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Has the autumnal baking spirit cast its spice-laden glance upon your kitchen? This stupidly-easy vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls recipe comes together in one bowl and delivers soft, perfectly spiced rolls that are as tender as they are delicious! These can be made start to finish in just a couple of hours. Don't worry, most of that is just doing its own thing, while you put a bangin' brunch together around it.
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
You can kiiiindpull these buns off with a gluten-free flour mix. They just will not be nearly as tender and lovely as with regular flour.
Chill the dough overnight so the morning is just roll, slice and bake. Let it come to room temperature for about 1 hour first so it's easier to handle.
The pecans and rum-soaked raisins are optional add-ins, so leave them out. Out of brown sugar? Regular sugar with a dash of molasses added to it works.
Coconut sugar or palm sugar work great in these if you want a less refined kind of sugar. The filling already lists coconut sugar as an option.
No bread flour? All-purpose works for sure. You can also use a generic pumpkin pie spice blend, though the taste won't have the same depth and precision.
When warming the pumpkin, plant milk, and vanilla, make sure they're just warm to the touch. Anything over 110°F (45°C) can kill the yeast.
Aim for a slightly tacky, but not sticky, dough. Kneading well (around 8 minutes) develops gluten, making the rolls fluffier.
Avoid over-proofing after slicing; let them rise until slightly puffy (30-45 minutes). Over-proofed rolls can deflate or bake unevenly.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
And if you are looking to round out an insane selection for a fall-themed bake sale or holiday party, my blog has some absurdly good vegan apple cider donuts, vegan apple fritters, and particularly perfect vegan Christmas cookies that you can decorate however you like with vegan royal icing.
Whether you're in need of a cozy breakfast treat or want to impress folks at a Thanksgiving weekend brunch, making cinnamon rolls will rock your pumpkin patch without a wee bit of fuss-just simple ingredients and well-planned steps that you can totally rock even if you suck at baking. Let's get rolling!
Great taste! Family loved them!
All the directions were very helpful. Maple frosting perfect. I didn't add raisins or pecans would be nice addition but not necessary. This recipe is a keeper . Thank you.
Jump to:
- Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
- 🥰 Why You'll Adore This Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Recipe
- 🎃 Ingredients for Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns
- 🤯Variations
- 📖 How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- 👉Top tips
- 🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
- ✌️Like vegan pumpkin desserts? Check these out too
- Easy Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
🥰 Why You'll Adore This Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Recipe
🍞 Simple Ingredients: Made with common pantry staples like flour, sugar, canned pumpkin purée, cinnamon, and vegan milk, these rolls are way easier to whip up than they are to stop devouring. You don't have to start hacking up your withered-looking jack o'lantern or deal with a massive fresh pumpkin to make this recipe.
⏱ Variable Proofing Time: These vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls can be made all in one shot. I've also included instructions to help you save setup time in the morning if you want to chill the dough overnight in the fridge, just in case you're a think-ahead type of baker.
✊ Vegan AF: Like my other vegan donut recipes, these are proof that fluffy, gooey rolls don't need a single drop of dairy or egg to be the best pumpkin cinnamon buns you ever messed with.
Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of the vegan breakfast recipes I share, this one's been approved by hundreds of recipe testers from all around the world!
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🎃 Ingredients for Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns
Pumpkin Purée
Just like I do for my vegan pumpkin muffins, maple pumpkin flan, and vegan pumpkin donuts, I make these buns using canned pumpkin purée. Mark m'words, my dear lovely, you don't want to use pumpkin pie filling. So make sure ya grab the paper can, ok?
The Flour
I like to make these with bread flour because it has more gluten and makes for a fluffier crumb. It's really the same thinking for why I use that flour in my regular vegan cinnamon roll recipe. You can, for sure, get away with using all-purpose flour in them if you don't have any bread flour.
Before you ask-you can pull these buns off with a gluten-free flour mix if that's your thing. They just will not be nearly as tender and lovely as with regular flour.
Vegan Milk
I have tested this recipe with soy milk, almond milk, and oat milk, all with great results. My one suggestion is to use unsweetened milk. If you can't get one, just slightly cut back on the amount of sweetener in the dough to make up for that.
Vegan Butter
Vegan butter provides richness and moisture to the dough and gives the cinnamon sugar filling its juicy, yummy vibe. You can make your own vegan butter, following the recipe I share in my vegan dairy crash course, or use any store-bought butter you like (which is often what I do out of laziness for making my vegan pastry crust, vegan oatmeal cookies, and eggless chocolate chip cookies).
I've also pulled them off beautifully with refined coconut oil, although they somewhat lack the yummy butter flavor that makes these better than most non-vegan buns.
The Sugar
I make this with brown sugar, but if you don't have any you can use regular sugar with a dash of molasses added to it.
If you want to make these with a less refined kind of sugar, coconut sugar or palm sugar work great in it, and I know this because my wife avoids regular sugar for reasons which I will never fully understand. I guess that's why I've spent 10X what she has at the dentists over the past 20 years…
I especially like making them with palm sugar, which I always have on hand for making Southeast Asian treats like Filipino tupig, Malaysian cekodok pisang (they are dead-easy banana donuts), Indonesian putu ayu cakes, Vietnamese kem chuối, and bubur cha cha from Singapore.
The Spices
While you can just use a generic pumpkin pie spice blend, the taste won't have the same depth and precision. For my spice cabinet, I'm straight-up head-over-heels in love with Burlap and Barrel. Their buffalo ginger, which I use in this recipe, is unparalleled-it's easily the best dried ginger I've come across. Their ground cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves are all top-notch too.
Because I love their spices so much, I worked out a deal with them where my readers can get a free jar of their wild mountain cumin seeds (which are the BOMB!) through the link below when you order other spices you might need for this recipe.
Get my fave cumin seeds for free!
Using this link, add the wild mountain cumin to your cart, spend at least $15 on some of the other absurdly good spices from Burlap & Barrel (they all seriously slap) and the bottle of this bangin' wild mountain cumin becomes FREE, and you will love it so much.
Instant Yeast
Instant yeast speeds up the rise time and is also a little more forgiving to over-fermentation. That's why it's sorta a foolproof choice I use in my Korean donuts and my Moroccan msemen too.
If you're using dry active yeast, watch that the dough doesn't more than double; over-proofing will exhaust the yeast, resulting in less fluffy buns.
Powdered Sugar (in the glaze)
Not all powdered sugar is vegan, as it's often refined with bone char. For a cruelty-free option, use a vegan powdered sugar, like this one that I use in my vegan lemon pound cake, zeppole recipe, and vegan cream cheese frosting.
Optional, but Super-Fun Additions:
Raisins soaked in rum, for a burst of flavor and complex natural sweetness. I am also really into adding nuts to these buns. Chopped pecans are an obvious choice, but walnuts, slivered almonds, heck, even chopped pistachios can be mad delightful.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Pumpkin Chocolate Babka:
Spread vegan Nutella onto the dough once it's rolled out and spread with the cinnamon sugar filling. Once the dough is wrapped around the filling into a long log, cut it in half lengthwise. Then braid the ropes of dough and filling together, and bake it in a well-greased loaf pan.
Cannoli-Style Vegan Pumpkin Roll:
Add a cup of homemade vegan mascarpone to the filling. Stir in finely chopped dark chocolate and a pinch of espresso powder. Once baked and glazed, you can top the still tacky glaze with chopped vegan ladyfingers, to simulate the vibe of vegan tiramisu, but like as a cinnamon bun!
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
📖 How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
You will rock the heck outta these easy vegan pumpkin buns on the first shot by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Foam Wasn't Built in a Day:
Warm the pumpkin purée, plant-based milk, and vanilla extract over medium-low heat until it's just cozy to the touch-not hotter than 110°F (45°C).
Stir in the brown sugar, then sprinkle yeast on top and let it hang out for 10 minutes until it gets nice and foamy.
If your yeast is dead or the milk was too hot and killed it, you will not see any signs of life on the surface. This is a good opportunity to just toss it and start over with fresh yeast before you waste more ingredients and time on buns that will never rise.
Step Two
🎃 I'm David Pumpkins…
Once the yeast is ready, add the warm mixture to a mixing bowl along with flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, vegan butter and salt. Mix until the dough starts coming together, then knead by hand (or use a stand mixer with the dough hook) for 5-8 minutes until smooth and a bit springy.
Step Three
Dough You See What I See?
Cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rise in a warm place for 1-1 ½ hours, until it doubles in size.
Step Four
Fillin' Like a Villain:
While the dough rests, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the brown sugar, vegan butter, molasses, cinnamon, cardamom, and allspice. Stir for 2 minutes just until melted and smooth.
Step Five
Spready Krueger:
Roll the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle about ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick and 24 by 10 inches (60 by 25 cm). Spread the filling evenly across the dough, leaving a little border along the far edge. Evenly sprinkle on the rum-soaked raisins and pecans, if you're using them.
Step Six
Captain's Log:
Starting from a long edge, roll the dough tightly into a log. Slice the log into 12 equal pieces and arrange the slices in a lightly greased baking pan. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place for 25-30 minutes until puffed up.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
While you can get away with cutting this with a knife, using strong thread or unflavored dental floss to loop and cut the dough will keep the buns more perfectly round.
Step Seven
Baking and Entry:
Once the rolls have risen, bake them at 350°F (175°C) for 22-25 minutes or until they're lightly golden brown.
Step Eight
Glazed and Confused:
While the rolls bake, in either a food processor, or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the powdered sugar, vegan cream cheese, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth.
Step Nine
Frosty the Roll Man:
After baking, let the rolls cool for 5 minutes before spreading the cream cheese icing over them. Use a brush to reach every nook and cranny, and serve these rolls warm!
👉Top tips
- Keep an Eye on Temperature: When warming the pumpkin, plant milk, and vanilla, make sure they're just warm to the touch. Anything over 110°F (45°C) can kill the yeast and prevent your rolls from rising properly.
- Knead Until Smooth and Elastic: Aim for a slightly tacky, but not sticky, dough. Kneading well (around 8 minutes) develops gluten, making the rolls fluffier.
- Optional Overnight Dough: Chilling the dough overnight (in a container big enough to allow the dough to double) lets it develop deeper flavors and allows a slow, steady fermentation. Before rolling and baking, let the dough come to room temperature for about 1 hour to ensure it's easier to handle and rises well in the oven.
- For Smoother, Rounder Buns: Cup each portion of dough between your hands and gently press until it's slightly flattened, especially focusing on the cut side. This will help form an even, rounded shape when they bake.
- Proof Just Enough: Avoid over-proofing after slicing; let them rise until slightly puffy (thirty to forty-five minutes). Over-proofed rolls can deflate or bake unevenly.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
A slightly sticky dough is normal. You don't want dry buns! Just sprinkle a little flour to handle it easily but avoid adding too much, or you'll dry out the rolls.
Leave a small border at the top of the rolled dough, and make sure the filling has cooled a little before you roll and cut, so that it's not runny.
How thick should I slice my vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls?
Aim for about two inches thick for an even bake and a fluffy, gooey center.
Either use a sharp knife or a loop of strong thread or unflavored dental floss to cut the buns.
While these are 100% best eaten the day they are baked, you can get a few days out of them if you store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
The buns can also be frozen for up to 2 months. To reheat, thaw them and then bake at 350°F (175°C) for 8 minutes to bring them back to life.
✌️Like vegan pumpkin desserts? Check these out too
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Easy Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- Stand mixer or mixing spoon
- Dough hook attachment (if using stand mixer)
- Damp kitchen towel
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 cup pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
- ¼ cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons instant yeast
- 3 ½ cups bread flour (or all-purpose flour if unavailable)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon dried ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup vegan butter room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
Pumpkin Spice Filling:
- ⅔ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 5 Tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon allspice
Optional Filling Additions:
- ½ cup rum-soaked raisins
- ¾ cup chopped pecan pieces unsalted
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup vegan cream cheese room temperature
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Warm the pumpkin purée, plant-based milk, and vanilla extract over medium-low heat until just warm to the touch, not exceeding 110°F (45°C). Stir in the brown sugar and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let this sit for 10 minutes until the yeast begins to foam.
- Once the yeast has bloomed, add the contents of the pot to a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer bowl) along with the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, vegan butter and salt. Mix until the dough starts to come together, then knead by hand or with a stand mixer using the dough hook attachment for 5-8 minutes until the dough is smooth and slightly elastic.
- Cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rise in a warm area for 1-1 ½ hours, until it has doubled in size.
- While the dough is rising, make the filling by stirring together the brown sugar, vegan butter, molasses, cinnamon, cardamom, and allspice in a small saucepan over medium heat for a couple of minutes until melted and smooth.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick rectangle approximately 14 by 9 inches (35 by 23 cm).
- Spread the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a small border on the top edge (the edge facing away from you). If using, sprinkle on the rum-soaked raisins and chopped pecans.
- Starting from the long side, roll the dough tightly into a log. Slice the log into 10 equal pieces.
- Arrange the rolls in a lightly greased baking pan, cover with a damp kitchen cloth, and let them rise again for 30-45 minutes, until they puff up slightly. While the buns proof, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Once risen, bake the rolls for 25-27 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
- While the rolls bake, prepare the frosting in either a food processor, or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix together the powdered sugar, vegan cream cheese, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth.
- Allow the rolls to cool for 5 minutes before spreading the frosting over the top. You can use a basting brush to really get into all of the nooks and crannies. Serve warm.
Notes
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Sharon Sharpe says
Great taste! Family loved them!
All the directions were very helpful. Maple frosting perfect. I didn’t add raisins or pecans would be nice addition but not necessary. This recipe is a keeper . Thank you.
Natalie says
Tasty but the filling came out the bottom like soup and made the bottoms taste overcooked.