Try these homemade dinner rolls once, and you'll make them forever! Soft, fluffy, and flavorful, they're an easy, delicious addition to any meal.
When Jack took these homemade dinner rolls out of the oven for the first time, I immediately cried, “They’re SO cute!” I had asked him to make a dinner roll recipe for the blog, but I didn’t know how it’d turn out. I started to get skeptical when he told me he was scrapping the traditional milk, melted butter, and eggs to make his recipe vegan. Jack’s a good baker, but I was preparing myself for at least a few wonky tests.
To my surprise, Jack’s homemade dinner rolls came out perfectly! They’re soft and fluffy, flaky and tender, and they look like little golden pillows when they come out of the oven. He’s always happy to make them, so they’ve become part of our regular recipe rotation over the last few months. Of course, Jack’s making them for Thanksgiving next week, and I hope you will too. They’re easy and delicious – I think you’re going to love them!
Dinner Roll Recipe Ingredients
You only need 6 simple ingredients to make this recipe:
- Bread flour – Its high protein content makes these dinner rolls tender and chewy.
- Yeast – Before you start baking, check to make sure that your yeast hasn’t expired. If it’s not fresh, the rolls won’t rise, and they’ll be dense and flat instead of soft and fluffy.
- Almond milk – We use almond milk because it’s what we keep on hand, but feel free to substitute any plain, unsweetened milk you like! Cow’s milk, oat milk, and soy milk would all work here.
- Cane sugar – It activates the yeast and gives the rolls a touch of sweetness.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – For moisture and richness.
- And sea salt – To round out the sweet and savory flavor.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Homemade Dinner Rolls
First, proof the yeast. Combine it with the warm milk and 1 tablespoon sugar, and let it sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the yeast should be foamy. If it’s not, discard the mixture and start again. There’s a good chance your yeast wasn’t fresh!
Next, make the dough. Add the foamy yeast mixture, flour, salt, oil, and remaining sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on medium-low until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a dough around the hook, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface, and knead a few times to form it into a ball. It’ll be sticky, but if it’s too sticky to handle, knead in a little more flour.
Then, rise! Place the dough ball in an oiled bowl, and cover it with plastic wrap. Set it aside to rise for 60-90 minutes, until it doubles in size.
After the dough rises, shape the rolls. Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces, and shape each one into a ball by rolling it on the counter under your cupped hand. Transfer the balls to a greased baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and let them rise again.
When the rolls are puffy, it’s time to bake! Place them on a low rack in a 350° oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway, until they’re lightly golden brown. Let them cool on the baking pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely (or devouring them warm!).
Dinner Roll Recipe Tips
- Measure your flour accurately. Measuring cups are essential tools in the kitchen, but when you’re measuring flour, they’re not precise. It’s easy to scoop a cup of flour that’s packed too tightly, inadvertently using more flour than a recipe calls for. Weigh your flour whenever you can, but if you don’t have a kitchen scale, the spoon-and-level method is your next best bet. Read more about it here!
- Warm the milk. Yeast loves warmth! To help activate it, warm your milk in the microwave for about 15 seconds before you proof the yeast. Whatever you do, don’t use cold milk straight from the fridge.
- Let the dough rise somewhere warm. Similarly, you’ll get the best rise if put the dough somewhere warm. We put ours on a sunny windowsill! A turned-off oven with the light on is a good option too.
- Freeze the extras. These homemade dinner rolls freeze perfectly! If you don’t plan to eat them all within 1-2 days, store them in an airtight bag or container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Transfer frozen rolls to the fridge to thaw overnight, or let them thaw at room temperature for a few hours.
Homemade Dinner Rolls Serving Suggestions
I’ve eaten dinner rolls at Thanksgiving since I was a kid, so they always make me think of the holidays. These homemade rolls pair perfectly with classic side dishes like mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, green bean casserole, and mashed sweet potatoes. For more holiday side dish ideas, check out this post!
Of course, these dinner rolls are tasty will all kinds of other meals too. Pair them with my kale salad or Caesar salad for a healthy, hearty lunch, or dunk them into tomato basil or butternut squash soup. They’d also be lovely with my stuffed acorn squash, eggplant Parmesan, or any of these pasta recipes:
- Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta
- Easy Baked Ziti
- Best Vegetarian Lasagna
- Butternut Squash Ravioli
- Fettuccine Alfredo
For more favorite pasta recipes, check out this post!
More Favorite Baking Recipes
If you love these homemade dinner rolls, try one of these baking recipes next:
Homemade Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk (or any milk), warmed
- 1 pkg. (¼-ounce) active dry yeast (2¼ teaspoons)
- 2½ tablespoons cane sugar
- 3 cups bread flour, spooned and leveled (390g)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin-olive oil, more for brushing
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the almond milk, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar and proof for 5 minutes or until foamy.
- In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, place the flour, salt, the remaining sugar, olive oil, and the yeast mixture. Mix on medium-low speed for 2-3 minutes until the dough is well-formed around the hook and pulling away from the sides.
- Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead a few times to form into a ball. The dough should be sticky, but if it’s too sticky to work with, add a little more flour. Brush a large bowl with ½ teaspoon olive oil and place the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the dough is doubled in size.
- Brush a large baking sheet with olive oil and set aside. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and lightly flour your hands. Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball by rolling on the countertop with a cupped hand. Place each piece onto the baking sheet. Dust the tops with a very slight amount of flour to keep the plastic wrap from sticking to the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour, or until puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and move the oven rack to a low position.
- Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown, rotating the pan halfway. Let the rolls cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Love your recipes, but I don’t appreciate that I can’t pull them up on a mobile device or iPad due to the invasive pop-ups. The “X” is not accessible via anything but a full keyboard-and-mouse computer. It’s extremely frustrating when you’re just trying to scroll for notes about yeast.