With a quick homemade topping of caramelized brown sugar and honey, salty bacon, and chopped pecans, these Easy Cinnamon Sticky Buns take store bought cinnamon rolls to the next level with a sticky, sweet, salty, and crunchy caramel coating.
Cinnamon rolls are always a great way to start any day. But these Cinnamon Sticky Buns with candied bacon, crunchy pecans, raisins, and a sweet, sticky caramel topping are even better!
I always love cinnamon rolls, but if we are being honest, they are not something I really ever make from scratch. There is just so much time and effort involved in making the dough, waiting for it to rise, rolling the dough out, and then letting the rolls rise again. It is just more effort than I want to put in to most mornings. So we usually eat a lot of store bought cinnamon rolls around here. These Easy Cinnamon Sticky Buns take your normal store bought cinnamon rolls to the next level. They are the perfect breakfast or brunch for Holiday mornings, like Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter, when you want something quick but a little extra special, lazy weekend mornings when you are craving something sweet, or even busy weekdays.
How Do You Make Cinnamon Sticky Buns with Caramel, Bacon, and Pecan Topping?
To make these Sticky Buns, I started with a package of basic store bought cinnamon rolls (yes from the tube), but I elevated them to the next level with a simple and quick caramel topping that is sweet, sticky, and gooey. Plus I added in chopped bacon and pecans – because why not. The pecans and bacon get coated in the caramel coating, creating a candied bacon vibe that I am totally here for.
I also layered raisins in the cinnamon rolls, a trick Steve and I have been using for the past couple of years to make our cinnamon rolls extra special. If you aren’t a fan of raisins, you can leave these out, but I recommend giving it a try! Steve has converted me.
How Else Can I Customize These Caramel Cinnamon Sticky Rolls?
If you want to mix it up, you can also customize these Easy Cinnamon Sticky Buns in a couple of different ways depending on your tastes or what you have on hand.
For example:
- Substitute walnuts, almonds, or even pistachios for the pecans – or leave them out for a nut free option
- Swap out the honey with real maple syrup for a sweet, maple pecan roll
- Leave out the raisins or substitute another dried fruit such as cranberries or cherries
- Double the recipe and use a larger rectangular casserole dish to feed a crowd
You can even make this Cinnamon Sticky Buns recipe with the larger flaky cinnamon rolls – we like to call those the “fancy” cinnamon rolls. Just keep the topping quantities the same for one tube or double if you are using two.
Looking for More Breakfast and Brunch Recipes?
Here are some recipes I love for breakfast and brunch:
- Blueberry, Lemon, and Cream Cheese Croissant French Toast Casserole – Perfect for serving a crowd, this french toast casserole features fresh berries, sweet blueberry jam, and dollops of cream cheese.
- Caramelized Onion, Prosciutto, Brie, & Swiss Croissant Breakfast Casserole – One of my all time favorite brunch casseroles, this savory casserole is cheesy and loaded up with salty prosciutto, creamy brie, and savory caramelized onions.
- Ham and Cheese Frittata for Two – One of the most popular recipes on my blog, this is a quick and easy breakfast for any day of the week.
- Strawberry Spinach Breakfast Salad with Granola Croutons & Greek Yogurt Dressing – Because who says you can’t have salad for breakfast, this healthy breakfast salad features fresh fruit and veggies tossed in a sweet strawberry greek yogurt dressing and topped with homemade granola. It would be the perfect healthy accompaniment to these Cinnamon Sticky Buns.
Speaking of, here is one more crave worthy picture, just in case I haven’t quite convinced you that you need these today. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Easy Cinnamon Sticky Buns
Ingredients
- 1 12 oz package cinnamon rolls (8 rolls - icing reserved, see note)
- 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
- 4 strips thick cut bacon
- 1/4 cup pecans (chopped)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- coconut oil or butter cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Cook bacon until mostly cooked (it will finish cooking in the oven)
- Meanwhile, if using raisins, unroll each cinnamon roll, and evenly distribute raisins throughout, re-rolling with raisins inside the rolls.
- In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add butter and melt. Once melted, add brown sugar and honey. Bring to boil, and cook 2 minutes stirring to combine.
- In a greased glass pie pan, pour in sugar mixture to coat the bottom. Top with chopped pecans and bacon. Arrange cinnamon rolls evenly over toppings.
- Bake 20 - 25 minutes until caramel is bubbly and cinnamon rolls are golden brown.
- Let cool in pan about 5 minutes. While still hot, place a large plate flipped upside down over cinnamon rolls. Using pot holders, flip the pan so the plate is on the bottom, shake to loosen and remove hot pan.
Notes