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Made with sweet Hawaiian dinner rolls, a buttery brown-sugar filling, and a tangy cream cheese frosting, these easy Hawaiian roll cinnamon rolls are the quickest way to get a special breakfast on the table!
Hawaiian rolls are a big hit with my family. There’s just something about the slight sweetness of those perfectly soft rolls, ya know?
We usually turn them into sliders, whether it’s ham and cheese sliders, buffalo chicken sliders, or breakfast sliders. But we also love just enjoying them alongside a bowl of chicken and wild rice soup or with ritz cracker chicken.
But did you ever think about turning them into cinnamon rolls??
These Hawaiian roll cinnamon rolls are my newest easy sweet-roll obsession. I think you’re gonna love ’em, too.
What are Hawaiian roll cinnamon rolls?
If you’ve been around her for a while, you know that we love easy sweet roll recipes around here.
Puff pastry cinnamon rolls, cinnamon rolls with heavy cream, and easy monkey bread are all big favorites for us. But these Hawaiian roll cinnamon rolls might be the easiest sweet-roll recipe yet.
A package of Hawaiian rolls gets sliced in half, spread with a buttery brown-sugar-and-cinnamon mixture, and baked until golden. The whole thing gets finished with tangy cream cheese frosting for a perfect finish.
Then all you have to do is tear or slice the rolls apart and you get all of the flavor of the cinnamon rolls you love, but they’re done in less than 40 minutes.
When Stephie tested these, her husband—who doesn’t even really like sweets—couldn’t stop eating them. That says a whole lot to me!
How to make these easy Hawaiian roll cinnamon rolls
Ready to see just how quick and easy this recipe is??
Ingredients you’ll need
For the cinnamon rolls themselves, you will need:
- 1 (12-count) package Hawaiian sweet rolls
- 8 tablespoons room-temperature unsalted butter
- ½ cup lightly packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
This recipe uses a 12-pack of Hawaiian sweet rolls (the dinner rolls, not the slider buns). But you can easily double it to use a 24-pack if you’re feeding a crowd!
Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature. If you forget to set it out early, you can check out my post on how to soften butter quickly.
Brown sugar is a must for the rich flavor of these sweet rolls! Learn how to make brown sugar if you are out, and learn how to soften brown sugar if yours hardened in the pantry.
I like topping these rolls with a tangy cream cheese frosting. For that, you will need:
- 2 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Don’t stress if you’re out of powdered sugar. You can make a simple powdered sugar substitute to use instead.
Making these sweet rolls
To get started, grab a large serrated knife and slice the rolls in half horizontally, like you would a bagel.
In a bowl, mix together the softened butter with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Once that is well combined, spread about 3/4 of the mixture over the cut-side of the bottom half of the rolls.
Place the top half of the rolls over the butter mixture, then spread the rest of the cinnamon butter mixture on top.
Pop the whole thing into a greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes; the butter will be melted and the tops will be deeply golden.
Let the rolls cool for about 5 minutes while you make the frosting.
Using a mixer, beat the frosting ingredients until smooth. Spread the frosting over the warm rolls, slice, and enjoy!
Recipe variations
Just because these Hawaiian roll cinnamon rolls are so easy doesn’t mean there aren’t ways you can change them up.
If you aren’t big on cream cheese frosting, try topping them with the powdered sugar glaze from my overnight cinnamon rolls.
Just because they’re cinnamon rolls doesn’t mean cinnamon is the only spice you can use in the butter mixture. Try swapping the cinnamon out for pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice, or even chai spice mix.
Try adding some nuts to the filling! Chopped walnuts or pecans sprinkled over the butter mixture in the middle of the rolls would be totally delicious.
Obviously one of the great things about this recipe is that you can use store-bought Hawaiian rolls, making it super quick and easy breakfast. But you can always go fancy and use homemade Hawaiian rolls instead!
Make-ahead, storage, and reheating
If you want to make your breakfast prep even easier, prepare the rolls the night before. Once they’re assembled, cover the pan with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next morning, bake as directed.
Store leftover rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. You can also wrap individual rolls in plastic wrap and store them in a zip-top freezer bag in the freezer for up to a month.
I like to warm leftover rolls in the microwave for 30 seconds or thaw frozen rolls for 30-60 seconds before enjoying.
Easy Hawaiian Roll Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the rolls:
- 1 package Hawaiian sweet rolls 12 count
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup lightly packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the frosting:
- 2 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Carefully slice the rolls in half horizontally, keeping tops and bottoms connected.1 package Hawaiian sweet rolls
- Stir together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl until well combined and set aside. Spread bottom half of buns with 3/4 of butter mixture and place top halves on top. Place rolls in the prepared baking dish; spread remaining butter mixture on top.8 tablespoons unsalted butter, ½ cup lightly packed light or dark brown sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Place the pan on a cooling rack and allow the rolls to cool for about 5 minutes before preparing the frosting.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Spread icing over warm rolls.2 ounces cream cheese, 1 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, Pinch of salt
Notes
- This recipe can easily be doubled to use a 24-pack of Hawaiian rolls.
- If you prefer a powdered sugar glaze instead of cream cheese frosting, use the frosting from my overnight cinnamon rolls recipe.
- Recipe adapted from allrecipes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
