Our Favorite Homemade Dinner Rolls Recipe - The Best Rolls! (2024)

My mom has been making this homemade dinner rolls recipe for years and they’re absolutely divine. They make your house smell amazing and the recipe makes perfectly soft and fluffy jumbo dinner rolls. The dough is extra soft and tender thanks to the addition of butter, milk, and eggs! So tasty and perfect for your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner table.

This dinner roll recipe makes big, fluffy dinner rolls that your whole family will love to eat. They simply turn out great every time. My mom has a handful of recipes that she’s “known for,” and this, my friends, is her nearly famous dinner roll recipe. She makes it for all the major holidays and family functions, and when she flies out west to visit all the grandbabies, we always request a batch of her famous dinner rolls. They are the stuff childhood memories are made of.

This is a classic dinner roll recipe, but the trick to make the rolls extra soft and buttery is melted butter, eggs, and milk in the dough. All three of those things lend to really tender dough. This is actually a great dough recipe for cinnamon rolls, but we’ll save that for another post. I can’t wait for these simple dinner rolls to become a family favorite in your house, too.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Even if you are new to yeast baking these are the easiest rolls ever! Seriously, they’re fool-proof even if baking rolls has given you trouble in the past.
• You can easily spruce these up by adding chopped herbs and garlic, cinnamon and sugar, cheese and jalapeño, or bacon bits and cheese to the dough! Just add your additions of choice before kneading the dough and letting it rise.
• These rolls are kneaded to perfection, resulting in a soft, elastic dough that bakes into light and airy rolls with a golden, buttery crust.
• You can prepare these rolls in advance and either store them at room temperature or freeze them, making them convenient for busy schedules and holiday preparations.

Recipe Ingredients

• Instant yeast
• Flour –all-purpose
• Sugar – granulated
• Milk
• Butter – Can be substituted with margarine
• Eggs
• Salt

See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities

How to Make Dinner Rolls

Step 1. Combine warm milk, melted butter, water, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add flour gradually and knead into a soft dough.

Step 2. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl for 30 to 60 minutes.

Step 3. Divide dough into 32 pieces, shape into balls, and place on a greased baking sheet. Let rise again until doubled.

Step 4. Bake at 400°F for 14 to 18 minutes, then butter the tops and serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe FAQs

Expert Tips

• Make sure your yeast is fresh! Check the date before starting. This is the yeast that I use and have great success with.
• Ensure the water is warm but not hot (about 110°F) when mixing with the yeast. Too hot, and it can kill the yeast; too cold, and the yeast won’t activate properly.
• Add the flour gradually, 1/2 cup at a time, to avoid a dense dough. The dough should be soft and elastic but not sticky.
• Don’t be afraid of over-working your dough. Kneading the dough will lead to tender and soft dough.
• Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free area. If your kitchen is cold, you can place the dough in an oven with just the light on or near a slightly warm oven.
• Brush the tops of the rolls with butter right after baking to add flavor and keep the rolls soft and tender.

How to Serve and Store Dinner Rolls

Enjoy these rolls warm or at room temperature. Arrange the rolls in a bread basket lined with a cloth napkin to keep them warm and add a touch of elegance to your table. Serve with butter, jam, or turkey gravy for a delightful addition. They also pair well with soups such as beef noodle, vegetable, and Italian wedding soup, stews such as Brunswick or Hungarian goulash, and holiday meals such as green bean casserole,brown sugar glazed ham,mashed potatoes, andcranberry sauce.

To make these in advance, follow the directions in the recipe card below to make rolls ahead of time. If I’m not serving the rolls right away, I like to remove them from the pan to cool about 15 minutes after they come out of the oven so that the bottoms don’t get steamy and soggy. You can travel with them easily by storing them in an airtight container.

After baking your rolls, remove them from the pan and let them cool completely. Store in an airtight container or freezer-safe sealable bag to store them in your freezer for up to 4 months. To reheat, let them thaw for an hour or two at room temperature, place them back in a baking dish, and bake for about 10 minutes at 250 degrees F. Be sure to rub butter over top before serving.

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