Cinnamon Roll Stuffing
I have always thought it would be fun to host a friendsgiving brunch, and if I ever do, this Cinnamon Roll Stuffing would be at the center of the table! Replacing the bread in a simple stuffing with cinnamon rolls is so fun! It made this super decadent and unique and a really fun Thanksgiving side dish. Typically with stuffing you are expecting an herbaceous bite, but when you use cinnamon buns, it’s more sugar and spice than herb and throws your tastebuds for a loop! Plus I added bacon so you really can’t lose with this one.
The idea for this recipe
Stuffing is one of my favorite holiday dishes because you can really play around with it compared to many of the other dishes that need to be the same every year. Stuffing is a very versatile dish that most people only have a couple different ways. We are all familiar with the standard stuffing and the cornbread variety, but just like bread pudding, stuffing can be made with a myriad of breads and flavors. I recently came up with a cinnamon roll stuffing that uses bacon for a super salty and smoky bite that cuts through the sweetness of the cinnamon buns.
Presentation of the Cinnamon Roll Stuffing
I cut the tops off the cinnamon rolls so I could place them on top of the stuffing. This way you know what you are getting into before you take a bite. As you can see in the above photo, there is no glaze when it first comes out of the oven. I actually almost didn’t glaze these believe it or not! I thought the glaze would be too much, but when I actually took a bite it was missing something. And that something was GLAZE.
Ingredients in Cinnamon Roll Stuffing
I love the flavors in this cinnamon roll stuffing. It’s so different than normal stuffing, but it still has the flavors you are looking for. To me, the flavors of stuffing are thyme, celery, onion, chicken stock, and butter. Cinnamon rolls are already packed with butter anyways, so I didn’t think I needed to add any more. I cooked up the bacon and used that as the oil for cooking the onion and celery, then tossed it all with the chopped up rolls and some stock and eggs.
Man, I need to do that friendsgiving brunch. Maybe next year.
The sliced tops are pretty key in this recipe because they show you immediately that this isnt an ordinary stuffing!
Twists on this stuffing
If you wanted to do sausage instead of bacon, I think that would be a great twist on cinnamon roll stuffing. You could also add some sage and rosemary if you wanted. If you want to make a sweet version of this for dessert instead of the main meal, I think this cinnamon roll bread pudding would be so good!
I have done a ton of twists on stuffing over the years, so check out my everything bagel stuffing, cubano sandwich stuffing, and of course, my famous tater tot stuffing!
Cinnamon Roll Stuffing
Ingredients
- 4 ounces bacon chopped small
- 1/2 white onion diced
- 2 celery ribs diced
- 6 large cinnamon rolls rolls should be unglazed or only lightly glazed
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme diced
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Add bacon to medium sauté pan and cook until crisp but still slightly chewy.
- Remove bacon to paper towel-lined plate but retain bacon grease in pan. In the same skillet, add onion and celery, cook 5 minutes until softened.
- Slice spiral tops off rolls and set aside. Dice bottom portion of cinnamon rolls and place in large bowl. Add bacon, onion and celery to diced rolls.
- In medium bowl, combine egg, chicken stock, and thyme. Reserve 2 tablespoons stock mixture. Pour remaining stock into the bowl with the diced cinnamon rolls and mix well.
- Pour the bread mixture into 8×6 baking dish. Top with reserved spiraled cinnamon bun tops. Brush the reserved chicken stock mixture onto spiral roll tops. Bake 40 minutes.
- Put the milk into a small bowl and slowly whisk in powdered sugar until it forms glaze of desired thickness.
- Brush glaze over top of stuffing as soon as it comes out of oven. serve warm.
There are too many amazing things happening in this dish! Sounds so yummy!
Is the recipe down? Wanting to shop so I can cook it this weekend.
Hi Thomas! You can follow the link under the fist photo for the recipe.