This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.
Since the blueberries are frozen, they will make the dough cold after you fill it, cut into rolls, and allow to rise. Even though this recipe is developed from my cinnamon rolls dough, today’s rolls will take longer to rise since the dough is cold as a result of the blueberries. Does that make sense? The rise time is about 2 hours. Still much shorter than most typical recipes.
The rolls need a warm, draft-free environment to rise. Here’s what I do: Heat the oven to 200F. Turn off the oven. Place the rolls inside for 2 hours. That’s it! You can review my Baking with Yeast Guide if you need a refresher and more tips on baking with yeasted doughs.
When the rolls are rising, the frozen blueberries release their juices and fill the bottom of the pan with a layer of sweet blueberry juice. As the rolls bake, the blueberry juice thickens and bakes up into the bottom of the roll. A layer of thick blueberry goo at the bottom of the pan. I mean, it’s practically heaven.
After the rolls have risen and you’ve baked them, it’s time for a glaze. I made an easy sweet lemon glaze to pair with the fluffy dough and juicy blueberries. A drippy, zesty coating that pairs perfectly with the doughy rolls. I love lemon and blueberry together! The glaze is a simple mix of powdered sugar, a touch of cream, and the juice of a lemon. There’s really no science behind it. You truly can control its lemon flavor and thickness—use more/less lemon juice, more/less sugar, and more/less cream. I use half-and-half, but heavy cream or milk will do the trick. Or the lemon cream cheese frosting from my lemon sweet rolls would be a fantastic alternative.
More Cinnamon Roll Varieties:
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Apple Cinnamon Rolls
- Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls
- Raspberry Sweet Rolls
- Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Maple Pecan Sticky Buns
- Lemon Sweet Rolls
- Orange Sweet Rolls
- Chocolate Sweet Rolls
Blueberry Sweet Rolls with Sweet Lemon Glaze
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 11-12 rolls
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft & fluffy homemade sweet rolls filled with juicy blueberries and covered in a sweet lemon glaze. These are unbelievable!
Ingredients
Rolls
- 2 and 3/4 cups (344g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 packet Platinum Yeast from Red Star or any instant yeast (1 packet = 2 and 1/4 teaspoons)*
- 1/2 cup (120ml) water
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk
- 2 and 1/2 Tablespoons (35g) unsalted butter
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
Filling
- 1 and 1/3 cups (186g) frozen blueberries, not thawed*
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Sweet Lemon Glaze
- juice from 1 large lemon*
- 1 cup (120g)Â confectioners’ sugar
- 1–2 Tablespoons (15-30ml) milk, half-and-half, or heavy cream
Instructions
- Make the filling first: Combine the frozen blueberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl. Gently toss around and let sit while you prepare the dough.
- Make the dough: Set aside 1/2 cup of flour. In a large bowl, toss the remaining flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together. Set aside.
- Heat the water, milk, and butter together in the microwave until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot to touch. About 115°F (46°C)-120°F (49°C). Stir the butter mixture into the flour mixture. Add the egg and only enough of the reserved flour to make a soft dough. I only needed 1/3 cup, but you may need the full 1/2 cup. Dough will be ready when it gently pulls away from the side of the bowl and has an elastic consistency.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 5-6 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl (I used non-stick spray) and let rest for about 10 minutes.
- Fill the rolls: After 10 minutes, roll the dough out in a 14×8 inch rectangle. Pour the sugared blueberries on top and gently spread them to cover the dough surface. Roll up the dough tightly. Cut into 11-12 even pieces and place in a lightly greased 9-inch round pan. I used a 9-inch pie dish, lightly sprayed with nonstick spray.
- Loosely cover the rolls with aluminum foil and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 2-3 hours. Here is what I do: heat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Turn oven off. Place rolls inside oven and allow to rise.
- After the rolls have doubled in size, preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C). Bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned. I covered the rolls with aluminum foil after 15 minutes to avoid heavy browning.
- Make the glaze: Right before serving, top your blueberry rolls with glaze. Whisk all of the glaze ingredients together. If you prefer a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar and then add salt to cut the sweetness, if desired. If you’d like it thinner, add more lemon juice or cream. Pour over sweet rolls.
- Rolls are best enjoyed the same day, but stay fresh in a covered container for 5 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Overnight Instructions: This dough can be made the night before through step 5. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and allow to rest in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and let rise, about 1 hour. Continue with step 7.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Spatula | Rolling Pin |Â 9-inch Pie Dish or 9-inch Round Cake Pan | Whisk
- Yeast: If you replace Platinum Yeast from Red Star with an active dry yeast, the rise time may be 50% longer.
- Blueberries: You must use frozen (not fresh) blueberries in this recipe. Do not thaw.
- Lemon Glaze: Leave out the lemon juice if you do not prefer lemon glaze. Replace with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract instead.
- Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
Can’t get enough! Dare I say better than regular cinnamon rolls??
Fantastic twist on traditional cinnamon rolls! To amp up the citrus notes, I added Fiori di Sicilia with the vanilla and lemon zest with the blueberries. Another winner – thanks!!
Another winner from Sally! I did the make ahead and refrigerate
overnight method, and YUM. Had SAF active dry yeast on hand, and it worked great. If anyone is reading these comments for encouragement, don’t be afraid of baking with yeast. Sally has told you everything you need to know, so you got this!
Hey Sally! My dad loves blueberries and I want to make him this for father’s day. Would it be possible to make everything (besides the glaze) the night before and then pop it in the oven in the morning? Would that affect the rise, or how the fruit interacts with the dough? Excited to try this!
Hi Izzy! See recipe notes for our recommended overnight instructions. Hope your dad loves them!
Can I have half of this recipe, I want for a first try please
They are so good! I’m not that used to make stuff with yeast because i usually get desperate with the waiting times, but these are worth the waiting time! They are soft and full of flavour! Love them!
Great recipe! Easier than i thought and came out delicious. I let the dough sit for only an hour (i used rapid rise yeast) and baked for a total of 23 min. They were perfect!
These were delicious. I decided to do vanilla glaze instead of lemon & topped it with fresh berries. Would make again for sure! Also, would any kind of berry work for these? I’d be curious to make a strawberry vanilla version or cherry with chocolate frosting!
Hi Alice, strawberries or cherries would be delicious! You might also like our strawberry rolls recipe. Let us know what you try!
I kneaded my dough into a ball and then placed it in the refrigerator overnight to rise. How do you suggest I proceed? Let it rest for and hour, roll it out, fill with filling, and then have it rise in the oven for 2 hours?
I made these last night and baked this morning after sitting in the fridge overnight and finishing the rise this morning. Outstanding!!! I love cinnamon rolls but the fresh fruit flavors in these hit the spot for spring. My husband devoured them too.
I used active dry yeast instead of instant with no problem, and added a little lemon zest to the blueberry mix, rather than putting lemon in the icing, as I like a more subtle lemon touch. This is easily one of the simplest yeast recipes I’ve ever followed. I will make these again and again!
This was fairly easy to make and delicious! Loved the overnight prep/proofing to make it quicker in the morning. I didn’t need any milk for my glaze. The lemon juice was enough. I also exchanged some of the white sugar for brown in the dusting and dough. I will definitely make these again!
can i make this dough the night before and then take it in a cooler for 3.5 hours in the car. I was going to take it to my family for a famiy weekend. basically wanting to know how to make it ahead of time and travel with it and make it there.
Thank you, LIsa
Hi Lisa, You can try following the overnight instructions in the recipe notes where you prepare the recipe the night before through step 5. In the morning transfer it to your cooler and when you arrive let rise about 1 hour and continue with step 7.
Hi Sally! I just made this and it was so awesome! My hubby & I really love it! I made cream cheese frosting instead as he prefers that. I made it at night and bake them the next day after second rise in the fridge. The only thing is…I used frozen blueberries but while setting them aside after making the filling their juices start coming out & by the time I put the filling on the dough & rolling it up, there was lotsa purple juices flowing out. My rolls were already purple even before the second rise. Other than that, I think it was a decent attempt. Thanks for this wonderful recipe! 🙂
Hello Sally,
I love you web site. I have made so many of your baked goods.
If i freeze your Blueberry Sweet Rolls with Lemon Glaze Do i leave off the glaze and add when defrosted.Also when defrosted what is the best way to reheat them.
Hi Joyce! You can freeze these sweet rolls with or without the icing on top. To reheat, I simply place them in the microwave until warm. If you want to reheat in the oven, it’s probably best to not freeze with the icing on top as we don’t want to bake/cook the icing too much. Heat them at 300F for about 15 minutes.
Hello Sally,
I love your recipes!!
I do have a question to ask in regards to the blueberry buns.. is it alright to use the kitchenaid mixer or is it just not neccessary?
Do you use the mixer for these or do you do it all by hand?
You can absolutely use a mixer if it’s easier for you!
Love the recipe!! Once you toss the blueberries with sugar and cornstarch, are you supposed to set them aside in the freezer to keep them frozen? Mine thawed while sitting on the side. You mentioned to not use thawed blueberries.Â
Thanks for your help!
You can place them back in the freezer if you find they’re thawing quickly 🙂
These look amazing!! Do you think I could make them ahead and freeze them?Â
Yes, definitely! Freeze up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Sally, what do you think about adding cinnamon to the filling as well? My boyfriend loves blueberries so I was thinking of trying these out today, but wondered if cinnamon might be good too or if it’d be to much. I’d probably do regular cream cheese frosting, you think it’d be any good? Love your blog, and just got your cookbook for my birthday!
Hi Alex! You can certainly sprinkle cinnamon on the dough with the blueberries. Here is a cream cheese frosting you can use: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/12/24/overnight-cinnamon-rolls/
I made these rolls today and they came out wonderful!
I’m currently an Au Pair in Germany and I wanted the kids to be able to eat these with their hands – I cut my rolls thinner (32 rolls) and made the frosting into a lemon a glaze. The kids were able to pick them up like cookies and because of the glaze they were not overly sweet which is more traditional in Germany!
Thank you for your post,
Vanessa
I made these last night, with regular active dried yeast, rising over night on the counter. I loved the simplicity of the recipe. I am usually hesitant to make yeast rolls due to my lack of counter space to roll out dough. NO worries with this dough or lack of space. My only changes were adding more blueberries, doubling the glaze and making it orange instead of lemon all for family preference.
They were a huge hit! We will be making these again. Next time, I think I will add orange zest to the dough.
Can I do this with frozen strawberries? This looks amazing, and I have a TON of frozen strawberries.
Absolutely!
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I did the overnight rise method and they are fantastic! We will definitely do these again 🙂 Thank you for posting the recipes
Wow, these were incredible. I loved the overnight process. The taste was beyond what i thought it would be. This couldnt be any easier. If i can make these anyone can.
Hey! Do we use cold or warm water?
It doesn’t matter since it will be warmed in the microwave.
These where so GOOOOOD! Made them tonight for desert, the family loved them. And the daughter and I had fun making them
Hey there! I have been dying to make these, and I finally happen to have all the ingredients except one.. cornstarch! Will not using cornstarch in the blueberry filling make a big difference? Thanks!
Hi Shanell! The filling for these rolls won’t really stick together, if you know what I mean. The cornstarch binds the berries together. You can use flour instead though!
I was reading through your roll recipes and for the Orange rolls, you did a double rise while in this one, banana, and easy rolls you only did a 10 minute rest followed by a longer 60-90 minute rise. What makes you decide between a rest and longer rise and two longer rises?
Hi Lys! The two dough recipes are completely different. The Orange Roll recipe is one of my grandmother’s and when I wanted to make cinnamon rolls, I decided to revamp the recipe a little to make them a bit quicker. It took some trial and error to develop a new dough recipe.
Hi Sally,
I’m a novice baker and I’d like to try your recipe. Quick question, I can’t find Red Star Platinum Yeast where I’m from. Am I able to use what’s available in stores, and if so, how many times should I let the dough rise? Thanks for your help 🙂
Hi Vanessa! Try to find another instant active yeast instead. The dough may take another 30 minutes or so during the rise.
Is it possible to put blueberry extract in the glaze instead of the lemon or vanilla? I’m mad about blueberries. 🙂
Yes, you can use blueberry extract instead. Yum!