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Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls

Cooked and ready to eat cinnamon holes.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Rising Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes

Easy and delicious Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls have the ooey-gooey classic flavor you love, whether camping or at home.

Branded image of Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls plated and in the pot.

This post has been updated from its original May 16, 2017 publishing with new photography, content, and clarified recipe card.

Disclaimer, just so you don’t get mad at me later!

These are addictively delicious! And dripping with the most amazing cinnamon-sugar frosting mixture.

Now that the warning or disclaimer is out of the way, these Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls are not a tradition cinnamon roll. You know the swirling bread with a layer of cinnamon-sugar between it’s fluffy layers.

Our version is a riff on those, created for a tasty dessert or sweet breakfast while camping.

A speared baked cinnamon hole on a fork.

We wanted that classic taste we all know and love, but something much simpler while cooking outdoors.

Turns out, these are so amazing, I might not ever make them in the traditional way again…you might not either.

How to Make Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients to make the recipe: cinnamon, pecans, frozen dinner rolls, brown sugar, butter, prepared cream cheese frosting, and the Dutch oven.

These cinnamon holes, which is what they really are, are really easy to make, but they do require a bit of forethought.

We use frozen dinner rolls. Yes you read that right. Frozen Dinner Rolls. NOT frozen cinnamon rolls (although, we’ve done that once and they’re delicious too.)

Depending on how warm your kitchen or campsite is, the dough needs to sit in the Dutch oven (or skillet) for 2-3 hours to rise.

Butter coating the inner surfaces of the Dutch oven and frozen dinner rolls placed inside.

Use about a tablespoon of softened butter to coat the inside of the DO or skillet. I like to be generous since removing them is easier the more it’s coated and the extra butter just helps with the their richness.

Place the frozen dough balls in, however you can make them fit.

Frozen dough balls arranged in the coated pot to rise.

However, the more space you leave them, the bigger and fluffier they’ll bake up. Our regular 6 quart DO and 12-inch skillet can fit between 21-24 frozen dough balls.

The smallest package of rolls I could find was 36, so perhaps you want to make a double batch or just toss the rest back in the freezer for another use.

Brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans top the frozen dough.

Top the dough with brown sugar, taking a bit of care to get it in the nooks and crannies between the rolls.

Then sprinkle the cinnamon over the brown sugar.

And finally, if you’re using pecans, spread them over the top as well.

Drizzle the melted butter all over the top of the sweetened dough. The butter-coated sides along with the melted butter will create the tasty sticky sugary sauce you’ll have at the end.

Melted butter is being drizzled over the topped bread dough.

Once they’re all arranged and topped, cover them with either the DO or skillet lid or a kitchen towel. Allow them to sit out and rise. They will increase in size as they thaw.

The more space they have to expand, the more room they’ll take…much like a child or pet who crawls into your bed at night.

Insert the Jeopardy music while they rise over the next 2-3 hours.

The Dutch Oven Cinnamon rolls are fully cooked.

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F about 10 minutes or however long your oven takes to heat up, before you want to bake them.

If cooking over coals, prepare them in advance, so it’s ready to go when you are.

Cover with the Dutch oven with its lid or foil and bake for 20 minutes. They could take up to 30, depending on your oven or coals consistency and how well you packed the pan.

Prepared cream cheese frosting thinned with cream being drizzled over the hot baked sweet bread.

Once they’re fully baked, remove them from the oven or coals and let sit. WITHOUT opening the lid or foil.

While they’re resting, slightly warm the pre-made cream cheese frosting. Once it’s warm, stir in the cream to thin it.

Drizzle the icing over the top of the still HOT cinnamon rolls.

If you want to be really decadent, you can sprinkle a bit of cinnamon-sugar blend over the drizzled icing. But this isn’t necessary to fully enjoy this delectable treat.

A few cinnamon holes removed from the pot to show the sticky buttery cinnamon-sugar sauce that pools at the bottom.

Serve (with a lot of napkins) and enjoy.

Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls plated and in the DO still; ready to eat.
Cooked and ready to eat cinnamon holes.
Print Recipe
5 from 12 votes

Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls

Easy and delicious Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls have the ooey-gooey classic flavor you love, whether camping or at home.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Rising Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 50 minutes
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Easy Cinnamon Rolls
Servings: 6
Calories: 994kcal

Equipment

  • 12-inch camp oven OR 6 quart Dutch Oven
  • 12-inch cast iron skillet

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp butter softened
  • 24 frozen, unbaked rolls We used Rhodes
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • tsp cinnamon
  • ½ cup pecans chopped
  • ½ cup butter melted or see notes.
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream half and half or milk will work too.
  • 8 oz cream cheese frosting
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon-sugar blend (optional)

Instructions

Assembly

  • Arrange frozen dinner rolls in the pot/pan
  • Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top of each dough ball; repeating with the cinnamon and the pecans.
  • Pour the melted butter over the top.
  • Let stand for at least 2 hours allowing the rolls to double in size.

Oven baked

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350°F
  • Assemble the rolls. (see above)
  • Cover with a lid or foil and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Outdoor camp oven

  • Heat coals in a charcoal chimney.
  • Once hot, place 12 coals on bottom (camp table, fire pit, etc).
  • Nestle camp oven on top of the coals.
  • Assemble the rolls. (see above)
  • Cover with the camp oven lid.
  • Place heated coals over the entire lid.
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
  • When done, using a lid lifter, remove from coals.

Glazing the rolls

  • Add the premade frosting to a heat-safe bowl, and warm slightly.
  • Stir in the cream to thin the icing.
  • Drizzle the icing over the warm cinnamon rolls.
  • If using, sprinkle with the optional cinnamon-sugar blend.
  • Serve warm; drizzled the buttery-cinnamon sauce from the pan over the rolls.

Notes

Cooler temperatures, either indoors or outside for camp cooking, will cause the rolls longer to rise, about 3 hours. 
Over-crowding the pan will yield smaller cooked rolls, the more room they have to expand, the fluffier they will get. 
Cube butter into small squares and place over the top of the rolls to melt while cooking over coals.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 994kcal | Carbohydrates: 142g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 1137mg | Potassium: 305mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 63g | Vitamin A: 611IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 353mg | Iron: 7mg

Dutch Oven Daddy is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

Did you try this recipe?Leave me a comment and rating below or Tag @DutchOvenDaddy on Instagram to show us your photos!

Quick and Easy Desserts

If you love these quick and easy Dutch Oven Cinnamon rolls, then you just might these other sweet treats pulling double duty as a breakfast (or snack) and dessert.

A branded image for Dutch Oven Cinnamon Rolls' hole speared on a fork
15 replies
  1. Jennifer Sallee
    Jennifer Sallee says:

    5 stars
    I made these for dessert for Thanksgiving. What a hit!!!!! I will have to make them a few more times to get into their rhythm! And give it a few “me” tweaks!!!
    Thank you for posting this recipe!!! Love it!!!

    Reply
    • Ned Adams
      Ned Adams says:

      I’m so glad you took this recipe to the Thanksgiving table and everyone enjoyed! Thank you for the feedback, excited to see what “me” tweaks you end up with as well. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Ieva
    Ieva says:

    5 stars
    These have blown me away! We love cinnamon rolls but this recipe was definitely head and shoulders above other we tried! Must be the dutch oven working its magic!

    Reply
  3. Caroline
    Caroline says:

    5 stars
    I like how this gets the flavors of cinnamon rolls in an easy way that’s great for camping. Look forward to trying!

    Reply

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