Puffy and fluffy, just a little bit sweet, and best served warm and buttered, these easy Homemade Dinner Rolls are ready in 1 hour! Serve them at your holiday feast, or whip them up for a weeknight dinner with a bowl of soup.
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Why You’ll Love This Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls Recipe
- A No-Fuss Recipe. Whether you’re a bread baking novice or a seasoned pro, you’ll appreciate the speed and ease of this no-fail yeast roll recipe. These dinner rolls take just an hour from start to finish.
- Tender, Sweet Dinner Rolls. Even if you’re heating up a tray from the grocery store, dinner rolls feel like a treat, but homemade dinner rolls are worth getting extra excited about. They’re made with honey, giving them a touch of sweetness, and they have that fluffy, tender crumb you expect from a good dinner roll. Serve them with Instant Pot Roast, Crockpot Mashed Potatoes, and Sautéed Green Beans and you’ll feel like you’re having Sunday dinner at your grandparents’ house.
- No Kitchen Scale Needed. When you’re serious serious about bread baking, you eventually need to graduate to using a kitchen scale, but this is a dinner roll recipe for the rest of us. All the measurements are by volume so you can use measuring cups and spoons.
How to Make Homemade Dinner Rolls
The Ingredients
- Honey. The addition of honey makes these subtly sweet dinner rolls.
- Water. If you have a thermometer, the water should be 110 degrees F. If you’re judging by touch, it should be just a bit warmer than lukewarm.
- All-Purpose Flour. When it’s humid out, you may need 4 cups of flour. If it’s dry in your house, 3 1/2 cups will likely be perfect.
- Unsalted Butter. Using unsalted butter gives you more control over the flavor of your dinner rolls.
- Eggs. One for the dough and one for the egg wash.
- Instant Yeast. Be sure your yeast is fresh, stored properly, and not expired. You can ruin a whole batch of dinner rolls with bad yeast!
- Kosher Salt. Kosher salt has larger crystals than table salt, so you’ll need to use a bit less if you’re swapping that in. A generous 3/4 teaspoon is perfect.
- Flaky Salt. Such as Maldon or fleur de sel.
The Directions
- Prepare. Grease a large baking dish and warm the honey in the microwave. Fit your stand mixer with the dough hook.
- Start the Dough. Dissolve the honey in the water, then add 3 1/2 cups flour, butter, one of the eggs, yeast, and salt.
- Mix. Knead the dough with your stand mixer or by hand. You might need to add more flour.
- Let the Dough Rise. Give it 15 minutes, until puffy.
- Deflate the Dough. Gently punch the dough down in the bowl.
- Form the Rolls. Divide the dough into 12 portions and roll each into a tight ball.
- Proof. Let the shaped dough rise for about 15 minutes.
- Add the Egg Wash. Finish with sea salt.
- Bake. Place the dinner rolls in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. Set the baking dish on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving. ENJOY!
Recipe Variations
- Add Fresh Herbs. Near the end of the kneading time, you can work finely chopped fresh herbs into the dough. Chives are a classic choice, but rosemary and sage are also fantastic.
- Top Them. Instead of (or in addition to) the flaky salt, you can top your homemade dinner rolls with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or even everything bagel seasoning.
- Add Some Whole Wheat. You can substitute up to half of the all-purpose flour in this recipe with white whole wheat flour.
Freezing Dinner Rolls
This is the best dinner roll recipe for freezing!
- Shape and freeze the shaped dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then transfer them to a zip-top freezer bag.
- To bake, arrange the frozen rolls in a greased 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Cover with a dish towel and rise for about 4 hours, then brush with egg wash and bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.
- You can also defrost and rise the rolls overnight in the fridge, then bake.
What to Serve with Homemade Yeast Dinner Rolls
- Sunday Dinner Favorites. We’re talking Instant Pot Roast, Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes, and all those cozy comfort food dishes.
- Holiday Classics. These sweet dinner rolls are ideal for a holiday get-together alongside Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Casserole, and Thanksgiving Turkey.
- Soup. Soak up your Broccoli Cheddar Soup and Cauliflower Chowder with big, soft, fluffy dinner rolls.
- Pasta. Double down on the carbs and serve Sun Dried Tomato Pasta, Penne Alla Vodka, or other pasta recipes with a side of fresh baked rolls.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Spoon the Flour Into the Measuring Cup. Since we’re measuring by volume instead of weight, it’s super important to be accurate. Instead of scooping the flour, lightly spoon it into your measuring cup. This keeps it from compacting in the cup, so you won’t end up using more than needed.
- Soften the Butter. If you don’t, it won’t mix evenly into the dough. Starting with very soft butter allows it to incorporate fully, adding richness to every bite.
- Know When to Add More Flour. If the dough feels sticky, add more flour. Adding too much will give you dense rolls, so you want to be careful about how much you add, but the dough should be easy to work with.
- Roll the Balls Tightly. You should feel tension in the rolls, with the outsides feeling taut. This helps homemade dinner rolls keep a nice shape when baking.
- Adjust the Rising Time. If your house is cold, you may need more than 15 minutes for rising and proofing. Sometimes in the winter, I put the bowl of dough in the oven with the light turned on or in the microwave just to keep it away from drafts and chilly air. Put a note on the microwave or oven so you don’t forget and start it by mistake!
Homemade Dinner Rolls
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Servings: 12 rolls
These easy homemade dinner rolls take just 1 hour to make from scratch! Big, soft, fluffy and a bit little sweet, they make any meal special!
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Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 cup water at 110°F
- 3 ½ to 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into ¼-inch cubes
- 2 large eggs at room temperature, divided
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast*
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Flaky salt such as Maldon or fleur de sel
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Measure the honey into a glass measuring cup or heat-proof bowl and microwave for 15 seconds, until warm and loose (this helps it dissolve).
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook or a large mixing bowl, stir together the honey and water (be sure to check it’s temp, preferably with an instant read thermometer! It should feel warm but not hot) until the honey is dissolved. Add 3½ cups flour, butter, 1 egg, yeast, and salt.
- If using a stand mixer: Turn the hook on medium-low speed, and knead until the dough is uniform, soft, and smooth, adding more flour if necessary (I used about 1/4 cup), until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes.
- If not using a stand mixer, once you have a shaggy dough, turn it out onto a clean work surface and knead until it comes together and is no longer sticky, adding flour as necessary (I added about ¼ cup).
- Place the kneaded dough into a clean, greased bowl (or remove the dough from the mixing bowl, spray the bowl with nonstick spray, and return the dough to the same mixing bowl). Cover with a dish towel. Let rise somewhere warm for 15 minutes, until the dough looks puffy.
- Make a fist and gently punch down the dough to deflate it. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (about 2.7 ounces each). On a clean work surface, roll the pieces into tight balls under your palm: using one hand, roll each ball of dough on the counter in a circular motion until they are smooth and taught. Arrange the balls in the prepared baking dish. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Cover the dish with a clean dish towel and let the dough rise somewhere warm until puffy, about 15 minutes.
- Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl until smoothly blended.
- Uncover the dish, brush the rolls with the beaten egg, and sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Place the baking dish on a wire rack and let cool in the baking dish for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- *if using active dry yeast, use 1¼ tablespoons. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in the mixing bowl in step 3 and let it soak until frothy, 3-4 minutes. Then add the honey, followed by the remaining ingredients listed in step 3.
- TO STORE: These rolls are best the day they’re made, but you can store them at room temperature for 2 days
- TO FREEZE: Freeze the rolls for up to 6 months; let them thaw at room temperature, then reheat if desired.
- TO REHEAT: Warm the rolls in the microwave or a 325 degree F oven.
- PREP TIP: Freeze shaped unbaked rolls ahead, then bake as follows: To bake, arrange the frozen rolls in a greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Cover with a dish towel and Rise for about 4 hours, then egg wash and bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes. You could also defrost and rise the rolls overnight in the fridge and bake.
Nutrition
Serving: 1(of 12)Calories: 202kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 5gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 40mgPotassium: 56mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 185IUVitamin C: 0.03mgCalcium: 12mgIron: 2mg
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Really like the texture with these rolls. Thanks for the tips!
Yay, so happy to hear Paul!
Delicious! Just some minor changes to the process and not the recipe. Ours is a two senior home. So, I divided the dough into 24 pieces and made little dinner rolls. I put 12 unbaked rolls in the freezer for later. Since the rolls were smaller, I baked for 15 minutes and that turned out right. They were wonderful with some freezer meal lentil soup I made, but I was thinking they would be fabulous for sliders.
I recently bought myself a new mini Kitchen Aid mixer, and this recipe was so perfect for the size mixer and the dough hook. I have arthritis in my hands and I was thrilled not to hand kneed.
Thanks so much, Erin!
Thank you Barbara!
These turned out great and tasted better than store bought! Very fluffy and light! My husband, who will usually only eat one roll a day, ate three! My rolls were smaller, and I made sixteen pieces, so I baked them for about eighteen minutes on a quarter sheet. They were just heavenly. They reminded us of rolls I used to buy from a restaurant years ago. Thanks Erin!
Makes me so happy to hear! Thank you Haidee!
I’ve searched and searched for a dinner roll recipe that I like. They always fall short in some way. NOT THIS ONE! It is perfect. The only thing I will do is add more honey or sugar to the recipe since I like my rolls on the sweeter side.
Makes me so happy to hear! Thank you Antonette!
I loved how these turned out. So soft and fluffy. I also added some honey butter to the tops after baking which adds just a hint of sweetness making them perfect!! This will be my go to homemade dinner roll recipe from now on!!
So happy to hear! Thank you Eleonor!
I would make this recipe again. I thought they were good the day baked and as leftovers, stayed moist and flavorful for two days.
So glad to hear, thank you Janet!
I received an email from you yesterday that had these rolls in it. I made it on a whim to go with my broccoli cheddar soup and my entire family of five DEVOURED the rolls. Thank you so much!
That makes me so happy to hear, Jess! THANK YOU!