Banana Cinnamon Rolls

These Banana Cinnamon Rolls combine all of the nostalgic flavors of banana bread in a soft, tender, gooey cinnamon roll topped with an irresistible brown sugar cream cheese glaze. With bananas in the dough and rolled up in the filling, these cinnamon rolls are for the true banana lovers!

Recipe Background and Details

Over the years, I've become known for my cinnamon rolls, both online as well as amongst family and friends. Years ago I even sold them at a local farmer's market. I love making them and people love eating them. So it really pleases me that my Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls have been the top recipe here on WTK since shortly after I published them. So as I was brainstorming some new recipe ideas I thought I'd add a few fun cinnamon roll variations to the blog and these banana cinnamon rolls were first on the list along with my Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls. Back to school season always makes me think of banana bread and banana muffins because I always used to make those for my kids' snacks and lunch boxes when they were little. So I guess you can say that nostalgia was the inspiration behind these rolls.

Some might call these banana bread cinnamon rolls but I feel like that is a little bit of a misnomer as these are a yeasted roll and banana bread is a quick bread. Anyway, they do have all of the buttery, spiced goodness of banana bread so call them whatever you want, just promise me you'll make them the next time you have some ripe bananas lying around.

For more banana recipes, try my Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, Pumpkin Banana Muffins, or my Sourdough Discard Banana Bread.

Ingredients

You just need a few dough basics plus some bananas to makes these banana bread-esque cinnamon rolls. Be sure to check out my Substitutions and Variations heading for some fun twists and different frosting and filling ideas!

• milk: I use whole milk. Use what you have or simply use water.
• yeast: I always work with active dry yeast but you can use instant and skip the blooming step.
• egg: If you want to make these egg-free simply omit the egg.
• bananas: Use ripe, speckled bananas for the best flavor and texture. Not overly ripe and mushy and not green/underripe.
• dark brown sugar: I love the deep molasses flavor paired with the bananas, but light brown sugar will work just as well.
• vanilla extract: This is a key banana bread flavor to me, so it had to go in these banana bread inspired cinnamon rolls.
• all purpose flour: Feel free to use bread flour or add a bit of whole wheat.
• salt: I always use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt.
• cinnamon: or another spice
• butter: I always use salted butter but feel free to use unsalted if that is your preference. You can also use an equal amount of another oil or fat you prefer.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions - How to Make Banana Cinnamon Rolls

First, make the banana cinnamon roll dough:

• Bloom yeast in warm milk for a few minutes before adding mashed banana, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla.
• Then add flour, salt, and soft butter (if using oil you can add it to the wet mixture).
• Knead with a dough hook for about 1 minute at speed 1 and then increase to speed 2 for about 5 minutes, scraping sides if needed. This dough is a bit sticky but should not be overly wet. If you feel your dough is too wet, add a bit more flour.

• Cover dough with a damp towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes until doubled. Mix together the filling and make the frosting while you wait.

• To make the filling simply smush together the filling ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Make sure your butter is very soft.

• Once dough has risen, place onto floured surface and roll to a large rectangle. Spread with filling and top with thinly sliced bananas. *Do NOT be tempted to mash the bananas and brown sugar together first for the filling. I tried this while developing this recipe and it was a huge mess. Slicing is the way to go - trust me.*
• Next, roll the dough into a tight log, brushing off any excess flour as you roll.

• Slice log into 10-12 pieces - I aim for about 1.5 to 2 inches per roll so sometimes I have more or less.
• Place in a 9x13 baking dish and allow to rise again for about an hour at room temperature. You can also use a larger, half-sheet pan (18x13 inch) and space the rolls out more if you like them to be more round and individual once baked.

• Once rolls have risen for about an hour, bake in preheated oven until puffed and browned.

How to Make Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Glaze (or frosting)

This glaze/frosting is really something special. It does require more work than a standard glaze but I promise it is worth it. The cream cheese adds a much-needed balance to all of the sweetness but it also gives the best texture. I like to make the frosting while the dough is rising (first rise) so it has time to set up before it is time to frost the rolls later.

This is like a two-in-one recipe because if you put it on the rolls while they are warm you'll get more of a glaze. But if you wait to frost them until they are cooled to room temp, the frosting will remain more of a thick frosting consistency. So as I always say: choose your own adventure!

• Heat butter and brown sugar until melted and bubbling.
• Add cream and bring back to a boil.
• Remove from heat, transfer to mixing bowl, and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes.
• Add soft cream cheese and vanilla extract to cooled mixture. Mix with hand mixer until incorporated.
• Add 2 cups powdered sugar and mix until fully incorporated. Let frosting sit at room temperature while you finish preparing the rolls. The frosting will set up to a more firm frosting consistency (see photo below).

Substitutions and Variations

Filling:

• Add nuts: chopped pecans or walnuts would be really good and classic. Peanuts would be great if you are doing the peanut butter frosting. Or hazelnuts if you're using a chocolate hazelnut spread.
• Add chocolate chips, raisins, or another dried fruit you enjoy that pairs with bananas.
• Spice it up: Use a bit of Chinese Five Spice or Spiced Chai Seasoning in the filling to add a unique, sophisticated flavor (I hint to this with the star anise pods in my photos!).
• Crystallized Ginger: I think some chopped crystallized ginger would be a great addition to the filling or the dough. Ginger and bananas go really well together.

Frosting:

• Add a big spoonful of peanut butter to the frosting if you love the banana/peanut butter combo as much as I do. Or just drizzle some warmed peanut butter over the rolls and call it done!
• Same as above but use any other nut butter or chocolate hazelnut spread!
• Use the frosting from my Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls or my Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls (brown butter and bananas? Yes please!) and just drizzle over some store bought caramel or butterscotch sauce.
• Add a small splash of dark rum to give these a bananas foster flavor!

Storage

These rolls are best fresh and warm the first day. Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for 2 days covered tightly and in the refrigerator after that for up to 5 days. They can be quickly warmed in the microwave for about 30 seconds or in a warm oven for 5-10 minutes until warmed.

FAQ

Related - yeast breads

Pairing - breakfast recipes

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Banana Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

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• Total Time: 2.5 hours
• Yield: 10-12 rolls

Ingredients

For the dough:

½ cup milk, warmed to 100-110 degrees F

2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast

1 egg

2 medium bananas, mashed - this will be about 1 cup

¼ cup dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups (480 grams) all purpose flour

2 ounces softened butter, diced into small pieces

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the filling:

2 ounces softened butter (½ stick)

½ cup dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

optional ½ teaspoon Chinese five spice powder

2-3 thinly sliced bananas

For the frosting:

4 ounces butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces cream cheese, very soft

2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar

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Instructions

Make the Banana Cinnamon Rolls

1. Bloom yeast in warm milk for a few minutes before adding mashed banana, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla.
2. Then add flour, salt, cinnamon, and soft butter (if using oil you can add it to the wet mixture).

3. Knead with a dough hook for about 1 minute at speed 1 and then increase to speed 2 for about 5 minutes, scraping sides if needed. This dough is a bit sticky but should not be overly wet. If you feel your dough is too wet, add a bit more flour.
4. Cover dough with a damp towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes until doubled. Mix together the filling and make the frosting while you wait.
5. To make the filling simply smush together the filling ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Make sure your butter is very soft.
6. Place dough onto floured surface and roll to a large rectangle. Spread with filling and top with thinly sliced bananas. *Do NOT be tempted to mash the bananas into the filling. I tried this while developing this recipe and it was a huge mess. Slicing is the way to go - trust me.* Next, roll the dough into a tight log, brushing off any excess flour as you roll.
7. Slice log into 10-12 pieces - I aim for about 1.5 to 2 inches per roll so sometimes I have more or less. Place in a 9x13 baking dish and allow to rise again for about an hour at room temperature. You can also use a larger, half-sheet pan (18x13 inch) and space the rolls out more if you like them to be more round and individual once baked.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Once rolls have risen for about an hour, bake in preheated oven until puffed and browned.

How to Make Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Glaze/Frosting

1. Heat butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often, until melted and bubbling. Add cream and bring back to a boil, stirring often. Remove from heat, transfer to mixing bowl, and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes.

2. Add soft cream cheese and vanilla extract to cooled, slightly warm mixture. Mix with hand mixer until incorporated.
3. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and mix until fully incorporated. Let frosting sit at room temperature while you finish preparing the rolls. The frosting will set up to a more firm, spreadable frosting consistency.

Notes

I highly recommend reading the blog post for tips, photos, faq's, ingredient substitutions, etc. 

to make peanut butter frosting add ½ cup creamy peanut butter to frosting mixture in step 3 and mix well to combine.

to make these bananas foster cinnamon rolls, add 2 tablespoons of dark rum to the frosting mixture in step 2 and top frosted rolls with toasted, chopped pecans. You can also add chopped pecans to the filling if desired.

I have not tested these with gluten-free flour so I cannot recommend using it. 

• Author: anita | wild thistle kitchen
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• rising: 2 hours
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: breakfast, dessert, breads, yeast breads
• Method: baking
• Cuisine: American