Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls with heavy cream and Pillsbury Grands! are soft, fluffy cinnamon rolls that cook in half the time of a regular oven. I added extra cream cheese frosting because those cans of cinnamon rolls never have enough!
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- ☑️At a Glance: How to Air Fry Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls
- 🥐Pillsbury Air Fryer Cinnamon Roll Recipe Ingredients
- 🥣How to Make the Best Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls
- 💡Air Fryer Cinnamon Roll Tips
- ♨️How to Reheat Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls in the Air Fryer
- ❓FAQs
- ✅Troubleshooting: Common Air Fryer Cinnamon Roll Problems
- 😋More Delicious Breakfast Recipes
- 💌Let's Stay in Touch
- 📖 Recipe
- To Reheat Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls:
☑️At a Glance: How to Air Fry Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls
- 🔥 Cook time: 12 minutes
- 🌡️ Air fryer temp: 360°F
- 🥐Ingredients: Pillsbury Grands canned cinnamon rolls, heavy cream
- 🧈Extra cream cheese frosting (optional): butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla
- ✨ Why air fry cinnamon rolls: Faster than the oven (about ½ the time), crispier edges, gooier center
I love the convenience of Pillsbury Grands! Cinnamon Rolls, but I realized I could make them faster in the air fryer. And I use two secret tricks to make canned cinnamon rolls even better.
First, I cook them in heavy cream (a popular TikTok hack) to make them pillowy soft and moist. Then, I slather on even more cream cheese frosting (totally optional). Because I don't know who decided that tiny tub is enough, but it's not even close!
Enjoy warm, fresh cinnamon rolls for a quick breakfast or serve with Cheesy Sausage Egg Bake, Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes, and Balsamic Roasted Strawberries for a special occasion brunch or Christmas morning.
🥐Pillsbury Air Fryer Cinnamon Roll Recipe Ingredients
Air Fryer Cinnamon Buns
- Pillsbury Grands Cinnamon Rolls. This is the BIG tube with 5 rolls. I use Pillsbury Grands with Cinnabon Cream Cheese Icing. You can substitute different brands of jumbo-sized cinnamon rolls.
- Heavy cream. It may also be called heavy whipping cream-same thing.
Extra Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)
- Softened butter. It should be very soft to help it mix easily with the cream cheese.
- Softened cream cheese. Use room-temperature cream cheese so it whips up without lumps.
- Powdered sugar. If you prefer stiffer icing, you can add a little more powdered sugar.
- Heavy cream. Just a teaspoon is all you need to make the frosting smooth and creamy.
🥣How to Make the Best Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls
Preheat the air fryer to 360 degrees. Spray avocado oil or olive oil into an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan that fits your 6-quart air fryer. You can also line the pan with a piece of parchment paper.
Step 1: Separate dough and arrange the cinnamon rolls in a single layer in the pan. Pour ½ cup cream around the rolls. Place the pan into the air fryer basket.
I've found an aluminum foil "sling" is the best way to lower the pan into the bottom of the basket. Tuck the ends of the foil down before sliding the basket in.
Step 2: Air fry cinnamon rolls for 6 minutes. Remove the pan and flip rolls over. Air fry for 6 more minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the internal temperature reads 190.
Exact time may vary for your air fryer model. Check a couple of minutes early so they don't overcook.
Step 3: Make more cream cheese frosting while the rolls are baking, optional. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy.
If desired, stir or mix in the frosting from the tube of cinnamon rolls.
Step 4: Frost the rolls. Slather the cream cheese frosting over the warm cinnamon rolls. Serve warm.
💡Air Fryer Cinnamon Roll Tips
- Use an aluminum foil sling to lower and lift the pan into and out of the air fryer basket.
- Check for doneness a couple of minutes early to prevent overcooking.
- Flip them halfway through to keep the tops from burning and the bottoms from getting soggy.
- Add more cream cheese frosting. There's never enough in those cans!
♨️How to Reheat Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls in the Air Fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 350. Place the cinnamon rolls in an 8 or 9-inch pan that fits your air fryer.
- Sprinkle one tablespoon of water or cream over the rolls. Spread each roll with a little butter. Cover the pan with foil.
- Air fry for 3-8* minutes or until the rolls are warm throughout.
*Room temperature rolls will warm up in about 3-4 minutes. Cold rolls taken right out of the fridge may take up to 8 or more minutes.
❓FAQs
Store leftover cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Jumbo-sized cinnamon rolls, such as Pillsbury Grands! cook in about 12 minutes. For regular-sized cinnamon rolls, start checking them around the 6-minute mark.
Yes! Pillsbury cinnamon rolls cook up soft and fluffy in the air fryer in about half the time it takes in a conventional oven. Preheat air fryer to 360 degrees, place rolls in a pan, pour heavy cream around them, and flip them halfway through cooking. Pillsbury Grands! or other jumbo cinnamon rolls cook in about 12 minutes. A regular-sized can of cinnamon rolls takes less time. Start checking around the 6-minute mark.
As the canned cinnamon rolls bake, they soak up the heavy cream, making them moist and pillowy soft with rich flavor.
First, bake the cinnamon rolls in heavy cream. This makes the dough moist, pillowy soft and gives it a rich flavor -- closer to homemade. Then, add more frosting. There's nowhere near enough frosting in a tube of cinnamon rolls. Make a small batch of homemade cream cheese frosting and stir the canned stuff into it.
✅Troubleshooting: Common Air Fryer Cinnamon Roll Problems
- Centers are doughy or undercooked. This is the most common issue, especially with Grands-size rolls. Your air fryer basket runs hotter on the outside than the middle, so the outside browns before the inside finishes. Fix: drop the temp by 25°F and add 3-4 extra minutes, tenting loosely with foil if the tops start browning too fast. Cook to an internal temperature of 190°F, rather than relying on time.
- Tops are burnt, but centers are still raw. Your air fryer is running hot, the rolls are too close to the heating element, or you forgot to flip them. Fix for next time: lower the temp by 25°F, flip them halfway through, and check for doneness early. Tent the top with foil if needed to keep the tops from burning and cook to an internal temperature of 190 degrees f.
- Rolls didn't puff up properly. This usually means the basket was overcrowded, blocking proper air circulation or the air fryer wasn't fully preheated. Fix: cook in batches of 3-4 rather than cramming the whole tube in at once, especially with Grands size. If the can of cinnamon rolls was exposed to high heat or frozen, it's possible the leavening died. And if the can didn't pop when you opened it, air may have leaked in, affecting its ability to rise.
- Icing melts off instead of setting. The rolls are too hot when frosted. Fix: let them rest 3-5 minutes out of the air fryer before adding the icing packet - enough to stop melting without going cold.
- Bottoms are soggy or undercooked. The rolls weren't flipped halfway through. This happened to me the first time I made cinnamon rolls in the air fryer without flipping them. Not only were the bottoms soggy, but the tops were overcooked. Next time, just flip them halfway through and cook to an internal temperature of 190, loosely tenting with foil if the tops are brown but the centers are still undercooked.
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📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the Cinnamon Rolls
- 1 can Pillsbury Grands! Cinnamon Rolls
- ½ cup heavy cream
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 2 tablespoons softened cream cheese
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Cinnamon Rolls
- Preheat the air fryer to 360 degrees. Spray a little oil into an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan that fits your air fryer.
- Arrange the cinnamon rolls in the pan. Pour ½ cup cream around the rolls. Use a foil sling to lower the pan into the air fryer basket. Tuck the ends of the foil down before sliding the basket back in.
- Air fry the cinnamon rolls for 6 minutes. Remove the pan and flip the rolls over. Air fry for 6 more minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the internal temperature reads 190. The exact time may vary for your air fryer. Check on them a couple of minutes before the end of the cooking time to make sure they don't overcook.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting
- While the rolls are cooking, make the cream cheese frosting. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla together until smooth and fluffy.
- If desired, stir the frosting from the tube of cinnamon rolls into the homemade cream cheese frosting. You can also leave it out and just use the homemade frosting. Slather on the cream cheese frosting. Serve warm.
Notes
To Reheat Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls:
- Preheat the air fryer to 350. Place the cinnamon rolls in an 8 or 9-inch pan that fits your air fryer. Sprinkle one tablespoon of water or cream over the rolls. Spread each roll with a little butter.
- Cover the pan with foil. Air fry for 3-8* minutes or until the rolls are warm throughout.
- Room temperature rolls will warm up in about 3-4 minutes. Cold rolls taken right out of the fridge may take up to 8 or more minutes.
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