Banana Cream Sweet Rolls are like a blend of sweet rolls, banana bread, and banana cream pie that are drizzled with a cream cheese glaze. If these sound good to you, be sure to check out my Cream Cheese Banana Bread.
Banana Cream Sweet Rolls
I love sweet rolls, and I have quite a few recipes for them from my Cinnamon Rolls to Raspberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls to Orange Sweet Rolls. I even have an Air Fryer Cinnamon Roll! This Banana Cream Sweet Rolls recipe blends the flavors of a banana cream pie and banana bread for a delicious way to start your day and a definite must-add to your list of sweet roll recipes!
Sweet Rolls Ingredients
There are four parts to this recipe–the dough, the filling, cream cheese glaze, and toppings.
Dough: Be sure the eggs and butter are at room temperature for best results. You will notice an additional 1/2 tablespoon of butter under the ingredients; that is used to brush the bowl and the top of the dough while it rises the first time.
Filling: You will mix the entire box of instant pudding mix (be sure it is instant pudding mix) with milk. However, you will only use about a cup of the pudding in the rolls, so save the rest for a snack later! Diced bananas and vanilla wafers are also added to the pudding for that banana cream pie-like flavor.
Glaze and Toppings: The cream cheese glaze adds so much to the rolls, but don’t forget to also add some more crushed vanilla wafers and sliced bananas on top!
Sweet Roll Dough
The base for this sweet roll dough is the same as what I used in my other sweet roll recipes. It is one of the easiest doughs to work in part due to the ingredients and in part due to the process. To make this dough whisk together the milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and the yeast. Let that sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. The mixture will get a little foamy. Add in eggs and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
Next, move to your stand mixer. Make sure it is fitted with a dough hook. In the bowl, combine the remaining sugar, flour, and salt. Add the milk mixture and turn the mixer on low. Slowly add pats of butter, blending well between additions. Once everything is combined, turn the mixer to medium for 1 minute and then switch to medium-high to knead until the dough is soft (about 5 minutes).
Rise and Prepare the Dough
Transfer the dough to a medium-sized buttered dish. Brush the top of the dough with melted butter and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm area until doubled in size (about 1 hour). After the dough has doubled in size, give the dough a good punch and turn it out onto a floured surface. Roll out a 10×15-inch rectangle that is about 1/4-inch thick.
How to Make Banana Cream Sweet Rolls
After the dough has been made, had time to rise (the first time), and is rolled into a rectangle, it’s time to get it filled. To make the filling, simply combine the pudding mix with milk. Beat it with a hand mixer or a whisk, until the mixture has thickened.
Once thickened, spread one cup of the pudding over the dough. You will have pudding leftover; save it to enjoy later! Next, sprinkle brown sugar over the top of the pudding, followed by the diced bananas and crushed vanilla wafers.
Tightly roll the dough into a log using the bottom long edge as a starting point. Using a very sharp knife or dental floss (I will explain that later), cut the rolls into 12 equal-sized pieces. Place each roll into a greased 9×13-inch pan. Put the pan in a warm, dry place and let them rise again (about 1 hour).
After the rolls have had time to rise, bake them for 25-30 minutes. You are going for a golden-brown crust. Remove the rolls from the oven and let them cool as you prepare the glaze.
Cream Cheese Glaze and Toppings
The glaze in this recipe is what dreams are made of. To prepare, grab a small bowl and mix together the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, confectioners’ sugar, and milk until smooth. Add more milk if you want the glaze to be thinner or more confectioners’ sugar to thicken.
Pour the glaze over the warm rolls, but don’t stop there! Add some additional crushed vanilla wafers and sliced bananas to really put this breakfast or snack over the top!
Can I Make Banana Cream Sweet Rolls without a Dough Hook?
Yes. For best results, use a stand mixer with a dough hook, but if you have to knead the dough by hand, it will take about 25 minutes of gentle kneading (and some arm strength) to equal the 5 minutes using the dough hook. It can still be done, but it gets a little messy, and sometimes there is too much extra flour added to the recipe in the kneading process.
Can I Freeze Sweet Rolls?
Yes! You can freeze these rolls in a few different ways.
- Before they rise and bake, cover them with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Take them out of the freezer when you are ready to bake them and let them thaw and rise before completing the rest of the steps. If you are planning to freeze the rolls longer than a couple of weeks, you will want to add a bit more yeast to the recipe (about 1 extra teaspoon).
- You can also freeze them after baking the rolls, but before adding the cream cheese glaze.
- A third way to freeze the rolls would be to cook them for only 10-15 minutes. Then, remove them from the oven and let the rolls cool completely. After the partially baked rolls have cooled, cover them (in the pan) with at least two layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 weeks. When you are ready to bake them, let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight before popping them in the oven for about 15 minutes. That would be the perfect time to make the frosting.
Whenever you store food in the freezer, always remember to label and date the storage containers or wrappings that the food is held. I sometimes like to add a couple of instructions to remind me how to reheat or cook the food when I am ready to do that.
How to Slice Sweet Rolls with Dental Floss
After rolling all the goodness up into sweet rolls, sometimes it’s hard to slice them into individual-sized rolls without smooshing them. If the knife you are using is not sharp enough, that can lead to the squishing of the rolls before they are baked. A great method to save you from frustration is dental floss! Yep, dental floss.
To use dental floss, first, make sure it is plain (not flavored) floss. Slide a long piece of floss underneath the rolled-up rolls and wrap the floss around the roll about 2 inches in. Pull to slice through the roll. Continue this method every two inches or so. Now, don’t forget to go floss your teeth, but use a new piece of floss!
More Breakfast Recipes
Banana Cream Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- ⅔ cup (184g) whole milk, warmed in microwave for about 30 seconds
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2¾ cups (344g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (1 stick, 113g) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature
- ½ tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 1 box (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding
- 2 cups (490g) milk
- ⅓ cup (67g) light brown sugar
- 3 medium bananas, diced (approximately 1½ cups)
- 10 vanilla wafers, crushed (approximately ⅓ cup)
Cream Cheese Glaze
- ¼ cup (½ stick, 57g) butter, softened
- 1 ounce cream cheese, softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup (94g) confectioners' sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk, or as needed for desired consistency, room temperature
Toppings
- 5 vanilla wafers, crushed for topping
- 1 medium banana, sliced for topping
Instructions
Dough
- In a medium bowl, combine the warmed milk and 1 tablespoon sugar. Sprinkle yeast over milk and whisk to blend. Let sit until yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs; whisk until smooth.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar, flour, and salt. Add the milk mixture. With the mixer running on low, add butter, 1 piece at a time, blending well between additions.
- Knead on medium speed for 1 minute. Knead on medium-high speed until the dough is soft, about 5 minutes.
- Brush a medium bowl with some melted butter; place the dough in the bowl. Brush the top of the dough with the remaining melted butter; cover with plastic wrap.
- Let dough rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- When ready, punch the dough, turn it out onto a floured surface, and roll it into a 10×15-inch rectangle (it should be about ¼-inch thick).
Filling
- In a medium bowl combine the pudding powder with milk and beat with a hand mixer on medium until thickened. (You could also use a whisk if you don't have a hand mixer.)
- Spread 1 cup of the pudding mixture over the dough. (You will have extra pudding to enjoy later!) Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and then top with the diced bananas and crushed cookies.
Rolling, Cutting, and Baking
- Roll the dough into a log starting on the long edge.
- Using a very sharp knife, cut the log into 12 rolls. Place them into a greased 9×13-inch baking pan. Let rise in a warm place until double (about an hour).
- When ready, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes.
- Remove the rolls from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes.
Cream Cheese Glaze
- While the rolls cool, in a medium bowl, mix together the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, confectioners' sugar, and 2 tablespoons milk. Add more milk if necessary to thin the glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls.
Toppings
- Top with crushed vanilla wafers and banana slices, and serve.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
These are fantastic and such a creative spin on cinnamon rolls. I used banana pudding instead of vanilla for even more banana flavor, but followed everything else as written and they came out great. Definitely need to make again soon!
These are good, but the dough was super wet and sticky. I weighed out the flour, so I know I used the right amount. The bananas tore holes in the dough because it was so soft, and they completely fell apart when I tried to transfer them to the baking pan. If I make them again, I’d add more flour.