Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls (5 Ingredients, No Yeast, No Eggs, No Dairy)

These Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls are easy, healthy, 5-ingredient cinnamon rolls made with ripe bananas and no yeast.

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These banana cinnamon rolls are for the lazy bakers! They are not your classic vegan cinnamon rolls. This is an easy cinnamon recipe, simplified, with no yeast, no proofing, and minimal kneading. Since I created my banana donut holes recipe, I wanted to use a similar process to create raised dough but with minimal effort.

It’s amazing how you can make fluffy cinnamon rolls using just mashed banana, self-rising flour, and vegan butter. Let me explain more below.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Dairy-free
• Egg-free
• Healthier – less sugar, less saturated fats
• Refined sugar-free option

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Self-Rising Flour – If you have tried many of our recipes, you know I love this ingredient to avoid yeast. I like yeast but I don’t like waiting for hours for my dough to double in size. So self-rising flour is a key ingredient to rise dough in no time. You can make homemade self-rising flour by stirring one cup of all-purpose flour and two teaspoons of baking powder to create a cup of self-rising flour.
• Ripe Bananas – I am using dark bananas with dark spots on their skin. This saves me one ingredient in the dough: sugar. This means this recipe is lower in sugar than classic cinnamon rolls, which usually add up to 1/4 cup of sugar in the dough. The natural sweetness of the bananas sweetened the dough. But, feel free to add 1/4 cup sugar in the dough if your bananas are not very sweet.
• Melted Vegan Butter or melted margarine. Both options are great. I wouldn’t use oil as the dough wouldn’t be as fluffy.

For the cinnamon roll filling, you need the the three classic ingredients below.

• Brown Sugar or coconut sugar for a refined sugar-free option.
• Cinnamon for the flavor of the cinnamon buns.
• Banana – I add more banana slices to the rolled dough. These banana pieces caramelize in the oven, creating soft, sweet banana pieces in the dough.
• Vegan Butter not melted to rub on the dough and make the cinnamon sugar stick onto it.

Now, if you feel like it, stir in some vanilla extract in the dough for flavor, a pinch of salt, or throw a few chopped nuts – pecans, walnuts – inside or on the cinnamon sugar filling for some crunch.

How To Make Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Grease the paper with cooking oil spray. Set aside.

2. Peel and mash the bananas and pack them in a measuring cup, sweeping the top, to measure the exact amount required by the recipe. Scroll below for full recipe measurement.

3. Place the mashed banana mixture in a medium-large bowl, add melted vegan butter and self-rising flour. Now, if you like, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. I didn’t, but these ingredients add flavor.

4. Stir with a rubber spatula until the dough starts to dry out, then use your hands. I oil my finger with olive oil and knead it to form a dough ball. If too wet, add more flour. If too dry, add a bit more mashed banana.
5. You can also prepare the dough in a stand mixing, place the three ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, and using the dough attachment, knead on speed 3-4 until the dough ball forms.

6. On a lightly floured surface with 1-2 tablespoons of flour, add the dough and sprinkle more flour on top of the dough.

7. Using a roller pin, roll the dough into a large rectangle of about 12.5 inches by 10.5 inches. Add the softened vegan butter and use your finger to rub evenly all over the rolled dough.

8. In a small bowl, stir cinnamon, and brown sugar. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly all over the dough covered with butter.

9. Now, add slices of bananas in rows for extra banana flavors.

10. If you like, sprinkle up to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecan. I don’t like to add nuts to keep the recipe nut-free for the kid’s school lunchboxes.

11. Roll the dough into a cylinder, starting forms the longest side, and pinch well to roll into a firm cylinder shape.

12. Use a serrated knife, or use my expert tips here, grab some unflavored dental floss to cut the cylinder into 9 rolls and place them on the prepared baking pan, as seen in the picture above.

13. Bake in the center rack of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes at 350°F (180°C) until golden brown.
14. Let the cinnamon rolls cool down on a rack at room temperature before icing.

Icing Cinnamon Rolls

In this cinnamon roll recipe, I am using an easy 2-ingredient icing instead of a classic cream cheese frosting. For that, you need:

• Powdered Sugar – you can use sugar-free powdered sweeteners
• Almond Milk – Or any plant-based milk.

Stir the icing ingredients together until they form a thick paste and drizzle on top of the cooled banana bread cinnamon rolls.

Storage

This cinnamon roll dough is packed with bananas so it’s better to store it in the fridge. Wrap the serving dish where you placed the cinnamon rolls tightly with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate the rolls for up to 4 days. You can freeze leftovers in airtight containers and thaw them at room temperature the day before.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Cinnamon Roll Recipes

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Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls

These Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls are easy, healthy, 5-ingredient cinnamon rolls made with many ripe bananas and no yeast.

4.89 from 9 votes

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Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings: 9 rolls

Calories: 354.8 kcal

Author: Carine Claudepierre

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Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

• ▢ 3 cups Self-Rising Flour - (note 1)
• ▢ 1 ⅓ cup Mashed Banana - about 3 large bananas (note 2)
• ▢ 5 tablespoons Dairy-Free Butter (Unsalted) - melted (note 3)

Filling

• ▢ 3 tablespoons Dairy-Free Butter (Unsalted)
• ▢ ½ cup Coconut Sugar - (note 4)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
• ▢ 1 Banana - sliced

Optional

• ▢ ½ cup Walnuts - chopped, or pecans

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Slightly oil the paper with cooking oil spray. Set aside.
• Mash the banana with a fork into a smooth puree, pack it in a measuring cup, sweep off the excess, and freeze the excess for later. Measure exactly 1 cup + 1/3 cup mashed bananas.
• Place the banana mixture in a large mixing bowl with melted plant-based butter and self-rising flour.
• Stir with a rubber spatula, and when it starts to look crumbly, lightly oil your hands and knead to form a dough ball. If it is too wet, add a bit more flour. If too dry, add a bit more mashed bananas. You can also use the dough hook attachment of a stand mixer to bring the ingredients together into a ball, on speed 3-4.
• Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough on it. Sprinkle extra flour on top of the dough and roll into a 12.5-inch x 10.5-inch rectangle shape.
• Spread the softened butter evenly onto the rectangle.
• In a small bowl, whisk cinnamon and coconut sugar. Sprinkle the mixture and press it evenly onto the buttered dough.
• Add slices of banana in rows all over the dough rectangle – see the pictures above for visual help. If you want to add chopped nuts, sprinkle them evenly and press a little to stick to cinnamon sugar.
• Roll starting forms the longest side until it forms a cylinder.
• Use a serrated knife or an unflavored flossing string to cut 9 pieces from the cylinder.
• Place each roll with the swirl facing up on the prepared baking dish.
• Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes at 350°F (180°C) until golden brown on top.
• Cool down at room temperature on a wire rack before icing.
• To glaze, stir 1/2 cup of powdered sugar with 1-2 tablespoons of almond milk and drizzle on top of the rolls. Sprinkle chopped pecans or walnuts on top if you like.

Notes

Note 1: To make 1 cup of homemade self-rising flour, stir 1 cup of all-purpose flour with two teaspoons of baking powder. I haven’t tried gluten-free flour and can’t guarantee it works. You can’t use almond flour for this recipe.

Note 2: Make sure you measure the mashed banana in measuring cups. Fill the cup, sweep the top, and keep what’s in the cup. If you add too much banana, the dough is too sticky and too wet, and you will need more flour.

Note 3: You can use melted margarine, but avoid oil. It makes the dough less fluffy. I didn’t try the recipe fat-free.

Note 4: You can use any dark sugar, brown sugar, soft brown sugar, or demerara sugar.

Storage: Place the cinnamon rolls on a plate, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for 3-4 days.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1roll | Calories: 354.8kcal | Carbohydrates: 50.2g | Protein: 6.6g | Fat: 15.1g | Saturated Fat: 2.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5.5g | Trans Fat: 1.2g | Sodium: 113.8mg | Potassium: 243.8mg | Fiber: 3.1g | Sugar: 11.8g | Vitamin A: 201.4IU | Vitamin B12: 0.004µg | Vitamin C: 4.2mg | Calcium: 25.5mg | Iron: 0.8mg | Magnesium: 34mg | Phosphorus: 75.2mg | Zinc: 0.7mg