Orange Rolls

These Orange Rolls are light, fluffy and loaded with lots of fresh orange zest and orange juice in the filling and the frosting. We love making these orange sweet rolls every year for Easter morning! My kids look forward to them every year and always say they taste better than Pillsbury orange rolls! 

For some more delicious sweet rolls and sweet bread recipes, be sure to check out my large, bakery-style Cinnamon Rolls and my Mini Cinnamon Rolls! Monkey Bread is also a fun sweet roll recipe that is great for sharing as it’s a pull-apart bread.

Why This Recipe Works

• Better than pillsbury orange rolls! These homemade orange rolls are better than the Pillsbury orange rolls! They are light, fluffy, and taste much fresher than the store bought. Trust me when I say that you’ll love these! Plus, they don’t take much longer to make from scratch.
• Quick rise time. This homemade orange rolls recipe only takes a total of 30 minutes to rise! This is because we use 2.5 tablespoons of yeast. But don’t worry! I’ve tried this recipe over and over again to get the perfect balance of yeast so that you don’t get a yeast flavor but the rise time is cut shorter! This recipe is the perfect combination.

Ingredient Notes 

• Warm Water: This helps activate the yeast. Make sure the water is warm and not just room temperature or slightly warm. You want it warm enough that it can stay warm while it sits and activates the yeast. 
• Buttermilk: Be sure to use room temperature buttermilk so it can incorporate into the dough better. I recommend using buttermilk instead of a buttermilk substitute.
• Active Dry Yeast: The difference between active yeast and instant yeast is that active yeast needs to be combined with water to be activated. Instant yeast can be added directly without activation. 
• Salt: Do not put the salt in with the yeast while it’s activating because salt kills yeast. We want the yeast to activate before adding the salt. Typically recipes will instruct that you put the warm water and yeast with some sugar which helps the activation.  
• Flour: The amount you end up using will vary slightly depending on climate and elevation (see notes).
• Butter: While the dough also uses butter, let’s talk just about the butter for the filling right now. You don’t want to use melted butter for the filing. You want the butter to just be room temperature so you can spread it onto the dough. If you use melted, the filling will seep out while baking. The butter for the frosting also shouldn’t be melted! It’s a frosting, not a glaze. 
• Orange Zest & Orange Juice: Having both the juice and the zest will bring more flavor.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Make the dough. Combine the water, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, and yeast. Mix, then let this mixture sit for 10-15 minutes. The yeast should get really foamy and bubbly. Then add the salt, eggs, and flour and mix for about 8-10 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl, but still stick to the very base of the bowl. You may need to add more flour depending on your climate and elevation. 
2. Let the dough rest. Once the dough has been made, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 10 minutes.

3. Make the orange roll filling. While the dough is resting, combine the ingredients for the filling (granulated sugar, orange zest, and orange juice). 

4. Roll out the dough. Spray a clean countertop with some cooking spray (I use Baker’s Joy. It’s my favorite!) and roll the dough into a 14×18-inch rectangle.
5. Add the filling. Using the back of a spoon, smear the softened butter over the top surface of the dough. Sprinkle the orange sugar filling evenly over the softened butter.

6. Roll up and cut. Starting on the longer side, roll the dough into a log. The end result should be an 18-inch orange roll log. Using floss, thread, or a serrated knife, cut into 12 rolls. Place the rolls on a parchment lined baking sheet, 3 rolls across and 4 rolls down.

7. Let rise. Cover the orange sweet rolls with plastic wrap and set them in a warm place to rise for 20 minutes. The rolls should be slightly puffy.

8. Bake. Bake at 400°F for 20-24 minutes or until golden brown on top and cooked throughout. 
9. Make the frosting. While the rolls are in the oven, make the frosting. Once they’ve finished baking, remove the rolls from the oven. Let the orange rolls sit for 5-10 minutes to cool down a bit, then frost them while warm and in the pan. 

Recipe Tips

You can play around with the kind of flour you use. Use a mix of bread flour and all purpose flour for a heartier orange roll. I’ve made this recipe using 100% all-purpose flour and other times using 50% bread flour and 50% all purpose flour. I get great results each time!

Use softened butter rather than melted butter for the filling. When you use melted butter, the butter tends to seep out all over the pan as soon as you place the rolled sweet rolls on it. Using softened butter will prevent this from happening.

I always frost cinnamon rolls and orange rolls while they are warm (but not hot). Doing this allows the frosting to seep into the nooks and crannies of the orange roll so that you have a generous amount of frosting in every bite!

Variation: Swap out the orange for raspberry to make raspberry sweet rolls. Try a raspberry jam or juice and strain raspberries for the filling. Use raspberry juice in place of orange juice. 

You might need more flour than what’s stated in the recipe card. You want the dough to come away from the sides of the bowl, but still stick to the bowl at the very base. The dough should be tacky but not overly sticky. Climate and elevation play a role in how much flour you’ll need, so add a tablespoon at a time until it reaches this desired consistency. 

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

Store the orange rolls in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for up to 4 days. 

I like to pop one in the microwave for a few seconds before eating it so it’s a bit warm and the frosting is soft.

To freeze, wrap each roll completely and tightly in plastic wrap then store in an airtight container or Ziplock bag in the freezer for up to 1 month. Let thaw in the fridge overnight for best results. 

To make them ahead of time, make the recipe up to the second rise and cover the rolls on the baking sheet and store them in the fridge overnight. They’ll slowly rise in the fridge overnight. Remove from the fridge and let come to room temperature (let them sit for about 30-60 minutes) and then uncover and bake. 

Recipe FAQs

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