Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls with Peanut Butter Frosting

Warm aromatic spices, the natural sweetness of bananas, and decadent crowning glory of creamy peanut butter frosting make these Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls the ultimate way to use up those ripe bananas. Tender, moist, and completely irresistible. These are sure to become a new favorite.

There is a reason banana bread is such a comfort food. The combination of warm spices and sweet bananas is always a winning duo. Whether it's Banana Bread Pancakes or these fully loaded over the top cinnamon rolls, it's a full sensory experience. From the way it perfumes the entire kitchen to that first warm, tender bite it has the power to keep you coming back for more. These pillowy and tender cinnamon rolls will give you all the feels you love about traditional banana bread and so much more.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Accessible Ingredients - Not only do you have complete control of the ingredients, but this cinnamon roll recipe also requires common pantry staples like butter, flour, and sugar.
• Straightforward Process - While there are a few steps to making these banana bread cinnamon rolls, they're easy to follow. The hardest part is the inactive parts of this recipe as you eagerly anticipate that first bite.
• Versatility - This recipe can be made with regular flour and dairy, be made Gluten Free but with full dairy, or Dairy Free with regular AP flour. It fits whatever your personal dietary needs are.
• Meal Prep - Cinnamon rolls are a great make ahead for breakfast, brunch, or a sweet treat. They can be enjoyed at room temperature or heated up.

Ingredients

Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls with Peanut Butter Frosting are decadent yet comforting. Combining pantry staples with familiar flavors, this is a celebration of the classics while being completely new and exciting. Just be warned, it will be love at first bite and they will become a part of the regular rotation.

• Butter - Adds richness to the dough itself along with lending to its tender texture. It's also used for the brown sugar spice filling.
• Milk - Makes this cinnamon roll dough extra tender.
• Honey - Helps feed the yeast while giving the dough delicate sweetness.
• Sugar
• Spices - Cinnamon and allspice add warmth to the rolls themselves while cinnamon adds warmth to the brown sugar filling. I use Spiceology for the freshest spices with maximum flavor. You can receive 10% off your order with the code SALTY
• Warm Water - You want your water at around 110 degrees to activate your yeast.
• Kosher Salt
• Ripe Bananas - Gives sweetness to the dough while also keeping it moist.
• Flour
• Instant Active Yeast
• Brown Sugar
• Heavy Cream - This ingredient is optional but can be added if you want a Cinnabon style cinnamon roll. It helps caramelize the bottom of the rolls and make them extra puffy and decadent.
• Cream Cheese - Adds creaminess and tang to the peanut butter frosting.
• Powdered Sugar - Easily dissolves into the cream cheese and peanut butter.
• Vanilla Extract - The higher the quality the vanilla extract, the more pronounced the flavor.
• Peanut Butter - What goes better wit bananas than peanut butter? Adds natural sweetness and nuttiness to the creamy frosting.

How to Make Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls with Peanut Butter Frosting

If you've never made homemade cinnamon rolls before, the process is as rewarding as it is delicious. There's something magical about rolling out that pillowy soft yeast dough.

Variations

This recipe can be made with Gluten Free 1.1 baking flour such as Bob's Red Mill. It can also be made completely Dairy Free. This recipe can be made with regular all purpose flour and full dairy milk, butter, and cream cheese. Feel free to customize it to what fits your lifestyle and dietary needs the best.

Top It Off

Peanut butter and bananas are a classic pairing. However, you don't have to stick to using this recipe for peanut butter cream cheese frosting. You can swap it out for your favorite frosting. Here are a few ideas.

• Cream Cheese Frosting
• Nutella/Chocolate Hazelnut Frosting
• Vanilla Buttercream
• No Frosting
• Other Nut Butters

Storage for Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls are perfect for making ahead and then feasting on throughout the week. If you do not devour these the first day, keep them stored in an airtight container. If you add frosting, they should be refrigerated. They will last for up to five days.

To reheat your cinnamon rolls you can either microwave them or warm them up in the oven on a low setting between 275-300 for five minutes.

How to Make This Recipe Nut Free

With so many allergens and food sensitivities, I am always looking for ways to make my recipes accessible to everyone. If you or one of your friends or family have a tree nut allergy, the peanut butter in this recipe can be replaced with sunflower seed butter.

In addition to providing its own unique flavor that is a great swap for peanut butter, sunflower seed butter also offers up additional nutrients. It's rich in protein, vitamin E, fiber, zinc, and iron.

How to Measure Bananas

We’ve all made banana bread or seen recipes that call for half a cup or a cup of bananas. But how much do you actually need when it comes to measuring bananas themselves? When it comes to measuring bananas, a recipe can state whether it’s chopped, or mashed, as in most banana bread recipes. However, they both measure slightly different! Keep in mind that when adding bananas to a recipe more banana doesn’t equal more flavor. Instead, it could leave you with a dense or mushy finished product. Instead, you want to use the ripest bananas possible for the most intense banana flavor. 

Here is an easy guide to use the next time you need to measure out fresh banana for a recipe. 

• ½ banana: ⅓ cup chopped | ¼ cup mashed
• 1 banana: ⅔ cup chopped | ½ cup mashed
• 1-½ bananas: 1 cup chopped | ¾ cup mashed
• 2 bananas: 1-⅓ cups chopped | 1 cup mashed
• 3 bananas: 2 cups chopped | 1-½ cups mashed
• 4 bananas: 2-⅔ cups chopped | 2 cups mashed

Top Tip for Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls with Peanut Butter Frosting

When mixing your dough for these cinnamon rolls, use a paddle attachment on your mixer. This will allow all of the ingredients to come together while also incorporating a little air into the dough without over working it. This will give you that light and airy texture.

Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls with Peanut Butter Frosting

Pillowy soft banana bread cinnamon rolls are crowned with sweet and tangy peanut butter cream cheese frosting.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Rising Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 9

Equipment

• 1 mixing bowl/mixer with paddle attachment
• 1 saucepan
• 1 Rolling Pin
• 1 9x11 baking dish

Ingredients

Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls

• 6 tbsp butter
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tbsp honey
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp allspice
• ½ cup warm water, 110 degrees
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 pkg instant active yeast
• 1 cup ripe bananas, about 2 medium bananas
• 3 ½ cups flour, plus ½-1 cup for working the dough can use Gluten Free 1.1 flour

Filling and Topping

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
• 4 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 cup heavy cream, optional if you want a Cinnabon style cinnamon roll

Frosting

• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter

Instructions

Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls

• In a mixing bowl, add the water, honey, yeast, and half of the sugar and mix to combine. Let it sit for 5 minutes. It should begin to bubble.
• In a saucepan, add the milk, remaining sugar, and butter over medium heat. Let it scald, where bubbles begin to form on the outside but don't let it come to a boil. Remove from the heat and partially cool.
• In a mixing bowl with a fitted paddle, add the bananas and mix until smooth.
• With the mixer running add the yeast mixture to the bowl.
• While the mixer is still running add the milk mixture to the bowl.
• Mix the flour, salt and spices and add in ½ increments to the mixing bowl. Let it mix until adding the next. Once all of the flour has been added let it mix for an additional 3 minutes.
• Lightly flour your work surface and dough, The dough will be sticky.
• Work your dough by folding it over about 5 times, careful not to press out all of the air.
• Roll your dough out to about a 9x12" rectangle.
• Add the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a bowl and mix together. Spread out onto the dough.
• Roll the dough tightly and cut it into 9 rolls.
• Place the rolls into a 9x11 buttered baking dish.
• Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and a towel. Let it rise for an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Uncover the baking dish and pour the cream over the top if adding.
• Let your cinnamon rolls bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely.
• Add all of your ingredients for the frosting to a bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.
• Spread over the top of your cinnamon rolls.
• Enjoy!

Video

Notes

 

Flour

I use 1.1 Gluten Free Flour for baking. If all purpose gluten free flour is used, the dough tends to be a little more dense & sticky.

Not Gluten Free? All purpose flour can be used (if the dough is too sticky and not workable add an additional ½ cup of flour at a time.

*This dough is naturally sticky.  My full length video of the process is available in the recipe card.

*This recipe has not been tested with any other flours-if any other style flours are used this will affect the recipe.

 

The Dough feels to sticky

This dough is more sticky the traditional Cinnamon Rolls. If the dough is unworkable because of how sticky it is, add an additional ½ cup of flour to the mixing bowl and let the dough hook knead it for a couple of minutes.  You may need to add up to 1 cup of flour to your mixture. You should not need more than this but if you do, this will affect the rise (it will need to sit longer to rise properly).

 

Is the Dough is not rising?

Did the yeast activate? See the Photo attached in the details. It should be very foamy on top. If it doesn't activate, the dough will not rise.

Is the dough in a warm spot to rise? One of my favorite kitchen tools is a dough rising pad. The dough should be placed in a warmer spot, where there are no drafts.

Was the Dough overmixed?: The dough may have been overworked and tightened up.

Was the dough still a little sticky or was it dry? It should be sticky still when working the dough (see the instructional video in the recipe card)

 

Frosting Options

Cinnamon Roll frosting options are endless. One of my favorite options when in a time crunch is premade cake frosting. Pour it into a bowl and place in the microwave for 10 seconds, drizzle on top.

Another great easy recipe is a classic cinnamon roll glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tsp vanilla extract and 3 tbsp milk. Mix together until smooth and drizzle on top of baked cinnamon rolls.

 

Can I use a stand mixer?

Yes, I make all of my cinnamon rolls in a stand mixer. For the dough portion you will want to use a dough hook.

 

Can I double the recipe?

Yes you can. Just adjust the pan size, you'll need two pans.

 

 

 

 

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