These sweet chocolate rolls are soft, fluffy, and full of delicious chocolate flavor – all topped with a cream cheese frosting! They start with the same base as our super popular cinnamon rolls with heavy cream but incorporate chocolate throughout for a chocolate sweet roll everyone will love. If you’re a chocolate lover and want to mix up your cinnamon rolls, these chocolate rolls are a must-try.

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Chocolate Sweet Rolls
Ever since we perfected our homemade cinnamon rolls, we’ve been playing around with various versions to mix things up. We’ve tried everything from these Halloween cinnamon rolls to a sweet and salty bacon cinnamon roll.
Chocolate is one of my favorite flavors, so I knew we wanted to try to make them with chocolate. And I’m so glad we did the chocolate melts into the dough to create a creamy center that’s almost better than the cinnamon rolls, almost!
These chocolate rolls are soft, fluffy, and full of chocolate flavor all rolled up into a gooey roll. We tried it with a chocolate frosting and even a chocolate glaze, and it was just too much chocolate, so we stuck with our favorite cream cheese frosting inside.
These are such a delicious variation on the standard cinnamon roll, we typically alternate between the two, and I’m honestly not sure which one I love more. And I hope you love them as much as we do!
Why you’ll love These Chocolate Rolls
- Giant chocolate rolls – these make huge chocolate rolls, cut them in half for one tray to serve 24 and still fill them up!
- Not too much flavor – these have a strong chocolate flavor but not an overwhelming one so even if you’re not a chocolate lover, you’ll still enjoy these!
- Unique – you’ve probably had cinnamon rolls, orange rolls, and maybe even strawberry rolls but it’s likely you haven’t had chocolate rolls before. These are unique and everyone will love trying something different!
Ingredients in Chocolate cinnamon rolls
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Buttermilk – you can use store-bought buttermilk or make your own buttermilk, but don’t just use regular milk.
- Butter – both salted butter and unsalted butter will work, but for best results use a higher quality butter. You’ll need both melted butter and softened butter.
- Heavy whipping cream – these are are better with the higher fat heavy cream but whole milk can work in a pinch.
- Flour – all-purpose flour is best for this as it makes for a softer dough.
- Instant yeast – this recipe allows for proofing the yeast so any type of active dry yeast will work.
- Chocolate chips + cocoa powder – I highly recommend using both to get the balanced flavor that’s not too sweet or too dark. And stick with mini chocolate chips because they’ll melt better than the larger ones.
Recommended Tools
I highly recommend using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and a dough hook to make these chocolate sweet rolls. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can still make them with a hand mixer with a dough hook – but you need something that can knead the dough.
How to make chocolate rolls
If you’ve ever made cinnamon rolls, you can make these chocolate rolls. It’s the exact same process but instead of using a cinnamon filling, you’re going to add a chocolate filling instead.
I’ve included step by step instructions of how to make these homemade chocolate sweet rolls, but I highly recommend using the recipe card at the bottom of this post for specific details.
1 – Proof the Yeast
Place the water and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl or liquid measuring cup and heat in the microwave for about one minute, just until the mixture is warm to the touch. Pour the warmed liquid into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Sprinkle in two tablespoons of granulated sugar and the yeast. Stir gently to mix, then let the mixture sit for 5–10 minutes, or until the yeast becomes foamy.
2 – make the Chocolate roll dough
While the yeast is proofing, measure out the buttermilk and warm it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Set it aside for later use.
In a separate small bowl, mix together the melted butter, eggs, egg yolk, sugar, and salt. Stir until the mixture takes on a wet, sandy texture.
After the yeast has finished proofing, pour in the warmed buttermilk and mix until incorporated. You can use either the paddle attachment of your stand mixer or a rubber spatula.
Next, add the rest of the wet ingredients to the yeast mixture and stir again until everything is well blended.
Attach the dough hook to your stand mixer then begin adding flour to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook at medium-low speed, adding one cup at a time until it begins to form a dough.
Tip!
Scrape the side of the bowl as you mix the flour in to make sure all of the flour gets mixed in.
Once a dough ball begins to form, add just enough flour so that the dough consistently cleans the side of the bowl (aka pulls away from the side of the bowl).
Continue kneading the dough for five minutes or until the dough has a smooth and soft look to it.
While the dough is kneading, take a large bowl and lightly grease the inside of it.
When the dough is done, remove it from the stand mixer and place in the lightly greased bowl then cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap or a bowl cover.
Set in a warm place to rise until it is doubled in size, this should take about an hour.
3 – Roll out the chocolate Roll Dough
Line a large cookie sheet or a 9×13 baking dish with a piece of parchment paper.
Once your dough has finished its first rise, turn it out onto a large lightly floured surface.
Using your hands, pull and shape the dough into a rectangle. Once the shape is formed into a basic rectangle, use a rolling pin to roll it out until you have a rectangle roughly 24×18 and no thicker than ¼ inch.
4 – Add the chocolate roll
In a medium bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder together until it’s sandy.
Spread with the filling mixture all over the top of the rolled out rectangle of dough using a silicone spatula, making sure to cover every space available.
Then sprinkle the mini chocolate chips all over the top of the filling.
5 – roll and cut the chocolate sweet rolls
Starting on the long end, tightly roll the chocolate roll dough into a log, working it tightly but without pulling the dough too much. Then gently pinch the edges shut to seal them.
Use unflavored dental floss or a sharp serrated knife to cut the cinnamon rolls into 12 pieces that are two inches thick. I like to measure each and make a little indention with the knife as I go to make sure I can get all 12 in before I actually cut them.
Tip!
If you’re worried about measuring correctly, you can cut the roll into half, then cut each of those halves in half (so you have four pieces), and cut each of those four pieces into three pieces, to get a total of 12 rolls.
Gently place the cut rolls onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Cover the rolls and allow them to double in size again, roughly 45 minutes.
6 – Bake The Chocolate Rolls
While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350. Once the rolls have finished their second rise, place in the preheated oven and bake for 20-23 minutes.
Once they start to turn light golden brown, remove them from the oven. You do not want to over bake these or they won’t be result in the gooey chocolate rolls you’re hoping for!
How do I know when they’re done?
I recommend checking the center of one of the chocolate rolls with a baking thermometer to see if they’re cooked. Remove from the oven when the center of one reaches 185 degrees to ensure they don’t get over baked.
7 – make The cream cheese Frosting
In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter, cream cheese, and Karo syrup. Beat together until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Add the vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated.
Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until the frosting is smooth and all the sugar has been fully blended in.
8 – Frost and Serve the Chocolate Rolls
Let the baked chocolate rolls cool for a few minutes then frost while still warm so the frosting spreads across the rolls easier. The frosting may melt just a little bit that’s fine, it’ll just add to the gooey nature of these chocolate sweet rolls!
Once frosted, enjoy warm! We often like to cut these in half because they are pretty large and filling, but you can serve them however you want.
how to store Chocolate rolls
Keep any leftover chocolate sweet rolls refrigerated for up to three days.
To reheat, you can microwave them for a few seconds or place them in a cold oven. Set the oven to 350°F and let the rolls warm up as the oven heats, checking every few minutes and removing once they’re heated through.
Additional Tips for Perfect Chocolate Rolls
For the smoothest, creamiest results, ensure all the listed ingredients are at room temperature. I usually take them out of the fridge about an hour before using.
To prep ahead, shape the rolls and arrange them on the baking tray, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Before baking, let them sit at room temperature for an hour.
Even if the dough looks fully covered, don’t skimp on the filling—use every bit!
When rolling the chocolate rolls, make them as tight as possible to create plenty of rich, chocolatey layers.
Recipe FAQs
Do I need both cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips?
The unsweetened cocoa powder flavors the filling and the mini chocolate chips add some melted chocolate into the filling (as they bake and melt). While you could technically make these without the chocolate chips, you won’t get the same rich chocolate flavor.
Is melted or softened butter better for chocolate rolls?
Using softened butter is better than melted for the filling, otherwise, you risk the filling melting out. However, for the dough, melted butter is better.
Can I make these chocolate rolls gluten-free?
We’ve tried these chocolate rolls with gluten-free flour, and they don’t work the same way. You can see the picture to see how they turned out – the rolls didn’t fluff up and thicken like they are supposed to. I do not recommend making these with gluten-free flour.
More Easy Brunch Recipes
If you love these cinnamon rolls, you should try these other sweet brunch recipes next!
- Tiktok cinnamon rolls – the easiest ever cinnamon rolls using a TikTok hack!
- Million dollar deviled eggs – another classic with a twist!
- Breakfast tater tot casserole – a simple brunch recipe you can make ahead of time!
- Cinnamon sugar muffins – these taste like donuts and muffins together in one delicious treat!
- Mini pancakes – cute little fluffy pancakes, these would also be great on a breakfast board!
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Soft and Fluffy Chocolate Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup warm water
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 4 ½ tsp instant yeast
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ⅔ cup butter melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp salt
- 7-8 cups all-purpose flour
Filling
- 6 TBS butter softened
- 3 TBS granulated sugar
- 4 tsp cocoa powder
- ¾ cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 TBS unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 TBS light karo syrup
- 2 – 21/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Dough
- Combine water and heavy cream then heat in a microwave-safe container until just hot to the touch.1 cup warm water, 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Add warm liquid to the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add 2 tsp of sugar and yeast to the water mixture. Allow five to ten minutes to foam.4 1/2 tsp instant yeast, 2 tsp granulated sugar
- While the yeast proofs, warm the buttermilk in the microwave until warm to the touch then add the warm buttermilk to the yeast mixture.1/2 cup buttermilk
- In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, mix melted butter with remaining sugar, eggs, egg yolk, and salt. It will look like wet sand.2/3 cup butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, 2 tsp salt
- Using the paddle attachment, mix the butter mixture into the yeast. Combine on low speed until just combined.
- Switch to a dough hook and begin adding the flour one cup at a time. The dough will be soft but not sticky and and should clean the bowl as you knead.7-8 cups all-purpose flour
- Knead the dough for six minutes until it is smooth.
- Once smooth, transfer to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to proof until doubled in size (about an hour).
- While the dough is rising, combine the softened butter, sugar, and cocoa powder together until it’s sandy to make the filling.6 TBS butter, 3 TBS granulated sugar, 4 tsp cocoa powder
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Using your hands, pull and shape the dough into a rectangle. Once the shape is formed, use a rolling pin to roll it out until you have a rectangle roughly 24×18 and roughly 1/4 inch thick.
- Spread the filling over the dough and spread evenly. Then top with the mini chocolate chips.3/4 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
- Starting on the long end of the dough, tightly roll the dough into a log.
- Use unflavored dental floss or a sharp serrated knife to cut the chocolate rolls into 12 rolls that are approximately 2 inches thick.
- Gently place the cut rolls onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Then cover the rolls and allow them to double in size again, roughly 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, bake in the preheated oven for 20-23 minutes. Once they start to turn light golden brown or reach 185 degrees in the center, they are done.
- Make the frosting while the chocolate rolls are baking.
- Once the rolls are baked, frost generously with frosting while the chocolate rolls are still warm. Let cool enough so that you can eat and handle the chocolate rolls, then serve warm.
Frosting
- Cream butter and cream cheese with the corn syrup until smooth using a stand or hand mixer.8 oz cream cheese, 2 TBS unsalted butter, 2 TBS light karo syrup
- Add in vanilla and mix until combined.1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Slowly add powdered sugar until the texture is smooth and all the sugar has been added.2 – 21/2 cups powdered sugar
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info
Note: This post was originally published in 2014 with a shortcut mini chocolate sweet rolls recipe that has since been updated to this chocolate rolls recipe.
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