Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls
Published Jun 14, 2024
Updated Oct 20, 2024
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These Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls consist of soft, pillowy dough filled with a flavor-rich strawberry filling and topped with an irresistible strawberry cream cheese frosting!
You’ll be so impressed with these sweet rolls. Rather than being traditional cinnamon rolls, they are a fun twist: strawberry rolls with a special filling and topping! The strawberry compote, similar to a strawberry jam, is made with fresh strawberries and has hints of citrusy lemon juice and zest.
Meanwhile, the cinnamon roll dough is oh-so-soft and fluffy. Its simple flavor allows the fruity filling and the yummy cream cheese frosting to take center stage. My girls and I thoroughly enjoy these rolls! We may even prefer it to traditional cinnamon rolls!
If you love the idea of strawberry rolls, you’ll definitely enjoy my other strawberry recipes. I also have Healthy Strawberry Jam, No Churn Strawberry Ice Cream, and Easy Chocolate Covered Strawberries that you can try after making this cinnamon roll recipe!
Table of Contents
Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls
There’s nothing better than homemade strawberry cinnamon rolls! These golden brown, sweet rolls are decadent enough to make for a special breakfast, such as Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day.
However, you don’t need an occasion to make them! This is also a great recipe for a delicious breakfast treat on casual weekday or weekend mornings, especially in the summer!
If you’ve never made yeast dough before, you’ll have so much fun with this enriched dough recipe. These pillowy cinnamon rolls are easy to make regardless of your baking skill level. And upon your first bite, all of the effort will be worth it!
From the strawberry cinnamon roll dough to the fresh strawberry filling, I’ll walk you through how to make it and give you some tips along the way. Although you could technically buy strawberry compote, the homemade strawberry filling far exceeds any store-bought filling. It bursts with bold, fruity flavors.
Not to mention, the strawberry cream cheese icing, which is thicker than a strawberry glaze, perfectly adorns the rolls and really brings everything together. If you plan to make this recipe for friends or family, make sure to make enough for yourself, too! Trust me when I say that you will be mesmerized by these sweet rolls and everything they offer.
Ingredients Needed
For this variation to classic cinnamon rolls, you’ll be making a few different components: strawberry compote, cinnamon roll dough, and frosting. First, we have the compote.
The Strawberry Compote has a simple ingredient list. Here is what you need to make it:
And here is what you need to make the homemade cinnamon roll dough:
For the frosting, you’ll need butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and the compote.
Below, I have some notes about the most essential ingredients for the entire recipe. You’ll also need other ingredients, but you can scroll down to the recipe card below to find the entire list!
- Yeast: The yeast helps make the cinnamon rolls fluffy! Use either instant yeast or active dry yeast.
- Butter: The butter helps the recipe in many ways. It makes the dough nice and soft and the frosting rich. You’ll need both softened and melted butter.
- Sugar: You will need both granulated sugar and powdered sugar for this recipe. The granulated sugar is for the compote and cinnamon roll dough. The powdered sugar is needed for the frosting!
- Flour: For best results, use plain, all-purpose flour. You will need it for the dough and for dusting the work surface.
- Cream Cheese: Part of what makes the frosting so delicious is the tangy cream cheese. It offsets all the sweetness and gives the frosting a thicker texture.
- Fresh Strawberries: The chopped strawberries are crucial to the recipe. I suggest using the freshest berries possible; They shouldn’t be overly soft or have too many blemishes.
Be precise when using a measuring cup to measure all of the ingredients. Baking recipes, bread especially, require exact amounts to turn out right!
Recipe Variations
- Cinnamon Sugar Cinnamon Rolls: Optionally, to make cinnamon buns, sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top of the strawberry filling before cutting and rolling the buns.
- Brown Sugar Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls: Like the cinnamon sugar idea, you can sprinkle some brown sugar after spreading the strawberry filling mixture. Be careful not to use too much, as it can leak out the rolls and make them stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Strawberry Vanilla Cinnamon Rolls: Add a tsp or two of vanilla extract to the dough to give the rolls subtle hints of vanilla. Such a small amount won’t greatly affect its texture, but you can add a pinch of flour if needed. You can also add vanilla to the frosting!
- Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze: The compote in the frosting contains lemon. However, for a brighter, lemony flavor, you can add lemon juice and zest separately to the frosting as well.
Substitutions
- Flour: All-purpose flour is best. However, bread flour will work. It will just give the rolls a slightly different texture.
- Yeast: If you only have fresh yeast, you’ll need about 3 times the amount of fresh yeast for the dough to rise properly. Use a kitchen scale to use 3x the amount by weight. Since this can be tricky to figure out, I recommend sticking to either instant yeast or active dry yeast.
- Milk: Ideally, use whole milk or 2% milk. Plant-based milk will work, though!
- Strawberries: If you have frozen chopped strawberries, allow them to thaw and drain before using them. Otherwise, their extra moisture will affect how the compote thickens.
How To Make Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls
Strawberry Compote
- Combine the compote ingredients (minus the cornstarch) in a small saucepan. Cook on medium heat with the pot uncovered for 10 minutes. Mash the strawberries.
2. Prepare cornstarch slurry (a mixture of cornstarch and water), add to strawberries, and cook until thickened.
3. Cool the strawberry compote before using it. Reserve ¼ cup of the compote for the frosting in a small bowl.
Cinnamon Roll Dough
1. Proof the yeast: Warm milk in a medium saucepan or pot on medium heat. Pour the milk into a large mixing bowl, the bowl of a stand mixer, or the large bowl of a bread machine. Add the yeast and one tablespoon of sugar to the milk. Stir to combine, and let it rest for 5 minutes.
2. Make and knead the dough: To the milk mixture, add the remaining granulated sugar, melted butter, egg, salt, and dry ingredients. Mix everything until the dough forms, using a dough hook attachment if not making it by hand. Then, continue kneading the dough. Add 1 tablespoon of softened butter and incorporate.
3. Let the dough rise: Use cooking spray or butter to grease a large mixing bowl, ensuring all sides are covered. Place the dough inside and turn around to coat it with butter.
4. Keep in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.
Although the dough will rise at room temperature, keeping it in a warm spot will accelerate the process, so this is the best method.
5. Grease the baking pan: While the dough rises, butter the baking dish. Parchment paper isn’t necessary here.
6. Roll out the dough: Punch the air out of the dough, then shape it into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface using a rolling pin.
7. Fill the dough, cut it into strips, and form rolls: Spread the compote on the dough.
8. Then, cut it into strips using a sharp chef’s knife, serrated knife, or pizza cutter.
9. Roll each strip away from you to form a strawberry roll.
10. Let the rolls rise a second time: For the second rise, place the portions into the buttered baking dishes. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen cloth and let the dough rise until it doubles in size in a warm area.
11. Preheat oven. While the rolls rise, preheat the oven to 350° degrees F.
12. Bake. Place the rolls in the preheated oven and bake until golden brown and ready.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- Make the strawberry cream cheese frosting. place all frosting ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. Whip them together until well combined and smooth.
2. Frost the strawberry cinnamon rolls. When the strawberry cinnamon rolls are out of the 350 F oven, evenly spread the frosting on them using an offset spatula.
3. Serve. Enjoy strawberry cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting while still warm. That’s one of the perks of baking at home!
Expert Tips For Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls
- Don’t add too much flour to the working surface because it will work into the dough and make it dry.
- Keep any leftover Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls in an airtight container so that they stay fresh. If you want to keep them in a pan that doesn’t have a lid, make sure to tightly wrap it with plastic wrap and then a layer of foil.
- Before baking, you can brush some beaten egg yolks or some heavy cream over the rolls, which will give them a deeper golden color when they bake.
- When adding the flour to the dough, it might be easier to work in segments so the flour doesn’t get everywhere, depending on how large your bowl is. You can add a cup of flour (or two) at a time and then add the remaining flour.
- When you cover the dough with a damp cloth while letting it rise, it prevents the top of the dough from drying out.
Love cinnamon rolls? Also check out my recipe for Cinnamon Rolls With Apple Pie Filling.
Serving
These Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls go well with the following dishes for breakfast or brunch!
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Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- Stand Mixer or Bread Machine For mixing dough
Ingredients
Strawberry Compote Filling
- 1 pound strawberries washed, hulled, and cut into quarters
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- Juice and zest of one lemon
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 1½ cups whole milk sub with 2% milk
- 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted Kerrygold brand is highly recommended
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 4¾ cups all-purpose/plain flour plus 1 Tablespoon more for dusting surface
- 1 Tablespoon softened butter
- 2 Tablespoons more softened butter to butter mixing bowl and grease the baking pan Or spray pan with cooking spray
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese block softened
- 4 Tablespoons butter softened
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup strawberry compote reserved from filling
Instructions
Strawberry Compote
- Combine the strawberries, granulated sugar, lemon zest and juice in a medium pot. Cook on medium heat with the pot uncovered for 10 minutes.
- Mash the strawberries using a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon.
- Combine the cornstarch and about 2 to 3 tablespoons of water to form a slurry. Mix until smooth. Add the cornstarch slurry to the strawberries. Continue cooking while stirring from time to time for about 5 minutes. The compote will thicken due to the addition of the cornstarch.
- Cool the strawberry compote completely before using it. Reserve a quarter cup of the compote for the strawberry cream cheese frosting.
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- Proof the yeast: Heat the milk in a small pot on medium heat or for about 1 minute in the microwave to be slightly warm. It should be about 110° F – 115℉. Pour the milk into a large mixing bowl (if mixing by hand), the bowl of a stand mixer, or the bowl of a bread machine (I use the dough function of my bread machine or my stand mixer). Add the yeast to the milk and one tablespoon of granulated sugar. Stir to combine, and let it rest for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the yeast should form a creamy foam on the surface. This means the yeast is active.
- Make and knead the dough: To the milk/yeast mixture, add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar, melted butter, egg, salt, and flour. Mix everything using a stand mixer (with the dough hook attached and set on low speed), bread machine (set to dough setting), or with your hands to form a dough. Then set the stand mixer to medium speed and continue kneading the dough for 2 minutes. Keep kneading for 2 minutes with the bread machine if that's what you're using. If making the dough by hand, knead the dough on a clean and floured working surface until smooth and elastic while sprinkling on tiny bits of flour as needed. It's okay for the dough to be a little sticky as that will yield soft cinnamon rolls. Add 1 tablespoon of softened butter and keep kneading the dough on medium speed until the butter is incorporated.
- Let the dough rise: Butter a large mixing bowl and place the dough inside. You could remove the dough from the bowl of your stand mixer and butter the stand mixer. Turn the dough around to ensure the butter coats all the sides. Keep in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. It takes about 1 hour. I love turning on my oven for about 2 minutes and then turning it off. Then, I'll place my dough in the oven to rise. It works perfectly every time! You could also leave the dough in the oven to rise with the oven lights on (the oven should be turned off).
- Grease pan: While the dough rises, butter 2 9-inch pie dishes or a 9 by 13 baking dish.
- Roll out the dough: Once the dough has risen, punch it in the middle to remove excess air. Flour a clean working surface. Place the dough on the floured working surface and shape it with your hands into a rectangle. Use a rolling pin to further roll out the rectangle to be about 10 by 18 inches.
- Fill the dough, cut it into strips and form rolls: Spread the cooled strawberry compote on the rolled-out dough all the way to its edges. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough horizontally into 10 1-inch strips. Roll each strip away from you to form a strawberry roll.
- Let the rolls rise: Place the 10 portions into the buttered baking dishes. Cover them with a clean kitchen cloth and let them rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until they are about double in size. You could use your oven again with the lights turned off to help the rolls rise faster.
- Preheat oven. While the rolls rise, or after they have risen (remove the rolls from the oven if they were rising in the oven), preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Bake. Place the risen rolls in the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and the outside of the dough is firm to the touch and not doughy.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- Make the strawberry cream cheese frosting. While the rolls bake, place all ingredients for the strawberry cream cheese frosting into a medium mixing bowl. Whip them together using an electric handheld mixer on medium speed until well combined and smooth.
- Frost the strawberry cinnamon rolls. As soon as the strawberry cinnamon rolls are out of the oven, evenly spread the strawberry cream cheese frosting on them.
- Serve. Enjoy strawberry cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting while still warm. That's one of the perks of baking at home!
