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The Best Homemade Dinner Rolls Recipe

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This Homemade Dinner Rolls recipe turns out perfect every time. Dense yet fluffy, slightly sweet and salty, and irresistibly buttery! The only homemade roll recipe you will ever need!

Up close front view of one homemade dinner roll topped with sea salt

Hey y’all! We’re back with another installment of “Homemade Holidays” here at JoyFoodSunshine! I seriously cannot tell you how excited I am to share these Homemade Dinner Rolls with you.

I know, I know….everyone says they have the “best” roll recipe…but I’m here to tell you that THIS. IS. THE. ONE. No holiday is complete in my house without these rolls!

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Overhead view of 12 baked homemade dinner rolls topped with sea salt in a glass baking dish

My dad first made a version of these rolls on Thanksgiving in 2010. They were my favorite part of the entire Turkey Day feast {slathered with a little homemade Cranberry Sauce}…and I knew I had to have the recipe. Over the last 6 years I have tweaked these Homemade Dinner Rolls to be just perfect for my family!

What makes perfect Homemade Dinner Rolls?

To me there are  4 factors:

  1. You can make them at home easily with a perfect rise every time.
  2. Every bite contains a touch of sweetness complimented by a lot of salty, buttery goodness.
  3. They are both dense and fluffy at the same time.
  4. Once you start you can’t. stop. eating. them.

These Homemade Dinner rolls meet all of this criteria, and more.

Overhead view of a glass baking dish lined with parchment paper with 9 homemade dinner rolls in it topped with coarse sea salt

How to make homemade dinner rolls!

So let’s break it down step-by-step

1. Make the dough 

This recipe yields the dreamiest, smoothest, easiest to work with dough on the planet! I like to use my standing mixer to stir and knead the dough. But doing it by hand is just as easy! Note: Be sure you completely cool the butter/milk mixture so you do not kill the yeast. That’s really the only “tricky’ part of this recipe!

2. Let it rise. 

This recipe has two rises. One with the dough in a big lump, and another after the dough has been divided into rolls!

3. Weigh the homemade dinner roll dough!

Seriously, if you don’t have a food scale, get one! Weight the entire batch of dough, divide by 12, and then make sure each dough ball weighs whatever your answer is! 🙂

Overhead view of twelve dough balls in a rectangular glass baking pan lined with parchment paper before rising and becoming homemade dinner rolls

4. After the second rise Bake

While the dough is rising a second time, preheat your oven.

Trick to make the dough rise faster: 

To help the dough rise faster simply boil some water and put it in a bowl or measuring dish next to the bread that’s rising. Cover the bread AND the vessel containing the boiling water with a damp towel and let the magic happen! This creates a warm, moist environment that yeast loves. 

Overhead view of 12 homemade dinner rolls in a rectangular glass baking pan after they have risen before being baked

5. Add butter and salt!

Ever bite of these homemade dinner rolls contains a little bit of sweet and salty goodness. This happens because after these rolls are removed from the oven they are brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with coarse sea salt.

This is the final touch that makes the rolls extra special! There’s something about biting into a delicious salty roll that just can’t be beat.

Overhead side view of a rectangular glass baking dish with 12 baked homemade dinner rolls topped with flaky sea salt

6. Serve warm!

I recommend serving these fresh from the oven! They stand alone perfectly because they are just that good! They also make amazing leftover turkey & cranberry sandwiches after Thanksgiving!

Up close front view of a homemade dinner roll topped with coarse sea salt and a hand holding it

 Homemade Dinner Rolls: Substitutions

Here are a couple possible substitutions that could be made in this recipe!

  • Milk. Any percentage of milk works well! My favorite is whole milk because it yields a beautifully rich roll. However, most of the time I use 2% milk!
  • All-purpose flour. You can substitute up to 1/2 of the flour with whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour. However, as someone who usually makes this substitution as often as possible, I do not recommend it in this recipe. These rolls are so special and are truly the best when made with a good all-purpose flour.
  • Other than that, I do not recommend tinkering with this recipe at all!

A pan of 12 homemade dinner rolls with two taken out topped with coarse sea salt.

IF YOU MAKE SOMETHING FROM JOYFOODSUNSHINE I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR CREATIONS! DON’T FORGET TO RATE THIS RECIPE AND LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW! ALSO, FOLLOW ALONG WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND TWITTER FOR MORE RECIPE INSPIRATION AND A GLIMPSE INTO OUR EVERYDAY LIFE!
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The Best Homemade Dinner Rolls Recipe

This Homemade Dinner Rolls recipe turns out perfect every time. Dense yet fluffy, slightly sweet and salty, and irresistibly buttery! The only homemade roll recipe you will ever need! 

Course bread, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword christmas recipes, fluffy dinner rolls, homemade dinner rolls recipe, thanksgiving recipes, the best homemade dinner rolls
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Rising time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Servings 12 dinner rolls
Calories 181.9 kcal
Author Laura

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Line a 9x13” baking pan with parchment paper, set aside.

Proof the yeast:

  1. Add sugar, water and yeast to the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

Make the dough:

  1. Melt butter completely. Mix in milk and warm the mixture in the microwave or on the stovetop until it’s combined and not lumpy (but just slightly warm). Set aside to cool comepletely!
  2. Once yeast is foamy (proofed) and butter/milk is cool, pour butter/milk mixture into the bowl of your standing mixer. Mix on low-speed until combined.
  3. Add egg and mix until combined.
  4. Add 3 cups of flour and ½ TBS salt and knead with dough hook. Add more flour a little bit at a time until a slightly-sticky ball forms.
  5. Grease a large bowl and transfer dough to the bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
  6. Once dough has doubled, flour your hands and squeeze it to remove the gas.
  7. With floured hands, form 12, equally-sized dough balls.
  8. Roll them until they’re smooth balls.
  9. Place them into your prepared baking sheet evenly spaced into 4 rows of 3.
  10. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 30-60 minutes).
  11. When you notice your rolls have risen about halfway, Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
  12. Place fully-risen rolls into preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the rolls are golden-brown on the top and sound hollow when tapped with a wooden spoon.
  13. Remove rolls from oven and immediately brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt.
  14. Serve warm!

Recipe Notes

NOTE: You can make these rolls ahead and freeze them for up to 3 weeks. Simply cover them tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil or a lid after step #9. Remove from freezer and let the rolls come to room temperature and rise fully before baking. Or you can bake from frozen by baking at 325 degrees F for 25 minutes, then increasing the baking temperature to 375 and baking for 10 minutes more. Recipe adapted from The Food Network!

Nutrition Facts
The Best Homemade Dinner Rolls Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 181.9 Calories from Fat 68
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7.6g 12%
Cholesterol 35.3mg 12%
Sodium 357.9mg 15%
Potassium 113.4mg 3%
Total Carbohydrates 24g 8%
Dietary Fiber 1.4g 6%
Sugars 1g
Protein 4.8g 10%
Vitamin A 5.4%
Calcium 2.7%
Iron 6.4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Overhead view of one homemade dinner roll sliced in half with a square of butter melting on it

Seriously people. You need these rolls in your life. They are the perfect special holiday treat. I even make these as hamburger buns! Yes. You heard me. They take a good hamburger and make it great!

True Story: We had friends over for dinner who we had celebrated Thanksgiving with a few years earlier. Well, when the husband {also my genius web developer…hey there!} walked in and saw the rolls he literally did the man version of squealing and jumped for joy. Yes, I mean literally his feet left the ground. THAT is some roll love right there if you ask me! 😉

Question: Have you ever made your own Homemade Dinner Rolls? 

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase a product through a link you clicked on here, I receive a portion of the sale. Thank you for supporting JoyFoodSunshine! 

This Homemade Dinner Rolls from scratch recipe turns out perfect every time. Dense yet fluffy, slightly sweet and salty, and irresistibly buttery! The only homemade roll recipe you will ever need! #fromscratch #dinnerrolls #homemadebread #homemade #rolls #thanksgiving #christmas #bread
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. We’re not big on bread in our house (mainly because it’d be devoured very, very fast). But Pablo has been asking me to MAKE bread at home (actually, he wants to learn too.). I’ve never worked with yeast. I think this is the perfect, simple recipe to start that carb-loaded journey. Wait ’til Pablo finds out!

    Reply

  7. I actually have never made my own homemade rolls before but I totally want to now! These will definitely be on my table at Thanksgiving 🙂

    Reply

    • Oh Rebecca once you start making homemade bread you will be incapable of buying any at the store! I literally cringe when I need to buy a loaf in a pinch! LOL!

      Reply

  12. Nothing much better than a great dinner roll, I can’t wait to give this recipe a try! Love that bit of salt on the top, I know that would take them to the next level, yum! Thanks for linking up with us at #FoodieFriDIY – see you next week!

    Reply

  13. Bread is my weakness, and these rolls look like little pillows from heaven! I am pinning this recipe, just fabulous!! Hope you are having a wonderful week and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Miz Helen

    Reply

  14. Me again! 😀 Wanted to pop back by and let you know these rolls will be on our dinner table this T-Day, they look so delicious! I also wanted to share I’ll be featuring your recipe on #FoodieFriDIY – please come back and share again!

    Reply

    • I usually eyeball it 😉 But you can use a food scale! Weight your dough ball and then divide that weight by 12 to determine how how much each roll should weigh!

      Reply

  16. Hi there, would love to try this recipe, but how could I make these rolls if I don’t have a dough hook on my standing mixer?

    Reply

    • Hello Lucille! I would recommend mixing by hand (with a spatula or wooden spoon). After you have mixed the dough until it forms a tacky ball, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead with your hands…adding more flour as needed until your dough forms a smooth ball that is just slightly sticky!

      Reply

  17. Do you think I could use buttermilk instead of milk? I’m not sure what the acidity of the buttermilk might do in this recipe.

    Reply

    • Hey Krista….I honestly wouldn’t recommend buttermilk because of the way it could react with the yeast. I have only ever tried this recipe with whole or 2% milk. If you do end up trying buttermilk let me know how it goes. Although, if I were you I’d totally send my hubby to the store! 😉

      Reply

  18. Hi,

    They look gorgeous and I will definitely try your recipe. I weigh my flour though. Would you happen to know in once or grams the equivalent of your 3-4 cups of flour. That part alone intimidates me bcuz one never knows how you scoop your flour….

    Reply

    • Hey Mady! I do not weigh my flour….so I couldn’t tell you! Next time I whip up a batch I will weigh it and report back to you! However, if you are nervous I recommend starting on the lower end and then slowly adding. The dough should be slightly sticky before you let it rise. And if it is too tacky to work with after the first rise then you can add more flour as you shape it into rolls!

      Reply

  20. these are baking in the oven right now! so excited… i gotta call them midnight dinner rolls hahaha
    (btw this is really my first attempt baking bread…)

    Reply

  22. I have tried many bread and roll recipes. None of them wowed me. This one did! This is definitely a keeper recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing dinner roll recipe.

    Reply

  25. I took a chance on this recipe and boy did it pay off. These dinner rolls came out perfect. 21 minutes exactly and they were delicious. Gone is less than 60 seconds. Thank you!

    Reply

    • Hey Tulea! I will hop in and fix that! I recently changed the way I display my recipes so I have to go back through and tweak all of them (which is a huge task, yikes)! Yes you freeze the rolls before the second rise.

      Reply

    • Oh no Maureen!! I am so sorry! My guess is you didn’t bake them long enough. Ovens can be tricky and no two ovens bake exactly the same. I’m guessing your tops browned before the inside was cooked? Some tips: If you have a convection oven always use the “Convection Bake” setting to ensure even heating/baking. If you do not, then (based on your doughy roll outcome) I recommend baking them on the lower rack in your oven. If the tops brown and the inside is doughy then cover the rolls with foil and continue baking. This will prevent the tops from getting too brown but still allow the rolls to bake! All these are guesses though, I wish I could be there in your kitchen helping you! My only encouragement is do not give up on these rolls! They are the best I promise! 😉

      Reply

  30. These are so good!! I have now made them twice and they’re perfect! I made them for Christmas dinner and then next time paired with ham and potato chowder. Thanks for the excellent recipe!!

    Reply

  31. Just made rolls similar without the dough maker? Anyway, you might tell your readers that if they use dark colored pans, they need to reduce the temp 25 degrees…I was a homemaker many years without failed bakery goods..An old friend told me about the difference in baking pans…Lots of luck to all and shall try YOUR recipe next time I make rolls…HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

    Reply

  32. I made these for Thanksgiving, and even shared the recipe because others were so impressed by them. They came out AMAZING! And might I add, I am terrible at baking! Thank you so much for sharing! I was craving them today and decided to make them again, because why not? 🙂

    Reply

  33. If I want to start these before church to bake them afterwards, how would you suggest I do that? I will be gone to church for about an hour and a half. Should I complete step 9 and then finish once I get home?

    Reply

  34. I’v baked a lot of different rolls.These are the best ever.I will no longer be looking for that perfect roll recipe.I found it right here.Thanks so much for sharing

    Reply

  35. Ever since the first time I made these rolls my kids go bonkers for them! Even my neighbors, everybody I have shared them with. These are seriously the best rolls ever! I’m about to go make them again right now!

    Reply

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