Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls Recipe delivers plush, cocoa-kissed swirls under a tangy cream cheese frosting. It suits holiday mornings, anniversaries, and brunch fans, and it takes about 2 hours 30 minutes start to finish. I baked a test batch for my neighbor’s porch crew, and they texted me pictures of empty plates.
Why Choose This Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
This Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls Recipe gives you tender, bakery-style buns with real cocoa and a not-too-sweet cream cheese frosting. I balance the dough so it rises fast, rolls easily, and bakes up light, not bready. The filling stays gooey, the frosting melts into the spirals, and the color pops without tasting like dye.
“These rolls disappeared in minutes, and that tangy frosting made everyone grin. ★★★★★”
Ingredients You Need
- Buttermilk, warm 100 to 110 F: 1 cup (240 g). Pantry swap: use 1 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice, rest 5 minutes.
- Active dry yeast: 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet, 7 g). Instant yeast works at the same amount and skips proofing.
- Granulated sugar: 1/3 cup (67 g).
- Large eggs, room temp: 2.
- Unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled: 6 tablespoons (85 g).
- All-purpose flour: 3 3/4 to 4 1/4 cups (470 to 530 g). Start on the low end, add as needed. I like King Arthur for consistent absorption.
- Natural unsweetened cocoa powder: 2 tablespoons (12 g). Hershey’s Natural works well; save Dutch process for deeper chocolate notes.
- Kosher salt: 1 teaspoon.
- Red gel food color: 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons. Gel gives bold color with no off taste; AmeriColor or Wilton both deliver. Liquid color works too, but you may need 2 tablespoons.
Filling
- Unsalted butter, very soft: 6 tablespoons (85 g).
- Light brown sugar: 3/4 cup (150 g).
- Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g) for extra caramelization.
- Ground cinnamon: 2 1/2 tablespoons.
- Fine salt: pinch.
- Optional add-ins: mini chocolate chips 1/2 cup, or chopped pecans 1/2 cup.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream cheese, room temp: 6 ounces (170 g).
- Unsalted butter, room temp: 4 tablespoons (57 g).
- Powdered sugar: 1 1/2 cups (180 g), sift if lumpy.
- Vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon.
- Fine salt: pinch.
- Milk or buttermilk: 1 to 2 tablespoons to loosen.
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook (hand knead works too)
- Mixing bowl and rubber spatula
- 9 by 13 inch baking pan
- Rolling pin
- Parchment paper
- Unflavored dental floss or a sharp serrated knife
- Instant-read thermometer
- Plastic wrap or a clean towel
Pantry shortcuts
- Use store-bought cream cheese frosting in a pinch.
- No gel color on hand? Use liquid red food color and reduce milk by 1 tablespoon if the dough feels sticky.
How to Make Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Activate yeast and mix the dough (10 minutes)
- Whisk warm buttermilk, yeast, and 1 tablespoon sugar in the mixer bowl. Wait 5 to 8 minutes until foamy if using active dry yeast. If using instant yeast, add it right with the flour in the next step.
- Add remaining sugar, eggs, melted butter, cocoa, salt, red food color, and 3 3/4 cups flour. Mix on low until a shaggy dough forms.
Knead and color check (8 to 10 minutes)
- Knead on medium-low until the dough turns smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. If it smears along the bowl, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it clears the sides but still feels slightly tacky.
- Pinch a bit of dough; if it tears immediately, knead 1 to 2 minutes more. Adjust color now with a few more drops of gel if needed.
Rise 1 (60 to 75 minutes)
- Lightly oil a bowl, add the dough, and cover. Let it rise in a warm spot until it puffs to about double.
- Press a fingertip into the dough; if the dent springs back slowly and not fully, move on.
Make filling and shape (15 minutes)
- Stir the softened butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt until spreadable.
- Roll the dough on lightly floured parchment to about 12 by 16 inches, short side facing you. Spread the cinnamon mixture edge to edge, then sprinkle any add-ins.
Slice and pan (5 minutes)
- Roll up tightly from the 12 inch side into a log. Trim the ends if thin.
- Use floss to cut 12 even rolls. Nestle them in a parchment-lined 9 by 13 inch pan.
Rise 2 (30 to 45 minutes)
- Cover and let the rolls puff until they look pillowy and nearly touch. Preheat the oven to 350 F while they rise.
Bake (23 to 27 minutes)
- Bake on the middle rack until the tops look set and lightly golden. Check that the center rolls read about 195 F on an instant-read thermometer.
- If the tops brown fast, tent loosely with foil near the end.
Frost (5 minutes)
- Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and a splash of milk until spreadable.
- Cool rolls 10 minutes, then swipe on frosting so it melts into the spirals but still stays thick on top.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- Warm liquids matter: keep buttermilk at 100 to 110 F so the yeast stays happy, not sleepy or cooked.
- Measure flour right: spoon and level or use a scale; too much flour makes dense rolls.
- Keep the dough slightly tacky: soft dough bakes tender; add flour only until it clears the bowl.
- Roll tight: gaps cause spirals to unwind; roll snugly without squeezing out filling.
- Slice clean: use floss for neat spirals and even baking.
- Don’t overbake: pull at light golden and 195 F in the center for soft, moist layers.
- Frost while warm: the frosting will glide into the seams and coat the tops.
- Use gel color: it delivers bold hue without extra liquid.
- Short on time: swap instant yeast and skip the proof step at the start.
Variations I've Tried
- Cheesecake swirl: dollop 4 ounces softened cream cheese mixed with 2 tablespoons sugar over the cinnamon layer, then roll.
- Chocolate chunk: scatter 3/4 cup chopped dark chocolate over the filling for molten pockets.
- Pecan crunch: add 1/2 cup toasted pecans to the filling and dust the tops with a little turbinado sugar.
- No-dye version: use 1 tablespoon beet powder and increase cocoa to 3 tablespoons; color turns deeper burgundy.
- Maple frosting: swap vanilla for 1 tablespoon maple syrup and add a dash of cinnamon.
How to Serve
Serve the red velvet cinnamon rolls warm so the frosting relaxes and the spirals stay tender. Pair with hot coffee, vanilla latte, or a mug of cocoa for full bakery energy at home. For a brunch board, add bacon, a fruit salad with citrus, and soft scrambled eggs. Sprinkle a light dusting of cocoa or chocolate shavings over the frosted tops for a pretty finish.
Make-Ahead and Storage
- Overnight rolls: assemble, slice, and pan the rolls, then cover and refrigerate 8 to 16 hours. Let them sit at room temp until puffy, 45 to 60 minutes, then bake.
- Freeze unbaked: place sliced rolls on a sheet pan to freeze solid, then bag up to 2 months. Thaw in the pan overnight in the fridge, proof until puffy, and bake.
- Store baked: keep unfrosted rolls at room temp up to 2 days, wrapped tight. Store frosted rolls covered in the fridge up to 4 days.
- Reheat: warm single rolls in the microwave 15 to 25 seconds. For a pan, cover with foil and heat at 300 F for 10 to 12 minutes until soft and steamy.
Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls deliver plush, cocoa-kissed swirls under a tangy cream cheese frosting, perfect for holiday mornings, anniversaries, and brunch.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Whisk the warm buttermilk, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit 5 to 8 minutes until foamy.
- Add the remaining granulated sugar, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, salt, red food color, and 3 3/4 cups of the flour. Mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms.
- Knead on medium-low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes, adding a little more flour as needed until it clears the sides of the bowl but remains slightly tacky.
- Lightly oil a clean bowl, add the dough, and turn to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 60 to 75 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix the softened butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt until spreadable.
- Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured sheet of parchment and roll into a 12 by 16 inch rectangle, with a 12 inch side closest to you.
- Spread the cinnamon filling evenly over the dough from edge to edge.
- Roll the dough up tightly from the 12 inch side into a log, then trim the ends if they are thin.
- Use unflavored dental floss or a sharp serrated knife to cut the log into 12 even rolls.
- Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper and arrange the rolls inside, cut sides up.
- Cover the pan and let the rolls rise until puffy and nearly touching, about 30 to 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Bake on the middle rack for 23 to 27 minutes, or until the tops look set and lightly golden and the center of the rolls registers about 195°F on an instant-read thermometer.
- In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and enough milk or buttermilk to make a spreadable frosting.
- Let the rolls cool for about 10 minutes, then spread the frosting over the warm rolls so it melts slightly into the spirals while still staying thick on top.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Approximate per 1 roll (1/12 of recipe): 360 calories; fat 16 g; saturated fat 9 g; carbohydrates 49 g; fiber 1 g; sugars 25 g; protein 7 g; sodium 260 mg. Values are estimates and will vary based on specific ingredients, brands, and portion sizes.
Approximate per 1 roll (1/12 of recipe): 360 calories; fat 16 g; saturated fat 9 g; carbohydrates 49 g; fiber 1 g; sugars 25 g; protein 7 g; sodium 260 mg. Values are estimates and will vary based on specific ingredients, brands, and portion sizes.