These slow cooker hot cross bun cinnamon rolls are perfect for a super delicious, no fuss, set-it-and-forget it brunch recipe. I know it sounds like a mouthful, but I promise the flavors – and the super easy baking method – are totally worth it!
I love a good homemade bread – like this delicious cinnamon sugar pecan challah bread – but don’t always have the patience required to make it. The most amazing thing about these incredible cinnamon rolls is that the dough is super easy to make and there is no long rising time thanks to the low, slow heat from your slow cooker!
What ingredients do I need for slow cooker cinnamon rolls?
For the dough:
- Milk
- Yeast – Red Star Yeast is my absolute favorite!
- Sugar
- Egg
- Salted butter
- AP Flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
For the filling:
- Butter
- Cinnamon
- All spice
- Sugar
- Raisins
For the frosting:
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Milk
These cinnamon rolls are amped up a notch because they are actually a fun mixture of hot cross buns and traditional cinnamon rolls. And I knew that if I was making bread of any sort, I would have to include Red Star Yeast – their yeasts make the most incredible bread, it’s the only brand of yeast my family and I use.
Using a slow cooker to make a dough was a stroke of genius. Like I mentioned above, the low and slow heat does all of the rising for you and saves all of that waiting time. Plus, you can free up some oven space, making this slow cooker hot cross bun cinnamon roll recipe one that is great when you’re feeding a crowd. Personally, I love this recipe for brunch events like Easter or Mother’s Day.
With minimal prep and hands-on time (I shared a step-by-step photo above) the end result is spectacular – hot crossed bun cinnamon rolls. They’re soft and sweet and everything you want for brunch!
There you have it – an easy peasy bread recipe! I also have to say, that like always, Red Star yeast worked wonders – I especially love their Platinum Instant Yeast which I used in this recipe (I also tested it with regular Red Star Yeast and it worked great too).
Other recipes you might enjoy:
- Healthy Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole
- The Best Eggless Waffles Recipe
- Air Fryer Banana Cinnamon Roll Muffins
Slow Cooker Hot Cross Bun Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
Ingredients
For the dough:
- ½ cup milk warmed
- 1 packet Red Star Platinum Instant Yeast or 2 ¼ teaspoons Red Star Yeast
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter melted
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour plus ¼ cup for rolling
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
For the filling:
- 4 Tablespoons butter melted
- 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup raisins
For the frosting:
- 2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
To make the dough:
- Start by warming the milk (I simply heat mine in the microwave for 1 minute, you don’t want it hotter than 95 degrees). Add packet of yeast to the milk, stir once or twice and then let sit for 5-10 minutes until it is foamy.
- Pour milk and yeast mixture into a large mixing bowl and add in the sugar and egg and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
- Next add in the melted butter and stir, and then add in the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Stir until the dough comes together. It will be a slightly wet and sticky dough.
- Form dough into a ball and put it on a floured board or surface.
For the filling
- Make the filling while you let the dough ball hang out on the floured surface.
- To make the filling simply mix all the ingredients together and stir until combined.
- Now roll the dough out into a rectangle shape (mine is usually 12-14 inches long by 8 inches wide).
- Spread the filling onto the dough with a spatula, and then carefully-yet-tightly- roll the dough along the long side.
- Cut the dough into 8 pieces (I’ve found a pizza cutter works great for this.)
- Line your slow cooker with parchment paper and spray it with cooking spray.
- Gently place formed hot cross bun cinnamon rolls in the bottom of your slow cooker, leaving a little space in between them.
- Place a layer of paper towels under the lid (important step, you don’t want the condensation dripping onto your dough) and cover the slow cooker.
- Turn on high and cook for 2 hours.
- When the hot cross bun cinnamon rolls are done (they will be slightly brown around the edges) carefully remove the parchment paper from the slow cooker and set them on a board.
For the frosting
- Make the frosting by stirring all the ingredients in a bowl.
- Pour it over the hot cross bun cinnamon rolls. Gently break the cinnamon rolls apart and serve warm!
Notes
Nutrition
Looking for more bread recipe inspiration? Check out Red Star Yeast on facebook, pinterest, twitter and instagram.
This deliciousness is brought to you by Red Star Yeast, all opinions are as always my own, thank you for supporting the brands and products I love and that make the Sweetphi blog possible.
Jo says
I tried this with gluten free flour and it didn’t turn out. I’m not expert baker so I’ll take responsibility for my mistake lol with gluten free flour the dough was very dry and crumbly, it would not form a nice sticky ball. I think to correct this you might have to add an extra egg. I did throw it in the slow cooker 2hrs and eat it in spite of its dryness, the bread tastes good. I do believe Phi’s time estimations are quite off: it takes more like an hour to prep this.
Sweetphi says
Oh my goodness, that definitely sounds like something went wrong with the gluten free flour, sorry to hear it didn’t turn out for you. I’ve made this many times and have had readers make this with great results…but all with all-purpose flour, so I’m not sure what went wrong.
Tanya says
Do you think the dough (with filling) can be refrigerated or froze before putting in the slow cooker? I would love to make these for a camping breakfast but would want to prep them before we leave and make them Sunday a.m Thanks!
Sweetphi says
Yes, that would work well i think! I’d love to know how it turns out for you.
Shena says
Do you think this would work with gluten free flour?
Sweetphi says
I do think it would work with gluten free flour 🙂
Sarah says
These look perfect! Love your technique in the slow cooker 🙂 I have to confess I’ve never made hot crossed buns or cinnamon rolls… maybe this will be my first foray!
Sweetphi says
Wait…hold the phone…you’ve never made hot crossed buns or cinnamon rolls ?!? Girl, you MUST try them, homemade is so incredible! And this method of the slow cooker is totally the way to go because it doesn’t involve any crazy long rise time or kneading, it’s super easy and the end result is amazing!
shawnna griffin says
hey girl these look oh so yummy! Happy Easter! My husband and I will be going to church and I ‘m not sure what else we’ll be doing!
Sweetphi says
Happy Easter to you too! Your Easter Sunday sounds lovely! And I’m so glad you think these look yummy, I’m totally including them on my Easter menu 🙂
Little Cooking Tips says
Those are amazing Phi! We’ll bake them in the oven, as we don’t have a slow cooker, and we bet they’ll taste fantastic! We actually never used homemade dough for similar rolls, and this recipe is a great incentive to start making it at home:)
Thank you for the amazing idea dear!
xoxoxo
Sweetphi says
You’re so welcome for the recipe, and thank you for your lovely comment! While dough can totally be overwhelming to make, this one was super simple and the flavors were SO good 🙂
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
Hot cross buns and cinnamon rolls? And done in a slow cooker? You are a genius! I haven’t had a hot cross bun yet this year, but I can’t wait.
Sweetphi says
Awe thank you so much, your comment totally made my day! These hot cross buns mixed with cinnamon rolls were seriously SO delish, and they reminded me of Easter (during which hot crossed buns and baked goods are mandatory, right? 😉 )