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Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll on a plate with a fork.
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5 from 12 votes

Best Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

These Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls most certainly live up to being the best. They are moist, soft, thick, sweet, and surely does just melt in your mouth. Not being your typical Cinnamon Roll, this recipe is topped with a mouth-watering Maple Glaze that will leave you wanting more. Definitely not your average vegan sweet treat, but 100% homemade and filled with pure goodness!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Rise Time:1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time2 hours 20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Keyword: cinnamon rolls, dairy-free, pumpkin, pumpkin spice, sweets, vegan
Servings: 12
Calories: 410kcal
Author: Shanika

Ingredients

PUMPKIN DOUGH:

  • 4 cups organic All-purpose flour (See Notes!)
  • 2 cups Artisan Bread flour
  • 1 cup organic pumpkin puree (Canned version, not pie filling!)
  • 1 packet Rapid Rise Yeast (That's 2 ¼ tsps!)
  • ½ cup organic brown sugar + 1 Tbsp
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • pinch of ground cardamom
  • ¼ cup WARM water (See Notes!)
  • 1 ¼ cup Almond milk, room temp. (You can use your fave plant-based milk!)
  • 6 Tbsps vegan butter  (Make sure that it's WARM, not hot!)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

PUMPKIN SPICE FILLING:

  • ½ cup organic brown sugar
  • 3 Tbsps vegan butter, melted 
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice mix (See Notes!)

MAPLE GLAZE:

  • 3 cups organic powdered sugar, sifted
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

FOR THE DOUGH:

  • Combine yeast and 1 tablespoon brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and slowly pour in warm water while stirring frequently. Allow 5 minutes for the mixture to sit and for the yeast to activate.
  • Add in the room temperature milk and warm butter to the yeast mixture and whisk until well combined. Add in the pumpkin puree and vanilla and whisk to incorporate.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and sea salt and add them to the wet ingredients and mix on low-speed until well combined and everything begins to form into a dough-like consistency, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Change “Mixer head” to kneading accessory and knead dough for 5-10 minutes on high speed until dough ball becomes smooth and elastic and dough springs back when lightly pressed together with 2 fingers. NOTE: If dough is still too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until texture is achieved!
  • Lightly grease a large bowl with a small amount of olive oil and place the dough ball in the bowl, tossing it around until coated. Cover with plastic wrap (or a towel) and let sit for 1 hour, allowing the dough to rise and double in size. 
  • In the meantime, you can work on the filling!

FOR THE FILLING:

  • Melt the butter in a small bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin spice mix and brown sugar, mixing them together. Set aside.
  • Once the dough has risen fully, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper, allowing excess to hang from the sides.
  • Add a bit of flour to a surface and place the dough onto it, lightly adding a bit of flour to the top. Using a rolling-pin, roll out the dough into a rectangular shape (approximately 9″x14 and ½-inch thick), trimming the edges if needed. NOTE: Try not to make the dough too thin or else rolling it up will be hard to do!
  • Then, generously brush melted butter (leaving aside 1 Tbsp) atop dough, followed by the brown sugar-pumpkin spice mixture, ensuring that the top is coated evenly. NOTE: I also use a 'pastry brush' to sweep sugar mixture evenly across the dough to ensure that every bite is sweet!
  • Tightly roll dough (long-ways) and using a pastry cutter, cut dough into 1.5" rolls, placing each roll (cut side down) into a large baking dish (lined with parchment paper!).
  • Then place plastic wrap (and foil for security) over the baking dish with rolls, brush the tops with a little more melted butter, and let them rise again for another 20 minutes or until they double in size again!
  • Bake rolls in the preheated oven for approximately 35-40 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the centers have baked through.
  • While all the baking magic is happening, make the Maple Glaze.

MAPLE GLAZE:

  • In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, warm maple syrup for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
  • In a large bowl, add the powdered sugar, warm maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon, whisking everything together until the glaze becomes smooth and velvety. NOTE: Add Almond milk (1 tablespoon at a time) if the glaze is too thick or powdered sugar (1 tablespoon at a time) if too thin.
  • Remove the rolls from oven and wait 25-30 minutes or until it completely cools, before spreading the frosting/glaze atop the rolls using a rubber spatula evenly until fully covered.
  • To serve, cut out each roll desired and enjoy.
  • Bon Appetit!

Notes

  • TO STORE: Cinnamon Rolls can be kept fresh at room temperature when tightly wrapped or sealed for up to 3 days. Fresh for up to 1 week in the Refrigerator. Baked rolls can be frozen up to 2 months.
  • OVERNIGHT OPTION: If you don’t want to make your Cinnamon Rolls on the same day, you can simply follow all steps (including the initial 1+ hour rise) and after cutting rolls and placing them into your baking pan, just cover them tightly (using foil paper of plastic wrap) and refrigerate them overnight or for 8-12 hours instead. The following day, remove from refrigerator and keeping them covered, let cinnamon rolls rise at room temp 1 to 1 ½ hours.
  • RAPID (INSTANT) RISE YEAST VS. ACTIVE DRY YEAST: If you’re not using the Rapid Rise Yeast for this recipe, please know that the rise time will be twice as long (about 3 hours) since regular Active Yeast doesn’t work as quickly.
    PUMPKIN SPICE MIX: If you don’t have Pumpkin Spice readily available, you can use the following: 2 tsps ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, and a pinch of allspice.
     

Nutrition

Calories: 410kcal | Carbohydrates: 104g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 2g | Sodium: 208mg | Potassium: 157mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 3180IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 3mg