These Potato Rolls are my family’s favorite homemade dinner rolls. Easy to make with two secret ingredients that make them extra fluffy. You’ll never make another dinner roll recipe again!
Making homemade dinner rolls can be intimidating. But this Potato Roll recipe is one of the easiest I’ve ever made. (And that's saying something for a non-baker like me!)
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Why this recipe works
- The dough isn’t super sticky (which makes it a breeze for non-bakers like myself to work with).
- All the hard work (i.e. the kneading) is done in the stand mixer.
- Two superhero ingredients make these rolls especially light and airy - instant mashed potatoes and dry milk powder. Both are inexpensive and easy to buy at the grocery store, which means you can make homemade potato rolls anytime you want!
Ingredients
These rolls are made from a handful of pantry staples:
A few ingredient notes:
- Flour: This recipe was tested using all-purpose flour. I have not tested it using any alternatives.
- Yeast: Instant yeast is my go-to for most baked goods. No need to dissolve in liquid to activate like active dry yeast.
- Instant potato flakes: An inexpensive ingredient that has a long shelf life.
- Dry milk: A small amount of this powder - not to be confused with malted milk powder - makes all baked goods extra tender. (Want to know more? Read all about how to improve your homemade breads and cakes with dry milk powder in this Epicurious article.)
Instructions
These rolls take a couple hours to make but that’s because there are two separate rise times: the first for the dough and the second for the formed rolls. How long it takes the dough to rise will depend on the temperature of your kitchen.
Tip: If I’m in a hurry, I will heat my oven to its lowest setting (100-150°F - no warmer than that) then turn it off and put my covered dough/rolls in there to speed up the rise.
Steps 1-2: Place all ingredients in bowl of stand mixer. Stir to combine and knead on low. Shape dough into ball & place in greased bowl. Cover & let rise.
Steps 3-4: Dough should be doubled in size. Cut dough into 12 pieces on lightly floured surface.
Steps 5-6: Form dough pieces into 12 balls & place in greased 9-inch cake pan. Cover & let rise until doubled in size. Bake or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter immediately.
Tip: I use a bench scraper to cut the dough into pieces. You'll get clean cuts every time. It also makes cleaning up the countertop a breeze because you can scrape all the leftover countertop mess straight into the trash bin.
FAQs
Both of these dry ingredients give the rolls a light and fluffy texture. They also add flavor without any extra moisture which can weigh down the rolls.
Since there aren’t any preservatives in these rolls, they will not last as long as the store bought version, but they are still excellent when gently rewarmed the next day. They will start to dry out after 2 days.
Make-ahead tips
You can mix the dough and allow it to rise on the counter top until double in size. Punch down, cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight. Proceed with the recipe (shape the dough into rolls, allow to rise again, bake) but add extra time for the second rise as the dough comes to room temperature.
If you make these rolls a day in advance, wrap in foil and gently reheat in oven on a low temperature until warmed through.
Variations
These rolls are brushed with melted butter immediately after you take them out of the oven to soften the tops, add flavor and give them that gorgeous sheen. But you can add a sweet or savory twist to these rolls, too:
- Savory: Whisk together 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 finely minced garlic clove and 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary. Brush on top of warm rolls.
- Sweet: Whisk together 1 ½ tablespoons melted butter with ½ tablespoon honey. Brush on top of warm rolls.
Serving suggestions
Got leftovers? These rolls make great sliders for leftover turkey breast on Thanksgiving, beef tenderloin on Christmas or baked ham for Easter.
You can be sure we’ll be making these rolls on Thanksgiving, along with our Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes, our family’s favorite Wild Rice Recipe, this Cornbread Stuffing with sausage and our Homemade Cranberry Sauce.
Of course, these rolls would also be standout hits with any of our soup recipes like our Split Pea Soup with Ham or Italian Wedding Soup recipe - both made in the slow cooker!
You can find all of our side dish recipes in our archives.
Recipe
Homemade Potato Rolls
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup dry milk powder
- ½ instant potato flakes
- 5 tablespoons melted butter divided
- 1 cup warm water 105-115°F
Instructions
- Combine flour, sugar, yeast, salt, dry milk, instant potatoes, 4 tablespoons melted butter and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Stir combine and then knead on low for 5 minutes.
- Shape dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in size (60-90 minutes depending on the temperature of your home). You can also preheat your oven to 100-150 degrees, turn it off and stick the dough in there to rise. It will obviously rise more quickly at a warmer temperature.
- Once dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 pieces. Gently roll pieces into balls and place in a greased 9-inch cake pan. Cover and let rise again until doubled in size (45-60 minutes).
- About 20 minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place uncovered pan in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Immediately brush warm rolls with remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter. Allow to set for 5 minutes for butter to absorb before serving.
Notes
Make ahead tips:
You can mix the dough and allow it to rise on the counter top until double in size. Punch down, cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight. Proceed with the recipe (shape the dough into rolls, allow to rise again, bake) but add extra time for the second rise as the dough comes to room temperature. To reheat baked rolls, wrap in foil and gently reheat in low oven until warmed through.Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
You can make homemade dinner rolls any night of the week with this easy Potato Rolls recipe. These rolls are extra tender thanks to instant mashed potatoes and dry milk powder. You’ll never make another dinner roll recipe again!
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