These overnight caramel rolls require only 4 main ingredients and produce a soft warm roll covered with a flavorful gooey caramel. It feels almost magical considering how quick and easy they are to make! (No actual bread-making involved!) All you need is a tube pan (my preference) or a bundt pan. You toss some frozen rolls into the pan, sprinkle on some dry butterscotch or vanilla pudding mix, and add butter and brown sugar. Additional flavors like cinnamon and pecans are optional, too! Leave the pan out on your counter overnight for the rolls to plump up and bake them in the morning for the easiest, most delicious caramel rolls ever. In my house, we’ve been eating these on Christmas morning since I was a kid! I’ve experimented with a few different methods to make these rolls and I’m going to include some options so be sure to read through them below before you time your preparation for this recipe.
Ingredients and Equipment Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Frozen roll dough – Such as Rhode’s rolls. You want the frozen raw dough, not the cooked and frozen rolls they also sell.
- Brown sugar – you can use either light or dark brown sugar
- Butter
- Cook and serve pudding mix – Vanilla or butterscotch flavors will work. Make sure you’re getting cook and serve, not instant pudding!
- Chopped pecans – Optional, but delicious!
- Cinnamon – Optional- gives it a bit more of a cinnamon roll vibe.
- Bundt or tube pan- I grew up making these in a Bundt pan, but I actually prefer a tube/angel food cake pan now. (This is the one I use) Either will work, but the tube pan contains the rolls better, and it’s easier to scrape all of the ooey-gooey caramel sauce out of. Do not use an angel food cake pan with a removable bottom; the caramel sauce will ooze out of it!
How to Make Overnight Caramel Rolls
Note: I’ve used the frozen overnight method my whole life, assembling late at night before bed and baking in the morning. This works great, however I’ve added two additional rising methods that work well depending on your schedule. Read about them in the yellow box below, and they’re also included in the notes section of the recipe. I do believe Rhodes themselves originated the variations you see of this recipe you find, now. My recipe varies in that I use less rolls (that caramel to bread ratio is important!) and don’t bake nearly as long.
- Prep is super easy! Grease your pan and pop in some frozen rolls.
- Sprinkle on your pecans (if using).
- Sprinkle your dry pudding mix over the rolls evenly.
- In a microwave-save bowl, warm your butter until it’s just barely melted. Stir in the brown sugar and whisk until smooth and then heat a little more so you have a smooth caramel looking sauce. Then drizzle this mixture all over the frozen rolls.
- Cover the pan with a tea towel and leave out at room temperature. (See rising tip below) Overnight, the rolls will thaw out at rise and the other ingredients will begin to blend into what will become your caramel sauce.
- In the morning, pop the pan into a hot oven. Once baked, allow to cool for only a minute or two, then flip the rolls out onto a serving dish and scrape the remaining caramel from the pan to top them.
Rising Tip
As you might already know, Rhodes rolls can vary in how long they take to rise, especially considering the temperature of the room. While this is a popular overnight recipe, after making them for years, I’ve realized that often times recipes like these produce over-risen rolls. If you make them right before you go to bed and bake them immediately upon waking, chances are they’re getting 8+ hours minimum of rising.
While they’re still totally delicious a little over-risen and covered in caramel, I do think they’re even better if they’re baked a little sooner than the overnight rise calls for. In my home, with our indoor winter temps around 72° I find that closer to 6 hours is perfect. So I’ve experimented a lot with overnight rises that can still produce a perfect roll.
I’ve found 2 alternate options that help!
- Pre-Freeze. Do this option if you want to have these completely prepped so you have zero prep the morning you want to eat them. This one allows you to prep even a day or two ahead of time. I recommend this if you’re not planning on going to bed late (I’m usually throwing these together at like 11PM or later) or not planning on baking them very early in the morning. Assemble rolls as directed (at any point in the day) but instead of leaving rolls out to rise late at night cover the pan well and place back in the freezer. They can stay in there for up to 2-3 days. The night before you want to eat them, take your frozen pan from the freezer and place it on the counter right before you go to bed. The whole frozen pan will have to come up to temperature before the rolls start to rise so this extends the process, giving you a little extra wiggle room before they need to be in the oven in the morning.
- Thaw your Rolls first. Do this option if you want to have a little more control over what time you eat your rolls, or if you want to bake them later in the morning. This method is to defrost your rolls in the fridge overnight, which I’ve learned is how the original Rhodes roll recipe does it. Take 16-18 rolls and place on a plate, or in a food safe container, etc. and place in the fridge the night before you want to bake them. Overnight they will thaw, but they won’t rise. In the morning, spray your pan with nonstick spray. If desired, you can cut your rolls in half, making smaller pieces. Toss thawed bread dough balls in the pudding mix and add to pan. Add pecans if using. Melt your sugar and butter together until it’s warm and smooth and syrupy (1-2 minutes) and whisk until smooth. Pour caramel over rolls. Let rise until double in size, this takes about 2 hours for me, or only 1 hour (or less) if I’ve cut the rolls in half and use the proofing mode in my oven). Bake as directed. This is a great option if you want to have your rolls ready at a more specific time, and especially if you want to serve them later in the day.
Storing and Other Tips
- These rolls are best fresh! If you happen to have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in very small increments in the microwave (like 10-15 seconds at a time). These will get hot very quickly when reheated! For best results, eat them the day they are made.
- If you have an intricate Bundt pan that tends to hold onto baked goods, I recommend using vegetable shortening to thoroughly grease your pan and ensure a clean release.
- You can use either butterscotch or vanilla pudding. The butterscotch produces a deeper, more caramel-y flavor but both are delicious. If you use vanilla pudding mix and add cinnamon, they taste similar to cinnamon rolls!
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve found a little trick to give me a little longer rise time to prevent over-rising. It also allows me to prep even a day or two ahead of time. Assemble rolls as directed, but instead of leaving rolls out to rise late at night cover the pan well and place back in the freezer for up to 2-3 days. The night before you want to eat them, take your frozen pan from the freezer and place it on the counter right before you go to bed. the whole frozen pan will have to come up to temperature before the rolls start to rise to this extends the process. This is helpful if you don’t want to bake them early in the morning, or you don’t want to go to bed late at night, or if you want to prep them entirely a bit early.
I made these one in a 9×13 and while they worked okay, I thought they were better in the tube pan! The shape of the tube/bundt pan helps the caramel to collect together. If you don’t own a tube or bundt pan and need to use a flat baking dish, I would heat your butter and sugar to a smooth syrup, and then whisk the dry pudding mix right into it before adding to the rolls. I’d pour a little of this mixture on the bottom of your baking dish, then add rolls, then top with remaining caramel.
Whatever you do, do not use an angel food cake pan with a removable bottom; the caramel sauce will ooze out of it!
Yep! Your dough won’t be frozen, so follow the instructions in my alternate method options with using thawed dough. You may have to adjust baking time.
No, make sure you are buying cook and serve.
While larger pans have room for a few more rolls, the more rolls you add, the less caramel each one will have. I’ve found in my smaller bundt pan, too many rolls just rise over the edge of the pan and can make a mess. In my larger tube pan, I can get away with just a couple more- I like about 18 max in that one. For me, much more than that is too “bready” with not enough caramel on each roll!
Easy Overnight Caramel Rolls
Equipment
- tube pan do not use an angel food cake pan with a removable bottom; the caramel sauce will ooze out of it!
Ingredients
- 16-18 frozen raw roll dough balls like Rhode's rolls
- 1 3.5-ounce box vanilla or butterscotch cook & serve pudding mix NOT instant pudding mix
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar light or dark
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon optional
- ½ cup chopped pecans optional
- nonstick spray, or butter for greasing pan
Instructions
- **See the rising tips in the notes section below. At the risk of overcomplicating a very simple recipe, you can make these a few different ways and one or the other might be better for you depending on your schedule! Read through them and you can choose to make them as written here in the instructions (you'll want to assemble as late in the evening as possible) or choose an alternate method in the notes.
- Grease a Bundt or tube pan thoroughly with non-stick spray, butter or vegetable shortening. Do not use an angel food cake pan with a removable bottom; the sauce will ooze out of it!
- Place your frozen dough balls in the pan.
- Sprinkle on your pecans (if using). Then sprinkle on the dry pudding mix over the rolls (ignore pudding package instructions, you're just using the dry powder).
- In a heat-safe bowl, warm butter until mostly melted, about 30 seconds. Whisk in brown sugar (and cinnamon, if using) and then heat for 30 seconds more, or until melted completely. Whisk vigorously until smooth, heating in additional short intervals if needed. If your butter and brown sugar are separated, just keep whisking and it will come together.
- Pour butter and sugar mixture evenly over rolls.
- Cover with a tea towel and leave out at room temperature overnight. The rolls will thaw out at rise and the other ingredients will begin to blend into what will become your caramel sauce.
- In the morning, preheat the oven to 350℉. If you have a more shallow bundt pan and your rolls have risen over the top of your pan, you may want to gently guide them back in. You might also want to place your bundt pan on top of a baking sheet just in case it bakes over.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until rolls are golden brown on top. If the very top rolls are getting too brown at the end (they often do), cover with foil.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool for just a couple minutes, then flip the rolls out onto a serving dish and scrape the remaining caramel from the pan to top them. If you let them cool too long, the caramel will start to solidify and they'll be tricky to remove. If you don't have a serving dish large enough, you can just line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. Serve immediately, as the caramel thickens upon standing.
Notes
Rising Options
As you might already know, Rhodes rolls can vary in how long they take to rise, especially considering the temperature of the room. While this is a popular overnight recipe, after making them for years, I’ve realized that often times recipes like these produce over-risen rolls. If you make them right before you go to bed and bake them immediately upon waking, chances are they’re getting 8+ hours minimum of rising. While they’re still totally delicious a little over-risen and covered in caramel, I do think they’re even better if they’re baked a little sooner than the overnight rise usually produces. So I’ve experimented a lot with overnight rises that can still produce a perfect roll. I’ve found 2 alternate options that help and you can consider either one depending on your schedule.-
- Pre-Freeze. Do this option if you want to have these completely prepped so you have zero prep the morning you want to eat them. This one allows you to prep even a day or two ahead of time. I recommend this if you’re not planning on going to bed late or not planning on baking them very early in the morning. Assemble rolls as directed a day or two ahead of time. Instead of leaving rolls out to rise late at night cover the pan well and place back in the freezer. They can stay in there for up to 2-3 days. The night before you want to eat them, take your frozen pan from the freezer and place it on the counter right before you go to bed (as late as possible). The whole frozen pan will have to come up to temperature before the rolls start to rise so this extends the process, giving you a little extra wiggle room before they need to be in the oven in the morning.
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- Thaw your Rolls first . Do this option if you want to have a little more control over what time you eat your rolls, or if you want to bake them later in the day. This is still super easy, it just requires assembling the morning of- this is how the original Rhodes recipe does it. Take 16-18 rolls and place on a plate, or in a food safe container, etc. and place in the fridge the night before you want to bake them. Overnight they will thaw, but they won’t rise. In the morning (or 1.5-2 hours before you want to serve them) spray your pan with nonstick spray and add half of the pecans. If desired, you can cut your rolls in half, making smaller pieces (I’m still undecided if I like them full size or cut!) Toss thawed bread dough balls in the pudding mix to coat and add to pan, along with remaining pecans and pudding mix. Melt your sugar and butter together until it’s warm and smooth and syrupy (1-2 minutes) and whisk until smooth. Pour caramel over rolls. Let rise until double in size, this takes about 2 hours for me, or only 1 hour if I’ve cut the rolls in half and use the proofing mode in my oven). Bake as directed. This is a great option if you want to have your rolls ready at a more specific time, and especially if you want to serve them later in the day. *If making for a holiday morning, you could also put your rolls in the fridge to thaw early in the morning the day before, then assemble completely as directed the night before you want to eat them and place back in fridge. Pull pan out in the morning and let them rise until double in size before baking.
Questions & Reviews
Loved the caramel flavor. I used 18 in my bundt pan. Tube pan, I was curious on using as how you used as mine that I make angel food cake in the bottom is ” removable ” and this recipe, believe me some of the caramel was causing my oven to “smoke” ( lol) so yes they did rise alittle too much. My bundt was a 10C. So I will definitely make again, but use a 12C.bundt pan. This was my first time making these. We usually do the old fashion monkey bread with biscuits.
Hi Christine! You definitely want to use a pan with a solid bottom. Liquid caramel will seep out of a 2-piece pan. Try a larger pan with a solid bottom and let me know how it goes!