Name: Soft Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 145 min
Ingredients: ⅓ cup butter (softened); ½ cup whole milk; ⅓ cup sugar; ¾ cup pumpkin puree; ¼ teaspoon nutmeg; ½ teaspoon salt; 3 teaspoons yeast; 3 eggs; 5 cups flour; ½ cup butter (softened); ½ cup brown sugar; ½ cup white sugar; 1 tablespoon cinnamon; ½ teaspoon nutmeg; ¼ teaspoon ginger; ¼ teaspoon cloves; ½ cup chopped pecans; 4 tablespoons butter (softened); 4 ounces cream cheese (softened); 2 cups powdered sugar; ½ teaspoon vanilla; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice

These Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls have pumpkin purée worked into the dough, which keeps them soft and tender for days. A spiced brown sugar and pecan filling brings the fall flavor, and a pumpkin-spice cream cheese frosting goes on while the rolls are warm. Shape them the night before and bake fresh in the morning, or make and bake them the same day in about 3 hours with rise time included.

A tray of frosted cinnamon rolls, one being lifted out with a spatula. A bowl of extra frosting with a knife, a pumpkin, and a gray cloth are nearby on a blue surface. — One 9×13 pan turns out 12 rolls, each one packed with a swirl of brown sugar, pecans, and warm fall spice.

Pumpkin Is What Sets These Apart

I’ve baked my fair share of cinnamon rolls over the years, and the pumpkin is what makes these different. It’s not there for color. The purée adds moisture the dough wouldn’t otherwise have, which is why these stay tender for days instead of drying out overnight. Grab one the next morning and it’s still soft. If you like a soft, make-ahead yeast roll, the Hawaiian cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting uses pineapple juice to get a light, fluffy dough the same way pumpkin works here.

The Filling Is Where the Fall Flavor Lives

The dough is mild on its own, so the filling does the heavy lifting. Brown sugar and white sugar together, plus cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, is what makes the kitchen smell like October while these bake. The pecans are optional, but they add some crunch and flavor. Skip them if you’d rather have a smooth swirl. If you want another fall roll for the rotation, the apple cinnamon rolls with caramel frosting has gooey apples in the swirls and are finished with a caramel cream cheese icing.

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A frosted pumpkin cinnamon roll sits on a white plate with a fork, while more rolls are in a metal baking dish and another plate. Small pumpkins are in the background.

The Frosting Takes Them Over the Top

These are good cinnamon rolls on their own, just the buttery dough and spiced filling. But a pumpkin-spice cream cheese frosting is what takes them over the top. The trick is spreading it on while the rolls are still warm, not cooled. Warm rolls let the frosting melt down into the layers and turn gooey rather than sitting on top as a firm cap. Give them 15 minutes out of the oven first, then frost.

A metal pan filled with nine frosted cinnamon rolls, one of which is slightly lifted by a metal spatula, sits on a blue surface with a gray cloth nearby.

Pull a pan of these out of the oven on a cool morning and frost them while they’re warm, and you’ll understand why they’re worth making from scratch.

A pumpkin cinnamon roll with creamy frosting sits on a white plate, partially eaten with a fork. Another roll and a bowl of frosting are in the background on a blue surface.

Pantry Staples, Plus a Can of Pumpkin

Baking ingredients on a blue surface: a carton of eggs, whole milk, canned pumpkin, ground cinnamon, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, dry yeast jar, and a stick of unsalted butter. — Dough Ingredients

Bags of brown and granulated sugar, pecans, a stick of butter, and jars of ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and whole nutmeg laid out on a blue surface. — Filling Ingredients

A bag of sugar, cream cheese, butter, ground cinnamon, and a bottle of vanilla extract are arranged on a blue textured surface. — Frosting Ingredients

The exact amounts are in the recipe card below.

Pumpkin purée. Plain purée, not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling is pre-sweetened and pre-spiced and will change the dough.
Yeast. Fast-acting or instant yeast keeps things moving. Active dry yeast works too, but the rise will take a little longer. If you use active dry, proof it in the warm milk first.
Pecans. For the filling. Chop them small so they spread evenly.
Cream cheese. Full-fat, softened to room temperature. Cold cream cheese leaves lumps in the frosting that don’t smooth out. If you’re short on time, you can soften cream cheese quickly.
Pumpkin pie spice. Just a little, stirred into the frosting. It carries the fall flavor onto the top of the rolls. Leave it out for a plain cream cheese frosting if you’d rather.

How to Make Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

A clear mixing bowl with pumpkin puree, sugar, and spices being whisked together on a blue countertop. — Whisk together the sugar, pumpkin, nutmeg, and salt.

A glass measuring cup with a metal whisk inside, containing a small amount of pale yellow liquid, sits on a textured gray-blue surface. — Add the warm milk mixture and yeast.

A whisk rests in a glass mixing bowl containing two raw eggs and a yellow batter on a blue countertop. — Whisk in the eggs.

A glass mixing bowl with a red spatula stirring a thick, partially mixed batter. Some flour is still visible on top. The bowl sits on a blue-gray countertop with a gray cloth in the background. — Add two cups of flour and mix about a minute.

A clear glass bowl filled with thick, mixed cookie dough sits on a blue countertop. Some flour is stuck to the sides of the bowl. — Add the rest of the flour and mix to combine.

A ball of cookie dough sits in a clear mixing bowl on a blue countertop, with a gray cloth partly visible in the corner. — Use a dough hook and knead about five minutes until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the bowl.

Step One: Mix the Dough

Expect a soft, sticky dough. The pumpkin adds moisture, so this will feel tackier than a standard roll dough. If it’s unworkable, dust in a tablespoon of flour at a time rather than adding a lot at once.

A large, risen ball of dough with a finger indentation sits in a clear glass bowl on a blue-gray countertop. — Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled, about an hour.

Step Two: Let It Rise

A glass bowl filled with brown sugar, cinnamon, and white sugar, with a metal spoon resting inside, on a light blue textured surface. — In a small bowl, combine all the filling ingredients except the butter and set it aside.

Step Three: Prep the Filling

A rectangular sheet of dough rests on a floured silicone baking mat atop a blue countertop. — Roll the dough into an 18×12 inch rectangle about half an inch thick.

A rolled-out sheet of dough topped with a layer of cream cheese sits on a baking mat on a blue countertop. — Spread the softened butter over the rectangle.

An oval-shaped dough is covered with a cinnamon-sugar mixture, resting on a silicone baking mat on a blue countertop. — Sprinkle the filling on top of the butter.

Raw dough rolled out on a silicone baking mat, topped with a layer of cinnamon, sugar, and chopped pecans, ready for baking. — Sprinkle pecans on top and press into the dough with your hands.

Step Four: Roll and Fill

If the dough shrinks back, let it rest. Ten minutes on the counter relaxes the gluten and lets you roll it out the rest of the way without fighting it.

A rolled dough log filled with cinnamon on a silicone baking mat, ready to be sliced for making cinnamon rolls. Flour and cinnamon sugar are scattered on the mat. — Roll the dough up tightly into a log.

Unbaked cinnamon rolls being cut and placed in a metal baking pan; a knife and baking mat are nearby, and dough swirls are visible. — Using a serrated knife, cut it into 12 even rolls and arrange them in the prepared pan.

Step Five: Shape the Rolls

A serrated knife cuts cleanest. It saws through without flattening the spiral. Aim for the same width on each so they bake evenly.

A metal baking pan filled with twelve unbaked cinnamon rolls arranged in neat rows on a grey surface. — Cover the pan and let the rolls rise in a warm place until about doubled, about 45 minutes.

Step Six: Second Rise

A tray of freshly baked pumpkin cinnamon rolls sits on a wooden trivet, with two small pumpkins and a gray cloth in the background. — Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the center roll is no longer doughy. Let the rolls cool in the pan for 15 minutes before frosting.

Step Seven: Bake

A glass bowl filled with creamy, light brown cake batter sits on a gray surface. A purple spatula with a wooden handle rests inside the bowl, coated with the batter. — Make the cream cheese frosting.

A baking tray filled with twelve frosted cinnamon rolls sits on a blue surface, with a bowl of icing, a gray cloth, and two small pumpkins nearby. — Spread the cream cheese frosting over the warm rolls.

Step Eight: Make the Frosting and Finish

Frost while warm, not hot or cold. The 15-minute rest is the sweet spot. Too hot and the frosting slides off, too cool and it won’t sink into the layers.

These rolls prove that a from-scratch yeast dough doesn’t have to be intimidating, just a little time and a can of pumpkin standing between you and a pan that’s better the next morning than the day you baked it.

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