These Sticky Buns are an easy, overnight recipe, and they’re a delightful choice for a weekend breakfast or brunch.
What are Sticky Buns?
Sticky buns are a sweet breakfast treat. They’re sweet rolls that are baked in a sugary/buttery/pecan mixture. They’re referred to as “sticky” because of all of the sticky juices that are poured on top as they are popped out onto a platter.
This Sticky Buns recipe is an easy, overnight recipe. Simply make the night before and bake in the morning. They’re perfect for feeding family over the holidays or as a surprise weekend breakfast treat for your family!
How to make Sticky Buns with frozen bread dough:
This recipe is so easy because you don’t have to roll anything out, and there is no kneading involved. In fact, you don’t have to make the dough at all! Use frozen bread dough. The frozen rolls are placed into a pan and drizzled with a buttery/sugary mixture. Then you get to let them sit overnight to rise.. That’s all the work you have to do- it’s so easy!!
The next morning, you’ll pop the Sticky Buns into the oven to bake. When they come out of the oven, you’ll invert the pan onto a platter and then scrape all of the sugary juices on top. Place the platter on your breakfast table, and let all of the hungry people tear apart the sticky buns to sample. They’re so delicious!!
Are Sticky Buns and Cinnamon Rolls the same thing?
Sticky buns and cinnamon rolls are not the same thing. Sticky buns are made with dough (sometimes frozen dough) and the balls of dough are placed into a pan with a butter/sugar mixture drizzled over the top (sometimes the syrupy mixture is placed into the bottom of the pan). You’ll also see recipes for Sticky Buns where the dough is rolled out, sprinkled with cinnamon/sugar and cut like cinnamon rolls. They’re left to rise, just like cinnamon rolls.. In the end, they’re dumped upside down onto a platter with the sticky syrup drizzled over.
When you make cinnamon rolls, you’re rolling out the dough, brushing with butter and sprinkling with cinnamon/sugar. The dough is then rolled up and sliced into rolls. The rolls are set side-by-side in a pan and left to rise. After baking, cinnamon rolls are usually iced or drizzled with glaze. If you’re more interested in making cinnamon rolls, be sure to check out my recipes for Old Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls and Make-Ahead Cinnamon Rolls.
Look at all of that decadent, gooey stuff! That’s what you’ll get in every bite of a sticky bun!
Can Sticky Buns be frozen?
I’m gonna say that you technically could freeze the sticky buns after they’ve already risen… and then just seal them well with plastic wrap and foil. Then you’d have to let them come to room temperature again before baking. But there isn’t any real reason to freeze them, and it’s just going to take a lot of extra effort to do so.
This recipe is extremely easy, so just make them the night before and bake them in the morning. I recommend you avoid the freezer!
If you’re looking for more decadent breakfast recipes, you might like to try my Cinnamon Roll Pancakes or these No Yeast Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing. Crockpot Cinnamon Roll Cassserole, Caramel Apple Monkey Bread and Fruit and Cream Cheese Breakfast Pastries are great breakfast recipes too!
Here are a few more breakfast recipes that can be made the night before. These are the best Overnight Breakfast Recipes!
- Overnight Oats with Toasted Coconut and Blueberries
- Overnight Caramel French Toast
- Overnight Blueberry French Toast
- Overnight Ham and Cheese Bake
- Overnight Eggnog Coffee Cake with Nog Glaze
- Overnight Coffee Cake
- Cinnamon Raisin Overnight French Toast with Apple Filling
Sticky Buns
Recipe Details
Ingredients
- 20 frozen dough rolls (such as Bridgeford)
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- One 3-ounce box Cook & Serve Vanilla Pudding (don't use instant pudding)
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
Instructions
- Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray. Place the frozen rolls in the pan.
- Mix the dry ingredients together (sugar, pecans, pudding and cinnamon) and sprinkle over the rolls. Drizzle the melted butter over the rolls. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter overnight (or place it in a cool oven).
- In the morning, remove the plastic wrap and bake the rolls in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
- When the rolls are done, dump them onto a large platter upside down and drizzle the extra gooey juices on top. Serve immediately.
This was so easy to put together. I halved as just two of us. Turned out great!!
We have had this recipe in our family for generations. We make them on Christmas morning. Try putting the brown sugar, pudding, and pecans spread at the bottom of the 9 x 13 and then place the rolls on top and drizzle the butter over the top of the rolls. After cooking flip the whole pan over onto a tray and all that yummy sticky pecan goodness is right on top.
This would be good with cinnamon butter in the middle when still hot.
I have been making this recipe since the 1970s. It called for using a Bundt pan instead of the 9 x 13. I like the idea of the latter size pan better. My recipe also uses cook and serve butterscotch pudding. I have boxes of that in my freezer as it’s hard to find. Try the recipe. It’s fantastic.
Why can’t you use instant vanilla pudding?
The end result will not be the same.
Best sticky bun recipe by far and so easy.
Could I use unsalted butter?
yes!
I want to send a photo. My sticky buns were not syrupy but the brown sugar glaze was dry. I used Rhoades rolls, but followed the rest of the recipe to the T.
Please help me out so mine can look like your picture. They taste great. More like a streusel topping .
Please respond!
Karol French
I’m not sure Karol– if you watch the video, this is how mine turn out as the recipe is written.
Could I possibly double the recipe? Of the dry ingredients (everything but the dough) to make it more carmely?
Perhaps! I haven’t tried it.
We double the sauce recipe and use the 32 roll pack-or the 3 bread loaf pack…
you can follow directions on the package for defrosting the bread-then after spraying the pan and placing the walnuts/raisins/whatever on the bottom, put the bread in by pinching off pieces (spray your hands with pam first so the bread doesn’t stick to them