The Best Dairy Free Baklava Cinnamon Rolls

5 from 6 votes

Doughy, dairy-free, and indulgent baklava cinnamon rolls with a delightful crunchy filling and covered with vanilla honey icing!

Prep Time2

Cook Time25

Additional Time5

Total Time2 30

Course: Dairy Free, Desserts

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: baklava, cinnamon buns, cinnamon rolls

Servings: cinnamon rolls

Calories: 457kcal

1 packet of instant yeast or quick rise yeast 2 1/4 teaspoons
1 cup oat milk warmed
1 teaspoon honey
3 tablespoons vegan butter melted
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg room temperature
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour + 3-4 additional tablespoons if necessary when kneading the dough
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat 1/2 a cup of oat milk in the microwave for about 20-25 seconds, or warm the oat milk in a small saucepan. If you're using a saucepan, do not let the oat milk come to a boil. The milk should be warm but not too hot, or it will kill the yeast. Aim for a temperature between 105-115 degrees F.
In a bowl for the electric mixer, add 1 packet of instant yeast and 1/2 a cup of warm oat milk. Allow a few minutes for the yeast to activate. If the mixture doesn't get bubbly and frothy, your yeast may no longer be active. In that case, it's best to start over with a new yeast package. If the yeast mixture gets frothy once you add the warm milk, you're good to go to the next step!

Whisk the egg, vanilla extract, white sugar, melted vegan butter, warm oat milk, and honey together in a separate medium-size bowl. If the milk or butter is too hot, they may scramble the egg, so be sure to allow some time for the milk and butter to cool slightly.
Add the egg mixture to the mixing bowl with the yeast. Gradually mix in the flour and salt. Use the dough hook to mix the ingredients. Allow the dough to mix for about 6-7 minutes. A dough ball will form. If the dough is too sticky, then you can gradually add a tablespoon of flour. The dough should be soft and pliable but not overly sticky.
Grease a large bowl with a small amount of vegan butter. Place the cinnamon roll dough in the greased bowl and cover the dough loosely with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature or in a warm environment for about 25-30 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, prepare the baklava filling. Preheat your oven to bake at 325 degrees F. Spread the walnuts and blanched almonds on a cookie sheet or baking tray. Place the nuts in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly toasted. Once the nuts are lightly toasted, remove them from the oven and set them aside on a heat-resistant surface. Let them cool.
In a food processor, add the toasted walnuts and almonds. Pulse together a few times or until finely ground. Pour the ground nuts into a small bowl. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine 1/2 cup of brown sugar with 2 tablespoons of cinnamon. Mix together.

Clear a large surface like your kitchen counter or table and lightly flour the surface. Remove the dough ball from the greased bowl. Begin to knead the cinnamon roll dough by folding over the dough and using the palms of your hands to push the dough away from you. Repeat this process until the dough is soft but pliable. Slowly add a tablespoon of flour one at a time if the dough is still really sticky.
Time to roll the dough! Flour the rolling pin as well so that it doesn't stick to the dough. Begin to roll the dough until you've got a large rectangle shape. About a 16" x 8" rectangle.

With your fingers or the back of a small spoon, spread a generous amount of softened butter on one side of the rolled-out dough. Sprinkle the nut mixture, cinnamon, and sugar evenly over the butter. Next, use your hands to mix in the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nut mixture with the softened butter. Finally, drizzle a couple of tablespoons of honey over the filling.

Tightly roll the dough into a log. Begin by folding over the long side. Use your hands to roll the dough tightly and lightly press down on the dough to hold it together.
Use a sharp knife to cut the cinnamon dough log into 1 1/2" - 2" pieces and place the cinnamon rolls in a greased 9" x 13" baking dish. Leave about 1/2" in between each roll since the cinnamon rolls will continue to expand during their second rise. Cover the rolls with a clean kitchen towel and let them rise for 30 minutes at room temperature or in a warm environment.
Preheat your oven to bake at 350 degrees F.
Warm 1/2 a cup of oat milk in the microwave or stovetop. You want it to be warm but not hot. Pour the warm oat milk over the cinnamon rolls right before placing them in the oven. This will achieve that desirable gooey centre. Don't worry, they won't get soggy!
Place the baklava cinnamon rolls in the oven for 22-25 minutes at 350 degrees F or until lightly golden brown. I like my cinnamon rolls to be doughy and slightly undercooked, but if you like them more brown, you can bake them a little longer.
While the rolls are in the oven, prepare the honey vanilla icing. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the butter. Sift 1/4 cup of icing sugar and whisk together the sifted icing sugar, warm oat milk, vanilla extract, and honey.
When your baklava cinnamon rolls are a light golden brown colour, remove them from the oven and pour the vanilla icing over the warm cinnamon rolls.

Nuts have a high-fat content (it's why they're so delicious!) so be sure to keep an eye on them while they're in the oven so that they don't burn.
For the baklava filling, You can either combine the cinnamon, sugar and ground nuts into one bowl or leave the nuts separate. I like to leave them separate because then I can control how much nut mixture I add to the filling. If I have some nuts leftover, I can also sprinkle them on top of the cinnamon buns without worrying about the crunchiness from the raw brown sugar.
The amount of time needed to bake will vary depending on your oven and the size of your cinnamon rolls. So keep an eye on them but try not to keep opening the oven door since that will affect the baking time (I know it's tempting!).
The icing is going to be more on the runny side since it's meant to seep into the cinnamon rolls. Similarly, how the hot syrup soaks through the baklava. If you'd like the honey vanilla icing to be less runny, then you can add less oat milk.
If you'd like, you can wait a few minutes before pouring the icing over the rolls, but I like to do it right away so that the icing seeps into the cinnamon rolls for extra gooeyness.