Pancake Mix Cinnamon Rolls are fast, easy and tasty! The dough is made from just three ingredients; pancake mix, sugar and milk. Cooking these in the Instant Pot keeps them soft and moist. Pancake Mix Cinnamon Rolls will be a new favorite treat!
Pancake Mix Cinnamon Rolls; Bite-sized Pieces of Paradise!
NOTE: If you are looking for big, fluffy, yeasty Cinnamon Rolls this recipe might not be for you, try my Classic Cinnamon Roll recipe instead!
Did you know that you can make dough from pancake mix? You really can!! It is so easy to do. You don’t even need a stand mixer! These can be made easily by hand.
The insides are fluffy and gooey and everything good about cinnamon rolls. My favorite part though? How bite-sized and pop-able they are!
I know it can be hard to tell from pictures, but each cinnamon roll is about two inches wide. Two inches of fluffy, cinnamony, icing covered goodness!
Pancake Mix Dough
When you make the dough out of pancake mix, you’ll mix together the pancake mix, milk and a little bit of sugar. The dough will not be stretchy like how a regular bread dough would be. Instead this is more the consistency of sugar cookie dough.
You’ll knead it with your hands to bring it all together, and it will almost feel like you are playing with play-doh.
Use a rolling pin, and roll out the dough. The dough will not be rising any, so keep that in mind when rolling the dough out. I usually roll until the dough is inbetween 1/4″ and 1/2″ thick.
Like I said, the dough will not get any bigger while cooking, whatever you put in the pan is what you’ll get out. The only change that will occur is the insides cooking and becoming somewhat fluffy like a pancake.
Please note that the final product will taste like pancakes taste. I’m not quite that good of a magician yet. ?
Cooking the Cinnamon Rolls in the Instant Pot
After the dough has been rolled out, filled, rolled up, and sliced they are ready to be cooked.
You guys, I conducted a very scientific experiment (aka not scientific at all!) regarding the cinnamon rolls. I baked two batches of cinnamon rolls. One batch in the oven and the other in the Instant Pot.
The overwhelming winner was the Instant Pot! In fact, I probably wouldn’t even recommend cooking them in the oven. In the oven the rolls came out dry, hard and almost crunchy.
The Instant Pot cooked these bad boys in 12 minutes and they were so so so fluffy in comparison to the oven baked cinnamon rolls. I initially thought that the Instant Pot didn’t cook the cinnamon rolls the first time I made these. They looked exactly like they did when I put them into the Instant Pot and I was bummed!
I decided to pull one out and bust it open though and, behold, FLUFFY INSIDES!! They had cooked!
I think they looked uncooked because of the moisture from when they were under pressure. I quickly tossed them in the oven and broiled them for a few minutes to dry out the extra moisture.
I topped them with a vanilla icing and boy where they delicious!! Kids approved, dad approved and mommy approved. Check, check, CHECK!
Pancake Mix Cinnamon Rolls
(Printable Recipe Below)
Pancake Mix Cinnamon Rolls are fast, easy and tasty! The dough is made from just three ingredients; pancake mix, sugar and milk. Cooking these in the Instant Pot keeps them soft and moist. Pancake Mix Cinnamon Rolls will be a new favorite treat!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup pancake mix
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
Cinnamon Filling
- 1 tbsp butter softened
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Vanilla Icing
- 1/8 cup butter
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2-1 tbsp milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the pancake mix, sugar and milk. Stir until mostly combined and then knead with your hands until mixed thoroughly.
- The texture should be like Play-Doh.
- Roll out on a floured surface. Roll out into a rectangle approx 4 inches wide by 8 or 9 inches long. I can never get it into a good rectangle so I end up kind of piecing the rectangle tougher and that is fine!
- Spread the softened butter all over the dough.
- Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Spread on top of the butter.
- Carefully and slowly, roll the dough up using the short side. You will end up with a log that is approx 4 inches long.
- Cut the log into 6 equal slices.
- Place the cinnamon rolls into a 6 inch baking dish. Cover with foil tightly and create a foil sling.
- Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot and place the trivet inside.
- Using the foil sling, place the 6 inch baking dish inside of the Instant Pot.
- Cook on Manual HIGH for 12 minutes then quick release the pressure.
- While the Cinnamon Rolls are cooking, make the icing.
- Make the icing by combining all icing ingredients with a hand mixer. Set aside.
- Turn the oven on to BROIL.
- After the Cinnamon Rolls are done pressure cooking, take the Cinnamon Rolls out of the Instant Pot. (Yes, they are going to look underdone. That is normal and OKAY!! ?)
- Broil in the oven for 3-5 minutes.
- Drizzle on the vanilla icing while they are hot. Eat immediately.
Recipe Notes
The main ingredient in this recipe is pancake mix, therefore the final product will taste like pancakes!
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Pancake Mix Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup pancake mix
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
Cinnamon Filling
- 1 tbsp butter softened
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Vanilla Icing
- 1/8 cup butter
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2-1 tbsp milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the pancake mix, sugar and milk. Stir until mostly combined and then knead with your hands until mixed thoroughly.
- The texture should be like Play-Doh.
- Roll out on a floured surface. Roll out into a rectangle approx 4 inches wide by 8 or 9 inches long. I can never get it into a good rectangle so I end up kind of piecing the rectangle tougher and that is fine!
- Spread the softened butter all over the dough.
- Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Spread on top of the butter.
- Carefully and slowly, roll the dough up using the short side. You will end up with a log that is approx 4 inches long.
- Cut the log into 6 equal slices.
- Place the cinnamon rolls into a 6 inch baking dish. Cover with foil tightly and create a foil sling.
- Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot and place the trivet inside.
- 10. Using the foil sling, place the 6 inch baking dish inside of the Instant Pot.
- 11. Cook on Manual HIGH for 12 minutes then quick release the pressure.
- 12. While the Cinnamon Rolls are cooking, make the icing.
- 13. Make the icing by combining all icing ingredients with a hand mixer. Set aside.
- 14. Turn the oven on to BROIL.
- 15. After the Cinnamon Rolls are done pressure cooking, take the Cinnamon Rolls out of the Instant Pot. (Yes, they are going to look underdone. That is normal and OKAY!! ?)
- 16. Broil in the oven for 3-5 minutes.
- 17. Drizzle on the vanilla icing while they are hot. Eat immediately.
Notes
- Magic Shell Recipe - March 24, 2020
- Fun Dessert Recipes to Make with Kids - March 24, 2020
- Freezer Friendly Meals - March 20, 2020
Megan says
We made this recipe with Bisquik baking mix instead of pancake mix with all other ingredients and measurements the same and it was amazing!
—also baked at 350 in the oven for 10 mins then broil for a min or 2 since we do not have an instant pot ?
karlibitner says
I am so glad you loved it, Megan!! ❤️❤️ such a yummy way to cheat some cinnamon rolls, huh?!
Jen says
Do you uncover when you broil?
karlibitner says
Hi, Jen! I broil uncovered.
Stephen Sweet says
Been making my cinnamon rolls out of canned biscuits Grands biscuits but I can’t find a cookie cutter or a donut cutter to make my rings so I have to do it with kitchen shears but it works pretty good I roll it in cinnamon sugar and pecans and then I reformat into a cinnamon roll turn it over and put more cinnamon sugar on it with lots of butter in the pan work so far I’m still looking for a cinnamon roll biscuit cutter. May have to try and make my own.
Jeannette Smith says
I replaced: milk with water; butter with margarine; powder sugar with sugar (I ground-up by hand best I could). I used the baking time that was commented by Megan (350° for 10 mins – broil for 2 mins). It was super good!! My family enjoyed eating them, happily!! Thank you, Karli!!
Tressa says
How can I make these without a instant pot?
Karli Bitner says
Hi Tressa, bake at 350° for about 8-10 minutes.
Christine says
Very good and easy