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★ Why You’ll Love this Recipe ★
This cinnamon roll casserole is made with pieces of Pillsbury cinnamon roll dough, coated in creamy eggs, for a French-toast style breakfast casserole with sweet cinnamon sugar flavor. This breakfast bake is easy to prep, can be made ahead, and tastes absolutely delicious!
Family-friendly
This cinnamon roll breakfast casserole is family-friendly so it's great for weekend breakfast, holiday mornings, a bridal or baby shower, or Mother's Day brunch.
This recipe makes a 9x12 pan so will feed a large family or a small crowd.
Can be made ahead.
This dish is perfect for overnight guests or holiday mornings. Make it ahead, then just bake it in the morning—easy and festive! We love it for Easter and Christmas breakfast.
French Toast + Cinnamon Rolls
This French-toast style breakfast casserole uses cinnamon roll dough instead of bread, so it stays moist without getting soggy. It’s the best of both worlds—cinnamon rolls meet French toast for a sticky, delicious breakfast treat!
This is basically like the best of both worlds—a cross between cinnamon rolls and cinnamon french toast which results in a perfectly a moist, sticky and deliciously perfect breakfast treat. Nom!
Pairs well with...
Serve this cinnamon roll casserole with my maple-ginger fruit salad or berry salad with honey-lime dressing and Eggs Benedict casserole to create a well-balanced and beautiful brunch spread.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
The shortcut to make this French-toast-like casserole, in no time flat, is starting with Pillsbury cinnamon roll dough.
Here's everything you'll need:
- Pillsbury cinnamon roll dough. Use any cinnamon roll dough you like—even homemade if you're feeling ambitious! I prefer Pillsbury Grands, but any kind works. Just watch the bake time, as it may vary.
- Eggs.
- Flour. All purpose flour.
- Milk. Use any milk or cream you like—the higher the fat, the creamier it’ll be. For less fat, choose skim.
- Butter. Real butter or you can substitute with margarine.
- Vanilla extract. Go with the real extract, not the imitation for the best flavor.
- Cinnamon sugar. Use store bought or make your own cinnamon sugar by mixing 1 tablespoon sugar with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
- Nutmeg (optional). This adds a nutty flavor.
- Pecans (optional). Pecans add earthy flavor, protein and some crunch.
★ How to Make this Recipe ★
You can get the full recipe and also watch how to make this cinnamon roll casserole, start to finish, by viewing the video and the recipe below.
But here is a look at the basic steps. It's quick and easy!
- Mix together eggs, cream, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.
- Cut cinnamon roll dough into pieces.
- Coat cinnamon roll pieces in egg mixture.
- Pour pieces into greased casserole dish and bake.
- Let cool then top with icing.
- Add nuts! (optional)
★ Why Others Love this Recipe ★
Inspired by Pillsbury’s Cinnamon French Toast Bake
This recipe is a variation of Pillsbury's Cinnamon French Toast Bake recipe using canned Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls. I've made my own little tweaks over the years to make it non-soggy yet moist and extra cinnamony!
Perfecting a Favorite Recipe
I started with the original Pillsbury recipe but tweaked it by adding more cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour, and cutting back on the eggs and cream to avoid a soggy, eggy texture. The flour helps the egg stick—don’t skip it.
A friend suggested skipping the maple syrup since it’s sweet enough without it, but feel free to add it back or just stir a splash into the egg batter for a hint of maple flavor.
Rave Reviews on Pinterest!
This cinnamon French toast is one of my all-time most popular recipes — it’s been pinned hundreds of thousands of times and gets rave reviews on Pinterest! I’ve tested and tweaked it to make it perfectly delicious, and I’d love to hear what you think. Tried it with a twist? Let me know in the comments!
★ Variations ★
Seasonal Variations
I've seen versions of this cinnamon roll French toast bake with pumpkin, cream cheese, or apples—great for fall! But it’s super versatile, so feel free to get creative. The recipe below is my perfected base after lots of testing. It’s delicious as-is, but once you’ve got it down, have fun with it!
Choose regular icing or cream cheese icing.
Both options are delicious! Just choose cinnamon roll dough with the kind of icing you prefer — classic icing or cream cheese icing.
★ Tips & FAQs ★
Use a pizza cutter. Quickly and evenly cut the cinnamon rolls into eight pieces. You can also cut each roll into six pieces but keep in mind, this may require a longer cook time.
The size of your baking dish matters. This recipe calls for a 9x12 baking dish. This is important because it allows enough space for the pieces of dough to be spread out and cook evenly. If you are using a very different shape or size baking pan, that will change the amount of time needed to cook and may not cook evenly.
The material of your baking dish matters. For best results, use a glass baking dish. Ceramic baking dishes can be very thick or thin so the cook time can very greatly. If you don't have a glass baking dish, just check on the cinnamon roll dough piece and if it looks like they are not yet done, give them some additional bake time.
The size of your cinnamon rolls matters. Cinnamon rolls come in varying size packages. If you choose cans larger or smaller than the 12.4oz standard size, then be sure to keep an eye on the dough as it cooks to prevent under or overcooking.
The brand of your cinnamon rolls matters. You can opt for store brand or even choose a frozen cinnamon roll brand like Rhodes, just thaw them first. Pillsbury rolls are not mandatory. Just keep in mind the cook time may vary so check on the pieces of cinnamon roll dough often as they are baking and adjust your cook time as needed.
Keep an eye on things. The dough can go from raw to cooked in just minutes and from perfectly golden brown to burned very quickly. If this is your first time making this recipe, it's best to keep an eye on things especially towards the end of the cook time. If the dough starts to brown early, cover with foil to prevent overcooking.
★ More Cinnamon Recipes ★
Love cinnamon? You'll love these other baked treats:
Want more easy breakfast ideas?
Browse all my easy breakfast recipes
This easy cinnamon roll casserole recipe using Pillsbury cinnamon roll dough is a viral fan-favorite. As seen on TikTok.
Easy Cinnamon Roll Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 17.5 oz Pillsbury Grands cinnamon roll dough (regular 12.4oz cinnamon rolls work too)
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans
- Icing from cinnamon rolls
- Powdered sugar or maple syrup if desired
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Instructions
- Prepare baking dish and oven. Melt butter and coat a 9x12 baking dish with the melted butter. Note: there will be a generous amount of butter!Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Make egg coating. In a bowl, beat together eggs, cream, flour, cinnamon sugar, nutmeg and vanilla.
- Slice dough. Open canned cinnamon rolls, slice each cinnamon roll like a pizza, into eighths.
- Coat dough. Place cinnamon roll pieces into the bowl of egg mixture and toss to thoroughly coat.
- Add dough to pan. Pour dough pieces, coated in egg mixture, into the greased baking dish and spread out evenly. Any remaining egg mixture. Pour or brush egg mixture on top of areas that look like they might get dry.
- Add pecans. (optional) Sprinkle dough with chopped pecans.
- Bake. Place casserole dish on the center rack of the oven and bake for 18-25 minutes or until pieces of dough are light golden brown. (See notes)
- Add icing. When all dough is set, remove casserole from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes to prevent icing from absorbing into the dough.Warm icing from cinnamon rolls in microwave for 15 seconds; pour evenly over cinnamon roll pieces.
- Add extras. (optional) Sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with maple syrup if desired. Serve warm. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Bake time can vary greatly based on the size of your pan as well as the material (metal, glass, ceramic, etc.) Check for doneness by carefully examining a middle piece. If it's doughy, it still needs more time.
- Smaller, deeper pans may require additional bake time. Type of cinnamon rolls used can also vary cook time. Best to keep an eye on things and check one of the middle pieces to be sure dough is set before removing from oven.
- Cover with foil and bake for a more moist casserole.
- I add a few dashes of salt in with the heavy cream. This just helps bring balance out the creaminess and brings out the flavors.
Sharon Sluski says
Very good 👍
AntKathy says
A big hit with the family! I only had the smaller packages of cinnamon rolls, so I made it in an 8x11 pan. It probably would have been fine in the larger pan as written. Easy and fast to make! Thank you.
Britney Jones says
This looks incredible! I love making new recipes around the holidays and this one looks like a great one to make! I ask everyone what their favorite recipes are around the holidays, and the dumpster rental guy we were working with said that cinnamon roll casserole was a favorite in his house, so I just had to look it up! Thanks for sharing this recipe - so excited to make it!
Pat says
Made this using orange roots was very good
Cindy says
I would love to add a can of apple pie filling but as it is, we loved it! Thanks for sharing this!
Angela G. says
Apple filling or sliced apples would be great! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Paula says
I just made this recipe for my family and they all LOVED it! I left the maple syrup as an option for them to add after if they wanted to. My daughter has Type 1 Diabetes and she can eat everything (it is not the same as Type 2) but it is always nice to find recipes that don’t have a lot of extra sugars added. My family told me this recipe is a keeper. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Norma says
@Paula, OMGoodness! I was just reading this recipe thinking, "wow, this isn't too bad for my T1D son." Thanks for sharing your comment. Best wishes to your daughter! #warriormomsofT1Dkids
Pam Morris says
So I have my taste buds on this recipe to try but
For some reason I keep tasting eggnog instead of
Milk or cream or heavy cream ect , so my question,
Has anyone tried using eggnog on this recipe, and if so
How was it??? Waiting patiently, starving !!!
Thanks
Heather says
I made this for a quick dessert. Substituted vanilla creamer and heavy cream. It was amazing! Thank you for the recipe!
Deanna Robinson says
Can you make ahead of time and then freeze it?
Angela G. says
Yes, you can. Prepare it but do not bake it. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze. Thaw, remove plastic wrap, then bake as directed.
Brianna says
Can you make this ahead of time, such as the night before?
Angela G. says
Yes, you can prepare it but do not bake it. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Remove plastic wrap in the morning, then bake as directed.
Linda says
It was delicious and so easy to make. Definitely a keeper
Cindy says
I expected this to be more french-toasty so I was disappointed at first. That being said, it was delicious right out of the oven.
Angela G. says
Hi Cindy, did you coat the cinnamon roll dough in the egg mixture? That's what gives this a French toast like quality. Also, if it's coming out dry, it's likely that it baked too long. You want to bake it just until the center of the casserole is no longer doughy. I hope you give it another try and let me know what you think. Check out the video below the recipe to watch step-by-step how it's made as that might help to see.
Amber says
When making the night before, do I bake them then or the next morning?
Angela G. says
Hi Amber, if preparing the night before, you’ll want to assemble everything, then cover and refrigerate. Bake in the morning or right before you’re ready to eat.
Mackenzie says
Super Easy to make for Mother’s Day brunch! The only thing I did different was I used three 12.4 ounce cans of the regular sized cinnamon rolls to soak up more of the egg mixture! I also cooked it in a 9x13 glass pan! Still turned out perfectly 😊
Angela G. says
Hi Mackenzie, So glad you enjoyed it! Happy Mother's Day!
Leann says
Just made this recipe for Easter! It was amazing! Any idea if I could make this ahead of time and freeze it?
Angela G. says
Hi Leann, so glad you enjoyed it! Yes you could prepare and freeze it. I would freeze it before you bake. You'll need to add additional bake time if baking from frozen or allow time for the dough to thaw before baking.