Easy Skillet Dinner Rolls
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Nothing beats warm, super soft, fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth homemade dinner rolls. No more store-bought rolls!
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reasons to make skillet dinner rolls
- So soft, so darn fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth goodness
- Easy, simple, straight-forward recipe, perfect for beginners and home bakers
- Great for sopping up the last bits of sauce, soups and stews
- Leftovers make for killer sandwiches
- Amazingly freezer-friendly both before and after baking
tips and tricks for success
- Use warm milk. The warm milk will help activate the yeast to help the dough rise. If the milk is too hot (120°F), the yeast can start to die, preventing the bread from rising.
- Use whole milk. Using nonfat or skim milk will result in less rich flavors. Whole milk contains more fat, and will add richness, body, flavor and texture.
- Fresh herbs are best. Although you can certainly substitute dried herbs, fresh herbs are ideal here, delivering the best kind of flavor. This is also a great time to use up all the leftover herbs from your holiday turkey or leg of lamb.
- Use the Post-It note trick. The dough should feel slightly tacky to the touch, similar to the back of a Post It note, indicating good gluten development with the right amount of moisture.
- Make whole wheat rolls. These rolls can easily be made whole wheat by substituting some of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour. The rolls will be a little denser but heartier and still so fluffy.
- Mix it up. Add leftover fresh herbs such as rosemary or sage, roasted garlic or freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
freezing and storage
Storage
Leftover rolls can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days. Placing rolls in the fridge may dry them out, making them stale and hard.
Reheating
Reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through, about 5-10 minutes.
Freeze before baking
Once the rolls are shaped, place the dough balls on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper, freezing for 1 hour until solid. Transfer the dough balls to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date and freeze up to 1 month. To bake, place the dough balls into the prepared skillet, cover and thaw overnight in the fridge. Rise for about 1 hour and bake as directed.
Freeze after baking
Let the rolls cool completely. Transfer the rolls to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date and freeze up to 2 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through, about 5-10 minutes.
more homemade bread recipes
Easy Skillet Dinner Rolls: Frequently Asked Questions
No stand mixer, no problem! It will take a little bit of elbow grease but the dough can be kneaded by hand on a lightly floured surface, kneading for about 10-15 minutes.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
Yes! We recommend substituting about 3/4 – 1 cup of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour, about 25% of the all-purpose flour.
Any oven-safe skillet or 9 x 13 baking dish can be used instead.
The rolls should be a deep golden brown color and feel firm and dry. An instant-read thermometer can also be used to check for doneness, and the internal temperature should reach 190-200°F.
Dinner rolls are very freezer-friendly, and can be frozen both before or after baking for convenience.
Easy Skillet Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- ¾ cup whole milk, 105-110 degrees F
- 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Combine milk, yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, 1 tablespoon rosemary, salt and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg until well combined. Beat in yeast mixture and 1 1/2 cups flour until a smooth batter forms.
- Using the dough hook, gradually add remaining 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft, smooth ball of dough is formed. The dough should feel elastic and slightly tacky to the touch. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 3 minutes.
- Lightly oil a large bowl or coat with nonstick spray; place dough in bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a clean dishtowel and let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.
- Gently deflate dough by punching down. Roll into a 10-inch rope; cut into 10 1-inch pieces, pressing each piece into a disk, then shaping into a ball.
- Lightly oil a 10-inch cast iron skillet or coat with nonstick spray. Place dough balls into the prepared skillet; brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon rosemary. Cover with a clean dishtowel and let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place into oven and bake until golden brown, about 20-24 minutes.
- Serve warm.
Did you make this recipe?
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Perfect!! So easy to make and came out perfectly.
I made these for dinner tonight, and they were delicious. They were nice and soft and very flavorful. Highly recommend.
I made these using my bread machine and they came out great. I like the smaller recipe, works for us since there’s only the two of us to eat them.
I’d love to make these as I think a skillet creates wonderful baked goods. However, I always like to weigh my flour for more accuracy. I usually use 120g/cup but I know many recipe developers have their own standard. What do you recommend? Thanks!!
I usually use grams, as well. I made this recipe (several times!) over the Thanksgiving holiday, and a total of 330 grams of AP flour worked for me (12og/cup). It was so yummy and easy to make!
How can I modify this process if I don’t have a stand mixer nor a cast iron skillet?
This recipe is amazing! I’m new to bread making and have only been doing it to a few months (without a bread maker!) but I loved this recipe, it turned out perfect! I made it for diner for my parents and family, it was fluffy, buttery, and nice and brown on the outside! My dad is SUPER picky, esp about his rolls and he ate 3!!! I did add a little more salt in the batter and a sprinkle of kosher salt on top when I added the melted butter right before I baked but everything else was spot on!! I also brushed melted butter on right when they came out of the oven! I will def be using this recipe over and over again!
I don’t have the paraphanalia to do this! Sad! can’t I just use a regular mixer or do it by hand? I old and dont want to buy more stuff!
I also do not own a mixer with a paddle attachment. What do people like us do instead? Thanks so much.
I mix all my homemade rolls by hand. Mixers are not necessary.
I made these!!! Very NICE
Omg these are the most amazing, delicious rolls I’ve ever had. My husband could not stop talking about these. I’m making them again for Christmas dinner.
I used bread flour and instant yeast because that’s what I had on hand. Put all ingredients in my bread maker on the dough setting. Then followed instructions for shaping, rising and baking in the cast iron pan. For those that are getting a biscuit texture, you may be accidentally using too much flour. The spoon and sweep method may help with this. Also make sure to rise in a warm place.
Made the skillet dinner rolls for Thanksgiving. Indeed it is an awesome dish and a perfect one for Thanksgiving. Was an absolute delight for friends and family.
What happened to your rosemary garlic skillet dinner rolls recipe? I had it saved and now it says 404 not found.
The softest/fluffiest, moist and delicious rolls. Made them today for Thanksgiving and I think they were the favorite item on the table from all the comments.
Fogot to add all the stars to my previous review!
I made the also with dry yeast and they did taste more like a biscuit. What could I have done wrong? Please offer some insight. I was expecting light and fluffy, other wise they tasted good. I did not have any rosemary and so it was omitted.
Can this recipe be doubled? They look delish! SueD
Could I make this in an 8-inch cast iron skillet? It’s all I have
Well….. I followed the recipe and used the correct yeast. This made biscuits.
The first time I made these they were a fluffy airy roll and my only complaint was that they needed more salt. I made them again tonight and they turned out more like a biscuit and I’m seeing others had the same issue. I used Active Dry Yeast and followed the recipe exactly (except that I used salted butter). What are those of us who are getting biscuits doing wrong??
These turned out absolutely beautiful and they were so fluffy and light, but they definitely needed more salt. I even used salted butter and I still think I will add at least 1 tsp of salt next time. I will definitely be making them again! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi There.
I posted before about these being more like biscuits and then went out on a mission to really understand what I did wrong. I came to find out and this is a huge game changer that there is a difference between “Active Dry Yeast” versus “Instant Fast Rising Yeast”.
So for all those that made really yummy biscuits, its because of this. For super soft dinner rolls, use the “Active Dry Yeast”. Also just a suggestion but personal preference of course, use a tad bit more salt in the dough (1/4 teaspoon more), leave out the garlic and rosemary the first time to see how it ends up, and add about a tablespoon of honey to the melted butter before lathering it on those proofed rolls before they are baked. I think you will find these tips most helpful for anyone that suffered with dense biscuit like rolls. Thank you very very much for posting your recipe, it was very helpful and great. I will add this to my recipe box with my notes.
We made these tonight and found them to be more like a great biscuit than a dinner roll. I thought that they needed more salt, we ended up sprinkling more on the end, then noticed that they photo also have finishing salt on them in the photo. Next time I will add more to the mix. We are going to make biscuits and gravy with the left over ones from tonight.
These were great but not what we were expecting.
No