So incredibly easy to make and wonderfully delicious, these 30-Minute Dinner Rolls are the perfect addition to any meal!
There is truly no smell as amazing as fresh warm bread or rolls coming out of the oven! I remember coming home from school to the smell of freshly baked buns or bread, ready and waiting as the perfect after school snack! To this day when I smell fresh baking, I am immediately transported to that happy time and place of my childhood.
Fast forward to today with busy work schedules, running to kids activities and trying to simply keep up with life, it is difficult to put together a meal – let alone add on the extras!
This 30-Minute Dinner Roll recipe is wonderful because it is truly so easy to prepare, the buns take a short time to rise and the result is such a delicious treat that it is worth the extra effort! What a great side to enjoy with a hot and tasty bowl of soup or chili!
I love the convenience of buying dinner rolls from the store and the quality is very nice. In most cases however, store bought items have additives or preservatives in order to keep a longer shelf life. Making these homemade dinner rolls from scratch ensures that nothing is added except wholesome goodness! And these tasty little buns never last long enough to have to worry about shelf life!
If you are lucky enough to have any left over the next day, they do stay fresh and are so wonderful served with butter and jam in the morning! I love to enjoy this special treat with my morning coffee – it is comfort food at it’s best!
Our sense of smell is one of the most highly acute of all our senses and tends to influence our mood. It is no small wonder that when we smell freshly baked dinner rolls, it makes us feel happy and excited in anticipation of these tender, tasty treats!
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour I use closer to 3
- ⅛ cup milk room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400*F.
- In a large bowl, combine 1 cup water, oil, sugar, and yeast. Let sit until yeast is bubbly (about 8 minutes). Stir in beaten egg, softened butter, and salt.
- With a stand mixer or by hand, add flour, one cup at a time until you have a soft dough that isn’t sticky. Knead by hand 10 minutes or 5 minutes with a stand mixer.
- Divide dough into 18 even pieces, and form into balls. Place in a greased pan and cover with parchment paper and a kitchen towel.
- Let rise 10 minutes in a warm place. (You can allow them to rise up to an additional 30 minutes if time allows).
- Lightly brush with milk and bake on the middle rack for 10-12 minutes or just until browned.
Video
Notes
- Combine 2 cups of flour with 2 packets of instant yeast (about 4½ teaspoons), sugar, and salt in a large bowl or stand mixer.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together warm water, vegetable oil, melted butter, and egg. Add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Add the remaining 1 to 2 cups of flour, half a cup at a time, until you have a soft dough that isn’t sticky (you may not need all of it). Knead by hand for 10 minutes or 5 minutes with a stand mixer.
- Form dough into balls. Place in a greased pan and cover with parchment paper and a kitchen towel. Let rise for 30-40 minutes or until dough is double in size.
- Brush tops with milk and bake as directed.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
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Whether it’s a special occasion or you simply want a delicious addition to your weeknight meal, 30-Minute Dinner Rolls are perfect! Absolutely delicate, delicious and simple to make, you will want to bake them often. And your family will ask for them even more!
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I have never made a good homemade roll in my life, These came out perfectly fluffy!
5 stars for taste and ease, but mine turned out dense, almost like a hot steamy biscuit and a soft fluffy airy dinner roll had a baby. a delicious baby, but unexpected. what could I have done wrong? I only used just over 3c of flour even including the dusting on my surface. help!
Glad they were delicious little babies ;) I can’t say for sure why they were more dense than expected, did you check that your yeast was fresh? You could try letting them rise a little bit longer next time.
What did I do wrong? My buns came out a bit gummy and “yeasty” and I had to cook them for 16min to get golden
The flavor is expected to be a little bit yeasty as the large amount of yeast is what helps them to rise quickly. If they were gummy, they likely needed to be cooke a little bit longer. Hope that helps!
It doesn’t get better or easier with this recipe. I followed the recipe, except for halving the sugar, and the rolls were divine. They were light, fluffy and soft.
Next batch I may sub with olive oil and honey for the sweetener. This recipe will be on repeat this winter, thank you for sharing!
I made these for the first time yesterday and holy cow they’re so god damn good. I’ve made a lot of dinner rolls but nothing this soft and pillowy, with so little time and effort!
Another batch is cooling on the counter, perfect size for my toddlers lunch box. 10/10!
Terrible, this recipe isn’t well thought out enough. They come out super floury and dense.
Thanks for trying our recipe, Lanie. If it was extra floury and dense it may be that too much flour was used or the yeast wasn’t fresh, you could also try letting them rise a bit longer. I hope that helps! For more information on measuring flour you can check out guide here!
I reduced the recipe by 1/3 as it’s just my husband and I, used the leftover egg as a wash they were perfect! Made 4 perfect rolls in time for dinner.
excellent recipe! almost like KFC dinner rolls back in the day…very soft and light, mildly sweet and delicious
i love how they reminded you of KFC. I said the exact thing yesterday when I whipped up a batch for a meeting I had. In fact, a woman asked if someone had gone to KFC when I pulled of the tea towel off the basket and the aroma filled the air.
I tried this yesterday and it is fantastic! No need to reduce the sugar because the buns do not taste sweet. I used salted butter and left out the salt but next time I will add the salt. I believe it will just add that little extra that will put these buns over the top.
These buns got raves reviews from my father and I immediately sent the link to my daughter.
Well Done!
rolls turned out soft and fluffy. I brushed the tops with butter after they were finished in the oven. my issue is that the rolls were incredibly sweet, almost cake like. I will try this recipe again as I like the simplicity of it, but I will only add enough sugar to help feed the yeast.
Other readers have had good results with decreasing the sugar in the recipe. I would love to hear how it turns out for you, Joy!
I have since made this recipe two more times, I used 2tsp of sugar and 1tsp of salt instead of the measurements in the recipe. They turned out amazing, and between my 10 & 8 year old (and myself), these rolls were gone in less than three hours.
Glad I persevered!
I made these at the last minute yesterday when the family came to dinner, to accompany a beef stew. What a hit! The conversation kept coming back to how delicious the rolls were. My only change was to use half the sugar, as I didn’t want any taste of sweetness with the stew. I used two packets of yeast, which I think is a tad less than the 2T called for, but they rose quickly and well. Fifteen rolls in a 9×13” pan took about 15 min to look done, and they were perfect. Bonus was that I was able to use the same oven heat to roast some broccoli. I sent the link to my DIL this morning. This recipe would be a great template to add sweet or savory herbs/spices, or a little grated cheese.
Can you make these in the am and let them rise till dinner time?
Hi Linda, if making these ahead of time you can pop them in the fridge and them bring them out to rise before cooking. I wouldn’t leave them out and rising until dinner though as they will overproof.
The dinner roll recipe looks wonderful and I plan to try it.
Adding all the steps, it will certainly take longer than 30 minutes. I would suggest not heating the oven until the buns are starting to rise.
These are amazing! My kids constantly request me to make these rolls to the point I should probably start buying flour in bulk.
These looked and smelled great, but were so very sweet. The sweetness overpowered the rest of the meal, so if I were to make again I’d use 2 tbsp sugar instead of the ¼ c.
Thanks for trying our recipe, Frances. I would love to hear what you think when you try with the reduced sugar!
Easy recipe.They taste good!Thank you!
10/10 one of my family’s favorite dinner roll recipes! always so quick and easy to whip up for a week night dinner or to bring over for a family dinner night. they always turn out fluffy, light, and golden brown.
I added extra salt, but they were tasty! and fast to make.
These rolls keep turning out to be flat!
Did you check your yeast to make sure it’s still active? Add ½ teaspoon yeast to ½ teaspoon sugar and ½ cup of warm water. Let it rest about 10 minutes to ensure it bubbles.
Your yeast is bad or your house is too cold. Try proofing them on the back of your stovetop while your oven is preheating or a heating pad wilt a towel over it on LOW setting.
Could these be baked in a cast iron skillet?
I have never tried but I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
I made these today in a 13″ iron skillet. I made 7 big rolls because I wanted them to be more like sandwich buns. they turned out perfect, soft and delicious!