Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls
Published 3/24/2025 • Updated 5/19/2025
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These Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls are a combination of two classic desserts, resulting in a deliciously sweet and spicy treat. Our homemade cream cheese frosting adds the perfect touch to these fluffy rolls, making them an irresistible indulgence.
If you’ve tried our Brown Butter Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls or Sweet Orange Rolls, you know how much we loveeeeeee experimenting with different flavors in cinnamon rolls. They taste so fancy but are simple to make and will totally impress anyone you serve them to. Life’s too short to stick with just the classic cinnamon roll, am I right?
I’ll be honest: making these will require some time and patience, but the end result is so worth it. Plus, the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls in your home is an added bonus! Make it a fun afternoon project, or save it for a special occasion. Either way, they’re sure to be a hit.
top tips from the fit foodie kitchen ⤵️
Don’t overheat the milk: Because the yeast is getting started in the warm milk, you don’t want it to be TOO WARM. Yeast will bloom perfectly when the milk is around 110°F. If the milk is too warm, it can kill the yeast. Conversely, if the milk is too cold, the yeast will have a tough time blooming, which can result in dense rolls — no one wants that!
Don’t skip soaking the grated carrots in brown sugar: The sugar will help soften the carrots and add color to the cinnamon rolls.
To cut equal-sized cinnamon rolls: For equal-sized cinnamon rolls, you’ll need to evenly divide the roll of dough into 1 inch cinnamon rolls. Start in middle of the roll, and mark the dough with a knife, then mark every inch on each side of the middle mark.
Use a sharp knife to slice rolls: Use a SHARP serrated knife and gently slice your cinnamon rolls using a gentle back and forth motion, making sure to not squish the rolls. This will help keep the form, but don’t you worry if the rolls squish a bit — you can reform the rolls easily with your hands.
Overnight Cinnamon Rolls Instructions
This is our go-to move for holiday mornings! To prepare these cinnamon rolls the night before so all you need to do the morning you serve them is bake and frost, follow these simple instructions:
- Make the rolls as instructed up to step 11.
- Then, in the morning, take the rolls out of the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature (approximately 30 minutes).
- Bake as instructed.
- Frost & enjoy!
What can I substitute for raisins?
Not a fan of raisins? Neither is my kid 😂 Chopped walnuts could be added to the filling in place of the raisins or added to the top once they have been frosted if you’re hoping to skip the raisins.
Want larger cinnamon rolls?
You’ll see that we rolled our dough starting on the LONG SIDE, but if you prefer larger more over-sized cinnamon rolls (and thus, less total rolls), simply roll your dough starting on the SHORT SIDE.
A big, oversized cinni reminds me so much of a classic diner breakfast — the waiter puts one huge cinnamon roll in the middle of the table, and the whole fam digs in 🥰. So, we like to do this when we want to make family breakfasts a little more special!
Our Favorite
Casserole Dish
We love this le creuset casserole dish because it is oven safe AND has a cover. It is the perfect casserole dish for this baked one pot pasta dish!
Storage Instructions
Store leftover cinnamon rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To reheat: while reheating in the microwave absolutely works, our preferred method is in the oven. Reheat rolls covered at 350°F for 10 minutes or until the rolls are warm and just as delicious as the first time you took them out of the oven.
Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
Dough
- 1.5 cups grated carrots, ~3 carrots
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup 2% milk, warmed
- 2.25 teaspoons yeast, ~1 packet
- 1 large egg
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Filling
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground clove
- ¾ cup raisins
Frosting
- 2 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 1.25 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Add the grated carrots and brown sugar to a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Add the warm milk and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow the yeast to bloom, about 5 minutes.
- Next, add the carrots and brown sugar, egg, butter, and vanilla to the bowl. Whisk to combine.
- With the stand mixer on low speed, fitted with a dough hook attachment, slowly stir the flour and salt into the wet ingredients. Once all the flour has been added and a shaggy dough has formed, knead for 4-5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place it in a warm place until doubled in size – about 1.5 hours.
- Assemble the cinnamon rolls. Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a floured work surface.
- Roll it into a rectangle that is approximately 18” long, 12” wide, and ¼” thick.
- Spread the butter onto the dough and then sprinkle the brown sugar and spices on top of the butter. Then, roll into a tight log, starting at one of the long sides.
- Slice into 1” rolls. This will yield about 12 rolls.
- Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish or line it with parchment paper. Add the rolls to the dish, making sure they just barely touch.
- If you are making the rolls in advance, cover the top of the dish with plastic and store them in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours. Bring the rolls to room temperature (about 30 minutes). When you are ready to bake, skip ahead to step 13.
- If you are not baking the cinnamon rolls in advance, cover them with plastic wrap and place them in a warm spot to rise until the rolls are just starting to touch. While the rolls rise, preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls for 18-23 minutes or until the centers are set and the tops are golden brown.
- While the cinnamon rolls are cooling, make the maple frosting. Combine the cream cheese and butter in a bowl and mix using a hand mixer.
- When the cream cheese and butter are smooth, add the powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt and mix until light and fluffy.
- Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool for at least 10 minutes before frosting.
Tips & Notes
- Don’t skip soaking the grated carrots in brown sugar. The sugar will help soften the carrots and add color to the cinnamon rolls.
- Chopped walnuts could be added to the filling in place of the raisins or added to the top once they have been frosted.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Photography: photos taken in this post are by Erin from The Wooden Skillet.
These were so yummy! I had to bake mine a bit longer, about 5-7 minutes more. They were a hit for Easter brunch!
What a perfect Easter brunch recipe! So glad you loved them 🙂
Can this be made with almond flour/GF?