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!
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.
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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:
- 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- Cinnamon--I originally made these rolls without any cinnamon and I found they lacked something.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
- 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.
- Make the filling. Combine butter, brown sugar, orange zest, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat until spreadable.
- 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.
- 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.
- Make icing. Whisk cream cheese, butter, salt, orange zest, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and orange juice in small bowl until smooth.
- 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.
Orange Rolls FAQs
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.
Yes, they are JUST like those, but with fresher and better ingredients (and more icing!).
You can certainly leave it out and just make orange rolls, although the cinnamon and orange together are a match made in heaven.
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
Give your taste buds a citrusy zip with these Gluten Free Orange Rolls. The citrusy rolls are perfect for fall!
Gluten Free Orange 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)
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.
Pamela says
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.
Kim says
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!
Maria says
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!!!
Kim says
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?
Beth Ptaszynski says
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??
Kim says
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!
Allison says
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!
Kim says
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 🥰🥰🥰
Christina Arias says
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!
Kim says
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
Kate says
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.
Teri says
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..
Kim says
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.
Erica says
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.
Kim says
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).
Mary Quattrone says
Kim, can you use xanthum gum instead of psyllium husk
Mary Quattrone says
Can you use xanthum gum instead of psyllium husk for this recipe
Kim says
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.
Teresa Halldorson says
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?
Kim says
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/