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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Thanks Natasha for a great recipe. Mine turned out great and my family loved the dinner rolls. Love all your recipes 😊👍
I’m so glad you’re enjoying our recipes, Yolie!
Please attach link to the pots and pans you use.I really like your pots/pans that you use for cooking and baking.
Hi Ambreen, you can find our favorite kitchen tools in our Blog Shop HERE and in our Amazon Affiliate Shop HERE. I hope this helps!
Hi Natasha…I just wanted to know if you could give a link to all the pans and pots you use in your cooking/baking…I really like all your cooking tools…Thanks…
Hi Ambreen, you can find our favorite kitchen tools in our Blog Shop HERE and in our Amazon Affiliate Shop HERE. I hope this helps!
The basis of this recipe is great but I used much much less flour like 1 2/3 cups less and they came out beautifully fluffy so don’t hesitate to hold back on the flour so they aren’t dense bricks lol. I used bread flour and I substituted the butter for coconut oil. Perfect perfect perfect that way!
Hi Charles, it is a good idea to use less flour with bread flour since it has a higher gluten content and typically needs less flour with bread flour. Also, I suggest following our instructions for measuring ingredients which may help to match the amounts in our recipes in the future.
I don’t keep milk in the house and have considered keeping a box of dry powdered milk on hand to use for bakingrecipes just like this. Do you think that would work the same? Once reconstituted of course
Hi Dee, I honestly haven’t tried making these rolls that way. You might have to do an experiment to find out if it will give the same result. If you give it a try, please share with us how it goes.
Hi there…..mines came out great. Thank you so much for the recipe.
So good to know that, Violeta. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Made these today and served with chilli for supper. They were amazing! They looked exactly like the pictures, and that bit of salt really put them over the top! The worst part was waiting for the dough to proof. Thanks so much for the recipe!
You are most welcome, Vicki. I’m glad you enjoyed these rolls!
I made these for Thanksgiving with the honey butter and they were such a crowd pleaser. Thank you for always making me look good Natasha!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Jane!
Hi Natasha,
How critical is it to use whole milk vs. 2%?
Hi Brian, 2% milk should work fine.
I make these rolls all the time. They are so easy and so good! I’ve tried others but these are my family’s favorite.
Hello Rosa, I’m glad to hear that this is one of your family’s favorite recipes. Thanks for your great feedback!
These were absolutely incredible, Natasha! Thanks for sharing your recipe!! Your website it awesome, and I ,I’ve your YouTube channel!
Can the dough be made into a bread loaf?
Hi Kimberley, I’m so so glad you enjoyed this recipe! I have not tested that as a loaf, but I imagine it could work! If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe!
These rolls are exactly what I have been looking for. Natasha has all of the ingredients and the cooking procedure incredibly explained. She is the best and most fun cook! My rolls turned out perfect! Thank you, Natasha. You always bring a smile to my face when I watch your videos.
I’m so happy you love our recipes! Thank you so much for the fantastic review and your encouraging words. I am smiling big reading your comment, Joyce!
These rolls are exactly what I have been looking for. Natasha has all of the ingredients and the cooking procedure incredibly explained. She is the best and most fun cook! My rolls turned out perfect! Thank you, Natasha. You always bring a smile to my face when I watch your videos.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
These were wonderful! I prepared the night before and left 15 dough balls in their prepared pan covered with plastic wrap. They rose overnight in their pan and I brought them out ~ 30 minutes before baking. What other eggless bread recipes do you recommend? Thank you for a new family favorite.
Hi Wanda, our no-knead bread, french bread and wreath bread are all great. You might also love our chocolate cake if you are looking for an eggless dessert.
did you put them in the fridge overnight and then let them sit for 30 minutes before baking?
Made these for Thanksgiving yesterday and they turned out pretty good! I think I packed them too much rolling them into balls because I was trying to make them all the same size and I ended up with about 27 because I made kinda small balls. But they were delicious! My nephew said they tasted like a pretzel from the mall 🙂
Thank you for sharing that with us! Sound like this recipe is more versatile than we thought 😉.
Delicious! Our new favorite dinner roll! Thank you for all the amazing recipes!!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Heather!
hi Natasha
unfortunately in my country there is only instant yeast available so if I were to use instant yeast should I use the same amount of active dry yeast you used?
Hi Karina, yes instant yeast will also work and may rise a little faster so be careful not to let it over proof. With instant yeast, you can skip the proofing step initially and just whisk together the wet ingredients then add yeast with your first cup of flour.
Soooooo good. These are so soft and fluffy. Couldn’t stop eating them. The kids ate 3 each and LOVED them too. Thank you for another great recipe.
I am so happy to hear that, thank you for such an amazing feedback Vera!
Just took mine out of the oven and they smell heavenly.🤤😋. Thanks for the easy recipe. Can’t wait to try it. New subscriber.
You’re welcome! I hope it becomes your favorite.
This recipe literally changed yeast amounts in the middle of me making it went from 1.5 Tbsp to 1.
Hi K, it sounds like the recipe serving slider may have been adjusted at some point? We used one tbsp of active dry yeast in this recipe.