Hawaiian Roll Cinnamon Rolls (Easy Shortcut Recipe)
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These Hawaiian Roll Cinnamon Rolls are soft, buttery, sweet, and incredibly easy to make. Using soft Hawaiian rolls as a shortcut yields fluffy cinnamon rolls with warm cinnamon flavor and gooey sweetness, without the time required for traditional yeast dough.
This easy breakfast recipe comes together quickly, making it perfect for holiday breakfast recipes, weekend brunches, family gatherings, or last-minute sweet cravings.
The soft texture of Hawaiian rolls pairs perfectly with cinnamon sugar and icing for a semi-homemade cinnamon roll recipe that tastes comforting and bakery-style with minimal effort.
These Hawaiian Roll Cinnamon Rolls have been a favorite recipe from readers of Call Me PMc since I first published them way back in 2015. Yes, they were here before the TikTok viral videos, which actually brought them to the attention of more readers. I hope you enjoy my recipe!
Why Hawaiian Rolls Make Great Cinnamon Rolls
Using Hawaiian rolls saves time while still giving the rich flavor and texture people expect from cinnamon rolls.
Hawaiian rolls are soft, slightly sweet, and buttery, which makes them perfect for shortcut cinnamon rolls. Because the rolls already have a fluffy texture, they create soft cinnamon rolls without needing homemade yeast dough.
Quick Cinnamon Rolls. Cheater Cinnamon Rolls, 15-Minute Cinnamon Rolls, or King’s Hawaiian Cinnamon Roll Sliders – Whatever it is you want to call these, they are the best cooking hack ever!
Tips for the Best Quick Cinnamon Rolls
Don’t overbake
Hawaiian rolls bake quickly and can dry out if overcooked.
Use softened butter
Soft
Let the rolls absorb the filling
Resting briefly before baking helps the cinnamon flavor soak in.
Add icing while warm
Warm rolls help icing melt into the cinnamon layers.
Can You Make Hawaiian Roll Cinnamon Rolls Ahead?
Yes. You can assemble the rolls ahead of time and refrigerate them before baking.
This makes them especially popular for Christmas morning breakfasts and brunch gatherings.
What Makes These Cinnamon Rolls So Easy?
Traditional cinnamon rolls require yeast dough, rising time, and kneading. Using Hawaiian rolls creates a shortcut version that keeps the soft texture and cinnamon flavor while dramatically reducing prep time.
What to Serve with Cinnamon Hawaiian Rolls
The great thing about these shortcut cinnamon rolls is they go with anything! Try:
- coffee
- fruit salad
- breakfast casserole
- scrambled eggs
- bacon
- brunch cocktails
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Sweet or savory Hawaiian rolls can both work depending on flavor preference.
Yes. Freeze after baking and reheat gently.
No. Hawaiian rolls eliminate the need for homemade yeast dough.
Yes. Pecans, walnuts, or raisins work well in the filling. I recommend adding one cup of chopped nuts to the cinnamon
Yes, the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. If you notice in my recipe card where ‘servings’ is displayed, you can +/- that to adjust the servings you want to make.
Yes, you can use any rolls. King’s Hawaiian is perfect because they’re slightly sweet. I used Toll House rolls before. Any dinner roll will work, especially if you don’t like really sweet food. Obviously, don’t use rolls with rosemary, onions, or garlic.
Quick Cinnamon Hawaiian Rolls
I used a 12-count package of Hawaiian rolls, but you can use any premade, precooked roll. However, I like the King’s Hawaiian rolls best because they have a subtly sweet and light texture. In fact, I first bade similar shortcut cinnamon rolls back in 2015, Sister Schubert Pull-Apart Cinnamon Rolls. That’s how this original recipe came to be.
You can easily double or triple this recipe.
I always, always use real
For the drizzle!
These easy cinnamon rolls are pretty sweet without the glaze. However, they’re cinnamon rolls and cinnamon rolls have icing.
I mixed powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream for the glaze. For my 12-count rolls, I used 3 cups of sifted powdered sugar and three to four tablespoons of heavy whipping cream. Sifting the powdered sugar is necessary; otherwise, you’ll have lumps that are impossible to whisk out. I much prefer heavy whipping cream over whole milk for a glaze. It’s creamier and, frankly, tastes better in my opinion. However, if you don’t have heavy whipping cream, use whole milk and add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Another option is cream cheese glaze or frosting.
While you’re here, check out these recipes
- Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls
- 5 Ingredient Puff Pastry Pineapple Upside Down Cinnamon Rolls
- Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls
- Snickers Bars Cinnamon Rolls
- Cinnamon Roll Cherry Cobbler
- Old Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls
- Quick Biscuit Dough Cinnamon Rolls
Quick Cinnamon Hawaiian Rolls
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Ingredients
For the rolls
- 12-count package Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 tablespoon butter to spread in bottom on the pan
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
For the glaze
- 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1.5 – 2 cups powdered sugar (aka confectioners) sifted then measured
Instructions
- Bloggers and creators, please be a good human and don't copy my recipe.
For the rolls
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together with a fork.
- Spread 1 tablespoon of the butter on the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking pan.
- Cut the rolls in half horizontally and place the bottom half of the rolls in the 9×13-inch pan.
- Spread half of the cinnamon butter mixture evenly over the rolls in your pan. Replace the top half of the rolls. Spread the remaining cinnamon butter mixture evenly over the top of the rolls.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes.
For the glaze
- While the rolls are baking, mix the cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, and powdered sugar together. Stir until smooth.
- When the rolls are cooked, drizzle the glaze of the top of the rolls. Serve warm.
Holy crap!!! These are AMAZING! Just made some and my husband said it’s prob the best thing i have ever made. I loved that i had all the ingredients too
Do you have an Instagram page?
Jill
oh yay!!! Happy you guys liked them!
A friend mistakenly received a 24-pack of Kings Hawaiian rolls and gave them to me. For some reason I don’t love the sweetness when eaten as a dinner roll (or for a savory recipe) so I googled looking for a sweet recipe. This one was fantastic! Perfect Valentines Day treat.
Thank you for commenting. I know what you mean, they’re too sweet for some savory dishes for me as well. But I love the cinnamon rolls. Did you see these Cheesecake Danishes I made with King’s? You may like them too.
These were absolutely delicious! I will definitely be making them again. Quick and easy!
This is a very good recipe! Easy & delicious! I doubled it for Christmas!! My husband who grew up with cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning was very happy to have these & enjoyed every bite!
I have made this with just plain dinner rolls and they turned out perfect.
Can you make these ahead of time? Best way to reheat? Thanks!
You can make up to the point of baking but don’t bake and cover air-tightly and refrigerate. Then bake when you’re ready – they donn’t take long to heat through.
After making these I don’t think I’ll ever make regular cinnamon rolls ever again!! They taste like donuts 🥰
Thanks!! I agree, they’re so easy and so good!
We are huge, cinnamon roll and Kings Hawaiian bread, lovers, in our family so this recipe was right up our alley. It took no time at all to make. The house smelled so good of cinnamon! I did not have heavy whipping cream, so I used half-and-half with a little vanilla , and it turned out just fine. Having a brunch this coming weekend for Labor Day and I will be making more but I’m going to put raisins in some of them. Very yummy. Thanks!
I’m so so happy you enjoyed them. I’m a huge cinnamon roll lover too!! I could eat them ever day!
These are delicious! Just made them for the 2nd time. However, I didn’t sift the powder sugar this time. The flavor is still delicious but the consistency is very heavy and brown. When sifted it was a thin white glaze, which looks much better. I did add pecans this time, which I will continue to do, as well as sifting the powder sugar.