Gluten-Free Pecan Sticky Buns

Our soft, gooey Gluten-Free Pecan Sticky Buns recipe combines gluten-free cinnamon rolls with a decadent maple caramel pecan topping you’ll fall in love with!

On a day-to-day basis, our breakfasts are pretty basic, but for a holiday breakfast or a special occasion it’s SO fun to do something special. That’s where these gluten-free sticky buns come in…

Gather Your Ingredients

Get The Right Flour!

You MUST use this King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour for these gluten-free sticky buns. No different flours will work in this recipe!

SHOP THE FLOUR

How To Make Gluten-Free Pecan Sticky Buns, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

First, Make Sticky Bun Dough

1. Combine Dry Ingredients. Add gluten-free flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and baking powder to the bowl of a stand mixer and gently pulse with the paddle attachment on low speed to combine. (Do not use a hand mixer, dough hook, or whisk attachment.)
2. Add Wet Ingredients. With the mixer on LOW speed, gradually add warm milk, warm water, melted butter, and eggs, one at at time.
3. Beat. Turn the mixer speed up to HIGH and mix the dough for 3 full minutes to allow the dough to fully blend. It will look VERY sticky and wet–more like thick, sticky cake batter than bread dough. This is normal!
4. Cover & Chill. Use an oiled spatula to scrape down the edges of the bowl and form the dough into a ball. (Make sure to also scrape the bottom of the bowl to check for any unmixed spots!) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill 20 minutes to make the dough easier to handle.

Make Caramel Pecan Topping

5. Melt Butter. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
6. Combine. Add brown sugar, pure maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture looks uniform. (Don’t let the caramel sauce boil, as we don’t want it getting hard in the oven.)
7. Pour caramel sauce into a lightly greased metal 9×13 pan and sprinkle with chopped pecans. Set aside while you assemble the cinnamon buns.

Make Cinnamon Filling & Shape Rolls

8. Combine Cinnamon Filling. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar with cinnamon, vanilla powder (if using), and a pinch of salt. Mix until well blended, to evenly distribute the cinnamon into the sugar.
9. Roll Out. Lay down a sheet of parchment paper or very lightly flour your countertop. Transfer the dough from the bowl to your parchment or counter and cover with another sheet of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 15-inch square (15″x 15″).
10. Fill The Rolls. Spread Softened Butter over the 15-inch dough square in an even layer. The butter should be VERY soft so it’s easily spreadable. If you can’t get the butter soft enough, you can melt it and cool it slightly before spreading. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the butter in an even layer.
11. Form The Rolls. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough into twelve (1.25-inch) strips. Roll each strip up to form a roll, starting at one end and tightly rolling to make a spiral as you go. (We find this method works MUCH better with gluten-free sweet rolls than the traditional rolling the dough into a long cylinder and slicing or using floss to cut them.) Place rolls into the pan on top of the caramel & pecans.

Let Rolls Rise, Then Bake

12. Cover & Rise. Then, cover the pan with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise 45-60 minutes. They’ll look puffy but won’t double in size at this point. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees as the cinnamon buns rise.
13. Bake. Remove the plastic wrap from the pan, then place the pan on baking sheet (to catch any possible spills!) and bake sticky buns in preheated oven 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown on top. The interior of the dough should read at least 190-200 degrees F. Set rolls aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.
14. Flip. After the sticky buns have cooled 5-10 minutes, you’ll flip them out of the pan. To do this safely, I recommend placing a COOL (or room temperature) sheet pan on top of the pan, face down (like a lid). Then, wearing oven mitts(!!!), carefully flip the pan so the sticky buns fall out of the 9×13 and onto the sheet pan. (The caramel pecan topping should now be facing up)
15. Serve & Store. Enjoy right away or within a few hours for best results. Cover leftover sticky buns or transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator 1-2 days. Reheat a few seconds in the microwave or a few minutes in the oven for best results.

FAQ + Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free Sticky Buns

Metric is Best. If possible, weigh your dry ingredients with a kitchen scale for best results. Your dough will work consistently well if you measure properly. If you don’t have a scale, use the scoop and level method to spoon flour into the measuring cups rather than scooping *with* your measuring cups to avoid packing extra flour into the dough. Even an extra few tablespoons will make a drastic difference in the dough.

Flour. This recipe will ONLY work with King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour. No other gluten-free bread flour brands or homemade blends will work in this recipe. (Note that this is NOT the same as measure-for-measure or 1:1 gluten-free flour.)

A Trick For Leftovers. I love to warm leftover sticky buns up in the microwave at 50% power for 10-15 seconds. It will soften them right back up!

More Special Gluten-Free Breakfasts To Try

Soft Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls

Gluten-Free Belgian Waffles

Gluten-Free Orange Rolls

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Gluten-Free Pecan Sticky Buns

5 from 1 vote

Author: Emily Dixon, Sweets & Thank You

These soft, gooey Gluten-Free Pecan Sticky Buns combine gluten-free cinnamon rolls with a decadent maple caramel pecan topping you'll LOVE!

Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Rising Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 2 hours hours 25 minutes minutes

Print Pin Rate

Servings: 12 Sticky Buns

Ingredients

For The Dough:

• 5 ⅔ cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour* (NO Substitutions) (680 grams)
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar (40 grams)
• 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast* (1/4 oz)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ¼ cup warm whole milk
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 eggs room temperature
• 6 Tablespoons salted butter melted*

For The Cinnamon Filling:

• ½ cup butter, VERY soft (113 grams/1 stick)
• 1 cup brown sugar (200 grams)
• 1 ½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon
• Optional: 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean powder
• pinch salt less than 1/8 teaspoon

For Caramel Pecan Topping

• 1-2 cups chopped pecans* (100-200 grams)
• ¾ cup butter (170 grams/1 1/2 sticks)
• 1 cup brown sugar (200 grams)
• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

***BEFORE YOU START*** It’s VERY important to follow the instructions precisely in this recipe. No ingredient substitutions are recommended, and no other gluten-free flour blend will work for this recipe. 

FIRST, MAKE THE DOUGH

• Combine Dry Ingredients. Add gluten-free flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and baking powder to a stand mixer and gently pulse with the paddle attachment on low speed to combine. (Do not use a hand mixer, dough hook, or whisk attachment.)
• Add Wet Ingredients. With the mixer on LOW speed, gradually add warm milk, warm water, melted butter, and eggs, one at at time.
• Beat. Turn the mixer speed up to HIGH and mix the dough for 3 full minutes to allow the dough to fully blend. It will look VERY sticky and wet–more like thick, sticky cake batter than bread dough. This is normal!
• Cover & Chill. Use an oiled spatula to scrape down the edges of the bowl and form the dough into a ball. (Make sure to also scrape the bottom of the bowl to check for any unmixed spots!) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill 20 minutes to make the dough easier to handle.

MAKE CARAMEL PECAN TOPPING

• Melt Butter. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
• Combine. Add brown sugar, pure maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture looks uniform. (Don't let the caramel sauce boil, as we don't want it getting hard in the oven.)
• Pour caramel sauce into a lightly greased metal 9×13 pan and sprinkle with chopped pecans. Set aside while you assemble the cinnamon buns.

MAKE CINNAMON FILLING & SHAPE ROLLS

• Combine Cinnamon Filling. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar with cinnamon, vanilla powder (if using), and a pinch of salt. Mix until well blended, to evenly distribute the cinnamon into the sugar.
• Roll Out. Lay down a sheet of parchment paper & lightly flour or very lightly flour your countertop. Transfer the dough from the bowl to your parchment or counter and cover with another sheet of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 15-inch square (15"x 15").
• Fill The Rolls. Spread Softened Butter over the 15-inch dough square in an even layer. The butter should be VERY soft so it's easily spreadable. If you can't get the butter soft enough, you can melt it and cool it slightly before spreading. Sprinkle the cinnamon brown sugar mixture over the butter in an even layer.
• Form The Rolls. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough into twelve (1.25-inch) strips. Roll each strip up to form a roll, starting at one end and tightly rolling to make a spiral as you go. (We find this method works MUCH better with gluten-free sweet rolls than the traditional rolling the dough into a long cylinder and slicing or using floss to cut them.) Place rolls into the pan on top of the caramel & pecans.

LET ROLLS RISE, THEN BAKE

• Cover & Rise. Then, cover the pan with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise 45-60 minutes. They'll look puffy but won't double in size at this point. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees as the cinnamon buns rise.
• Bake. Remove the plastic wrap from the pan, then place the pan on baking sheet (to catch any possible spills!) and bake sticky buns in preheated oven 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown on top. The interior of the dough should read at least 190-200 degrees F. Set rolls aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.
• Flip. After the sticky buns have cooled 5-10 minutes, you'll flip them out of the pan. To do this safely, I recommend placing a COOL (or room temperature) sheet pan on top of the pan, face down (like a lid). Then, wearing oven mitts(!!!), carefully flip the pan so the sticky buns fall out of the 9×13 and onto the sheet pan. (The caramel pecan topping should now be on top)
• Serve & Store. Enjoy right away or within a few hours for best results. Cover leftover sticky buns and store in the refrigerator 1-2 days. Reheat a few seconds in the microwave or a few minutes in the oven for best results.

Notes

Ingredient Notes & Recipe Tips:

• Metric is Best. If possible, weigh your dry ingredients with a kitchen scale for best results. Your dough will work consistently well if you measure properly. If you don’t have a scale, use the scoop and level method to spoon flour into the measuring cups rather than scooping *with* your measuring cups to avoid packing extra flour into the dough. Even an extra few tablespoons will make a drastic difference in the dough.
• Flour. This recipe will ONLY work with King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour. No other gluten-free bread flour brands or homemade blends will work in this recipe. (Note that this is NOT the same as measure-for-measure or 1:1 gluten-free flour.)
• Yeast. We are using instant/rapid rise yeast, NOT active dry yeast, which must be proofed in warm water before starting.
• Butter. If using unsalted butter, I recommend increasing the salt up to 2 1/4 teaspoons for the sweet roll dough.
• A Trick For Leftovers. I love to warm leftover sticky buns up in the microwave at 50% power for 10-15 seconds. It will soften them right back up!

Make-Ahead Instructions:

1. Follow the instructions above for making the sweet roll dough & filling, all the way until the sticky buns are filled, shaped, and put into the baking pan.
2. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight 8-16 hours. (They will not rise well past 16 hours.)
3. In the morning, remove the baking dish from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature to finish rising 30-40 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. while dough rises.
4. Bake in preheated oven 35-40 minutes.

Video

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: christmas, fall, pecans

Find the recipe:

sweetsandthankyou.com/gluten-free-sticky-buns/