Picture warm, homemade banana cinnamon rolls! Yes ma'am, I said banana! Thinly sliced bananas, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter are rolled up inside a soft, super fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth, homemade yeast dough.
Then there's the cream cheese frosting. It's rich, creamy, and tangy, with the perfect sweetness. Trust me, these will be the best cinnamon rolls you’ve ever had! Go bananas and eat two!
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And if you need another reason to use those bananas sitting on your countertop, my ever-so-popular Banana Walnut Muffins and Banana Chocolate Pancakes will gladly fulfill that need!
Why You'll Love My Banana Cinnamon Rolls
- Easy to make. With a simple homemade dough and straightforward steps, anyone can whip these up!
- Make-ahead friendly. Prep the dough the night before then bake fresh in the morning. Your family will think they woke up in a bakery ha!
- Soft, fluffy dough. Made with yeast, so it’s light and pillowy.
- Rich banana flavor. Mashed bananas inside the dough and thinly sliced bananas in the filling add more banana sweetness and flavor. Some say, the flavor reminds them of banana bread (we all love banana bread, right!).
- Gooey, caramelized filling. The banana-brown sugar combo melts into a sticky, irresistible filling.
- Short on time but still want cinnamon rolls? Check out these Hawaiian Roll Cinnamon Rolls. They're a quick and easy solution!
Ingredients You'll Need
For the Dough
- Overripe bananas - provide rich and sweet banana flavor to the dough! The banana peel should have dark spots. The bananas should be soft but not bruised.
- Quick yeast - mixing yeast with warm milk and sugar activates (blooms) the yeast. Quick yeast and instant yeast are the same thing.
- Flour - use your favorite all-purpose flour.
- Butter - the fat content in the butter keeps the dough soft and adds moisture, making the rolls light and fluffy.
For the Filling
- Ripe banana - the banana should be ripe but firm enough to slice thinly.
- Butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon - a classic combination providing melty, gooey goodness from the butter, and a sweet cinnamon-sugar mixture that pairs deliciously with the thinly sliced bananas.
For the Frosting
- Cream cheese - reach for the name brand, full fat cream cheese! If you've gotten this far, why not top these gorgeous cinnamon rolls with the most flavorful, creamiest frosting!
- Sugar and vanilla - add sweetness and flavor!
- Heavy cream - add richness and thins the mixture just enough to make it spreadable.
Substitutions and Additions
Yes, there are a lot of ingredients involved when making these banana cinnamon rolls. They all work in unison to ensure the best flavor and texture! Because of this, I can only offer limited ingredient swaps:
- Butter - you can use salted or unsalted (I use salted because I always have it on hand).
- Instead of the heavy cream, use whole milk or 2% milk.
- If you only have neufchâtel cheese, you can use it instead of the regular cream cheese, but it may not be as rich and creamy but still good.
- Add finely chopped pecans or walnuts to the cinnamon-sugar-banana filling for added flavor and crunch!
How to Make Banana Cinnamon Rolls
Here is a summary of the recipe instructions. Please use the recipe card when you make them!
Step 1. Mix the yeast, then the dough ingredients as instructed in the recipe card. Let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Step 2. Roll the dough on a floured surface until it's an 18x12”rectangle. Spread softened butter all over the dough, and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Step 3. Top the cinnamon-sugar mixture with thin slices of banana.
Step 4. From long edge of dough, roll it up and keep it in a tight roll. Cut into12 even rolls and place in 9x13” baking dish. Let rise for about 30 minutes.
Step 5. After the rolls have risen, they'll be puffed up and touching each other.
Step 6. Bake the rolls, and let them cool for a few minutes. Spread cream cheese frosting on top. Enjoy these delicious banana cinnamon rolls!
Storing and Reheating
Store cinnamon rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat at 50% power in the microwave just until warmed. You can also freeze cinnamon rolls. Wrap cooled, unfrosted cinnamon rolls individually, then place them in an airtight container or freezer bag. When you're ready for them, let them thaw and then frost them!
Recipe Tips
- Recipe prep. Gather all ingredients at once and prepare pans ahead of time. Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature before using.
- Use fresh yeast. Follow the directions exactly as written on the yeast package. Make sure the yeast isn't past its expiration date.
- Properly warm the milk. The milk for the yeast needs to be warm (100-110F) so the yeast will bloom. Use a digital instant read thermometer to ensure the milk isn't too cool or too hot. This is a critical step!
- Measure dry ingredients. Correctly measure the sugar and flour. No heaping cup fulls! Spoon the flour or sugar into the measuring cup until it's slightly overfilled then use the back of a butter knife to level it off.
- Let your dough rise in a warm area. Because of the quick rising yeast, the dough will rise pretty quickly.
- Leave some space. Try not to let the filling spread all the way to the edge of the dough. This will allow the end of the dough to stick to itself when you roll it up.
- Consistency. Push the ends of the rolled dough in a little so that they are as “fat” as the middle of the dough to create more even sized rolls.
FAQs
You will need: measuring cups and spoons, bowls of various sizes, stand mixer, hand mixer or spoon, and a 9x13-inch baking pan.
Because of the cream cheese frosting, store the rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Yes, you can prepare the dough the night before and let it rise in the fridge overnight. Just bring it to room temperature before rolling out.
If the yeast doesn’t foam, it may be expired or the milk might have been too hot or cold. Always use fresh yeast and warm milk (100-110°F).
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Recipe
Banana Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- stand mixer with dough hook
- measuring cup(s)
- measuring spoons
- 9x13-inch baking dish or pan
Ingredients
Dough
- ¾ cup over ripe bananas, mashed (about 2)
- ¾ cup warm milk
- ¼ cup sugar, divided remove 1 teaspoon sugar from the ¼ cup of sugar and set it aside.
- 2 envelopes quick yeast
- 4-½ cups flour, divided 4 cups for the dough, ½ cup for flouring the surface when rolling out dough
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup butter, chopped into small pieces
Filling
- ½ cup butter, softened butter should be soft and spreadable
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed into the measuring cup with the back of a spoon
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 ripe banana, sliced thinly
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add warm milk (100-110F), yeast, and about 1 teaspoon of sugar. Stir together and set aside to foam for 3-5 minutes.¾ cup warm milk, 2 envelopes quick yeast
- In a stand mixer bowl (or large bowl), add 4 cups flour, mashed bananas, bloomed yeast, egg, and vanilla and mix together with dough hook of the stand mixer (or wooden spoon if by hand). Add butter pieces to dough.1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla, ¼ cup butter, chopped into small pieces
- When butter is all mixed in, turn up mixer and let the dough hook knead dough for about 5-7 minutes until a soft dough ball. If mixing by hand, turn out dough onto floured surface and knead dough for 5-7 minutes.
- Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic, and let rise until doubled, about an hour.
- When dough has risen, pour out onto a floured surface and roll out to a 18x12”rectangle. Spread super soft butter over rectangle, then spread brown sugar over butter evenly. Sprinkle cinnamon over brown sugar evenly. Place thin slices over bananas evenly over dough.½ cup butter, softened, ¾ cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 ripe banana, sliced thinly
- From long edge of dough, roll it up and keep it in a tight roll. With edge tucked under the bottom, cut into12 even rolls and place in 9x13” baking pan with release spray. Let rise for about 30 minutes. Tip: a serrated knife cuts the dough nicely without tearing it. Unflavored dental floss also works great!
- When edges are touching and puffed up, place rolls in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.
- While rolls are baking, in a small bowl add cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream and whip with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy. Allow rolls to cool a little then spread frosting on top.8 oz cream cheese, ½ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
Notes
-
- Recipe prep. Gather all ingredients at once and prepare pans ahead of time. Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature before using.
-
- Use fresh yeast. Follow the directions exactly as written on the yeast package. Make sure the yeast isn't past its expiration date.
-
- Properly warm the milk. The milk for the yeast needs to be warm (100-110F) so the yeast will bloom. Use a digital instant read thermometer to ensure the milk isn't too cool or too hot. This is a critical step!
-
- Measure dry ingredients. Correctly measure the sugar and flour. No heaping cup fulls! Spoon the flour or sugar into the measuring cup until it's slightly overfilled then use the back of a butter knife to level it off. For the brown sugar, spoon it into the measuring cup pressing it down with the back of a spoon until it's at the fill line or top of the measuring cup. Level it off with the back of a butter knife if need be.
-
- Let your dough rise in a warm area. Because of the quick rising yeast, the dough will rise pretty quickly.
-
- Leave some space. Try not to let the filling spread all the way to the edge of the dough. This will allow the end of the dough to stick to itself when you roll it up.
-
- Consistency. Push the end of the rolled dough in a little so that they are as “fat” as the middle of the dough to create more even sized rolls.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy to my readers. I'm not a nutritionist and I don't guarantee the accuracy of this data. The data may differ according to the brands I used versus the brands you use. To calculate the data yourself using your brands, try using an online nutrition calculator or app.
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