamon rolls enhanced with the citrusy flavor of blood oranges. Free of eggs and dairy, plus includes a refined sugar option!
Ingredients
Sweet Rolls:
- 3–4¼ cups (405g–570g) unbleached all-purpose flour, just enough to form a soft dough plus a little more for dusting (can use up to half whole-grain flour—spelt, einkorn, or whole wheat, if you’d like)
- 1 tablespoon rapid rise or instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon orange zest (2–3 oranges)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (177ml) warm almond milk or other milk of choice (approximately 110º F)
- ½ cup (118ml) regular orange juice or blood orange juice (approximately 110º F)
- ⅓ cup (80ml) avocado oil
oil or other oil
- ¼ cup (60ml) maple syrup, cane sugar, or other sweetener of choice
Filling:
- ½ cup (113g) softened butter (can use dairy-free)
- ¾ cup (110g) coconut sugar
or brown sugar
- 1 heaping tablespoon (9g) cinnamon
- Blood Orange-Cashew Glaze or Blood Orange Buttercream (recipes below)
Blood Orange-Cashew Glaze: (Refined sugar free)
- 1 cup Raw Cashews
, (pre-soaked in purified water for at least 2–3 hours)
- 3–4 tablespoons maple syrup
/honey, to taste
- zest and juice of 2 blood oranges, more juice may be needed (about 1.5 Tbsp zest and 6-8 Tbsp juice)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Blood Orange Buttercream:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar, use more or less to taste
- 1–3 tablespoons blood orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
To Make Dough For The Rolls:
- Combine milk/water, orange juice, and sweetener into a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl. Heat until mixture is heated to 110-115ºF. Be careful mixture is not too hot or you can kill the yeast. It should feel like warm bath water.
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, add 1.5 cup flour, instant yeast, orange zest, and salt. Mix gently to incorporate and then add in the milk/orange mixture. Mix until smooth, about 2-3 minutes (if using a stand mixer, change to the dough hook.) Slowly begin adding flour 1/2 cup at a time and mix until blended. The precise amount of flour needed will vary depending on the humidity in your kitchen. Continue to add flour just until it forms a soft dough, be careful not to add too much.
- Place dough in a large, lightly greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 15–20 minutes.
- Take the risen dough out of the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface (I also like to use a large piece of parchment or plastic wrap to keep it from sticking.) Roll dough into a 10×15-inch rectangle. Brush or rub softened butter all over the top of the dough. Mix together coconut sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top of the butter. Starting on the longest side, begin rolling dough the dough into a tightly wound log.
- To cut the rolls, I prefer to use plain dental floss instead of a knife. It cuts them easily without squishing the rolls. To do this, cut a piece of floss about 12-16 inches long. Slide floss under the roll and bring the ends up and cross over each other to cut each slice cleanly. Place rolls, cut side up, in greased or parchment lined 9×13-inch pan. Cover and let rise for 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
- *TIP: If your home is on the cooler side, turn your oven on to the lowest setting for 2-3 minutes (mine is 170ºF) and then turn the oven back off. Place a small pot of boiling water onto the bottom of the oven. This warm and moist environment should be the perfect place for your covered bowl of dough to rise.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Uncover pan and place into the preheated oven. Bake for 18-22 minutes, just until lightly golden. Do not over-bake. Drizzle with orange glaze or buttercream.
To Make The Glaze:
- I gave two options for frosting the sweet rolls. Pick one or the other.
- For the cashew glaze (free of refined sugar)–place rinsed and drained, pre-soaked cashews into a food processor or high powered blender. Add syrup, zest, and half of the juice, vanilla extract, salt and process until creamy, scraping down the sides occasionally. Add more juice as needed just until you get the desired consistency. Drizzle on top of the orange rolls and serve.
Orange Buttercream:
- Beat softened butter in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add powdered sugar a little at a time, beating until smooth. Pour in a little orange juice, then continue to beat buttercream until fluffy. Alternate powdered sugar and orange juice, until buttercream is desired consistency. Add extra powdered sugar, if buttercream is too soft, or extra juice if it’s too thick. Mix in the vanilla and optional zest. Spread buttercream over warm rolls.
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Breakfast, Dessert
Step 1 states “Combine milk/water, orange juice, and sweetener into a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl….” I don’t see water it the sweet rolls ingredient list, do I use milk or is water needed? thank you!
Sorry for the confusion, Natalie! I use milk, but water can also be used! Hope you enjoy them!
Thanks for this! I am loving your site! Your photos are so beautiful! I will be trying this recipe this Sunday for sure when my mother-in-law comes over!
Wow these look so incredible Joscelyn!!!! I love that they’re vegan. The blood orange flavour sounds amazing! Pinned!
Thank you, Stephanie! I wanted to try something different with the blood oranges. Not only did they add a delicious twist, the color is so naturally beautiful.
These look amazing! I love homemade cinnamon rolls. Love that these incorporate oranges 🙂
Oh wow! Love this genius idea of blood orange sweet rolls. This is such a beautiful presentation, Joscelyn.
Thank you so much, Anu! Cinnamon rolls are so photogenic by themselves, I didn’t have to do too much with presentation 😉
Mmmm how good these look!! I want them for breakfast!!
Haha, thanks Manali! They were so delicious I could eat them for any meal of the day!
I would do a happy dance too if this was on my plate for breakfast! I love the color of this glaze – so perfect for a valentines day treat! And PS who ISN’t obsessed with bread? There’s something in it, irresistible!
Haha, girl I agree, there must be something in bread that keeps us coming back for more 😉 Thanks for your sweet comment, Chrissa…hope you have a wonderful weekend!
WOW! Looks gorgeous and amazing clicks!
Thank you for your encouragement, Kushi!
These cinnamon rolls look perfect! You will make me change my idea about vegan food 🙂
The rolls look so light and moist.
Thank you, Muna! They came out so well and I love that they are healthier. You honestly can’t tell that they are vegan 🙂
I absolutely LOVE cinnamon rolls, especially homemade! The blood orange glaze looks perfect!
Thanks Marsha, the glaze came out great! The blood orange was a nice twist to a classic cinnamon roll!
Oh these look so yummy! I remember having a strawberry jam version of these rolls as a kid, they used to be my favourite treat!
Hi Bree, a strawberry jam option sounds delightful! I will have try that. Thank you for stopping by!
Blood orange cinnamon rolls! What a fantastic idea and I bet an even more deliciously tasty treat! Thanks for the post and keep the amazing recipes, stories and photos coming! Love your work!
Aw, thank your for your support of the years. I really appreciate it. You are always so sweet and encouraging 🙂
This looks absolutely delicious! I definitely want to try this with my girlfriends from college when they visit next weekend! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks Kiara, I hope you all enjoy. Thank you for kind words of encouragement!
These look so delicious! And I love that they are vegan. 🙂
Thank you Karin! I love that they are vegan too 🙂 I appreciate you stopping by. Have a great weekend!
I love this. I recently became a vegetarian. So I’m looking for healthier options for everything!
Thank you Ashleigh. I have tried to provide many options for vegetarians on the blog. I appreciate you stopping by and hope you will find other recipes useful as well.
SO YUM. i loved the orange cinnamon rolls growing up as well- great idea switching to blood orange.
Thank you Amy, I wanted to try something different. They came out so delicious!
I haven’t had a homemade cinnamon roll is FOREVER! My mom used to make on holiday mornings, and I would eat them the same way– the center is my favorite part too!
I’m seriously in shock that that stunning glaze is made from blended cashews! Is there anything that you can’t make out of cashews?! And the blood oranges are so pretty, love the color!
These would be a perfect Valentine’s day breakfast treat!
Thanks, Stacey! I know, they take a little extra time to make, but so worth it in the end! Cashews have really surprised me lately with how versatile they are, there’s seriously so much you can do with them! I love the color of the blood oranges too and although I didn’t intend for them to be “Valentinesy,” their gorgeous color really made the perfect shade of blush pink! I just may have to make them again Valentine’s morning..thanks for the great idea 🙂
Wow this is amazing !! And finally something so different love it !!! Laci
Man, that’s cool, blood-orange cinnamon rolls! I am definitely going to have to try this one!
Thank you Raj! I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe as much as we have. Have a great week!
this looks soo good..great recipe
Thank you so much. They were really delicious!
These look AMAZING! I used to eat sweet rolls the same way – I haven’t had one in forever but I’ll have to make this for my kids.
Thank you Wendy! I hope you and your kids enjoy this recipe. My kiddos ate them up!