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    Home » Recipes » Breads and Muffins

    Easy Dinner Rolls

    November 1, 2024 | Updated March 19, 2025 | Heather

    JUMP TO RECIPE RATE RECIPE

    These Easy Dinner Rolls are soft and fluffy, buttery and so simple to make. These homemade rolls turn out beautiful every time and are a perfect addition to any meal.

    Top view of easy dinner rolls brushed with melted butter in baking pan.

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Click HERE to read my policies.

    This post was originally posted on 12/16/2020 and updated on 11/1/2024.

    Why We Love These Easy Dinner Rolls

    • An easy recipe for delicious homemade dinner rolls!
    • Simple ingredients you probably have on hand.
    • Only needs half the time to rise and proof thanks to instant yeast.
    • Make your house smell amazing with the smell of fresh baked bread.
    • Feel completely satisfied with yourself for making from scratch dinner rolls.

    Easy Dinner Rolls Recipe Ingredients

    • Quick Rise Yeast (Instant Yeast)
    • White Sugar
    • Salt
    • Warm Milk
    • Salted Butter
    • Egg
    • Unbleached All Purpose Flour
    • Olive Oil

    Substitution Suggestions

    • Quick Rise Yeast: You can use original active dry yeast, but the time the rolls need to rise and proof will be a lot longer. To make these rolls as quick as possible, use instant yeast.
    • White Sugar: Honey is good substitute.
    • Warm Milk: Any type of milk will work. I use 2% cows milk. You can also use warm water. Milk makes the rolls much richer.
    • Salted Butter: Feel free to use unsalted butter, but I recommend adding an extra ¼ teaspoon of salt to the dough.
    • All Purpose Flour: You can substitute 2-3 cups of flour with whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour. The rolls will be a bit more dense and will take a little longer to rise and proof. However, they will still be fluffy and delicious.
    • Olive Oil: Any neutral oil will work. Vegetable oil, canola oil or avocado oil will work.
    Easy dinner rolls recipe ingredients.

    How to Make Easy Dinner Rolls

    1. First, make the dough: add the warm milk (110°F-115°F), half of the granulated sugar, and instant yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Let it stand for 5 minutes so the yeast can bloom.
    2. Then add in remaining sugar, melted butter, egg, salt, and 4 cups of the flour. Mix on low until it is all combined.
    Yeast bloomed in wet ingredients in mixing bowl.
    Flour added to wet ingredients and yeast in mixing bowl.
    1. Add more flour ¼ cup at a time while mixing on low speed, until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowls and clings to the dough hook. The bottom of the dough will still be stuck to the bottom of the bowl and that is totally normal.

    Expert Tip*** A good way to test if you have enough flour is to pinch the dough with your fingers, the dough should be smooth and a tad tacky, but it should not stick to your fingers when pinched.

    1. Once there is enough flour, increase the speed on the mixer to medium-low (level 2) and knead the dough for 2 minutes.
    2. Then add the dough to a bowl sprayed or brushed with olive oil, spray or brush the top of the dough and cover the bowl with a clean towel or plastic wrap.
    Dough with enough flour in mixing bowl.
    Dough in oiled mixing bowl.
    1. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft free area for at least 30 minutes or until doubled in size. I like to use my oven with the light on if I'm not using it.
    2. After the dough has doubled, punch it down and spread it into a log on a lightly floured surface. Using a dough cutter, cut the log into 24 evenly sized pieces.
    Dough risen in mixing bowl.
    Dough cut into 24 pieces.
    1. Shape the dough pieces into rolls and place into a greased 9x13 rimmed baking sheet or baking dish. Cover again and let rise for 15-30 minutes until doubled in size.
    2. While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.
    Rolls shaped and in baking pan.
    Rolls risen in baking pan.
    1. Bake the risen rolls for 12-15 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the rolls sound hollow when tapped.
    2. Brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter and serve. Best when served warm!

    How to Shape Dinner Rolls

    There are few different ways to shape the rolls.

    • Take each piece and lay it over your thumb and then gather the edges at the bottom of your thumb, pull the roll off your thumb and push the seam into the bottom of the roll. Place the roll seam side down. (This is the easiest and fastest way for me.)
    • Roll each piece in a circular motion with your hand against a board until it is smooth all around.
    • Flatten each piece of dough into a small rectangle, then look at the rectangle as if you were to divide it into thirds, fold the sides down and under the middle third and pinch the seam. Place the roll seam side down.
    Baked dinner rolls in pan and buttered.

    Make Easy Dinner Rolls Without a Stand Mixer

    If you don't have a stand mixer, no worries! You can also make these easy rolls with a food processor or with a bowl and wooden spoon or spatula.

    Use the food processor with the plastic blade just as the directions state above, pulsing to mix everything, then leaving on to knead it until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

    These rolls can simply be made with a bowl and spoon too. When it's time to mix, use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Once it gets too hard to mix with the spoon, add the dough to a floured surface and knead the remaining flour in with your hands, keep kneading until the dough is smooth. This will take about 5 minutes or so.

    What to Serve with these Easy Dinner Rolls

    I personally love bread with soup and pasta dishes. However, they make a great addition to any meal. Here are some of our favorites:

    • Chicken Wild Rice Soup
    • BBQ Meatloaf
    • Crock Pot Beef Stew
    • Oven Baked Chicken Legs
    • Easy Instant Pot Pot Roast
    • Easy Clam Chowder

    If you are looking for an even easier dinner roll recipe try these No Knead Dinner Rolls. There really is no kneading! Or if you want a sweet roll my Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are absolutely divine.

    Dinner roll cut in half and buttered on withe plate.

    Storing Homemade Dinner Rolls

    Keep the rolls tightly wrapped, in a zip top bag or in an airtight container. They'll last up to 3 days at room temperature.

    Heather's Favorite Tools for this Recipe

    • I don't think I could live without my KitchenAid Stand Mixer. It's the best tool ever for making bread, other baked goods, frostings and so many other things.
    • These nestled mixing bowls are my favorite for prepping ingredients.
    • Long ago, I used to be a Pampered Chef consultant and I still prefer their baking tools and pans to any others. Their pans are the ones I prefer. Find yourself a consultant, host a party and treat yourself to something new.

    Tips for Making the Best Dinner Rolls

    • Milk should be lukewarm around 110-115°F, any warmer than that and the heat will kill the yeast. Any cooler and the yeast won't bloom enough. I warm the milk up in the microwave for about 45 seconds (yours may vary on time) and test it on my wrist. If the milk feels warm on your wrist, then it is just right for the yeast.
    • Use fresh yeast, old yeast that is near expiring will not rise properly. To keep your yeast fresh, keep it in the freezer. I keep all my yeast in the freezer.
    • Fluff your flour, then spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off. Accidently adding too much flour to bread dough is what can make it heavy and dense instead of soft and fluffy.
    • For an even quicker rise you can preheat your oven to 170°F and then turn it off. Place the covered dough in the oven. It will cut off 5-10 minutes of the rise time.
    Close up side view of easy dinner roll on top of other rolls.

    More Delicious Bread Recipes:

    • Homemade French Bread
    • Easy Peasy Garlic Bread
    • Homemade Garlic Breadsticks
    • Garlic Cheese Drop Biscuits
    • Garlic Parmesan Focaccia Bread
    • Easy Drop Biscuits
    • Easy Homemade Bagels

    Did you make this recipe? Rate it!

    If you enjoyed this recipe give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comments below. It really helps the recipe stand out and I appreciate the feedback to make recipes everyone will enjoy.

    Top view of easy dinner rolls brushed with melted butter in baking pan.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    3.76 from 54 votes

    Easy Dinner Rolls

    These Easy Dinner Rolls are soft and fluffy, buttery and so simple to make. These homemade rolls turn out beautiful every time and are a perfect addition to any meal.
    Course: Bread/Muffins, Side Dish
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes
    Servings: 24 rolls
    Author: Heather
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • 1½ cups warm milk
    • ¼ cup sugar
    • 2 tablespoons quick rise yeast
    • 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • 1 large egg
    • 5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
    • 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted, for tops

    Instructions

    • Add warm milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar and yeast to bowl of stand mixer. Let sit for 5 minutes.
    • Add remaining sugar, melted butter, salt, egg and 4 cups of the flour. Mix on low until all combined.
    • Add more flour ¼ cup at a time while mixing on low, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and clings to the dough hook. To test if you have enough flour, pinch the dough with your fingers. The dough should be smooth and a tad tacky, but it should not stick to your fingers when pinched.
    • Increase the speed to medium-low (level 2) and knead the dough for 2 minutes until the dough is smooth.
    • Place dough in a bowl sprayed or brushed with olive oil, spray top of dough as well and cover with plastic wrap or clean towel.
    • Let dough rise for at least 30 minutes and doubled in size in a warm, draft free area.
    • Punch dough down, place on lightly floured surface and shape into a rectangular log. Cut log into 24 even pieces, by cutting log in half, then each half in half, and those halves into half and then each piece into thirds.
    • Shape each piece into rolls, place in a greased 9x13 rimmed baking sheet or baking pan.
    • Cover and let rise another 15-30 minutes until doubled.
    • While rising, preheat oven to 375°F.
    • Uncover rolls, and bake for 12-15 minutes until tops are golden brown and rolls sound hollow when tapped.
    • Brush tops of rolls with 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
    • Serve warm and enjoy!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1 roll | Calories: 148kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 234mg | Potassium: 56mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 143IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Please rate the recipe, leave a comment and tell me how much you loved it!
    Share the Recipe!Please share it and tag @heathershomemadekitchen and use #heathershomemadekitchen!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      3.76 from 54 votes (50 ratings without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Sharon Owens says

      November 24, 2024 at 1:47 am

      5 stars
      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

      Reply
    2. Sandy says

      November 16, 2022 at 4:07 pm

      5 stars
      Tasted these at my daughter's and they are delicious. I don't have a big mixer, so I'm wondering if hand mixing will work. I'm going to try.

      Reply
    3. Tanisha says

      June 13, 2022 at 6:46 am

      5 stars
      Best yeast rolls ever! Easy enough for the novice baker. Turned out amazing!

      Reply
    4. Gabby says

      November 24, 2021 at 4:28 pm

      Can we use active yeast for this instead of quick yeast?

      Reply
      • Heather Warburton says

        November 29, 2021 at 7:20 am

        Yes, you can use 1 packet of active yeast or 2 heaping teaspoons, but both rise times will be longer.

        Reply
    5. Gloria says

      November 09, 2021 at 8:31 pm

      5 stars
      I made this recipe it is amazing. I forgot to add the salt and I thought I messed it up but no. I just threw it back in the mixer dissolved the salt in a little bit of water. And mix it again. This turn out really well!!

      Reply

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