16 Homemade Rolls That'll Steal the Show at Your Holiday Table
For all the talk of turkey, rolls are really where it's at.
One year I decided to skip serving homemade rolls at Thanksgiving. My mom and I were paring down because we have a total of five people at our Thanksgiving dinner, and all of that cooking and baking feels anticlimactic for a group that small.
Well! You'd have thought we'd told everyone we were going to be serving raw turkey, for all the fuss they raised. Lesson learned. I should have recalled the days of my youth, when a warm and fluffy roll (or two, or three) on my plate was the highlight of the whole meal for me.
Don't make the same mistake I did. Bake any one of these recipes and warm homemade rolls will be the stars of your table, too. We have rolls for every situation and baking skill level. Make a double batch so you'll have leftovers for turkey sandwiches.
1. Quick Dinner Rolls
Simply Recipes / Wanda Abraham
Get Recipe: Quick Dinner Rolls
Can you believe these rolls are ready in under an hour? People, I promise it's not too good to be true. This is a solid gold recipe for all you procrastinators.
2. Homemade Crescent Rolls
Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
Get Recipe: Homemade Crescent Rolls
You'll blow the napkins right off everyone's laps with these flaky and light dinner rolls. The canned version just can't hold a candle. For planning ahead, make and shape the rolls, then freeze them. On serving day, you can bake them off straight from the freezer.
3. Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Rolls
Get Recipe: Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Rolls
Our contributor Karishma Pradhan set out to replicate her favorite rolls from New York's Maison Pickle. We'd say she achieved her goal and then some. Their shiny, buttery tops just demand to be pulled apart and savored.
4. Lion House Rolls
Get Recipe: Lion House Rolls
Inspired by the rolls at Utah's Lion House Inn, these pillowy rolls are tender spirals of dough that you can unravel to slather with butter or sop up gravy and cranberry sauce.
5. Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls
Get Recipe: Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls
Here are rolls that you can bake, freeze, and warm up for serving. No one will ever know, and you'll be calm and collected enough from your masterful planning to actually catch a breath and enjoy your dinner.
6. Parker House Rolls
Get Recipe: Parker House Dinner Rolls
Famous Parker House rolls originated at...you guessed it, the Parker House Hotel. They've been around for well over a century and the charm of their signature folded-over shape is still just as appealing.
7. Milk Bread Rolls
Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
Get Recipe: Milk Bread Rolls
The tangzhong technique, which involves cooking a portion of the flour and milk together before adding to the dough, yields fluffy rolls that have an excellent keeping quality. Our News editor Myo Quinn grew up eating milk bread and she channeled all of her affection for it into this recipe. Our reader Rebecca commented, "I’ve tried a lot milk bread recipes online. Love this one."
8. Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Simply Recipe / Mark Beahm
Get Recipe: Sourdough Dinner Rolls
If you keep a sourdough starter going, why not use it in your dinner rolls? This recipe uses a starter for flavor and no added commercial yeast.
9. Challah Rolls
Simply Recipe / Micah Siva
Get Recipe: Challah Rolls
Contributor Micah Silva grew up eating her grandmother's mini challah rolls. You can vary the toppings from roll to roll, using sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or even everything bagel seasoning.
10. Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls
Simply Recipe / Coco Morante
Get Recipe: Gluten-free Dinner Rolls
The gluten-free crowd can sink their teeth into rolls along with everyone else. This recipe uses almond flour and tapioca flour and relies on baking powder, not yeast, for its lift.
11. Frozen Rolls in the Air Fryer
Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Get Recipe: You Can Cook Frozen Dinner Rolls in the Air Fryer
If you're a cook who has no issues using store-bought products (in which case I'd say you're also a practical cook), this method of baking frozen roll dough in the air fryer is fast and about as low-stress as it can get.
12. Potato Dinner Rolls
Get Recipe: Potato Dinner Rolls
Our video contributor Frank Tiu raves about this recipe. He's made dozens of recipes on Simply Recipes, and this is one of his very favorites. "Don't skip brushing the melted honey butter over the top of the just-baked rolls," he advises.
13. Brioche Buns
Get Recipe: Brioche Hamburger Buns
Technically this is a recipe for brioche hamburger buns, but simply make them a quarter of the size and you have two dozen buttery, adorable, and decadent dinner rolls.
14. Angel Biscuits
Get Recipe: Angel Biscuits
Southern angel biscuits are a biscuit/roll hybrid. They're leavened three ways: with the steam generated by the heat of the wet dough as it bakes, plus baking powder, and finally a dose of yeast. Unlike most yeasted doughs, you knead this one minimally.
15. Brazilian Cheese Bread
Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
Get Recipe: Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)
Another option for those keeping both gluten and grain free, Brazilian pão de queijo comes together in a blender lickety-split, and the baked rolls freeze very well.
16. Salted Honey Dinner Rolls
Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
Get Recipe: Salted Honey Dinner Rolls
A variation on the milk bread rolls shared above, these salted honey rolls have honey in both the dough and the buttery brush-on topping—all the better to help the flaky salt adhere.
