Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls – quick and easy sweet rolls you’ll love! A cake mix in the dough makes these cinnamon rolls so soft, and so flavorful!
Most of the time I like baking from scratch, but there are a few shortcut recipes like this that I love. My Chocolate Lover’s Bundt Cake, and my Caramel Brownies are two more AMAZING recipes that start with a cake mix.
Several years ago a tried an awesome homemade cinnamon roll at a friends house. It was so soft and tender that I asked her for the secret. She told me the recipe called for a cake mix. I was totally surprised!
I left her house with the recipe, and I have made them several times over the years. They always turn out great! The dough is so soft and silky, I love working with it.
It had actually been a really long time since I had made them, and my boys immediately noticed that they were different than regular cinnamon rolls. The dough is sweeter, and so flavorful.
Because of the sweetness in the dough, the filling needs less sugar, and I add extra cinnamon to balance it out. They are scrumptious!
How to Make Cinnamon Rolls with a Cake Mix
Ingredients needed:
- warm water
- instant yeast (I use SAF brand yeast)
- white or yellow cake mix
- vegetable or canola oil
- eggs
- salt
- flour
- butter (make sure it’s very soft so it’s easy to spread on the dough)
- cinnamon
- sugar
Start by dissolving your yeast in warm water. Next you add your cake mix, oil, eggs, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Roll out into a rectangle just as you would any cinnamon roll recipe. Spread soft butter over the dough, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
Roll up the dough and cut into slices, place the rolls on baking pans. Bake till golden brown.
Of course a cinnamon roll is not complete without frosting oozing into all the cracks. I love to use buttermilk or sour cream in my cinnamon roll frosting. It gives a little bit of a tang, which is perfect for offsetting the sweetness.
It’s similar to cream cheese frosting, but without the cream cheese. But if all you have is milk, trust me, these will still be good enough that you will want to lick your fingers! 🙂
PRO TIP – instead of rolling dough on a lightly floured surface, I prefer to spray my counter with non stick cooking spray. That way I don’t work any extra flour into the dough, which can make the cinnamon rolls dry.
How to make Cinnamon Roll Frosting
Ingredients:
- butter (make sure it is very soft)
- powdered sugar
- salt (just a dash, it balances out the sweetness in frosting)
- buttermilk or sour cream (adds a nice tang to the frosting, but you can substitute milk)
- vanilla extract or almond extract (I prefer almond extract, but vanilla is fine too.)
Beat all ingredients together till smooth, adding enough buttermilk to get the consistency you want. Drizzle frosting on cinnamon rolls while they are warm.
How to store cinnamon rolls:
Cinnamon rolls are one baked good that is definitely best warm from the oven. If you need to store them, cover them well with plastic wrap or store them in an airtight container after they have cooled. They will last for two to three days.
We think it’s best to reheat them in the microwave for a few seconds before serving.
Can I prepare these the night before and bake them in the morning?
I’ve had decent luck doing that with other cinnamon roll recipes, but I didn’t care for the way these turned out. The extra sugar in the dough causes them to rise faster, so the texture was more course instead of soft. I also felt like they had a bit of a fermented flavor. So no, I don’t recommend letting them rise overnight.
Love cinnamon sugar? Here are a few more melt in your mouth cinnamon treats:
- Cinnamon Crumb Dessert Pizza
- Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
- Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes
- Easy Cinnamon Roll Cake
MORE SWEET ROLL RECIPES:
- Nutella Sweet Rolls
- Caramel Sweet Potato Rolls
- Peaches and Cream Cinnamon Rolls
- Overnight Strawberry Cream Cheese Rolls
- Raspberry Sweet Rolls
Cake Mix Cinnamon Roll Recipe
Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls
Extra soft cinnamon rolls that start with a cake mix.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 2 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 Tbsp instant yeast
- 1 17 oz. box white cake mix
- 1/3 cup oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 1/2 cups flour (more or less)
Filling:
- 6 Tbsp melted butter
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon
Frosting:
- 1/4 cup very soft butter
- dash salt
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp almond or vanilla extract
- 3-4 Tbsp buttermilk (or milk)
Instructions
- Mix yeast and warm water in a large mixing bowl, let sit till dissolved. Add the cake mix, oil, eggs, salt, and 1 cup of the flour. Beat till smooth.
- Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead a few times on a floured surface. Return to bowl, cover, and let rest for 15-20 minutes.
- Roll the dough out into a large rectangle on a counter that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Spread softened butter over entire surface. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the top.
- Roll up and pinch the seam together to seal. Cut into 24 1" slices and place into 2 greased 9x13" pans. Let rise till doubled, 30-60 minutes.
- Bake at 350° for about 25- 30 minutes, or until golden browned on the top and bottom. Let cool for about 15 minutes, then drizzle with frosting.
- For frosting: Beat all ingredients in a small bowl, adding enough buttermilk to make a thin frosting that you can drizzle.
Notes
The extra sugar in the dough makes these cinnamon rolls raise pretty quickly, so make sure you check on them often. If they raise too long they will end up with pockets of air in them.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 348Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 233mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 2gSugar: 24gProtein: 6g
Made these today. They are pretty good. Texture was a little unexpected, almost spongy, with big cake bubbles in the middle of the dough parts when baked. I figure it’s the leveling agents in the cake mix. If I make them again I will add more salt to this recipe for sure. I opted for a traditional thick whipped, cream cheese buttercream frosting for the top!