What do you get when you take two of the greatest baked goods in the world and combine them into one outstanding breakfast dish? Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls so good you’ll have to fight the urge to eat straight from the pan while standing in the kitchen. Soft, gooey cinnamon rolls with banana worked into both the dough and the filling, these rolls will get rave reviews from anyone you share them with!
You’ll Love Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls
If I haven’t made it clear across my entire website, I LOVE banana bread, and I LOVE cinnamon rolls. The fact that I haven’t thought of combining the two sooner is beyond me.
Why You’ll Love It:
- They are guaranteed to impress any and everyone that you are nice enough to share them with (but no judgement if you skip that sharing part!)
- This is a fantastic way to use up those ripe bananas on your counter.
- Your kitchen will smell unbelievably amazing while these bake in the oven!
- The bananas add extra moisture, making these already soft cinnamon rolls even softer.
- They are topped with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting so good that you’ll want to eat it with a spoon!
When it comes to foods that I have a really hard time saying no to, banana bread and cinnamon rolls are at the top of the list. But when you combine the two?
That’s it, throw in the towel, I’m done. Resistance it futile – these Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls are insane in the very best way. Hand me a fork, I don’t even need the plate – straight from the pan will be just fine, thank you very much.
Banana Bread Cinnamon Roll Ingredients
This is a discussion about the ingredients. For the actual recipe with amounts, please see the recipe below.
- Bananas – You want your bananas as ripe as possible. The bananas I have in the photo are just barely starting to get there. If you have ones that are darn near turning black – those are the good stuff.
- Warm Milk – You want your milk about 110 degrees F. You want it to activate the yeast, but not be so warm as to kill it. If you don’t have a thermometer to use, think of milk in a babies bottle. It’s going to feel warm, but not hot.
- Active Dry Yeast – Yeast is the key to getting your rolls to rise, so make sure you check that expiration date. Expired yeast can leave you with deflated, dense cinnamon rolls.
- Butter – You’ll use both melted and softened butter. My go to is always unsalted butter, but if you have salted on hand I promise that will work just fine.
- Vanilla Extract – Go with pure extract whenever you can.
- Brown Sugar – I like to use dark brown sugar, but light will work.
- Spices – Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Ground Ginger – If you don’t have these all on hand, you can just increase your cinnamon to cover the nutmeg and ginger amounts.
- Heavy Cream – Or Heavy Whipping Cream.
- Cream Cheese – You’ll want the cream cheese that comes in the brick, not the tub. Full fat is really the way to go. Make sure it’s softened, otherwise it’s a pain to blend.
- Powdered Sugar – Also called Confectioners Sugar. Make sure to break up any lumps.
How To Make Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls
This is just a visual overview of how this recipe is made. For the actual recipe directions with full details, please see the recipe card below.
If you’ve never made cinnamon rolls before, it’s not hard, but it does takes some time. I’ll walk you through it step by step. My best advice is read the entire recipe down in the recipe card below, then plan your make, rise and bake time accordingly. As long as you do that, your Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls will turn out great!
Step 1: Combine warm milk, sugar and yeast.
Step 2: Once yeast is activated, add mashed banana, butter and vanilla.
Step 3: Using a dough hook attachment, begin mixing the ingredients while spooning in flour a little at a time, giving it time to incorporate.
Step 4: Once dough is smooth, transfer to a greased bowl, lightly cover and allow to rise until it doubles in size. About 60-90 minutes. Then punch down dough.
Step 5: Roll out onto a floured work surface. It should be around 18 x 14 inches.
Step 6: Spread softened butter over the dough, followed by mashed bananas, brown sugar and spices.
Step 7: Roll dough into a tight log. Measure out 12 rolls, trimming off the pieces. Cut or use unflavored dental floss to slice the rolls.
Step 8: Transfer to a greased 9×13 baking dish. Cover and allow to rise for 30-40 minutes.
Step 9: While oven preheats, pour heavy cream over unbaked cinnamon rolls. Then bake for 25-27 minutes.
Step 10: While rolls are baking prepare your frosting. Spread over rolls while they are still warm.
Christi’s Tips For Success!
Take Your Time – Great cinnamon rolls take time. If you try to rush them, or let them rise too long, your results will be less than ideal. Make these when you’ll be home for a few hours, not when you have somewhere else to be or something you need to get to.
Ripe Bananas – You really need to use ripe bananas. They are sweeter and creamier than bananas straight from the store. It makes a big difference in the final product.
Rise Time – I like to let these banana bread cinnamon rolls do their rising in my oven, with the oven OFF. This lets them rise in a draft free environment. I leave my oven light on which gives just a tiny bit of warmth which helps even more.
Cover Up – To cover while rising, I typically use a clean, lightweight tea towel or a piece of plastic wrap. If you use plastic wrap, you need to spray non-stick cooking spray on the side of it that will touch the dough. Otherwise the dough will likely stick to the wrap.
Messy But Worth It – Cutting can get messy and some filling may pop out. You can just spoon it over the top or the bottom so you still get all the delicious filling.
Measure Flour Correctly
For the best results, make sure to measure flour correctly using the following steps:
- Fluff the flour by giving it a stir. This will aerate it so that it’s not compacted.
- Using a spoon, spoon flour into a measuring cup until it’s overflowing. Do not scoop the flour with the measuring cup as this will compact it, giving you more than you need.
- Level the flour using a flat edge, such as a butter knife or spoon handle.
Following these steps helps to avoid adding too much flour to the recipe, which can result in dry and dense baked goods. If measuring by weight this should be in the 125-135 gram range. Get all my flour tips, tricks and info here!
Storage Tips
Make Ahead and Bake Fresh – If you want to bake these fresh in the morning, after slicing and placing into their baking pan, cover and refrigerate overnight. Let the rolls sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes before baking. You can make the frosting in advance and keep it in the fridge as well, just take it out with the cinnamon rolls so that it can soften up.
Storage – Cover leftover cinnamon rolls and refrigerate them for up to 4 days. With the cream cheese frosting, I feel the fridge is safer than storing them at room temp. Warm them in the microwave or allow them to come to room temperature for serving.
More Banana Bread Recipes
Can’t get enough banana bread? Yeah, me either. Here are some of my favorite banana bread recipes to try:
- All My Banana Bread Recipes
- Sour Cream Banana Bread (my most popular recipe!)
- Banana Nut Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
- Chocolate Banana Muffins
Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough Ingredients
- 3/4 cup warm milk (approximately 110 degrees F)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 1 large very ripe banana (mashed)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (measure by spooning and leveling)
Filling Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 large ripe bananas
- 1-2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (room temperature)
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
- 4 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1-2 tablespoons milk (as needed )
Instructions
- Heat the milk in the microwave until it reaches a temperature between 105°F-110°F. Pour it into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer and add the sugar. Stir to combine. Next, sprinkle in the active yeast so it coats the top of the milk. Leave for 5 minutes and let it become foamy.
- Once foamy, pour in the mashed banana, melted butter and vanilla. Gently stir to combine. Using the dough hook attachment, turn your mixer on low and slowly add spoonfuls of flour to the bowl. Once all the flour has been added, knead for approximately 6-7 minutes until dough is smooth.
- Grease a separate large bowl with oil or butter. Form your dough into a large ball and place it in the oiled bowl.
- Cover with a light towel and let it rise at room temperature for 1 to 1 ½ hours until it has doubled in size.
- Sprinkle flour over a clean surface, and place the dough onto it. Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape that’s about 18 x 14 inches. Spread the softened butter over the surface of the rolled-out dough. Mash 2 bananas, and spread that over the layer of butter.
- In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg then sprinkle it evenly over the mashed banana.
- Roll the dough into a log shape. Measure and slice 12 slices, trimming the extra off the edges of the log. You can use unflavored dental floss for a clean cut, or slice it with a sharp knife, cleaning it after each slice.
- Carefully transfer the slices into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Cover the pan with a towel, and allow it to rise for another 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Uncover the cinnamon rolls. Drizzle the heavy cream evenly over the top of the cinnamon rolls. Bake for 25-27 minutes, or until lightly golden and fluffy.
- While the rolls bake, make the cream cheese frosting. Combine cream cheese and butter until smooth. Then, mix in the powdered sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. You can add a tablespoon or two of milk to thin out the glaze if you’d like.
- While the cinnamon rolls are still warm, spread the cream cheese frosting over the top. Slice and serve while warm. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
