How to Store Cinnamon Rolls: The Ultimate Guide for Freshness

Whether you make them yourself or purchase them at your favorite bakery, cinnamon rolls are loved by almost everyone. But, if you’ve made or purchased a few extra, how do you store them to keep them nice and moist, and fresh?

It is best to store cinnamon rolls in an airtight container to prevent them from drying out. They will last two days at normal room temperature, around seven days in the refrigerator, or up to two months in the freezer.

Let’s explore the best way to store cinnamon rolls.

Storing Cinnamon Rolls At Normal Room Temperature

Cinnamon rolls can be stored at normal room temperature for around two days, but you have to store them correctly so that they don’t dry out.

The best way to do this is to store them in an airtight container in the pantry. This stops the air from drying them out. When stored this way, cinnamon rolls that are frosted with cream cheese will be fine for around two days at normal room temperature because the sugar in the frosting will help to preserve it.

You might also be surprised to learn that cinnamon rolls that have a vanilla glaze frosting can be kept for a maximum of five days at normal room temperature as long as they’re in a container that’s airtight or you’ve wrapped them tightly with plastic wrap. The idea is to keep the air away from the rolls at all costs.

However, if you want to store your cinnamon rolls a little longer, you should pop them in the refrigerator as soon as possible.

Storing Cinnamon Rolls In The Refrigerator

If you’ve made some cinnamon rolls and want them to last for around seven days, it’s a good idea to pop them in the refrigerator as soon as they’ve cooled to room temperature. Make sure you put them in a container that’s airtight or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap.

If you’re not going to serve them the same day, you can wait to glaze or ice them until the following day or even a few days later. It’s a good idea to warm them up slightly before serving, and you can ice them once they’re warm.

However, if you feel you’re not going to have time to ice them on the day, there’s no harm in icing them once they’ve reached room temperature before storing them in the refrigerator.

You can also store your cinnamon rolls in the refrigerator overnight before baking them. This is ideal if you want to prepare them beforehand but serve them the following day for breakfast, brunch, or morning tea.

For this method, you want to make up the dough, fill the rolls, and then cut them. Pop them onto your baking sheet or tray and cover them tightly with plastic wrap before placing them in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, make sure you take the cinnamon rolls out of the refrigerator around one to two hours before you’re going to bake them but keep them covered. You should place them in a warm spot so that they can rise after being in the refrigerator. You might need to loosen the plastic wrap a little to give the rolls room to rise. Just before you’re ready to pop them into the oven, take off the plastic wrap.

But what about if you’ve had a major baking day and you have quite a few cinnamon rolls left over that you’re not planning to serve within the next week? When this happens, you can actually freeze them for up to two months.

Storing Cinnamon Rolls In The Freezer

If you want to store your baked cinnamon rolls in the freezer, make sure that you double wrap them. This will stop them from getting freezer burn.

There are a number of ways that you can do this:

Wrap them in one layer of plastic wrap and one layer of aluminum foil.
Wrap them securely in two layers of plastic wrap.
Use one layer of plastic wrap to wrap your rolls tightly, and then place them in a freezer bag.
Wrap the rolls in one layer of plastic wrap and then pop them into an airtight container.

You can also choose whether to wrap the cinnamon rolls as a batch or individually. This will depend on how you’re going to eventually use them when you take them out of the freezer.

For example, you might want to wrap some of the rolls individually so that you can just take one out to have for breakfast when you’re in a rush. Alternatively, if you’ve got guests coming over for morning tea in a couple of weeks, wrap some of the rolls in a batch so you can take the right amount out of the freezer on the day.

How To Store Par-Baked Cinnamon Rolls In The Freezer

This is a great way to prepare your cinnamon rolls a few weeks beforehand when you have the time. You can then serve freshly baked rolls to your guests without having to do all the work that day or even the day before. Here’s what to do:

On your preparation day, prepare your cinnamon rolls for baking.
When it’s time to put them into the oven, only bake them for around 15 minutes. This gives them time to rise completely but will stop them from browning.
Take them out of the oven and let them cool completely to room temperature.
Leave the rolls in the pan and wrap them with plastic wrap twice.
Store in the freezer for up to two weeks.
The night before you want to serve the rolls, take them out of the freezer and place them in the refrigerator.
The following day, take them out of the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, and bake them in the oven for around ten to fifteen minutes.
Once the rolls are baked, drizzle with icing and serve warm.

How To Reheat Your Cinnamon Rolls After They’ve Been Stored

Reheating cinnamon rolls that have been stored in the pantry or the refrigerator is fairly simple. You can either reheat them in the oven or even the microwave. If you’re going to reheat a batch, it’s better to use the oven, as your home will fill with that lovely freshly baked smell. However, if you’re in a hurry, you can easily reheat one or two cinnamon rolls in the microwave.

To reheat a batch in the oven, cover them with aluminum foil and bake them in a warm oven for around ten to fifteen minutes.

To heat your cinnamon roll in the microwave, pop it onto a microwave-safe plate and heat for around thirty seconds. You might like to drizzle over some more icing to make it look like the rolls were freshly baked that day.

These methods work equally well with cinnamon rolls that you’ve made yourself or shop-bought ones.

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Store Cinnamon Rolls With Icing?

You should store cinnamon rolls with icing in an airtight container. Cinnamon rolls with icing can be stored airtight container at room temperature for around two days. If you want to store your cinnamon rolls longer, you should place them in the fridge. Cinnamon rolls with icing can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.

Do Cinnamon Rolls Need to be Refrigerated?

Cinnamon rolls don’t need to be refrigerated. You can store cinnamon rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

How To Store Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Frosting?

You can store cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days and in the fridge for up to a week.