Teach your children the real meaning of Easter with this easy Resurrection Rolls story and recipe (with printable PDF!)
Have you ever made Resurrection Rolls before?
Also known as empty tomb rolls, resurrection buns, or simply Easter crescent rolls with marshmallows, these sweet treats are a fantastic way to teach your children about the real meaning of Easter in a way even little ones can understand.
And I should know — my children ask to make this Resurrection Rolls Recipe every single year! (And of course, I always say yes!)
It’s one of our favorite Easy Christian Easter Crafts for Sunday School and Home — because it’s such a great way to tell the Easter resurrection story — that it’s become a bit of an Easter tradition around here!
If you have young children at home, this is definitely an easy recipe you will want to try. I’d say it would probably work best for children between the ages of 3 and 13.
Children younger than 3 would likely enjoy eating the empty tomb rolls, but they aren’t likely to understand the resurrection rolls story.
Children older than 13 would also enjoy eating the rolls, but they might think they’re “too cool” for simple object lessons. 🙂
Thankfully, we haven’t hit that point yet!
Quick Tip: Download This Resurrection Rolls Recipe and Story Printable PDF!
BUT if you prefer a printable PDF version to make things easy on yourself (so you don’t get cinnamon sugar all over your phone…)
I created a Resurrection Rolls Story and Recipe Printable that has alllll the steps, all the Bible verses… everything you need.
Simply enter your name and email in the box below, and I’ll send it your way, so you have it right on hand when you’re ready to teach this empty tomb rolls story!
Resurrection Rolls (Empty Tomb Rolls) Recipe Instructions
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Resurrection Roll Ingredients:
- 1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 8 large marshmallows
Additional Materials Needed:
- One Large Muffin Tin OR two small ones (You’ll need room for 8 rolls)
- Non-stick cooking spray
- Your Bible (to tell the Resurrection Rolls story as you go)
- OR the Resurrection Rolls Recipe and Story Printable PDF (see above)
Resurrection Rolls Story Tips:
- I prefer to have everything out and ready to go in advance before the kids sit down. This helps reduce the wait time for little ones, so they’re more likely to sit and pay attention to the resurrection rolls lesson without all the wiggles.
- I also prefer to make one resurrection roll myself FIRST while I tell the Easter story and the kids watch (up until the point where the first roll goes in the pan). This way the kids are paying attention to the resurrection rolls story, not getting distracted trying to lick the cinnamon sugar.
- I included the shortened version of the Resurrection Rolls story below so you can easily do this recipe with wiggly little ones with short attention spans. If you have older kids and prefer to read the Easter story straight from the Bible before you begin, that’s great! The actual Easter Resurrection Bible story can be found in Luke 23-24.
- BUT if you are reading the Easter story straight from the Bible to little ones, I would definitely recommend a good children’s Bible. We personally love this Bible storybook for reading to toddlers, The Beginner’s Bible for reading to preschool or early elementary aged children, and this NIV Adventure Bible for reading with children ages 8-12 (or so).
*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. This helps cover the cost of running this site and allows me to help provide for my family. Thank you!
Resurrection Rolls (Empty Tomb Rolls) Story Instructions
1. Get Everything Ready to Go Before You Begin
- Turn oven to 375°
- Melt the butter 15-20 seconds
- Mix cinnamon and sugar together in one bowl (equal parts, or a bit more sugar)
- Set ingredients out on the table
- Spray the muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray
2. Take One Marshmallow and Begin Explaining the Resurrection Rolls Story
Explain: The marshmallow represents Jesus: Pure, white, sinless and perfect.
Unfortunately, even though Jesus was perfect, there were people who hated him. They wanted him dead. So they crucified him on a cross and left him to die there.
Bible verses: Luke 23:1-49
2. Roll the Marshmallow in the Melted Butter, then in the Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
Explain: Jesus’s friends and family were very sad when Jesus died. They loved him. They wanted him to be alive. They were sad and confused.
But what Jesus’s disciples didn’t know was that Jesus didn’t JUST die. He also took all of our sins (the bad things we do) upon himself. He took our punishment so we wouldn’t have to!
See how the cinnamon looks dirty on Jesus’s body? The cinnamon represents our sin that Jesus took away when he died.
Bible verses: Romans 5:8, 1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:5, 1 Corinthians 15:3
3. Carefully Wrap the Marshmallow in a Resurrection Crescent Roll, Carefully Sealing Every Seam.
Explain: Jesus’s friends and family didn’t know this, though. They thought he was just dead. So they buried him in a tomb and closed the door tight with a huge rock so no one could get in or out.
This resurrection crescent roll represents Jesus’s tomb. Can you see the marshmallow in there? You can’t, because the tomb is sealed up tightly. Nothing can get in or out.
Bible verses: Luke 23:50-56
4. Place Resurrection Crescent Rolls in Muffin Tin; Invite Kids to Make Remaining Rolls.
Explain: After Jesus’s friends buried his body in the tomb, they left and went home for the night, because it was getting late.
Now, would you like to help me make the rest of this resurrection rolls recipe?
Tip: Sprinkle a little extra cinnamon sugar on top of your Resurrection rolls while the kids are making their empty tomb rolls if you want yours to look just like the pictures. Also – be sure to pinch the seams tight!
5. Cook til Browned (see package directions). Remove from Oven. Continue Resurrection Rolls Story while Rolls are Cooling.
Explain: Three days later, some of Jesus’s friends and family went back to his tomb. They wanted to put oil and spices on his body to make it smell better and not get too stinky. But, when they came to his tomb, they saw the most incredible thing! Do you know what it was?
(Cut the roll open – the marshmallow should be gone)
The tomb was empty! Jesus came back from the dead and he’s still alive today, watching over us and helping take care of us from Heaven!
Bible verses: Luke 24:1-12, Luke 22:69, John 14:3
6. Eat and Enjoy!
The kids had such a great time making this Resurrection Rolls recipe last year that we had to make them again this year too. If you decide to make them with your family, hopefully your family will love them just as much! Enjoy!
Don’t Forget Your Printable Resurrection Rolls Story and Recipe Instructions!
Don’t forget to grab your Resurrection Rolls Story Printable so you have everything you need right at hand when you’re ready to get started!
It has all the instructions, materials list, Bible verses, etc… and it won’t result in you ruining your phone with cinnamon sugar!
Simply enter your name and email in the box below, and I’ll send it your way so you have it right on hand when you’re ready to teach this empty tomb rolls story.
Are you planning to use this Resurrection Rolls Recipe to make empty tomb rolls this Easter? Tell us how yours turned out in the comments below!
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What a wonderful idea. I am going to do this with my 4 year old grandaughter-adoped daughter. Thank you for sharing
You’re welcome!
thank you so much for sharing this. we made it countless times with parishes my husband pastored. Now at a new parish, want to do it with the kids, yours is perfect, is there a way can get this printer friendly?
That is a fantastic idea, but unfortunately, not at the minute… It’s pretty simple though, thankfully!
Hey, Paula! Ended up making a printable version after all since that’s such a great idea. It’s right in the post! Thanks! <3
Thank you. This will be a blessing to our church’s children’s dance group!
Brittany, Hi I gave my e-mail but I have not received an e-mail back with the printable version, is something else I have to do to get it?
I didn’t receive the email either.
I would love to have a printable copy of the resurrection rolls and story. Thank you for putting this together and sharing it with others.
Hi, Tammy! There’s a box right in the post now! Just enter your name and email, and I’ll send it your way!
I have been making resurrection rolls for years. We love them so much. I was surprised to see that your items represent things differently than I was taught.
In my version the butter and cinnamon and sugar are the oils and spices used to embalm the body. The dough is the clothing that he left behind and the oven is the tomb.
Just thought I’d throw out a different version.
Yeah, we do them that way too! There are just more wonderful things to symbolize than steps to make the rolls lol!
Thank you so very much. I’m a Sunday school teacher and have been coming up with creative ways to teach them through lessons I’m recording. This is awesome for an object lesson for this Sunday. Thank you so very much.
Enjoy! 🙂