These Cinnamon Roll Muffins are light and fluffy, and make the best snack or breakfast. It’s the easiest way to switch up regular cinnamon rolls from the store and make them even better.
I love making fresh muffins for special family breakfasts. Two of my favorites are my Pistachio Muffins and my Orange Cranberry Muffins.
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Why this Cinnamon Roll Muffins Recipe is a Keeper
This cinnamon muffins recipe is beginner-friendly, quick and full of delicious cinnamon flavor. It’s perfect even for the pickiest of eaters.
- Easy: Cinnamon streusal muffins are quick, easy, fluffy and totally beginner‑friendly. No need to mess with dry ingredients or wet ingredients like baking powder, baking soda, yeast or a flour mixture.
- Quality Bake Goods: Soft, tender, bakery‑style texture every time.
- Easy Ingredients: Simple ingredients you likely already have on hand.
- Versatile: Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or make‑ahead treats. Kid‑friendly, crowd‑pleasing, and great for sharing.
Do These Muffins Taste Like Sticky Buns or Cinnamon Rolls?
These muffins taste just like cinnamon rolls. You can make them stickier with more frosting. Try adding a glaze or drizzle for the top.
Pro Tip Cream Cheese Glaze
Cream Cheese Frosting: Make an easy cream cheese glaze by mixing the glaze that comes with the can, combined 2-3 Tablespoons of cream cheese, 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar, and some vanilla extract. You might need to add milk as need to get the cream cheese icing to the consistency of your liking.
Ingredient Notes to Make Cinnamon Roll Muffins
You only need a few easy-to-find ingredients, many of which you probably have in your pantry already.
Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Cinnamon Rolls: You will need 2 tubes of cinnamon rolls.
- Pecans: Pick up a package of chopped pecans from the store, or chop your own.
Variations and Substitutions to Make Muffin Batter
Feel free to use different ingredients to substitute or experiment with flavors.
- Add Nuts: Chopped pecans or walnuts add crunch.
- Extra Gooey: Swirl in a spoonful of brown sugar–cinnamon paste on top before baking.
- Swap the Glaze: Try maple glaze, cream cheese icing, or a simple powdered sugar dusting.
- Apple Cinnamon: Fold in diced apples or raisins for cinnamon‑roll‑meets‑apple‑pie vibe.
- Dairy‑Free: Use plant‑based milk and butter; the texture stays soft.
- Gluten‑Free: A 1:1 gluten free flour baking blend works well.
- Cinnamon Sugar Mixture: Instead of a pecan streusel, brush melted butter on the tops of the baked cinnamon rolls, and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Stir together a little cinnamon with some sugar in a medium bowl.
Special Equipment Needed for Bake Goods
For this recipe, you will find just a couple of things to be super convenient.
- Muffin Tin: Use a muffin tin to get perfectly shaped muffins.
- Cooling Rack: After your muffins have cooled in the pan, remove them to a cooling rack to help speed up the rest of the cooling process.
How to Make Cinnamon Sugar Muffins
This recipe comes together in 3 easy to follow steps. These cinnamon swirl muffins are so good, they quickly became one of my favorite on-the-go breakfasts.
Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Preheat Oven and Prep Rolls: Preheat the oven and grease a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Open the packages of cinnamon rolls and separate the individual rolls. Cut each cinnamon roll into 8 or 9 pieces.
- Assemble in Pan: Stuff 10 to 12 pieces of cinnamon roll into each space in the cupcake pan. In a small bowl, mix together the chopped pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the muffins.
- Bake, Cool and Ice: Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven. Allow to cool in the pan for a while before transferring to a wire rack. When cool, spread or pipe the icing from the package over the muffins.
Prep to Make Muffins Ahead of Time
I like to prepare ingredients for homemade cinnamon muffins ahead of time so that I don’t have to do everything fat once when I’m making a sweet breakfast or snack.
- Assemble the Muffins Ahead: Fill the muffin cups, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Add 2-3 minutes to the bake time.
- Freeze Unbaked Muffins: Portion into muffin liners, freeze solid, then store in a freezer bag. Bake from frozen with a few extra minutes.
- Make Homemade Glaze Early: Whisk together the ingredients for your favorite glaze ahead in a mixing bowl and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Warm slightly before drizzling.
Alternate Cooking Methods for Buttery Cinnamon Muffins
Make this fluffy cinnamon roll muffin recipe by using your air fryer if your oven is occupied with something else. You could also make the cinnamon muffins jumbo or mini.
- Air Fryer: Place 3-4 muffins (in liners) in the basket. Air fry at 325°F for 10-12 minutes or until the centers are set.
- Mini Muffins: Bake at 350 degrees F for 9-11 minutes. Great recipe for brunch boards or kid‑friendly snacks.
- Jumbo Muffins: Bake at 350°F for 20-24 minutes. Add extra glaze for that bakery style finish
How to Store, Reheat and Use Leftovers
- Storing: Muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2–3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze these muffins for up to 2 months.
- Reheating: Reheat in the microwave for 10–15 seconds for a soft, warm muffin.
- Oven: Bake at 300°F for 5–7 minutes to refresh the texture.
- Air Fryer: Preheat to 300°F and heat for 2–3 minutes to make your muffins look lightly crisp.
- Using Leftovers: Crumble over yogurt with berries.
- French Toast Muffins: Dip leftover muffins in egg mixture and pan‑fry.
- Ice Cream Topper: Crumble over vanilla ice cream for a cinnamon‑roll sundae.
- Bread Pudding: Cube and bake into a cozy cinnamon‑roll bread pudding.
Common Questions About This Recipe
If your muffins are dense, you may have packed too many pieces into a muffin cup.
Absolutely! In fact, I recommend using some kind of icing or glaze even on traditional cinnamon rolls.
Expert Tips to Love This Recipe
- Add-Ins: Fold in chopped pecans, walnuts, or mini chocolate chips to the muffins swirled with cinnamon sugar.
- Glaze Options: Swap the classic icing for maple glaze, cream cheese frosting, or a simple dusting of powdered sugar.
- Spice it Up: Add a teaspoon of nutmeg, cardamom, or pumpkin spice to the cinnamon mixture.
- Dairy-Free: Use plant‑based butter and milk; the texture stays soft for these cinnamon sugar swirled muffins.
- Doneness: If you’re concerned about doneness, insert a toothpick into the middle of the center muffin. If a toothpick comes out clean, they’re done.
- Gluten-Free: A good 1:1 gluten‑free baking blend works well for classic cinnamon rolls.
- Less Sweet: Reduce the filling sugar by 1–2 tablespoons without affecting structure.
- Sour Cream: These muffins are moist as is, but make these muffins with a dollop of sour cream can take them to the next level.
- Serve this Amazing Recipe: Serve with Banana Chocolate Chip Bread, Tater Tot Sausage Breakfast Casserole or Berry Banana Smoothie.
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Cinnamon Roll Muffins
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Ingredients
- 24.8 ounces Cinnamon rolls, 2 tubes of Refrigerator dough
- ½ cup Pecans, finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉ and spray a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Open the cinnamon roll tubes and separate the rolls. Cut each of the cinnamon rolls into 9 small pieces.
- Place 10 to 12 pieces of the cinnamon rolls into each muffin cup and press them down slightly.
- Stir together the pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Sprinkle the pecan mixture over the top of the cinnamon rolls.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Allow to cool in the pan until the muffins are safe to touch, then transfer to a wire rack.
- Transfer the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls to a piping bag and pipe the icing over the muffins while they’re still warm. Serve immediately.
Christina’s Notes
- Cream Cheese Frosting: Make an easy cream cheese glaze by mixing the glaze that comes with the can, combined 2-3 tbsps of cream cheese, 1 tbsp powdered sugar, and some vanilla extract. You might need to add milk as need to get the cream cheese icing to the consistency of your liking.
- Walnuts: If you would rather, you can use walnuts in place of pecans or you can additionally add them for a mix of both nuts.
- Large Muffins: To make bakery sized muffins, use a pan with bigger muffin cup size and 12-14 pieces to each slot.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
These muffins elevate a can of cinnamon rolls. My friends thought I made them from scratch! They are delicious!