These Sticky Buns are an easy, overnight recipe, and they’re a delightful choice for a weekend breakfast or brunch.

What are Sticky Buns?

Sticky buns are a sweet breakfast treat.  They’re sweet rolls that are baked in a sugary/buttery/pecan mixture.  They’re referred to as “sticky” because of all of the sticky juices that are poured on top as they are popped out onto a platter.

This Sticky Buns recipe is an easy, overnight recipe.  Simply make the night before and bake in the morning.  They’re perfect for feeding family over the holidays or as a surprise weekend breakfast treat for your family!

How to make Sticky Buns with frozen bread dough:

This recipe is so easy because you don’t have to roll anything out, and there is no kneading involved.  In fact, you don’t have to make the dough at all!  Use frozen bread dough.  The frozen rolls are placed into a pan and drizzled with a buttery/sugary mixture.  Then you get to let them sit overnight to rise..  That’s all the work you have to do- it’s so easy!!

The next morning, you’ll pop the Sticky Buns into the oven to bake.  When they come out of the oven, you’ll invert the pan onto a platter and then scrape all of the sugary juices on top. Place the platter on your breakfast table, and let all of the hungry people tear apart the sticky buns to sample.  They’re so delicious!!

Are Sticky Buns and Cinnamon Rolls the same thing?

Sticky buns and cinnamon rolls are not the same thing.  Sticky buns are made with dough (sometimes frozen dough) and the balls of dough are placed into a pan with a butter/sugar mixture drizzled over the top (sometimes the syrupy mixture is placed into the bottom of the pan).  You’ll also see recipes for Sticky Buns where the dough is rolled out, sprinkled with cinnamon/sugar and cut like cinnamon rolls. They’re left to rise, just like cinnamon rolls..  In the end, they’re dumped upside down onto a platter with the sticky syrup drizzled over.

When you make cinnamon rolls, you’re rolling out the dough, brushing with butter and sprinkling with cinnamon/sugar.  The dough is then rolled up and sliced into rolls.  The rolls are set side-by-side in a pan and left to rise.  After baking, cinnamon rolls are usually iced or drizzled with glaze.  If you’re more interested in making cinnamon rolls, be sure to check out my recipes for Old Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls and Make-Ahead Cinnamon Rolls.

Look at all of that decadent, gooey stuff!  That’s what you’ll get in every bite of a sticky bun!

Can Sticky Buns be frozen?

I’m gonna say that you technically could freeze the sticky buns after they’ve already risen… and then just seal them well with plastic wrap and foil.  Then you’d have to let them come to room temperature again before baking. But there isn’t any real reason to freeze them, and it’s just going to take a lot of extra effort to do so.

This recipe is extremely easy, so just make them the night before and bake them in the morning.  I recommend you avoid the freezer!

If you’re looking for more decadent breakfast recipes, you might like to try my Cinnamon Roll Pancakes or these No Yeast Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing. Crockpot Cinnamon Roll Cassserole, Caramel Apple Monkey Bread and Fruit and Cream Cheese Breakfast Pastries are great breakfast recipes too!

Here are a few more breakfast recipes that can be made the night before.  These are the best Overnight Breakfast Recipes!