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.

By
Sara Bir
Sara Bir
Sara Bir
Sara is a chef, culinary educator, and author of three cookbooks, The Pocket Pawpaw Cookbook, Tasting Ohio and The Fruit Forager's Companion. The latter won a 2019 IACP Cookbook Award.
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Updated November 22, 2023
Sara Bir

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.

Salted honey rolls in a parchment paper-lined baking sheet on a cooling rack next to a blue kitchen towel

Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder

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.

  • Quick Dinner Rolls

    quick dinner rolls in a basket

    Simply Recipes / Wanda Abraham

    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.

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  • Homemade Crescent Rolls

    Homemade Crescent Rolls in a Bread Bowl

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

    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.

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  • Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Rolls

    Overhead view of garlic Parmesan pull apart bread in a pan with a linen underneath.
    Simply Recipes / Karishma Pradhan

    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.

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  • Lion House Rolls

    Utah's famous lion house rolls on a baking sheet with a jar of melted butter to the left.
    Cindy Rahe

    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.

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    Continue to 5 of 16 below.

  • Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls

    A plate of make-ahead dinner rolls
    Sally Vargas

    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.

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  • Parker House Rolls

    A sheet pan of baked Parker house rolls
    Sheryl Julian

    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.

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  • Milk Bread Rolls

    Milk Bread Rolls on a Piece of Parchment Paper with Some Rolls Torn Off, Surrounded by a Glass of Milk and a Saucer with Butter

    Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

    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."

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  • Sourdough Dinner Rolls

    Sourdough Rolls in a Baking Pan

    Simply Recipe / Mark Beahm

    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.

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    Continue to 9 of 16 below.

  • Challah Rolls

    Challah Rolls on a Baking Sheet

    Simply Recipe / Micah Siva

    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.

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  • Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls

    Gluten-Free Dinner Roll Cut in Half with Butter

    Simply Recipe / Coco Morante

    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.

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  • Frozen Rolls in the Air Fryer

    frozen dinner rolls in air fryer

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

    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.

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  • Potato Dinner Rolls

    Buttered Potato Rolls on Baking Sheet
    Megan Keno

    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.

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    Continue to 13 of 16 below.

  • Brioche Buns

    The Fluffiest Brioche Buns cooling on a wire rack.
    Sally Vargas

    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.

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  • Angel Biscuits

    Angel biscuits served with honey on a blue plate
    Irvin Lin

    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.

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  • Brazilian Cheese Bread

    How to Make Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

    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.

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  • Salted Honey Dinner Rolls

    Salted honey rolls in a parchment paper-lined baking sheet on a cooling rack next to a blue kitchen towel and a bowl of flaky salt

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder

    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.

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