Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
These vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls are incredible! Fluffy and soft, the dough is a dream to work with and the frosting is perfection.
This recipe for my tried-and-true vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls is amazing!
The vanilla pudding makes the dough extremely soft and pliable. Once baked, the cinnamon rolls are so softy and fluffy!
Cinnamon Roll Dough with Pudding
This recipe has gained fame and fortune (ok, just fame) because of the secret ingredient:
Vanilla pudding.
Homemade or boxed, store bought pudding can be used.
Boxed pudding: 3.5 ounce box of instant vanilla pudding.
Homemade pudding: about 2 1/4 cups of cooked and mostly cooled vanilla pudding.
Other than the pudding, the dough is really straightforward. The dough is soft and supple and needs to rise until doubled before rolling out into cinnamon rolls.
Rolling Out Cinnamon Rolls
Pat the dough into a large rectangle and slather with butter and then an healthy sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar.
Roll up the dough into a log. Take care not to pull and stretch the dough while rolling or the rolls can shrink while baking.
Using a super sharp serrated knife or piece of thread or unflavored dental floss, cut the log into 1 or 1 1/2-inch pieces.
Place the cinnamon rolls on a greased baking sheet and let rise until doubled.
Bake until puffy and golden. PERFECTION.
When to Frost Cinnamon Rolls
There are two schools of thought on when to frost a cinnamon roll. Neither is wrong, so go with your heart!
- Let the rolls cool for 5-10 minutes and then frost. RESULT: ooey gooey frosting oozing into every crevice of the cinnamon rolls.
- Let the rolls cool completely before frosting. RESULT: fluffy frosting complimenting the pillowy soft cinnamon roll.
Reviews for Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls
These cinnamon rolls have been a tried-and-true favorite for more than a decade. Here are a few rave reviews from many of you who have fallen in love with them over the years:
Cooke F.: I have made these cinnamon rolls for the last 7 Christmas morning breakfasts. My family is addicted. Soooo good.
Kristina: The best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made!
Gina: I’ve made these lots and they turn out perfect every time. They are the BEST. So decadent. Rave reviews from family, friends and coworkers. Thank you! 🙂
Kathy W.: I thought I had the best cinnamon roll recipe in North America but I was sadly mistaken. I made these this morning and they are to die for! No kidding. I just about made myself sick eating these delicious and gooey cinnamon rolls.
How to make these cinnamon rolls ahead of time
This post on making cinnamon rolls ahead of time applies perfectly to any sweet roll!
Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Rolls:
- ½ cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast or 1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3.5 ounce package instant vanilla pudding (see note)
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 to 7 cups (852 to 994 g) all-purpose flour
Filling:
- 1 cup (227 g) butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (424 g) brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons cinnamon
Frosting:
- 8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups (342 g) confectioner’s sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside.
- In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook), take pudding mix and prepare according to package directions. Add butter, eggs and salt. Mix well. Then add yeast mixture. Blend.
- Gradually add flour; knead until smooth. Do not overflour the dough! It should be very soft but not sticky. Place in a greased bowl.
- Cover the dough and let rise until doubled (if using boxed pudding, it may take quite a while to double because of the cold milk – see note below).
- Roll out the dough on a lightly greased or floured surface to about 34 X 21 inches in size. Take 1 cup soft butter and spread over surface.
- For the filling: in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top of the buttered dough. Roll up very tightly. With knife put a notch every 1 1/2 inches. Cut with thread or serrated knife.
- Place on lightly greased cookie sheet about an inch apart. Cover and let rise until double again.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove when they start to turn golden (don’t overbake). Frost warm rolls with cream cheese frosting (combine butter and cream cheese and mix well, then add vanilla and sugar and mix again, then add milk for desired consistency).
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Recipe originally posted September 2008; updated August 2022 with new photos, recipe updates, etc.
That could have been it. I was very conservative when using the flour as I have a bad habit of generally overflouring my baking. Next batch I will tweak the amounts, thanks so much!
Emily – is there a chance you might have underfloured the dough? That may cause them to spread (if the dough is too sticky and won’t hold up to rising/baking) – otherwise, you might try rolling them up even tighter.
Should I use bread flour or regular flour?
These are delicious! However, I think that I must have done something wrong. I divided them into three batches, one of which I baked straight away on a cookie sheet. The spread out like crazy, but we all still enjoyed them immensely. The second batch I froze and thawed over night, plopped on a cookie sheet, and noticed after 2 minutes in the oven they were spreading again. I transferred them to a 8″ sq dish and they are looking great.
I have been making these for a couple of years, now, and, after experimenting with several other versions (including your buttermilk ones), we keep coming back to these. Love the light, fluffy texture, and, with my LARGE family (7 kids!), the recipe makes enough for everyone to have their fill with some left over. 🙂
BUT, I have shied away from them recently, as we are trying to cut WAY down on processed foods, and the instant pudding thing… *sigh* HOWEVER, I had a thought. I subbed in your Vanilla Pudding recipe for the instant (made ahead and chilled), and guess what? They were DIVINE. *happy dance* Still the same light, fluffy texture, and lovely sweet taste, without all the unpronounceables. My family is happy. I am happy. And we are once again in cinnamon roll heaven. <3
Just made these to go with chili for the Super Bowl. They are amazing! This will be my ONLY cinnamon roll recipe from now on. Very easy and the dough is so tender!
For those about icing, I change mine up for more flavor. So I add pecans to the filing, but for the icing I use honey nut cream cheese and instead of vanilla I use about 3 tbs of maple syrup. Cannot wait to make this again!
i made these today and they turned out super awesome! it was by the weirdest recipe i have ever worked with but it was absolutely delicious. thanks so much for sharing, keep on blogging!!!! 🙂
Lacy – you know, I don’t know that I have any really great tips other than just trying to get that first roll over as tight as possible – it seems like once that first roll is tight, the rest rolls up fine…although, mine don’t always look tight and neat, I have to admit.
I made these last night and took them to my husband’s work this morning, huge hit! Thank you! One question, do you have any tips for rolling them tight? I’m not sure if they weren’t tight enough because I refrigerated them over night and the filling leaked out a bit or I just didn’t roll then tight enough in the first place. Thanks again!
Kristin – love moms of all boys! We have to stick together. As for the cinnamon rolls, yes, they can definitely be shaped and put in the pan the night before. Don’t let them rise in the pan, once they are shaped, stick them on the pan, cover with greased plastic wrap and refrigerate. Pull them out a couple of hours before you need to bake them so they have time to double in size. Hope that helps!
Hi Mel! Congratulations on the fifth new one!! If it is a boy, we will be almost twins!! Speaking of five boys, they are hankering for your Pudding Cinnamon Rolls. Just one question, I want to put them together tonight and bake them in the morning. Do I let them rise after cut and then refridgerate? I am new to the yeast endeavor. I did make your french bread rolls for our early Christmas with the in-laws and they were a huge hit!! You are the bomb!!
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Mom of Five boys from Kansas…love them boys!!
Ok Mel … .we are trying these for X-mas morning and your Buffalo Pretzel bites, 7 layer dip and amazing chocolate cake for X-mas eve. .. .a tad ambitious I am afraid. ..but can’t resist as everything we try of yours comes out fab! Wish I had the confidence to try your fab frosting recipe as well. .! Thanks for the great ideas!! Fingers crossed we don’t mess it all up royally!! Ha ha!
Lorrie – I don’t usually give an exact time because it depends a lot on the temperature of your kitchen, how warm your dough is, etc. But on average, I’d suggest about an hour to an hour and a half for each rise. Good luck!
Tina – you need to use the dry mix pudding where you just add milk (like the instant jello pudding brand). Hope that helps.
I am making these before I head to church on sunday. How long do they rise (1st and 2nd time)?
Hi,I really would like to try these rolls,but I do not understand clear about the pudding,if to use a ready pudding? or to make it from powder custard with milk?or make it from vanilla jello?please help me,because it looks delicius!
So I found out that just thinking about food can impact blood sugar. Tomorrow I am making these glorious rolls. Tonight all the members of my family are suffering from insulin problems. I may start at 6am. mmmmmm. LOVE THESE!!!
I made these last night and they were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! This is now my go to recipe for cinnamon rolls! Thank you!
Really? then do you just mix it all by hand flour and everything? You may have said it somewhere, but I dont remember reading it
Stace – I use my Bosch mixer when making these rolls. It has about a 12-15 cup flour capacity so I think it is quite a bit bigger than the Kitchenaid. If you halve the recipe, it might fit better in your mixer.
So I am making these for conference sunday.. do I have a tiny kitchenaid or am I doing something wrong? While trying to knead these the dough kept coming over the top of my hook. I realize this makes 24 rolls.. but am I doing something wrong.. or can I half the recipe next time… I am stressed about how well it was kneaded.
Stace – I’ve never made cinnamon rolls or anything, for that matter, in a kitchen aid, so I’m not sure how the size of your kitchen aid will work with the cinnamon rolls, although I have heard several people mention that whenever they make any yeast/bread recipe in their kitchen aid, they halve the recipe. It sounds like maybe that might be the key next time. Either that or perhaps the dough needed a bit more flour in order to not be so sticky. I hope they turned out ok!
Whoa, this makes A LOT of cinnamon rolls! I went ahead baked the one pan for our family and froze the rest. I froze them on the sheet pan but then wrapped each one in plastic wrap (probably overkill, I know) and then put them into a freezer bag. The thing I like about that is that we can pull them out individually and make 2 or so at a time if we get a craving for them rather than the whole pan. I just unwrap them, plop ’em on a pan before bed and they’re ready to go in the morning. Thank you for the great recipe!
Mel, you’ve done it again: these are, hands-down, the best cinnamon rolls my family and I have ever had. I made these for my sister’s birthday, and they turned out beautifully. Everyone’s bellies are achingly full–and I’ve got a fistful of compliments, thanks to you and Aunt Marilyn! 🙂
I made this recipe the first time with butterscotch pudding because that’s what I had on hand. I just made them again today and I used vanilla, I have to say that I like it better with butterscotch, although both were tasty 🙂
made these on wednesday and i confess, they were gone within 24 hours and theres only 4 of us. even with all whole wheat flour they were fluffy and wonderful—maybe even better than my moms recipe…but dont tell her i said that. 😉
Mmmm, I made these with butterscotch pudding instead and they’re heavenly 🙂 thanks for sharing the recipe.
I used half and half just in case. I didn’t expect you to respind so quickly! 🙂 YAY! I made these and the garlic Chicken pasta with spinach(with a tad of extra red pepper) YUMMO- well the bite I snuck. Thanks a bunch
Do you use bread flour or all purpose?
Jahna – I use all-purpose flour.
I have the dough for the rolls rising right now. I had to add about 7 cups of flour to make it stiff enough to handle. Husband did not want cake for his birthday but said cinnamon rolls sounded good. Also going to attempt your shrimp penne recipe tonight. Thanks for getting me out of my ordinary, everyday recipe rut I have been in.
I made these for Father’s Day and they were a huge hit. It was my first time making cinnamon rolls and it all worked like a charm. Thank you for an amazing recipe. This is on my list of favorites now.
i made these for fathers day(my first time making cinnamon rolls ever), but i used sugar free pudding so there was six cups of milk in total i ended up having to use a lot more flour and i randomly put in sugar. I guess they tasted alright no one complained about having a hot cinnamon roll. but the dough was kind of tough and i will try this recipe again
I noticed that in the recipe you said you thaw in the fridge overnight but in the comments you just thawed 8-9 hours. Is that on the counter? I haven’t had the best of luck thawing in the fridge. They don’t rise very evenly and it takes forever to rise after they come out of the fridge. I was thinking that next time I’d just leave them on the counter but I didn’t know if that was a good idea or not. Please advise! Thanks!
Kim – with these and other cinnamon rolls, I’ve done both thawing methods – both in the refrigerator overnight or just on the counter. If I use the refrigerator method, I usually have to let them sit out at room temperature for 2 hours or so to continue to come to room temp and rise. In my honest opinion, cinnamon rolls made and eaten the same day are the only way to go. While the frozen/thawed method works fine, I still prefer them fresh. But there are times when I have to/want to make them in advance so I usually thaw them on the counter or the refrigerator. I agree with you that sometimes I notice they don’t thaw or rise as evenly as if they hadn’t been frozen but those little nuances are worth it when I need to make them in advance. I think leaving them on the counter is just fine, especially if your home is a cool room temperature (a piping hot/sweltering house wouldn’t be a good idea, in my opinion).
Just made these on Sunday. For 5 years I’ve been begging my mother-in-law to share/show me her delicious cinnamon roll recipe. Still haven’t got it from her, and I was on a mission to find one even better! In my husband’s words, “These rival my Grandma’s and Mom’s…actually these are better, but pleeeease don’t tell them I said that!” Hahaha! Thanks Mel, for an amazing recipe.
Oh, and for the frosting my husband hates cream cheese, so I only put half the recommended amount in, he had no idea until he finished off two rolls, then I told him! Surprisingly he didn’t mind.
The. Best. Ever. You weren’t kidding. My entire family can’t stop eating them. This will be my staple Christmas morning cinnamon roll recipe. Thank you so much! I think that next time, I may use just a little less of the filling. Also, I didn’t use the cream cheese frosting because I don’t like my rolls overly-sweet. But they weren’t gooey at all. The dough is so light and perfect. They’re wonderful.
These were incredible. My 5 year old son asked for cinnamon rolls so I made these. I didn’t have cream cheese so I just used a glaze frosting and they were still great. Thanks for another great recipe!!!!
Mel, you’ve done it again…. These are FANTASTIC. I even made the subs for my daughter (with almond milk and MSPI-safe butter) and she thoroughly enjoyed them as well, even without frosting!
Do you think that you could let them do the final rise before freezing, that way they could go straight to the oven, without needing a thaw? I froze them how you suggested, but some mornings, I get a craving for these bad boys, and can’t really wait 4 hours to thaw them! I guess I could have some in the fridge on standby… Going to halve the recipe later this week and let you know how it goes!
Hi Bliss – you could attempt freezing them after the final rise – the only problem with that sometimes is that when they are taken from the freezer and come up to room temperature (in the oven, let’s say, as they are baking), they will sometimes fall because they have risen too much. It’s worth a try, though! Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
In my best Daffy Duck voice, “You’re dispickable!” LOL
OK, thank you for your answer, definitely going to give these a try, they look delicious!
Hi Mel, I’ve just stumbled upon your recipe and I love it! I’m going to make these, can you please just tell me about this vanilla instant pudding:you prepare it according to instructions-do you actually cook it in milk or water and then add the rest of the ingredients to it, or you just mix the powder with milk or water (without cooking) and then add yeast etc. ? I’ve never made yeast dough with vanilla pudding so I need to ask, don’t want to do anything wrong 🙂 Looking forward to your answer and making these :))
All the best
Hi Tamara – you don’t want to use the cook-and-serve vanilla pudding – make sure you are using the instant vanilla pudding. That way you can just mix the powder and milk together and it will thicken up perfectly to use in the recipe. You want to actually whisk together the pudding and milk before adding the other ingredients. Hope that helps! Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.
I was debating on if I wanted to make these or the buttermilk ones.. I went with these and they are delicious! I have made other recipes and this is the best I have made. They are very soft. Taste like cinnabon to me!
When I try the buttermilk kind I’ll let you know which ones I liked best. Sounds like it’ll be a close call.
I printed this recipe a year ago and finally made them tonight–during our ice storm here in Ohio. The rolls were awesome! So tender. My family loved them. Thank you for the note about the instant yeast.–but didn’t see it till after I made them. The recipe turned out fine with the 2 TBL of instant yeast. I’m going to try freezing the left-overs and then reheat in the mornings. Thank you Mel!
This is the exact same recipe my Dad has been using for years (he had the BEST cinnamon rolls! So good they were mentioned in both his obit AND his eulogies!) I don’t know where he got it – he’s been using it at least the last decade. Fortunately, he taught me to make them, though mine aren’t quite to the same standard as his – as he said, practice makes perfect.
QUESTION – the ones I made yesterday were a little dense, and tasted a little of flour. After reading Goomba’s comments about flour, I think I, too, probably used too much flour.
My problem is knowing when to stop working the dough. Dad always said it was easy to over-work it, and I ended up not kneading it long enough. Can anyone give me a guideline/rule of thumb on how long to knead it?
I found your blog by searching for this recipe. I look forward to checking out your recipes!
Hey Mel,
Goomba again. So I just made another batch of these last Saturday and I think I perfected them. Since Christmas I have made 5 batches of these and here is the trick imo….
I used 6.5 cups of flour in mixer and the dough is still sticky. no problem. let dough rise until doubled per recipe. add little more flour to make dough soft to roll out, cut, place in pan and let rise a little bit again. BAM! awesome rolls and people praising them.
I made the mistake with 2 of the batches by letting them rise for many hours (since I let dough rise while I was gone on Christmas eve) and then rolled them out and instead of baking them, let them rise in pan till morning cause I was dog tired at 2 am Christmas morning. I baked them the next morning and although they were good, they had a strong yeast taste… I think I also used too much flour (7 cups) instead of 6.5 (+ the flour used to get dough soft for rolling out). Anyway I corrected the mistake and got the measurements and timing back to the 1st 2 batches I made which were awesome.
Goomba – I just might start referring to you as the VPCR expert. You are on to something with the rising – when I let my breads/rolls over rise, they get the same yeasty taste you are referring to. Thanks for checking back in!
I LOVE this recipe and have traded my grandmothers pass me down recipe (That EVERYONE loves) for this one because I think it’s better! 🙂 (Shhh don’t tell). I froze these so they would be an easy breakfast for the morning. Thawed them all day in my fridge and then set them out on the counter when one of my kids woke up at 4 am until 7 and put them in the oven- so delicious!
Just curious when my mom has tried this in the past she said they never raise up and they taste really doughy when she freezes them? She leaves hers on the counter all night and bakes them in the morning. Do you think she’s missing the raise and by the time she gets up they fall again?
Anyways thanks for another great recipe! And I LOVE the frosting too
Nicole – I’m honored these beat out your grandma’s recipe. Don’t worry, I won’t say a word. About your mom’s questions, some dough recipes don’t work quite as well defrosting and baking…but you may be on to something with the rising thing. Maybe she should try letting them rise a few hours less.
Wow! just finished making these and they are awesome!!! The dough is so much more flavorful and softer than the dough recipe I have been using for years…. My wife loves them too. Thanks again for the recipe.
Goomba – I was wondering how they turned out for you after reading your initial comment. I think I may email your comment to my husband and inspire him to make ME some of these beauties!
Thanks for the recipe. I just made the dough tonight and going to roll them out soon. Question though…. I added 6.5 cups of flour gradually and the dough was still sticky, does this mean I need to add more flour gradually until it is soft but not sticky anymore? I didn’t add more flour cause I didn’t want to overflour.
Thanks again!
I’m going the try the yummy rolls for xmas morning…if i make them ahead and freeze them…can i let them defrost at room temperature on my counter the night before (as opposed to the refrigerator) so i can bake right when we wake up xmas morning?? Happy Holidays! I enjoy your blog!
Diane – when I freeze my cinnamon rolls ahead of time, I take them out the night before so they have a good 8-9 hours of defrosting/rising time. I let them sit on my counter until the next morning when I pop them in the oven. Hope that helps!
I had this recipe couple of years ago and lost it…..so upset. Looking for it this morning and found your version. I think it looks better than my original and can not wait to try it. They are raising right now…I am taking them to work tomorrow…..
I love your site….found by surfing……great recipes. I am snowed in today and will probably spend the day with your recipes!!!
Kate – I hope you like this version as much as you did your lost recipe! I am snowed in today, too, and just made two recipes that were perfect for a snowy day – just like cinnamon rolls!
I’m a college student with limited access to real food, so when I saw this recipe, of COURSE I had to try it! If there’s one thing my mom passed on to me, it’s an appreciation for good baking.
Well I made these rolls for my dorm-mates, and wow. They were absolutely phenomenal. Rich, fluffy, dreamy. Every single person who tried one listed them in their top favorite things about college :] Thanks for your devotion to this blog and I can’t wait to have my own kitchen to try out more of your ideas!
Katie C – what an honor that you and your dormmates loved these cinnamon rolls so much! Thank you for trying them and checking back in to let me know!
Hi Melanie,
Your blog is incredible. I just made your recipe and took a few pictures and blogged about it and wanted to share the link with you. Thank you for sharing all your amazing recipes, detailed instructions and photos.
http://kellytimestwo.blogspot.com/2010/12/cinnabon-style-cinnamon-rolls.html
Kelly – thanks for your comment! I’m thrilled you liked this recipe…I’m on my way to check out your post!
That sounds great. Thanks for the advice!