These caramel apple cinnamon rolls bake up gooey and soft, are filled with caramel apple filling, and topped with caramel cream cheese icing.

Apples give this recipe such a fun Fall spin, and it’s the perfect way to start any day.

How to Make These Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Let’s walk through each step of this recipe to make sure it turns out as amazing as possible!

I’ve also shared a video tutorial on how to make them below, along with the tools I used. If you don’t have all of these on hand, feel free to get creative and work with what you’ve got!

Tools / Equipment

• 9×13-inch Metal Pan
• Parchment Paper
• Stand Mixer w/ Dough Hook or Danish Dough Whisk

Step 1: Make the Apple Filling

Make the caramel apple filling first because it needs time to cool down. Peel the apples, remove the core, and cut them into small pieces.

Add the apple pieces, unsalted butter, packed light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt into a large skillet.

Heat over medium-high heat, and stir occasionally. Cook until the mixture begins to bubble, then reduce the heat to medium.

In a small bowl whisk together the water and cornstarch to make a cornstarch slurry. This will help thicken the filing.

Pour into the apple mixture and cook for 5-10 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook just until the apples are soft.

Transfer the filling into a large bowl or tray (the wider it is, the faster it’ll cool down) and chill in the fridge.

Once fully cooled, the filling can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week (it doesn’t freeze well).

Be sure the filling is chilled before you spread it onto the cinnamon roll dough! They’ll be a lot harder to roll if it isn’t.

Step 2: Make the Cinnamon Roll Dough

Preheat your oven to 200 F / 95 C. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, instant dry yeast, and fine salt.

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, apple sauce, butter, and granulated sugar. Heat for 1 minute in the microwave, then stir to combine the ingredients.

The butter should be mostly melted, and the mixture should feel warm but not hot to the touch. If it’s too hot, it can kill the yeast!

Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix on medium-low speed with a dough hook or by hand with a dough whisk.

If you don’t have a dough whisk, you can use a large wooden spoon.

Continue to mix the dough on a medium-low speed for a couple of minutes until the dough becomes more elastic and looks smooth.

Then it’s time to test the dough. My favorite way to know if my dough is ready is to poke it with my finger. It should feel tacky but not sticky. As you pull your finger away, there should be no residue on your finger.

If it still feels sticky and seems like it would be difficult to roll out, keep mixing the dough and add additional flour 1 Tbsp at a time until the dough is tacky but no longer sticky (it usually takes me 1-2 additional Tbsp of flour).

It should pull away/no longer stick to the sides of your mixing bowl once it’s ready to rest.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to let the dough rest for 10-20 minutes. This will make it easier to roll out.

Step 3: Cut, Roll, and Bake the Cinnamon Rolls

If you’re making these the day you plan to bake them, preheat the oven to 200 F/93 C (to help the cinnamon rolls rise), and line a 9×13-inch pan.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it into a large rectangle that’s about 24 in x 18 in.

Spread the softened butter evenly over the dough, then spread the cooled filling on top of the butter.

Then, use a pastry rolling cutter or pizza cutter to cut 12 equal strips, and roll each cinnamon roll individually. Place them in the prepared 9×13-inch pan.

Alternatively, you can also roll the dough into a log and cut each piece with dental floss.

If you are making these cinnamon rolls the night before, cover the cinnamon rolls tightly with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge overnight. Then take them out of the fridge and preheat your oven to 200 F/93 C, then turn off the oven, cover the rolls with foil, and let the rolls rise in the oven for about 30 minutes.

If you make these the morning of, turn off the oven, cover the rolls with foil, and let the rolls rise in the oven for about 30 minutes. MAKE SURE YOU’VE TURNED THE OVEN OFF. We want a nice cozy place for the rolls to rise, but we don’t want to bake them yet.

At this point, they should look puffier and have grown about twice in size.

Preheat the oven to 350 F / 175 C. Remove the foil from the pan and bake for 28-34 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown. Rotate the pan halfway through to help them bake evenly.

Step 4: Make the Caramel Sauce

While the cinnamon rolls rise and bake, make the homemade caramel. If you’re short on time you can always use storebought caramel sauce, but this only takes about 10 minutes to make and is totally worth it in my opinion.

Place a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, pour in 1 cup sugar gradually, adding 1/4 cup at a time. Wait until the sugar is mostly dissolved, then add the next bit of sugar. As the sugar melts it will slowly deepen in color.

Stir occasionally until the sugar is fully dissolved and has become a deep amber color, then turn off the heat.

Slowly mix in 6 Tbsp of butter (2 Tbsp at a time) then stir in 1/4 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 tsp salt. The mixture will be thin but will thicken as it cools.

Pour into a separate container, then set aside to cool.

If you make this in advance, store it in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

When you’re ready to use it, heat the caramel in the microwave in short 15-second intervals until it’s a workable consistency.

Step 5: Make the Caramel Cream Cheese Icing

The last step is to make the icing. Mix the softened butter, room-temperature cream cheese, caramel sauce, vanilla extract, and salt together with a spoon or electric hand mixer.

Then add this and the powdered sugar to the cream cheese mixture and stir until smooth.

Let the cinnamon rolls cool for about 10 minutes, then spoon the icing over the cinnamon rolls, drizzle the rest of the caramel on top, and enjoy them warm!

Leftover rolls can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a few hours, or in the fridge for up to 5 days.

What Type of Apples Should I Use in This Caramel Apple Cinnamon Roll Recipe?

There isn’t really a single right answer to this question! I personally love using Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples in this recipe, but that’s mostly because they’re my favorite apples to eat.

In general, as long as it’s a firmer apple variety (like Red Delicious, Gala, Pink Lady, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, or Golden Delicious) it should work great!

You can even mix and match the apples you use in this recipe! The most important thing is that you use 5 large, firm apples that weigh about 1000 grams or about 2.2 lbs.

Making These Cinnamon Rolls by Hand vs. a Stand Mixer

This recipe can be made by hand or with a dough hook / stand mixer.

It is definitely easier to make using a stand mixer, but a little elbow grease never hurt anyone. I also find it’s easier to get the consistency of the dough right if you knead by hand.

I’ve found that starting the dough in my stand mixer and finishing the kneading process by hand gives me the best results.

Whichever method you use to make the dough, just be sure to knead or mix the dough until it gets an elastic texture and pulls away from the bowl or counter.

Cinnamon Roll Dough – Substitutions and Swaps

While I love this recipe just the way it is, I know you might not have all these ingredients on hand!

Below are some swaps and substitutions that can be made in this recipe.

• All-Purpose Flour – I haven’t tested this recipe out with gluten-free flour, but it should work if you use a good blend like King Arthur’s GF flour. Just be sure to knead the dough a bit longer to help give it structure.
• Instant / Rapid Rise Yeast – You can use active dry yeast in place of the instant yeast in this recipe, just be sure to activate it before adding it to the dough and allow the dough to rise for a bit longer. Active yeast takes longer to rise than instant.
• Unsalted Butter – If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use it in place of the unsalted butter in this recipe. Just be sure to omit the salt that this recipe calls for. You can also use vegan butter in its place!
• Whole Milk – Most alternative milks work fine in this recipe, including soy, oat, and almond milk.
• Granulated Sugar – I don’t recommend changing the type or amount of sugar used in the dough.
• Unsweetened Applesauce – You can use 2 large eggs in place of the applesauce if needed.
• Brown Sugar – You can use light or dark brown sugar to make the filling for these cinnamon rolls. I prefer using light in this recipe!

Tips for Making the Best Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

• If you have the time, make the caramel from scratch! It only takes about 10 minutes to make.
• Dice your apples into small (about 1 cm), uniformly sized pieces. It makes them easier to cook down.
• Don’t overcook the apples! You want them to be soft, but not falling apart. If they get too soft the mixture will start to resemble apple sauce and that is not what we’re after with this recipe.
• Chill the apple filling in the fridge before spreading it on the dough. It’ll make it much easier to cut the cinnamon rolls.
• Use a ruler to make sure your dough is rolled out to the right size (24 x 18 in.) and cut into even pieces.
• Bake the cinnamon rolls in a greased, metal rectangular pan if possible(mine is 9 in x 13 in).
• Try to let the cinnamon rolls cool for about 10-20 minutes, then add the icing. This will allow it to perfectly melt over your cinnamon rolls!

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this recipe for caramel apple cinnamon rolls, I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a rating and a comment with your thoughts.

You can also tag me on social media @chelsweets or use #chelsweets so I can see your creations!!

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