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These Bacon Cinnamon Rolls are the best cinnamon roll recipe! They are fluffy cinnamon buns with crispy bacon and tons of maple flavor in every bite. We love the maple bacon combination – these are EPIC.

maple bacon cinnamon roll iced with white icing and sprinkled with bacon in a white dish.


Homemade Bacon Cinnamon Rolls

These golden brown cinnamon rolls with suit anyones needs! Bacon in any dessert recipe is so fun because it brings in a savory and salty element, which is such a great combo. I first had maple and bacon together when I tried a doughnut while traveling in Portland and I became obsessed.

My Maple bacon cinnamon rolls use active dry yeast and you can even make them ahead – prep them the day before and let them rise overnight in the refrigerator. They’re the perfect breakfast or brunch – they even have a maple cream cheese frosting!

ingredients in bacon cinnamon rolls laid out on a marble countertop.

Ingredients Needed

  • Active Dry Yeast: Make sure you pay attention to what yeast you buy. This recipe is written with active dry, not instant yeast.
  • Warm Milk: I use this instead of water for a richer dough. Same goes with the egg!
  • Bacon: The heart of the filling – make sure to crisp it up and let it cool.
  • Brown Sugar: Remember to always pack your sugar when measuring.
  • Pure Maple Syrup: This is not cheap pancake syrup – buy the real thing.
  • Maple Extract: Adds TONS of maple flavor and should not be skipped.

How to make Cinnamon Roll Dough

  • Heat milk to between 100-110°F, approximately 30-40 seconds in the microwave. Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar to the warm milk and let it sit until it starts to foam.
  • Using the paddle attachment, mix the butter, remaining sugar, salt, and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the yeast mixture and stir.
  • Switch to the dough hook. Add the flour slowly. Start with one cup and then add the rest. The dough will be sticky, but not so much that you can’t handle it.
  • Once dough comes together, spray a large bowl with cooking spray, place the dough inside the greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.

How to make Bacon Cinnamon Rolls

  • Slice strips of bacon into small pieces. Cook bacon until crispy. Set aside to drain and cool. Stir together brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
  • Once the dough is ready, roll it into a rectangle. Brush the rectangle with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture, then sprinkle with bacon.
  • Roll the dough tightly.
  • Slice in half with a sharp knife, then each half in thirds to make 12 rolls.
  • Place in a 9×13-inch baking pan that’s been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Let the rolls rise for 1 hour in a warm place. If you are eating them right away, proceed to baking.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake about 2-25 minutes, or until golden.
  • While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make the maple frosting: Beat together butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar. Mix in maple syrup and both extracts until smooth. Spread on warm cinnamon rolls.
maple bacon cinnamon roll iced with white icing and sprinkled with bacon in a white dish.

Expert Tips

  • I recommend using a stand mixer if you have one because it makes life so much easier. If you do the recipe by hand you’ll need to knead the dough for several minutes on a flour dusted surface.
  • Get an instant read thermometer to test your milk temperature so you know it’s the proper temperature to activate the yeast.
  • Instead of baking right away, you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight until you are ready to eat. Remove from the refrigerator and let sit on the stove while it is preheating, then bake.

FAQs

Can you make these ahead of time?

Yes you can! If you are making them ahead of time, cover them with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge!

Can you freeze these cinnamon rolls?

Yes you can! Store them in an airtight container in the freezer!

maple bacon cinnamon roll iced with white icing and sprinkled with bacon in a white dish.

Bacon Maple Cinnamon Rolls

5 from 3 votes
The perfect weekend breakfast: Bacon Maple Cinnamon Rolls! A wonderful buttery cinnamon roll dough filled with maple brown sugar and bacon filling, and topped with a maple glaze!
Total Time 4 hours
Yield 12 rolls
Serving Size 1 serving

Ingredients
 

For the Dough:

  • 1 packet (7g) active dry yeast
  • ¾ cup (177ml) warm milk
  • cup (67g) granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 cups (372g) all purpose flour

For the Filling:

  • 1 pound bacon
  • 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter , melted
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • ¾ cup (150g) packed brown sugar

For the Frosting:

  • 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter , softened
  • 4 ounces (113g) cream cheese , softened
  • 2 cups (226g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) pure maple syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon maple extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Instructions

  • Heat milk to between 100-110°F, approximately 30-40 seconds in the microwave. Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar to the warm milk and let it sit for five minutes, until it starts to foam. (Just take the teaspoon of sugar from the ⅓ cup called for.)
  • Using the paddle attachment, mix the butter, remaining sugar, salt, and eggs in the bowl of a mixer. Add the yeast/milk mixture and stir.
  • Switch to the dough hook. Add the flour slowly. Start with one cup and then add the rest. The dough will be sticky, but not so much that you can’t handle it.
  • Once dough comes together, spray a large bowl with cooking spray, place the dough inside and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
  • While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Dice the raw bacon. Place in a medium sized frying pan and cook about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned or until it’s the doneness you prefer. Transfer to a plate covered with paper towels to drain.
  • Stir together brown sugar and cinnamon.
  • Once the dough is ready, roll it into a rectangle (about 10×14 inches). You may need to use a little flour when rolling, that’s okay. Brush the rectangle with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture, then sprinkle with bacon. Roll the dough tightly. Slice in half, then each half in thirds to make 12 rolls. Place in a 9×13-inch baking dish that's been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Let the rolls rise for 1 hour at room temperature. If you are eating them right away, proceed to baking. Or, you can then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight until you are ready to eat. Remove from the refrigerator and let sit on the stove while it is preheating, then bake.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake about 2-25 minutes, or until golden.
  • While the rolls are baking, make the frosting. Beat together butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar. Mix in maple syrup and both extracts until smooth. Spread on warm cinnamon rolls. Sprinkle with extra bacon, if desired.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

  • You can mix by hand but then you’ll need to knead the dough for about 5-8 minutes on a floured surface before letting rise for the first time.
  • It’s helpful to have an instant read thermometer to test your milk temperature so it’s warm enough to activate the yeast but not too hot.
  • Make these ahead of time and cover with plastic wrap. Store in refrigerator up to overnight to bake in the morning (allow to come to room temperature first).
  • You can freeze unbaked cinnamon rolls or freeze leftovers.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 321kcal
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American

Other Cinnamon Roll Recipes

Last Updated on December 11, 2023



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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111 Comments

  1. Bacon cinnamon rolls: Excellent bun/dough taste. However, I put in lots of extra bacon (cooked smaller pieces) and even put some on top and it was just a faint flavor of bacon. I would change it up next time and cook strips of bacon and lay them across the dough once it is rolled out and roll the bacon right into the bun in strips.

    1. Update from what I posted yesterday: Really amazing recipe. I subbed half of the all purpose flour for whole wheat white and used 2 less pieces of bacon. I made them last night and covered them with plastic wrap in the fridge. Didn’t really have time to let them come to room temp this morning but they baked up just fine. I just set them on top of the warm oven while it heated up. They tasted….Oh wow…. so fluffy and light and flavorful. The salty bacon with the sweet maple frosting is a dream. My husband who doesn’t even like bacon ate 3 for breakfast! He told me to cut the bacon down for next time and double the amount of frosting LOL. Thank you so much for making our breakfast special 🙂

      1. Yay! Thank you for letting me know. And I like the way your husband thinks – more frosting every time!!! 🙂