Oh, cinnamon rolls, banana bread. How have I not joined you before?
Let me set right this injustice, join your little hands, if you will, so you can forevermore be united in holy sweet baked good matrimony.
Dramatic? Over the top? I think not (Rhonda).
After having such success with my 7 Ingredient World’s Easiest Vegan Cinnamon Rolls, I knew more experimenting was to be done.
You guys have been loving on my first recipe. It’s been one of our most popular to date! And because I love banana bread so much, this recipe was bound to happen sooner or later.
The banana bread infusion happens in two ways: 1) banana puree in the dough, and 2) banana slices and walnuts in the centers. The result is an amazingly moist, banana-bread like cinnamon roll just begging to be frosted (and that, we must do).
BONUS: This recipe is seriously simple! Just 1 bowl and 9 ingredients (10, including the glaze). Plus, there’s only one true rise and no fancy methods required. Just pure, easy, simple cinnamon roll goodness that takes about 2 hours total.
This means you could wake up around 9, make these little gems, and be enjoying them by brunch. Huzzah!
Oh man, these are not to be missed! They’re:
Tender
Warm
Gooey
Perfectly sweet
Comforting
Slightly crisp on the outside
Infused with banana bread flavor
Cinnamon-filled
Seriously substantial
& Surprisingly simple
Make these rolls for a special weekend breakfast or brunch, or on a Sunday to enjoy throughout the week (that’s a good week). And if you take these rolls to work, I can almost guarantee you’ll be the queen (or king) of the office. That’s right, so many friend requests, so little time.
If you do try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment or take a picture and tag it #minimalistbaker on Instagram! We absolutely love seeing what you guys cook up. Cheers and happy baking!
- 1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) instant/fast-acting yeast
- 1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
- 1/2 cup vegan butter (I use Earth Balance), divided
- 1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar, divided
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana + 1/2 cup sliced banana, divided
- 2 3/4 - 3 1/4 cups flour (I used a ratio of 2/3 unbleached all-purpose, 1/3 whole-wheat pastry)
- 1/2 - 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- optional: 1/2 cup raw walnuts or pecans, crushed
- In a large mixing bowl, heat the almond milk and 3 Tbsp Earth Balance in the microwave in 30 sec increments (or heat over medium heat in a large sauce pan), until warm and melted (never reaching boiling). Let cool to 110 degrees (43 C) - the temperature of bath water. It should be warm but not too hot or it will kill the yeast. (If you used a saucepan to heat the milk, transfer to a large mixing bowl now.)
- Sprinkle on yeast and let activate for 10 minutes. Then add 1 Tbsp sugar and salt and stir. Next, add in 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana and stir.
- Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring as you go. The dough will be sticky. When it is too thick to stir, transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or so, adding flour as needed, until it forms a loose but still springy ball. Only use as much flour as it will take.
- Rinse out your mixing bowl, coat it with canola or olive oil, and add your dough ball back in seam side down. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size (see photo) - mine only took 40 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a long rectangle ~1/4 inch thick. Brush with 1/4 cup melted vegan butter and top with 1/3 cup sugar (I used a little brown sugar mixed in with the cane sugar) and 1/2 - 1 Tbsp cinnamon (up to preference). Then add about 20 very thin banana slices so it's easy to roll, and most of the walnuts.
- Slowly and tightly roll up the dough and situate seam side down. With a serrated knife or a string of floss, cut the dough into 1 1/2 - 2 inch sections and position in a well-buttered 8x8 square or comparable sized round pan (you should have about 10 rolls). Brush with remaining 1 Tbsp melted vegan butter and sprinkle with a bit more sugar (brown or cane) and remaining walnuts.
- Cover with plastic wrap and set on top of the oven to let rise again while you preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C).
- Once the oven is hot, bake rolls for 28-35 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes, then serve warm.
- Optional: Frost with dairy-free cream cheese frosting or a simple dairy-free glaze (recipe below).
*Nutrition information reflects 1 of 10 cinnamon rolls without glaze.
*Adapted from my World's Easiest Cinnamon Rolls.
I think you just discovered my new favorite comfort food. Love this!
Banana bread is one of my favvvvvorite things ever. I have a bazillion recipes for it but have never done banana cinn rolls. You’re a genius! AND they’re vegan AND they’re one bowl! And almost no kneading! Amazing! Pinned!
Thanks, Averie! I think you would LOVE these. Thanks for the share!
This looks AMAZING! I officially have cinnamon roll cravings (hmm… I’m going to having to try and make some gluten free cinnamon rolls super soon!!!)
I’ve never had anything like banana bread cinnamon rolls before. These look absolutely amazing!
This sounds like a match made in heaven – I need to try it one day soon. It looks like the perfect brunch for an autumnal day. xxxx
This looks like my new favorite dessert! Bananas AND frosting?! I am counting the minutes until I can whip this up for myself! Brilliant!
Let me know if you give them a try!
This looks great Dana Family Approved!!!!
These look sooo good! Can`t wait to make them!
Might I ask who is Rhonda?
My favorite ongoing joke :D
Good Morning from *sunny* Vancouver……awesome recipe for sure! I am a true ‘raisin in my cinnamon buns girl’ and would want to add some to your recipe….ummm..what quantity would you suggest? Thanks and cheers, Valerie :)
As much as you want! I’d say 1/4 cup, which is enough to sparsely cover the surface. Hope that helps!
Oh my…these look downright divine! I know it’s still a way off, but these look like they might be perfect for my family’s Christmas breakfast :) Yummm.
OOh, yeah! Perfect idea!
Holy cow these look amazing! Definitely going to have to give this one a try.
Sounds great!I like banana pastry, but this! This is something different! Bananas in cinnamon buns? Cooool!
Just made these…. PERFECT! AMAZING! DELICIOUS! INCREDIBLE! The banana, which is not obvious or overpowering, gives this that certain * magical * touch! On my list for more, already shared with my mother who loves the Cinnabon version at the mall – no longer! This is so easy to make, a bit of waiting time for the dough, 30 minutes in the oven, done! Thank you so much for this idea!!!
These look great. Now…did you ever think of marrying cinnamon rolls with apple strudel? I had a vision of apple slices in place of the banana slices. Or, have you thought of trying to make them gluten free (hint hint)!
Ah, great idea! That’s next on my list!
Hooray!
Yes, gluten free. Pretty please?
I second or third the request for a gluten-free version please?! I’ve made countless recipes from your site, Dana, and am just thrilled with the results every time! I’m itching to make a gf vegan cinnamon bun… I can’t remember the last time I had one. :)
It’s on my list!!
Ohhh lordy the way that thick cream cheese glaze is cracking on top in that last picture. Why can’t there be a high five emoji for desktops?
AMEN
GENIUS!
Why are these not in and around my mouth, right now?!
Sorry? Ha, thanks Rachael. Hope you give these a go!
Oh no you didn’t!
If i don’t want wheat flour – what would you suggest as an alternative?
Not sure I understand you. Are you OK with using all purpose? Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to advice on other flours as I haven’t tested them.
I don’t think I’ve ever come across banana bread cinnamon rolls – what a fantastic idea to combine two wonderful baked goods together this way! I like the idea of using banana as a natural sweetener, too. I imagine these would be quite lovely for breakfast.
Oh yes. TOO lovely. I had to hide these from myself. That’s when you know they’re good.
I was just looking at the 3 pathetic looking browning bananas on my counter and wondering what to do with them. I was going to go with banana pancakes, but this is much more decadent! As soon as I get home from work tomorrow, I am going to make these!
Yay! Let me know how it goes!
Can I sub pastry flour for whole wheat white ?
Yes!
I was disinclined to believe the title, but then I clicked over and oh. My. Gaw. Seriously, you guys are amazing. This looks FANTASTIC–one bowl, indeedy! Sharing and saving, Dana!
Thanks, Ala! Hope you enjoy these gems!
Holy moly these look SO amazing. I must make these soon!
Um.. can I come over for breakfast?
Um, are we internet besties? YES and YES!
Hi Dana, do you think this will work with gluten free flour?
I wish I could comment, but I haven’t experimented with a GF cinnamon roll yet. But if you try it, please report back!
This looks sooo yummy! Could you still use dairy milk and butter? x
– Lana
Okay, you guys did it – these cinnamon rolls look OVER THE TOP ahhh-mazing! I cannot wait to try these because Banana Bread is one of my fav. things ever and so are cinnamon rolls! And can I just say, gooey is the best word ever to describe baked goods – ever!
hi there,
this looks wonderful,
do you remember how many bananas do you need for those 2 half cups, mashed & sliced ? thanks in advance !
About 1.5 :D
I was expecting the bananas to be mashed and included in the dough, but including thin slices in the roll itself sounds even better! I do have a question – do you think you could make these ahead of time, refrigerate them overnight, then bake them in the morning? I don’t work with yeast very much and I’m not sure if refrigerating would mess with the dough staying risen. Thanks!
I tried these, but am not a huge fan! :( Maybe it was some changes I made, not sure.
I’m not gluten-free so I used regular salted butter (decreased the salt in the recipe by half, which was a mistake because the dough turned out a bit flavorless), unbleached white flour, regular whole milk, and toasted almonds. I also did not put bananas in the filling because I always have so many issues rolling the dough that I didn’t want to make it too complicated. :)
I also made the dough the night before and let it rise overnight.
Everything came together normally, but the end result was disappointing. First of all, they took forever to cook! It definitely might have been my oven, but they ended up hard on the outside and still soft on the inside. I like super soft cinnamon rolls, so I’m not sure if it was the addition of banana in the dough that made them not cook uniformly? And as I mentioned before, the dough was too flavorless for me. I shouldn’t have decreased the salt and I think I prefer sugar in the dough like normal cinnamon rolls.
I think it’s probably a great healthier cinnamon roll recipe and I really hope others have success! I’ll blame it on my oven and my error for decreasing the salt. Maybe I’ll try these again and report back with better success!
Oh wow! I’m definitely trying this recipe! x
I can’t even believe you got a cinnamon roll to look that good, without eggs. Seriously, that crumb is amazing- so fluffy! Girl, you better polish that crown because this is a good one ;)
I think you’re a genious. These look amazing!
I cannot read your blog without my mouth watering!
Another amazing recipe I will need to try!
nourishnature.blogspot.ca
Dana you are a genius! I can’t wait to try these! What are your thoughts on subbing gluten free flour? I know it’s never really the same as traditional flour but I’m thinking it would also be delicious!
After several requests, I’m going to try my hand at GF rolls! Thanks for the request. I won’t be able to advise until then :D
Awesome – Looking forward to the recipe!
Umm…I need these right now!! Looks so tasty!!
My dear girl, you are just too brilliant for words.
Dana, I love you! I haven’t yet tried this but I got sooooo excited when I saw your IG post on these!! I was like this is the best idea ever!!! Vegan banana cinnamon rolls!!!! EPIC. You are a baking goddess. Thank you. I have black spotted bananas on my countertop just begging to be made into this! I will report back when I’ve tried it. Thank you you wonderful woman!
Thanks Felicity! Let me know how the rolls go!
Oh my gosh! These have got to happen…and soon! I’ll be sure to instagram if we do them this weekend!
Please do! xoxo
I’ve actually been craving a banana bread cinnamon roll, and you are literally my savior. Great recipe!! And as I am dabbling more and more with vegan eats, this is perfect! I just made an adaption of your one bowl banana bread yesterday and will be sure to let you know when I post it! :D
Yay! Let me know how it goes, Leigha! Hope you liked the banana bread, too :D
I read the title of this post and all I could think was “No. Freaking. WAY.” I can’t wait to try these :)
Oh, wow….I’m definitely going to do this. I already love your cinnamon rolls, so should be a doddle to add the bananas. Won’t be today, but next weekend!
Words cannot describe how badly I am craving one of these banana bread cinnamon rolls right now.. they look super delicious. Especially loving that thick layer of frosting going on as well. Pinned!
Omg I can hardly stand how tall and fluffy these rolls look! I’m a banana bread-FIEND so these are right up my alley! Totally loving the double-banana action going on there. :D Pinned!
You never cease to amaze me. This is a delightful combination. (Why didn’t I think of that?!)
Too kind! Thanks, Jamie!
Another brilliant recipe Dana! Can’t wait to try this.
Finally made these! I have tried these and the regular cinnamon recipe…. I love how easy they are to make! My only complaint is they are a bit “yeasty” for my tastes…. do you have any suggestions to combat this at all?
Hmmm. Perhaps next time try baking them on a baking sheet lined with parchment spaced apart a little bit so they have a bit more space to “breathe” and crisp up. That should help!
I made these, and I fell in love <3
Yay!!
Made these today and they worked out great! thanks for the recipe!!
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Heather!
The Cinnamon roll love on this blog is amazing!
i just wish you’ll publish youre receipes in french!!! ;)
Me too! Ha!
It looks great!
Just obe question, last timd I made cinnamon rolls with instant yeast it tasted a lot like yeast..
What did i do wrong?
Not sure! If you’re weary of instant, just use regular and give it more time to rise. Good luck!
I’ve made these twice now and man, they are awesome. Quick and easy to make and so good. The second time around, I left out the cinnamon and added chocolate sprinkles to the filling, goes together well with the banana.
Thanks for sharing, Dai!
Please let me know if you tried this with gf flour and if it worked. I really want to make this but I’m a bit afraid of “wasting” my precious gf flour…
Don’t know what I did wrong (maybe it was subbing half garbanzo bean flour?) but these stayed so sticky they were hard to cut. But I don’t care…the smell from my oven is amazing!
Oh Wow! These are brilliant, definitely cooking them up this weekend!
Oh Em Geeee!!! Just made these to satisfy my insane pregnancy craving for cinnamon and bananas and I have to say, this recipe and concoction is absolutely divine – it hit the spot! What’s more is that the hubby didn’t even know they were vegan until he devoured 3 and saw my Smart Balance tub sitting on the counter lol. Thanks Dana!! :)
Made these two weeks ago and LOVED them – so decadent and flavorful! We enjoyed the batch for breakfast all week
I made these a couple of days ago, exactly as written with the exception of adding two more tablespoons of sugar to the dough. In my oven, they needed to go for almost the full 35 minutes, but they were delicious, with an amazing, fluffy texture. Since my kitchen is cold and drafty, I used a tip I had seen elsewhere for letting the dough rise and wrapped the entire bowl in two bath-sized towels. Then we went to the gym for an hour. :-). By the time we got back, the yeast had done its thing and the dough was ready to roll! I used a vegetable peeler to slice up my bananas, and Daiya cream cheese because I can’t do soy. I haven’t tried Tofutti, but Daiya is a little sweet already, so I only needed two cups of powdered sugar for the cream cheese frosting.
These were awesome, and will definitely be part of my special occasion repertoire!
These are delicious, super fluffy. For those in Australia, I used nuttelex and the end product was a ripper. Thanks!
Thanks Tori – you’re a lifesaver. I was having a hard time finding dairy free butter, so I’ll just use the Nuttelex in the fridge!
Hi Dana, love this idea and thinking about making these for Christmas morning! One question – have you ever made these in advance and then pulled out to bake? Would like to make the day before and pop into the oven!
-Caroline
http://www.chardonnaymoi.com
think you could! Just make them up to the baking part the night before, cover and refrigerate, and then bake the next morning as instructed!
hi! can you make these overnight so they’re ready to bake in the morning. like christmas morning. haha :) thanks!!
Yes! I would recommend making the rolls up until the baking part. then covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating overnight. then, bake as instructed in the morning, setting them on top of the oven while it preheats! Good luck!!
This Looks like an Incredible Banana Cinnamon Rolls
I am making these right now, but I am going to try making them GF. I will let you know how they turn out! So excited :)
These turned out amazing! It was so hard to not stop eating them. I used Namaste All-Purpose GF Flour blend.
trying make these bad boys right now. Waiting for my dough to rise. But it is normal that was super duper gooey when I was trying to knead it? No matter how much flour I added it was gooey. Tips?
it’s it’s gooey, add more flour! You want it to be soft, but workable and not sticky.
Just made these. Didn’t even frost them, and I’ve already eaten more than three rolls. Yum.
These are amazing! They are reasonably easy to make and delicious! Just made them for the second time today, and I will be giving them to my mom for Mother’s Day! I also definitely recommend adding the glaze. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Thanks for sharing, Kathleen! Hope your Mother’s Day was awesome.
I am so happy I found your blog with all the amazing recipes! Just made these babies, for tomorrow’s brunch with my boyfriend’s family. I figured we’d warm them up a bit tomorrow, and I have the frosting in a separate jar until then, this should work fine, right?
Of course I also had to taste one already (got enough rolls that two were baked separately from the others), and it is absolutely delicious. Combining banana bread with the rolls is a great idea!
I did do it slightly differently, I used dairy milk, fresh yeast, and added a bit more banana into the dough, about 2/3 cups, to which I added two spoons muscovado sugar, which I think goes really well into the combination. I also skipped the slices, because I usually already have a bit of a problem rolling the thing up, so didn’t want to complicate :)
Of course I did frost them with the cream cheese frosting (dairy). If I was already indulging, might as well go all the way! :D
Hello, I thought I’d tell you (in case someone wonders) that the warming them up a day after worked perfectly, Just popped them in the oven at a bit lower temperature for 15 min, and they were as delicious as freshly made. I was asked by everyone to share the recipe and to definitely make them again :)
These look amazing!! I can’t wait to try this out, I am always looking for a substitute for Earth Balance or vegan butters… I live in a remote area and you cannot get it! Coconut oil is also always a liquid here never a solid! Any great suggestions out there?? Much love!!
If you have a refrigerator, just put the coconut oil in the fridge and it will harden. :)
Can I sub coconut oil for Earth Balance?
It will affect the flavor, but I think so, yes.
My friend got me onto this website because of your awesome vegan cinnamon scrolls. They are to die for! My fiancee LOVES banana treats so I’m going to try these ones out. Can’t wait to taste them. Thank you so much – you are awesome.
Can i substitute vegan butter for normal butter?
Yes!
Can we freeze the dough and not actually bake the cinnamon rolls until the morning, or do they need to be baked right away?
You can freeze the dough. Just let it thaw completely, then preheat the oven while they rest on top of the oven. Bake as instructed!
I used whole wheat flour for the entire measurement and made a cream cheese icing. The icing was SO complementary. Who would’ve thought to put banana bread and cinnamon rolls together? Almost a crime it hadn’t been done sooner!
Hi there! I was wondering if I could substitute the vegan butter? Can I use more bananas or applesauce, or coconut oil? thanks! ~Bethany
Hi Dana thank you for the amazing recipe it was sooooo easy to make and tasted amazing I added some raison to it as well it’s so moist and delicious I and used coconut suger. Thank you for all the great recipe
The problem is that if I make these cinnamon rolls, I’d eat all of them before the brunch even starts! :D my next challenge to you: CHOCOLATE cinnamon rolls.
What is vegan butter made of? I try not to do oil and/or highly processed foods. Thanks. These look amazing.
Check out the ingredients label to see.
Can I substitute the almond milk with another non dairy milk? Maybe soy, coconut, or rice milk? I would love to try this recipe but I’m have a severe almond allergy.
Hi Elizabeth! Please check out Dana’s Recipe FAQ page for your substitution questions!
Made these last night. Best things I’ve ever made! So simple! And they were soft and sweet and gooey and AMAZING!! Thanks for a great recipe x
Is it possible I could rise this and bake it as a log of cinnamon banana amazing soon to be bread?
These are soooooo good! They’re almost too rich, but not quite. I rolled them up the wrong way but they still turned out great. I think I’ll probably halve the recipe next time, though, since there’s too many for 2 of us and I’ll have to figure out what to do with the rest. I don’t really like vegan cream cheese, so I just used your sticky bun topping instead.
Oh, I forgot to ask – how do you measure your flour? I know some people scoop the flour with the measuring cup, some people spoon into the measuring cup and level, and it’s hard to tell who uses which method based on their recipes. I’m a spooner, not a scooper, but when I did that, I ended up adding quite a bit more than was called for – but they still turned out.
Could I substitute the almond milk with coconut? Allergies to soy and almond ):
I recommend doing more than one banana sliced in the middle. They were good bits of caramelized goodness, but I think it would be better with 1 1/2 – 2 bananas sliced. Also, definitely do the brown sugar and not just white!
Can I use regular butter instead of vegan?
Yes!
I made these yesterday for my boyfriend’s birthday breakfast. I’ve never made cinnamon rolls before and this recipe was easy to follow. They turned out absolutely amazing. I felt like I was eating a Cinnabon, only vegan and with bananas. So it was 100x better.
Holy moly roly poly. These were phenomenal. Made a glaze of powdered sugar, some soy milk, vanilla, coconut oil, and cinnamon for the top. Divine.
Thank you for your expert instructions. I made sushi for the first time last night from your recipe. I absolutely love Minimalist Baker and recommend all the time. Thank you thank you!!
Would it work out all right if I used Almond flour instead of all-purpose flour?
Hi Jean! We haven’t tried it yet! If you do, report back on how it goes!
I believe I already commented on this recipe about how awesome they are, but I have to comment again because these are such a huge hit. So incredibly delicious! My boyfriends father who isn’t big on sweet things always takes seconds when I make these. The whole family gets excited as little children when they see what is in the baking pan. The friends I made them for have been nothing but impressed. We currently have a couple of very ripe bananas at home and the boyfriens is not-at-all-subtly hinting at what I should make with them :D Can’t thank you enough for the recipe :)
Have you tried filling it with peanut butter???
No we haven’t If you do, let us know how it goes!
No gluten free option over this marvelous cinnamon roll?
Working on it!!
These barely fit into the suggested 8×8 sized pan, and barely cooked in the middle. They were good, but would be much better as 12 rolls in a proper 9×13 pan.
I just finished making these and oh my goodness. First of all, I’ve never made cinnamon rolls before, I wouldn’t consider myself any sort of Baker. But this recipe was so easy (almost foolproof) and these cinnamon rolls are among the best ones I’ve ever had. I just wanted to say thank you for all of your recipes. I went vegan about a year ago, using your website and your cookbook have helped me so much! I know I can always count on your recipes to impress not only myself but my non-vegan friends/family.
Thinking about making these for a trip with friends, however Id have to make them the day before and heat them up before serving (adding the frosting after of course). Will this work? Has anyone tried this? I’m thinking a low what to just warm ’em up. Thanks!
Yes that’ll work! Just let them cool completely before storing and store in an airtight container and they’ll stay fresh for serving!