Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls

These sweet potato cinnamon rolls are a Southern breakfast treat that my family has been enjoying for YEARS! I love making them for family and friends for all of our holidays and special occasions.

About the recipe

When I was in high school, one of my favorite pastimes was looking through the Southern Living magazines my mom received in the mail each month. I'd flag all of the recipes that sounded tasty to me, then mom and I would compare what had made it onto our lists. We would then plan to try a few of the recipes together, and many made it onto our list of "family favorites" that we still cook for everyone over a decade later!

One of our very favorites from the "family favorites" list is Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls. It was a contest winner from a Southern Living reader submission the year that we discovered it, and it definitely won our family over!

Mom and I modified it a bit to suit our family's taste - omitting the nuts for food allergies, substituting half the white flour for whole wheat, and leaving out the orange zest because none of us have ever been of a fan of orange-flavored sweets. We also preferred to top ours with swirls of cream cheese frosting instead of the corn syrup glaze the recipe calls for.

Video

These days, I alternate between a cream cheese frosting and a maple syrup glaze - it just depends on what I'm in the mood for! If you really want to be over-the-top about things, you could do bacon bits on top of the maple glaze. I'm sure no one would complain!

You really cannot tell there is sweet potato in the dough. The starch from the potato actually serves to make the dough really soft, tender, and moist. It is the most pliable and easy-to-work-with dough I've ever made; perfect for beginner cinnamon roll makers!

Ingredients:

• Active dry yeast (not instant)
• Warm water
• Granulated, brown, and powdered sugars
• All-purpose flour
• Cooked, mashed sweet potato
• Egg
• Buttermilk
• Butter, some melted and some softened
• Baking soda, salt, cinnamon
• Cream cheese
• Maple syrup

Instructions:

Step 1: Make your cinnamon roll dough.

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the yeast, water, and granulated sugar. Mix on low for about 10 seconds to combine. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.
• Add 1 cup of the flour, then mix on low speed just to combine.
• Add the sweet potato, egg, buttermilk, melted butter, salt, and baking soda. Mix on low speed to combine, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Add 5 cups of flour and mix on low speed until a loose dough ball forms.
• Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the last cup of flour. Knead the remaining 1/ 2 cup of flour on medium speed for 5 minutes until a smooth mound forms. The dough will be very soft and sticky.
• Transfer the dough to a clean bowl coated with cooking spray. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free area and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Let rise until doubled in size, which should take about one hour. While the dough rises, prepare the filling.

Step 2: Make your filling by combining the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon.

Step 3: Roll out your dough. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and transfer to a well-floured surface. Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out into a rectangle that is 24 inches long and 12 inches wide.

Step 4: Fill, roll and cut the rolls.

• Spread out the softened butter over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top.
• Starting from one of the long ends, roll the dough towards the opposite width end, tucking in the dough and filling as you roll. Use your hands to gently shape the dough into a log that is even in size from end-to-end once it is rolled.
• Use a serrated knife or dental floss to cut the dough into 15 rolls.

Step 4: Bake the rolls in a greased dish at 400°F for 18-25 minutes until they are light golden brown and cooked through. Cover them with foil as needed to prevent the tops from over-browning.

Step 5: Make the cream cheese glaze by whisking together softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, maple syrup, and a splash of milk or ½ and ½. Spoon the glaze over the rolls while they are still warm.

Top tips

Make them ahead and freeze:

Simply cover the unbaked rolls in a greased baking dish with a layer of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of foil. OR freeze on layers of parchment paper in an airtight container, then remove rolls as you need them and place in a greased baking dish to thaw. Use within 3 months.

Bake the cinnamon rolls from frozen:

Place the frozen pan of rolls in the fridge to thaw overnight. The next morning, let the rolls sit on a warm stovetop for 1 hour prior to baking. Preheat your oven about 30 minutes before the rolls are baked. 

Can I substitute pumpkin for the sweet potato/

Yes, you can do this! Simply add an additional ½ cup of flour, and know that the final dough will be a bit stickier than it is when made with sweet potato. 

Tools for the recipe

Below are some tools that help with making this recipe:

• Stand mixer - this helps so much with cinnamon roll dough! You can use a hand mixer to combine everything, then knead by hand.
• Rolling pin - necessary for rolling the dough out.
• Bench knife - this helps with scraping any sticky dough or flour off your counter.
• Kitchen ruler - I use this to measure the size of the dough. A tape measure will also work!
• Serrated knife - a good serrated knife will be great for cutting the rolls, or you can cut them with dental floss!

Similar recipes

Are you ready to make these Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls? I’m so excited for you to try this recipe. Once you get the chance to make it, please let me know how it turns out for you!

Leave a comment and rate the recipe below. This will help me with the creation of future recipes!

I’d also love to feature your creation in my weekly newsletter, so you can upload a photo to Instagram with the tag @sweetcayenne5 to be featured! Quick and easy recipe videos are available on my YouTube channel, and lots of menu inspiration on my Pinterest boards. Watch the Sweet Potato Cinnamon Roll Story for a quick summary of the recipe details.

Recipe

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls

These sweet potato cinnamon rolls are an easy yeasted dough recipe that is perfect for beginners. They are make-ahead and freezer-friendly!

Tried this recipe?Mention @sweetcayenne5 or tag #sweetcayenne!

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Rising time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 50 minutes

Servings: 15 rolls

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 1 cup buttermilk (I use low fat)
• ¼ cup unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)
• 3 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
• ½ cup warm water (100-110℉)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 ½ cups all purpose flour, divided (recommend: King Arthur brand)
• 1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt

For the filling:

• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• ¾ cup butter, softened to room temperature (12 tablespoons)

Maple cream cheese glaze:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• 1-3 tablespoons half and half

Instructions

For the dough:

• Melt the butter into the buttermilk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occassionally until the butter is melted. Be careful not to let it scorch. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the yeast, water, and granulated sugar. Mix on low for about 10 seconds to combine. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.
• Add 1 cup of the flour, then mix on low speed just to combine.
• Add the sweet potato, egg, buttermilk and butter mixture, salt, and baking soda. Mix on low speed to combine, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Add 4 cups of flour and mix on low speed until a loose dough ball forms.
• Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the last cup of flour. Knead in the remaining ½ cup of flour on medium speed for 5 minutes until a smooth mound forms. The dough will be very soft and sticky.

  Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for 2 minutes until a smooth ball forms.
• Transfer the dough to a clean bowl coated with cooking spray. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free area and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Let rise until doubled in size, which should take about one hour. While the dough rises, prepare the filling.

For the filling:

• In a medium bowl combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon by stirring with a whisk. Set aside until ready to use.
• Rolling out the dough:
• Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and transfer to a well-floured surface. Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out into a rectangle that is 2 feet/24inches long and 12 inches wide, or about ¼ of an inch thick.
• Spread out the softened butter over the dough,leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top.
• Starting from one of the long ends, roll the dough towards the opposite width end, tucking in dough and filling as you roll. Use your hands to gently shape the dough into a log that is even in size from end-to-end once it is rolled.
• Use a serrated knife or unflavored dental floss to cut the dough into 15 rolls.

To bake:

• Place however many rolls you’d like to bake right away or the next day in a greased baking dish. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place the dish on the stovetop and preheat your oven to 400℉. Alternatively, chill the pans of rolls in the fridge overnight.
• Let the rolls rise for 45-60 minutes in a warm place while the oven heats. If the rolls were chilled, they will need to sit out at room temperature for 75 minutes before baking.
• Bake the rolls for 18-25 minutes until the rolls are light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of dough comes out clean. If they start to brown too much, cover the top loosely with foil and continue baking. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes while you make the topping.

Topping the rolls:

• While the baked rolls cool slightly, make your topping.
• For the maple glaze, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and maple syrup in a medium bowl by stirring with a whisk. Add half and half as needed until the glaze reaches a thick, pourable consistency. Drizzle over the warm rolls.

Notes

• This recipe yields 15 round cinnamon rolls. You can divide the unbaked rolls amongst however many pans you like. I
• To freeze: simply cover the unbaked rolls in a greased baking dish with a layer of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of foil. OR freeze on layers of parchment paper in an airtight container, then remove rolls as you need them and place in a greased baking dish to thaw. Use within 3 months.
• To bake from frozen: place the frozen pan of rolls in the fridge to thaw overnight. The next morning, let the rolls sit on a warm stovetop for 1 hour prior to baking. Preheat your oven about 30 minutes before the rolls are baked. 
• Substituting pumpkin for sweet potato: yes, you can do this! Simply add an additional ½ cup of flour, and know that the final dough will be a bit stickier than it is when made with sweet potato. 

 

Serving: 1roll | Calories: 318kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8.6g | Saturated Fat: 5.2g | Cholesterol: 2.9mg | Sodium: 276mg | Potassium: 138mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Sugar: 32.5g | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 2mg