These banana cinnamon rolls have a rich, brioche banana dough, filled with buttery, brown sugar cinnamon, and are topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting. They combine the classic flavors of banana bread and gooey cinnamon rolls!
Dissolve yeast in warm milk with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Let stand for 10 minutes until the mixture is foamy.
In a stand mixer (see notes for doing this without a stand mixer), using either the paddle attachment or dough hook. Mix in the yeast mixture with the remaining sugar. Then add in the eggs, butter, salt, vanilla, and mashed bananas.
Add in flour and knead into a large ball. The dough will be very soft and sticky, just keep scraping down the sides, and knead for a few minutes.
Place dough ball in a large greased bowl. Cover bowl in plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, dough should have doubled in size.
Filling & Assembly
While dough is rising, mix together all filling ingredients until smooth.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When dough is done rising tip dough on to an oiled surface. Oil up your rolling pin and roll out your dough into a rectangle that is 15 inches long and 10 inches wide.
Spread your filling evenly across the dough and tightly roll your dough into a long tube.
Slice into 12 even rolls, each slice will be approximately 1 ¾” wide. Place slices into a greased 9x13 inch pan and let rise again for 10-15 minutes.
After the second rise has finished place pan in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Frosting
While cinnamon rolls are baking make your frosting. Cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add in your vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar, cream together until smooth.
I like to let my cinnamon rolls to cool for a few minutes, and then frost them while they’re still a little warm so that the frosting melt into all the little crevices.
Video
Notes
You can do this without a stand mixture too. If doing this without a stand mixer use a large spatula to mix the ingredients together. Grease your hands liberally and use your hands to knead the dough into a ball. Best Way to Cut Cinnamon Rolls:Thread or Floss: Thread or unflavored tooth floss is a great way to cut cinnamon rolls. Slide the thread/floss under the cinnamon roll tube and bring the ends of the thread/floss together so they cross over each other, cleaning slicing through the dough. Serrated Knife: A serrated knife works better than a regular knife. Use it to gently saw through the dough to create even slices.Make these Overnight Cinnamon Rolls: To make this recipe into overnight cinnamon rolls follow the instructions to make the dough, roll them out, and slice. Place the cinnamon rolls in a greased dish and cover tightly with greased plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator.The next morning, remove from the fridge, and let the rolls rise again in a warm area for 45-60 minutes. Then bake normally.Flavor Variations for this Recipe:For the Filling: Here are a few ideas for what you can add to the filling: sliced banana, chopped nuts (pecan or walnuts would be my pick)—this would make it more like a banana nut roll or banana bread cinnamon roll, mini chocolate chips, or a pinch of nutmeg. For the Frosting: Here are few ideas for what you can add to the frosting: a few tablespoons of peanut butter or Nutella, a tablespoon or two of maple syrup, cinnamon, or brown the butter before adding to the frosting.