This easy roll recipe with yeast needs just a few ingredients. A perfect side dish to any dinner, try these homemade yeast rolls and taste the difference. Much more delicious and fluffy than store bought or frozen rolls and they save well for leftovers the next day too.

easy roll recipe with yeast
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I don’t bake homemade bread a lot, but I was bound and determined to come up with an easy roll recipe I loved. It needed to take only a few ingredients, use instant yeast, and come out as fluffy as ever. This. Is. It! My family loved them. (affiliate links present)

Homemade Rolls

If you aren’t a really big from scratch person, like me, I will tell you right now that these are totally worth it! Taking the time to make these foolproof rolls will impress both your guests and family members for sure.

We started baking bread at home with this bread in a bag recipe. It was a fun experiment I could do with my girls and it turned out really yummy too. Honey wheat is how I’d describe those loaves.

Then we went on to bake other homemade bread recipes with yeast, this one we made into dinner rolls. During the holidays I want buttery fluffy white rolls. Store bought is okay. I’ll stop at that. There’s just nothing like these babies though.

best dinner roll recipe

Easy Dinner Roll Recipe

Remember I said you’d need just 6 main items?  It is totally true. I am assuming you just want them plain or else you’d want to integrate a bit of seasonings or diced fresh herbs like rosemary. Below is just the basic dough you can then tweak a number of different ways from there if you like. As is though just buttered is our favorite.

  1. Instant yeast
  2. Sugar
  3. Flour
    1. making sure to measure flour properly, not scooping with your measuring cup
  4. Milk
    1. heat milk so you have slightly warmed milk
  5. Oil
  6. Egg

Salt and slightly warm water are added too but I don’t really count those as ingredients since we all have them at home. Thus, 6 main ingredients are necessary.

best dinner rolls

Quick Dinner Rolls

Just like any other baking project you’ll need to combine all the dry ingredients into a bowl with our cups of flour. Then make a well in the center and add your oil and milk, then knead as you add in the water slowly.

  • You may use all of the water listed in the recipe card, or leave a little left over. You’ll want to knead it until it is well combined and forms a ball of dough like you see here.

Differences will come depending on your altitude and the humidity in your kitchen. Thus, the variance. Using your hands is best so you can really feel the consistency of the bread dough.

easy dinner roll recipe

You could use a stand mixer and a dough hook on medium speed if you’d rather. Just make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl while you’re mixing.

  • Instead of rolling the dough you’ll want to roll similar pieces into balls and place them into a springform or round pan.
  • Make sure to spray it with non stick spray first so they lift out easily when done.

Then you’ll need to let it rise and ideally double in size. This will typically take 40 minutes to an hour. Don’t rush it, 30 minutes usually won’t do. 

Just find a warm spot in your kitchen and put a towel over your pan, then find something else to do. 

easy roll recipe 2

How to do make dinner rolls rise faster?

  1. Proof dough in Instant Pot if you have one!
  2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (the temp. your rolls will be baked at)
  3. Rinse a kitchen towel under warm water until it is barely damp.

Lay the towel over your dough that has been placed in a dish. (do not use plastic)

  1. Place your covered dough near, but not on your preheated oven.
  2. Let the dough rise until it’s doubled in size.

You’ll want to check every 15 minutes until this occurs.

Once they’re nice and fluffed up like you see here you will want to brush some egg over the top so they get golden brown. Of course you can skip this step but this is the trick to making them glossy and pretty when you pull them out. Now preheat your oven to 400 degrees. And you’re ready to bake your homemade rolls.

dinner roll recipe
Easy Roll Recipe

What do you do if yeast doesn’t rise?

Try turning up the heat, yeast loves a warm moist climate. If that doesn’t work and it hasn’t risen after 30 minutes try adding a bit more to your dough kneading it really well. Here are 10 other ways of how to fix dough that won’t rise. Looking for other easy bread recipes?

For a sweeter treat try our 4 ingredient banana bread too. It is really popular since it uses cake mix which makes it so easy to throw together.

best yeast rolls


Best dinner roll recipe

  1. A whole chicken is a given.
  2. If you haven’t tried our spicy honey chicken you must!
  3. You can even wrap them around smokies and make pull apart pigs in a blanket or pull apart pizza bread too

Can you freeze fresh baked rolls?

Yes!! Make a double batch and throw half of them in the freezer for later!

  • Just allow them to cool completely
    • wrap them in foil
    • then place inside a freezer gallon bag
    • they will last up to a month for best results

Here is another easy pull apart bread recipe that’s semi homemade for dinner. If you have a Foodi you can make our air fryer garlic rolls or homemade air fryer biscuits. Then try our easy monkey bread for dessert.

garlic pull apart bread 2

How do you keep rolls fresh the next day?

This is great to make if you don’t have yeast or need a quick bread in a jiffy. What if you have leftovers?

  • Just wrap individual rolls tightly in plastic wrap
  • Store them in an airtight container
  • They can be stored like this for up to two days for best results

For the freshest taste bring the homemade rolls to room temperature before eating.

Olive oil and balsamic bread dip

Quick and easy mix is:

  1. 1/2 cup olive oil
  2. 2 tbsp. garlic, minced and dried or fresh oregano
  3. 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese & balsamic vinegar

Serve this in a small dish for a burst of added flavors. So good when served with our 5 ingredient chili recipe.

homemade yeast rolls
5 from 5 votes

Easy Roll Recipe

By The Typical Mom
This easy roll recipe needs just a few ingredients. A perfect side dish to any dinner, try these homemade yeast rolls and taste the difference. 
Prep: 40 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes
Total: 52 minutes
Servings: 12
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Equipment

  • 1 9×9 pan or round pie pan

Ingredients 

  • 2.5 c all purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1.5 tsp instant yeast
  • 1/2 c water, warm
  • 1/2 c milk, whole milk, slightly warmed
  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil, or melted unsalted butter
  • 1 egg, for wash, optional

Instructions 

  • Place the flour in a medium bowl, then sprinkle in the sugar, yeast and salt and stir until well combined. 
  • Make a well in the center and add the oil and all of the milk, begin to mix and slowly add the water until you have formed a dough — you may not need to add all the water or you may need to add a little more, this will depend on the humidity of your kitchen. 
  • If more water is needed add a tablespoon at a time. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and use your hands to knead the dough until you have a soft dough that feels a bit stretchy and doesn’t have any dry flour lumps (it will only take you 5 minutes or less). 
  • Divide the dough into 12 equal size balls. Spray a springform pan with non stick spray, then arrange the dough balls in the pan. 
  • Cover with a clean dish towel and allow to rise until they double in size. (The rising time will also depend on how humid and how cold or hot your kitchen is. It can take from 40 minutes to an hour.)
  • Preheat the oven to 400F for 10 minutes. Lightly beat a small egg and use a pastry brush to coat the top of the risen dough balls. 
  • Bake in center of oven for 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan and if desired brush with melted butter before serving while still warm. 

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 2oz, Calories: 149kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 14mg, Sodium: 59mg, Potassium: 51mg, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 35IU, Calcium: 17mg, Iron: 1.3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!
homemade yeast rolls

About The Typical Mom

Justine is the creative mind behind The Typical Mom and The Typical Family on YouTube. She began blogging about easy recipes, budget friendly activities for kids, and fun family travel destinations in September 2012.

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10 Comments

  1. Wow, tried the recipe and the rolls turned out perfect. This will be my โ€œgo toโ€recipe.

  2. I really can’t wait to try these. What are the measurements of each ingredient? Unless I somehow over looked it….

  3. Finally! After attempting to make bread and followed different recipes this is the only one that worked well. Though I need to work on dividing the dough equally and proper… thank you for this Revipe…

  4. These look so easy and fluffy!! I love all the questions you answered in your post too, so helpful.