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These gluten free cinnamon rolls are soft, gooey, and full of cinnamon-sugar flavor—just like the kind you thought you couldn’t have anymore.
The dough is easy to work with, they rise beautifully, and you can even make them ahead.
“OMG! These were incredible. Light, fluffy and the perfect sweet I have been missing. Will definitely make these again.”
my take
Why You'll Love These Rolls
Soft and tender: They rise beautifully and have that classic pillowy texture.
Easy to handle: The dough is simple to shape, especially after a quick chill.
Make-ahead friendly: Parbake and freeze so they’re ready when you are.
Balanced sweetness: Just enough sugar to satisfy without overpowering the cinnamon.
Tastes like the original: No one will guess they’re made without gluten.
Recipe ingredients
For the rolls
- Gluten free flour blend: Use one of my recommended gluten free flour blends. Add xanthan gum only if your mix doesn’t include it.
- Tapioca starch: Adds extra stretch and softness.
- Milk powder: Adds richness and helps with browning.
- Instant yeast: For rise and flavor. Active dry yeast also works—see FAQs.
- Cream of tartar + baking soda: Work together to help the rolls rise and brown.
- Brown sugar + salt: For balanced flavor and tenderness.
- Apple cider vinegar: Adds a slight tang and helps with lift.
- Butter + egg + milk: Enrich the dough and keep it soft. Use full-fat milk.
For the filling
- Butter: Softened so it spreads easily.
- Brown sugar + cinnamon: Classic flavor and gooey center.
For the optional glaze or frosting
- Confectioners’ sugar + milk: For a simple pourable glaze.
- Butter + heavy cream: For a thicker, rich frosting. Use at room temp for best texture.
How to make gluten free cinnamon rolls
Make the dough
Whisk together the dry ingredients, then mix in the wet. Beat the dough in a stand mixer until smooth and pulling away from the sides. Chill it for 30 minutes so it’s easier to handle.
Roll it out
Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 9×12-inch rectangle about ½-inch thick on a lightly floured surface.
Add the filling
Spread with softened butter, then sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Pat the filling down gently to help it stick.
Shape the rolls
Roll the dough tightly from a short side into a coil. Slice into 6 even pieces using dental floss or a very sharp knife. Repeat with the other half.
Let them rise
Place the rolls cut side up in a greased baking dish, cover, and let rise until puffy—about 50% larger, not doubled.
Bake and frost
Bake at 350°F until risen and lightly golden. While still warm, top with glaze or frosting, if using.
My Pro Tip
Expert tips
Chill the dough before shaping: Cold dough is easier to handle and less likely to absorb too much flour, which can lead to dense rolls.
Don’t let them overproof: They should rise to about 50% bigger—not double. Overproofed rolls lose structure and bake up flat.
Roll evenly and not too thin: A ½-inch thickness gives the best swirl without tearing the dough or losing filling.
Use dental floss to cut cleanly: It slices without compressing the rolls. If using a knife, saw gently with a very sharp blade.
substitutions
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy-free: Use powdered coconut milk in place of milk powder. Substitute vegan butter for dairy butter, and choose a nondairy milk with fat (like almond milk, not fat-free).
Egg-free: Replace the egg with a chia egg (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and gelled).
No apple cider vinegar or cream of tartar: Use white wine vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice (½ teaspoon) in place of cream of tartar.
make ahead tip
Parbake and freeze
To make fresh cinnamon rolls in the morning without overproofing:
- Shape the rolls and let them rise as usual.
- Bake at 300°F for 15 minutes—until puffed but very pale.
- Let cool completely, then wrap tightly and freeze.
- When ready to serve, defrost at room temp.
- Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes, until browned and bubbling.
Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment
Ingredients
For the rolls
- 3 cups (420 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes), plus more for sprinkling
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- ¼ cup (36) tapioca starch/flour
- ½ cup (43 g) dry milk powder, or buttermilk powder; make sure it's powder, not liquid!
- 3 teaspoons (6 g) instant yeast
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons (26 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 ¼ cups (10 ounces) warm milk, about 95°F (plus a bit more, only as necessary)
For the filling
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup (164 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For an optional glaze
- 1 cup (115 g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon milk, any kind, plus more by the 1/4 teaspoonful
For an optional frosting
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups (230 g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream, at room temperature, plus more as necessary
Instructions
- Grease a 9-inch x 13-inch casserole dish and set it aside.
Make the dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, tapioca starch, milk powder, yeast, cream of tartar, baking soda, and sugar. Add the salt and whisk again.
- Add the vinegar, butter, egg, and milk, and mix to combine.
- Increase the mixer speed to high and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough is smooth and pulling away from the sides.
- Transfer the dough to a sealed container and refrigerate for 30 minutes to make it easier to handle.
Roll out the dough
- Turn the chilled dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently to smooth.
- Divide in half, keeping one half covered. Roll the other into a 9×12-inch rectangle about ½ inch thick, dusting with flour as needed.
Add the filling and shape
- Spread half the softened butter over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle with half the brown sugar, pat it down, then sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Starting from a short side, roll the dough tightly into a coil. Slice into 6 rolls using floss or a sharp knife.
- Place in a greased 9×13-inch pan, 1 inch apart. Press each roll down about ⅓ of the way to flatten slightly.
- Repeat with the second half of the dough and filling.
Let rise
- Cover the pan with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until the rolls are about 50% larger—about 45 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Remove plastic wrap and bake for 20 minutes, until risen, lightly golden, and baked through.
- Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before icing or frosting, but no longer.
Optional glaze.
- Whisk together confectioners’ sugar and milk until thick but pourable. Add more milk ¼ teaspoon at a time if needed.
- Drizzle over warm rolls.
Optional frosting
- Beat butter and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Add cream gradually to reach a spreadable consistency.
- Spread generously over warm rolls.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
leftovers
Storage instructions
Let the rolls cool completely before storing. Wrap tightly and freeze in a single layer before adding glaze.
To reheat, defrost at room temp, sprinkle with a bit of water, and warm in a 275°F oven until soft and heated through.
FAQs
Be patient. Gluten free yeast dough takes time to rise and usually won’t double. If they seem stalled, the environment may be too cold.
Most likely causes: too much flour during shaping or not enough proofing time. Make sure to let the dough rise until noticeably puffy.
Check that you used the correct flour blend, measured by weight, and used dry milk powder—not liquid. Sticky dough often means it’s overhydrated.
They may have overbaked, or the flour blend may have absorbed too much moisture. Avoid adding extra flour while shaping.
Yes. Use 25% more (about 8g total) and dissolve it in some of the milk before adding it to the dough.
Your flour does not have xanthum correct? And what about the other 2 you recommend?
That’s correct, Deanne. Nicole’s Best does not contain xanthan gum, which allows you to customize how much to use for each type of recipe (which you will do using the Nicole’s Best usage guide. Cup4Cup and Better Batter both already have xanthan gum, which you can see in their ingredient lists.
Hello!
Can I substitute buttermilk in this recipe?
Thanks!
Beloved
Hi, Beloved, I’m afraid you can’t use buttermilk instead of milk in this recipe, since buttermilk has much less moisture than regular milk, so the rolls would come out dry.
Thanks!
I’m confused. When you told Beloved to stick with whole milk, not buttermilk, were you referring to the liquid milk or the dry buttermilk powder? There are two kinds of milk listed in the recipe.
There is only one kind of liquid milk listed in the recipe, Rita, which is whole milk. You need buttermilk powder orpowdered milk for that ingredient, and then liquid cow’s milk, which should not be replaced by liquid buttermilk.
Nicole, I just put together my 3rd batch of cinnamon rolls and I am very confused by what is happening. Thee first batch I used you Better Batter with most likely Bob’s flours. The next time I used superfine from Authentic foods and the dough was very dry. So dry that I did not get any rise. I just made the third batch and the dough was the same, very dry. But this time I added milk until the dough was soft. I didn’t keep track of how much milk but was probably over a 1/4 cup. Any ideas about what is happening. I am using a scale and everything is carefully measured.
I love your website and used many of you recipes with great success.
Jim, my guess is that you measured one or more of the flours inappropriately if you had success previously. When making one of my mock blends, it’s very easy to lose track and measure something wrong, unfortunately. Also, if you made any ingredient substitutions and/or didn’t measure by weight. The recipe does, however, indicate that you should add more milk as necessary to achieve the proper dough consistency, though.
What changes should I make in this recipe of I am using your flour (Nicole’s Best)?
Hi, Victoria, thank you so much for giving Nicole’s Best a try! The only change you need to make is to follow the Nicole’s Best Usage Guide amount of xanthan gum to use in this recipe. Since this is yeast bread (and not pizza), you’ll need 1 teaspoon xanthan gum per cup of flour. Since there are 3 cups of flour, you’ll use 3 teaspoons of xanthan gum (or 1 tablespoon). You’ll still add the additional tapioca starch and milk powder as ingredients, just as the recipe states. I hope that’s helpful!
Adapted the recipe for high altitude and they are wonderful! Balanced flavor, great texture, and the house smells like heaven!
That’s so great to hear, Amy! Would you be willing to share what adjustments you made to make it suitable for altitude? I am so often asked what adjustments to make but since I can’t recreate the condition, of course, I can’t really give advice.
Sure! Though I should mention we are at 7,800 ft. These adaptations are suitable for this elevation, but maybe not a lower one. King Arthur’s website has terrific information on high altitude baking, starting at 3,500 ft.
For the dough, I added 1/4 c gf flour and 1 more egg. I decreased baking soda to 1/8 tsp and decreased sugar by 1 teaspoon. I held back 1/4 cup of the milk, just to be sure the dough was not too wet, but ended up using it.
For baking, I increased temperature to 365 and decreased time by 7 minutes.
I’ll be making these again! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Thank you so so much for sharing all of that, Amy! That’s so useful since it’s so specific. I have always sent readers over the years to King Arthur’s website for info on high altitude adjustments, and readers have always said that their “usual” adjustments work in my recipes. But it’s always great to have specific, first-hand info on a particular recipe. Thank you again!
Nicol, I have poor vision and just read your Cinnamon role recipe with yeast, I must have missed something because the yeast I buy here here needs gluten.
Mimi
Hi, Mimi, brewer’s yeast is gluten-containing, but baker’s yeast is not, although you need to be careful and only buy the right brands. Please see my post on is yeast gluten free for a full explanation.
These gluten-free cinnamon rolls look so delicious, Nicole! I love how detailed your instructions are, especially the tips for working with cold dough and cutting with dental floss. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe.
This recipe was easy to follow! I did everything on a scale and did not run into any issues as far as making them went. However they would not rise, so I finally baked them and they just weren’t right since they never rose and weren’t thick enough. I used better batter, should I be using the bread flour? Or alternatively can I let these rise overnight in the fridge?
If they didn’t rise, I would check your yeast to be sure that it was fresh and check for other ingredient substitutions. If you used active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, you would have had to hydrate it first and use 25% more yeast by weight. In addition, rising is a function of time, and unless you dried out the dough by using too much flour during shaping (something that is unfortunately quite common), and used enough fresh yeast in the right way, you probably didn’t let the rolls rise long enough. No, I don’t recommend your letting them rise in the refrigerator overnight as they will likely overproof and deflate.
Thank you Nicole! I appreciate all of the tips, I am determined to get it right!
I am confused, I clicked on a link in Pinterest for 2- Ingredent GF Cinnamon Rolls and it brought me here. I love and make these- your regular GF cinnamon rolls all the time, but this recipe has way more than the two ingredent ones. I was thinking this was for the ones like the WW two ingredent dough. Am I missing something about how to get to the recipe I was looking for?
Hi, Carlisa, so sorry for the confusion, that recipe has moved to another location on the blog. Here is a link to the 2 ingredient cinnamon rolls.
Hello,
I want to make these for a group trip to California. Can I make the dough ahead of time, freeze it and bake it a few days later after being in a cooler on the road trip? It will always be cold or in a fridge but wanted to make them the morning of our first day. Thank you!!
I don’t recommend that I’m afraid Maggie, no. In my experience, they don’t hold their shape very well when you shape them in advance, and the dough also tends to dry out. For tips on how to make them ahead, please see the text of the post under the heading “Making gluten free cinnamon rolls in advance”
Thank you.