These strawberry cinnamon rolls are soft, fluffy, and ultra gooey. They're packed full of gooey strawberry filling and topped with a tangy strawberry cream cheese glaze. The no knead dough is soft and buttery, and so easy to make! The strawberry filling helps to steam the dough in the oven, keeping them ultra soft and gooey.
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🍓 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Ultra gooey: The filling is ultra gooey. These rolls will never dry out and will stay soft for days.
- Easy: The no knead dough is so easy to make and turns out soft and fluffy every time.
- Cream cheese glaze: They're topped with a 3 ingredient, easy strawberry flavored cream cheese glaze.
- Strawberries: They're packed with strawberry flavor. They have an easy cooked strawberry filling and chopped fresh strawberries rolled into them. And the glaze has strawberries to flavor it and give it that light pink color!
📝 Key ingredients
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.
- Strawberries: The filling consists of strawberry sauce and chopped fresh strawberries. This gives you lots of texture when they bake up! For the sauce, you can use frozen strawberries. I do recommend using fresh strawberries for the ones that get sprinkled on top right before rolling.
- Cornstarch: Used to thicken the filling. You can substitute with arrowroot starch or flour.
- Lemon: Zest and juice are added to brighten up the filling. If you don't like lemon flavor, skip the zest (don't skip the juice).
- Butter: Good quality, real butter will give best results. Alternatively, use plant based butter - don't use margarine, it's too soft.
- Yeast: I always use active dry yeast in this dough recipe. You can also successfully use dry instant yeast, mix it right into the dough. You don't have to dissolve it.
- All purpose flour: The best way to measure flour is to weigh the flour with a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, measure properly with measuring cups. Fluff the bag of flour by mixing with a spoon. Spoon into a measuring cup and scrape off the excess with the flat edge of a knife without packing it in.
- Cream cheese: Use a full fat cream cheese for the best flavor and texture in the glaze.
👩🍳 How to make strawberry cinnamon rolls
Strawberry sauce step by step
Step 1: Combine de-stemmed strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and grated lemon zest in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring to release the juices. Let come to a simmer. Stir frequently - cook until thickened.
Step 2: Once the strawberries become soft (5 minutes of simmering), take it off the heat. Use a blender or a potato masher to break up the strawberry pieces. Add butter and whisk to melt and combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Cinnamon roll dough step by step
Step 1: Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes until it gets foamy. If it doesn't foam, try a different batch of yeast. Work on the rest of the dough while it foams.
Step 2: In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt, and stir. Make a well in the middle and add the butter, eggs, vanilla, milk, and yeast mixture. Whisk to combine the wet ingredients, then switch to a large spoon to stir the dough together.
Step 3: Use your hands to mix until a cohesive dough forms. It will be sticky and won't be completely smooth. It will come together after it rises.
Step 4: Cover the bowl with a dish cloth and place in a warm place (see notes) to rise until doubled, about 40 minutes. Butter a 9”x12” baking pan while it rises.
Step 5: Punch down the dough, and flatten and fold the dough a few times to make sure everything is mixed well. It will become smooth and supple.
Step 6: Transfer onto a floured surface. Roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 18” by 24”.
Step 7: Set aside a quarter cup of the filling for the frosting. Spread the strawberry filling on top of the dough, leaving a 1” border on all the edges. Sprinkle the reserved chopped strawberries on top.
Step 8: Beginning at the long edge, carefully roll into a log. Mark the roll into 12 equal pieces. I do this by marking it in half, each half in half again, and each of the remaining pieces into thirds.
Step 9: Using a piece of string or unflavored floss, wrap the string around the log and pull to cut. Using a string to cut instead of a knife prevents the roll from getting squished - they hold their shape better.
Scoop up each cut roll with your hands and place on the prepared baking pan. Scoop up any filling that escapes back on top of the roll.
Step 10: Let rise until doubled in size in a warm place, about 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Bake the strawberry cream cheese rolls for 25-30 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown on top. Work on the glaze while it bakes.
Strawberry cream cheese glaze step by step
Step 1: Combine the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Beat until creamy and smooth.
Step 2: Add the reserved strawberry sauce into the glaze and beat well until smooth. It will be runny.
Step 3: Let the baked rolls cool for 10 minutes inside the pan.
Step 4: Spread all of the glaze over the strawberry cinnamon rolls, letting it seep in through all of the crevices. Best served warm!
✔️ Expert tips
- Measure the flour properly: Use a kitchen scale for best results! If you don't have a scale on hand, use dry measuring cups. Fluff the flour with a spoon, spoon it gently into the measuring cup, and scrape the excess flour off the top without packing it in.
- Don't over knead the dough: I find that the less you handle this dough, the softer it bakes up.
- Use unflavored floss or cotton string to cut the rolls: This will ensure you get pretty rolls that aren't misshapen.
- Don't skip rising the dough: This allows the flour to hydrate, and for the yeast to create pockets of gas that will rise the dough. It's essential in creating fluffy rolls with a gorgeous pull apart structure.
🥄 Storage
Store the strawberry cinnamon rolls in an airtight container or bag in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Make sure to reheat them before serving to make them super soft and gooey again.
🌠 Overnight cinnamon roll option
Prepare the strawberry cinnamon rolls the night before and stop before letting the assembled rolls rise (second rise). Wrap baking tray tightly to cover and immediately place in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours. I wouldn't refrigerate them for any longer because they will over-proof.
Once you're ready to bake them, let them come to room temperature for 10-20 minutes and rise to fill out any gaps in the pan (if there are any). Bake as per instructions.
🍩 The dough
The dough in this recipe is my tried and true no knead buttery soft dough. It works perfectly in everything, ranging from chocolate tahini babka and blueberry cinnamon rolls. I even use a version of it in my strawberry donut recipe!
To make it, you just stir everything together and let it rise. That’s it! You end up with the softest, fluffiest and rich dough. No one will ever know that you didn’t knead it.
Eggs, milk, and butter keep the no knead dough super soft and fluffy. That's why it's so important to reheat the rolls after they're stored because they're hard when they're chilled.
📖 Recipe FAQs
The dough is going to be pretty sticky as soon as you mix all of the ingredients together. It will look more like a dough after it rests and rises as the flour absorbs more liquid.
If it looks too sticky and runny (like a pancake batter and not like a dough), then add a little more flour to make it resemble a dough.
The first step of blooming the yeast is mostly to just check if the yeast is active. If it doesn’t foam up after being dissolved in warm water and sugar within 10 minutes, then the yeast might not be active anymore. You might need to try a different packet or batch in yeast.
I like to let my dough rise in an oven preheated to the lowest temperature it could go for a few minutes, then turned off. Don't let the oven get too hot (over 130°F or 55°C) because the yeast cells will start to die off.
My favorite way to cut rolls is to use a piece of sewing string or unflavored dental floss. You wrap it all the way around the roll where you want the cut to be. Pull on the string to tighten and it will cut through to the middle of the roll.
This way you don’t squish the roll as if you cut through it with a knife. The roll and swirl remain round with the string method.
To cut 12 even pieces, I have an easy trick. Mark the roll in half, and mark each half. Then mark each piece into three pieces. Once it’s all marked, use a string to wrap and pull - cutting them in even pieces.
You can use frozen strawberries for inside the cooked filling. Since it's getting cooked into a gooey pie-like filling anyways, there isn’t that much of a difference.
I would recommend sprinkling fresh strawberry pieces into the roll before rolling it up. If you can’t find fresh at all, you can skip the fresh strawberry pieces or add frozen strawberry slices. Don’t defrost them before adding to the strawberry cinnamon rolls.
🍞 More related recipes
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📖 Recipe
Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- 9 by 13 inch baking pan 9 by 12 will also work
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 cups strawberries destemmed and chopped (fresh or frozen), 18oz
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 lemon juiced and zested
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup butter cold
Dough
- ½ cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast 7g or 1 packet
- 5 cups all purpose flour 600g
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup butter very soft
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup warm milk
- 1 cup strawberries fresh, chopped, 9oz
Strawberry cream cheese glaze
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- ¼ cup strawberry filling reserved from filling the rolls
Instructions
Filling
- Combine de-stemmed strawberries (fresh or frozen), sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, salt, and grated lemon zest in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring to release the juices. Let come to a simmer. Stir frequently - cook until thickened.3 cups strawberries, 1 cup granulated sugar, ⅛ teaspoon sea salt, 1 lemon, 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- Once the strawberries become soft (5 minutes of simmering), take it off the heat. Use a blender or a potato masher to break up the strawberry pieces. Add butter and whisk to melt and combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.¼ cup butter
Dough
- Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes until it gets foamy. If it doesn't foam, try a different batch of yeast. Work on the rest of the dough while it foams.½ cup warm water, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt, and stir. Make a well in the middle and add the butter, eggs, vanilla, milk, and yeast mixture. Whisk to combine the wet ingredients, then switch to a large spoon to stir the dough together.5 cups all purpose flour, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, ⅛ teaspoon sea salt, ¾ cup butter, 2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, ¾ cup warm milk
- Use your hands to mix until a cohesive dough forms. It will be sticky and won't be completely smooth. It will come together after it rises. Cover the bowl with a dish cloth and place in a warm place (see notes) to rise until doubled, about 40 minutes. Butter a 9”x12” baking pan while it rises.
- Punch down the dough, and flatten and fold the dough a few times to make sure everything is mixed well. It will become smooth and supple. Transfer onto a floured surface. Roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 18” by 24”.
- Set aside a quarter cup of the filling for the frosting. Spread the strawberry filling on top of the dough, leaving a 1” border on all the edges. Sprinkle the reserved chopped fresh strawberries on top.1 cup strawberries
- Beginning at the long edge, carefully roll into a log. Mark the roll into 12 equal pieces. I do this by marking it in half, each half in half again, and each of the remaining pieces into thirds.
- Using a piece of string or unflavored floss, wrap the string around the log and pull to cut. Using a string to cut instead of a knife prevents the roll from getting squished - they hold their shape better. Scoop up each cut roll with your hands and place on the prepared baking pan. Scoop up any filling that escapes back on top of the roll.
- Let rise until doubled in size in a warm place, about 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 355°F (180°F). Bake the strawberry cream cheese rolls for 25-30 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown on top. Work on the glaze while it bakes.
Strawberry cream cheese glaze
- Combine the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Beat until creamy and smooth. Add the reserved strawberry sauce into the glaze and beat well.2 cups powdered sugar, 4 oz cream cheese, ¼ cup strawberry filling
- Let the baked rolls cool for 10 minutes inside the pan. Spread all of the glaze over the rolls, letting it seep in through all of the crevices. Best served warm!
Bree
Made these this week and they were amazing! I’ve never made cinnamon (or strawberry) rolls before and this recipe was so easy to follow!
Be aware for newbies- rolling these are messy! It was hard for me to keep the roll tight, but with practice (and less anxiety), I’m sure I will do better.
I definitely either needed a bigger pan or to cook these in two batches, as they were exploding out of my 9”x13” pan. Also definitely recommend adding the lemon zest for those who want some added acidity.
No matter what, they were a huge hit in our household!
Ari
I made this for my dad’s birthday and it was a hit! As someone who likes to bake but doesn’t have much experience, the recipe was very easy to understand.
Christina
Ooo boy oh boy, yet another stellar recipe! These are the summer sister of cinnamon buns - An easy score of 12/10
I made a lemon curd and added it to the center of the rolls before adding the strawberry filling and it worked out so well. I brought them to a picnic and everyone raved about them! The buns are soft and pillowy, the strawberry filling is bright & addicting and the frosting adds that perfect decadence.
Mary
so happy you liked them, thank you!
Jane
My family loved it! Turned out great and I appreciated the detailed instructions. Will recommend to friends .
Blake
For a vegan substitute for the egg in the recipe would it work with flax-egg or some kind of egg replacement?
Mary
Hi, yes it should work! I've used store bought egg replacer with this dough and it worked in the past. Not sure if flax egg will work as well but it should!