Apple Pie Filled Cinnamon Rolls

Name: Apple Pie Filled Cinnamon Rolls
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 can of Pillsbury Crescent Dough Sheet; 2 small apples (honeycrisp, gala, pink lady); 4 tablespoons salted butter; 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice; 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup brown sugar; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon; 1 cup powdered sugar; 2 tablespoons any kind of milk; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Apple Pie Filled Cinnamon Rolls are the perfect Fall breakfast! This recipe only takes 15 minutes of prep and uses Pillsbury Crescent Dough to save time. These Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls are gooey, delicious and everyone will go wild over them!

Apple Pie filled cinnamon rolls in 8x8 pan.

Who knew Apple Pie Filling and Cinnamon Rolls went together so perfectly? This is truly a match made in heaven. Drizzled with icing, these cinnamon buns could potentially be the best weekend breakfast. These are also super easy to make and don't require hours of rise time, so let's get to it!

If you're looking for classic cinnamon rolls, check out my Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls recipe.

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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
Ingredients for Apple Cinnamon Rolls:
Substitutions and Variations:
How to Make Apple Pie Filled Cinnamon Rolls:
Expert Tips:
Recipe FAQs:
More Breakfast Ideas You Will Love:
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:

These Apple Pie filled Cinnamon Rolls are super easy to make in less than an hour
They scream Fall and use fresh apples, instead of the mushy canned pie mix
A great weekend breakfast with minimal effort that kids and adults will love
This recipe is fantastic for dessert too

For more sweet breakfast ideas try my Sweet Cream Pancakes, Brioche French Toast Casserole, Pillsbury Crescent Cream Cheese Danishes, and White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins.

Ingredients for Apple Cinnamon Rolls:

Apple pie filled cinnamon rolls on black countertop.

Pillsbury Crescent Dough Sheet- Makes a delicious dough for our cinnamon rolls and saves us a ton of time in the kitchen. I highly recommend the dough sheet versus the crescent rolls because it doesn't have any perforations. You can still use the crescent roll dough, but you will need to gently roll over the perforations to close them with a rolling pin.

Butter, Brown Sugar, Granulated Sugar and Cinnamon- Classic filling for cinnamon rolls.

Fresh Apples- It's really hard for me to get behind the canned pie filling mixes when it's so easy to make your own. Plus, Fall is apple season so we're peeling and chopping our own for this recipe. They only take between 5 to 7 minutes to soften in the pan and the texture & fresh flavor is 100 times better than canned. Try this Apple Strudel Puff Pastry too!

Powdered Sugar, Vanilla and Milk-Create a simple cinnamon roll icing in about a minute that melts perfectly over these warm sweet rolls.

*Full recipe ingredients and quantities can be found in the recipe card below.

Substitutions and Variations:

Want to make them even more Fall-ish? Substitute 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon with pumpkin pie spice to bring in some additional flavors.

You can use whatever apple variation you want here. I used 2 gala apples that are on the sweeter side, but honeycrisp, pink ladies or 1 sweet and 1 sour, like Granny Smith, would be good too. I wouldn't choose all granny smith apples, because it might be too sour, but 1 sweet and one sour would be yummy.

If you want to add maple flavor, substitute the vanilla extract for maple extract in the icing.

Pair these Cinnamon Rolls with a Cold Brew topped with my Pumpkin Cold Foam Recipe!

How to Make Apple Pie Filled Cinnamon Rolls:

Apples peeled and diced on cutting board.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Peel and dice the apples into small, thin pieces. Prepare an 8x8 pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray to prevent sticking.

Step 2: Melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium low heat on the stovetop in a large skillet. Pour approximately 3 tablespoons into a bowl and reserve. With the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan, add in the apples.

Step 3: Increase the heat to medium. Add in ⅛ cup of brown sugar and the lemon juice. Stir to combine. Cook for 5-7 minutes until softened, stirring frequently.

Cinnamon and sugar mixture in white bowl with whisk.

Step 4: Whisk together the remaining brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Cinnamon roll dough covered in butter on parchment paper.

Step 5: Roll the crescent dough sheet out over a large piece of parchment paper and brush with the reserved butter to cover the whole surface.

Dough covered with butter and cinnamon sugar mixture.

Step 6: Sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar mixture to cover all of the butter.

Apple pie filling on crescent roll dough.

Step 7: Next, evenly scatter the apples over the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Cinnamon roll dough rolled up into a log shape.

Step 8: Slowly begin to roll the dough up into a log shape, starting at the bottom of the longest side of the rectangle. Work slow to keep all of the apple pie filling in place.

Sliced cinnamon roll on parchment paper.

Step 9: Using a very sharp knife and a gentle sawing motion, cut into 2 inch thick cinnamon rolls.

Step 10: Spread the rolls out into the 8x8 pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until fully cooked. Allow them to cool for a few minutes.

Cinnamon roll icing in glass bowl with whisk.

Step 11: While the cinnamon rolls are cooling, whip up the icing by whisking together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Pour over the cinnamon rolls while still warm.

Apple pie cinnamon rolls with icing in pan.

Step 12: Serve warm and enjoy! These can be messy. Use a spatula or pie server to get under them.

Expert Tips:

Use parchment paper under the cinnamon roll dough to make life easier and avoid it sticking to the countertop. It will be almost impossible to roll into a log without it.
Don't pull the crescent dough sheet from the fridge until right before using it. It gets stickier to work with when it gets warmer.
To slice the cinnamon rolls from the dough, use the sharpest knife you have and a really gentle sawing motion. This will help them keep their circular shape.

For more Fall desserts, you have to try my Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Icing, Biscoff Truffles, Apple Pie with Graham Cracker Crust and Apple Blackberry Crumble.

Recipe FAQs:

Should cinnamon rolls touch when baking?

You want to give them a little space in the pan to allow them to rise and spread out.

Can I use canned apples in this recipe?

No, the canned apple versions I see are more of baked casserole type dishes, rather than cinnamon rolls. The canned filling has way too much sauce and will be impossible to roll up into the cinnamon rolls. I don't recommend.

How to Store Cinnamon Rolls:

Store the leftovers in the fridge in a sealed container and heat up in the microwave or oven until warm. These would be really good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert too, and a drizzle of caramel. Yum!

More Breakfast Ideas You Will Love:

If you tried this Apple Pie Filled Cinnamon Rolls Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!

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