Name: Easy Cinnamon Roll Casserole
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 17.5 oz tubes Pillsbury Grands cinnamon rolls ((regular 12.4oz cinnamon rolls are ok too)); 1/4 cup butter (melted); 2 eggs; 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream; 2 tbsp flour; 3 tsp cinnamon; 1/4 tsp nutmeg; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans; Icing from cinnamon rolls; Powdered sugar or maple syrup (if desired)

This cinnamon roll casserole made with Pillsbury cinnamon rolls is THE MOST POPULAR recipe on my whole site. Why? Because it's a delicious, easy to make breakfast casserole. Perfect for holidays and weekend mornings. Tastes like gooey, baked cinnamon French toast with icing!

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This cinnamon roll casserole made with Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, is essentially baked cinnamon French toast but gooey and absolutely delicious!

A Family-friendly Breakfast or Brunch Recipe

This cinnamon roll breakfast casserole is super easy and family-friendly so it’s great for feeding picky eaters. Pretty much everyone love this dish!

It’s great for feeding a large family or a small crowd so I often make it if I’m hosting breakfast or brunch. It’s great for wedding or bridal showers too.

This dish is also great for lazy mornings or for serving overnight guests without a lot of fuss. It can even be made the night before then just popped in the oven to bake in the morning so it’s a great choice if you’re wondering what to make for holidays, specifically Christmas morning breakfast.

The secret to making this French-toast-like casserole is starting with Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. I like using the flaky Pillsbury Grand rolls but any kind works, cook time will vary so best to keep an eye on these while they bake.

What makes this cinnamon roll casserole recipe so easy?

As I mentioned, this french toast casserole uses cinnamon roll dough instead of bread. Bread tends to get soggy when you add eggs and a creamy-cinnamon topping. The cinnamon roll dough however, holds up like a champ! In fact, think about what happens when you bake cinnamon rolls straight up, they get dry.

So this is basically like the best of both worlds—a cross between cinnamon rolls and cinnamon french toast which results in a perfectly moist, sticky and a deliciously perfect breakfast treat. Nom!

Ingredients Needed to Make this Recipe

Here’s everything you need: Pillsbury cinnamon rolls (or your favorite brand of cinnamon roll raw dough or use homemade dough if you’re feeling ambitious!), pecans, eggs, flour, milk or half and half, butter, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg (optional).

How to Make this Cinnamon Roll Casserole

You can get the full recipe and also watch how to make this cinnamon roll casserole, start to finish, by viewing the video beneath the recipe below.

But here are 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)

How to Make Cinnamon Roll Casserole - Step by Step

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 that I’ve made my own little tweaks to over the years.

Perfecting a Favorite Recipe

I started with the original recipe by Pillsbury at first then experimented from there. The final version I landed on differs in that I added extra cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour; and reduced the eggs and cream so it didn’t get too soggy or overly eggy. The flour helps the egg stick to the cinnamon rolls, in case you get to that and you’re thinking about leaving it out. Just keep this in mind.

Per a friend’s recommendation, I also left off the maple syrup because it’s plenty sweet enough without it. In my opinion. If you want to go all out and add it back, by all means, do it. If you just want a little hint of maple flavor, you could add a splash into the egg batter.

Adaptations to this Cinnamon Roll Casserole

I’ve seen variations of cinnamon roll casserole and other french toast bakes like this one that also include pumpkin (perfect for fall!), cream cheese and apples. So, have fun with this. Add sprinkles and make it into a birthday breakfast if you want. It’s really a very versatile and well-loved breakfast casserole.

The recipe below includes my tweaks after making and adjusting the ingredients many times over to get everything just right. It doesn’t have any of the extras nor does it need anything extra but once you master this base recipe, you can get as creative as you want.

Pecans Optional

The pecans taste so good roasted on top of this breakfast casserole, however if you have picky eater who don’t like nuts, you can leave them off. Or, cover just half the casserole with nut and leave the other half, nut-free.

Rave Reviews on Pinterest!

This is one of the most popular recipes I’ve ever made and shared. I’ve been working on this recipe for a long time to make sure it’s absolutely perfectly delicious!

This cinnamon french toast recipe has actually been pinned hundreds of thousands of times and has been “tried” on Pinterest with rave reviews so I’m pretty confident you’ll love it, too!

Of course, I’m always open to improving so please let me know what you think and if you changed anything to make it even better. All feedback welcome! You can review the recipe below and/or leave a comment.

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.

Perfect for Christmas morning breakfast!

I get comments from lots of people who make this baked french toast every year for Christmas. I think it’s such a big hit because it’s quick and easy to prep and is popular with both the kids as well as the grown ups. 🙂

★ Tips for Success ★

Frequently asked questions and concerns address here. Read to be sure you have success on the first try! Skip if you’re a pretty confident cook.

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.

Oven temperatures can vary greatly. For best results make sure your oven is calibrated to the correct temperature. Do this by using an oven thermometer and follow the directions for adjusting your oven temperature in your oven manufacture’s user manual.

The size of your baking dish matters. This recipe calls for a 9×12 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 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.

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.

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.

Changing the ingredients may affect cook time and the taste. Using milk instead of half and half for example, may lengthen the cook time and sadly won’t taste as good but it’s a good way to cut fat if that’s what you want to do. If you make adjustments to the recipe, just keep an eye on things when cooking and allow yourself some extra time in case it needs longer to bake.

Helpful tools for making this cinnamon roll casserole:

★ More Recipes You’ll Love ★

Try my cinnamon pull apart bread!

If you love this cinnamon roll casserole, try it in a slightly different form. One day I decided to make this same recipe but as more of pull apart bread loaf. It’s really excellent and comes out looking so pretty too! If you want to try that, here’s the recipe: Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread.

Want more breakfast ideas?

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This easy cinnamon roll casserole recipe using Pillsbury cinnamon rolls was featured on Inspire Me Monday, South Your Mouth, Wow Me Wednesday and Menu Plan Monday and Meal Pan Monday!

Mackenzie

Sunday 8th of May 2022

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.

Monday 9th of May 2022

Hi Mackenzie, So glad you enjoyed it! Happy Mother's Day!

Leann

Wednesday 20th of April 2022

Just made this recipe for Easter! It was amazing! Any idea if I could make this ahead of time and freeze it?

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.

Natalie

Sunday 27th of March 2022

Can you make this recipe in a 9 x 13 crockpot?

I think you absolutely could. I'm not sure about cook time but my guess would be an hour on high and you'd probably need to cover with the lid.

Erika Granados

Friday 11th of March 2022

Tried it and turn out amazing. I would like to do a smaller batch. Should I just cut the recipe in half?

Saturday 12th of March 2022

Hi Erika, yes you can just cut it in half or use the slider to adjust the number of servings. Glad you enjoyed it!

Terry M.

Saturday 19th of February 2022

I will be trying this for company soon! Any ideas for making sure the middle is cooked without overcooking the outside? I have had difficulty with this when making the rolls by themselves.

Just spread the pieces out evenly n the baking dish and you should be good to go! Enjoy!

Easy Cinnamon Roll Casserole