There are many different ways to reheat cinnamon rolls so that they taste fresh-out-of-the-oven delicious! However, we'll discuss the best way to get great results—no matter how much time or kitchen equipment you have!
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❤️ What are the best ways to reheat cinnamon rolls?
- Reheat cinnamon rolls in the oven.
- Reheat cinnamon rolls in the air fryer.
- You can even reheat cinnamon rolls in the microwave.
The great thing about these different methods is that they work perfectly for any type of cinnamon roll recipe—homemade cinnamon rolls, frozen cinnamon rolls, and even store-bought Pillsbury cinnamon rolls.
Enjoy your favorite sweet treat however you prefer!
🔥 Oven method
This oven-based reheating method is easy and only takes 10-15 minutes. Plus, it fills your house with the sweet smell of cinnamon rolls all over again!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and place the rolls in a baking dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for about ten minutes, or until warm again.
A quick tip: if it's been a few days and you're left with a couple of hard cinnamon rolls, sprinkle each roll with a little bit of water before covering the dish with foil. (You'll only need about a tablespoon of water per cinnamon roll.)
This is a trick that coffee shops sometimes use to refresh and soften stale pastries!
🌬️ Air Fryer method
If you have an air fryer, you'll find that this reheating method provides great results when it comes to gooey cinnamon rolls!
Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees F and line the air fryer basket with a little foil and grease it with non-stick cooking spray. Place your cinnamon rolls inside and heat them for 3-8 minutes. The reheating time varies depending on the size.
If unfrosted, you can add a bit of butter to the top of the cinnamon rolls for extra moisture. Or, use the water tip mentioned in the oven method section.
⚛️ Microwave method
The microwave method is the best option if you want delicious cinnamon rolls reheated quickly. It's also the best method when it happens to be the only method available—like at work where you don't have any other cooking tools. Plus, it only takes 20-25 seconds at the most.
The first—and most important—step to properly reheat cinnamon rolls in the microwave is this: drape a damp paper towel on top of your cinnamon roll.
Then, place the covered roll onto a microwave-safe plate and heat it up. I'll usually start with 15-20 seconds, check it, and then put it in for 10-second intervals until it's warmed through.
The only enemy of freshly-baked cinnamon rolls is overheating. Microwave for too long and they'll get super hot, then become hard as they cool.
🥮 How to store cinnamon rolls
Wrap leftover cinnamon rolls with plastic wrap, or store them in an airtight container like Tupperware or a zip-top plastic bag.
The shelf life of cinnamon rolls at room temperature is two or three days, or four to five days if refrigerated.
For longer storage, you can place the wrapped rolls in a freezer bag. For good measure, squeeze any excess air out of the bag—this keeps the freezer burn away! They'll last frozen for two months or so.
🧑🏻🍳 Baker's notes
⭐ Expert Tip: When wrapping the cinnamon rolls for storage, seal them tightly so that no air gets in! Air dries out the cinnamon buns more quickly.
- Brushing the cinnamon roll with melted butter after reheating can help revive it and make it taste first-day fresh!
- Frozen rolls tend to dry out if you skip thawing and jump right to the reheating process. For best results, let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
- If you plan to store your cinnamon rolls, leave the icing off of them. However, if you happen to have iced cinnamon rolls left over, you can still store and reheat them as written in this post!
- Most cinnamon roll icings and frostings are thick enough as is. However, if your recipe happens to use cornstarch as a thickener, I don't recommend freezing it. Corn starch-based mixtures thaw kind of funky.
- The best cinnamon rolls when reheated are the ones that were properly cooked in the first place! The dough ingredients matter, as there is only so much you can do to remoisten a dry cinnamon roll after it's baked. Scroll down for some no-fail cinnamon roll recipes that are guaranteed to store, freeze, and reheat perfectly!
💡Great Idea: Store or freeze rolls individually wrapped. That way, you can pull just one or two out at a time, without needing to thaw the whole batch of cinnamon rolls. This also protects the remaining cinnamon rolls from excess air exposure.
✨ FAQs
Reheated rolls are just as good as fresh cinnamon rolls—as long as you do it right! Keep in mind, you can enjoy leftover rolls chilled or at room temperature. However, most people agree that nothing beats a warm cinnamon roll!
Yes, most food experts agree that cream cheese icing must be refrigerated. Sometimes, icing has a high enough sugar content to preserve a small amount of dairy for a couple of days at room temperature (like a traditional vanilla glaze.) However, cream cheese frostings have too much dairy to be safely left out.
Sure! If you've swapped your sweet cinnamon rolls for a savory option, or if your cinnamon rolls are filled with nuts, they should still keep/reheat the same way. Follow the recipe instructions carefully, but, if there aren't any, these methods generally work with any yeast-based, rolled creations.
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These are the tools and products I use in this recipe.
- heavy baking sheet
- parchment paper
- microwave safe dish
- paper towel
- air fryer
🫶 Cinnamon roll recipes to try
- Sour Cream Cinnamon Rolls are seriously the best cinnamon rolls ever thanks to a secret ingredient—the sour cream!
- Old-Fashioned Pecan Rolls have a buttery, nutty pecan filling that makes nut lovers go, well, nuts!
- Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls are delicious and impressive. The best part, though? They're super easy—and no one would ever guess it!
I don't know about you but I can't resist a good cinnamon roll dripping with icing. Are you team icing or team caramel sauce? Let me know in the comments below!
Nancy
Our favorite way to eat day old cinnamon rolls is to slice them in half and lightly butter each piece. Then grill in the frying pan until toasted. Delicious. I think I prefer them to fresh cinnamon rolls.
marye
Nancy, omigosh that sounds so good.