Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls

These sweet potato cinnamon rolls are decadent, cinnamon-infused rolls, slathered with a yummy almond butter icing. This recipe delivers step-by-step instructions making it easy to make. Grab a cup of tea and settle in for a lazy weekend morning with this indulgent breakfast treat.

Cinnamon rolls are one of my favorite baked goods because it’s so hands-on. There’s a sense of fulfillment when something is more physical, like kneading the bread and rolling the dough. It’s like baking takes me to my happy place. Are you with me, friends?

Besides, we almost always have a few sweet potatoes sitting around (either cooked or ready to be cooked) which was the inspiration for making these vegan sweet potato cinnamon rolls.

I love the addition of sweet potatoes in my recipes, such as these sweet potato black bean burgers. And now these sweet potato cinnamon buns are perfect for breakfast!

Can’t get enough sweet breakfast ideas? Try these Vegan Cinnamon Rolls, Vegan Chocolate Croissants (ready in minutes), or these delightful Cinnamon Muffins.

Key Ingredients

You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

• Sweet potato — You’ll need one medium sweet potato (about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide).
• Plant-based milk — Soy milk has a higher protein content than other plant-based milks and therefore more closely resembles dairy milk. I highly recommend it for vegan baking, but. you can substitute different plant-based milk.
• Vegan butter — If using storebought, I recommend Earth Balance or Miyoko’s, or make homemade vegan butter.
• Brown sugar — Use light, dark, or homemade brown sugar.
• Flour — I used all-purpose flour, but you can substitute whole wheat pastry flour. To make vegan and gluten-free cinnamon rolls, substitute a high-quality gluten-free baking flour.
• Yeast — I used instant yeast, but you can substitute active dry yeast.
• Almond butter — We’ll be using almond butter for the glaze, but you can substitute peanut butter or even vegan butter.

How to Make Sweet Potato Cinnamon Roll Dough

When it comes to making these tasty cinnamon rolls, only a few steps are required.

1. Prepare the sweet potato by cooking it in a microwave until tender.
2. Chop the sweet potato, add it to a food processor with the milk, butter, and sugar. Pulse until smooth. 
3. Heat mashed sweet potato mixture until it’s warm to the touch.
4. Stir together dry ingredients from the flour to the ground flax. Stir in the sweet potato mixture.
5. Knead the dough in the bowl for 3 to 5 minutes, adding additional flour as needed. Cover and set aside to rest for 15 minutes.
6. Roll the dough into a 14×9 inch rectangle and spread the filling mixture over the dough.
7. Roll the dough tightly into a log, cut it into 12 evenly sized rolls, place them in a prepared pan, cover, and set aside to rise until doubled in size.
8. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until the rolls are golden in color.
9. Prepare the glaze and then drizzle it over baked cinnamon rolls.

Here are more detailed step-by-step instructions.

Step One: Make the Sweet Potato Puree

I start this process by cleaning the sweet potato and cooking it (with the skin) in the microwave for approximately 3 minutes. You want the sweet potato to be nice and tender. It will be hot so either leave it in the microwave to cool or use oven mitts to remove it.

Add the milk, butter, and brown sugar to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse it once or twice to combine.

Step Two: Mix Flour Ingredients

In a large bowl stir together the flour, salt, cornstarch, ground flaxseeds, and yeast.

Step Three: Add Sweet Potato Mix & Knead

Add the sweet potato mixture and stir until combined. Next, knead the dough for 3 to 5 minutes. Kneading helps activate the gluten to build structure for the rolls so it’s an important step.

It helps to sprinkle flour over the dough ball and knead it right in the bowl. This saves cleaning up the countertop afterward!

Cover the dough and set aside in a warm place to rest in a warm spot for about 15 minutes.

Step Four: Rolling Cinnamon Roll Dough

I prefer rolling the dough with plastic wrap. Here’s how to do it:

1. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over a working surface (it helps with cleanup and doesn’t require adding flour to the dough).
2. Place a damp paper towel or a non-skid pad underneath the plastic wrap to prevent it from sliding as you roll the dough.
3. Place the dough ball on top of the plastic wrap.
4. Tear off another sheet and place that on top of the dough ball.
5. Use your rolling pin to form the dough into a 14×9-inch rectangle.
6. It helps to remove the top piece of plastic and reapply it to the dough.

Step Five — Add the Filling

Mix the filling ingredients together and spread it across the top of the rolled out dough. Leave a 1/2-inch boarder along the edge farthest from you.

To roll the dough, beginning at the long end closest to you, roll it tightly. Then pinch the end seam to seal it.

Step Six — Cutting the Rolls

I use a serrated knife to cut the dough, but there’s also a handy thread trick I’ve used to “cut” cinnamon rolls in the past.

To get evenly-sized slices, cut the log in half and then cut those halves in half. Cut each of the four remaining sections into thirds to create 12 rolls.

Step Six — Final Rise and Baking

Place the sliced rolls in a greased round baking pan. Cover the pan and set it aside to rise in a warm spot. Use my microwave tip from above! You’ll want the rolls to rise for about an hour, until doubled in size.

When they’re ready to bake, preheat the oven first. Then carefully remove the covered rolls and bake them for about 20 to 25 minutes. They will be golden around the edges.

Step Seven — Glaze

Prepare the glaze while the rolls are baking.

1. Whisk together the powdered sugar and almond butter.
2. Add the soy milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach a spreadable consistency.
3. Spread the glaze over slightly cooled rolls.

Frequently-Asked Questions

There’s nothing like knowing that your family will wake to the smell of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. It reminds me what the holidays are really all about — feeling thankful for another year with family and friends.

More Cinnamon Recipes

Sure, these sweet potato cinnamon rolls are amazing! How about adding some more tasty vegan cinnamon recipes, perfect for breakfast or any time of day, to your routine!

Vegan Coffee Cake

45 mins total

Vegan Apple Cinnamon Rolls

130 mins total

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

140 mins total

Vegan Cinnamon Muffins

45 mins total

I hope you love this recipe for Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls as much as we do!

Subscribe and get a free Easy Vegan Recipes eBook

Plus our latest vegan recipes, delivered right to your inbox!

First Name

Email Address

Subscribe

Loading…

Thank You!

You are now subscribed. Check your email for your free eBook!

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls

Sweet potatoes are not just for french fries! Try these Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls and delight your taste buds first thing in the morning.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate Save Saved!

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 2 hours hours

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Rising Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 294kcal

Author: Marly McMillen

Ingredients

CupsMetric

Sweet Potato Dough

• ▢ 1 medium-sized sweet potato (see notes)
• ▢ ¾ cup plant-based milk
• ▢ 4 tablespoons vegan butter
• ▢ 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• ▢ 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast one packet
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

Cinnamon Roll Filling

• ▢ ½ cup brown sugar packed
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 4 tablespoons vegan butter softened

Almond Butter Glaze

• ▢ 1 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons almond butter
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

For the Dough:

• Wash and scrub the unpeeled sweet potato, removing any undesirable areas. Pierce it 3 to 4 times with a knife and cook in a microwave for 2 to 3 minutes. Prick it with a fork. If it’s still firm, cook it for another minute until the potato is tender.
• Once the potato is cool enough to handle, chop it into chunks. Place that in a food processor with the milk, vegan butter, and brown sugar. Pulse until smooth. Transfer this to a microwave-safe bowl (or use a saucepan over medium heat) and heat until it's warm to the touch (about 110°F/43°C). 
• In a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, yeast, salt, cornstarch, and ground flax seeds. Stir to combine. Pour in the sweet potato mixture and stir to combine. Knead the dough in the bowl for 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl. Spray the top of the dough with vegetable cooking spray, cover with a kitchen towel, and set it aside to rest for about 15 minutes. 
• Once the dough is ready, cover a working area with a sheet of plastic wrap. Place the dough on top of the plastic wrap and cover it with another sheet of plastic wrap. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to approximately 14×9 inches in size. It helps if you pull the top layer of plastic wrap off the dough and cover it again with the same sheet. It also helps to place an anti-slip pad to keep the dough from sliding as you roll it. 
• Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place rolls in the prepared pan. Cover with a kitchen towel, and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, about one hour.

For the Filling:

• Combine the filling ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour this over the rolled dough, covering all of it except for about a half-inch of the long edge furthest away from you. Starting from the long end closest to you, roll the dough into a log. Cut into 12 evenly sized rolls. 
• When the rolls have doubled in size, preheat the oven to 375ᵒF/190°C. Place pan in a center rack and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until the rolls are golden in color.

For the Almond Butter Glaze:

• While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and almond butter. Once combined add milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach a desired, spreadable consistency.
• When the rolls are ready, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes before adding the glaze. Serve warm.
• Store cinnamon rolls in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 7 days. These can be frozen for up to 2 months. To serve, cook in the microwave until heated through.

(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)

Notes

A medium sweet potato is approximately 5 inches long and 2 inches wide.

I prefer soy milk for my baked goods, but you can use any unsweetened plant-based milk, such as almond milk.

Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 179mg | Potassium: 163mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 1950IU | Vitamin C: 1.3mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 1.7mg

The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a rating below then tag @namelymarly on Instagram and hashtag it #namelymarly. I love seeing your creations!

This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.