Lemon Sweet Rolls start with a soft, flavorful dough filled with a generous amount of homemade lemon curd, baked to perfection, and drizzled with a sweet glaze. They are a delicious option for breakfast, brunch, or enjoyed as a citrusy treat anytime throughout the day! I also have Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls you will love!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Dough: I have used the same dough for many sweet rolls, including my popular classic Cinnamon Roll recipe. It is baked to a super soft, pillowy texture that is irresistible. Seriously, once you bite into one of the rolls, you will want to try more varieties like my Orange Sweet Rolls and Raspberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls. Plus, the dough is easy to work with!
Lemon Curd: For the citrusy, lemon flavor in each bite, spread lemon curd all over the dough before rolling and cutting. Lemon curd is a tart and lemony spread that you can buy at the store or make homemade! If making your own, it can be made up to 2 weeks in advance. Simply store the curd in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Glaze: The sweet, simple glaze is made with confectioners’ sugar and whole milk. For even more lemon flavor, you could use lemon juice in the glaze, too!
Make Ahead Lemon Sweet Rolls
Because these rolls are yeast bread, they will take some time to rise. So, it’s a perfect recipe where you can do most of the work ahead of time, depending on when you want to serve the rolls. Here are make-ahead options for sweet rolls:
- Refrigerator Method: Prepare the dough. Then, roll it out, fill it with the lemon curd, roll, and cut. Place the unbaked rolls into a greased baking dish. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator for 24 hours. When ready to bake, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature (about an hour). Then, bake the rolls.
- Freezer Method: Prepare the dough. Then, roll it out, fill it with the lemon curd, roll, and cut. Place the unbaked rolls into a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, place the rolls into a greased baking dish and let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, let the rolls come to room temperature for about an hour before baking.
Can I Use A Different Fruit Curd?
Absolutely! You can certainly try the rolls with a different fruit curd besides lemon. Try them with orange curd, raspberry, lime, mango, blueberry, or your favorite variety!
How To Store Lemon Sweet Rolls
If you are planning on enjoying the lemon sweet rolls within a day or two, store them at room temperature, covered. For slightly longer storage, you can refrigerate the rolls. However, that may dry out the rolls faster, so it is not the recommended method.
Freezing Baked Sweet Rolls
If you are planning to freeze the baked sweet rolls, freeze them without the glaze for best results. (It’s easy to make the glaze when ready to serve.) Once the rolls have cooled completely, wrap each roll individually in plastic wrap. Next, place the wrapped rolls in a freezer-safe bag or container. They can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. When ready to enjoy, let the rolls thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Lemon Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- ⅔ cup (163 g) whole milk, warmed to 100-110°F
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Filling
- ¾ cup (240 g) lemon curd
Glaze
- 1 cup (125 g) confectioners' sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
Dough
- In a medium bowl, combine warm 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 speed, add butter, 1 piece at a time, blending well between additions.
- Knead on medium speed for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high. Knead until the dough is smooth, about 5 minutes.
- To a medium greased bowl, add the dough. Roll it to grease all sides. Cover with plastic wrap.
- Let dough rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 – 1 ½ hours.
- When the dough is ready, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it into a 10×15-inch rectangle. (It should be about ¼-inch thick.)
- Evenly spread lemon curd over dough making sure it covers the entire surface.
Rolling, Cutting, Baking
- Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Starting on the long edge, roll the dough up tightly.
- Using a very sharp knife, cut the log into 12 rolls. Place them cut side up into the prepared 9×13-inch baking pan. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes to an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes.
Glaze
- While the rolls cool, in a small bowl, add confectioners' sugar and milk. Whisk until smooth.
- Drizzle all over the warm rolls and serve.
Video
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What the Test Kitchen had to say about this recipe:
Autumn
These sweet rolls are pillowy soft and filled with lemon flavor! I loved the homemade lemon curd but you could absolutely just purchase some from the store, too!
Elizabeth
Wow, these are so soft and full of lemon flavor! You really can't go wrong with any of our sweet rolls because of the dough.
Rachael
Light, fluffy, and lemony! I love lemon anything and these are a beautiful lemon sweet roll.
Bella
Mmmm, can't get enough of lemon! These rolls are beautifully soft and tangy. Such a delicious sweet treat!
Selena
These are so fun! I am not usually a fan of lemon things, but I really enjoyed them.
could we use per made dough, something from pilsbury pie crust? crescent? etc
Tasty rolls. Can have it anytime of the day. Thanks
Can you refrigerate the unbaked rolls overnight and bake in the a.m. ?
Here is what it says in the blog post, just above the recipe. Should you have questions in the future, please feel free to check there, as I have tried to anticipate questions and make sure they are answered for you!
Make Ahead Lemon Sweet Rolls
Because these rolls are yeast bread, they will take some time to rise. So, it’s a perfect recipe where you can do most of the work ahead of time, depending on when you want to serve the rolls. Here are make-ahead options for sweet rolls:
Refrigerator Method: Prepare the dough. Then, roll it out, fill it with the lemon curd, roll, and cut. Place the unbaked rolls into a greased baking dish. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator for 24 hours. When ready to bake, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature (about an hour). Then, bake the rolls.
Freezer Method: Prepare the dough. Then, roll it out, fill it with the lemon curd, roll, and cut. Place the unbaked rolls into a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, place the rolls into a greased baking dish and let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, let the rolls come to room temperature for about an hour before baking.
Hello Amanda! I notice you use active dry yeast and I use SAF instant or gold yeast depending on the amount of sugar in the dough. Could you tell me if I still need to bloom the yeast for your recipes? I know typically you don’t with instant but I’m not sure if in this recipe or say the Roadhouse rolls it’s necessary for some reason. I’m a rule-follower and don’t want to get in trouble with the baking police!! BTW: I have LOVED everything I have tried from your site! The Roadhouse rolls are a MASSIVE hit with all my friends and family and I get so many requests for them!!
Can you use fresh blueberries in these
Here is lemon blueberry-
https://iambaker.net/lemon-blueberry-sweet-rolls/
This is the first flop I have ever had from iambaker.net I have no idea what I did wrong but the batter was runny. I added probably 1.5 cups of flour just trying to get a pastry dough consistency but no luck. After the first proof it was still runny so now its an iced lemon loaf. Any criticism will be appreciated because I was so looking forward to lemon rolls
I’m so sorry to hear the lemon rolls didn’t turn out as expected! Let’s see if we can figure out what might have happened. A runny dough can sometimes mean that a bit too much liquid snuck in (even a small extra splash can make a difference). Another tip is to ensure the flour is measured carefully—a cup of flour should weigh about 125 grams, totaling 375 grams for this recipe. Also, making sure the butter is fully incorporated can help with the dough’s structure.
Finally, kneading can really help give the dough elasticity, so don’t hesitate to work it until it feels just slightly tacky but firm enough to hold its shape. I hope these tips help for next time because these lemon rolls are worth it—let me know if you give it another go!