Go from homemade or store-bought pizza dough to breakfast deliciousness with a 35-minute recipe for Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls.
My thought process leading up to this latest creation was simple: Leftover pizza dough is sitting in my fridge. It’s 8 a.m. I love carbs. I love butter. Hello, Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls.
As history has shown, I’m all for baked goods that don’t involve yeast (see examples 1 through 789 here). There’s no proofing. There’s no rolling. Heck, there’s even no mixing if you go the store-bought pizza dough route.
And since I’m always in need of a new way to use up leftover pizza dough, ditching savory for sweet seemed like the perfect solution to the morningtime munchies.
Pizza dough brushed with butter, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and drizzled with vanilla glaze? I’ll skip the pepperoni any day for that.
So next time you’re stocking up on store-bought pizza dough, or whipping up a yeast-free DIY batch, double-up and keep one in the freezer for a 35-minute journey to the ultimate Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls.
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Ingredients
For the cinnamon rolls:
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing pan
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 pound homemade or store-bought pizza dough, at room temp
For the glaze:
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 Tablespoons hot water (until desired consistency)
Instructions
Make the cinnamon rolls:
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease an 8x11-inch baking dish with unsalted butter.
- In a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon and sugar.
- Lightly flour your work surface then roll out the dough into a 16x10-inch rectangle. Brush the dough all over with the melted butter then sprinkle it with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Starting at the long end closest to you, tightly roll the dough into a log. Cut the log into 12 rolls, about 1 1/2-inches each. Arrange each roll in the prepared baking dish about 1 inch apart.
- Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes until the dough is fully cooked. (See Kelly's Notes.) Remove the rolls from the oven and let them cool slightly while you make the glaze.
Make the glaze:
- In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk in the hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches your desired consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the slightly warm cinnamon rolls and serve immediately.
Kelly's Notes:
- Pizza dough is easier to roll out when it's at room temperature versus when it's cold.
- Pizza dough gets crispier on the edges than traditional cinnamon roll dough so when in doubt, underbake the rolls to guarantee they remain soft.
- Unlike cinnamon rolls made with traditional dough, these rolls are denser in consistency and chewier in taste as a result of the pizza dough.
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
Can you prep these and cook the next day?
Hi Lisa – I wouldn’t recommend doing that, as pizza dough has more of a tendency to dry out vs. traditional cinnamon roll dough.
Awesome recipe! The kids love em!
Thanks!
I’m so happy to read this, Mark!
I never comment on recipes I try but OH MY GOODNESS THESE ARE AMAZING!! I had to hop on quickly to say thank you for the amazing, easy recipe. My picky 3 and 5 year olds loved them and were begging for more. Thanks again
Love reading this, Abby! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I’m thrilled your family enjoyed the cinnamon rolls!
Mine came out small but they were still great! I’m looking for a solution to the icing just tasting like powdered sugar…could it be the brand? I’m using Domino.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Artesia! Try adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to the icing next time!
Try using softened cream cheese instead of butter, omit the hot water and just use some milk to thin it slightly. Put it on warm or hot cinnamon rolls .
Totally amazing
These were AMAZING! My kids loved them and even my husband, who does not have a sweet tooth at all, said they were excellent. Thank you for this tasty and super easy recipe!
Yay! I’m so thrilled your family enjoyed the recipe, Helen!
How did you Incorporate the coffee?! That is an amazing idea!!
Made them, super easy and they taste great! My husband loves them with coffee and they only take about 30 mins total time to make so perfect to make when you get up, nothing better then fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast!
YESSSS! So happy to read that you enjoyed the recipe, Jenny!
My kids woke up this morning wanted cinnamon rolls. All I had was pizza dough. I made this and it was so easy and they were amazing. My daughter said they are even better than the Pillsbury canned cinnamon rolls!! If I could leave a pic I would because you would be salivating!
Woohoo! I’m so thrilled your family enjoyed the cinnamon rolls, Casey!
I’m so happy that I found this recipe. I’m in a cooking class in high school. We had to make pizza dough and I had extra dough. We made them at my grandmas house and everyone loved them! Thank you so much for the recipe! So yummy!
Love reading this! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
We make homemade pizza regularly & this time I decided leftovers were not going to waste! Made pizza Sunday night & circumstances were such that the dough ended up in a sealed container in the fridge until Tuesday morning. They were still incredible! A bit crispy on the edges here & there, but watched them carefully & really enjoyed tender chewiness of the rolls. Didn’t have unsalted butter, regular worked fine & think I prefer salted because it’s a very sweet icing even with the salted butter. Thank you for the recipe. Will definitely use again!
Woohoo! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Julie!
I happened to have a tube of pizza dough in the fridge and thought I would surprise my Mr. for Valentines Day. What a wonderful sweet treat! He ate three immediately! Thank you for sharing! We will absolutely make these again!
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Sarah!
Loved this easy recipe. I did not do the powder sugar glaze,instead I brushed the tops with butter and sprinkled some sugar and spice on top when baking…the tops cartelized.Wow,thanks again for this GREAT treat
YUM! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Joe!
Easy to make. Deliciousness. Not fluffy but chewy.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Lorna!
I thought I would surprise my wife this morning with cinnamon rolls. Followed the recipe to a T. Dough was at room temp. They never changed shape like I thought they would. Utterly disappointed, can’t imagine what went wrong.
I’ll save the topping as that turned out fantastic, I’m not a quitter, so I will try again next time I have xtra dough.
I’ll just make bacon and eggs instead.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe, Jim. Unlike traditional cinnamon rolls, which rise, puff and then fill a baking dish as they bake, these cinnamon rolls won’t have the same amount of rise. :)