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Once you try these strawberry cinnamon rolls, they’ll be a family staple! The secret? Freeze-dried strawberries and lemon zest in the glaze! They are seriously so good!
Why You Need These In Your Life!
- Delicious Bright Flavor: I’m telling you, the combo of sweet strawberries, warm cinnamon, and that tangy lemon glaze is a total game-changer for cinnamon rolls.
- Life Changing Glaze! The incredible glaze has the best strawberry flavor mixed with lemon and cream cheese, it is to die for!
- Strawberry Season: This is a great way to use fresh strawberries! While I use pie filling, you can swap in my homemade strawberry sauce.
A Reader’s Review
The BEST rolls I’ve ever had, much less made. This frosting belongs on EVERYTHING. About to make another batch because I can’t stop thinking about how good they are!
Erika
Ingredients Needed
- Filing Tip: If you can’t find canned pie filling, double my homemade strawberry sauce recipe and add 4 teaspoons cornstarch and 2 teaspoons water to thicken.
- Glaze Tip: Freeze-dried strawberries are the key to the incredible strawberry flavor. If you can’t find them, use strawberry jam or jelly, but reduce the half & half to keep the glaze thick.
How to Make Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls
Even though this recipe uses homemade dough, these strawberry cinnamon rolls are super easy to make. The hardest part is waiting for them to come out of the oven!
Dough
- Melt Butter: In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the milk and butter. Stir until the butter has melted and remove from heat. Let stand until lukewarm temperature.
- Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together 2 ¼ cups of the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
- Combine: Add the egg and water and use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment to mix until combined.
- Slowly Add Milk: Slowly add the milk mixture and the remaining 1 cup of flour to the dough until combined.
- Knead: Knead on medium speed for 6-7 minutes until smooth and pulling away from the bowl. If too sticky, add 1-2 tablespoons of flour and knead 2-3 more minutes. To knead by hand, mix ingredients, then knead on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. Form into a ball, place in the bowl, and let rest for 10 minutes. place it back into the bowl. Set it aside to let it rest for about 10 minutes.
- Roll Out Dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the strawberry cinnamon roll dough into a large 9 x 15-inch rectangle that is about ¼-½ inch thick.
Strawberry Filling
- Spread: Spread the strawberry pie filling evenly over the dough. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl, then sprinkle it evenly on top of the strawberry filling.
- Roll: Roll up the 15-inch side into a log and pinch the seams. To avoid the filling squeezing out the other side, try lifting the rolled side up and placing it down on top of the filling before pulling it back towards you to make the roll tighter. Repeat this for the entire process of rolling the dough to prevent losing all the filling.
- Slice: Use a very sharp knife to slice the rolled dough into 12 even rolls. I recommend using a clean kitchen towel or several paper towels to wipe the knife clean between each cut.
- Let Rolls Rise: Place the rolls in a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan, cover with a damp cloth, and set them aside to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Bake: While the rolls rise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 30 minutes or until just golden brown on the tops.
Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
- Mix Glaze and Frost Rolls: In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until smooth. Add the half & half, lemon juice, lemon zest, and freeze-dried strawberry powder and mix until combined.
- Add Glaze: Spread over the warm strawberry cinnamon rolls after they cool for 10 minutes or so.
Storing Leftover Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls
- Refrigerating: Store leftover strawberry cinnamon rolls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Warm in the microwave for 20–30 seconds before serving.
- Freeze: You can freeze the cinnamon rolls right after rolling them, before the final rise. When you’re ready to bake, just let them come to room temperature and rise until doubled in size—then pop them in the oven.
- Room Temperature: Since the glaze has cream cheese, avoid keeping these at room temp.
More Tasty Strawberry Recipes
If you loved these strawberry cinnamon rolls, then you’ve got to try a few more of my favorites!
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Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
These delicious strawberry cinnamon rolls are made with pie filling and a quick and easy dough. The flavor is out of this world amazing!
Ingredients
Dough
- ¾ cup milk
- ⅓ cup softened unsalted butter
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour,
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup all-purpose flour +2 tablespoons if the dough is very sticky
Filling
- 1 (21-ounce) can strawberry pie filling
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
Strawberry Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
- 4 ounce cream cheese softened
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons freeze-dried strawberries crushed into powder about .5-ounces freeze-dried strawberries
- 3 tablespoons half & half
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest about 1 large lemon
Instructions
Dough
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add ¾ cup milk and ⅓ cup softened unsalted butter. Stir until the butter has melted and remove from heat. Let stand until lukewarm temperature.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons instant yeast, ¼ cup granulated sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt.
- Add 1 large egg and ¼ cup water and use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment to mix until combined.
- Slowly add the milk mixture and 1 cup all-purpose flour to the dough until combined.
- Knead on medium speed for 6-7 minutes or until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is very sticky and won’t pull away from the sides even after 6-7 minutes, add 1-2 tablespoons of flour and knead again for 2-3 minutes. You can alternatively make the dough by hand. Stir all the ingredients together in a large bowl before kneading it on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about 10 minutes or so.
- Form the dough into a ball and place it back into the bowl. Set it aside to let it rest for about 10 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a large 9 x 15-inch rectangle that is about ¼-½ inch thick.
Filling
- Spread the 1 (21-ounce) can strawberry pie filling over the dough. Combine the 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and ½ teaspoon granulated sugar in a small bowl, then sprinkle it evenly on top of the strawberry filling.
- Roll up the 15-inch side into a log and pinch the seams. To avoid the filling squeezing out the other side, try lifting up the rolled side and placing it down on top of the filling before pulling it back towards you to make the roll tiger. Repeat this for the entire process of rolling the dough to prevent losing all the filling.
- Use a very sharp knife to slice the rolled dough into 12 even rolls. I recommend using a clean kitchen towel or several paper towels to wipe the knife clean between each cut.
- Place the rolls in a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan, cover with a damp cloth, and set them aside to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- While the rolls rise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 30 minutes or until just golden brown on the tops.
Glaze
- In a medium bowl, combine 4 ounce cream cheese softened, 3 Tablespoons salted butter softened, and 1 cup powdered sugar until smooth. Add 3 tablespoons half & half, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons freeze-dried strawberries crushed into powder and mix until combined. Spread over the warm rolls after they cool for 10 minutes or so.
Video
Notes
Originally posted April 15, 2014
Updated on August 31, 2023
Update March 18, 2025
Nutrition
Calories: 383kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 6gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 177mgPotassium: 139mgFiber: 3gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 431IUVitamin C: 42mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!
The BEST rolls I’ve ever had, much less made. This frosting belongs on EVERYTHING. About to make another batch because I can’t stop thinking about how good they are!
Can I use puff pastry or pie crust instead?
Hi Danielle, thanks for the question. Hmm, both of those doughs are different than cinnamon roll dough, but if you want to try one, I’d say use the puff pastry. It won’t turn out the same but I think it will still taste good! Let me know how it turns out!
Does it matter if the butter is salted or unsalted ?
You can use either, just adjust the amount of added salt if you end up using salted butter. ?
Does this recipe freeze well before you cook them?
Yes! You can freeze them after they rise. As long as you’ve covered them with plastic wrap, you can keep them in the freezer for a month or two. From there, just let them thaw and then pop them in the oven as normal!
Could these be frozen before baking to make later?
Would homemade freezer jam work as a pie filling sub?
I haven’t tried that before with this recipe. It might be a little but runny but if you try it, let me know how it goes!
I found this receipe the other day and could not get them off my mind so I decided to just go for it. This is my first attempt at cinnamon rolls from scratch or even a dough from scratch. They were messy to cut but the turned out beautifully.
Is it 2 1/4 or 3 1/4 cups of flour? You listed 2 different measurements on your ingredients and make instructions.
Thank you.
Hi! If you read all of step 2, you will see that you start by adding 2 1/4 cups of flour and then you add in the additional 1 cup after the egg and water. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Any chance you could share the weight of the ingredients in grams? Followed the recipe with what Google says is a “cup” (120g) and the dough came out way to liquid 🙁
What if you don’t like cream cheese can you replace it with something else
You could try using Greek yogurt or mascarpone instead!
Could I use homemade strawberry Pie filling??
Sure! That sounds delicious!
Can I premake these and put them in the fridge to bake in the AM?
That works!
My pie filling fell out when I cut them. What was I doing incorrect?
I would just spread it a little thinner. It should bake up into the cinnamon rolls just fine!
These are so delicious! I make these for Easter every year and they never disappoint. I also use the same recipe to make caramel apple cinnamon rolls. I use apple pie filling instead of strawberry and drizzle with caramel syrup after. They are so delicious! I am currently making these for a bake sale. Thank you!
Hello! Question for you. How should these be stored? I am making these to sell. Thanks! These sound delicious!
Just store them in an airtight container at room temperature! They should last 3-4 days.
Made these 2 times now and both times didn’t rise and was way to sticky.
Bummer! Bad yeast?