Flaky Buttermilk Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls {No Yeast, No Rising}
All the gloriousness of homemade cinnamon rolls with no yeast and no rising? These amazing, flaky biscuit cinnamon rolls will make you fall in love with cinnamon rolls all over again.
Hello! Welcome back from all the chaotic gloriousness of the Christmas holiday! I hope you had a great weekend; our holidays were filled with lots of PJ’s, lots of lego-building, lots of movies, lots of food.
We had a few, shall we say, issues, over the break, like freezing water leaking inside through our kitchen windows (home improvement catastrophes bite big time) and our family car dying a slow death.

But…if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my long 3.8 decades of life, it’s how to sort of roll with the punches (even if it includes screaming in my pillow every once in a while and consuming large quantities of dark chocolate).
Thankfully Camryn scored a My Little Pony umbrella for Christmas (her only Christmas wish), and so she felt very well prepared to step in and help shield Brian’s head as he crouched in the kitchen trying to figure out why water was streaming in from outside. Cam to the rescue (theme of our family’s lives, especially when it comes to breaking up wrestling matches between brothers).
But…let’s talk cinnamon rolls (so much more exciting than warped and water damaged windowsills!).
I was really hoping to share this cinnamon roll recipe with you before Christmas, but instead, let’s pretend like cinnamon rolls are THE breakfast to make on New Year’s Day! Or New Year’s Eve?
Or maybe just tomorrow. Because Thursdays are awesome, too.
I love traditional cinnamon rolls. That adoration is very apparent based on the number of cinnamon roll recipes I’ve posted over the years. I love ’em. I do.
But these flaky, tender biscuit cinnamon rolls…they have completely taken my cinnamon roll-loving world and flipped it upside down.
I showed you them on Instagram, and you went crazy (for good reason). I’ve made them no less than a dozen times since then because my family (and the scads of people I’ve shared them with) absolutely cannot get enough.
No yeast.
No rising.
They are so fast. And so easy. And they can be made days in advance (or even longer if you freeze them).
A huge thanks to my virtual friend, Laurel, for giving me the idea for these rolls (actually she and I met in real life a couple years ago when she cheered me on when I ran my half marathon and I hugged her at BYU in November when I spoke there – so let’s rephrase: my real life friend).
She makes biscuit cinnamon rolls every morning at the bakery she works at. She makes them often enough and loves them so truly that she confessed on Instagram a while back she’s never made classic, yeast cinnamon rolls.
I kind of thought she was missing out. I mean, how can you NOT make a fluffy, sweet, traditional cinnamon roll when they are so terribly delicious?
The minute I tried my hand at biscuit cinnamon rolls…and even better…the very second I ate one of these amazingly tender and flaky cinnamon rolls, I understood.
I got it.
Using a homemade buttermilk biscuit dough and sweetening it up just a little is pure cinnamon roll brilliance.
I honestly have been making these right and left.
They are such a no-brainer when you want a delicious cinnamon roll fix but may not have the time to let dough rise or figure out how to time the rising and baking for a warm breakfast.
Although, admittedly, it isn’t that hard with traditional cinnamon rolls, as you and I have discussed hundreds of times in the comments of all my cinnamon roll recipes – I’m just really trying to sell you on these biscuit babies.
Cinnamon rolls are a fairly standard Christmas morning breakfast around here – with some other deliciousness thrown in there over the years.
This last weekend was definitely a cinnamon roll Christmas, but I made these biscuit cinnamon rolls instead of our go-to cinnamon rolls, and I don’t regret it.
I even made them 2 1/2 days in advance when life was a little less crazy, popped them in the refrigerator, and baked them up in 20 minutes flat the morning of (bless the fact that they didn’t require any rising).
Brian is a self-professed cinnamon roll snob.
Quick sidenote, he actually told me the other day, in shocking fashion, that he doesn’t like the maple frosting on these glorious cinnamon roll standbys; I legit had a moment of “who am I and how did I get here” because…I mean…how could he?
But we’re healing and moving on like real adults.
Anyway, he, Brian, looooooves these biscuit cinnamon rolls. And based on the above revelation, I have no doubt now that he would tell me his true feelings.
It’s hard not to love them. They are buttery and flaky and soft and perfect.
Because I’m kind of anti-doughy anything…these divine cinnamon rolls speak to my soul. I’ll never turn my back on a classic cinnamon roll (unless it’s doughy, of course), but this biscuit version has won my heart.
If homemade biscuit dough stresses you out, never fear! It’s not hard (especially if you have a food processor…and simple, even if you don’t).
I’ve included a step-by-step picture guide below the recipe to show you the ins and outs of transforming the dough from a shaggy mess into deliciously divine cinnamon rolls.
Equipment I use for this recipe:
-My trusty Breville food processor (love this thing to the moon and back, especially after I had two Cuisinart food processors die on me)…I’ve also used my pastry blender when making by hand with great results
–OXO Bench Knife/Scraper (best thing for cutting these bad boys into rolls in my opinion)
-Little pastry brush for butter spreading (although….shhhh…you can just use your fingers, too)
-One of these all-purpose sheet pans
How to make these cinnamon rolls ahead of time
This post on making cinnamon rolls ahead of time applies perfectly to any sweet roll!
One Year Ago: Streusel-Topped Cranberry White Chocolate Bread
Two Years Ago: Maple-Spice Cashew Brittle {Super Easy Microwave Version}
Three Years Ago: Homemade Eggnog
Flaky Buttermilk Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls {No Yeast, No Rising}
Ingredients
BISCUITS:
- 4 ½ cups (639 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ½ tablespoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 13 tablespoons (184 g) very cold salted butter
- 2 cups buttermilk, plus a few tablespoons more, if needed
FILLING:
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) salted butter, melted
- ½ cup (106 g) light brown sugar
- ½ to 1 tablespoon cinnamon, depending on how cinnamon-y you like them
ICING:
- ½ cup (57 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- Splash of vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor (you can easily do the following steps in a bowl by hand, using a pastry blender to cut in the butter). Cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is like coarse meal and the butter is in small, pellet-sized pieces (slightly smaller than a pea). This will take a few short pulses in the food processor.
- Pour in the buttermilk and mix/pulse only until just combined. The dough should start to come together but you don’t want to overmix the dough. If there are lots of dry patches throughout the dough, add a bit more buttermilk, just a tablespoon or two at a time until the dough comes together (it’s ok to have dry bits here and there).
- Scrape the dough out of the food processor or bowl onto a lightly floured counter.
- Gently pat (do not roll with a rolling pin!) the dough to about 1/2-inch thick. Gently fold the dough in thirds (see visual below), repeating three times and pressing gently to 1-inch thick after each fold. These folds, combined with the cold butter, are what help to create flaky layers.
- With a lightly floured rolling pin (or pressing quickly with your hands), roll the dough into a 1/4-inch rectangle, about 18X10 or thereabouts. Roll quickly – the more the dough is worked with and processed, the less flaky and tender the rolls will be.
- Spread the melted butter over the top. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and spread evenly over the butter.
- Start rolling up the cinnamon rolls, beginning with one long edge, rolling tightly without pulling and stretching the dough.
- Reposition the long roll until it is seam side down.
- Use a serrated knife, dental floss, or a bench knife/scraper to cut into 1- or 1 1/2-inch rolls. Tuck the loose end of each roll underneath and place an inch or so apart on the prepared baking sheet(s).
- At this point the rolls can be covered and refrigerated for up to two days. To bake immediately, bake for 12-15 minutes. If baking straight from the refrigerator, add a couple minutes to the baking time.
- Let the rolls cool for 10 minutes or so before drizzling with the icing.
- For the icing, whisk together the powdered sugar, melted butter, heavy cream and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
These are seriously the best. I don’t remember if I have ever posted on this or rated it, but I need to because I have made them too many times to count since you first posted them. My family requests these any time we have cinnamon rolls. I have made them for Christmas the last two years and they are so quick! I made them again last week when we had breakfast for dinner and cinnamon rolls for dessert. We had company over (sister missionaries) and they said they were the best cinnamon rolls they had ever had. Good stuff and so dang easy and quick! I don’t think I could ever go back to regular yeast cinnamon rolls again. I think my family would revolt! I made both a few years back, and everyone insisted they liked these better! Thanks Mel!
Delicious! My 4 boys love every breakfast recipe I have made from your website and these were no exception. I didn’t have sour cream to use for buttermilk, so I used plain greek yogurt instead and it worked great.
Thanks Mel for another great Saturday morning breakfast option. I don’t usually plan ahead enough for yeast options.
I doubled the recipe and cut by hand with the pastry blender. I was worried my butter “pellets” were too big but I was kinda in a hurry.
Also I subbed about 1.5C nonfat Greek yogurt, 1c heavy cream, 1.5 c whole milk and a squeeze of lemon instead of 4c buttermilk.
Also I used half AP flour and half whole white flour. And used heaping sugar measure in the dough because I did not have powdered sugar for the frosting and we ate them without.
It was so flaky and soft!
FYI- The vinegar+milk for buttermilk substitutes DOES work for me, only if:
A) the milk is room temp before adding vinegar,
AND
B) you let it sit for at least 10 min before adding vinegar (about 2 tsp vinegar per cup milk). The milk should appear thicker with a “cloudy”, but not quite “curdled” look.
If the above two steps still don’t produce a thick buttermilk substitute, add an additional 1 tsp vinegar, waiting 5 min to see a change in texture. Heating the milk an additional few degrees to lukewarm may also help.
Tried these today- while they were a fun new spin on cinnamon rolls-I think I prefer the traditional way of making them. However, they turned out looking beautiful and I loved that they were so quick. If you are a lover of biscuity textured baked goods, these are for you!
Maybe someone asked (so many comments … which is a good thing ).
Think they’d turn out doing 1c whole milk and 1c plain Greek yogurt?
Haven’t tried that but definitely worth experimenting!
I was off my conference weekend cinnamon roll making game and my families usually conference breakfast was looking bleak when I remembered you had a non yeast recipe that I hadn’t ever tried! These were a nice, easy and quick replacement to our usual Gloria’s cinnamon rolls! I had just used all of my buttermilk and sour cream the day before so worried about using the buttermilk substitute because of your note so I ended using lemon juice and about 1/2 cup of cream for part of the milk so that it’d be a bit thicker and hopefully closer to buttermilk consistency. It worked out great! I do still prefer yeast cinnamon rolls but these were pretty tasted!
Super! Reminds me of a recipe I used to use that required Bisquik. Definitely a keeper in my file.
Your recipe is flawed. Too much buttermilk. Think it should only be a cup. That is when it reached the dough state. Anything after that turns it to cake batter
Hi Dana – I’m just curious, did you actually make the recipe? I wondered if the dough really was like cake batter since I’ve never experienced that with this recipe.
Nope, not too much at all! Use nice, thick buttermilk and it works like a charm.
There was definitely no dryness left with the current recipe, but my dough was definitely not at all like cake batter. It makes a slightly wet biscuit dough for sure. I had no trouble rolling it out or anything with very little flour to dust
okay these are a total game changer! I love cinnamon rolls, and while they aren’t difficult to make, the time required to make them always prevents me from making them as often as my family would like! I feel like holidays always call for a good cinnamon roll and yet I’m so tired from all the other holiday prep, there is no time for cinnamon rolls. UNTIL NOW! Thanks for such an incredible recipe! We made these for our family brunch after our baby blessing today and they were devoured. So tender and flaky and delicious, this is definitely a keeper! Thank you for making cinnamon rolls happen again in our house for this tired mama!
So, so happy to hear this!!
Do you ever use regular, store bought buttermilk for this recipe, or only the milk/sour cream variation? Thanks!
I’ve used both! Either works great.
Justmade these and they were delicious. Better than yeast rolls.
Loved this twist on cinnamon rolls! This recipe saved me on Christmas morning with how quickly it comes together.
Hey Mel! I’ve made these lots before and we looove them! Wondering if they freeze well, or not so much? Thanks!
Yes, they freeze great!
Absolutely amazing! Came out perfect! Thank you! I will be trying as many of your recipes as possible now!
Thanks Christy!
Wondering if you could do these in a crescent roll shape, or if they’re maybe too “biscuit-ie” for that? Thanks, Mel, these look delicious!
I think you probably could! They may not hold the crescent shape so well once baked though…
You need at least double the filling for these rollsvery good recipe.
I made these this morning with 100% Organic Einkorn whole wheat flour. I substituted powdered sugar for the granulated sugar and sifted everything together. I used dark brown sugar in the filling because it was all I had on hand. I used part yogurt and part milk for the buttermilk. I mixed the butter into the flour with a whisk held tightly near the wires. I was out of vanilla so substituted Irish Cream liquor. I cut them thinner than Mel’s. They turned out light and flaky and delicious. Only issue I had was my dark brown sugar is grainy in my filling. Otherwise light flaky deliscousness. Will definitely make again. Any tips on the grainy texture of my filling??
Loved these! Definitely a more biscuit texture, but still tender and delicious! I got 14 rolls and the frosting barely covered them, so I doubled the frosting. Definitely a great option if you’re wanting cinnamon rolls but don’t have time to wait for the rising! YUM!
I loved these! More than yeasted cinnamon rolls I think! The flakiness, butteriness, saltiness is a perfect combination with the sweet cinnamon!
Mel! I tried to print this but when I clicked the “print” button, it lacked a title! I really love adding (all of) your recipes to my physical book (which is made up of your recipes almost exclusively!). Can you fix the printable recipe for me? 🙂 TIA!
I’ll take a look and see what’s going on with the missing title!
Sounds exciting,will try for sure! Thank you!
These were simple, delicious, and satisfied my craving on this chilly Saturday morning! I do request that you would kindly indicate in each baking recipe if you used salted or unsalted butter so we can adjust accordingly. I used some of each because I wasn’t sure. The dough was a little bland and I think definitely needed more salt so I assume you used all salted butter. The outsides of the rolls were too biscuity, but the middles were a perfect texture and light. I didn’t have buttermilk but I used raw milk and two tablespoons lemon juice. I think it’s better to measure the lemon juice first and then add milk to the measurement. I believe your method measures a cup of milk and then adds lemon juice? You get extra liquid that way and I think it would make a big difference in this recipe like you said. My dough was even a tad dry and I added 2T of milk. I definitely had to double the amount of icing
Hi Monica – I always use salted butter and in the few occasions where I don’t, I will make sure to specify unsalted. Any recipe of mine that calls for butter is going to be salted butter. Thanks for your review!
I used plant milk with lemon juice added and just added 1/4 cup less milk than the recipe called for and it worked great! My family loved them and everyone ate at least 2 rolls. They were declared a hit by them, and me (since it took less than an hour from start to out of the oven. Yesssss!
I am at higher altitude, so I used a few tablespoons extra flour. These came out sooooo fluffy. The cinnamon sugar flavor was really light. I think next time, I’ll double the filling ingredients. This dough is a real winner, and I’m already dreaming up more variations… Cheddar Bacon, maple & sausage, garlic herb… OMG. Thank you.
Turned out so well but soooo filling! Also, my glaze didn’t look anything like the pictures…mine wasn’t as smooth and had a yellow tint to it from the butter. Thoughts?
Did you mix it by hand or with an electric mixer?
Thank you for another great recipe! These came together easily in the food processor and were sweet without being over the top. A definite go to cinnamon roll recipe for us in the future.
I have made these before with regular milk and they were wonderful. I was wondering if you could subsititute Almond milk in place of milk?
I haven’t tried that so I’m sorry I don’t know for sure!
Ok, so I make yeast breads quite often (thanks to you and your encouragement and excellent tutorials) but I’ve never made biscuits because they seemed so intimidating! You made these sound so easy and I love the short time needed so I went for it today… amazing! Easy and delicious!! I also used your recommended 1/2 sour cream 1/2 milk and it worked great! Thanks for a winner, Mel!
I love to cook and bake and am a regular here at Mel’s. However, I have never made biscuits or breads or rolls of any kind that require yeast. I am capital C – CHICKEN – to do such a thing. When I saw this recipe, I was encouraged that maybe I, even I, could make “from-scratch” cinnamon rolls. I made them this morning. Even with the handy-dandy pictorial illustration, I was skeptical about if they would/could possibly turn out.
Well, turn out they did. They are easy, even for a fearful rookie, and taste delicious! Mel does it again! Thank you, thank you!
I’m so proud of you, Joan! Yay!
I decided to bake these little lovelies for Christmas morning and my grand plan was to prep the dough the night before and pop them in the oven first thing Christmas morning. We got a little off track on Christmas Eve and I nearly canned the idea because it was 11 pm and I didn’t want to wake the creatures of the house with my food processor. “To heck with it,” I thought, “I’m going for it”. I stationed my husband in the hallway to intervene in case either of the children woke up, and I went to work. I am so glad I did! The recipe was super easy to prepare, and I found myself feeling truly delighted to work with the dough (as odd as that may sound). This morning, these scrumptious mouthfuls were a haven of yummy in the chaos of Christmas morning. I think every adult here averaged 3 rolls each! All this to say, you’d be a fool not to try this recipe. It is a keeper in my house! Thank you very much for posting this, Mel! I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and all good things in 2018!
Haha, that doesn’t sound odd at all! I feel the same way. 🙂 So happy the end result was worth staying up late to get them prepped!
Tell me how you get the dough so smooth without working it to death. My rolls looked like biscuits.
My rolls are still a little bit bumpy, like biscuits – it just might be hard to tell from the pictures.
Made these with the boyfriend, who has a hard time with rich food, and we used your cream cheese frosting rather than the icing. Boyfriend loved them! They’re still so good, but much lighter than your regular cinnamon roll. My roommate loved them, too 🙂 Great recipe!
Since Thanksgiving, I have been wanting cinnamon rolls. I stopped at the store and they only had the prepared package ones. After trying this recipe, this is exactly what i wanted — a delicious, light cinnamon roll. My children enjoyed every bite! The recipe was easy to follow, definitely a keeper. Thank you for sharing.
Since Thanksgiving, I have been wanted cinnamon rolls. I stopped at the store and they only had the prepared package ones. After trying this recipe, this is exactly what i wanted — a delicious, light cinnamon roll. My children enjoyed every bite! The recipe was easy to follow, definitely a keeper. Thank you for sharing.
New favorite recipe! This will be my go to cinnamon roll recipe from now on, so easy and so delicious. If I made a batch to freeze how long would they last and do you have any tips for freezing/thawing? Thank you you for sharing this and providing such great instructions.
They should last a month or so frozen. I thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and then bake once they are thawed (it takes 12 hours or so to thaw in the fridge).
Hi Mel,
I so appreciate and LOVE all your recipes. I have had these in my queue for months to try. My sister and I finally made them this weekend. The dough was SO SO sticky- I measured the ingredients by weight so I would be sure to get it correct. The dough was so sticky that we nearly gave up and threw it away, but we continued and though they weren’t pretty-they were DELICIOUS. I know this is probably a dumb question- but I want to bake them again (and again and again) , I just want to be sure I’m making the right corrections- would I just add more flour in that case? I’m not sure how altitude would affect the outcome, but we do live at about 6,000ft. Thanks so much for your help (and delicious recipes!) !
oh, and compliments to you! we live near Denver Biscuit Company-before them I had never heard of a biscuit cinnamon roll- they have the most amazing biscuits and cinnamon rolls, but everyone who tried your recipe picked them over Denver Biscuit. (Even though they really were so ugly because of whatever I did wrong!!)
Wow! That’s awesome that the homemade version beat out a popular bakery roll. That’s fun! Ok, about the stickiness, I definitely think it’s an elevation issue. I haven’t lived at above 5,000 feet for almost a decade (my elevation is right around 2,800 where I live now), but I do think elevation factors into this. Generally I recommend for high elevation baking to add several tablespoons more flour (for cookies, cakes), but I imagine these biscuit rolls might be the same. I’d try 1/4 cup extra flour and see how that goes. But don’t hesitate to add a tad more – just keep the dough soft and pliable without being overly sticky OR without it being stiff. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much!! We will try them again, soon!!
any experiences with freezing the dough and then defrosting and baking another time?
Yes, it works great!
I am partial to the yeast versions, but these are super quick and my kids loved them!!
We can’t do milk, so I alway use a homemade coconut milk buttermilk substitute. Our biscuits turned out great using it! I took a look at your recipe for a substitute and noticed it differed from the one in my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and my grandmas’s Betty Crocker cookbook. It could be the different milk or the different recipe that made the difference (though the recipe is not much different: put the tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in first then pour in the milk until it measures 1 cup). My kids love these even more than regular cinnamon rolls!
I made these yesterday with the sour cream/milk sub for buttermilk, and they turned out great! I over pulsed the butter into the flour mixture because my food processor was a little too full to get the job done with just a few mixes, but the result was a perfect melt in your mouth dough. My husband even came home from work and made sure to tell me that he really liked them. This is a great change from yeast cinnamon rolls!
Could you use self rising flour?
Self rising flour already has leavening added to it, so I’m not sure how it would work in this recipe.
Instead of making a filling can I just add the filling ingredients to the biscuit dough? That way you have an even amount of cinnamon and sugar in every bite. Thank You
You could certainly experiment – I’m not sure how that would affect the consistency and texture of the biscuit dough, though.
Two things,
1.) I have to double check that the recipe really calls for that much baking powder. I’ve never seen a recipe call for so much so I am double checking.
2.) I have made this a super lazy way by melting the butter and adding it to the buttermilk and stirring. I’m sure they aren’t quite as flaky and as wonderful that way….but sometime convenience wins.
As usual your recipe is fantastic, directions are easy to understand, and you go to amazing lengths with your pictures to help us understand.
Now off to make your classic waffles for supper. We have breakfast once a week for supper. Waffles are part of the rotation.
Yep, the amount of baking powder is correct. 🙂 We love waffles for dinner, too!
Didn’t read all the comments, so I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but: I have made these rolls twice now, both times using my milk keifer instead of buttermilk and it worked great! I started making milk keifer because of you :), so I thought I’d mention the substitution. Thanks!
Thanks, Holly!
I have a question for you Mel, it seems every time I make cinnamon rolls ahead of time (the night before) the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture leaks from the bottom and and when I bake it gets crusty and makes for a “crunchy” bottom to the rolls. Is there a way to prevent this?
Hey Kylene – I know what you mean. That happens to me as well sometimes. I can minimize that by making sure the butter is soft, not melted, when making the cinnamon rolls, but inevitably I still get a little bit of buttery/sugary liquid on the bottom of the pan if I refrigerate them overnight.
Just made these & I am so glad I found this recipe and your blog! Mine did not turn out as beautiful, but they taste good anyway. Soft, fluffy, not overly sweet. The best part is not having to deal with yeast and rising. Thanks!
Hey! Have you ever attempted these with lard instead of butter? This recipe is very similar to my biscuit recipe, in which butter and lard are interchangeable. Best part is that lard is so cheap and is easier to cut in.
Wondering if you have tried that substitution?
Many thanks!
I haven’t tried that, sorry!
Oops, I hit post without finishing. I was asking about freezing… Would it work well to freeze them and pack them in a cooler and then have them while camping?
Could these be made ahead and frozen? Would they work well that way?
Yes, I think that would work great!
Made these tonight and they were fabulous! I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for a 20 minute cinnamon roll, and here we are, so thank you!