Red Velvet Nutella Rolls

Celebrate Valentine’s Day (or any day) with our Red Velvet Nutella Rolls. Soft rolls stuffed with nutella, baked in a cream bath and frosted.

Have you tried our January sweet roll yet? You know…the one with brown butter in the filling and in the glaze? Jump on over there and make them ASAP. You won’t be disappointed.

But today I’m introducing our February sweet roll: The ones with red velvet and nutella. Normally when I crave cinnamon rolls, I’ll want our traditional cinnamon buns. But when a holiday rolls around, it’s fun to celebrate with something festive. And my kids LOVED these red velvet nutella rolls.

These Red Velvet Nutella Rolls have classic red velvet flavor, nutella stuffed inside, cream cheese frosting and a nutella drizzle. And if it is Valentine’s Day…don’t forget the sprinkles!

What is the red velvet flavor?

You may think that red velvet is just any baked good dyed red. Although it does take a decent amount of red food coloring, there is also a touch of another flavor. Chocolate. There are just 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder in this sweet roll recipe. It’s a small amount so the chocolate flavor isn’t prominent, but it does add a hint of flavor.

Red velvet has a light, sweet flavor to it. It traditionally pairs with either cream cheese frosting or a cooked flour frosting, both of which are a rich, buttery frosting. This helps balance the sweetness of the red velvet.

How to Make Red Velvet Rolls

Make the dough.

Use your bread machine to mix the dough or go old school and use your hands. But here’s how you make dough in a stand mixer:

• Pour the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast overtop.
• Add the eggs, butter, cocoa powder, red color, salt and sugar.
• Add in 4 cups (save the other ½ cup and add only if you need it) of flour and mix using the beater blade just until the ingredients are barely combined. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes so the flour has time to soak up the liquids.
• Scrape the dough off the beater blade and remove it. Attach the dough hook.
• Beat the dough on medium speed, adding in up to ½ cup more flour if needed to form a dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth. **The dough should be tacky and will still be sticking to the sides of the bowl. That’s ok! Don’t be tempted to add more flour at this point. We generally add about 4 ½ cups, but start with 4 cups.

Let the dough rise.

• Spray a large bowl with cooking spray.
• Use a rubber spatula to remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place it in the greased large bowl.
• Cover the bowl with a towel or wax paper.
• Set the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until double. I like to turn on the oven to the lowest setting for 1-2 minutes. Then turn off the oven and place the dough to rise in there.

What if my dough isn’t rising?

First of all, make sure that the yeast is fresh before you start. Old yeast won’t rise. Then, make sure that the milk isn’t too hot or it can kill the yeast. Test the temperature!

Lastly, give it time. You have to have patience when rising dough. It can take a couple of hours at times. It depends on the temperature of your house and even the weather outside. Allow it to rise until it is double. It normally takes about 30-45 minutes for the dough to rise to double in our house.

Roll the dough.

• Sprinkle a pastry mat generously with flour. Turn out the risen dough onto the pastry mat and sprinkle the top of the dough with a dusting of additional flour.
• Roll the dough to about a 24×15″ rectangle. (the size of the rectangle can vary…it does not have to be exact!)
• Use a rubber spatula to smooth the nutella over the whole dough rectangle.
• Starting on the long end, roll the dough up tightly jelly roll style.
• Cut into 15 slices and place in a greased 10×15″ baking pan.
• Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise for 25 minutes or until nearly double.

Bake the dough.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Warm the heavy cream until the chill is off. Don’t make it hot…you just don’t want it cold. It should be warm to the touch.
• Once the rolls have risen, pour the heavy cream over the top of the rolls, allowing it to soak down in and around the rolls.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, until the center rolls are cooked through. Note…the time will vary based on how big the rolls are, what type of pan, how close the rolls are packed, etc. **Check them at 17 minutes. If it looks like the rolls are getting too brown, place a piece of aluminum foil over the rolls and continue to bake.**

Make the frosting.

• While the rolls are cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting.
• In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and butter using a hand mixer. Blend well.
• Add in vanilla extract and the powdered sugar. Beat until combined.
• Spread the frosting over the cooled rolls.
• Heat nutella in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. This will soften the Nutella enough to drizzle over the top of the rolls.
• Sprinkle with holiday sprinkles if you’d like.

How do you store sweet rolls?

After the rolls have cooled completely, store them at room temperature in a sealed container to keep them fresh. They are best eaten within 2 days. But they do freeze well, so if you have leftovers, freeze them in an airtight container.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tools to Make Sweet Rolls

• Stand Mixer: We find that a stand mixer or a bread machine is easiest for kneading homemade dough.
• Red Star Yeast: My favorite yeast! It’s so forgiving and I have perfect baked goods, every time.
• Pastry Mat: This makes clean-up a breeze.
• Dough Cutter: I JUST got one of these. What have I done without it all these years? Works as a scraper too, to get stuck-on dough off surfaces.
• Baking Pan 10×15 is best for this recipe.

Other Red Velvet Recipes

• baked red velvet donuts
• red velvet cake
• red velvet crepes
• white chocolate red velvet cookies

Red Velvet Nutella Sweet Rolls

4.75 from 4 votes

Celebrate Valentine's Day (or any day) with our Red Velvet Nutella Rolls. Soft rolls stuffed with nutella, baked in a cream bath and frosted.

Servings 15

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Rise Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

 

For the Dough:

• 1 cup warm milk about 115 degrees F**
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast (I like Red Star Platinum Baking Yeast)
• 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
• 1/2 cup butter (melted)
• 1 ounce red food coloring
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4-4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (divided)

For the Filling:

• 3/4 cup nutella hazelnut spread

Before baking:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream (for pouring over the risen rolls)

For the Frosting:

• 6 ounces cream cheese (softened)
• 1/3 cup butter (softened)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the drizzle:

• 1/3 cup nutella hazelnut spread

Instructions

 

• Pour the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast overtop.
• Add the eggs, butter, cocoa powder, red color, salt and sugar.
• Add in 4 cups (save the other ½ cup and add only if you need it) of flour and mix using the beater blade just until the ingredients are barely combined. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes so the flour has time to soak up the liquids.
• Scrape the dough off the beater blade and remove it. Attach the dough hook.
• Beat the dough on medium speed, adding in up to ½ cup more flour if needed to form a dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth. **The dough should be tacky and will still be sticking to the sides of the bowl. That’s ok! Don’t be tempted to add more flour at this point. We generally add about 4 ½ cups, but start with 4 cups.
• Spray a large bowl with cooking spray.
• Use a rubber spatula to remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place it in the greased large bowl.
• Cover the bowl with a towel or wax paper.
• Set the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until double. I like to turn on the oven to the lowest setting for 1-2 minutes. Then turn off the oven and place the dough to rise in there. It normally takes about 30-45 minutes for the dough to rise to double. This can vary based on weather and temperature of your home. Do not allow the dough to rise too much or your cinnamon rolls will be airy.
• Sprinkle a pastry mat generously with flour. Turn out the risen dough onto the pastry mat and sprinkle the top of the dough with a dusting of additional flour.
• Roll the dough to about a 24×15" rectangle. (the size of the rectangle can vary…it does not have to be exact!)
• Use a rubber spatula to smooth the nutella over the whole dough rectangle.
• Starting on the long end, roll the dough up tightly jelly roll style.
• Cut into 15 slices and place in a greased 10×15" baking pan.
• Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise for 25 minutes or until nearly double.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Warm the heavy cream until the chill is off. Don’t make it hot…you just don’t want it cold. It should be warm to the touch.
• Once the rolls have risen, pour the heavy cream over the top of the rolls, allowing it to soak down in and around the rolls.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, until the center rolls are cooked through. Note…the time will vary based on how big the rolls are, what type of pan, how close the rolls are packed, etc. Check them at 17 minutes. If it looks like the rolls are getting too brown, place a piece of aluminum foil over the rolls and continue to bake.
• While the rolls are cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting.
• In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and butter using a hand mixer. Blend well.
• Add in vanilla extract and the powdered sugar. Beat until combined.
• Spread the frosting over the cooled rolls.
• Heat nutella in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. This will soften the Nutella enough to drizzle over the top of the rolls.
• Sprinkle with holiday sprinkles if you'd like.
• Store in an airtight container.

Notes

**Different yeast calls for slightly different proofing methods. We follow Red Star Platinum’s temperature guidelines. Please check your yeast packet to see what temperature the milk should be at.

*The Calorie count shows the amount with ALL of the frosting used. There will be less calories in the rolls if you don’t use all of the frosting at once.

The calories shown are based on the recipe making 15 rolls, with 1 serving being 1 frosted roll. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**

Nutrition

Calories: 522kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 235mg | Potassium: 192mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 651IU | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 3mg

Author Julie Clark

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Calories 522

Keyword red velvet recipes, valentine’s day dessert

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