Homemade Dinner Rolls 
These soft, delicious dinner rolls are ready in one hour from prep to serving. That's really not long when considering how long yeast breads usually take to rise, knead, shape, rise again. (I don't bake yeast breads for that reason. I don't have the time or the patience.)
This recipe doesn't involve any extra work in the kitchen. I followed the idea of the recipe from Betty Crocker for soft breadsticks. It's simple to throw together and your family will feel so special that you made them.
HERE'S ALL YOU HAVE TO DO
- 1 package quick-acting active dry yeast
- 1 1/3 cup milk (105º to 115ºF degrees)
- 3 to 3 1/2 cups flour or whole wheat flour
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- coarse salt
Dissolve yeast in warm milk with sugar in electric mixer bowl. Stir in 1 cup flour, oil, and salt. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour, scraping dough from side of bowl, until soft dough forms. Cover and let rise in warm place until double, about 45 minutes.
Heat oven 400ºF degrees. Prep a 12 cup muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Punch down dough in center and fold over a few times. Pinch off 1 inch balls of dough and quickly roll in palm of hands. Put 3 balls to one muffin cup; brush with melted butter; sprinkle with coarse salt.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until crust is light golden brown. Immediately remove from pan. Store loosely covered.
My four old helped me roll the balls of dough. She had fun making sure Mommy put three in each cup. She was able to help brush on the butter and sprinkle the salt. We had a good time together.
What! No kneading? This is now my favorite roll recipe. I really really dislike kneading. Hehehe
tee hee hee
Can you believe it? Now, you have no excuses for not making yeast rolls!
My Aunt Deb has been making dinner rolls like these for years. During the cooking madness of the holiday dinner countdown, I’ve watched her make a batch of yeast rolls an hour before serving dinner. I’m always impressed.
I do love a good yeast roll…and the no kneading-fab…especially with no long periods of rising. Thanks for sharing this!
I tried this recipe for the 1st time yesterday and I received nothing but possitive feedback.
Thanks for this recipe. I will be using it for Thanksgiving dinner.
God Bless, Sam
Well Sam, you and I will be eating the same dinner rolls that day. My aunt makes them Every TG & Christmas. Our family would be very disappointed if she didn’t make them. It has become a traditional family recipe.
Oh my!! I tried this recipe and are they ever good!! So easy to make fool proof!Thanks so much!
Your welcome, Jessica!
These rolls are a family favorite.
I googled dinner rolls and found this
I am going to make these to go with Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, thanks Jill!
Happy Turkey Day Amanda!
I’m made these a couple times since finding it, thanks again. I have blogged about it and linked to you!
Amanda said your rolls are divine. She was right!
THank you Blonde Duck!
I’m cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner this year in our new house with my in-laws coming. I was looking for some homemade dinner rolls (I’ve never tried making dinner rolls/bread before) and these look absolutely wonderful. Is this recipe easy to double, or should I do two separate batches? Also, can I make them a couple of days in advance since I will have a turkey in the oven for most of the day? Thanks so much for the recipe!
Congratulations Bridget on making your first TG dinner. I’m excited for you. It can be stressful and a lot of fun all rolled into one.
As for the rolls, you could easily double the recipe and make it the day before. Use a large popcorn bowl or a container that can hold 5 quarts and can fit in your frig.
After mixing the dough, keep it in the frig, covered, not airtight. When it’s time to shape & bake. Use enough flour to dust your work surface and keep your hands from sticking to the dough. Shape the dough, fill the muffin tin as directed and bake! You won’t need to knead the dough, just shape it and go. Try not to work the extra flour into the dough, just use it to keep from getting too sticky.
Let me know how it turns out. Oh one more thing I want to throw in. Since this is your first TG dinner, don’t try to do every dish from scratch unless you’re already a whiz in the kitchen. If I were you, I would buy a few packages of ready to bake dinner rolls and relax. Big dinners are not the times to try recipes that could stress us out. Trust me.
Is your dinner potluck style or are you doing it ALL on your own?
I’m doing a lot of the cooking. I am a housewife, so I have plenty of time to do things. I’m going to make the potatoes a couple days ahead and put them in a crock pot on the day of, as well as the corn and stuffing (I have lots of crock pots!). We’re doing it buffet style, so it’s not family style. I’m going to try making these maybe tomorrow or next week to see how they come out before the big day.
Are they the best when they are freshly baked, or can I make them a couple of days before hand and maybe reheat them? I was just wondering.
How many does this recipe make? We don’t have set numbers, and I want to make sure I have enough even if I have too many.
Thank you for all of your comments and suggestions!
Shoo! I’m glad you have plenty of time and experience to pull this dinner off. And I LOVE buffet style dinners, they’re the easiest and folks always feel more comfortable.
To tell you the truth, Bridget, I’ve never tried to bake & reheat these rolls for make-ahead-meals. You’ll have to enlighten me on that one.
And the reception on my memory is a little fuzzy, I want to say it made 18 rolls. I should have counted and included it with the recipe, I’m sorry. Will you let me know what number you get? Then I’ll update this recipe.
Now I have to ask, Bridget, how many crock-pots do you own?
I will let you know how many there are when I make them. I’m going to have to go out and buy some yeast and some other things. Do you heat the milk in the microwave or on the stove?
As for the crock pots, I have 4. I got married this summer and we received 2 for that, and I also had two from when I was in college. So, I have 4 which is plenty for one person.
There are (2) 4 qt. and (2) 5 qt. Or I should say, that’s a lot for just me and my husband.
I’m excited to make these!
I made the dinner rolls and they turned out wonderful. I had one problem though, the dough kept sticking to my hards, I wasn’t able to shape them. Will you please tell me what I did wrong. I want to make them for Thanksgiving. Thanks for the recipe and your help.
Hi Susan!
I would try refrigerating the dough for about 15 minutes, cold bread dough is easier to handle than when it’s at room temperature.
OR
If there’s no time for refrigeration, I would oil my hands with neutral tasting oil.
OR
Keep my hands coated in flour as I worked. I do this when I’m working with biscuits. I keep a bowl of flour on the side and grab a fistful when my hands need a barrier. I don’t transfer the fistful of flour to the dough, I just let it go back in the bowl. Like when I shoot pool and I need to powder my grip before I take a shot.
Okay, I will try it. Thanks for the advise.
Ok, Here’s my story, I decided to bake homemade dinner rolls for Thanksgiving dinner this year. My neighbor gave me her recipe, but for whatever reason, they came out flat and hard, not light and fluffy like promised. I was feeling like a “real roll loser” when I came across your recipe. I gave them a practice shot last night. Let me just say, they turned out AMAZING!! Simple to make, delicious, light, just plain yummy! My family taste tested them for me, every single one of them is gone. Will be making a couple batches tomorrow morning for Thanksgiving dinner. Thank you so much for a recipe I will use all the time. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!
Oh Michele! What a relief! I’m so glad this recipe worked out. We enjoyed these same rolls Thanksgiving day. My Aunt Deb makes them year after year. I don’t believe she had any leftover, either.
It’s cool knowing that you and I enjoyed the same rolls for Thanksgiving. Now, what will we share at Christmas dinner?
Hi Jill
Can’t believe it’s been over a year since I found this post. I traveled this year for Thanksgiving. We drove 6 hours to see family. I took the ingredients with me and made these rolls at their house. They absolutely LOVED them. They are always a hit 
((BIG HUG)) Good morning Amanda!
A 6 hour drive? Wowzer. What car games did you play?
Just thinking, I can’t believe it’s been a year, too. It feels like we met just last Spring.
Time flies when you’re blogging about fun. ;D Am I right?
You are right my friend
No car games, the kids are getting older now, so iPods and Nintendo DS helps a lot. LOL~ Hope you had a joyous Thanksgiving 
Gotta get busy posting more cookie recipes on my blog for Christmas! 
Mmm, Christmas cookies. It’s that time for Cookie Exchange parties. I can’t wait to read what you’ve cooked up, Amanda.
Did you see the Orange Cranberry Spirals? Those are really pretty and they are delish too! Going to dig through some old recipes I haven’t made in a while and search out some new ones too
I am an excellent cook/chef/baker and very rarely have failures. I chose this recipe to serve for Thanksgiving because I was having a large gathering and had no help, so had to do it all myself. These were supposed to be easy, quick, etc….I made them a day ahead and froze them.
I followed the directions exactly. The rolls were heavy and not light and fluffy at all. My husband asked if I had let the dough rise and called them hockey pucks, said I shouldn’t have served them. I think if they were allowed to rise again after shaping into balls, maybe that would have made a difference, rather than putting immediately into the oven. I don’t know if anyone else had heavy rolls, but I noticed no one on the comments called them light and fluffy like yeast rolls should be.
Hi CJ,
I, too, am sorry to hear the dinner rolls didn’t work out. I wish I could have been with you to help you cook. No one should have to cook such a big dinner alone. Without being there, I can’t tell you why they were heavy rolls.
My first guess: It could have been the yeast was old. Even when we’ve just bought the jar or packets, stores can still shelve outdated products. Did the dough rise when it was resting for 45 minutes?
What were the rolls like before you froze them? Did you try one then?
Hi CJ
I’m not the owner of this site, that would be Jill, but I wanted to hop on here since you said noone here said that were light and fluffy.
I have made these rolls probably 6 different times and followed the directions exactly as written each time. Every time they have been perfect. I even made them for Thanksgiving this year and my Uncle-in-law raved on and on about them. I’m sorry you had trouble! I love these rolls, my kids request them all the time. I have never tried to freeze them however, I wonder if that affected them at all. Hope you’ll try them again following the recipe to the T and see if you have better luck. They are a favorite around here
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these recipes look tasty!