These strawberry cinnamon rolls feature strawberry bread dough, strawberry cinnamon filling, and strawberry cheesecake frosting. They're antioxidant-packed and so delicious!

Let's talk about the recipe!

Ingredients

For the Dough

• Strawberries
• Whole milk
• Unsalted butter
• Granulated sugar
• Instant yeast
• Salt
• All-purpose flour

For the Jam

• Unsalted butter
• Granulated sugar
• Cinnamon
• Strawberries

For the Frosting

• Unsalted butter
• Cream cheese
• Vanilla extract
• Salt
• Powdered sugar

Make the Dough

In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the strawberries for 2 minutes if fresh and 4 if frozen. Add to a mixing jug with the butter, sugar, and milk, and immersion blend the mixture. Add to the bowl of a stand mixer with the instant yeast and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the flour and the salt to the stand mixer bowl and knead with a dough hook for 10 minutes. Cover the dough and let rise for 1 hour.

That's right, there are real strawberries blended into this yeasted dough! The sugar from the strawberries feeds the yeast, so we get an even fluffier bread dough. Plus you get a ton of extra strawberry flavor! This dough is very sticky though, so don't be discouraged if yours seems wet. Sticky dough means soft bread.

Make the Jam

While the dough rises, add all of the jam ingredients to a pot over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the strawberries are softened and the butter is melted. Immersion blend this mixture and set aside to cool for the rest of the dough’s rising time.

You technically don't need to blend this jam, but if you're feeding this to any picky eaters, or you want a more even distribution in the cinnamon rolls, immersion blending is the way to go! It eliminates any lumps and makes this much easier to spread.

Roll the Dough

Once the dough has risen, liberally flour the dough, a stretch of parchment paper and a rolling pin. Roll the dough until it is a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Add half of the jam mixture onto the dough, reserving the rest, and spread into an even layer over the dough. Using a bench scraper if necessary to help, Roll the dough into a log (roll from short-end to short-end for more swirls in your cinnamon rolls, but long-end to long-end if you want the process to be a little easier), and cut the log into 12 coins. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper and grease. Arrange the coins in the dish and allow to rise for 30 minutes while preheating your oven to 350f.

Notice how I said liberally flour your surfaces? Don't skip this. As I said earlier, this dough is very sticky because sticky dough makes soft bread. But it can also be a pain to work with if you don't flour liberally. I also keep a bench scraper handy in case anything gets stuck when I start rolling.

Make sure to only use half the strawberry jam here, unless you want your kitchen to look like a crime scene. Definitely not speaking from experience.

Make the Frosting

Bake for 45 minutes. While baking, whip all of the frosting ingredients and the reserved jam together with an electric mixer. Remove the rolls from the oven and allow to cool for 10-20 minutes. Once cooled, spread the frosting over the top with a spatula and serve warm.

This is where that extra jam comes in! It flavors the cream cheese frosting beautifully to get a delicious strawberry-cheesecake flavor. The frosting is so easy too, just mix everything together!

Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Download the recipe here

Servings: 12

Active time: 40 minutes

Total time: 3 hours

Ingredients:

For the Dough

• 2 cups strawberries
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted.
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups all-purpose flour

For the Jam

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 2 cups strawberries

For the Frosting

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Method:

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the strawberries for 2 minutes if fresh and 4 if frozen.
2. Add to a mixing jug with the butter, sugar, and milk, and blend this mixture (with an immersion blender for best results). Add to the bowl of a stand mixer with the instant yeast and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Add the flour and the salt to the stand mixer bowl and knead with a dough hook for 10 minutes. Cover the dough and let rise for 1 hour.
4. While the dough rises, add all of the jam ingredients to a pot over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the strawberries are softened and the butter is melted. Blend this mixture (with an immersion blender for best results) and set aside to cool for the rest of the dough’s rising time.
5. Once the dough has risen, liberally flour the dough, a stretch of parchment paper and a rolling pin. Roll the dough until it is a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.
6. Add half of the jam mixture onto the dough, reserving the rest, and spread into an even layer over the dough.
7. Using a bench scraper if necessary to help, Roll the dough into a log (roll from short-end to short-end for more swirls in your cinnamon rolls, but long-end to long-end if you want the process to be a little easier), and cut the log into 12 coins.
8. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper and grease. Arrange the coins in the dish and allow to rise for 30 minutes while preheating your oven to 350f.
9. Bake for 45 minutes. While baking, whip all of the frosting ingredients and the reserved jam together with an electric mixer.
10. Remove the rolls from the oven and allow to cool for 10-20 minutes. Once cooled, spread the frosting over the top with a spatula and serve warm.

See Nutrition Info

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories	513
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g	26%
Saturated Fat 12.3g	61%
Cholesterol 53mg	18%
Sodium 343mg	15%
Total Carbohydrate 77.3g	28%
Dietary Fiber 3.1g	11%
Total Sugars 34.7g
Protein 7.6g
Vitamin D 19mcg	94%
Calcium 68mg	5%
Iron 3mg	17%
Potassium 203mg	4%

Related Recipes

Strawberry Yogurt Bites

Strawberry Shortcake Muffins

Healthy Cinnamon Rolls with Oats

About the Author

Hi! I'm Alexandra Massengale, and I've been cooking and baking for over 12 years. My passion is making cheap, convenient, nutrient-dense food that still tastes amazing, and helping to perpetuate healthy eating habits without perpetuating diet culture. I want you to find recipes that make your body and heart happy, without putting any food off limits or making you feel guilty for loving delicious things.

By Alexandra Massengale