Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls

These soft and fluffy Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls have a sweet roll dough filled with raspberries and topped with cream cheese glaze. These Raspberry sweet rolls are perfect for breakfast or brunch. 

This Raspberry sweet roll recipe is a fun twist on traditional cinnamon rolls. Perfect for Easter brunch and on Christmas morning, these are also great for those times when your day needs the flavours of summer.

These Raspberry Cream Cheese Rolls will be your new go-to breakfast recipe for special occasions to an ordinary Sunday morning.

Sometimes we just need a sweet treat for breakfast and that calls for a great recipe to make. These raspberry rolls were made for the first time, for a spring brunch and they didn’t last long at all.

The tangy cream cheese and raspberry filling complemented the buttery sweet yeast bread just beautifully. If want more sweet breakfast recipes, try our Strawberry Stuffed French Toast or Raspberry White Chocolate Scones!

What I love most about this raspberry cream cheese sweet rolls recipe is that the cream cheese glaze and raspberry filling aren’t too overpowering with sweetness.

To us, this is the best cinnamon roll recipe, it’s had rave reviews from our entire family.

Yet you can also control how much cream cheese frosting is applied, therefore much of the sweetness. Personally I love a a generous amount of cream cheese frosting.

For me, that might be the best part to any sweet treat and the ultimate comfort food.

Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls Ingredients

There are 3 parts to this Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls recipe, the sweet rolls, the raspberry filling and the cream cheese frosting as a topping. You’ll need the following simple ingredients, and the full detailed instructions are below in the printable recipe card.

FOR THE SWEET ROLLS

• warmed whole milk
• vegetable oil
• active dry yeast
• granulated sugar
• whole egg plus an egg yolk
• all purpose flour

FOR THE FILLING

• softened unsalted butter
• fresh raspberries
• brown sugar
• ground cinnamon

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• softened cream cheese
• icing sugar / powdered sugar
• milk

How to Make Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls

The first step is to prepare the sweet roll dough recipe. In the large bowl of a stand mixer combine the warm milk (not hot!) with the oil, yeast, sugar, egg and egg yolk. Mix on medium speed until everything is well incorporated. 

Fit the mixer with the dough hook attachment and add the flour. Slowly mix on low speed until it just barely comes together.

Set on medium and knead for 10 minutes or until the dough forms a ball. If it’s sticky add 2 Tbsp flour. 

Transfer to a greased bowl and cover with a cloth. Let it rise in a warm environment for 1 ½ hours or until it doubles in size. 

This will be the first rise of two.

After the dough has risen transfer to a floured work surface. With the help of a rolling pin, roll dough until you have a 13”x8” rectangle on the floured surface. 

Spread the softened butter over the dough. Over the butter spread the mashed raspberries leaving a ¼” margin on all sides. 

Sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon and tightly roll starting from the 8” side and roll to the long side.

With the help of a sharp knife cut out equal pieces to make 8 rolls. Prepare a greased pan by spraying with cooking spray or spreading butter inside the baking pan.

Place the rolls into the greased baking dish and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise for 40 minutes, this second rise will make the best fluffy rolls. 

While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The preheating stovetop will make a perfect warm place to help with the rise.

Transfer the rolls to the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown. 

Remove from the oven and let them cool down completely on a wire rack before frosting. 

Cream Cheese Frosting for Raspberry Sweet Rolls

To make the glaze, add the 3 ingredients for the frosting in a small bowl and mix until smooth.

When combined well, drizzle over the room temperature sweet cinnamon rolls to warm cinnamon rolls. If desired, double the frosting batch.

This may seem like a recipe with lot of steps, yet this really is an easy homemade cinnamon rolls recipe. Most is rising time.

I’ve just made sure to give clear and easy steps, so that anyone can make cinnamon roll dough, even newbies.

Each part of this recipe is unique and adds to the great flavour of the combined result.

The soft dough is buttery, the raspberry filling is sweet and delicious, and the cream creese frosting brings it all together for a grand finale.

Don’t these fluffy cinnamon rolls look so pretty?

Tips for Making the Best Cinnamon Rolls

• Can I use Frozen raspberries? You can use frozen raspberries or fresh berries in this recipe. Just make sure to thaw completely before mushing.
• To Cut: You can use a serrated knife, yet a pro tip is to use dental floss to cut.
• Why did my cinnamon rolls not rise? Make sure the milk is warm and not too hot, and the ingredients that should be softened, are. When making sweet roll dough, follow the recipe carefully. Usually if dough does not rise, the temperature of the ingredients killed the yeast or the yeast you are using has expired.
• How to Reheat Cinnamon Rolls: To prevent drying, the best way is to lather the rolls with melted butter before reheating in the microwave or oven. When using the oven, a great method is to cover with aluminum foil and reheat at 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until they are fully warm. To reheat in the microwave as a reheating method: place rolls on a microwave-safe plate and cover with a slightly damp, clean kitchen towel (or damp paper towel). Microwave until just warmed through, 30 to 45 seconds. This is of course the quickest ways. You’ll have to make a fresh bath of frosting for reheated rolls either way.
• To Store Cinnamon Rolls: The best tip to avoid dry rolls is to store leftover cinnamon rolls in an airtight container and enjoy within 3 days for best results. Next day cinnamon buns can be just as good as fresh cinnamon rolls. If stored correctly, you will have moist cinnamon rolls.
• What to Serve with Cinnamon Sweet Rolls: Whether these delicious cinnamon rolls is a dessert or a breakfast, you can’t go wrong with coffee, milk, and even orange juice. Serve with other sides such as sliced mixed fruit or as a sweet side to savoury dishes such as scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon.

Can I Freeze Cinnamon Rolls?

Yes, you can! There is also the option of freezing them before or after baking.

To freeze already baked cinnamon rolls: place cinnamon rolls either individually or the entire sheet into a freezer bag, or with plastic wrap. These will freeze well for up to 3 months if properly sealed to prevent freezer burn.

To freeze unbaked rolls, which for many is the best option: place unbaked individual cinnamon rolls on a cookie sheet and freeze until firm. Then place into an airtight freezer bag or airtight container. To bake frozen rolls, remove from freezer and place on greased baking sheet, 2 inches apart.

Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow them to thaw to room temperature. It will double in size as it sits, taking about 2 hours. Bake until golden brown and frost with cream cheese icing as desired.

If you’d love a suggestion for serving these, they are paired so well with our Homemade Nutella. The berries and chocolate together are to die for!

More Breakfast and Brunch Recipes to Try:

• BBQ Breakfast Scrambler
• Spinach and Broccoli Quiche
• Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins
• Easy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread