Pie Iron Cinnamon Rolls

During our big spring camping trip this year, we got WAY into making campfire cinnamon buns.

We’re huge fans of cinnamon buns - Porter in terms of eating them (I’m allergic to gluten), and me in terms of designing recipes for them.

If you follow my other food blogs, you may have seen my various recipes for cinnamon buns, and cinnamon bun inspired recipes... including savoury versions!

On the sweet side, I have recipes for Maple Walnut Spiced Pumpkin Rolls, Egg Nog Sticky Buns, Apple Cinnamon Rolls, Chai Cinnamon Rolls, Peanut Butter and Jelly Rolls, Strawberry Orange Rolls, and Persians - a Canadian Doughnut.

For savoury, I’ve designed recipes for Reuben Buns, Buffalo Chicken Buns, and - most recently - Chickpea Samosa Buns!

These campfire cinnamon rolls require significantly less effort than those recipes, though - you start with premade, unbaked cinnamon rolls.

Everyone has their own way of making delicious campfire cinnamon roll-ups. Some people wrap them around a roasting stick, some cook them inside an orange peel.

I use two main methods - my Skillet Campfire Cinnamon Rolls when I want to cook a whole roll at once, and using a pie iron when I want to cook them up individually.

Either way, it’s a super easy breakfast to enjoy with a cup of coffee in the great outdoors.

Today, I’m showing you how I use a pie iron to cook cinnamon buns over an open flame. We’ve been using our pie iron more and more lately, it’s definitely becoming a favourite piece of camping gear!

In this case, it makes it super easy to cook up a tasty treat in just minutes - a fun thing to try on your next camping trip.

Here, let me show you how I do it!

Ingredients

As with my Campfire Cinnamon Rolls Recipe, this recipe has basically one ingredient - refrigerator cinnamon rolls.

Yes, the blue tubes of chilled, pre-rolled pastry that damn near give you a heart attack when they pop open, even though you’re the one popping them open, and you KNOW what’s coming?

Yeah. Those ones! I grew up mostly using the crescent roll version, personally.

Anyway, this recipe was specifically developed using the Pillsbury Grands “Cinnabon” Cinnamon Rolls version:

The nice thing about using these premade cinnamon rolls is that it includes the cream cheese icing right in the package.

Of course, your brand options may vary slightly based on location, but I can’t see any similar product being SO wildly different, as to change the technique all that much.

When in doubt, aim for a lower fire than you think you’ll need.

If your fire is too hot and you burn the outside before the inside cooks, it’s pretty much junk at that point.

You can always cook your cinnamon roll longer and on lower heat!

How to Make Pie Iron Cinnamon Rolls

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through:

Cut 10 pieces of parchment paper into small squares, no larger than the smaller side of your pie iron. Set aside.

Open your roll of cinnamon roll rounds and separate them into the 5 pieces. If the end of the dough has come loose for any of them, re-roll as necessary.

Gently form each cinnamon roll into more of a square shape, then allow to come up to room temperature.

Get a low fire going - whether in a BBQ grill, an open fire, or a charcoal grill. If using an open fire, let any large flames completely die down, and cook on the embers of a campfire.

Spray the insides of a pie iron with a bit of nonstick spray, then place a small square of parchment on each side. Set one cinnamon roll inside, and close it up.

Position your pie iron over your fire or grill, cook for 2 minutes.

Once two minutes are up, flip the pie iron and cook for another 2 minutes.

Once more, flip the pie iron over and continue cooking on the grill grates for another 2 minutes. (6 minutes, total so far).

Flip the cinnamon rolls (s) one more time, cook for 1 more minute, then remove from the heat - I’ll usually just set it on gravel nearby.

Leftovers

Once cooled to room temperature, leftover cinnamon rolls can be wrapped in plastic wrap - or stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Best served reheated - commercial cinnamon rolls can be DRY at room temperature. We like to microwave it for 30 seconds or so to get the chill off it, then finish off on it a hot skillet to re-crisp the crust a bit.

More Camping Breakfast Recipes

Looking for some more easy - and tasty - camping breakfast ideas? I've got you covered! Here are a few of my favourite breakfast camping recipes:

Apple Fritter Bread Pudding
Apple Fritter French Toast
Bacon, Cheddar, and Broccoli Frittata
Bagel Breakfast Strata
Banana Protein Pancakes
Campfire Banana Bread
Campfire Breakfast Skillet
Coffee over a Campfire
Gingerbread Protein Pancake Mix
Hobo Eggs
Homemade Camping Pancake Mix
Pumpkin Protein Pancake Mix
Skillet Cinnamon Rolls
Traditional Bannock

Be sure to check out our other Camping Recipes, including Camping Desserts, Camping Snacks, Make-Ahead Camping Mix Recipes, and a ton of delicious Camping Main Dish Recipes!

Also, we had SO much fun designing gourmet jerky recipes for our camping trips, we started a whole new blog for them! Check out Dried & Tasty for all kinds of fun recipes to make in your food dehydrator!