Homemade Hawaiian cinnamon rolls have the softest dough you’ve ever tried with just the right amount of sweetness. Pineapple juice gives the dough a slightly sweet taste that goes perfectly with a tangy cream cheese frosting. It can be made overnight so that mornings are a breeze.

A frosted Hawaiian cinnamon roll on a plate with a fork.

Let’s make some cinnamon rolls from scratch

Pineapple juice is the secret ingredient to these lighter than air cinnamon rolls. Jam packed with your favorite filings and then topped with a simple cream cheese frosting, these make breakfast a real treat.

Whether you’re having overnight guests or your planning for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning these are my go-to cinnamon rolls to have on hand! The ultimate comfort food for me.

My mom made cinnamon rolls for all holidays and whenever we came home to visit, and now I do the same thing. My girls are picky, one likes raisins and nuts, one wants hers without. This cinnamon roll yeast recipe is perfect because it makes two pans, so I can make one with and one without.

Here’s what a fan had to say about these Hawaiian sweet rolls:

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wow! These were perfect for our Christmas brunch! I had to modify a few things for our resident vegan and despite that, they were amazing! The pineapple juice is a perfect idea and they truly are the best I’ve ever made! Thank you so much!

By adding a little pineapple juice the dough will taste similar to Hawaiian dinner rolls.

All you need for Hawaiian cinnamon rolls is a dab of butter, but if you like frosting, add this cream cheese frosting which goes perfectly with the dough.

Soft cinnamon rolls with frosting in a baking pan.

This cinnamon roll recipe allows you to prepare the dough the day before and once assembled, you can just place them in the refrigerator for their final rise overnight. The next morning, take them out and let them sit while your oven preheats and they are ready to bake. Your friends and family are going to love you!

Don’t have time to wait for the yeast to rise, make cinnamon roll biscuits without yeast.

Why you’ll absolutely love these rolls

You won’t get a dry or hard cinnamon roll with this recipe – they are soft and so delicious!
Pineapple juice is a secret ingredient to keeping your dough ever so light and fluffy and just a little sweet!
A cream cheese frosting rounds out this favorite breakfast or brunch food without being too sweet!
This is a great recipe to make overnight so when you wake up with guests for the holidays, it’s easy peasy.

What you’ll need

Active dry yeast – You can use instant instead.
Pineapple juice – sometimes, it’s hard to find small bottles of pineapple juice. If you can find the little cans, they have a long expiration date and you only need 2 cans.
Filling – raisins, pecans or walnuts or you can leave them both out and just do a cinnamon sugar filling.
Spice mix – cinnamon and nutmeg.
Cream cheese – if you love frosting, this is a must.
Pantry staples – Sugar, dark brown sugar, powdered sugar, flour, butter, eggs, honey, milk and vanilla. You can also use light brown sugar.

Anyone Can Make Cinnamon Rolls

Step 1 – activate the yeast

Dissolve the yeast in some water and add a bit of honey to it. If it doesn’t get foamy, then throw it out and try again. Your water was either too hot or your yeast is dead.

A bowl with yeast, water and honey being poured. — Let the yeast get foamy.

Step 2 – make the dough

Add the yeast to the bowl of an electric mixer and add eggs, melted butter, pineapple juice and sugar. Once combined, add flour and beat until it comes together, then change to the dough hook and knead until it’s smooth.

Step 3 – let it rise

Let rise in a warm place until doubled, punch it down to get the air out.

A bowl of yeast dough before it has risen. — Let the dough rise.

A fist being put into risen yeast dough. — Punch down the dough.

Step 4 – make the rolls

Roll out and brush with butter then add the filling of cinnamon sugar mixture along with nuts and raisins.

Dough rolled out for cinnamon rolls. — Roll into a rectangle.

Butter spread on cinnamon roll dough. — Spread butter on top.

Cinnamon, sugar, pecans and raisins spread on the yeast dough. — Add the filling.

Roll jelly roll style, and slice using a serrated knife.

Cinnamon roll dough being rolled into a log. — Roll the dough.

Cinnamon roll dough rolled into a log and cut into slices. — Cut into slices.

Sliced cinnamon roll dough in a baking pan. — Place in a baking pan.

Place in a baking dish and cover. Either refrigerate until ready to bake or let rise for about an hour. If you have refrigerated the rolls, take them out of the refrigerator and let sit on the counter for about 15 minutes until the oven has preheated. Bake.

Cream Cheese Frosting for Cinnamon Rolls

Cream cheese frostings are super simple to make. My formula for cinnamon rolls is to add a tablespoon of butter for every ounce of cream cheese. I didn’t want this frosting too sweet so it just has a quarter cup of powdered sugar and a little vanilla.

Just combine cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl and mx with an electric mixer until combined. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. If you want it thin enough to drizzle, then add some milk until it gets to the consistency you want.

It’s not near as sweet as a frosting for a cake. Since you have a cinnamon sugar filling a more tangy cream cheese frosting works great.

Two cinnamon rolls on a plate with a bowl of cream cheese frosting.

A Few Recipe Notes for Working with Yeast Dough

Make sure the yeast is activated by adding a bit of sugar or honey to the dissolved yeast, if it doesn’t foam up a bit then it’s not alive and you need to start again.
When letting the dough rise, try placing it in a a warm microwave. To get it warm, boil some water in a glass bowl. The dough will love the steam and heat from the boiled water. Just keep the door shut and it will create a warm environment. Or turn the oven to 200º. Place the dough in the oven and turn the oven off.
Before you roll the dough out, let it rest for a couple of minutes to make the dough more manageable.

While the overnight rise is a game changer, what is fabulous about this Hawaiian cinnamon roll recipe is the pineapple dough. It has a slightly sweeter taste from a cup of pineapple juice, which means you don’t need to use quite so much sugary filling. A couple of eggs in the dough also adds to the amazing texture.

I’ve tried adding some crushed pineapple but decided it was too much pineapple. I also have tried a pineapple glaze but we all vetoed that in favor of the cream cheese frosting.

We like our cinnamon rolls with nuts and maybe some raisins. Peaches and apples are pretty amazing but with this dough, I would stick to the basics.

A bite taken out of a cinnamon roll on a plate.

If you loved this recipe, give it a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating! Also, snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #butterandbaggage and tagging me @butterandbaggage.

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Hawaiian Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

Let’s make some cinnamon rolls from scratch

Why you’ll absolutely love these rolls

What you’ll need