Potato cinnamon rolls have the perfect soft and fluffy texture. The potato in the dough may sound strange, but I promise they are delicious. The centers are just a bit gooey, and the outside is airy, making perfect cinnamon rolls.
These potato dough cinnamon rolls are so soft and delicious. They make waking up something you will look forward to!
If you like Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, you are going to love this recipe. And if you have never used some potatoes in a yeast dough, you are just going to have to go with it for a second.
I know it sounds really strange, but I promise you the mashed potatoes don’t add any strange flavor or texture. In fact, they make the texture extra amazing.
The yeast loves that potato starch, and I think it helps to keep the cinnamon rolls soft even longer. It works in a very similar way to making potato rolls or buying potato bread.
They are the best breakfast or brunch treat you can ask for. You absolutely have to make a batch to find out for yourself!
This recipe came from Maida Heatter’s Cakes. We fell in love with this recipe back in 2015, and we still love it all these years later.
They do take a little bit of time, but no more than most recipes that include yeast. And just wait until you see the yeast react with the water you used to boil the potatoes.
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They get so happy and bubbly. It is amazing to watch them go to town.
What effect does adding potato to the dough have?
The starch in the potatoes contributes to the structure of the dough and holds more moisture than just wheat flour. Plus, it works without developing more gluten. So the end product turns out nice and light and tender.
Storage
You can store homemade cinnamon rolls at room temperature for 3-5 days. Just keep them wrapped or in an airtight container so they don’t dry out.
You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. I generally don’t recommend refrigerating baked goods unless they frosting you use requires it, as the refrigerator can dry them out and make them go stale more quickly.
Make Them The Night Before
If you don’t want to have to wake up early enough to make these potato cinnamon rolls before breakfast, you have a couple of options.
You can either go ahead and complete them the night before and just warm them a bit in the morning.
Or, you can take them to the point where you cut the log of dough into cinnamon rolls and place them on a greased pan. Then, wrap them with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
In the morning, remove them from the oven and loosen up the cover. Allow them to sit out for about an hour before preheating the oven.
Once they have risen, go ahead and bake them as normal. They will be fabulous, and it will make the morning go a lot easier.
More Sweet Breakfast Recipes
I liked these mashed potato cinnamon rolls so much that I used the recipe as the base for my coffee and cream cinnamon buns and they were a smashing success. If you want to try a twist, check out that recipe.
At Christmastime, I like to make a cinnamon roll wreath. It feels really festive and extra fun for the holidays.
You can check out my collection of cinnamon roll recipes for more breakfast treats!
Potato Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup mashed potatoes plain with ¼ cup of the cooking water reserved
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar + 1 Tablespoon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 to 5 cups all purpose flour plus more for rolling
Filling
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Glaze
- 2 Tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- 1½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 drops almond extract
- 3 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Start by getting your potatoes ready. Use as many potatoes as you think it will take to make 1 cup of mashed potatoes. Peel the potato(es), cut into cubes, and boil it until soft enough to mash.
- Reserve ¼ cup of the water that you used to boil the potatoes, then discard the rest of the water. Mash the potato until smooth and measure out 1 cup.
- Stir 1 Tablespoon of sugar into the potato water and let cool to about 110°F. Once the water is cool enough, stir in the yeast and set aside.2½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- Return the mashed potatoes to the saucepan. Add the milk, butter, salt and ½ cup of sugar to the mashed potatoes. Stir and warm over low heat until the butter is melted.1 cup milk, ½ teaspoon salt, 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Place the warm potato mixture in the bowl of your mixer. Stir in the egg, vanilla, and yeast mixture.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Slowly add in the flour. You want to stop adding flour while the dough is still sticky, but it should at least come together into a dough. With the dough hook attachment, allow your mixer to work the dough for about 5 minutes. The dough will still be a bit tacky, but not super loose or sticky.4 to 5 cups all purpose flour
- Put the dough in a large greased mixing bowl. Be sure to scrape everything off of the mixer bowl and hook. Cover and allow to rise to at least double its size, about an hour.
- Punch down the dough and give it a couple of quick kneads to make sure it is deflated.
- Place on a lightly floured surface. Let rest for about 10 minutes, then use a rolling pin or your hands to form an 18″ square.
- Brush melted butter over the dough.2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle over dough. You can add hydrated raisins in this step if you want to.2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- Roll dough into a log and cut into 12 equal pieces.
- Grease a 10x15x1-inch jelly roll pan. (You can use two 9×13-inch pans or a 13×18-inch pan. Each will have slightly different results, but all will be good.)
- Place cinnamon rolls on prepared baking dish. Cover loosely and let rise until doubled, another 45 minutes to an hour.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pan half way through. The tops should be a light golden brown. (check a few minutes early if using 9×13-inch pans or 13×18)
- Let sit for about 5 minutes, then put together the icing.
Cinnamon Roll Icing
- In a small bowl, use your hand mixer to beat together the butter, powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, almond extract. Mix in milk or cream. It should be a relatively thick consistency, barely thin enough to pour.2 Tablespoon unsalted butter, 1½ cup powdered sugar, 1 pinch salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 drops almond extract, 3 Tablespoons milk
- Drizzle glaze all over warm cinnamon rolls, then let cool.
Notes
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The best recipe for cinnamon rolls. No bakery in my area has one that is better. Making the fresh mashed potatoes takes a bit more time. It is worth it. Dough rises and bake beautifully with no empty space between layers. I did add a tablespoon of brown sugar and more cinnamon to the filling. I softened margarine rather than melted butter due to lactose intolerance family member
Thank you so much! That makes me so happy to hear!
Can I use light or dark brown sugar for the filling instead of granulated sugar? Thanx for your help
Sure! Either would be delicious.
These are the BEST! So soft and gooey, all I can say is YUM! This is going to be my go to recipe from now on, thanks for sharing!!
I am so glad you loved them. They are our favorites too!
Turned out great. Really easy. Enjoyed that they are not super sweet. Will make again.
Prepped dough last evening and baked them this morning. Wonderful cinnamon rolls! Best I’ve made. I was unsure of the texture of the dough but followed your tips and directions. So glad I did:) You’re recipe will be my go to from now on. Thanks so much for sharing this soft pillowy melt in your mouth cinnamon roll recipe with us!!
YAY! I am so glad you liked them. We really love them too!!
I’ve never made dough with potatoes before! Oh gosh that’s a marvelous idea..these look SO delicious! I wish I had one right now 😀
They are so good. They give such a soft texture that is almost gooey while still being cooked through.
Oh my, Carlee, where have you been hiding his recipe? I learned to cook with yeast before I learned to bake cakes and get a kick out of working with it. Cinnamon buns sound very similar to what we call Chelsea buns, which my lot love… What interests me though is potato dough! Have never heard of it before, but I now want to know more!
xx
Ooooh my, Debbie! These are so good! It was my first time making a potato dough as well, the yeast love potato starch. Now I've done it a number of times. I am hoping to get potato rolls posted soon too. The potato makes for really soft and yummy bread!
Those look delish! Thanks for sharing with us at the Funtastic Friday linky party!
They really are, thank you!
What an interesting idea! I've never thought to use potatoes in cinnamon rolls. I'm definitely going to have to try them! Now I wish I had some mashed potatoes on hand 😄
It's like a potato roll, only sweeter and cinnamonier (that's totally a thing!) They have been my favorite cinnamon rolls since the first time I tried them!
This looks and sounds to die for!!! 🙂
Thank you!