Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls
on Sep 09, 2025
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These crescent roll cinnamon rolls are the ultimate shortcut treat. They’re kid-approved, freezer-friendly, and ready in minutes. Made with buttery crescent dough and a simple cinnamon sugar filling, they’re the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth.
If you’ve ever been in the mood for warm, gooey cinnamon rolls but didn’t want to spend hours making them from scratch, these Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls are the answer. They taste like a special treat but come together in just minutes. Since they’re made with crescent dough and a light cinnamon-sugar filling, they’re much lower in sugar than traditional cinnamon rolls, but still taste just as satisfying. They’re quick, kid-approved, and the perfect sweet treat to whip up any time of day.
In the mood for more cinnamon treats? You’ll love the easy cinnamon muffins, cinnamon apple waffles, and sweet cinnamon sugar pretzel bites! And if you’re a cereal lover, you’ve got to give this homemade Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal recipe a try as well!
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need
Here is what you’ll need to make these crescent roll cinnamon rolls:
- Crescent Roll Dough: Store-bought crescent dough is buttery and soft when baked, and the perfect base for these cinnamon rolls.
- Unsalted Butter: Softened, so it blends smoothly into the filling.
- Brown Sugar: For that sweet, caramel-like flavor.
- Ground Cinnamon: Warm and cozy, the star spice of this recipe.
- Cream Cheese, Powdered sugar, and Milk: For a creamy glaze to drizzle on top.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Recipe Substitutions & Additions
- Crescent Dough: I prefer the soft and chewy texture of crescent rolls for the best texture, but you can also swap it with puff pastry. Just note that the texture will be completely different as puff pastry is more flaky.
- Brown Sugar: Swap brown sugar with equal parts coconut sugar or equal parts date sugar for a naturally sweetened option.
Step-by-step Instructions
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190 degrees C) and spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking oil or line a 9-by-13-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
STEP 2: In a small bowl, stir together softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon until smooth and spreadable (Images 1 & 2).
STEP 3: Unroll the crescent dough and press the seams together to form one large rectangle that is about 9 by 12 inches (Image 3). Use a floured rolling pin to help with this if the dough seems to stick.
STEP 4: Evenly spread the cinnamon-sugar butter mixture over the dough (Image 4). Use a pizza cutter or a knife to slice the dough into 12 evenly sliced long strips, about 1 inch each in width (Image 5). Roll each strip into a small roll (Image 6).
STEP 5: Place each mini roll into each cup of the prepared muffin pan (Image 7), or about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake the rolls for 8 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
STEP 6: For an optional glaze, while the rolls are still warm, whisk together the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until completely smooth. Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of glaze over each of the rolls before serving (Image 8).
Storage Instructions
Store cooled rolls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To freeze, place cooled rolls in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 2 months. Reheat in the air fryer on the reheat setting, in the oven at 300 degrees F until warmed through, or in the microwave for a few seconds until heated through.
Tips For Success
- Soften the butter fully. Make sure your butter is soft enough to mix easily with the sugar and cinnamon for a smooth filling. If you’re in a pinch and don’t have time to soften it at room temperature, you can pop it in the microwave for just a few seconds until it lightly softens. You don’t want it melted, just soft. The same trick can be used to quickly soften the cream cheese for the optional glaze.
- Seal the seams well. Press the crescent dough seams together well before spreading the filling to prevent leaks.
- I prefer to slice the dough first and then roll it up into small rolls instead of rolling it all into a log and slicing afterwards. This helps keep the filling in place and prevents the rolls from mishaping, and they’re much easier to slice.
- Feel free to slice the rolls into larger sizes for larger rolls! Slicing into 12 makes 12 mini rolls, but you can make them larger with larger cuts. Just add a couple of minutes to the total bake time.
- Drizzle the glaze while the rolls are still warm so it soaks into the swirls a little.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Crescent roll sheets work perfectly and save you the step of pressing seams together.
These rolls are much lower in sugar compared to normal cinamon rolls, but to make them less sweet, I’d suggest skipping the glaze and reducing the brown sugar and butter by 1 tablespoon. You can also use date sugar instead as a natural sweetener or you can try out these baby friendly banana cinnamon rolls for a naturally sweet option!
They’re a shortcut version, so the texture is lighter and flakier compared to traditional yeast-based rolls. But they still have that buttery cinnamon-sugar flavor that makes them a delicious sweet treat!
Other Sweet Treats You’ll Love
Applesauce Fritters
Pumpkin Gummies
Baked Apple Croissant (Starbucks Copycat)
Date Bites
If you tried these Crescent Dough Cinnamon Rolls, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below! I love hearing from you!
Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Cinnamon Rolls
- 1 roll crescent dough, 8 oz package
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 tbsp brown sugar, or coconut sugar/date sugar
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Cream Cheese Glaze (Optional)
- 3 tbsp cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190 degrees C) and spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking oil or line a 9-by-13-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, stir together softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon until smooth and spreadable.
- Unroll the crescent dough and press the seams together to form one large rectangle that is about 9 by 12 inches. Use a floured rolling pin to help with this if the dough seems to stick.
- Evenly spread the cinnamon-sugar butter mixture over the dough. Use a pizza cutter or a knife to slice the dough into 12 evenly sliced long strips, about 1 inch each in width. Roll each strip into a small roll.
- Place each mini roll into each cup of the prepared muffin pan, or about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake the rolls for 8 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
- For an optional glaze, while the rolls are still warm, whisk together the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until completely smooth. Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of glaze over each of the rolls before serving.
Notes
- Soften the butter fully. Make sure your butter is soft enough to mix easily with the sugar and cinnamon for a smooth filling. If you’re in a pinch and don’t have time to soften it at room temperature, you can pop it in the microwave for just a few seconds until it lightly softens. You don’t want it melted, just soft. The same trick can be used to quickly soften the cream cheese for the optional glaze.
- Seal the seams well. Press the crescent dough seams together well before spreading the filling to prevent leaks.
- I prefer to slice the dough first and then roll it up into small rolls instead of rolling it all into a log and slicing afterwards. This helps keep the filling in place and prevents the rolls from mishaping, and they’re much easier to slice.
- Feel free to slice the rolls into larger sizes for larger rolls! Slicing into 12 makes 12 mini rolls, but you can make them larger with larger cuts. Just add a couple of minutes to the total bake time.
- Drizzle the glaze while the rolls are still warm so it soaks into the swirls a little.
These mini Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls are delicious! They are quick & easy to make & were enjoyed by my husband, adult children, & myself. I doubled the recipe, so we have some for tomorrow. My daughter is taking a couple in her lunch for work. I definitely plan to make them again!
I’m so glad to hear that you all enjoyed them! Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback, Joy😊