Vegan Cinnamon Buns made for Sharing (with Maple Icing!)

This vegan cinnamon buns recipe doesn’t mess around. Though it’s free of dairy and eggs, the rolls bake up fluffy and tender with a gooey filling that is as cinnamon-y as you like. Plus, it comes with an indulgent maple icing. The recipe makes enough for a crowd, but you can half or even quarter the ingredients if you are feeding a smaller household.

Big Batch Vegan Cinnamon Buns with Maple Icing

This heavenly vegan cinnamon buns recipe was created by my good friend, Hannah Kaminsky. Hannah has been blogging beautiful eats at Bittersweet Blog for a decade, and she is also the author of several vegan cookbooks. Her most recent titles include Real Food, Really Fast, Vegan Desserts, and Vegan à la Mode.

Hannah has also worked in commercial kitchens since she was teen, so she is used to baking up large batches. Which comes in handy around the holidays, when a brunch or potluck is in order, or for freezer mavens. And this sizable recipe makes about 50 delicious vegan cinnamon buns for sharing.

Just think about it for a moment: Soft and warm from the oven, cinnamon and sugar rolled into every fold of tender dough, drizzled with an ample amount of maple icing. What’s not to love? A delicious indulgence appropriate for any season, I could think of nothing more comforting than a pan of these delectable buns, fully baked and ready to be devoured after just a hot minute of micro-love …

I must warn you however- This makes a lot of cinnamon buns, so unless you have a house full of hungry guests, you might just end up eating an unreasonable number of these addictive rolls yourself.

Need a Smaller Batch?

If you don’t need that many vegan cinnamon buns right now, you can halve or quarter the recipe, or freeze them. One option is to freeze the buns ones baked. Or you can freeze the unbaked rolls in the pan. For the latter, defrost them overnight in the refrigerator, remove them to the counter to warm up and rise, and then bake as directed.

Iced photo from Hannah Kaminsky’s old collection; un-iced photo by Matka Wariatka.

Special Diet Notes: Vegan Cinnamon Buns

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian. But be sure to select the milk beverage and buttery spread or margarine that suits your dietary needs.

Hannah Kaminsky

Vegan Cinnamon Buns with Maple Icing

4.34 from 3 votes

Please note that the Prep time doesn't include rising. This big batch doesn't require much hands on time, but it does take a little patience.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings: 4 to 5 dozen cinnamon buns

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Calories:

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

Vegan Cinnamon Buns

• 4 cups 1 quart plain or unsweetened dairy-free milk beverage
• 1 cup non-GMO canola oil or your favorite baking oil
• 1 cup + 2 cups sugar divided
• 4½ teaspoons active dry yeast this is two .25-ounce packets
• 8 cups + 1 cup all-purpose flour divided + additional for rolling
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
• 1 scant teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup dairy-free buttery spread or sticks melted and divided
• Loads of ground cinnamon

Maple Icing

• 2 pounds powdered confectioner’s sugar
• 2 teaspoons maple extract
• ¾ cup plain or unsweetened dairy-free milk beverage
• ¼ cup dairy-free buttery spread or sticks melted

Method

 

Vegan Cinnamon Buns

1. Add the milk beverage, oil, and 1 cup sugar to a large pot and place it over medium heat. Bring it just to a boil while stirring, and then immediately remove it from the heat.
2. Let the mixture sit for 45 to 60 minutes, or until it has cooled to below 115ºF.
3. Sprinkle the yeast into the now lukewarm mixture and let it sit for 5 minutes. It should bubble up and get a little frothy. If it doesn’t, the yeast might be inactive.
4. Add 8 cups of the flour to the mixture in your pot and stir until it’s fully incorporated.
5. Cover the pot and let the dough sit for 1 hour to rise.
6. Once it has risen, stir in the last 1 cup of flour, the salt, baking powder, and baking soda. If the dough becomes too thick to stir, use your hands to knead it together. Divide the dough in half.
7. Place one half of the dough on a well-floured surface. Roll it into a very long, rectangular shape that is 1/8- to ¼-inch thick and longer than it is wide.
8. Pour ½ cup of the melted butter alternative over the dough and spread it evenly with a spatula. Evenly sprinkle 1 cup of the sugar over the butter alternative. Finally, just go crazy with the cinnamon shaker.
9. Starting from one of the long sides, roll the dough up, and pinch to seal it closed. Slice it into buns about 1-inch wide.
10. Place the buns into lightly greased pans - I used 7 (8-inch) round baking pans.
11. Repeat steps 7 through 10 with the remaining half of the dough.
12. Lightly cover the buns with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let them rise in a warm draft-free place for 30 minutes.
13. Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
14. Once plump and risen, bake the rolls for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and fragrant.

Maple Icing

1. Put the sugar in a large bowl. Add the milk beverage, butter alternative, and maple extract, and whisk until smooth.
2. Drizzle the maple icing on the buns hot from the oven, or let them cool before icing.
3. Leftovers will keep best if un-iced, for up to 3 days at room temperature. The pans can also be frozen and reheated to enjoy later.

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