This Easy Dinner Rolls recipe come together so quickly, with no kneading required and no electric mixer required! Using instant yeast and letting the rolls rise in a warm place cuts the time needed way down, so you can have these fluffy, soft pull-apart dinner rolls on your table in under an hour.
I am a self-confessed horrible bread baker. Let me rephrase that… I’m “still learning” how to bake bread. That’s better. Growth mindset!
When asked in a recent podcast interview what my biggest cooking fail was, it was with baking bread that came out hard as a rock.
But you guys- these easy dinner rolls have completely changed my outlook on bread-making. And while I have yet to master that gorgeous rustic crusty loaf, these pull-apart rolls are so perfectly soft, fluffy, and delicious, and are so fast easy to make that they’ve given me renewed confidence to work with yeast dough!
These rolls are perfect with any dinner, whether at your Thanksgiving table to sop up all that gravy, or on a casual weeknight with a bowl of lentil soup. And the leftovers, if you have any, are great for breakfast in the morning slathered with butter and jam or leftover homemade cranberry sauce. I can’t wait to share how easy and fast this recipe is to make!
What kind of yeast to use
The quick rising time of these rolls is from using instant dry yeast, also known as quick-rise or rapid-rise. You can’t use regular active dry yeast in this recipe and expect the same results.
Instant dry yeast is yeast in smaller granules, which means they take less time to dissolve and therefore the yeast multiplies more quickly. In addition, instant yeast is often sold with added enzymes that help speed up the rise time.
Many bread recipes that use active dry yeast require two rises, but when using instant yeast you only need one rise. This is one of the reasons this dinner roll recipe is so fast!
If you’re interested, here’s more information about the difference between active dry and instant yeast.
How to make no-knead easy dinner rolls
Just whisk together instant yeast, warm milk, and honey until dissolved, mix in some melted butter, salt, and an egg, and stir in some flour with a spoon. Divide into 12 balls, place in a buttered baking dish, let rise, and bake! Then when they’re done, brush some melted butter on top. YUM.
No electric mixing, no kneading. You’re welcome.
Here are some tips and tricks for success:
- Make sure the milk is 110 degrees. A little less is OK too. You want it to be warm enough to activate the yeast, but not kill it. I use a meat thermometer after microwaving the milk to check the temp.
- Use SALTED butter. God I love salted butter. I almost never use unsalted for any reason (even when I make cookies), but in these dinner rolls, it’s especially important, because it adds tons of flavor, especially when you brush it on top.
- Rolling the dough into balls can be tough, because the dough is sticky. I suggest using butter or oil to coat your hands, or using flour. You can also use a disher scoop to help you get the dough out from the bowl in an already ball-like shape.
- Use a lot of butter to grease the pan. Not only will this make it easier to remove the rolls, but it will help flavor the rolls from the bottom.
- Don’t skip brushing the rolls with butter! Not only does it help add flavor and moisture to the tops, but it also gives them an irresistible, gorgeous sheen.
- Let the dough rise in a warm place. If it’s warm outside, stick it outside! But if it’s not, I suggest placing it on top of your oven while it preheats. Otherwise, the dough will take a lot longer to rise.
Can I make these ahead of time?
Theoretically, you can par-bake these rolls (or halfway bake them), then treat them like brown-n-serve rolls! I haven’t tried it, but here’s what I suggest based on this homemade brown-n-serve rolls recipe from Tastes of Lizzy T.
Prepare the rolls as directed and bake for only 15 minutes, before they’ve browned. Then you can freeze or refrigerate until you need them. Make sure they’re fully defrosted, and bake for 10-15 minutes more at 400 degrees until they’re browned and ready to go!
If you try this, let me know how it comes out :-)
Do the leftovers keep?
YES! You can store these dinner rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. They will dry out a bit as time goes on, but it’s nothing a zap in the microwave and a generous smear of butter and jam won’t help.
You can also freeze them in an airtight bag or container for a couple of months.
The leftovers are great on their own, but you can also use them to make homemade croutons or panzanella salad.
Other yeast bread recipes:
- Vasilopita (Greek New Year’s Bread)
- Whole Wheat No-Knead Focaccia with Rosemary and Sea Salt
- Honey Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
- No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread
I recommend pairing these rolls with a good soup or stew, or serving them at your Thanksgiving table with juicy slow cooker turkey breast and sweet potato casserole.
Did you make this Easy Dinner Rolls recipe? Please click the stars below to comment and Rate this Recipe
Quick and Easy Dinner Rolls
Equipment
- 9" Round Pan
Ingredients
- 1 packet instant dry yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons (aka quick rise)
- 1 cup milk warmed to about 110 degrees F
- 1/4 cup honey
- 6 tablespoons melted salted butter divided
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 2.5-3 cups all-purpose flour more if needed
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the warm milk (1 cup), honey (1/4 cup), and instant dry yeast (1 packet) until yeast and honey are fully dissolved. Whisk in the kosher salt (1 teaspoon), egg, and 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) of the melted butter, until everything is well-combined.
- Add the flour to the bowl 1/2 cup at a time, until dough easily comes off the sides of the bowl and forms a sticky ball in the center. Use a wooden spoon to stir. I had to use all three cups of flour, but you may need less or even a bit more.
- Grease the bottom of a 9" round pan (see notes for alternatives) with 1 tablespoon of the butter, generously coating the bottom and sides.
- Form 12 equal-ish balls with the dough and place them in the prepared pan. The dough is quite sticky, so this may be a little frustrating, but I found it helpful to coat my hands in a little melted butter as I worked (or, use olive oil or flour to coat your hands). You can also use a large disher scoop to help get the dough out of the bowl.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. While the oven is preheating, set the prepared rolls on the stovetop toward the back, covered with a towel. The heat of the oven as it preheats will help the rolls to rise quickly. Let them rise for 20-30 minutes.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown on top and rolls are cooked through completely (if you tap on one in the center, it should sound hollow).
- When they're done, brush with remaining tablespoon of melted butter. Wait for them to cool for 10 minutes so you can handle them, pull apart, and serve.
Notes
- Don't have a 9" round pan? You can also use a 10" cast iron skillet, or a rectangular baking dish in a 4x3 grid. The bigger the baking dish, the further apart the rolls will be, which may mean a shorter cooking time and less "pulling-apart." Keep an eye on them as they bake!
- Common substitutions: Use water instead of milk, and sugar instead of honey.
- If you don't have a stovetop on top of the oven, such as with a built-in oven or something, you can place the rolls in the microwave with the door closed, covered with a towel, with a mugful or two of boiling water next to them, while the oven preheats. The steam from the water will help create enough warmth for the rolls to rise effectively.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Monica
These rolls were delicious! I forgot to add the egg and they still turned out wonderfully. Thank you for posting this recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Charmaine Ruppolt
I made these recently and they turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Erin
It works! I failed completely with one other recipe but was over the moon when this one came out just as it said it would. Yay!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
CC
Great quick recipe for dinner rolls. Only draw back was I used a non-stick dark round pan, and the bottoms were slightly burnt. I’ll try a glass pan next time.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Yes, a dark pan will attract the heat more and result in a darker, sometimes burnt result. I try to use glass or light colored metal.
Denise
Can these be frozen after baking? If so, how long would I thaw them and then reheat?
Elizabeth Lindemann
I always freeze bread! I just pop in the microwave from frozen for 15-30 seconds. The amount of time will vary based on your microwave. Hope that helps!
Bobbie
Loved these rolls, but my rise time was closer to 50 minutes. I don’t know if it is because I keep my yeast in the refrigerator. I also used a cold egg. I put my rolls in a 9×9 inch square pan. The rolls turned out big and fluffy. I used about 3 1/4 cup flour. This recipe is almost fail proof. I will make again. I love that you only need one rise.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! A slower rise time can occur based on a few factors – temperature being one of them. If the room is cold, or the ingredients are cold, that might have something to do with it. Also, it can happen based on freshness of the yeast – if some of the yeast has died already, you’ll have less active yeast in the amount you are using, and it will take longer to rise. This can happen with age and/or brand of yeast (I use Fleischmann’s usually!). Hope that helps!
Amber Stewart
Super easy and soooo yummy. First time making rolls ever and everyone loved them!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
BREN
Frankly, I was hoping for more flavor but when I take the time, effort, and clean-up into consideration, I’d have to call this recipe a winner. I’ve made these quite a few times following the recipe and trying the substitutions. The only thing I did differently was increasing the salt by half, a personal choice that added to the flavor for me. Oh, one other thing I have yet to accomplish is the ten minute wait time.😁 YUMMY!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Yes, with quick rise breads you definitely have to sacrifice a bit of flavor and texture but I agree – it’s SO EASY that it’s worth it!
Jessica
I made these for dinner and they turned out beautiful. The texture and flavor is perfect. Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked them!
K
I have made these rolls 4 times now, even for Christmas dinner. Wonderful!! So easy and taste great. Grandson ate 5 for his dinner.
Thanks
KC
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked them!!
Jessie
Super delicious and I have mastered the rustic bread loaf with the perfect crunchy crust. This recipe is going in my recipe box to live until I die and pass it on.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad to hear you liked it… and that my recipe will live in your recipe box! It makes me so happy to hear this :-)
Marissa
I made this twice today, because the first time didn’t turn out as well as I’d like. In the first batch, I let the yeast bloom for 5 min, spent a lot of time putting things together as I made it with my 5 yr old, let it rise in too warm of temp for too long, and over baked it slightly so the tops were too browned. The end result were rolls that tasted too “yeasty” and a bit burned on the top, they rose too high, and my son didn’t want to eat the “crusts.” In the second batch, I made it by myself so everything was faster, I didn’t let the yeast bloom, and followed the instructions more closely regarding mixing and rising. Bake time was only 15 min at 400 degrees on the center oven rack. Ended up nicely browned, about as tall as the recipe photos, and my son & I thought they tasted much better! So a heads up to anyone else, check your rolls at the 15 min mark while baking.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks for sharing your tips and I’m glad the second time worked well for you!
Nan
Awesome goodness…sooo, so easy !!!
…but I kinda cheated…’n cooked ’em up in my Air-Fryer…where I do most my baking now..waaay quicker…pretty much retired the energy-suckin’ oven lol:)
Thx for sharin’
Nan in PDX
Elizabeth Lindemann
Whoooaaa you can use an air fryer to do baking?! I really need to get one! So glad you liked the recipe and thanks for the tip :-)
Nan
Yeh, its a pretty awesome ‘convection’ invention…it takes the ‘wait’ time out of baking…also healthier…just about everything I used to “deep fry” I now air-fry…just rub raw fries with a little oil, season, and set the timer..half way thru give em a little toss…poor Fry Daddy deep fryer :(-R.I.P. lol–Just had a whole 6lb ‘w/crispy brown skin’ chicken last night …and brownies for dessert later…yummm
Jamie V
I’m actually replacing my air fryer with a lid attachment for my instant pot. It turns it into an air fryer and that’ll be one less appliance I have to deal with yay!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Wow I’ll have to look into that! So cool!
Sherry
I am not a baker at all and I came across your roll recipe and said I would try it. Omg! Super easy! Yes sticky but hands coated with flour between each dough ball worked great. The rolls came out perfect in size, color and texture! Thank you so much for providing people like me with no baking skills with a easy roll recipe! ❤
Elizabeth Lindemann
So happy this recipe worked well for you!
Nalut
Maybe I add alittle xra milk n butter 4 got 1 thsp. Was for after baking, which added all the butter. Don’t know if that’s da reason didn’t rise. Will give another try. Tasted ono, tho
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hm, if the rolls didn’t rise, it might have been an issue with the yeast. I recommend trying a fresh batch of yeast next time just in case yours had expired or something, and make sure they are in a nice warm place to rise. Hope that helps and glad they tasted good!
BONNIE KAISER
Nan, how long and what temp in air fryer?
Benjamin
It went well. The recipe was great, quick, and delicious. There’s problems with the instructions.
1) The equipment list didn’t call for a whisk, yet the instructions say to whisk. I didn’t know if this was used as a verb, so I used the wooden spoon to combine the ingredients. I prefer to have a complete equipment list before I begin preparing.
2) The instruction to put the tray “at the back of the oven” while the oven was preheating was confusing. My over is “built-in” and does not have a stove on top so I thought the instructions were wanting me to put it inside the oven at the back. Instead, I let the rolls rise outside of the oven. Next time you might want to be clear with the instructions for “if you have a combination oven/stove”.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh wow, this is great feedback, thank you! So glad the recipe worked out well for you. I’m going to make some edits to the recipe card now. Thanks again!
Anne Fong
Well this is my first time trying to bake bread I really did but the surface was a bit hard. Could be the temperature is high. The texture from is very soft from inside. Will try again. Thanks for the recipe.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hm, it could be that the oven environment is dry. You might try to add a baking dish or rimmed baking sheet with a few cups of water on the bottom rack of the oven, which will help increase the humidity of the oven and create a steamier baking situation that might help make the surface less hard. Hope that helps!
Joell
First time trying these and I followed to the T and I got no rise from buns before putting in the oven. I had on top of oven and mixed yeast well prior . I hope they turn out 😫
So sad
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh no! Sounds like a yeast problem to me. If the yeast isn’t fresh, or sometimes you just get a bad batch, it won’t rise because the yeast has been killed so it can’t multiply. Next time, try using fresh yeast. Hope that helps!
Edie
Is there an almond-or coconut flour version of these? They sound so good. Thx!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Wish I could say this is an easy substitution, but it’s not. Unfortunately, you’d need a completely different recipe to use almond or coconut flour. Here are a couple promising looking ones, hope this helps :-) https://sugarfreelondoner.com/keto-bread-rolls/ and https://www.lowcarbmaven.com/low-carb-rolls-keto/
Ashok
Show videos of all recipes
Elizabeth Lindemann
Trust me, if there were 8 more hours in every day or I had a team of people working for me, I would! I actually LOVE making videos, but they’re a TON of work, so it’s just not feasible to do it for all my recipes. It’s really helpful to know they’re useful though! I’ll keep that in mind as I’m planning projects for next year :-)
Mary
Can you use non-wheat based flour for the gluten intolerant?