Want to know the secret to cinnamon rolls with puff pastry that’ll blow your mind? No yeast. No waiting for the dough to rise. No kneading. Just grab a sheet of puff pastry, and 30 minutes later, you’ve got flaky, buttery puff pastry cinnamon rolls that taste like you spent all morning baking.
I’m obsessed with these. Like, dangerously obsessed. Cinnamon rolls are one of those treats I have to make sparingly because I love them about as much as donuts and burgers (which is A LOT). But when I discovered I could make cinnamon rolls with puff pastry, everything changed. No more waiting hours for dough to rise while hungry kids circle the kitchen like sharks.
These puff pastry cinnamon rolls are light, buttery, and slightly crispy on the outside with soft, cinnamon-sugar layers on the inside. Top them with this simple maple glaze, and you’ve got breakfast perfection. Whether it’s a lazy weekend morning, holiday brunch, or you just want to treat yourself on a random Tuesday (no judgment), these are about to become your go-to.
Why You’ll Love This Puff Pastry Cinnamon Roll Recipe
Ready in 30 Minutes: From freezer to table in half an hour. That’s faster than driving to the bakery, and way better tasting.
No Yeast, No Waiting: Skip the rising time entirely. Puff pastry does all the work for you, creating those beautiful flaky layers without any babysitting.
Buttery Perfection: Puff pastry is basically butter with a little help from flour. When it bakes, it rises and becomes light, airy, and incredibly buttery with gorgeous flaky layers. Because there’s so much butter already in the pastry, you don’t need to add more—it’s perfect as is.
Minimal Ingredients: You probably have most of these in your pantry already. Brown sugar, cinnamon, puff pastry, and a few things for the maple glaze—done.
Impressive but Easy: These look like you slaved away in the kitchen, but it’s actually one of the easiest recipes you’ll ever make. Your secret is safe with me.
What is Puff Pastry?
Let me break down what makes puff pastry so magical, especially for busy parents who want bakery-quality results without the bakery-level effort.
Puff pastry is made with just four simple ingredients:
- Flour
- Butter (lots of it!)
- Salt
- Water
The magic happens in how it’s made—butter is folded into the dough over and over, creating hundreds of thin layers. When it bakes, the moisture in the butter creates steam, which puffs up those layers into that signature flaky, crispy texture we all love.
For This Recipe: Don’t worry, we’re using store-bought puff pastry sheets. I’m all about shortcuts that work, and premade puff pastry is one of the best. I use either Pepperidge Farm or Pillsbury puff pastry sheets—both give you fantastic results without the hours of work.
If you’re feeling ambitious and want to make your own, my friend Allie over at Baking a Moment has an amazing Homemade Puff Pastry recipe. But honestly? For a quick weekend breakfast or holiday brunch, store-bought is the way to go.
How to Make Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls
Here’s how to turn that frozen puff pastry sheet into bakery-worthy cinnamon roll puff pastry magic:
Step 1: Prep Your Workspace Preheat your oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set it aside.
Step 2: Roll Out the Puff Pastry Take one sheet of puff pastry and place it on a lightly floured surface. Here’s the key: the pastry should be cold but not frozen. Roll it out an extra half inch to make it slightly larger. This gives you more surface area for that cinnamon-sugar goodness.
Step 3: Make the Cinnamon Sugar Filling In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and cinnamon. This is your flavor bomb. Sprinkle it evenly across the entire puff pastry sheet, making sure to get good coverage all the way to the edges.
Step 4: Roll It Up Starting from one side, begin rolling the pastry as tightly as you can without ripping the dough. A tight roll = more layers = more delicious. Take your time here—it’s worth it.
Step 5: Slice and Bake Using a sharp knife, slice the rolled pastry into 1-inch pieces. Place them on your prepared baking sheet, leaving a little space between each one. They’ll puff up quite a bit, so don’t crowd them.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they’re puffed up and golden brown. Your kitchen will smell absolutely incredible.
Step 6: Make the Maple Glaze While the rolls bake, whisk together powdered sugar, maple extract, salt, and milk in a bowl. Adjust the consistency with more milk if needed—you want it thick enough to coat the rolls but thin enough to drizzle.
Step 7: Glaze and Serve Once the rolls come out of the oven, let them cool for just a minute or two, then drizzle that maple glaze all over them. If you want to get fancy, sprinkle some chopped pecans on top.
Tips for Perfect Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls
Keep the Puff Pastry Cold This is crucial. If your puff pastry sits out at room temperature too long, it won’t puff properly. Keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to use it, and work quickly once you start rolling.
Don’t Skip the Parchment Paper These can stick like crazy. Parchment paper or a silicone mat is your friend. Some people even spray the paper with baking spray for extra insurance.
Close That Oven Door Once those rolls are in the oven, resist the urge to peek. Opening the oven door releases heat and can prevent proper puffing.
Sharp Knife is Key Use a really sharp knife to cut the rolls. A dull knife will squish them and ruin those beautiful layers.
Serve Fresh These are best eaten the same day, ideally within a few hours of baking. The puff pastry is at its crispiest when fresh. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container and you can refresh them in a 350°F oven for a few minutes.
Variations to Try
Classic Cream Cheese Glaze Skip the maple extract and add 2 oz softened cream cheese to your powdered sugar mixture. Beat until smooth and drizzle away.
Chocolate Lover’s Version After sprinkling the cinnamon sugar, add mini chocolate chips before rolling. Just don’t go too heavy or they might make things soggy.
Apple Cinnamon Add finely diced apples (pat them dry first!) mixed with the cinnamon sugar for an apple pie vibe.
Nutty Delight Sprinkle chopped pecans or walnuts over the cinnamon sugar before rolling for extra crunch and flavor.
Vanilla Bean Glaze Replace the maple extract with vanilla bean paste for a different but equally delicious glaze.
Commonly Asked Questions
Why doesn’t my puff pastry rise like yours?
Three main reasons: (1) The dough wasn’t cold enough when you put it in the oven. (2) You opened the oven door during baking, which released heat. (3) Your oven temperature isn’t accurate—use an oven thermometer to check.
There’s already so much butter in the puff pastry that adding more would make them greasy and possibly soggy. Trust me, they’re buttery enough as is.
You can assemble and slice the rolls, then freeze them unbaked. When you’re ready, bake from frozen—just add a few extra minutes to the baking time. The glaze is best made fresh.
Yes! Even homemade puff pastry needs to stay cold for proper rising. Roll it out into a 9×9 square and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to fill and roll.
Absolutely. Vanilla, almond, or even orange extract would be delicious. Adjust to taste since some extracts are stronger than others.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Reheat in a 350°F oven for 5-7 minutes to crisp them back up.
Similar Recipes
If you like recipes like this, you will enjoy the similar puff pastry recipes below:
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Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 8–10 1x
Description
Quick and easy cinnamon rolls made with puff pastry dough—no yeast required! Light, flaky, and buttery with a simple maple glaze.
Ingredients
- 1 Puff Pastry Sheet (thawed but cold)
- 1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- GLAZE
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp. maple extract
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. milk
- *Chopped pecans for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat and prep: Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- Roll out the puff pastry: Place puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll out the sheet an extra half inch to enlarge it slightly.
- Make the filling: In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the mixture evenly across the entire puff pastry sheet.
- Roll it up: Starting from one side, roll the pastry tightly from right to left without ripping the dough.
- Slice: Using a sharp knife, slice the rolled pastry into 1-inch pieces. Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them apart.
- Bake: Bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Don’t open the oven door during baking!
- Make the glaze: While rolls bake, mix together powdered sugar, maple extract, salt, and milk in a bowl. Add more milk if needed to reach drizzling consistency.
- Finish: Remove rolls from oven and let cool slightly. Drizzle maple glaze over warm rolls and sprinkle with chopped pecans if desired. Serve immediately for best results.
Notes
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Reheat at 350°F for 5-7 minutes.
- Puff pastry must be cold: Don’t let it sit at room temperature or it won’t puff properly
- Work quickly: The faster you work, the colder the pastry stays
- Use parchment paper: These can stick—don’t skip this step
- Glaze variations: Try vanilla, almond, or cream cheese glaze instead
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
So easy and SO good! My changes were I mixed the cinnamon and brown sugar together to make it easier to spread evenly, and I added raisins, because I love raisins.
I’ll definitely makes these again! Thanks for sharing.
(For some reason, I can’t click on the fifth star, but it deserves all five!)
Thank you Laurie1 I’m glad you enjoyed them!
I found the amount of sugar was way too much. I love the idea of using premade puff pastry, but will cut it down to 1/4 cup brown sugar next time.
????????, thx for sharing. Very yummy
Can these be frozen after baked? I ask because the puff pastry comes frozen.
They could but if you’re just holding on to them for another occasion, I would prep them, roll them, cut them and freeze and bake later maybe. You’ll have to split your batches and see which method works best. Sorry I couldn’t be more help.
Absolutely delicious and easy. I was looking for a recipe to use Schar’s gluten free puff pastry and stumbled upon this ! I’m so glad- this will be a staple for holidays and brunch.
Yay Maggie! I’m so glad for you!
My whole family loves this recipe. I switched the maple extract to vanilla since I don’t have one at hand. Turns out just as great. So quick and easy too. Thanks for this! I’d click 5 stars but couldn’t for some reason.
Thank you!
Tried these today and they’re amazing – quick and easy, exactly what I was looking for.
Great! I’m so glad.
Wanted to use up some puff pastry I had in the freezer. This was perfect. I used almond extract for the icing. Delish !
Awesome!
Mine didn’t rise like yours in the pictures? Possibly too much butter? Very very good though!!
It could be because your puff pastry wasn’t cold enough. If it was left out at room temperature, it won’t rise as much.
“Mine didn’t rise like yours in the pictures?”
Are you asking us or telling us?
It could be because your oven wasn’t hot enough or your pastry was room temperature.
Ms. Nicole,
I am about to try this delicious recipe and I know already they will be totally awesome! My friends will be really WOW’D! Thanks for sharing your wonderful baking talent! Keep on Baking! 🙂
Blessings,
Trish
Thank you!
These were so good!! And simple. At first I didn’t understand the big deal… then I tasted the final product and I don’t think I will make regular cinnamon rolls ever again.
So glad you liked them katie!
I made these and they were sooo good. The only problem I had was that they stuck to the parchment paper and it wasn’t easy to get the paper off. Why so? Your advice would be appreciated coz I’m definitely going to make these again. Thank you
Hello Mal! I am so glad you liked them! Yes, I too had that issue. Try spraying the paper with baking spray. That should do it!
Hi Nicole—just a quick question—how long do you thaw puff pastry dough for these?
I saw a comment about dough perhaps not rising because of being too warm—do you
just follow package instructions?
Thank you—love your blog and beautiful pictures!!
Its best to make these while the pastry is cold not frozen.
I must use the word ethereal to describe these! I even vegan-ized them for the sweet girlfriend of my son and they were perfect! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Awesome!
Have not made these yet. Wonder what to do with the 1T. melted butter listed in the ingredient list. These look so delicious, but I want to make them right. Thank you.
Hi Sandra. I actually remade this recipe and realized you actually don’t need the melted butter. It helps the dough rise better.
This looks delicious!
I have packages of 5×5 puff pastry sheets in my freezer and I’m definitely going to make it this weekend.
So delicious and very easy for me to make for my two awesome grandson’s when we have a sleepover at my place.
Could I use chocolate chips in this recipe?
Thanks
I wouldn’t. It may make the pastry a little more soggy.
These sound delish and I’ll be making them later, but where are you getting Pillsbury or Pepperage Farms Puff pastries that contain butter? I’m in Washington State and the list of Ingredients on the box I buy (and their website) list:
“veg oils-palm oil, soybean oil and hydrogenated cottonseed”.
Butter is milk, salt. No oils
I just found it at the store.