These Vegan Kabocha Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls are moist, fluffy, sweet and spiced to perfection. Easy to make and only 9 ingredients needed! Healthy, refined sugar free and oil free but still decadent and delicious. Gluten Free Option.
Okay, I know fall just started but I’ve already gone through 3 500ml cans of pumpkin and around 2 extra large kabochas… and it isn’t even October yet. A little crazy, I know but can you blame me? When the leaves start changing colour and the temperature drops my body just craves all the cozy recipes- specifically cozy pumpkin recipes. And you know what else is cozy? Yep, cinnamon rolls. Combine those two together and you get Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls aka the ultimate cozy-comforting-fall food.
I COULD have just been basic and used regular old pumpkin but I wanted to put my own spin on it so I decided to use Kabocha. Kabocha is a part of the squash family and is also known as a Japanese Pumpkin. It’s flesh is a rich deep orange colour and the texture is similar to a chestnut or Japanese sweet potato. It’s much more dense and not watery like typical pumpkin which I personally love. You can purchase Kabocha Squash nearly anywhere and because they’re in season they’re sweet and delicious. Plus, they taste amazing with cinnamon and pumpkin spices- very fitting for cinnamon rolls eh? I am BEYOND excited to share this recipe so let’s get right into it!
Ingredients for Vegan Kabocha Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
These vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls are made with just 9 ingredients!
- Kabocha
- Unsweetened soy milk
- Active dry yeast – to get the dough to rise and become *super* fluffy
- Maple syrup – to activate the yeast and brush on the dough so the filling sticks and gets all gooey
- All Purpose Flour – can be substituted with gluten free all purpose flour that contains xanthan gum (see recipe notes)
- Coconut cream – to replace the oil and give these cinnamon rolls moisture
- Coconut sugar – for sweetness in the filling
- Pumpkin pie spice – to key ingredient that brings out the pumpkin flavours!
- Walnuts – for some added flavour and texture
How to Make Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
To achieve really fluffy and moist Vegan & Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls, it does take some time for the dough to rise but the steps are VERY easy and similar to my Vegan Apple Cinnamon Rolls.
I use a bread machine to make all my buns and breads. I use a Japanese Panasonic Bread Machine, which is quite expensive (but worth it IMO). I also own a cheaper Cuisine Art Bread Machine which also does the job just fine. See below to make vegan cinnamon rolls without a bread machine.
- Step 1. Microwave 200g of kabocha squash on high for 4 minutes, or until fully cooked. Discard the skin and mash until it turns into a paste.
- Step 2. Heat non-dairy milk in the microwave for 15 seconds or until warm to the touch. Mix in the yeast and maple syrup until combined. Allow the yeast to activate for 5 minutes, or until bubbly.
- Step 3. Add the flour, kabocha pumpkin, coconut cream, salt and salt into your bread machine. Then add in the milk yeast mixture. Close the bread machine and set it to dough.
- Step 4. Combine the coconut sugar, pumpkin pie spice and walnuts in a bowl. As well, prep a flat working surface by lightly dusting with flour.
- Step 5. Once the dough is finished kneading and has doubled in size, flour your hands, punch the dough down and transfer to working surface.
- Step 6: Knead the dough 4-5 times and gather to form a flat ball.
- Step 7: Roll the dough into a rectangle. The dough shouldn’t be too thin or too thick (approx. 1/2 cm). Then, brush the dough with maple syrup.
- Step 8. Spread the cinnamon sugar walnut mixture evenly.
- Step 9. Starting at the end closes to you, roll the dough tightly upwards.
- Step 10. Then with a sharp knife, divide the dough into 6 equal sized pieces.
- Step 11. Transfer the dough into a 8×12 inch baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp light cloth and let it sit in a warm area for 15 minutes or until it doubles in size. Pre-heat oven to 180C (350F).
- Step 12. Remove the wrap and bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.
How to Make Cinnamon Rolls Without a Bread Machine
You can make vegan cinnamon rolls using the exact same method minus the use of the bread machine. Make the yeast mixture in a bowl and allow it to activate. Then add in the rest of the ingredients into the bowl and stir. Once it becomes thick, flour your hands and a flat working surface and start kneading (around 1 minute) and form a ball. Place it back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise (for approx. 1 hour) until doubled in size. From there, carry on from Step 6.
Tips and Tricks to Making Perfect Moist & Fluffy Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Weigh your ingredients! This one is SUPER important. To achieve really moist and fluffy vegan cinnamon rolls, you don’t want the ingredient ratios to be off. This can really change the texture of the cinnamon rolls especially because these are gluten and oil free.
- Warm the milk. It’s easier the dissolve the yeast which beans the dough will become more light and fluffy. Be sure not to over heat the milk or that will kill the yeast. It should be slightly above room temperature.
- Check the texture of the Kabocha. Kabocha is typically very dense, thick and not watery like typical pumpkin. If your kabocha is more watery, decrease the liquid and start with 1/4-1/3 cup (60-80ml) of soy milk. Watch the dough knead in the bread machine. If it looks like i needs some more moisture, add little by little as needed to get the dough kneading.
- Watch the size of the dough. The timing is approximate and was written based on my kitchen temperature. If your kitchen is colder, it will take longer for the dough to rise and double in size. If your kitchen is warmer, it will take less time. Check the dough often, it it looks like it has risen x1.5-2, it’s ready to be worked with and baked.
- Replacing Kabocha Squash. If you really can’t find Kabocha, you can use pumpkin puree. However, I would defiantly decrease the amount of liquid and start with 1/4 cup of milk (60ml).
More Kabocha & Pumpkin Recipes to Love!
- Kabocha Bagels with Vegan Cinnamon Cream Cheese
- Vegan Kabocha Potage
- Pumpkin Twist Bread
- Pumpkin Spice Granola
- Vegan Pumpkin Coffee Curry
I REALLY hope you guys try and love this Vegan Kabocha Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll recipe out. It’s seriously so so delicious and can be enjoyed for breakfast, snack or dessert!
If you recreate this Vegan Kabocha Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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Vegan Kabocha Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Total Time: 2 hours + 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
These Vegan Kabocha Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls are moist, fluffy, sweet and spiced to perfection. Easy to make and only 9 ingredients needed! Healthy, refined sugar free and oil free but still decadent and delicious. Gluten Free Option.
Ingredients
DOUGH:
- 3/4 cup kabocha, cooked (150g)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk (120ml)
- 1 tsp active dry yeast (5g)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup, divided
- 2.5 cup all purpose flour (300g // gluten free all purpose flour*)
- 2 tbsp coconut cream (30g)
- 1 tsp salt
FILLING:
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar (64g)
- 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup walnuts (58g)
MAPLE GLAZE (OPTIONAL):
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Microwave 200g of raw kabocha squash on high for 4 minutes, or until fully cooked. Discard the skin and mash until it turns into a paste. Then, portion out 150g (please see note #1).
- Heat non-dairy milk in the microwave for 15 seconds or until warm to the touch. The milk should not be TOO hot or it will kill the yeast. Mix in the yeast and 1 tbsp of maple syrup until combined. Allow the yeast to activate for 5 minutes, or until bubbly.
- Add the flour, kabocha pumpkin, coconut cream, salt and salt into your bread machine Then add in the milk yeast mixture. Close the bread machine and set to “dough” (your bread machine may be set to the basic setting). Let it run it’s cycle, this will take about 1 hour. (Please see note #2 for no-bread machine method).
- Combine the coconut sugar, pumpkin pie spice and walnuts in a bowl. As well, prep a flat working surface by lightly dusting with flour.
- Once the dough is finished kneading and has doubled in size, flour your hands, punch the dough down and transfer to working surface. Knead the dough 4-5 times and gather to form a flat ball. Roll the dough into a rectangle. The dough shouldn’t be too thin or too thick (approx. 1/2 cm).
- Brush the dough with maple syrup. Spread the cinnamon sugar walnut mixture evenly, leaving 1 cm of space at the top.
- Starting at the end closes to you, roll the dough tightly upwards. Then with a sharp knife, divide the dough into 6 equal sized pieces. Clean your knife after each cut for clean cuts
- Transfer the dough into a 8×12 inch baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp light cloth and let it sit in a warm area for 20-30 minutes or until it doubles in size (please see note #3). Pre-heat oven to 180C (350F).
- Remove the wrap and bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Rotate the baking pan and bake for another 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
- Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool on a cooling rack in the pan for a few minutes. In the mean time, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup and non dairy milk in a small bowl to make the glaze. Drizzle on the maple glaze and serve immediately.
Notes
- Depending on how much moisture your kabocha has, you may need more or less milk. The kabocha I typically use for baking doesn’t retain a lot of moisture and comes out as a thick paste like consistency (like a chestnut or Japanese sweet potato). If your kabocha is on the water-y side, cut down the milk to 80ml. Watch the dough knead in the machine and 1 tbsp at a time, add more as needed to get the dough going.
- Don’t have a bread machine? You can make this using the exact same steps minus the use of the bread machine. Make the yeast mixture in a bowl and allow it to activate (it will start bubbling). Then add in the rest of the ingredients and stir. Once it becomes thick, flour your hands and a flat working surface and start kneading (around 1 minute) and form a ball. Place it back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise (for approx. 1 hour) until doubled in size. From there, it’s the exact same steps!
- Depending on the temperature of your kitchen or where you put the dough, this may take more or less time. To speed up the process, you can place the dough in an oven thats pre-heating to 40C (104F). This can be especially helpful in the winter when it tends to be colder.
- If using a gluten free flour blend, be sure it contains xanthan gum. If it does not, you must add 1 tsp. Replace coconut cream with 3 tbsp vegan butter. Serve immediately as the gluten free version does tend to get denser and more stiff.
- Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer).
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Japanese & North American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 303
- Sugar: 15.39g
- Sodium: 402mg
- Fat: 9.07
- Saturated Fat: 2.33
- Unsaturated Fat: 6.11
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 56g
- Fiber: 2.8g
- Protein: 7.77g
- Cholesterol: 0
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I made these and they were SO delicious! Perfect chewy/fluffy texture. I’m going to try to use the same dough recipe to make a pull-apart bread for Thanksgiving.
Delicious! I made it with whole wheat flour and honey and it turned out really fluffy. I’d suggest cooking it a bit longer though if you roll out your dough a little thicker like I did so the dough is not raw after baking in the oven.
I had some leftover kabocha and these rolls were the perfect, fun treat to make! I didn’t have any coconut cream, but I used a bit of vegetable oil as a substitute and the rolls still came out perfectly moist! My neighbor enjoyed them as well 🙂
The dough is easy to make by hand. I did have to add an additional twenty grams of flour to the dough since it was very sticky. I did modify the filling due to my little brother’s nut allergy. I used raisins and candied ginger instead of walnuts. I also added some vegan margarine to the filling. It was so tasty! I love that it isn’t super sweet even with the maple glaze. I will definitely make this again! 😋🎃🧡
Just made these rolls for Oshougatsu and they were such a hit! The bread was super fluffy and the filling had the perfect sweetness. I replaced about 1/3 of the flour in the recipe for whole wheat and it worked great! Thank you Lisa for this amazing recipe. I’m absolutely going to make it again.
Hi Lisa, these look delicious!! Could I possibly replace the pumpkin with sweet potato instead? TIA 🙂
I think so! Please do let me know how it turns out 🙂
i was able to make this recipe without a bread maker, and i mixed 1/4cup of pumpkin purée w the filling ingredients as well, because without it i felt like the rolls were lacking a bit of pumpkin oomph. so wld totally recommend pumpkin purée in the filling ! but make sure to mix it well w the sugar and spices 🙂
I loved these! I try to use whole wheat flour whenever I can, so I experimented with using some whole wheat flour instead of the full recommended all purpose flour. For my first batch, I did 50:50 all purpose to whole wheat and found that it was denser and drier than I would have liked, so for the second batch I did 70:30 all purpose to whole wheat, and added about 1/4 cup more of soy milk. They turned out as fluffy as a dream. Thanks for sharing this creative recipe!
Hi Yogini!
Thank you so much for the feedback, I’m so happy you enjoyed! 🙂
Made these for Canadian Thanksgiving! Turned out really well, very light, fluffy and tasted like squash 🙂
The recipe is super forgiving but had to adjust for less flour (about 1/2 cup) and more bake time (extra 8 min) because kabochas vary in moisture. But still turned out well!
Hi Holly,
I’m so so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for the feedback 🙂
Hi! These look amazing! Do you know what I can use in place of the maple syrup? They’re not very common where I live. Thanks!
Hi Vicky!
Thanks you much 🙂 You can replace it with cane or coconut sugar. I hope you enjoy!