Make these easy raspberry cinnamon rolls using fresh or frozen raspberries in under 3 hours! A simple powdered sugar glaze makes these sweet rolls the perfect breakfast or afternoon treat!
There is something innately special about a glazed, raspberry-filled sweet roll. It could be the bright pink filling or the pop of sweet-tart raspberry flavor, either way these raspberry cinnamon rolls bring all the fruity festive without any extra work!
Table of contents
Why You Will Love these
- Bright, raspberry fruit filling. A flavorful fruit alternative to overnight cinnamon rolls! Bake up a batch for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or just any Summer Sunday!
- No cook filling makes these super easy! Simply toss together the raspberries, sugar and cinnamon before sprinkling over the dough!
- Can be baked the same day or refrigerated overnight for easy AM baking!
- Use fresh or frozen raspberries to make all year long.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Milk: I love using whole milk in enriched doughs because of the flavor and added fat, but you can use any dairy or non-dairy milk that you have on hand. You can even use water.
- Granulated Sugar
- Active Dry Yeast: I use active dry yeast for an even rise, but you could also use instant yeast and skip the first step of blooming the yeast. You’ll have raspberry cinnamon rolls ready faster! Just keep an eye on them so they don’t overproof.
- Unsalted Butter
- Large Egg
- Lemon Zest
- Salt
- All-Purpose Flour
- Raspberries: You can use fresh whole raspberries or frozen raspberries (unthawed) interchangeably in this recipe, or you can substitute raspberry jam for all the filling ingredients.
- Cornstarch
- Powdered Sugar (glaze)
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Change up the fruit filling: Use fresh or frozen mixed berries or make the filling into a jam like these strawberry cinnamon rolls. You could also combine the raspberries with the filling for these hazelnut cinnamon rolls for a crunchy, sweet twist!
- Use a different frosting: Use a cream cheese frosting or glaze like the one from my sourdough cinnamon rolls, or add lemon juice to the glaze like in these lemon poppy seed rolls.
- Mix up the dough. My cinnamon roll obsession is well documented here on GVD. Use this fresh raspberry filling with the dough from sourdough cinnamon rolls, gingerbread cinnamon rolls, or cereal milk cinnamon rolls.
How to Make Raspberry Sweet Rolls
Break from traditional cinnamon rolls with these raspberry cinnamon rolls! Further instructions and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Prepare sweet dough:
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk, sugar and yeast. Stir or whisk to combine. Let sit 5-10 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
Step 2: Add softened butter, egg, lemon zest, salt and flour to the bowl and combine all the ingredients with paddle attachment. Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes, until dough is soft, smooth and elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Step 3: Remove dough from bowl and shape into a ball. Place ball of dough in a large, lightly greased bowl. Flip the dough to coat the top and bottom and then cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.
Step 4: Remove dough from bowl and gently degas on a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll dough into a 12-by-5-inch rectangle with a rolling pin. In a small bowl, toss together fresh or still frozen raspberries, sugar and cornstarch to coat.
Step 5: Sprinkle raspberry mixture over dough. Roll up dough from the long end into a 12-inch log, pinching edge to seal. Using a sharp knife, slice log into 8 equal slices. Place slices, cut side-up, into a greased 9-inch round cake pan (or square baking dish). Spoon any extra raspberry mixture over the rolls.
I do not recommend cutting this sweet roll dough with dental floss because the filling might just spill out. Using a kitchen knife or serrated knife will allow you to hold the rolls together while slicing.
Step 6: Cover the pan with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.
Rolls made with frozen raspberries will take a little longer than those made with fresh, just because of the temperature difference.
Step 7: After about 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Once the rolls have doubled and are visibly risen, remove the plastic wrap and bake until golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 25-30 minutes.
Step 8: Remove from oven and let cool 30 minutes in pan. Meanwhile, make the confectioner’s sugar glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, melted butter and milk until a smooth, spreadable glaze forms (add more powdered sugar or milk as needed to achieve proper consistency).
Step 9: Pour glaze over warm rolls and use a spoon or offset spatula to spread evenly. Serve rolls warm or at room temperature.
How to make raspberry rolls ahead of time
To transform this recipe into overnight raspberry cinnamon rolls, simply refrigerate the dough after placing the rolled and sliced dough into the pan. I would recommend using fresh raspberries for this method or you can precook the filling into a jam like I do in my strawberry cinnamon rolls. Cool before assembling.
Recipe FAQs
Store baked and cooled raspberry cinnamon rolls covered at room temperature for 3 days or refrigerate for up to a week. If using a cream cheese frosting, I prefer to store cinnamon rolls in the refrigerator for longer than 12 hours.
If you would like to make these rolls farther ahead, you could prepare the dough, roll and freeze in a cake pan. You can bake them from frozen but, the most important aspect, is whether or not they are proofed. If the rolls are visibly risen and feel airy to the touch (yes, even when frozen!) you can bake them from frozen. If they aren’t, let them sit at room temperature until they appear to have doubled. I will typically do this while I preheat the oven.
Serve these simple rolls warm for breakfast, brunch or with afternoon coffee or tea. You could also serve them for dessert with a scoop of ice cream or crème anglaise.
Recommended Cinnamon Roll Recipes
Rolls & Biscuits
Breakfast & Brunch
Breakfast & Brunch
Breakfast & Brunch
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below! I love hearing from you and your comments make my day!
Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the dough:
- ½ cup milk, warmed to 95-100 degrees F
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ tablespoon active dry yeast
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 ⅛ cups all-purpose flour, ⅛ cup = 2 tablespoons
For the filling:
- 5 ounces raspberries, fresh or frozen unthawed
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
For the glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ½ tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk, sugar and yeast. Stir or whisk to combine. Let sit 5-10 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
- Add butter, egg, lemon zest, salt and flour to the bowl and combine all the ingredients with paddle attachment. Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes, until dough is soft, smooth and elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Remove dough from bowl and shape into a ball. Place ball of dough in a large, lightly greased bowl. Flip the dough to coat the top and bottom and then cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.
- Remove dough from bowl and gently degas on a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll dough into a 12-by-5-inch rectangle with a rolling pin.
- In a small bowl, toss together fresh or still frozen raspberries, sugar and cornstarch to coat. Sprinkle raspberry mixture over dough. Roll up dough from the long end into a 12-inch log, pinching edge to seal. Using a sharp knife, slice log into 8 equal slices. Place slices, cut side-up, into a greased 9-inch round cake pan (or square baking dish). Spoon any extra raspberry mixture over the rolls. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.
- Note: Rolls made with frozen raspberries will take a little longer than those made with fresh, just because of the temperature difference.
- After about 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Once the rolls have doubled and are visibly risen, remove the plastic wrap and bake until golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 25-30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool 30 minutes in pan.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, melted butter and milk until a smooth, spreadable glaze forms (add more powdered sugar or milk as needed to achieve proper consistency). Pour glaze over warm rolls and use a spoon or offset spatula to spread evenly. Serve rolls warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!Before you go!
I hope you enjoyed this easy cinnamon roll recipe. Check out all our breakfast and brunch recipes link my cinnamon swirl bread, or explore more Mother’s Day recipes or Valentine’s Day recipes!
Why are these called cinnamon rolls when there is no cinnamon??
Hey Nora! Your comment made me laugh because I had the exact same thought the first time I saw them! I’m the new(ish) owner of the blog so I can’t tell you exactly what Steph was thinking, but probably because they are made LIKE cinnamon rolls. I actually created a strawberry cinnamon roll recipe and I did sprinkle cinnamon on the dough before adding the jam, which you could totally do here. ~Lindsey
I used frozen raspberries and rolling them up got a little chaotic, but they baked up beautifully. The filling bubbled out in the best way, and I glazed them while they were still warm. Brought a couple to a friend and kept the rest for a slow morning with coffee (which I’m hoping will be tomorrow!)