Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls From Scratch
Fluffy homemade cinnamon rolls, cooked in the air fryer. They are topped with cream cheese frosting.
These cinnamon rolls are one of my top favorite air fryer recipes. They’re the perfect sweet treat. Made from scratch, with an easy yeast dough that can be kneaded by hand or in a stand mixer.
Cinnamon roll dough
The dough for these air fryer cinnamon rolls is lightly enriched with butter and egg for great flavor
It will rise twice, once as a cinnamon roll dough ball and the second time as the shaped rolls. The first dough rise can happen at room temperature or rise slowly in the fridge overnight. Letting the dough have a cold rise will give it extra flavor.
This dough makes the most delicious cinnamon rolls (and it definitely beats a storebought tube of cinnamon rolls!)
Equipment
Air fryer – These air fry cinnamon rolls are made in an air fryer basket in a 5.8-quart air fryer. You can also bake these in a tray in an oven style air fryer.
Stand mixer – Optional but helpful if you don’t want to knead by hand.
Hand mixer – To beat the frosting.
Ingredients
Find the actual recipe amounts in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. For this air fryer cinnamon roll recipe, you will need:
Dough
- All-purpose flour.
- Instant yeast
- Granulated white sugar
- A large egg
- Salt
- Milk.
- Softened butter, salted or unsalted
Filling
- Brown sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Softened butter
Frosting
- Cream cheese
- Softened butter
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
Method
Warm the milk to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C and pour it into a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over the milk.
Add in the flour, salt, and egg. Use a wooden spoon to bring the ingredients together into a thick dough. Once it forms a dough ball, pull it onto a floured surface and knead in the butter, a few cubes at a time.
Knead for around 6 minutes until a smooth dough forms.
Alternatively, mix everything together in the stand mixer for 6 minutes until the soft dough is smooth and strong.
First rise
Once kneaded, form the dough into a dough ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around about 1 hour.
Pull the risen dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Dust the top of the dough with some flour.
Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a large rectangle that measures around 7x12inches (18cmx30cm). Spread the surface of the dough with softened butter. In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread the cinnamon mixture over the dough.
Roll it up from the long end to make a long log. Cut the log into 6 equal pieces using unflavored dental floss or a sharp knife.
Place the rolls evenly spaced out in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
Let them rise for around 30-45 minutes until puffy.
Air fry at 300°F/150°C for around 15-17 minutes until baked through and deep golden brown.
Remove the rolls from the air fryer and place them on a wire rack.
The cream cheese icing
In a small bowl, beat softened cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix it in on low speed until combined. If it’s too runny, add in a little more powdered sugar.
Spoon this over the still-warm cinnamon rolls.
Storing
Leftover cinnamon rolls can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They can be gently rewarmed in the air fryer or the microwave.
More air fryer recipes
- Air fryer blueberry hand pies
- Granola in the air fryer
- Candied walnuts in the air fryer
- Air fryer sugar cookies
Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls From Scratch
Fluffy homemade cinnamon rolls, cooked in your air fryer basket. They are topped with cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Dough
- 120g (1/2 cup) milk
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 280g (2 1/4 cup*) all-purpose flour
- 12g (1 Tablespoon) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 28g (2 tablespoons) softened butter
Filling
- 45g (3 Tablespoons) softened butter
- 100g (1/2 cup) soft brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Frosting
- 60g (2oz) cream cheese, room temperature
- 28g (2 Tablespoons) softened butter
- 90-120g (¾ - 1 cup) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
Instructions
- Warm the milk to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C and pour it into a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over the milk.
- Add in the flour, salt, and egg. Use a wooden spoon to bring the ingredients together into a thick dough. Once it forms a dough ball, pull it onto a floured surface and knead in the butter, a few cubes at a time.
- Knead for around 6 minutes until a smooth dough forms. Alternatively, mix everything together in the stand mixer for 6 minutes until the soft dough is smooth and strong.
- Once kneaded, form the dough into a dough ball. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around about 1 hour.
- Pull the risen dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Dust the top of the dough with some flour.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a large rectangle that measures around 7x12inches (18cmx30cm).
- Spread the surface of the dough with softened butter.
- In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread the cinnamon mixture over the dough.
- Roll it up from the long end to make a long log. Cut the log into 6 equal pieces, using unflavored dental floss or a sharp knife.
- Place the rolls evenly spaced out in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Let them rise for around 30-45 minutes until puffy.
- Once risen, air fry at 300°F/150°C for around 15-17 minutes until baked through and deep golden brown.
- Remove the rolls from the air fryer and place them on a wire rack.
- In a small bowl, beat softened cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix it in on low speed until combined. If it's too runny, add in a little more powdered sugar.
- Spoon this over the still-warm cinnamon rolls.
Notes
*the cup sizes given are US-size cups. Please note that these are smaller than metric. For best results, use a scale and measure in grams.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 484Total Fat 19gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 78mgSodium 353mgCarbohydrates 73gFiber 1gSugar 37gProtein 7g
