A single-serving Cinnamon Roll in a Mug that is so simple to make, takes less than 1 minute to cook in the microwave, and is made with just a handful of pantry staples. Perfect for when those sweet cravings hit & you NEED a decadent dessert or sweet breakfast, like now!
Prep time: PT5M
Cook time: PT1M
Total time: PT6M
Rating
4.29 stars (214 reviews)
Keywords
cinnamon roll, microwave, mug cake
Ingredients
3 tablespoons powdered sugar (, icing sugar in the UK)
about ¾ teaspoon water or dairy free milk
a tiny dab oil (, for greasing the mug (such as sunflower, canola, olive, or coconut oil))
9 tablespoons (70 grams) all purpose flour ((plain flour in the UK))
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1 small pinch fine sea salt
about 4 tablespoons water
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1½ tablespoons brown sugar (, or coconut sugar)
Categories
Dessert
Snack
Cuisine
American
Canadian
Steps
Make the icing. In a small bowl mix the powdered sugar with either plant-based milk or water. Add the liquid a really tiny bit at a time and mix really well after each addition. The most you will need is about ¾ teaspoon to get a thick, drippy consistency. Stir well until smooth then set aside.
Grease a normal sized drinking mug (about 11 to 12 oz size) with a tiny dab of oil.
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to a small bowl and stir to combine.
Stir in enough water to form a slightly tacky but not sticky dough (about 4 tablespoons but this will vary depending on the time of year and humidity), then use your hand to bring it together and knead a few times to bring it into a ball. Don't handle it any more than you need to. Overworking will make it tough.
Dust a clean work surface with a little flour, then roll the dough out into a long strip about 4 inches wide and ⅛ inch (a few millimetres) thick.
Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon evenly over the dough then fold the edges on the longest sides inwards so they meet each other in the middle. This helps to seal the cinnamon and sugar in and stop it dropping out when you lift it after rolling. See my video below for a full tutorial.
Roll it up tightly and gently place in the greased mug. Pour over ½ teaspoon of water then place in the microwave. Don't skip this. It's important to create steam.
Microwave uncovered on full power for about 50 seconds. My microwave is 1200 watts. You will need to adjust the time up or down if the wattage of yours is different but it shouldn't need longer than 1 minute 10 seconds max. It is better to slightly undercook it then blast in 5 second increments to finish it off than risk overcooking. Remember that microwaved food continues cooking once it's removed from the microwave.
When you open the door it should have puffed up a lot and nearly reached the top of the mug. It will still look pale and a little damp as it's microwaved not baked, so don't think it's underdone and cook longer than you need to or it will overcook. You can check doneness with a toothpick or skewer. Stick into the roll and it should come out clean.
Either spoon the icing over the cinnamon roll in the mug or turn out onto a plate then ice. Before turning out run a knife around the outside of the mug to loosen it. Eat immediately while warm.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 414 kcal
Carbohydrates: 96 g
Protein: 7 g
Fat: 1 g
Saturated Fat: 0.1 g
Sodium: 49 mg
Sugar: 41 g
Unsaturated Fat: 0.4 g
Reviews
Eric Mailloux on 2025-12-13 (1 stars): Well, it was terrible. My first clue should have been that it’s vegan. I might try again and Spread coconut butter before the cinnamon and brown sugar which would help brown sugar seep in to the dough.
Annalise on 2025-08-29 (4 stars): This is probably my third time making this recipe, and it came out perfectly! I followed the instructions closely (microwaved 55 seconds). I tweaked the ingredients by using half regular flour and half almond flour, about sugar the amount of sugar, and used some leftover icing had in the fridge from making “Make it Dairy Free’s” buttercream frosting for cinnamon rolls last weekend.
Thank you A Virtual Vegan for another single serve go to dessert! (This is second only to the mug cookie which is a weekly staple in my house.)
Oskar on 2025-06-19 (5 stars): worked surprisingly well!! it took me a minute total in my microwave. I blasted it incrementally before it got too hard. I used some milk instead of water too. quite tasty! will try again, next time rolling the dough even thinner and adding a little bit more baking powder. in all honesty you can pretty much eyeball all the proportions too. what a fun idea, thanks!
Harp on 2025-04-30 (5 stars): This was easy and pretty dang good. The texture is more like an old fashioned biscuit which I quite like. I even messed up and had mixed the sugar and cinnamon into the dough (adhd), and so I re-made the mixture to roll in and turned out great! My microwave is pretty weak so I did have to cook it a bit longer 5 seconds at a time. Will definitely be using this recipie again soon! thank you
Brittini on 2025-04-02 (5 stars): I was absolutely skeptical about doing a cinnamon roll in the microwave. I was craving a sweet treat at 1a, and wow did this hit the spot! Mine wasn't really a "roll" pursay, but it still tasted great. I made a little bit extra of the brown sugar and sugar mix and whatever fell out sides I just threw it in the mug over the top. With the 1/2 tsp of water over top to make it fluff, it made this syrupy mixture at the bottom. I put the icing on the top and just ended up cutting and mixing pieces of the roll to coat it in the syrupy sugar mix I made. Absolutely fulfilled my sweet tooth and it tasted great!
Cat on 2025-04-02 (1 stars): this was absolutely NASTY. I followed the recipe to the letter and it turned out both gloopy and tough somehow. utter waste of ingredients PLEASE DO NOT MAKE. went in with low expectations and left with something that made me want to throw up. Choose a different recipe so you aren't disappointed like I was.
Annabelle on 2025-03-09 (1 stars): I can follow any recipe with success. But not this one. I’ve tried it a couple times now and both times it came out tough even though I didn’t handle it more than necessary to pull the dough together. It also uses too much flour and sugar for a single serving (I cut it in two for 2 people). It also doesn’t call for butter so the cinnamon and sugar don’t melt. I wanted to love it, but I will stick to making vegan cinnamon rolls the traditional way. It not terrible but it’s not great and the texture is just off. Sorry!
Chrissy on 2024-12-08 (1 stars): This was a horrible fail. I love baking, and trying new desserts so I was super excited when I saw this. Followed exact directions, and this was the rubberiest toughest by far worst dessert I've ever made.
Deb on 2024-07-16 (5 stars): This looks amazing. Has anyone tried baking it in the oven or air fryer yet? If so how did it work out and what settings did you use? Thanks!
Jeanne on 2024-06-23 (4 stars): There was a bit too much cinnamon for me so it tasted bitter. If I make it again I will use 1/3-1/2 tsp.
Di on 2024-01-20 (5 stars): Yum! Just made this and then inhaled it. I ran out of standard flour so used1 tbsp of self raising. Otherwise stuck to the recipe. Really nice light and fluffy. My next one might include some chopped walnuts with the cinnamon and sugar, but this was lovely - thanks for the recipe!
Sally on 2024-01-06 (5 stars): Excellent very tasty 😋
