Gluesticks Blog

  • About
  • Sewing
    • My Book
    • Kids Sewing Projects
    • All Sewing Projects
  • Crafts
    • Kids Crafts
    • Paper Crafts
    • Free Printables
    • All Crafts
  • Holidays
    • Christmas
    • Halloween
    • Patriotic Holidays
    • Easter
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Valentine’s Day
    • Gift Ideas
      • Teacher Gifts
      • All Gift Ideas
    • Parties
  • Home
    • Home Decor Projects
    • Cleaning & Organizing
    • Gardening
    • Motherhood
  • Recipes
    • Kids in the Kitchen
    • Appetizer Recipes
    • Bread Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
      • Cake Recipes
      • Cookie Recipes
      • All Dessert
    • Main Dish Recipes
    • Slow Cooker
    • Sides & Salads
    • Holiday Recipes
    • All Recipes

April 8, 2019 By Brandy 10 Comments

Home » Recipes » Bread Recipes

Quick and Easy Lemon Sweet Rolls Recipe (Video)

Filed Under: Bread Recipes, Dessert Recipes

Jump to Recipe

Quick and easy lemon sweet rolls made start to finish in under 90 minutes! Make these your new weekend breakfast tradition. So sweet and tangy!

Try our 90 minute caramel cinnamon rolls for a delicious variation! Made with the same sweet dough!

Quick and easy lemon sweet rolls made start to finish in under 90 minutes! Make these your new weekend breakfast tradition. So sweet and tangy!

Watch our step by step video!

Lemon sweet rolls are one of my FAVORITE desserts. The filling and frosting alone is spoon-licking worthy! If you love lemons as much as I do you will love these. My son said he prefers these to cinnamon rolls. These are a meld of two amazing recipes: our favorite quick sweet dough for the base and a yummy lemon filling/frosting from an old cookbook that my grandma gave me when I was 13. The recipe was actually for orange rolls, but I just swapped out the orange zest and juice for lemon!

easy lemon sweet rolls in pan

Made using our favorite sweet dough they only rise for 30 minutes which is less than half the time of other basic dough recipes. Once you try it you’ll be using it for all of your favorite bread recipes.

easy lemon sweet rolls finished in pan

Flavored with both lemon juice and lemon zest they are sweet and tangy. The perfect meld of flavors.

How to Make Quick and Easy Lemon Sweet Rolls

scroll down for printable recipe

quick and easy lemon sweet roll dough on counter

Make a batch of sweet dough and let it sit for 10 minutes. While the dough sits make the lemon rolls filling/frosting.

lemon sweet rolls frosting in bowl

Butter, powdered sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. That’s it! Whip until fluffy.

quick and easy lemon sweet rolls rolled out spread with frosting

How many rolls will this recipe make?

12.

Spread HALF of the lemon filling/frosting over dough, roll up and slice into 12 lemon sweet rolls. Set the rest of the frosting to the side.

lemon sweet rolls in pan just baked

Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

iced lemon sweet rolls

Spread with frosting while still warm.

Can these sweet rolls be made the night before?

Yes. Make them to the point of placing them on the pan. Wrap with plastic wrap and set the pan in the refrigerator or freezer overnight. Thaw on the counter until room temperature then let rise for 30 minutes before baking the next day.

lemon sweet roll on plate

More lemon recipes that you will love:

Homemade Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd Hand Pies

Lemon Mini Cheese Cakes

Lemon Blueberry Scones

Quick and Easy Lemon Sweet Rolls Printable Recipe

Quick and Easy Lemon Sweet Rolls

Quick and easy lemon sweet rolls made start to finish in under 90 minutes! Make these your new weekend breakfast tradition. So sweet and tangy! 
4.67 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 373kcal

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup butter softened
  • 3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp. instant yeast
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 egg

Filling & Frosting

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice (juice of 2 lemons)
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon zest (zest of 2 lemons)

Instructions

  • Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in butter; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well.
  • Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
  • Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together frosting ingredients.
  • Roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle.
  • Spread dough with half of the lemon frosting. Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place in lightly greased baking sheet.
  • Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned. Spread remaining frosting over warm rolls. 

Notes

Can these easy lemon sweet rolls be made the night before?

Yes. Make them to the point of placing them on the pan. Wrap with plastic wrap and set the pan in the refrigerator or freezer overnight. Thaw on the counter until room temperature then let rise for 30 minutes before baking the next day.

Nutrition

Calories: 373kcal

Other recipes using this quick sweet dough:

90 Minute Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Frosting: Our 90 minute cinnamon rolls with caramel frosting come together in 90 minutes! Soft, cinnamon rolls covered in decadent caramel frosting. Easy to make and a definite crowd pleaser!

Candy Cane Cherry Braided Bread: This delicious cherry filled candy cane braided bread is drizzled with a sweet vanilla icing! It’s the perfect treat for the holidays.

Cinnamon Roll Dessert Pizza: Cinnamon roll dessert pizza! Delicious sweet dough topped with butter and a gooey brown sugar and cinnamon topping. Then finished off with a vanilla glaze.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

About Brandy

Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!

Previous Post: « 90 Minute Cinnamon Rolls With Caramel Frosting Recipe
Next Post: Printable Easter Tags “I Carrot Lot About You” »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jill says

    January 23, 2020 at 9:31 pm

    Can you freeze for longer then over night

    Reply
    • Brandy says

      January 23, 2020 at 9:57 pm

      Yes! Here is more information on freezing cinnamon rolls. I’ve had frozen rolls in my freezer for up to a month! The process is the same for lemon rolls or cinnamon rolls: https://www.joyfullythriving.com/fresh-cinnamon-rolls-from-the-freezer/

      Reply
  2. Jenny says

    April 14, 2020 at 9:45 am

    Hey if I don’t have instant yeast, how would I make it using regular yeast?

    Reply
    • Brandy says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:19 am

      Hi! I like proofing my regular yeast in warm water before adding it to a recipe. If you’d like to do this, take that 1/4 water from the recipe (make sure it’s warm for this part) and mix it with the yeast. Let it sit until bubbly and then add it to the recipe. You can also add a little extra regular yeast (1/2-3/4 tsp.) but I usually keep the measurements the same.

      Reply
  3. Melissa Collins says

    September 14, 2020 at 5:13 pm

    Do these need to be stored in the refrigerator after baking?

    Reply
    • Brandy says

      September 15, 2020 at 11:33 am

      Hi Melissa! I keep them covered on the counter for up to 3 days.

      Reply
  4. Mary says

    January 18, 2021 at 11:21 am

    So these look delicious but I tried this recipe and the dough didn’t rise at all. I followed the recipe exactly

    Reply
    • Brandy says

      January 18, 2021 at 12:25 pm

      Hi Mary! That’s very odd. I’m wondering what happened with the yeast. Did you finish making them? I’m interested to see if they puffed up while baking at all. They should have doubled in size in the pan.

      Reply
    • Chloe says

      January 29, 2022 at 9:51 am

      Hi!
      My dough did not rise at all either. Was very tough to work with. Also followed the recipe exactly. Not sure what happened.

      Reply
      • Brandy says

        January 29, 2022 at 9:52 pm

        Hi! Did you use instant yeast?

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

About the Author

Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you! Learn More About The Author

My Sewing Book for Kids!

kids sewing book cover

Newsletter

Pop Tart Gingerbread House!

pop tart house with candy and frosting

Snowman Hot Chocolate Bombs!

hand holding snowman hot chocolate bombs over mug

Hot Chocolate Bombs!

hot chocolate bomb next to white mug of hot chocolate

Pop Tart Bunny House

pop tart bunny house. on white plate

Affiliate Link Disclosure

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Let’s Connect!

If you make one of my projects, I’d love to see it! Tag me @gluesticksblog #gluesticksblog

Bonus Guide

  • Home
  • Website Accessibility
  • My Book
  • Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2022 Log in

Gluesticks blog logo
  • About
  • Sewing
    • My Book
    • Kids Sewing Projects
    • All Sewing Projects
  • Crafts
    • Kids Crafts
    • Paper Crafts
    • Free Printables
    • All Crafts
  • Holidays
    • Christmas
    • Halloween
    • Patriotic Holidays
    • Easter
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Valentine’s Day
    • Gift Ideas
      • Teacher Gifts
      • All Gift Ideas
    • Parties
  • Home
    • Home Decor Projects
    • Cleaning & Organizing
    • Gardening
    • Motherhood
  • Recipes
    • Kids in the Kitchen
    • Appetizer Recipes
    • Bread Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
      • Cake Recipes
      • Cookie Recipes
      • All Dessert
    • Main Dish Recipes
    • Slow Cooker
    • Sides & Salads
    • Holiday Recipes
    • All Recipes