Let Them Eat Gluten Free Cake

menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • GF Flour Blend Recipes
  • Subscribe

subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • GF Flour Blend Recipes
  • Subscribe

×
Home » Recipes » Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes

Gluten Free Orange Rolls

Published: Oct 27, 2023 · Modified: Oct 13, 2024 by Kim · This post may contain affiliate links · 20 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

These soft and fluffy Gluten Free Orange Rolls are filled with a wonderful orange cinnamon filling and topped with a simple orange glaze. They're a great addition to any breakfast menu or brunch!

baking pan full of six large orange rolls

Gluten Free Orange Rolls were originally posted on May 5, 2021 and have been updated with a completely different filling, icing, new pictures, and a new video.

Some of the items linked in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission.

I'm a BIG fan of cinnamon rolls! My ultimate gluten free cinnamon rolls are so good, you won't even know you're eating gluten free. Thousands of you around the world have made them often because they are that good.

But why leave all the rolled up fun to cinnamon? There are other flavors that long to be included in one of the best breakfast treats all over the world. And orange is one of them. So I changed up my gluten free sweet rolls to make them full of orange AND cinnamon flavor. Man, are they amazing!!

What You'll Need to Make Gluten Free Orange Rolls

Orange rolls are made the very same way as cinnamon rolls with just a different filling and frosting. Once you have the magical dough in your fridge, you can put these rolls together in a matter of minutes. Here's what you'll need:

ingredients for orange icing labeled and measured.
  • Gluten Free Sweet Dough--I've written this recipe for only using a half recipe of my miracle sweet dough because it makes a decent amount of rolls. If you already have some of this in your fridge, then you're all set. Or if you want to make a whole recipe of dough, use the recipe listed on my cinnamon rolls page and then just divide it in half and only use half for these rolls.
  • Butter--for the filling (and a little bit for the icing).
  • Cinnamon--I originally made these rolls without any cinnamon and I found they lacked something. When I added cinnamon and brown sugar to the filling, they reminded me so much of those old Pillsbury orange rolls that we would get in a can.
  • Cream cheese--there's just a bit of cream cheese in the icing that makes it extra creamy without being overly indulgent.
  • Heavy cream--(not shown above). This is optional, but as with the rest of the world, I jumped on the bandwagon and tried pouring hot cream over the rolls before baking and, yes, the rest of the world is right. It really does make a difference in the gooeyness of the rolls.
  • Orange juice and orange zest--using both the orange juice and the zest offers really bright orange flavor to the rolls.

Here's How to Make Orange Cinnamon Rolls

  1. Make the sweet dough. Combine all ingredients for dough in bowl of a stand mixer and knead for 5 minutes on medium high. Scrape into the center of the bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled in size. Refrigerate overnight.
  2. Make the filling. Combine butter, brown sugar, orange zest, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat until spreadable.
  3. Assemble the rolls. Knead the sweet dough and roll out into a large rectangle. Spread with filling and tightly roll up. Cut roll in half and place on a baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes (optional, but really helps to maintain the shape of the rolls). Cut rolls into desired thickness (1 inch thick for a total of 16 small rolls, 2 inches thick for 8 large rolls). Place in greased 9 by 13-inch baking pan, cover, and let rise until nearly doubled in size.
  4. Bake rolls. If desired, pour hot cream over rolls in pan. Bake rolls at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes for smaller rolls, 30-35 minutes for larger rolls.
  5. Make icing. Whisk cream cheese, butter, salt, orange zest, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and orange juice in small bowl until smooth.
  6. Spread icing on rolls. As soon as rolls come out of the oven, spread half of the icing over the rolls. This little bit of icing will seep into the rolls, keeping them soft and moist. Spread the rest of the icing on each roll and serve.
beating orange cinnamon filling in medium bowl with handheld mixer.
rolling up sweet dough spread with orange filling.
log of orange rolls cut in half and placed on parchment-lined baking sheet.
cutting semi-frozen logs of rolls in small pieces and placed in glass baking dish.
pouring hot cream over risen orange rolls ready for oven.
whisking orange icing in small glass bowl.
spreading warm rolls with a small amount of icing using silicone spatula.
using offset spatula to spread remaining orange icing on top of rolls.

Orange Rolls FAQs

Can orange rolls be frozen?

Yes, they can be frozen before or after baking. To freeze before, arrange shaped rolls in baking pan and cover with a layer of plastic wrap and also a layer of foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in fridge overnight and then remove from fridge, let proof, and bake as per recipe instructions. If freezing after baking, wrap individually and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in fridge or microwave at 30-second intervals until soft and warm.

Are these orange rolls like the Pillsbury ones from a can?

Yes, they are JUST like those, but with fresher and better ingredients (and more icing!).

Can I leave out the cinnamon and make these rolls with just the orange filling?

You can certainly leave it out and just make orange rolls, although the cinnamon and orange together are a match made in heaven.

unraveling a gluten free orange roll

more gluten free sweet dough recipes

  • Ultimate Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls
  • Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread
  • Fluffy Gluten Free Yeast Donuts
  • The Ultimate Overnight Gluten Free Monkey Bread
  • Gluten Free German Stollen
  • Gluten Free Cinnamon Knots
  • Gluten Free Beignets
  • Bakery Style Gluten Free Apple Fritters
  • Gluten Free Mexican Conchas
  • Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns
  • Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Wreath
  • Gluten Free Panettone Babka (Panebabka)
  • Gluten Free 'Ohana Pineapple Bread (A Disney Copycat Recipe)
  • Gluten Free Brioche au Chocolat (Chocolate Custard Rolls)
  • Air Fried Gluten Free Yeast Donuts
  • Gluten Free Chocolate Babka
  • Gluten Free Kolaches
unraveling one orange roll on a white plate.

Give your taste buds a citrusy zip with these Gluten Free Orange Rolls. The citrusy rolls are perfect for fall!

baking pan full of gluten free orange rolls with slice of orange alongside.

Gluten Free Orange Rolls

Kim
These soft and fluffy gluten free orange rolls are filled with a wonderful orange cinnamon filling and topped with a simple orange glaze. They're a wonderful addition to any breakfast menu!
3.80 from 5 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Chilling and Proofing Time 10 hours hrs
Total Time 10 hours hrs 40 minutes mins
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 8 large or 16 small rolls

Ingredients
 

  • 1 recipe Gluten Free Sweet Dough, recipe follows

Cinnamon Orange Filling

  • 1 cup (200g) light brown sugar
  • ½ cup (113g) butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Orange Icing

  • 4 oz (113g) cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tbsp (28g) butter, softened
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon orange zest
  • 1¼ cups (156g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp (28ml) fresh orange juice, from zested orange

Gluten Free Sweet Dough

  • 1¾ cups (245g) Kim's gluten free bread flour blend
  • ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tbsp plus ¾ teaspoon (12g) instant yeast
  • 1 tbsp (5g) whole psyllium husks (or 1½ teaspoon psyllium husk powder)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup (180ml) whole milk
  • 6 tbsp (85g) butter, very soft
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature

Optional for Baking

  • ¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream, heated in microwave for 30 seconds (optional)
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions
 

Make the Dough

  • Combine all ingredients for dough in the bowl of a stand mixer and knead on medium to medium high for 5 minutes. Scrape dough into center of bowl, cover, and allow to proof until doubled in size, 2-3 hours. Refrigerate at least 6-8 hours, preferably overnight.

Make Filling

  • Combine all filling ingredients in a medium bowl and beat until a spreadable consistency. Set aside.

Assemble Rolls

  • Knead dough on lightly floured surface. Roll out into a ¼-½ inch thick (approximate 12 by 16-inch) rectangle. Spread filling over the dough, leaving a ½-inch border along the bottom edge. Roll up the dough from the long side, as tightly as possible, into a long cylinder. (If it's getting too warm, cut the log in half crosswise and freeze for 10-15 minutes). For smaller rolls, cut 16 1-inch thick rolls. For larger rolls, cut 8 3-inch thick rolls.
  • Place in a greased 9 by 13-inch baking pan with a little bit of room between each.
  • Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to proof until doubled in size, 30 minutes to an hour, depending on your ambient temperature. Towards the end of the proofing time, preheat the oven to 350° F.

Bake the Rolls

  • Before baking, if desired, pour ¼ cup (60ml) of heavy cream over the risen rolls. This will make for more gooey rolls. It is optional, but really does work.
  • Bake rolls for 25-30 minutes for smaller rolls, 35-40 minutes for larger rolls.

Make the Icing

  • While the rolls are baking, whisk all icing ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.

Ice Orange Rolls and Serve

  • Immediately upon removing from the oven, spread half of the icing over the rolls and allow it to seep into each roll. After 10-15 minutes, spread the rest of the icing over the rolls and serve.

Notes

These rolls can be made ahead of time and refrigerated to the point right before baking.  Make them the night before, allow them to fully proof, and then place the pan in the fridge until the morning.  Preheat the oven and pull them straight from the fridge and into the oven.  They may take 5 minutes longer to bake if they're coming from the fridge.  
***The rolls can also be frozen before baking.  Make sure the pan is well wrapped with one layer of plastic wrap and a layer of foil.  The night before you're ready to bake them, remove them from the freezer and place them into the fridge.  The next morning, remove the rolls from the fridge, allow them to proof, and bake as directed above.    
****Baked rolls can also be frozen.  I would not suggest keeping baked rolls in the fridge, however, as the fridge is very drying and will likely dry them out.  They can be kept on the counter, covered, and microwaved for 15-20 seconds to refresh and warm up.  
Keyword Gluten Free, orange cinnamon, orange rolls
Tried this recipe?Tag @letthemeatglutenfreecake on Instagram so we can see!

More Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes

  • chocolate glazed and sprinkled donuts and vanilla glazed donuts on wire rack over baking sheet.
    Gluten Free Cake Donuts
  • split english muffin on flowered plate with whole english muffins in the background.
    Sourdough English Muffins Recipe (Gluten Free)
  • two cheese scones stacked one on top of the other.
    Gluten Free Cheese Scones
  • sliced cinnamon swirl quick bread with seafoam green towel alongside.
    Gluten Free Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Comments

  1. Pamela says

    November 16, 2024 at 5:01 pm

    I made these last year and they were a huge hit! Your recipes are now a staple of my holiday baking. Your pie crust is spectacular. People never suspect it is gf.

    I've been reading around in the comments and I can't find the answer. How long can I keep the prepared sweet dough in the fridge before I use it? As in, make it, let it double, then stick it in the fridge at least 6 hours, but is there a maximum? Can it be frozen?

    Thank you for sharing all these amazing recipes.

    Reply
    • Kim says

      November 17, 2024 at 6:24 am

      That's so awesome, Pamela!

      I think I put it in the post somewhere, but maybe not in this particular one. It's about 3 days that it will keep in the fridge. I wouldn't go beyond 3 days just because of the eggs in the dough. It can also be frozen with great results. Just wrap it in plastic wrap and then in a ziploc bag or something similar. I also like to shape my rolls, put them in my pan, cover them with a double layer of plastic wrap, and then freeze. When I'm ready to bake, I remove them from the freezer and let them thaw and proof right on the counter (it'll take longer of course than a normal proofing session), then bake!

      Reply
  2. Maria says

    October 02, 2024 at 11:48 am

    Hi Kim! I can't wait to try this! I noticed that you use the same amount of psyllium husk powder in this recipe and your ultimate gf cinnamon roll recipe even though the amount of flour is different.
    Can you explain to me the difference and why you used the same amount?
    Sorry I am trying to understand more about the effects of adding psyllium husk to gluten free baking.
    Thank you so much!!!

    Reply
    • Kim says

      October 05, 2024 at 8:36 am

      Hi, Maria!

      I'm not sure I'm understanding. I've looked at both recipes and the orange rolls recipe is half the cinnamon rolls recipe. The psyllium husks called for in the orange rolls is 1 tbsp whereas the cinnamon rolls recipe uses 2 tbsp. Is that not what you see?

      Reply
  3. Beth Ptaszynski says

    March 30, 2024 at 6:48 pm

    Hello!

    When looking at your cinnamon roll recipe and your orange roll recipe the measurements are different for the dough. They both say they make the same number of rolls. Was there a mistake? Orange roll recipe says: 1¾ cups (245g) Kim's gluten free bread flour blend
    ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar

    Cinnamon Roll recipe says: 3½ cups (490 g) Kim's gluten free bread flour blend
    1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

    Did you mean to double the orange recipe flour and sugar??

    Reply
    • Kim says

      March 31, 2024 at 6:12 am

      I actually made the orange rolls with 1/2 the recipe of dough as the cinnamon rolls. However, I should change the servings amount for the cinnamon rolls to double if you use the entire batch of dough. It's hard to say how many servings you'll get because it depends on how large you roll and cut the dough. But I will correct that on my cinnamon roll recipe. Thanks for alerting me to that!

      Reply
  4. Allison says

    March 30, 2024 at 8:41 am

    Kim, you are a gluten free goddess! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes! I’ve been gf for over 4 years now and have been missing so much! My husband and I LOVED these orange rolls. We used to eat the canned ones when we were first married and these hit the mark! Your recipes are consistently amazing and I’m so thankful I found your site!

    Reply
    • Kim says

      March 31, 2024 at 6:20 am

      Awe, thank you so much, Allison!!! I'm so glad you and your husband enjoyed them and that they reminded you of those canned rolls we used to get 🥰🥰🥰

      Reply
  5. Christina Arias says

    February 23, 2024 at 1:41 pm

    Hello, I've been making the old recipe since 2021 and they are my absolute favorite!
    I was wondering if you could post the old recipe with the new one? Don't really care for cinnamon and this was the best option. Thank you Kim you are truly a Gluten free lifesaver!

    Reply
    • Kim says

      February 23, 2024 at 4:31 pm

      Hi, Christina! The old recipe is the very same dough, but this is where I got the filling and frosting ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZvehXufcyE

      Reply
  6. Kate says

    December 26, 2023 at 12:23 am

    I goofed. I used my LTEGFC all purpose flour instead of the flour blend. Realized it after mixing everything together. I decided to go ahead anyways. I have to say these were the most soft,tender rolls I have ever made. I have made before using the correct bread flour blend. Obviously good,but my mistake was more tender. I will try again and see if it was a fluke or if my new norm will be using the wrong blend.

    Reply
  7. Teri says

    November 03, 2023 at 8:42 pm

    I think the recipe will make a great gluten-free cinnamon roll. However, I am a novice baker, and I followed this recipe to the tea in my dough never proofed. I found out afterwards that whenever yeast is activated, the water or the milk needs to be warmed I did not see that in your instructions, and while delicious it never puffed out..

    Reply
    • Kim says

      November 21, 2023 at 7:16 pm

      Not all yeast requires pre-activation in warm milk or liquid. That's why I use instant yeast. I can be added directly to the dry ingredients without the need for activating it first in warm liquid. Your dough will proof if you 1) use the proper flour blend and 2) allow it enough time to proof (even if that takes hours, sometimes several hours.

      Reply
    • Erica says

      January 25, 2024 at 6:22 am

      I’ve been gluten free baking for almost 11 years…this was disaster. I measured everything out perfectly with a scale. Followed directions to a T. I wish I could show you a picture of what happened to my dough when I went to roll it. It is the stickiest dough I’ve ever worked with. The recipe says a sprinkling of flour…I had to use about a cup.

      Reply
      • Kim says

        January 25, 2024 at 6:52 am

        I'm guessing the problem was somewhere within the flour blend. I've made the dough for these rolls at least a hundred times (or more) and it's never too sticky to roll out. I use a superfine or ultrafine white rice flour, which is I think what causes most people to have problems with my recipes (not using the right ingredients in the flour blend).

  8. Mary Quattrone says

    October 27, 2023 at 6:09 pm

    Kim, can you use xanthum gum instead of psyllium husk

    Reply
    • Mary Quattrone says

      November 04, 2023 at 7:53 am

      Can you use xanthum gum instead of psyllium husk for this recipe

      Reply
      • Kim says

        November 21, 2023 at 7:13 pm

        You have to use xanthan gum in the bread flour blend, but you do not have to use psyllium husk at all. If you don't want to use the psyllium husks, just decrease the milk by 1/4 cup or 60ml. The dough might be a little stickier to work with, but it will still roll out and be able to be shaped. Use lots of extra flour as necessary.

  9. Teresa Halldorson says

    October 03, 2022 at 5:27 pm

    Hi Kim, Have you done any experimenting with Sour Dough and or a Sour Dough Starter? I would love to hear about that and how it went and if your making any sour dough breads yet from the starter?

    Reply
    • Kim says

      October 06, 2022 at 4:43 am

      I have, and there is a recipe right on the blog for it, too! Here is the link: https://www.letthemeatgfcake.com/gluten-free-artisan-sourdough-bread/

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




profile picture of me and Scott.

Hey there, I'm Kim!

I won't let a celiac diagnosis stop me from enjoying my passion for baking and cooking, so stick with me and I'll show you how to make the BEST EVER gluten-free renditions of the food we used to know and love 🤗

More about me

Trending

  • landscape view of gluten free sourdough bread on white countertop with green tea towel.
    Best Ever Gluten Free Sourdough Bread
  • gluten free focaccia bread
    Gluten Free Focaccia Bread
  • landscape view of mason jar filled with active gluten free sourdough starter.
    Easy Gluten Free Sourdough Starter
  • landscape view of classic chicken salad on a bed of lettuce in a white bowl with red grapes and crackers alongside.
    Classic Chicken Salad

Gluten free seafood recipes

  • landscape view of crab cakes on white plate with green beans and remoulade sauce.
    Best Ever Gluten Free Crab Cakes
  • landscape view of lemon butter shrimp in large white bowl with hunks of bread alongside
    Amazing Grilled Lemon Butter Shrimp
  • landscape view of Old Bay rimmed bowl of she crab soup on white linen with navy blue cloth napkin on the side and glass bottle of sherry in the background.
    Gluten Free She Crab Soup
  • lobster rolls on white platter surrounded by lemon wedges.
    Homemade Gluten Free Lobster Rolls

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

Copyright © 2025 Let Them Eat GF Cake, Inc.