When you bake these vegan apple cinnamon rolls, your whole kitchen will smell soo gooood! So good that you can’t stop staring at your timer, trying to make the time run faster!
These cinnamon rolls are wonderfully fluffy, guarding a melt-in-your-mouth apple cinnamon filling inside. Trust me, they're, for sure, an absolute crowd pleaser!
Also, this autumnal vegan breakfast treat is refined-sugar-free (it’s maple- and fruit-sweetened), oil-free and we also won’t need vegan butter!
But before you think, "this recipe sounds like it’s going to be a nightmare with a ton of ingredients and a lot of work", I stop you right there! It’s one of MY recipes, and MY recipes are always easy & simple ;)!
I’ll prove it to you, let’s have a look!
Ingredients
For the dough:
- plain flour
- yeast
- salt
- maple syrup
- dairy-free yoghurt
- plant-based milk
For the apple cinnamon filling:
- apple sauce
- grated apples
- coconut sugar (optional)
- cinnamon
For the glaze:
- dairy-free yoghurt
- brown rice syrup (or maple)
(see recipe card for quantities)
Flour: I made these cinnamon rolls with plain white spelt flour. I reckon you could also use wholemeal as well as regular wheat flour.
Currently, I’m working on a gluten-free version and as soon as I’ve created the perfect recipe, I’ll share it here with you!
Yoghurt: Because we don’t use vegan butter, margarine or oil in this recipe—and obviously no eggs—yoghurt is the magical ingredient that makes these cinnamon rolls sooo fluffy and soft.
I recommend using a full-fat plant yoghurt because we don’t have any other fat source otherwise. Coconut yoghurt is perfect and I don’t find you can taste the coconut later on. But you choose!
Filling: I keep my filling extremely simple. You could also stew some apples and use them instead of the grated apples. But I just find this is one more step to add…
And yes, you don’t even have to add the grated apples. Apple sauce only does taste fantastic too!
Instructions
Preparation
Step One. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast & salt. In a saucepan, warm up the yoghurt, milk and maple syrup. Don’t boil it! Warm it up. When you dip your finger in, it shouldn’t burn it!
Step Two. Add the warm yoghurt mixture to the dry ingredients and combine with a wooden spoon. Once the dough comes together, start using your hands.
On a floured surface, knead the dough for about 5-10 Minutes. The longer you knead, the softer the dough gets!
If you have an appliance that kneads, let the machine do the work for you! Don’t make your life harder!
Step Three. Put the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a tea towel. Let the dough proof in a warm area of your house until it doubled in size (mine did that within an hour, but can take longer).
Meanwhile, grate some apples or cut them into small pieces and stew them.
Making the Cinnamon Rolls
Step Four. Punch the dough to deflate. On a floured surface, roll it out into a rectangular shape, as thinly as you can.
Step Five. Spread a few spoonfuls of apple sauce over it first. Sprinkle with cinnamon, coconut sugar (if using) and top with grated or stewed apples.
Step Six. Cut the rectangle into 9 even strips. The shorter side defines the length of them.
Then, roll up each individual strip.
I find this technique easier and less messy than the more traditional way of rolling up the whole rectangle and then cutting off the pieces.
Step Seven. Place the cinnamon rolls into a greased square baking dish (mine is 24 cm / 9.5”) or a medium spring form (26 cm/ 10”). Let them proof for about half an hour until they fill up the whole dish.
Step Eight. Heat your oven to 175 °C / 350 °F. Bake these apple cinnamon rolls for 25-35 minutes until golden brown.
The time will vary a lot depending on your oven and the size of the rolls. Mine were done after 30 minutes.
Step Nine. While the cinnamon rolls cool down for a bit, mix together some yoghurt and brown rice syrup (or other liquid sweetener) for the glaze.
Cut out each cinnamon roll and serve them hot, with the glaze drizzled over the top.
Substitutions
Generally, there isn’t much you can substitute with this particular recipe because you’d create a whole new one. Like, for gluten-free, you need to use completely different ingredients.
Maple Syrup: Swap this ingredient with any other liquid sweetener you like or replace it with granulated sugar and add more milk.
Yoghurt: Just saying, you can, but I don’t recommend substituting it. If you don’t want to use yoghurt, you have to use more milk and a bit of vegan butter or margarine.
Equipment
You won’t need anything special for these vegan apple cinnamon rolls. But if you don’t want to knead the dough with your hands, you can also use an appliance like a KitchenAid or the Thermomix!
My baking dish only just fit these cinnamon rolls. You might be off using a slightly larger dish if you can. I made them in a medium-sized spring form once and that worked very well too!
Storage
These vegan apple cinnamon rolls taste warm & freshly baked the best! However, you can easily keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Simply warm them up, before eating! That’ll soften them again!
You may also freeze them for up to 6 months! Keep them in the fridge, when you don’t use them all at once!
My Top Tip
To have this yummy breakfast treat in the morning, make the dough the day before. Proceed in the recipe until step 7 when you let the cinnamon rolls proof for a second time.
Instead of leaving them to rise in a warm place, put them in the fridge. The next morning, simply heat your oven and proceed with the recipe! Then, you’ve got freshly baked goodies for breakfast without the hassle and the wait!
📖 Recipe
Equipment
- 1 baking dish or springform ~ 24cm / 9.5" or larger
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 600g / 4 cups plain flour I used white spelt
- 2 7g sachets dried yeast
- 250g / 1 cup dairy-free yoghurt
- 125ml / ½ cup plant milk
- 60ml / ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the Filling
- apple sauce
- 2 apples grated or cut into small pieces (see instructions)
- coconut sugar optional
- 2 tablespoon cinnamon I used about 3-4 tablespoon (that's very cinnamony though!)
For the Glaze
- 120g / ½ cup dairy-free yoghurt
- 1 tablespoon brown rice syrup or other liquid sweetener
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast & salt. In a saucepan, warm up the yoghurt, milk and maple syrup (it should be lukewarm, not cold or hot!).
- Add the warm yoghurt mixture to the dry ingredients and combine with a wooden spoon. Once the dough comes together, start using your hands or use an appliance to knead the dough.On a floured surface, knead the dough for about 5-10 Minutes (or use the appliance). The longer you knead, the softer the dough gets!
- Put the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a teatowel. Let the dough proof in a warm area of your house until it doubled in size (mine did that within an hour, but can take longer).Meanwhile, grate some apples or cut them into small pieces and stew them.
- Punch the dough to deflate. On a floured surface, roll it out into a rectangular shape, as thinly as you can.
- Spread a few spoonfuls of applesauce over it first. Sprinkle with cinnamon, coconut sugar (if using) and top with grated or stewed apples.
- Cut the rectangle into 9 even strips. The shorter side defines the length of them. Then, roll up each individual strip.
- Place the cinnamon rolls into a greased square baking dish or a medium spring form. Let them proof for about half an hour until they fill up the whole dish.
- Heat your oven to 175 °C/ 350°F. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 25-35 minutes until golden brown.
- While the cinnamon rolls cool down for a bit, mix together yoghurt and brown rice syrup (or other liquid sweetener) for the glaze. Cut out each cinnamon roll and serve them hot, with the glaze drizzled over the top.
Notes
- If you don’t want to knead the dough with your hands, you can also use an appliance like a KitchenAid or the Thermomix!
-
Storage: These apple cinnamon rolls taste warm & freshly baked the best! However, you can easily keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You may also freeze them for up to 6 months!
- Tipp: Instead of leaving the cinnamon rolls to rise for the second time, put them in the fridge. The next morning, simply heat your oven and proceed with the recipe! Then, you’ve got freshly baked goodies for breakfast without the hassle and the wait!
