There's nothing better than topping a soft and fluffy cinnamon roll with the best Cinnamon Roll Icing. It completes the package and adds creamy goodness to an already delicious treat. This homemade recipe is the best and makes perfect yet simple frosting.
Why This Recipe is the Best
This cream cheese cinnamon roll icing is the ultimate finishing touch for warm, gooey rolls fresh out of the oven. It’s smooth, rich, and just the right amount of sweet, bringing bakery-quality flavor right to your kitchen. While you can buy icing from the store, this homemade version is so easy and delicious, you'll never want to go back to the packaged kind again.
We highly suggest you use it with our irresistible Cinnamon Rolls or if you just need Cinnamon Roll Filling.
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Key Ingredients
There are plenty of recipes that are made without powdered sugar, or with heavy whipping cream, but we've recipe tested to find the perfect winning formula. You will love this tasty frosting.
- Cream Cheese - A cream cheese-based frosting is the most popular type of topping for cinnamon rolls. We tested this recipe to get you that perfect cream cheese flavor that isn't too sweet.
- Butter- Just like the cream cheese, be sure to soften the butter before using. This will help create that smooth texture.
- Powdered Sugar- The light and fluffy texture is aided by using powdered sugar. Add a small amount at a time to get the texture you are looking for. If you are making it without powdered sugar and use brown sugar or granulated sugar, you'll miss the airy texture.
- Vanilla- We love adding a touch of vanilla to get that smooth flavor. It also complements the other flavors nicely. You can also make these without vanilla by simply not adding it in!
How to make Cinnamon Roll Icing
Learn how to make cinnamon roll frosting with these quick and easy step-by-step process photos. It's simple yet satisfying and comes out great every time.
- In a medium mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and cream cheese with an electric hand mixer.
- Once creamed, add in the vanilla and powdered sugar.
- Finish mixing the ingredients with a rubber spatula until it's a smooth and fluffy mixture. Store at room temperature as the cinnamon rolls cool.
- Once the cinnamon rolls have slightly cooled, frost each roll with a generous amount of icing. Serve and enjoy!
Hint: It's important that the butter and cream cheese are softened beforehand. If they are not softened then the icing will have small chunks and will not be smooth.
How To Serve
This is a great recipe for homemade cinnamon rolls, but can also be served with store-bought frozen cinnamon rolls. Use this recipe to replace the glaze that comes with the canned Pillsbury cinnamon rolls for a tastier DIY treat.
Top tip
Frost the cinnamon rolls when they are still hot to have the icing melt down the sides. If you don't want the icing to melt, make sure to cool it before frosting.
Recipe
Cinnamon Roll Icing
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup butter softened, I used salted
- 1 cup powdered sugar or more for desired consistency
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until completely smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.
- I like to spread these on the cinnamon rolls while they are still warm, about 10-20 minutes after they come out of the oven. This allows part of the icing to melt into the rolls, and leaves some on top. For icing that does not absorb and sits on top of the rolls, add after rolls have completely cooled.
Notes
- This makes enough icing to ice 12 standard sized cinnamon rolls or the amount that fits into a 9x13 pan. For rolls with extra icing, make a 1 ½ batch.
- You can use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe. I like the hint of added savory that salted butter adds, so I used salted.
- This makes a nice spreadable frosting that will melt into your warm cinnamon rolls. For a thicker frosting, add an extra ½+ cups of powdered sugar.
- To melt all the frosting into the rolls, put the frosting on as soon as they come out of the oven, not waiting for them to cool at all.
Nutrition
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Variations
There are so many types of frostings/ icings and glazes that go well with cinnamon rolls! Over the years, I've tested many, and these are my favorites.
- Buttercream/ without cream cheese - Beat ⅔ cup butter until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in 2 cups powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla, then 1-2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream to thin, if needed.
- Glaze - for a glaze, mix together 4 cups powdered sugar with 4-6 Tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add a little more milk if needed to reach desired consistency. This is a thin glaze that makes a great drizzle of sweetness across the tops of your cinnamon rolls.
- Dairy free/ vegan/ without milk - Mix together 4 cups powdered sugar with 4-5 Tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add more water if needed to reach desired consistency.
- Thick- Looking for a thicker frosting, add an extra ½ cup of powdered sugar.
- Mascarpone - For a tangier taste, switch the cream cheese for softened mascarpone cheese.
- Maple- Give it a fall theme by reducing the vanilla to ¼ teaspoon. Add 1 teaspoon maple extract.
Storage
Because there is cream cheese, be sure to store the unused frosting in the refrigerator. If you want to spread more on cinnamon rolls later, make sure to let it sit out at room temperature to make spreading easier.
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