Flaky Buttermilk Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls {No Yeast, No Rising}

These biscuit cinnamon rolls are incredible! Using easy-to-make homemade biscuit dough, they come together so fast – no yeast, and no rising!

Whoa. I just made these cinnamon rolls this morning and my world has been flipped upside down! They were soooo delicious. It’ll take me a while to go back to making traditional yeast cinnamon rolls after how quickly and easily these came together. -Annie

Why You’ll Love This Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Just take a quick gander through the comment section to see why this biscuit cinnamon roll recipe is so amazing. To sum it up:

• The texture is amazing. They are SO fluffy, so flaky, so buttery, and so delicious.
• The biscuit cinnamon rolls are so quick and easy to make because there are no rising times. They can be baked right away.
• This is a perfect recipe to make ahead of time. The unbaked, shaped rolls keep very well in the refrigerator for 24 hours before baking.
• Many readers have reported that this recipe works great made gluten-free subbing in a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour (this is NOT normally the case with normal, yeast-dough cinnamon roll recipes)! One reader said they were, by far, the best gluten-free cinnamon rolls she’s ever made or eaten!

I’ve been making these biscuit cinnamon rolls for ten years, and half of my family members say they prefer them to regular cinnamon rolls!

Important Ingredients Notes

• All-purpose flour: Every day all-purpose flour works best in this recipe. Bread flour can make the biscuits heavy and dense. Many readers have reported that using a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour works well for a gluten-free variation. If doing so, I suggest starting with 10% less gluten-free flour (about 575 grams).
• Granulated sugar: Adds a hint of sweetness.
• Brown sugar: Light or dark brown sugar can be used. It is used in the filling of the cinnamon rolls.
• Baking soda + Baking powder: Because this recipe doesn’t use yeast for rising, the baking soda and baking powder are ultra-important to the recipe for a light, fluffy cinnamon roll.
• Butter: I use salted butter in both the biscuit dough, the filling and the icing.
• Buttermilk: Using buttermilk in the recipe gives the biscuit cinnamon rolls a super light and tender crumb.
• Cinnamon: Feel free to increase the amount of cinnamon in the filling if you like a more definitive cinnamon flavor.
• Powdered Sugar: This ingredient is used in the icing.

Step-by-Step Photo Tutorial for Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls

A Few Additional Notes

Don’t let anyone tell you that nothing will replace a classic, fluffy cinnamon roll! This biscuit cinnamon roll recipe is incredibly delicious in its own right AND it is so much faster and easier to make than traditional cinnamon rolls.

This biscuit cinnamon roll recipe has been a huge family favorite for ten years! I often make them in place of traditional cinnamon rolls – not just when I’m short on time, but mostly because we love them so much. They are SO GOOD!

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls

Yield: 15 Cinnamon rolls

Prep Time: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

4.66 stars (264 ratings)

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Ingredients

Biscuit Dough:

• 4 ½ cups (639 g) all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 ½ tablespoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 13 tablespoons (184 g) cold salted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups buttermilk, plus a few extra tablespoons, if needed

Filling (see note):

• ½ cup (106 g) light brown sugar
• 2 to 3 teaspoons cinnamon, depending on how cinnamon-y you like the filling
• 4 tablespoons (57 g) salted butter, melted

Icing (see note):

• ½ cup (57 g) powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
• Splash of vanilla extract

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Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.
• For the biscuit dough, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade (see notes for making the biscuit dough without a food processor), add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Process to combine.
• Add the butter and pulse until the butter is in pea-size or slightly larger pieces.
• Drizzle in the buttermilk and pulse until the biscuit dough starts to come together and form a cohesive mass. Don't over mix. It's ok if there are a few dry patches. Add additional buttermilk a tablespoon at a time only if the dough is too dry to press together.
• Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop.
• Gently pat the dough to about 1/2-inch thick. Fold the dough in thirds (see visual in the post) and press into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Repeat two more times. These folds are what help to create flaky layers. Don't over work the dough, just fold and press gently and quickly.
• With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle, about 18X10-inches, more or less.
• For the filling, in a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Spread the melted butter over the top of the dough.
• Starting with one long edge, roll up the cinnamon rolls tightly without pulling or stretching the dough.
• Reposition the long roll until it is seam side down.
• Using a serrated knife, dental floss, or a bench knife, cut the log into 1-inch or 1 1/2-inch rolls. Tuck the loose end of each roll underneath and place 1/2-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
• At this point the rolls can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. To bake immediately, bake in the preheated oven for 13 to 16 minutes. If baking straight from the refrigerator, add a couple minutes to the baking time.
• For the icing, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, melted butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
• Let the rolls cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle the warm rolls with icing. Serve warm.

Notes

Mixing Dough by Hand: To mix the dough by hand, add the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Add the butter in pieces and use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is in pea-size or slightly smaller pieces. Alternately, the butter can be grated into the dry mixture on the large holes of a box grater – toss with the dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk and mix with a spatula until the dough starts to come together. At this point, it is easier to use your hands to fold the dough together. Add additional buttermilk only if the dough is too dry to come together. Proceed with the recipe. 

Buttermilk: I usually champion the homemade buttermilk solution, but it has failed miserably when I’ve used it in this recipe (dough too wet, rolls flattening while baking). If wanting to use homemade buttermilk, I’d suggest using this substitute: half sour cream and half milk to equal the amount in the recipe for a thicker buttermilk. 

Filling: Many readers report that they prefer doubling the filling. 

Icing: As written, the icing amount is a very light drizzle over the rolls. Double for a thicker coverage of icing.

Author: Mel

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Method: Bake

Serving: 1Cinnamon Roll, Calories: 346kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 502mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 17g

Recommended Products

Cookie Sheet {Half Sheet Pan}

Breville Food Processor

Pastry Blender

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Recipe originally published December 2016; updated April 2026 with new recipe notes, etc.

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