If you've ever wondered how a cinnamon roll can be even more cozy, my sweet potato cinnamon rolls recipe is the answer! They're super soft, perfectly spiced, and stuffed with sweet potato flavor in the dough and the cream cheese frosting. Let me show you how simple they are to make at home!
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my butter pecan praline cinnamon rolls, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Simple Ingredients - This homemade sweet potato cinnamon roll recipe produces bakery-style rolls without any fancy, hard-to-find ingredients. You probably have most of them in your kitchen already!
Cozy Fall Flavors - You'll taste earthy sweet potato enhanced with rich brown sugar and warming spices, and subtle notes of caramel and bourbon. This recipe for sweet potato flavored goodness is right on time for autumn baking season and sweater weather.
👉🏾 As a certified southerner, I'll put sweet potato in just about anything, especially desserts! Peep my sweet potato caramel bars, sweet potato cheesecake with spiced crust, sweet potato pie ice cream, sweet potato spice muffins, spiced sweet potato cake, and Soul Food sweet potato pie next.
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Sweet Potato Puree to give the rolls and icing sweet potato flavor and a lil hint of orange color. I recommend using roasted sweet potato puree for the best results but you can also use canned puree from the store.
Spices like ginger and nutmeg enhance the cinnamon in every swirl. Use the best quality ground spices you can find.
Active Dry Yeast produces better rolls that are more flavorful and bready compared to instant or quick rise yeast here, but you can technically use either.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Vegan - Use dairy-free milk and plant-based butter, egg, and cream cheese products to make the cinnamon rolls vegan.
Minis - This recipe makes 12 jumbo cinnamon rolls as written. To make two dozen smaller rolls, just roll the dough along the long edge instead of the short edge, then cut it into 24 pieces.
With Canned Sweet Potatoes - If you want to make this change, drain a can of candied yams and run them through a blender, then measure out the equivalent amount of puree. Note that this substitute will add more sugar, so I recommend using one-third the amount of sugar listed in the dough and about two-thirds the amount of sugar listed in the frosting.
Flavorings - Don't want to use liquor? Just use extra vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, or vanilla powder instead.
Overnight - You can prep the rolls ahead of time and leave them in the refrigerator overnight. Check my recipe card notes section for instructions on this option!
How to Make Cinnamon Rolls with Sweet Potato
- Step One: Mix sugar and yeast into warm milk and set aside until foamy. (Photo 1)
- Step Two: Add in the remaining dough ingredients and knead until smooth, then cover and let rise until doubled in size. (Photos 2 and 3)
- Step Three: Mix up the cinnamon filling ingredients. (Photo 4)
Pro Tip #1
I like to let my dough rise in a warm area of the kitchen, like near a sunny window or inside the (turned off) oven with the oven light on. These spots work like a charm every time!
- Step Four: Punch the air out of the risen dough then shape it into a brick and roll out to about one-third of an inch thickness. (Photos 5 and 6)
- Step Five: Spread butter all over the dough then sprinkle the spice mixture over top and pat it in. (Photo 7)
- Step Six: Roll the dough along its long edge into a spiral, then score it into 12 sections and cut into pieces. (Photo 8)
Pro Tip #2
When spreading the butter onto the dough, leave about half an inch of space around the perimeter. This helps the dough seal better and keeps all the flavor inside.
- Step Seven: Place the rolls into your baking dish, cover, and let rise again until doubled in size. (Photos 9 and 10)
Pro Tip #3
I prefer for my rolls to smoosh up against each other, which exposes some of the swirl to more heat while baking. This creates a crackly, bruleed effect with the brown sugar for a nice contrast to the softness of the rolls. If you don't want this, use a larger pan or two pans.
- Step Eight: Bake the risen rolls until golden brown with gooey filling. (Photo12)
- Step Nine: Mix up the frosting ingredients until they're smooth and fluffy, then spread the frosting over the rolls and enjoy warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store the rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days, then in the refrigerator for up to five, for a total of seven days of storage time before the quality may begin to degrade.
To freeze, cool the cinnamon rolls to room temperature. You can either frost them or reserve the frosting until you're ready to eat. Either way, wrap each roll individually with plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil, before placing in the freezer. I like to also put all the wrapped rolls in an airtight, freezer-safe container for good measure. Alternatively, you can wrap the entire pan of rolls with a couple layers of plastic wrap, then a sheet of aluminum foil. Once frozen, they will keep for up to three months.
How to Serve
Of course, these rolls are best enjoyed warm, but they actually taste wonderful at any temperature. Serve them with on a crisp fall or winter morning (like for Thanksgiving brunch) with sweet potato lattes to be extra festive!
Or enjoy sweet potato pie cinnamon rolls for dessert. They're technically on theme for Halloween, right?
More Favorite Yeasted Dough Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy this sweet potato cinnamon buns recipe soon and very soon. And sharing is caring, so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
The Best Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Dough
- ¾ cup milk
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar divided
- 7 grams active dry yeast typically one packet
- 5 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 2 eggs beaten and at room temperature
- ¾ cup sweet potato puree
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon bourbon whiskey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
For the Filling
- 1 ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
For the Frosting
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup sweet potato puree
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
Instructions
- Make the Dough: Warm milk to 110 degrees Fahrenheit, then add to the bowl of a stand mixer. Use a whisk or kitchen spoon to dissolve two tablespoons of granulated sugar in the milk. Mix in yeast and set aside for about 10 minutes or until foamy.*If the milk gets too hot, don't worry. Just let it cool down to between 110 and 120 degrees F before adding sugar and yeast.¾ cup milk, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 7 grams active dry yeast
- Add remaining sugar, flour, eggs, sweet potato puree, butter, salt, bourbon, and vanilla, then secure the bowl to the base of your stand mixer and attach the dough hook. Mix at low speed until the mixture starts to become dough-like (about 45s to one minute), then increase to medium speed for about five minutes or until you have a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Use floured hands to remove any dough from the hook and shape the dough into a ball, then place it back into the mixing bowl, cover with a damp towel, and set aside in a warm spot to rest and rise until it doubles in size (about one hour ).*If you don't have a stand mixer, you can knead the dough by hand on a floured surface for about 10 minutes.5 cups all-purpose flour, 2 eggs, ¾ cup sweet potato puree, ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon bourbon whiskey
- Make the Filling: Mix up the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.1 ½ cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Assemble and Proof the Rolls: Dust your cutting board or work surface with flour. Punch or press the middle of the dough to flatten out air and turn it out onto the floured surface. Knead the dough for a minute or two, then shape it into a rectangle. Use rolling pin to roll out the dough into a large rectangle that's about 12 x 18 inches and about ⅓ inch thick.
- Spread the butter all over the dough, stopping about half an inch from the edges. Cover the butter with the brown sugar mixture, then gently press it into the butter to help it stick.¾ cup unsalted butter
- Roll the dough, starting at one of the short edges, into a tight spiral (but don't squeeze the dough so much that it changes shape) until it reaches the other edge. Press that edge of dough against the log to seal it. Use a knife to score the log into 12 equal sections, then use the same knife or a string of unflavored dental floss to cut the log into pieces.
- Line baking dish with parchment paper or grease with a bit of softened butter, then place the rolls in the pan and cover with a damp towel and set in a warm spot to proof until doubled in size (about 25 minutes).
- Bake the Rolls: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Uncover the rolls and transfer to oven to bake for about 30 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown, and the cinnamon filling is gooey.
- Make the Frosting: While the rolls bake, use stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or a hand mixer to beat together powdered sugar, cream cheese, sweet potato puree, butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth and creamy.4 ounces cream cheese, 2 cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup sweet potato puree, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 pinch fine sea salt
- Finish and Serve: Let the baked cinnamon rolls cool for about 10 minutes then spread frosting over top, and enjoy warm.
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