These Blood Orange Cinnamon Rolls are gooey, have a beautiful pink citrus glaze and are made with no animal ingredients. Bursting with zesty blood orange and warm cinnamon, these pink rolls are the ultimate treat.
Is you're looking for more vegan recipes, you need to try my foolproof apple cinnamon bread!
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🍊Why bake this
With a orange-flavored dough and a beautifully pink glaze, these rolls are a show stopper! Bake these if:
- You're looking for a homemade soft and gooey cinnamon roll that work;
- You're a fan of blood orange recipes - if so, make sure to try this blood orange winter lemonade!
📃Ingredients and substitutions
Blood oranges. The star of this recipe, blood oranges have a taste that is a cross between navel orange and raspberry, and a pink, beautiful color.
You can use navel oranges instead of blood oranges.
All-purpose flour. I always use unbleached all-purpose white flour for my cinnamon rolls and never tried adding whole wheat or baking them with any other flour.
Almond milk. Can be substituted for oat milk, cashew milk, or any vegan milk for a vegan version. If you’re not making it dairy-free, you can substitute it for milk.
Margarine. Any vegan margarine will do. If you’re not making it vegan, you can substitute for butter.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and substitutions.
🥣How to make it
Making orange cinnamon rolls it's easier than it looks! If you have a stand mixer to knead the dough, make sure to use it.
Step 01. Mix the dry ingredients, add wet ingredients and knead for 6 (if using a stand mixer) to 10 (if doing by hand) minutes. Let it rise for 1h30.
Step 02. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon.
Step 03. Open the dough in a rectangular shape, ¾ inch thick if you prefer less swirls and a fluffier roll, ¼ inch thick if you like lots of swirls and chewier rolls.
Step 04. Brush the dough with softened margarine.
Step 05. Spread the filling evenly, leaving a margin of about 1 inch along the long side. That helps when sealing the roll closed.
Step 06. Roll the dough, pinching the edge to seal it shut. Cut the dough into 1 ½ inches rolls, placing each roll in a lined baking pan.
Tips for slicing these rolls:
- Use a very sharp knife, a serrated knife, or unflavored dental floss.
- If using a blade, don’t press it too hard so that the dough will lose its shape: let the blade do most of the work.
- If using dental floss, slide a long piece of floss under the dough, wrap around the top and pull tightly in opposite directions, so the floss will pull through it.
Step 07. Cover the rolls and let them rise for about 45 minutes, or until they look light and puffy. Bake for 25 minutes at 350° F.
Step 08. Mix all ingredients of the glaze using a whisk.
Step 09. Pour pink glaze immediately after making over the rolls. Wait a few minutes for it to set before serving.
✔️Expert tips
- During cold days, dough may need more time to rise. It’s ok to let the dough rise for more time than what’s suggested in this recipe if you don’t have a warm spot in your kitchen.
- Use room temperature ingredients and lukewarm (not hot!) milk, specially when baking during winter.
- For an easy clean: let the dough rest in an oiled bowl.
- Don’t forget to flour the surface you'll work the dough on. It makes easier to handle the dough and prevent it from sticking.
- Fill your rolls from edge to edge. You need to fill all your dough from one side to the other. Don’t let any side unfilled but a small part along one of its long edges.
🙋🏻♀️Questions you might have
Yes, they can. Baking them touching each other makes softer cinnamon roll, as they'll have less crust.
Yes, they can be made ahead. For overnight rolls, immediately after cutting and placing them into the baking pan, cover and store inside your fridge. The next day, let them rest outside your fridge for 1 hour before baking.
Yeah, just omit the cinnamon when making the filling.
🫙Storing and freezing
Store your blood orange cinnamon rolls in an airtight container, at room temperature and away from direct sunlight. Always keep your rolls covered to prevent them from drying out. They’re good for 2 to 3 days.
To reheat, using a microwave, 15 to 20 seconds is usually enough for 1 to 2 rolls.
For freezing, wait for rolls to cool completely. Place them into a freezer safe airtight bag, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
🧁More vegan baking recipes
If you tried this Blood Orange Cinnamon Rolls Recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below!
📖 Recipe
Pink Blood Orange Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- Square baking pan
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon instant yeast
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon blood orange zest
- 1 cup almond milk lukewarm
- ⅓ cup blood orange juice
- 4 tablespoon vegan margarine room temperature
Filling
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon vegan margarine softened
Glaze
- 1 ⅔ cup icing sugar
- ¼ cup blood orange juice
- 2 teaspoon blood orange zest
- 1 tablespoon vegan margarine melted
Instructions
- In a large bowl, or stand mixer bowl if using one, stir flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Add blood orange zest and juice, warm almond milk and margarine. Mix until dough is form.
- At medium-low speed, using the dough hook, knead for 6 minutes or until dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl. When ready, dough will be smooth and tacky to the touch. If kneading by hand, knead for about 10 minutes.
- Let it rise in a warm spot for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until it doubles.
- For the filling, stir together the brown sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside.
- Line a 9x9 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Flour lightly the surface you will use to open the dough. Roll the dough into a 14x20 inch rectangle. Open it ¾ inch thick if you prefer less swirls and a fluffier roll, ¼ inch thick if you like lots of swirls and chewier rolls.
- Brush the entire surface of the dough with 1 ½ tablespoons of margarine. Evenly spread the filling over the surface of the open dough. Remember to leave a 1 inch margin along the long side to help when sealing the dough closed.
- Roll the dough, pinching the edges to seal it shut.
- Cut the dough into 1 ½ inches rolls and place each roll into prepared baking pan. Leave enough space between each one to allow them to grow properly - ¼ inch is more than enough.
- Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let them rise for 45 minutes. They will look light and puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Bake the rolls for 25 minutes, until they’re lightly golden at the top.
- Remove from oven and let them cool for 10 minutes before starting the glaze.
- Sift the icing sugar and mix with margarine, blood orange juice and zest. Stir until well combined.
- Pour the glaze over the rolls immediately. Serve them warm.
Video
Notes
- You can use navel oranges instead of blood oranges.
- For a non-vegan recipe, you can use dairy milk and butter instead of plant-based milk and margarine.
- Use a very sharp knife, a serrated knife, or unflavored dental floss.
- If using a blade, don’t press it too hard so that the dough will lose its shape: let the blade do most of the work.
- If using dental floss, slide a long piece of floss under the dough, wrap around the top and pull tightly in opposite directions, so the floss will pull through it.
Emm
Hi, may I request for the ingredients in metric?
Milk and Pop
Hi Emm, sorry for taking so long to answer! I wanted to double check the recipe before doing that, just updated the recipe card with the metrics, and will post a video till the end of the week 😉
Debra
What an awesome vegan treat. Super tasty and so much easier to make than I thought. Homemade for the win!
Emily Findeison
What flour would you recommend for someone with gluten and nut allergies?
Milk and Pop
Emily, for this recipe unfortunately you can't use gluten-free flour. But there are lots of flours that are nut and gluten free, like tapioca flour/starch!