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A Pineapple Sweet Roll topped with a glaze on a small plate

These soft Pineapple Sweet Rolls are my family’s favorite breakfast treat.  With a cardamom spiced pineapple filling and a sweet pineapple glaze, they’re sure to be a hit at your home too.  This big batch recipe is perfect for serving a crowd with directions for freezing a portion to bake later…

Fresh, hot from the oven sweet rolls are such a wonderful breakfast treat.  Unfortunately, because made-from-scratch sweet rolls take time to make, they are usually reserved for holidays or special occasions.

But what if I told you about a wonderful recipe for a large batch of Pineapple Sweet Rolls that you could par-bake and freeze a portion to enjoy later?  Pretty good idea, right?

This recipe and method for freezing sweet rolls allows you to make, bake and ice the perfect number of sweet rolls you want,  just in time for breakfast.

A fork stabbing a piece of a Pineapple Sweet Roll topped with a glaze on a small plate

Since Sweet Rolls are always great for breakfast, I learned early on how to make a huge batch and save portions to use throughout the week.  What worked for me was to make two 9 x 13-inch baking trays of sweet rolls.  I would bake one of the 9 x 13 pans and portion off the sweet rolls from the other pan to freeze for later.  I’ll explain further below.

First, let’s talk about these rolls.  The dough recipe is an easy one to put together and it truly is the best tasting dough ever.  The dough is buttery, yeast-y, soft and delicious!  The pineapple filling is a tasty blend of crushed pineapples, pineapple juice, sugar, allspice and cardamom.

Pineapple Sweet Rolls in a glass baking dish before going into the oven

Now, here’s the super-simple method for par-baking and freezing the rolls…

1.)  Prepare the sweet rolls, place them in 2 greased 9 x 13-inch pans and bake them in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.  You want to bake the rolls just a bit.  The rolls should be very lightly browned but not completely cooked through.

Golden Pineapple Sweet Rolls in a glass baking dish fresh out of the oven

2.)  Remove the rolls from the oven to cool completely in the pan.

3.)  Either wrap the entire pan with plastic wrap and then cover the pan with a layer of aluminum foil OR remove the rolls from the pan, double wrap the rolls with plastic wrap and seal in a large ziplock bag.  These will keep in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.  (Make sure you wrap the rolls very well to avoid exposure to freezer burn.)

Pineapple Sweet Rolls individually wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a plastic bag

When you are ready to enjoy the sweet rolls…

4.)  Remove the rolls from the freezer to thaw either overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter top for 20 minutes.

5.)  Unwrap the rolls, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, place the rolls in a greased baking dish and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Four golden Pineapple Sweet Rolls fresh out of the oven in a circular baking pan

6.)  Top the baked sweet rolls with glaze.

Four Pineapple Sweet Rolls topped with glaze in a circular baking pan

Pineapple Sweet Rolls

Prep: 2 hours 30 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 3 hours
Servings: 12 rolls
These soft Pineapple Sweet Rolls are my family’s favorite breakfast treat. With a cardamom spiced pineapple filling and a sweet pineapple glaze, they’re sure to be a hit at your home too.

Ingredients 

  • 2 ounce packages active dry yeast (1/4 each)
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 6 tablespoons butter , melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs , beaten
  • 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

FILLING

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/8 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 8- ounce can of crushed pineapple (do NOT drain)
  • 1/3 cup sugar

GLAZE

  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-3 tablespoons milk or cream

Instructions 

  • In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in water. In a large bowl, mix together the milk, butter, sugar, salt, eggs and flour. Pour in the dissolved yeast and stir until soft dough forms.
  • Turn the dough onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl to rest until doubled, about 1 hour.
  • While the dough is rising, make the filling:
  • Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour, cardamom and allspice until smooth.
  • Slowly pour in crushed pineapple along with the juices from the can.
  • Stir in sugar and bring sauce to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to medium; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; cool.
  • Next, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a large rectangle, about 12×16 inches.
  • Spread filling evenly over dough to within 1 inch of the edges. Roll up the dough starting with the long edge. Pinch the ends to seal. Cut into 1-inch rolls and place in two greased 9×13 baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
  • * Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Cool. Combine powdered sugar and milk or pineapple juice and drizzle over rolls.
  • * If freezing a portion of the rolls, par-bake the rolls in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.
  • Remove the rolls from the oven to cool completely in the pan.
  • Either wrap the entire pan with plastic wrap and then 1 layer of aluminum foil OR remove the rolls from the pan and wrap with plastic wrap and seal in a large ziplock bag.
  • When you are ready to enjoy the sweet rolls, remove the rolls from the freezer to thaw either overnight in the refrigerator or you can thaw them on the counter for no longer than 20 minutes.
  • Unwrap the rolls, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, place the rolls in a greased baking dish and bake for 10-15 minutes. Prepare the glaze and drizzle over tops.
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27 Comments

  1. WOW! These look so fluffy and perfect!! And I love the pineapple – what a delicious weekend breakfast!!

  2. Ok, so I’m going to have to make these tonight!! I’m leaving for Hawaii in 2 weeks so pineapples are on my mind lol 🙂