Fluffy Banana Cinnamon Rolls with Walnuts Recipe

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Banana Cinnamon Rolls are the fluffiest ever. They have a banana bread taste with that lovely cinnamon roll texture and flavours. You can make them in little time and have the most glorious homemade Banana Nut Cinnamon Rolls. If you’re trying them for the first time, they will become your favourite immediately.

Banana Bread Cinnamon Roll

Let’s break down what a banana bread cinnamon roll is and how it’s made. As a base, I used my classic cinnamon roll dough and added mashed ripe bananas/banana purée. I also adjusted the amount of sugar because bananas are naturally sweet so we didn’t need as much granulated sugar. For the filling, we use the usual melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon plus more mashed banana. You can easily make the dough in a stand mixer if you prefer. To do it this way you place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and use the dough hook attachment to knead them together on medium speed. You can even let the dough rise in the same bowl when you’re done.

The dough for banana cinnamon rolls step-by-step

The dough for these Banana Cinnamon Rolls is very easy to make. We’re going to use all purpose flour instead of bread flour because it yields a softer dough. It’s perfect if you love a gooey cinnamon roll like me! We also don’t knead too much to avoid the same thing – we just want the dough to come together evenly and then we stop. Kneading too much in cinnamon rolls can make them tougher as an end result. Here’s the step-by-step on how to make the dough for these Banana Nut Cinnamon Rolls:

1. In a medium bowl mix the warm milk, egg, mashed banana, vanilla extract and melted butter.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a separate large bowl (all purpose flour, active dry yeast/instant yeast, granulated sugar, salt). Make a hole in the centre and add all the wet ingredients in the centre.
3. Mix everything until you have a uniform dough. It’s really sticky so don’t worry, that’s just the way this dough is 🙂. That makes them gooey at the end instead of bready and hard.
4. Let the dough proof for 1 hour covered in plastic wrap. It’s ideal to place it in a warm place if it’s too cold. For me, I always place them in the oven with the light on and heat off.

The banana filling 

This banana filling for our fluffy Banana Cinnamon Rolls is delicious. It’s also made with ripe bananas just like the dough, but they don’t have to be black-skinned ripe. As long as they have some spots on the skin, we’re good to go. I’ve seen versions where they do a classic cinnamon roll filling and add banana slices, but I think I like this version better because banana slices tend to dehydrate in the oven. What I do is mix mashed banana with melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. This forms a very easy-to-spread paste.

Shaping and baking

After the first rise/proofing of the dough, we’re going to roll it out into a large rectangle. You want to do this on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin. My favourite rolling pins are the fondant type because they’re so easy to clean. After rolling out the dough, spread the banana filling on top and sprinkle with chopped toasted walnuts. Here’s the step-by-step for shaping and baking these delicious banana sweet rolls:

1. Dust flour on a clean tabletop and roll the dough. Every couple of rolls make sure it’s not sticking and dust more flour underneath and on top. Roll it out to a large rectangle (30x40cm or 12x17in). Try to keep it as rectangular as you can. At the very end make sure it’s not stuck and dust more flour if necessary so you can roll it with ease.
2. Spread it out as evenly as possible on the dough using an offset spatula. Sprinkle with the walnuts.
3. Start rolling: First, do it carefully so it’s nice and tight and once you have the first 2 complete rolls, you can just push it (still very tightly) so it rolls to the end. Make sure to start from one of the long edges of the dough.
4. Cut the rolls 3 fingers thick using a sharp knife (avoid a serrated knife for this sticky dough). Place them in a baking pan or baking dish lined with baking paper/parchment paper at the bottom (this will help later so the sugar doesn’t stick, you’ll thank me!) and arrange them nicely. Keep a decent amount of space between them so that they can rise during proofing and after in the oven without becoming square.
5. Let them proof for 30min (again, it helps if they’re in a warm environment) and then they go in the oven at medium heat 180°C/350°F for 25-30 minutes or until they’re lightly golden brown on top.

Cream cheese frosting

The cream cheese frosting for these Banana Cinnamon Rolls is the same one we use for classic cinnamon rolls. It’s extremely simple and because it has no butter in it, it doesn’t melt into the rolls. That’s important to me because I feel that when that happens they feel too greasy. For the frosting you’re going to beat cream cheese with icing sugar/powdered sugar until that’s very creamy. Then, you will add whipping cream a little at a time until it’s very smooth. Once it’s ready, you can spread it on your warm or cooled-down cinnamon rolls and sprinkle it with chopped toasted nuts.

Tips for the best Banana Cinnamon Rolls

Banana cinnamon buns are really easy to make. Nonetheless, I know that some of you might feel a bit insecure going into this recipe. That’s why I wanted to give you a few tips to get the best result every single time.

1. Don’t over-knead: Avoid kneading this cinnamon roll dough too much. It’s tempting because it’s just so satisfying! Kneading it too much will work the gluten further and make it have a harder crust, like bread. We’re looking for gooey and fluffy Banana Cinnamon Rolls so just knead until the dough looks homogeneous.
2. Don’t overbake: Overbaking is always dangerous for gooey cinnamon rolls. Baking them for too long can make them really dry, more than you might think! Make sure that you remove them from the oven when they’re lightly golden brown on top.
3. Use an offset spatula: Offset spatulas are great. They have this really satisfying feeling to them as you spread the feeling. It’s really easy to use and it prevents tearing in the dough. Once you use one you will want to use them for everything!
4. Dust flour on the surface before rolling the dough: Rolling out a sticky dough such as this cinnamon roll dough can be tricky. Be mindful of rolling for a bit and then stopping for more dusting. Also, before you spread the filling on the dough, make sure it’s not stuck to prevent any nasty surprises as you roll it.

Overnight Banana Cinnamon Nut Rolls

If you’re looking to make these Banana Cinnamon Rolls overnight, here’s how to do it. You’re going to make the dough, give it its first rise, make filling and shape it. Then, for the second rise in the baking pan, you’re going to close them with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge overnight. They will proof slowly in there for 12 hours to a maximum of 14. Read the notes in the recipe card because you do need to adjust the amount of instant yeast/active dry yeast.

Keeping Banana Cinnamon Rolls fresh

To keep these amazing Banana Cinnamon Rolls fresh, you want to keep them in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for up to 5 days like this. You can also freeze them which is a great option if the recipe makes too many for your household. Freeze them separated from each other in an airtight container. To reheat, place in a low oven or even in an air fryer at low temperature.

More cinnamon roll recipes

I have an obsession with making cinnamon rolls of different flavours. If you love them like me, here are other recipes apart from these Banana Nut Cinnamon Rolls you might want to explore: