Easy strawberry cheesecake cinnamon rolls are filled with strawberry sugar, and a delicious cream cheese frosting on top. No messy jam here!
Much like when I used freeze dried apples to make Caramel Apple Cookies, I use freeze dried strawberries for the filling of the strawberry cinnamon rolls. Allll the strawberry flavor without the mess jam can make. The husband said these were a close second to his very favorite, Orange Sweet Rolls.

Other recipes use fresh strawberries or strawberry jam for filling. Delicious but usually they are messy, and there's a chance that the rolls won't rise well, or will be doughy from all of the extra liquid in the filling.
Enter freeze-dried strawberries! They make these rolls AMAZING. I add a little lemon zest to enhance the strawberry flavor, and these are the BEST strawberry cinnamon rolls because of those two ingredients.
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What To Expect
- Taste: sweet strawberry sugar filling, with an all-cream cheese frosting on top to taste like strawberry cheesecake. I DO have a not-very-secret ingredient that helps to enhance the strawberry flavor: lemon zest! Not too much, just enough to make the strawberry flavor pop.
- Ease: This is a medium-level baking recipe, using yeast and letting the dough rise twice. It's made easier/less messy with the freeze-dried strawberries.
- Time: It takes about 2.5 to 3 hours to make the rolls from start to finish, so plan accordingly!
🛒 Key Ingredients
- Freeze Dried Strawberries - can be found in many grocery stores in the dried fruit section, or online. I use these because it was so much easier than using fresh or pie filling, they don't add unwanted liquid to the filling that can increase bake time or make soggy rolls.
- Eggs - used as a binder in the dough, it helps to keep the dough nice and soft and fresh tasting the next day!
- Flour - all-purpose flour is what I use in most of my baking, it tends to be cheaper and more readily available than bread flour.
- Sugar - white granulated sugar for the filling and the dough, and powdered sugar for the cream cheese frosting. The cornstarch in it is necessary to help stabilize the frosting.
- Cream Cheese - I use full fat cream cheese, but ⅓ fat or fat free can be used as well.
- Lemon zest - make the strawberry flavor really shine in the strawberry cream cheese cinnamon rolls. It brings out the tartness so they're not overly sweet.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
✏️ Substitutions & Variations
- Sugar - can be swapped out with coconut sugar in the dough and filling.
- Freeze-dried strawberries - another variation would be freeze-dried raspberries.
- Cream cheese frosting - you can skip homemade and use storebought to save time if your heart desires. Mascarpone cheese would also work!
- You could try orange zest instead of lemon for a fun twist!
- NOTE: You CAN put cinnamon in these, but they actually taste better without it to us!
🧑🍳 Instructions
- Step 1. In a small bowl combine warm milk (between 100-110 F), water, sugar, and active dry yeast and let sit 5 minutes or until foamy (above left image).
- Step 2. In a stand mixer (or large bowl if mixing by hand) combine salt, butter, egg, and flour. Pour foamy yeast mixture in and mix with dough hook on low speed for 5-8 minutes until smooth and elastic. If mixing without a mixer, simply mix with a wooden spoon until you can’t mix anymore and then begin kneading by hand 8-10 minutes (above right image).
- Step 3. Oil a large bowl, place dough inside and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature for one hour or until doubled in size(above left image).
- Step 4. Transfer the freeze dried strawberries to a large zip close bag and roll with rolling pin until the strawberries are a fine powder. You can also blend in the blender until powdered (above right image).
- Step 5. In a bowl, combine strawberry powder with the white granulated sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and flour. Mix well. Optional: Save 3 Tablespoons to sprinkle over tops of rolls after frosting (above left image).
- Step 6. On a floured work surface, roll the dough into a long 24 inch by 12 inch rectangle. I stop occasionally and shape it with my hands to keep in a rectangle shape (above right image).
TIP: I like to save 2-3 Tablespoons of the strawberry sugar filling to sprinkle over the tops of the strawberry rolls when they're all baked and frosted. Yum!
- Step 7. Spread softened butter over dough. Sprinkle and spread sugar mixture evenly over butter, I like to leave a ½ inch space clear of sugar on one long edge so that the dough can roll together easier (above left image).
- Step 8. Carefully roll the dough lengthwise starting at one edge into a long roll (above right image).
- Step 9. Use a piece of clean string or dental floss and slide the string underneath the roll. Pick up both ends of the string, cross them, and pull tight to cut the dough into 12 equal pieces (above left image).
- Step 10. Place rolls cut side down into an oiled 9x13 inch pan or large baking sheet, being careful not to crowd the rolls so they have room to rise. Let rise for 1 hour or until almost doubled in size (above right image).
TIP: Set a timer for 45 minutes while the strawberry rolls are rising so you can turn the oven on to 350 ℉ to preheat for the last 15-20 minutes of the rising time.
- Step 11. Preheat the oven to 350 ℉. Bake strawberry rolls for 25-30 minutes. 25 minutes for dark pans, 30 minutes for glass and thick ceramic stoneware pans. Let the strawberry cheesecake rolls cool for 20 minutes at least before frosting, or the frosting will melt into them.
- Step 12. In a mixing bowl, Use an electric mixer to cream the softened cream cheese together with the powdered sugar and vanilla until creamy and smooth (above left and right images).
- Step 13. Spread over the cooled rolls and serve, and optionally sprinkle with some of the strawberry sugar or sliced strawberries. Enjoy!
📌 Top Tips & Hacks
- Weigh your flour and sugar for accurate results. It can be difficult to get consistent good results with cup measurements.
- Blend your strawberries for a fine powder, or mash with a rolling pin for more chunky powder.
- Save 2-3 Tablespoons strawberry sugar filling to sprinkle on the tops of each roll, or slice fresh strawberries for the tops!
❓Frequently Asked Questions
The consistency. Frosting tends to be thicker for spreading, and icing is thinned out a little for drizzling rather than spreading.
Yes! You can make the dough, rise once, make and cut the rolls, then freeze before the second rise. Freeze the individual rolls for up to 3 months, then thaw completely and let rise before baking, usually 3-5 hours depending on room temperature.
Yes, the taste will be different if you use unsalted butter, but it can be substituted if you wish.
Yes, you could use mascarpone cheese in place of cream cheese.
🍞 More Delicious Cinnamon Roll Recipes
📝 Printable Recipe
Strawberry Cheesecake Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk 220 mL
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar 55 g
- 1 Tablespoon yeast 11 g
- 1 teaspoon salt 6 g
- ½ cup salted butter 113 g
- 1 large egg
- 4 cups all purpose flour 563 g
For the filling:
- 2 oz freeze dried strawberries (56 g)
- 1 cup white granulated sugar 223 g
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest (1 lemon)
- 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- ½ cup salted butter softened
For the frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2½ cups powdered sugar 331 g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine warm milk (between 100-110 F), water, sugar, and active dry yeast and let sit 5 minutes or until foamy.
- In a stand mixer (or large bowl if mixing by hand) combine salt, butter, egg, and flour. Pour foamy yeast mixture in and mix with dough hook on low speed for 5-8 minutes until smooth and elastic. It will be a little sticky. If mixing without a mixer, simply mix with a wooden spoon until you can’t mix anymore and then begin kneading by hand 8-10 minutes.
- Oil a large bowl, place dough inside and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature for one hour or until doubled in size.
For the Filling:
- Transfer the freeze dried strawberries to a large zip close bag and roll with rolling pin until the strawberries are a fine powder. You can also blend in the blender until powdered.
- In a bowl, combine strawberry powder with the white granulated sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and flour. Mix well. Optional: Save 3 Tablespoons to sprinkle over tops of rolls after frosting. NOTE: You CAN put ½ teaspoon cinnamon in, but they actually taste better without it to us!
- On a floured work surface, roll the dough into a long 24 inch by 12 inch rectangle. I stop occasionally and shape it with my hands to keep in a rectangle shape.
- Spread softened butter over dough. Sprinkle and spread sugar mixture evenly over butter.
- Carefully roll the dough lengthwise starting at one edge into a long roll.
- Use a piece of clean string or dental floss and slide the string underneath the roll. Pick up both ends of the string, cross them, and pull tight to cut the dough into 12 equal pieces.
- Place rolls cut side down into an oiled 9x13 inch pan or large baking sheet, being careful not to crowd the rolls so they have room to rise.Let rise for 1 hour or until almost doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350 ℉. Bake strawberry rolls for 25 minutes for dark pans, 30 minutes for glass pans and thick ceramic stoneware pans. Cool for 20 minutes (at least) before frosting.
For the frosting:
- In a mixing bowl, Use an electric mixer to cream the softened cream cheese together with the powdered sugar and vanilla until creamy and smooth.
- Spread over the cooled strawberry cinnamon rolls and serve, and optionally sprinkle with some of the strawberry sugar or sliced strawberries. Enjoy!
Annie B says
I would have never thought to combine strawberry cheesecake and cinnamon rolls but now I'm wondering where these rolls have been all my life.
Kyson says
These are amazing. If you have tried her orange rolls recipe you’re going to love this one. I highly recommend