Soft Dinner Rolls are the perfect companion to any main dish. These are soft, pull-apart bread rolls that rise beautifully. You will love that they are make-ahead friendly, so you can bake them fresh for dinner.
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Dinner Rolls Video Tutorial
We love easy bread recipes like No-Knead Bread, our famous Banana Bread, and of course Dinner Rolls. They are easy, have simple ingredients, and are approachable for any cook. Watch the easy video tutorial and you will impress everyone with your dinner rolls.
Whether you’re serving Potato Soup, a hearty bowl of crockpot chili, or your family’s favorite meatloaf, any menu is elevated by a good dinner roll. Keep this recipe in your back pocket and soon it will become second nature.
Homemade Dinner Rolls
Simply put, the process of making dinner rolls is split into three parts: preparing the dough, shaping the rolls and baking them. All you need is a very short list of ingredients which are pantry staples: milk, flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and butter.
How to Make Dinner Rolls
- Activate the Yeast: In the bowl of your mixer, combine milk, 1 Tbsp sugar and yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. Then whisk in melted butter, remaining sugar, and salt. Slowly incorporate the flour 1/2 cup at a time.
How do I know when I’ve added enough flour? The dough should feel sticky and tacky to the touch, but should not stick to clean and dry fingertips. Add the last 1-3 Tbsp flour only if needed.
- Knead Dough: Once your flour is in, continue kneading with the dough hook attachment for about 2 minutes. Kneading releases the gluten and makes it softer (don’t skip this step).
- Dough Rising: After kneading, you are going to oil a bowl and place your dough ball in it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for 2 hours or until doubled.
Can I Mix the Dough by Hand?
You can easily make homemade dinner rolls without a mixer. Mix the dough ingredients together in a large bowl using a wooden spoon or firm spatula. Once it comes together, knead with clean dry hands 10-12 minutes.
To knead by hand, press on the dough with the heel of your hand, moving in a forward rolling motion. Rotate your dough ball and repeat several times. Prepare to work those arms!
How to Shape Bread Rolls
- Divide the dough: Remove the dough and separate it into 15-16 even pieces using a bench cutter tool.
- Form the Rolls: To shape the dinner rolls, cup the dough between your fingers and thumb and roll the pieces into rounds on the countertop or over your other hand (watch the video tutorial to see how easy it is to form perfect dinner rolls like a pro).
- Let Rolls Rise: Place dough rounds onto a greased 9×13 baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for another 30-60 minutes until puffed. (Note: Instead of letting the dough balls proof, you can freeze or refrigerate the dough at this point – see make-ahead tips below).
Pro Tip: Avoid over proofing your rolls. If they rise too much, you will exhaust the yeast and they can collapse.
Can I use a different pan?
If using a different sized pan, you can make more dinner rolls. You can make anywhere from 15-24 dinner rolls using this recipe. If you make the rolls smaller, they will rise a little faster and will need a little less time to bake.
Tips for Yeast Dough to Rise Faster
Yeast is activated by warm temperatures and moist environments. If you are running short on time, here are a couple of hacks to make your dough rise faster.
- Microwave (our favorite method): Place a damp kitchen towel in the microwave on high heat for 1 minute then place the dough covered in plastic wrap in the warm microwave and let rise with the door closed.
- Oven Method: Place your dough bowl into the oven with the light on. We use this method to make our Easy Cinnamon Rolls rise in half the time!
How Long to Bake Dinner Rolls
Bake your dinner rolls at 375˚F until golden brown (about 23-25 minutes). When the rolls come out of the oven, immediately brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.
How to Keep Dinner Rolls Warm?
After baking, transfer your rolls to a serving dish or bowl and cover them with a kitchen towel. This will trap the heat and keep your rolls warm.
How to Make Dinner Rolls Ahead of Time
- Refrigerate Formed Dough Rolls – once the rolls are shaped and placed into the baking dish, cover tightly with oiled plastic wrap to prevent drying out and place the rolls in the refrigerator up to 24 hours. On baking day, take out the rolls 2-3 hours before baking to allow the rolls to rise at room temperature. They should nearly double in size. Rising time can depend on your room temperature.
- To Freeze dinner rolls – instead of refrigerating the dough rolls, put them in the freezer. Once they are frozen solid, you can transfer them to a freezer bag if desired. Remove them from the freezer to thaw and rise about 4-6 hours before baking.
How to Store Dinner Rolls
- At room temperature – once rolls are fully cooled, place them into a resealable bag to keep them from drying out and store at room temperature for 2-3 days. Do not refrigerate or they will dry out.
- How to freeze baked dinner rolls – once the rolls are cooled, roll them individually in plastic wrap and place them in an airtight, freezer-friendly zip-top bag or airtight container. Freeze up to 3 months.
- Thaw frozen bread rolls at room temperature, then reheat in the microwave or cover with foil in the oven at 300˚F for 10-12 minutes. If you freeze them the same day they are baked, they will keep their freshness when thawed.
There is nothing like fluffy, warm bread rolls with honey butter or jam.
What to Serve with Dinner Rolls
A holiday table isn’t complete without homemade dinner rolls. Serve these alongside your roast turkey, mashed potatoes, and of course Turkey Gravy for an unforgettable dinner. We also love to pair dinner rolls with:
- Beef Stew – with tender morsels of beef
- Cheeseburger Sliders – dinner rolls make great sliders
- Creamy Carrot Soup – silky smooth and so satisfying
- Cabbage Soup – hearty and satisfying
- Minestrone Soup – pairs so well with rolls
Soft Dinner Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup whole milk, warmed to 110F
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp salt, (we used fine sea salt)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, (minus 1 to 3 Tbsp) measured correctly
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted to brush the tops of dinner rolls
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, to sprinkle finished rolls
Instructions
- In the bowl of your mixer, whisk together warm milk (about 110F) and 1 Tbsp sugar. Sprinkle the top with 1 Tbsp yeast and let sit 1 minute. Whisk together and let it sit for about 5 minutes until yeast looks foamy. Add 4 Tbsp melted butter, remaining sugar and salt.
- Add flour half a cup at a time until the dough whisking to incorporate. Once the dough gets too thick, switch to the dough hook attachment and mix on speed 2 (you can also continue mixing by hand with a stiff spatula). Add about 4 cups of flour, adding the last 1 to 3 Tbsp of flour only if needed. The dough should feel sticky and tacky but should not stick to clean/dry finger tips.
- Knead the dough with the dough hook in a stand mixer for 2 minutes or knead by hand (10 min), then place dough in an oiled bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise about 2 hours in a warm place or until doubled in size.
- Once the dough rises, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and cut it into 15-24 even pieces depending on the shape of your baking dish. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and place them onto an oiled 9×13 casserole dish or baking sheet.
- Cover the dinner rolls with plastic wrap and let them rise another 30-60 minutes in a warm place or until puffed (do not over-proof). Bake at 375F for about 23-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
- Immediately brush tops of dinner rolls with melted butter and set aside to cool to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition Per Serving
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These were super easy to make and came out nice. They were kind of bland for our family’s taste so I will use salted butter next time.
I made these rolls for Easter but made them as hamburger buns for ham sandwiches. They were loved by my guys!! Three days after I made them, my husband had one with his chili and said it was still aweskme!!! He said he would say 4 of them at once if he wasn’t already full!! Very addicti
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Pamela!
Natasha I have made a number of recipes and they have all been fantastic. Made the buns today for Easter dinner and they were amazing and so easy…thank you.
That’s awesome, Bonnie. So great to hear that you have loved the recipes that you tried so far. Thank you for your wonderful review!
Hi, just wondered if anyone has tried these using a bread maker. I plan to try soon!!
Hi Lynn, I have not tested that in a bread machine to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe. Here’s what one of our readers wrote. I hope it helps “p.s. for your readers without a stand mixer: I don’t have one either: The dough is a gloppy mess when you first start kneading by hand but dust with just a very little flour at a time. And the kneading process itself will eventually evaporate the excess moisture too, like in a stand mixer.”
I did try to use my bread maker… since the recipe was larger than my bread maker calls for when it stirred it, the top didn’t mix in. I took the batter out and mixed it by hand and then put it back into the bread maker. it work well after that. Once it completed stirring and rising I squeezed out the rolls and then baked them in my oven. Everyone loved them. So Yummy
Hi, I don’t have whole milk on hand. Can I substitute with 2%?
Thank you!
Hi Leslie, 2% milk should work fine.
Can you use regular salted butter? Thanks
Hi Mike, we prefer unsalted but that may work.
did you try it with salted butter?that’s all i have on hand and wanted to make these today.
Hi Misty, salted butter should still work fine.
these are so soft, fluffy and delicious. however, i can still smell the yeast on my dinner rolls after baking. can you give me advise not to have the smell of the yeast on my next try?
Hi Karen, I haven’t had that experience but since these are yeast rolls, I suppose if you are very sensitive to the aroma of yeast, you would smell it in any yeast-based dough. Did you make sure to let the yeast proof for 5 minutes in the first step?
i used instant yeast. maybe your right, that im just sensitive to the aroma, or it did not rise well because i did not use bigger bowl?, or i placed it in too hot area(i put it inside the microwave, closed door)? but nonetheless, i really love the outcome and enjoyed eating it. And oh! it is on it’s 2nd day and still soft. I will definitely try this again.
Can I use rapid rise instant yeast? Thanks!
Only have packets. Should I use more than 1? Would hate to mess this up. They look great.
Hi Sharon, it would depend on how much is in each packet.
Hello, I am interested in making these buns however I don’t have a thermometer to measure the temperature of the milk; do you have any recommendations on how to ensure the right heat without the thermometer?
Hi Sabrina, It should feel warm to the wrist – it’s about the same temperature as is recommended for a baby’s bath water if that helps.
Is the year measurements in tbsp or tsp ?
Hi, if you’re referring to the yeast, we used “1 1/2 tbsp” tbsp. I hope that helps.
Hi! Is the recipe meant to read 1 1/2 tsp yeast instead of 1 1/2 tbsp yeast?
Dear Natasha
How would you go ahead and work with instant yeast instead of the yeast you stated??
Hi Edith, I haven’t tried this with instant but that should work. In step one, once the yeast is mixed in, you can skip the 5 minute waiting time since an instant yeast does not need the proofing period.
Thanks Natasha- following you from Belize, Central America!!
Hi Natasha! Can I make these with instant yeast? How much instant yeast should I use? Thank you!
Hi Marge, I haven’t tried this with instant but that should work fine still to use instant yeast. In step one, once the yeast is mixed in, you can skip the 5 minute waiting time since an instant yeast does not need to be proofed. Let me know how you like the dinner rolls!
No eggs?
No eggs! That’s right!
Best recipe ever! I loved them.
Isn’t it the best! Thank you for the wonderful feedback!
Just made these! I was reaaallllyy worried about final result as I’ve never made bread before and the yeast I had on hand was the powdered 7g sachets but they turned out amazing! They overcooked a little at the bottom but I’ll fix that next time! I also had to add around 1 cup more of flour for some reason :/ But lovely! Thank you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
These are lovely and soft but very sweet. I’m going to try these again but with less sugar and more salt. To stop the salt from killing the yeast I’ll mix it in with the flour instead of with the wet ingredients in the beginning. I find with most recipes that I have to tweak them for my own taste but thank you so much for the inspiration and such clear instructions.
I hope you love it. Thank you for sharing that with me, Helen!
Can this recipe be used for baked pirojki with meat or potato filling?
Hi Juliya, I haven’t tested that to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Love your recipes Miss Natasha!
I’ve been meaning to bake dinner rolls but I don’t have yeast and stores here are closed. Could I still make this with baking powder instead or anything that you suggest?
Thank you and stay safe!
Hi Selle, unfortunately, I haven’t tested this with baking powder but it would give this a significantly different texture.
hello
can i let sugar out ?
Hi Marinela, the sugar adds flavor and helps activate the yeast. I haven’t tested this leaving out the sugar.
Hi can I put it in oven for 20 minutes at 180…
Hi Merlene that is correct if you are measuring as 180 degrees Celcius which is equal to 350˚F.
Oh my the smell…1st try. It was a hit. Half was gone in a few minutes. My go to recipe. Thx Natasha
You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed it.
My husband baked this tonight and it turned out really good. This recipe is a keeper.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
This turned out WAY better than I expected!! My entire family loved it! Thank you!!!
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing that with us and for giving this recipe an excellent feedback.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I come from parents who were professional bakers. They had three bakeries and people waited out the door to come in in the morning. But I have to say , I’m totally impressed with this recipe. The rolls are just delicious, soft , tender but yet have body. I got 19 out of the recipe not 24 and they were perfect. My grandkids loved them. Thank you.
Wow! Thank you for that great & thoughtful review, Bernadette! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!