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1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls

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My favorite 1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls recipe is easy to make by hand or with a stand mixer and absolutely heavenly served warm out of the oven.

1-Hour Dinner Rolls Recipe in Baking Dish

Is there anything better than a freshly-baked pan of homemade dinner rolls?

Actually, yes — this easy dinner rolls recipe that can be ready to go in just one hour!

This recipe has been my go-to for years and always yields the most perfectly soft, fluffy, buttery rolls. But I especially love it because the ingredient list is simple, the rise times are minimal, and the dough can be easily made either by hand or with the help of a stand mixer. And everything can come together quickly in just an hour or so, which makes this recipe more do-able on busy weeknights when you’re craving some homemade bread, and also super-helpful on holidays when you’re trying to multi-task all the things.

Many of you have also asked about make-ahead options with this recipe over the years, so I have updated the post with instructions for how to make the bread dough in advance. And I have also included some fun variations if you would like to make your rolls more garlicky, herb-y, cheesy, or whatever other add-ins sound fun.

Bottom line, this dinner rolls recipe is a keeper and never lets me down. So if you are looking for a good one to add to your repertoire, bookmark this one and give it a try!

1-Hour Dinner Rolls Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Dinner Rolls Bread Dough Before Baking

Homemade Dinner Rolls Ingredients:

Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few notes about the ingredients that you will need to make this homemade dinner rolls recipe:

  • Water and milk: These will serve as our base liquids for the bread dough. I used dairy milk, but you are welcome to sub in a plain plant-based milk (such as oat milk or almond milk) instead.
  • Melted butter: Which we will both bake into the rolls and brush on top.
  • Honey: To add just a hint of sweetness.
  • Active dry yeast: This recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of yeast. So if you are purchasing your yeast in 0.25-ounce packets, you will need slightly more than one packet.
  • Flour: I have only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour. But if you try out different flours, please let us know how it goes in the comment section below!
  • Salt: Which we will mix into the rolls to bring out all of those delicious buttery flavors. Feel free to sprinkle a bit of flaky salt on top of the warm rolls just before serving too!

Brushing Dinner Rolls with Melted Butter

Tips For How To Make Dinner Rolls:

The full recipe is included below for how to make these dinner rolls, but here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind too:

  • Be sure that your yeast has not expired. This is one of the most common reasons for why a batch of bread dough does not rise. Double-check the expiration date on any yeast that may be hanging out in your pantry. And if the yeast does not begin to puff and bubble up after 5 minutes once it has been added to the wet ingredients, toss out the batch and start over with new yeast.
  • Double-check the temperature of the liquid ingredients. When heating the liquid ingredients (water, melted butter, milk and honey), it’s essential that they be within the temperature range of 100-110°F. If the mixture is too hot, it can kill the yeast. If it is too cool, the yeast may not activate. The mixture should feel warm and not hot to the touch, but I always recommend testing the mixture with a cooking thermometer just to be sure.
  • Don’t skip the rise times. They are essential to helping the dough rise and create that soft and fluffy texture we’re going for.
  • No worries about perfection. When portioning the dough into 12 rolls, don’t worry about them all being perfectly equal in size. They will all bake up together in the pan, and if some are slightly larger or smaller, hakuna matata. :)

1-Hour Soft Dinner Rolls in Pan

Possible Recipe Variations:

Here are a few other possible variations that you could make to this dinner rolls recipe:

  • Make-ahead option: For make-ahead dinner rolls, follow the recipe through the step that you shape the individual rolls and place them in the baking dish. Then tightly cover the baking dish and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Transfer the dish to the counter and let it warm up to room temperature for 2 hours before baking, and then bake as directed.
  • Make it vegan: Use plant-based milk and butter and your preferred sweetener in place of honey.
  • Add garlic: Add in 1 teaspoon of garlic powder to the bread dough to make the rolls more garlicky, and/or you could also simmer some minced garlic with butter to brush on top of the rolls after baking.
  • Add herbs: Add in 1 to 2 tablespoons of finely-chopped fresh herbs (such as rosemary or parsley) to the bread dough to add flavor to the rolls, and/or you could also mix some fresh herbs in with the melted butter to brush on top of the rolls after baking.
  • Add cheese: You can also mix in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of freshly-grated cheddar cheese to make cheesy rolls. (Or I also love mixing in some freshly-grated Parmesan, and then sprinkling some on top of the rolls during the final 5 minutes of baking.)

Soft Dinner Roll Closeup

More Favorite Bread Recipes:

Looking for more easy bread recipes to add to your repertoire? Here are a few of my faves…

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1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls Recipe

1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 422 reviews
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 15 servings 1x

Description

My favorite 1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls recipe is easy to make by hand or with a stand mixer and absolutely heavenly served warm out of the oven.


Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Prep your oven and baking dish.  Heat the oven to 400°F.  Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray, and set aside.
  2. Heat the liquids. In a microwave-safe bowl (or saucepan, see below), stir together the water and melted butter, then add in the milk and honey and stir until combined.  Microwave the mixture for 1 minute and give it a stir. Continue microwaving the mixture in 15 second intervals, until it reaches 110°F. It will be warm but not hot to the touch. (*Alternately, you can heat the mixture over medium-low heat in a saucepan until it reaches 110°F.)
  3. Add yeast.  Pour the liquid mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer.  Sprinkle the yeast evenly on top, give it a quick stir with a fork to combine, and let the yeast activate for 5 minutes until it is foamy.
  4. Add dry ingredients.  Add in 3 1/2 cups of flour (not all of the flour) and the salt.
  5. Mix. (See alternate instructions in the notes below for how to knead the dough by hand.) Use the dough-hook to mix in the dry ingredients on medium-low speed until combined.  If the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, add in 1/4 cup more flour at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is only slightly sticky to the touch.  (Only use up to 4 cups of flour total.)  Continue mixing on low speed for 4-5 minutes until the dough is smooth.  Then form the dough into a ball with your hands and transfer it to a greased bowl.
  6. Let the dough rise.  Cover the bowl with a damp towel or paper towel, and let it rise briefly for 15 minutes.
  7. Form the rolls.  Gently punch the dough down and divide into 15 equal-sized pieces. Form each piece into a ball and place the dough balls in the greased baking dish.  Cover the dish again with a damp towel or paper towel and let the dough balls rise for an additional 15-20 minutes.
  8. Bake. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes, or until the rolls are lightly golden brown on top and cooked through.
  9. Brush with more butter. Transfer the baking dish to a wire cooling rack and brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter.
  10. Serve warm. Then serve warm and enjoy!


Notes

Yeast: I typically purchase my yeast in bulk. But if you are using the 0.25-ounce packets, they each contain 2.25 teaspoons of yeast.  So you will need slightly more than one packet to yield 1 tablespoon.

How to knead the dough by hand: If you do not have a stand mixer, no prob!  For step 5 (mixing the dough), simply stir the dry ingredients into the dough as much as possible.  Then turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead by hand for 5 to 7 minutes until smooth, adding up to 1/4 cup of extra flour if the dough is too sticky.

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826 comments on “1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls”

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  1. Made these twice over the holidays and they were a huge hit! So delicious! Could they be made into larger rolls (hamburger bun size) for sandwiches? If so, would there need to be any changes to the recipe other than baking time? Thanks for sharing this recipe!






  2. I was looking for a quick bun recipe and I’m so glad I found this recipe! My husband loved them, soft and delicious. I made 8 larger buns instead of the 15 smaller ones and I will definitely be making these often. Thanks so much!






  3. This is the easiest yeast roll recipe! The time it took to make these rolls were so fast, I was done before dinner was ready. They came out great. My husband mentioned it smelled like the rolls from Texas Roadhouse Restaurant. This is a perfect base recipe to add a variety of flavors. I’ll try adding garlic next and would love to sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar for breakfast or as a dessert. The possibilities are endless with this recipe.






  4. Loved this recipe. 1st time I’ve made homemade rolls that actually turned out right….and it was easy. I’m wondering if you can freeze the dough? There’s one 2 of us…and I don’t want to wat.thw whole pan :)






    • We are the same, only three of us. I have cut this recipe exactly in half three times including tonight. Eight perfect rolls each time!






  5. YUMMY! I have made these rolls twice now & they turn out delicious every time! Talk about easy, this is the one! Reminds me of the yeast rolls in school lunch!
    Thank you for sharing!






  6. I love this recipe. I now make small loaves and they turn out great, as I may not always want buns. Thank you so very much.






  7. Can I use this recipe to make cinnamon rolls?

    • I have, and they were divine. Let them rise for probably 45 minutes the first time, gently rolled it out, filled it with the butter/brown sugar/cinnamon mixture, rolled them up and cut and put them in baking dishes. Let them rise for another half hour and baked them until they looked done. My husband, I and our neighbors thought they were amazing…

  8. Made these bun size to eat with shredded brisket. Super easy, quick and delicious! Thank you for this recipe!

  9. So light and fluffy! These are so quick and easy and the dough is a dream. My go to dinner rolls! Thank you for the great recipe!






  10. Never worked with yeast before, I have made these rolls twice and they have turned out fantastic each time. Thanks for great directions. I have one question, do you temp your rolls when your baking time is up. Read where yeast rolls should be 190 degrees for doneness. Please give me your thoughts. Happy New Year!

  11. Easy and delish! However my family can’t eat all 15 in time… Has anyone tried freezing these successfully??






    • I cant answer your question sorry! But I laughed WAY out loud, I have 3 men living in my house and I’m lucky if the 15 rolls make it past 8pm. We’ve never had next day leftover rolls! Lmao!

    • Yes, I froze the rolls after the initial baking and they worked fine when I thawed them later.

  12. Delicious. I used a bread machine on the dough setting. I also used quick rise yeast. I took it out after the first rise. I formed into balls covered and put in the fridge overnight. In the morning the the rolls had already risen. But I left them on the counter for an hour before baking. The baking time took about 4 minutes longer in my oven. Most likely because they were not at room temperature.

    They look just like your picture.






  13. I love the flavor and how easy this recipe is. They are turning out more biscuit like then dinner roll. Any suggestions?

    • Mine did the first time too! The next time I kneaded longer (until smooth) and let the dough rise until it was double in size (or close to it) and noticeably puffy, it was closer to 45 min – 1 hour for me for the rise. Hope this helps!

    • Could be your yeast isn’t active… Do you let it “proof” (mix the yeast and the warm water together… I also add about 1/4 teaspoon of sugar, since the yeast feeds off of sugar… helps it grow:-) )? If the yeast/water mixture isn’t foamy after sitting undisturbed for a few minutes, then the yeast may be old, or perhaps the water was either too hot or cold.

  14. This was very easy and great instructions, they turned out buttery and delcious






  15. Awesome rolls! They puffed right up, love em ❤️






  16. Wow! Finally I have found a good recipe for hamburger buns!!! I was successful in subbing in 1 cup of whole wheat flour for a little more nutrition. I let it rise until it was double in size (considerably longer than 15 minutes, but I also have an old house in January, so keep that in mind). I separated into 8 and flattened them a little so they would work as buns. I also cooked them on a cookie sheet instead (bc they didn’t fit in the 9×13) and they were awesome!!!

  17. These were the best homemade dinner rolls I have ever eaten! I (pretty much) never comment on recipes I try, but here I am. I wanted to thank you because they were THAT GOOD!

    Keeping this recipe forever! :)






  18. OMG I made these the other night and they were the best buns i’ve ever had. Soft, pillowy, like clouds in your mouth. Me and my husband just kept saying how amazing they were, and downed about 4 each that night.

  19. Oh my goodness. As my son said when he tried these rolls, “I think I’m in heaven.” So delicious! Definitely saving this recipe and making them again and again!!






  20. Can I use sugar instead of honey these look great but I am out of honey

    • I have been making these for a year. I have only used sugar and they never turn out wrong…soft and pillowy every time!

  21. I’ve made these several times, and they turn out beautiful and delicious every time. We love them!

  22. These were quick and easy but I found the taste bland. I am a sweet roll type and these were not. Maybe it was my honey? IF I make them again I would probably switch out the honey with sugar.






  23. I substituted all purpose for Uncle Bob’s Gluten Free 1to1 Baking Flour, regular milk for almond milk, double the amount of salt, substituted the honey for sugar and also doubled that amount to add more flavor. I used four cups of flour instead of three and a half and put it in the oven for an additional 10 minutes. the last 5 minutes I mixed honey with the butter and glazed it on top. follow the recipe exactly. there are a lot of good tips within the article about how to check if your yeast is bad and to make sure that you are using the correct temperatures and rising times for the dough.

  24. I love this recipe so much! I started baking in 2020 when I finally found some yeast and I was so nervous to waste it. This recipe is fool proof. I’ve made it about 5 times since as rolls and once as two loaves with garlic powder and onions as suggested! Delicious. I have it in the oven now to eat with pot roast stew and mashed potatoes for dinner! Thank you for making such an easy bread recipe! Best wishes Mikala






  25. I used fat free milk, added a little citrus juice, used both bread flour and all purpose flour and it turned out amazing. I also stuffed half the batch with cheddar and mozzarella cheese and brushed all with garlic herbed butter (butter, garlic powder, parsley, oregano and Italian seasoning).






  26. Hi!
    I absolutely love your recipe. These rolls are super delicious and easy to make!
    I tried them with whole wheat flour and they were the bomb! The ratio is just 3/4 cups instead of cups since it’s so heavy.

    Thank you for teaching your wonder recipe!

  27. I made a couple of adjustments for high-altitude. I live at 6000 feet. I only used one packet of yeast and I allowed one extra rise. We don’t keep dairy milk on hand, so I used 1 1/2 c. of plain soy milk for the liquid. It turned out great! Thanks for the recipe.






  28. Made this followed directions perfectly baked at 400 and they were burnt in 8 minutes. Will not use this recipe again

    • Hmmm, it sounds like your oven may be running overly hot. I recommend purchasing an oven thermometer to check and see the actual temperature inside.

  29. I was a bit skeptical of yeast rolls that “only” take an hour… But these are my go-to recipe now! SO fast, SO easy, and SO very flaky, buttery, and delicious!! I add two eggs when I mix in the warm milk/honey/butter to kinda maximize that light flakiness. :-) These stay fresh on the counter for several days, and are EXCELLENT for hot ham and Swiss sliders. Thanks for the recipe!!

  30. This was great. I even got lazy and only used a whole packet of yeast. I also had three little sets of hand helping me out so it’s pretty fool proof I’d say.

  31. Thanks for this recipe!!! My rolls turned out so soft and buttery. My husband said these were the best buns I’ve ever made and they taste like they’re from a real bakery. And I can’t believe how quickly they came together! Have you tried using less yeast and longer rise times? Just curious. Thanks again for a great recipe I’ll be using many more times for sure.






  32. This reminds me of our mom’s breakfast rolls! Thank you for sharing. We have searched but never found recipe.






  33. I absolutely love this recipe and fix them all the time. I actually have them rising as I type this. Thank you for sharing!

  34. I love this recipe! It is so easy to make, so every Sunday I make it for my little girls. They are always wondering when it is your dinner roll time. :-)






  35. I have made theses rolls so many times and it’s never failed. I’ve even had super lazy days where I just roll the dough into balls as soon as it mixed and let it rise for 30 minutes and it still turns out. This is my #1 bun recipe.

    Note: I’ve even made these and forgot to set a timer when they were rising and ended up with huge hunkin rolls, but still good!






  36. Recipe created a wet sticky mess. Measured everything out correctly, added maximum amount of flour, impossible to work with. Effort didn’t correlate to taste.






    • Mine is rising in greased bowl and the dough is a sticky mess too. I will finish rising (hopefully)
      and see how they bake. First time with almond flour. I am a seasoned baker of breads. No bread
      machine. Just love trying new bread/roll recipes. Stay tuned.






  37. These rolls were fantastic and received rave reviews from family. Most of the roll recipes I tried are an all day affair. One hour start to finish made my day as I was in a time crunch. I am actually throwing my other roll recipes away. I live in Colorado and worried about the high altitude But I had nothing to worry about. There was no change necessary.






  38. Tried the recipe it’s super easy and delicious!






  39. I make this two or three times a week! Instead of rolls, I put it in a round casserole dish and make a loaf of bread. I also make it vegan, with vegan butter and almond milk. My family usually eats a full loaf at one meal! I’ve gifted it with lasagna and shared with neighbors. LOVE this recipe! Thank you for sharing.






  40. These rolls were quick and amazing. I can’t even believe I made these from scratch and they were this light and fluffy and delicious. This recipe is a keeeper!

  41. First ever attempt at homemade dinner rolls, and I’m so glad that this is the recipe I chose! These were super easy and ready quickly. I used King Arthur bread flour. They turned out very light and fluffy and absolutely beautiful. Followed the recipe exactly. My family really liked them, but wish they would have been a tad sweeter. They were going for a restaurant chain’s (Golden Chick) roll and they are sweeter, despite the honey. We drizzled with honey and they were perfect! The kids would like me to add some sugar (or more honey) to the dough next time. Does anybody have any suggestions on how much or when to add? Thanks for sharing your recipe with us.






  42. Very easy and Yummy! Everyone loved them. Made them for dinner last night. And today I made two more batches. One batch I made into 2 loaves of bread.
    After a Google search about yeast…. I found this….. While older recipes call for 1 tablespoon or 1 packet of active dry yeast, the new yeast packets contain 2-1/4 teaspoons yeast. You can reduce the amount of yeast used in any of these older recipes by substituting 2-1/4 teaspoons per tablespoon of yeast…… So I only used the 1 packet of yeast per recipe and had no problems with rising.






  43. This recipe is flawless! I have had 100% success every time. Sooooo soft and squishy and absolutely deeeelicious!






  44. I don’t think you would have to change the baking time just keep a eye on it

  45. During the pandemic, we purchased a pound of yeast online. Apparently I did not fully appreciate how much yeast we purchased. So I have needed to use up a lot of yeast. And this has absolutely become my go to dinner roll recipe. Delicious, consistent, very easy. Love it!






  46. If you are allergic to dairy or eat vegan, these work beautifully if you sub butter for myiokos vegan butter and swap the milk with oat or almond milk. Sugar source can be swapped out easily if you don’t eat honey as well. Very versatile and simple recipe!






  47. This recipe is a keeper. Goodness I can’t stop gobbling the rolls. So fluffy and I added the garlic. I doubled the quantities because of a big family. Thank you for such an easy to follow recipe.






  48. I used bread flour, not sure how much different from all purpose flour but they were great! So easy to make.






  49. Fantastic! I have make many loaves of bread this last year.
    I let the yeast bloom 10 min. and weighed the flour, let kitchen aid machine mix 10 min. Made 12 buns for versatility. Used glass Pyrex 9/ 13 pan sprayed with oil. Hubby very happy guy, me too ! So yummy!
    Big thanks.
    ML

  50. Absolutely the best ever!!!!!!! Family loved them. Wish I could figure out how to post the picture!!!!??♥️