Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

These soft and gooey Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls are stuffed full of brown sugar, baking spices, diced apples, and drizzled with homemade caramel sauce. They’re perfect for a crisp fall morning breakfast or brunch.

Each bite of tender cinnamon bun is filled with roasted cinnamon apples and sweet caramel sauce. Feel free to try one of our easy recipe variations if you would like, or serve with your favorite cinnamon roll frosting.

Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

During the fall, this caramel apple cinnamon roll recipe is one of my favorite weekend baking treats. The super soft homemade cinnamon roll dough is stuffed full of diced apples, brown sugar, and baking spices. Once baked, I drizzle it with gooey caramel sauce for a seriously heavenly sweet breakfast.

My favorite apples to use are Granny Smith apples, Honey Crisp, Gala, or any other tart and sweet apples. Feel free to adjust the spices to create a combination that you like. You could even just use cinnamon, although I do like the different flavor profiles that the others bring.

If you are looking for more homemade cinnamon roll recipes, you can also check out our Lemon Sweet Rolls, Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, or our classic Cinnamon Rolls.

Key Ingredients

• Yeast – this recipe calls for active dry yeast which must be activated, or “proofed.”  
• Butter – you want the butter to be either melted, or incredibly soft.
• Eggs – any kind of large eggs will do.  It helps if they have come to room temperature, but don’t worry if you forget.  You can also run them under warm water while they are still in the shells.
• Flour – we like to use all-purpose flour, but you can also substitute bread flour if you would like.
• Apples – you’ll want to use tart and sweet apples such as Gala, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith.
• Brown Sugar – you can use either dark or light brown sugar for the filling, keeping in mind that dark brown sugar has a more intense molasses flavor.
• Spices – for these cinnamon rolls I like to use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt. You can adjust the proportions and spices to your own liking. 
• Karo Syrup – you can find this at just about any grocery store.  You can also substitute corn syrup if you’d like.
• Sweetened Condensed Milk – you’ll use half of a 15-oz can.

How to Make Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Step 1 – Mixing The Dough

1. Activate the yeast. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm water, sugar and yeast and stir well.  Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until it gets bubbly and activates the yeast.
2. Mix the dough. Add the melted butter, eggs, salt, and 2 cups of flour, then mix on low using the dough hook attachment for 2 minutes, or until everything is well-mixed. Add an additional 3.5 cups of flour, then stir on low to combine.  You may need to add up to ½ a cup more (you will know you’ve added enough flour when the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl).   Once all of the flour has been added, continue to knead on low for 3 minutes more.
3. Proof the dough. Turn off the mixer and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel.  Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, or about 30 minutes.
4. Roll the dough into a rectangle. Once the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured surface and form it into a small rectangle with your hands.  Then, using a rolling pin, gently roll the dough into an approximately 24″ x 12″ rectangle (should be about ½” thick).

Step 2 – Making The Apple Filling

1. Prepare the apples by peeling, coring and dicing into 1/4″ pieces. Add the diced apples to a large bowl along with the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Mix until combined, then spread the apple mixture evenly over the rolled dough.

Step 3 – Rolling And Cutting The Cinnamon Rolls

1. Starting at either 24″ side, roll the dough up evenly making sure to get a nice tight tube, then cut into 12 evenly sized (roughly 1″) slices using a very sharp knife. (NOTE: I recommend using a ruler and pre-marking before you actually make any cuts)

Step 4 – Baking the Cinnamon Rolls

1. Let them proof again. Lay the slices cut side down in a greased 9 x 13″ baking pan, cover loosely with a kitchen towel, and let the cinnamon rolls rise for another 30 minutes or until doubled and touching in the pan.
2. Bake. While your dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Once risen, bake in a preheated oven for 20-24 minutes, or until the bottom and the top are golden brown. 
3. Add the caramel sauce. Remove from the oven and pour the warm caramel sauce over the tops while they are still warm.  Let them cool for about 5 minutes, then serve warm.  Enjoy!

Step 5 – Make the Caramel Sauce

1. In a non-stick saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and let it melt, then add the brown sugar, Karo Syrup, and Sweetened Condensed Milk.  Bring to a rapid boil and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the caramel mixture reaches 215-220 degrees F on a candy thermometer. 
2. Once it reaches 220 degrees, remove it from the heat and let it sit for a minute or so before pouring over the hot cinnamon rolls.

Apple Caramel Cinnamon Rolls Recipe Variations

While these Caramel Apple rolls are absolutely delicious, here are a few other ideas for ways to play around with the recipe:

• Pecan Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls: Sprinkle chopped pecans over the caramel sauce before adding the apple cinnamon filling. Drizzle additional caramel sauce and sprinkle more pecans on top after baking.
• Salted Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls: Incorporate a touch of sea salt into the caramel sauce for a sweet and salty contrast. Sprinkle coarse sea salt over the cinnamon rolls after frosting.
• Maple Glazed Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls: Replace part of the sugar in the caramel sauce with maple syrup for a rich, fall flavor. Top the cinnamon rolls with a maple glaze after baking.
• Apple Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding: Use sliced caramel apple cinnamon rolls to make a decadent bread pudding. Top with a caramel or vanilla sauce before serving.
• Cranberry Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls: Add dried cranberries or cranberry compote to the apple cinnamon filling for a tart contrast. Drizzle with caramel sauce and sprinkle chopped walnuts for texture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Storing and Reheating Instructions

• Refrigerator: wrap leftover cinnamon rolls in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Freezer: wrap cinnamon rolls in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 1 month.  To thaw, transfer to the fridge overnight.
• To Reheat: for a single portion, you can reheat in the microwave until warm.  Otherwise, add the entire pan of rolls back into the oven at 300 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or until warmed through.  If you have extra caramel sauce, feel free to add a little extra over the top.

More Easy Sweet Roll Recipes

• Caramel Cinnamon Rolls
• Best Cinnamon Rolls
• Orange Sweet Rolls
• Einkorn Cinnamon Rolls
• Berry Sweet Rolls
• Raspberry Sweet Rolls
• Pumpkin Sweet Rolls
• Lemon Sweet Rolls
• More Breakfast Recipes
• More Fall Recipes

This Caramel Apple Cinnamon Roll recipe is a favorite fall breakfast. It’s covered with caramel sauce and filled with spiced apples and brown sugar.