How to Freeze Cinnamon Rolls

Learn the best way to freeze homemade cinnamon rolls, whether before or after baking. Our guide covers everything from freezing to defrosting, ensuring your cinnamon rolls are perfect for Christmas morning or special occasions.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the ins and outs of freezing cinnamon rolls, ensuring that every bite tastes as fresh as the day it was baked.

Is it Better to Freeze Cinnamon Rolls Before or After Baking?

The decision to freeze cinnamon rolls before or after baking depends on your schedule and preference. Freezing the unbaked rolls keeps the dough fresh and ready to rise, perfect for that fresh-baked aroma on busy mornings. This gives the best results for enjoying fresh cinnamon rolls in a time crunch.

On the other hand, freezing already baked rolls is a time-saver; just thaw, warm in either the oven or the microwave, and they’re ready to enjoy.

Start with the Best Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Our Cinnabon copycat cinnamon buns have been touted as the best cinnamon rolls around. Go look at all of the rave reviews!

That original recipe is the recipe we used to test how to freeze cinnamon rolls and thousands of you have used this method for holiday breakfasts.

Can you use a different recipe and freeze with this method for make-ahead cinnamon rolls? Yes. Most likely anyway. But ours is the best. Just sayin’.

How to Freeze Unbaked Cinnamon Rolls

• Prepare your cinnamon roll dough as per your favorite recipe. Use instant yeast when freezing unbaked cinnamon roll dough.
• Allow the dough to do its first rise. 
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Spread the top of the dough with melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Starting on the long side, roll up jelly roll style into a tight log.
• Cut the dough into individual cinnamon rolls and arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave enough space for each unbaked roll to freeze individually.

6. Place the sheet pan in the freezer and flash freeze the rolls until solid, about an hour.
7. Once the rolls are frozen, transfer the rolls into a freezer-safe bag, ensuring they don’t get squished. Double bag to prevent freezer burn. You can use any freezer safe airtight container.
8. Label the bag with the date and freeze for up to 2 months.

How to Bake Frozen Cinnamon Roll Dough

For freezer cinnamon rolls, you’ll need at least 6 hours from the point of taking the dough out of the freezer to the time of baking. Here are the steps:

• Take the amount of rolls you’d like to bake out of the freezer.
• Place them in a baking pan. For reference, 12 rolls fit in a 9×13″ baking pan. 4 rolls in a 6″ round pan, or 8 rolls in a deep dish pie plate. 
• Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap.
• If you’re taking the rolls out of the freezer to bake the next day, place the pan in the fridge to allow the rolls to thaw overnight.
• If you have less time (less than 6 hours), let the cinnamon roll dough thaw at room temperature. They do not have to be in a warm place. In fact, they should not be.
• If the rolls were in the fridge, the next morning remove the pan from the fridge and allow the rolls to sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.
• It’s ok if there is not a lot of dough rise at this point. As long as the dough ball rose the first time, then should pop up nicely in when baking. A second rise is not needed with instant yeast.
• Bake the rolls according to the recipe you are using (ours bake for about 30 minutes at 375ºF). Don’t forget the heavy cream secret ingredient though. Drizzle heavy cream over the rolls before baking. This makes amazing, gooey cinnamon rolls with a caramel sauce on the bottom.
• If the rolls are getting too browned in the oven, cover loosely with aluminum foil part way through to prevent them from browning further.
• Finally, frost the sweet rolls with cream cheese frosting about 10-15 minutes after they come out of the oven. Then enjoy the warm cinnamon rolls without the mess!