Overnight Sweet Rolls - an easy breakfast dish for guests or family. Uses frozen roll dough, butterscotch pudding mix, pecans, and lots of butter!
These Overnight Sweet Rolls are one of BeeBop's favorites. They are so good. So easy, too. They're especially nice if you have a house full of overnight guests because you prepare everything the night before and bake them off the next morning.
But, I'm not going to lie to you. They are jam-packed full of buttery, sugary calories. That's why we have them only about once a year.
I have a cookbook software program that calculates the calories, fat, etc of a recipe. When I put this one in and pressed "calculate," it coughed twice and fell over on its side.
I got this recipe years ago from my friend, Joan, with whom I worked. She had gotten it from a friend, who got it from a friend, who got it....you understand.
How to Make Easy Overnight Sweet Rolls
I really love the simplicity of this recipe. There's no mixing, proofing, or kneading required at all. Instead of making the dough from scratch, you'll simply use frozen parker house rolls! Who would have ever thought that you could make delicious cinnamon rolls from frozen bread dough?
The few other ingredients you'll need are pecans, butterscotch pudding mix, butter, sugar, and cinnamon. That's it.
A note about the pudding mix
For this recipe, you'll need the regular (Cook & Serve by Jell-o), non-instant type of butterscotch pudding mix. Apparently, non-instant butterscotch pudding mix is a rare commodity since I always have a little trouble finding it in my local grocery store.
So, my advice is if you try this and like it, and think you might make it more than once every five years, buy two or three boxes when you find them.
A question I often get is "Why can't I just use instant butterscotch pudding mix?" Well, the instant variety has a different thickening agent than the regular mix. That thickener will cause the pudding to more or less “congeal” while it sits on the thawing and rising rolls overnight. It will then separate and form into lumps instead of a smooth sauce-like topping. Not what you really want.
The night before:
Generously butter a 9x13 pan and spread the chopped nuts over the bottom.
Space the frozen rolls evenly on top of the nuts.
Sprinkle evenly with the dry pudding mix.
In a medium-size bowl, melt the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in the microwave. Start with one minute and stir. Then continue in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until the mixture is melted.
Be careful when checking your mixture. Use oven mitts or pot holders to remove the bowl from the microwave as it can get quick hot really quickly. Also, be careful with the melted mixture. It's hot and you can get a burn if it gets on your hands!
Stir the melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon until well blended.
Drizzle the melted mixture evenly over the top of the rolls.
Cover the pan loosely with waxed paper and place in a cold oven overnight.
A little trick to keep the waxed paper from sticking
Now here's a little trick: even waxed paper will stick to the thawed, risen rolls. So, to keep that from happening, I lay the waxed paper over the pan, spray the area that will touch the rolls with cooking spray, and then flip it over so that the sprayed side is over the rolls.
You can also use the non-stick aluminum foil and you won't even need to spray it. Works great!
The next morning:
The next morning you'll find that your rolls have defrosted and risen beautifully overnight! The lovely topping and chopped nuts are mostly on the bottom with the rolls on top just waiting to be baked up into warm, ooey-gooey sweet goodness.
So, remove the waxed paper or non-stick foil and discard it. Place the pan back into the cold oven and turn it on to 350 F. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the rolls are a lovely golden brown just like dinner rolls should be.
Remove the pan from the oven. Allow the sweet rolls to cool slightly (about 8-10 minutes should do) and then invert them onto a serving plate or board. Cut or pull apart the individual rolls.
Enjoy!
More Breakfast Recipes from Never Enough Thyme
More Sweet Roll Recipes Curated for You
- Raspberry Sweet Rolls from Two Peas and Their Pod
- Blueberry Sweet Rolls from My Baking Addiction
- The Best Glazed Orange Sweet Rolls from Averie Cooks
- Pineapple Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls from Baking a Moment
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Easy Overnight Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
- 24 frozen Parker House rolls
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 3.5 ounce pudding mix
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
The night before:
- Generously butter a 13x9 baking pan and spread chopped nuts over the bottom
- Space frozen rolls on top of nuts
- Sprinkle with dry pudding mix
- Melt butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in microwave stirring
until well blended - Drizzle melted mixture over top of rolls
- Cover loosely with waxed paper (or non-stick foil) and place in cold oven overnight
The next morning:
- Remove waxed paper (or foil) and discard
- Place pan back in cold oven and turn on to 350 F
- Bake for about 20 minutes
- Remove from oven; cool slightly and invert pan onto serving plate
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
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Leigh says
I have made these for years!! They are always a hit and quick and so easy to throw together on Christmas Eve. I don’t bother with plastic wrap or wax paper, I just let them sit in the oven and they are ready to go! I couldn’t find the butterscotch pudding this year so I used vanilla and it worked out great!😋
Jackie Malone says
I only have instant butterscotch pudding. Can you explain why this cannot be used? It seems during the current global situation the cook and serve butterscotch pudding is not available, at least in Ontario, Canada.
Can you suggest an alternative to the cook and serve pudding?
Lana Stuart says
The instant pudding has a different thickening agent that will "congeal" while sitting on the cold rolls overnight. It will separate and form into lumps instead of a smooth sauce-like topping.
Barbara Stoneback says
These rolls are wonderful. I have made a similar recipe for years, I have found that the easiest way to keep them from sticking is to invert them onto a sheet pan covered with Release foil (Reynolds or store brand). It's a bit pricey so I don't use it for everything, but for this purpose, it's definitely worth the extra money. They do NOT stick! Hope this tip is helpful.
Valerie L Archuletta says
I made the butterscotch pudding rolls using a dozen frozen cinnamon rolls. That’s the only change, as I had those rolls in the freezer. Delish! I recommend trying that.
Suzy says
If you don't mind I am going to PIN this, because I have made these and they are so wonderful!
Lana says
Thank you so much! Please feel free to pin!
Pam says
Lana, I had to stop back over and tell you that these were a huge hit at our house. I made them over a week ago, and my children have already asked for them again twice.
While I love your site, my thighs now hate you. :)
Lana says
I'm so glad your family liked these! Nothing makes me happier than when someone enjoys one of my recipes.
Pam says
I just found your website from a photo posted on Refrigerator Soup. I've not spent more time than I had looking through your sight when I came across these delicious sweet rolls. All I can say is I am making these Sunday morning (beginning them Saturday night) because my mouth is watering for them.
What a great blog you have. I plan to be back!
Pam aka: BoredCook
Lana says
Thanks for visiting, Pam! I'm glad you found the site and hope that you will return for more recipes in the future!