Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

Very soft and light with no extra steps needed (no tangzhong!) these blueberry cinnamon rolls are filled with a fresh blueberry jam, brown sugar, and cinnamon. They're a step up from standard cinnamon rolls for real blueberry lovers.

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Ingredients You'll Need and Why

This recipe uses typical cinnamon roll ingredients, plus blueberries and orange. These are my notes from recipe testing. You can find the full recipe card below with complete measurements and instructions.

• Flour: we recommend all-purpose flour for cinnamon rolls rather than bread flour, which tends to make them more chewy and less soft.
• Starch: a little starch in the dough makes it softer without sacrificing structure. The same corn starch in the blueberry filling thickens it.
• Milk: use whole milk for the best results, or even half-and-half or a mix of whipping cream and milk for a richer dough. For a dairy-free option, the best choice is unsweetened soy milk.
• Sugar: granulated sugar sweetens the dough and the blueberry filling. You're not using much, but keep in mind that sugar acts as liquid in baking, and reducing it in the dough will make it dry and dense.
• Brown sugar: use light or dark brown sugar.
• Eggs: large eggs, at room temperature. North American large eggs are 57 grams. To quickly bring cold eggs to room temperature, submerge in a bowl of warm water 10 minutes before use.
• Butter: salted or unsalted, it doesn't make much of a difference for this recipe. If using unsalted, add an extra pinch of salt to make up for it. The butter needs to be at room temperature.
• Blueberries: fresh or frozen, wild or standard. The blueberries are being cooked into a thick jam. Wild blueberries will be a little darker than standard.
• Orange: a hint of orange pairs well with the blueberries. Lemon is a good substitute.
• Yeast: the recipe is written for instant yeast. If you only have traditional yeast, it needs to be bloomed in the warm milk mixture for 10 to 15 minutes before adding the flour to activate.
• Cinnamon: there are different types of cinnamon, and if you want to taste the cinnamon strongly through the blueberries, we recommend cassia. We generally prefer true cinnamon (ceylon) but cassia is punchier and cuts through the other elements more effectively.
• Salt: not just for flavour, salt is important for gluten development in yeast dough. Reducing it can result in dough that doesn't rise as effectively.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

How to Make Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

It's important to start with the blueberry filling, so that it has time to cool fully before being added to the rolls. These are a little messy! The only way we've found to make it neater is to chill the dough before rolling it out, but it adds so much extra time and just isn't worth it.

Step 1: add the blueberry filling ingredients to a saucepan and mix well. The corn starch and water should be mixed beforehand to avoid clumps later. The added orange zest will make the jam thicker. If you omit the zest, know that it will probably be a little runnier than pictured.

Step 2: cook for 5 minutes, keeping it at a strong simmer and stirring frequently to prevent burning or sticking to the pan. It's more likely to burn when using older electric burners where the heat doesn't reduce as quickly, so keep an eye on it if that's the case for you. Transfer to a bowl and cool fully.

Step 3: start the dough. This is before the butter is mixed in and before kneading. It will be a bit tough and shaggy, a little on the dry side, before the butter is incorporated. See the recipe card notes for instructions on an alternative way to add the butter if you don't have a standing mixer or a hand mixer that can be used for bread dough.

Step 4: add the butter while mixing to incorporate, then knead until soft, smooth, and supple. The dough will be slightly stiff but soft to the touch when it's ready. It will feel like a lower hydration dough but don't forget that butter, sugar, and eggs all add hydration without adding a lot of visible moisture before baking.

Step 5: set the dough aside to rise until doubled. I always place a large plate over the mixing bowl (sometimes with a tea towel under the plate) and it works a treat. Since this dough needs to rise for a long time, you can also lightly grease the top with some neutral oil if you're baking in a very dry environment.

Step 6: roll the dough out into a large rectangle. You shouldn't need to flour the dough before rolling out, as there's enough fat to prevent sticking to most rolling pins. If it is sticking slightly, add a very light dusting of flour.

Related: Blueberry Coffee Cake

Step 7: add the cinnamon brown sugar filling in an even layer. Top with the fully cooled blueberry filling, then slice into 12 pieces. This is less messy than rolling the dough into a log and slicing later, but you will still end up with some of the filling oozing out.

Step 8: place the rolls into a greased baking dish. Make sure the dish is prepared and on hand before you slice and roll up the dough.

Step 9: let the rolls rise until almost doubled in size, an hour to an hour and a half. Most baking dishes will be deep enough that you can invert a baking sheet over the dish to cover the rolls as they rise. Alternatively use a damp tea towel - make sure it doesn't dry out - a large plastic bag, and/or place them in a microwave or other small enclosed space.

Step 10: bake until golden, about 20 minutes. If the tops are browning too quickly cover loosely with foil or a sheet of parchment paper. Always bake cinnamon rolls on the middle rack of the oven.

Expert Tips for the Best Blueberry Buns

• Make the berry filling in advance: the blueberry filling needs to cool for at least a couple of hours, and since the dough takes about 3 hours to mix and for the first rise, the timing works out well. It can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to a week.
• Do a windowpane test: the best way to know that you're dough is fully kneaded is to check with the windowpane test. Take a small piece of dough and gently stretch between your fingers to form a square. If the dough can be stretched thinly enough for light to pass through without it tearing, it's ready.
• Cool before frosting: depending on how you like your cream cheese frosting, you can cool the rolls for the frosting to stay thick as pictured, or frost while still warm if you like it to partly melt into the buns (see chocolate cinnamon rolls).
• Know the top isn't burnt: blueberries are dark, especially wild blueberries, and the filling that shows on the tops of the cinnamon rolls will be dark after baking. It shouldn't be burnt (unless you baked too close to the top of the oven) but it might will be a very deep purple colour.
• Don't rush the rise: enriched dough takes about double the amount of time to rise compared to non-enriched dough (that's just flour and water, no butter or eggs) so be sure to set aside a long enough window for the dough to prove properly.
• Make it sourdough: use our sourdough cinnamon rolls as a base, and add the blueberry filling to that recipe.

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