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These homemade dinner rolls are light and pillowy and flavored with plenty of garlic and green onions! It requires just 8 ingredients and is prepared with very simple steps. These rolls make the perfect side to your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner!
If you are looking for soft and buttery buns to serve during your holiday dinner (or even any time of the year!), you are going to love this recipe!
🍞 What Are Dinner Rolls
Dinner rolls, sometimes just referred to as rolls, are individual loaves of bread that are served as a meal accompaniment. There are many different types of rolls, some are made with whole wheat or rye, and others include seeds, nuts, spices, etc.
Here, we will prepare buttery dinner rolls that are closer to a brioche than rustic bread. Each roll is filled with a generous amount of garlic butter before being baked to perfection!
🥣 How to Make Garlic Butter Rolls
This recipe requires very basic ingredients that are easy to find. Here is what you will need:
- Flour – While you can use all-purpose flour, I recommend going with bread flour for a light and airy crumb.
- Milk – Use your favorite unsweetened plant-based milk. I personally went with almond milk but soy, oat, or cashew milk will work as well.
- Butter – Butter gives the dough its rich and tender texture. You can use store-bought vegan butter or homemade vegan butter.
- Yeast – Use instant yeast, the one that is sold in small packets and that looks like small granules.
- Sugar – Sugar will help feed the yeast and improve the overall flavor.
- Garlic – I went with 3 cloves of fresh garlic and thought it was garlicky enough for my taste, but you can increase that amount if you want super garlicky rolls.
- Green onions – Optional. You can use fresh parsley, basil, or your favorite herb!
The process of making these garlic dinner rolls is very simple:
- Knead all the ingredients together to make the dough.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl. Cover and let it rise for 45-60 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough and divide it into 8 balls. Transfer to a baking sheet.
- Let each roll rise for another 40 minutes.
I placed the rolls on a 13-inch baking sheet, but you can use a large baking dish if you prefer. Just be aware that the rolls will almost double in size during the second rise, so do not pack them too tightly.
Garlic Butter Filling
Next comes the icing on the cake: the garlic butter!
To prepare the filling, mix together softened butter with finely minced garlic, chopped green onions, salt, and ground black pepper.
To garnish the rolls with garlic butter:
- Brush the rolls with milk.
- Use a razor blade or a very sharp knife to score the rolls lengthwise.
- Transfer the garlic butter to a piping bag.
- Pipe a generous amount of garlic butter into each cut.
Finally, bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown! Brush with melted vegan butter and let cool for a few minutes before serving.
These are obviously the best served right out of the oven, still slightly warm and super soft.
🍲 What to Serve with These Rolls
These garlic dinner rolls would make a great accompaniment to this Pumpkin soup, Vegan Corn Soup, Mashed cauliflower and Parsnips, or this Vegan Vietnamese curry.
You can also serve them with stews or use them as a burger bun!
💬 FAQ
Yes, you can prepare the dough, do the first and second rises, and place the rolls on a baking sheet or large baking dish. Then, cover with plastic film and refrigerate for up to 20 hours. The day you plan to bake them, let them sit on the counter for about 2 hours before baking.
Yes, simply wrap each roll individually in plastic wrap. You can keep them in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat, thaw on the counter for 2-3 hours and reheat in a 300°F (150°C) preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.
Baked rolls will keep for up to 2 days stored at room temperature. You can then reheat them for a few minutes in a 300°F (150°C) oven to warm them and make them softer.
🥖 More Bread Recipes
Let me know in the comment if you try this recipe!
Garlic Butter Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 and 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk at room temperature
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 and 1/2 tbsp vegan butter at room temperature, cubed
Garlic Butter
- 5 tbsp vegan butter
- 3 cloves of garlic very finely minced
- 1 tbsp finely chopped green onions
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, dissolve the instant yeast and sugar in the milk at room temperature (or just warm). Let it sit for 7-10 minutes.
- Next, add the flour and salt and knead for about 1 minute on low-medium speed.
- Add the cubed butter and knead on medium speed for another 2-3 minutes or until the dough is smooth. The dough should be just slightly sticky. If it appears too sticky, add a bit more flour.
- Rise: Transfer the dough to a lightly greased glass bowl and cover it with plastic film or a clean and damp kitchen towel. Let it rise for about 1 hour at room temperature or until it has doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough to release the air bubbles. Divide the dough into 8 pieces (about 100g per piece) and roll each piece into a smooth ball.
- Second Rise: Place each ball on a 13-inch baking sheet lined with parchment paper (alternatively, you can use a large baking dish). Leave about 1 inch between each ball, as they will almost double in size.
- Cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let it rise for another 40 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the garlic butter.
- Garlic Butter: In a small bowl, stir together the softened butter, minced garlic, green onions, salt, and ground black pepper. Transfer to a small piping bag.
- Baking: Preheat oven to
350 °F (175°C). - Brush each roll with almond milk. Then, using a razor blade or sharp knife, score each roll with one long cut in the center. Pipe a generous amount of garlic butter in the center of each cut.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown. I usually flip the baking sheet once halfway through baking to get an even golden brown color.
- Remove from the oven, brush with melted butter, and let cool for a few minutes before enjoying!
Notes
- Prepare the dough, do the first and second rises, and place the rolls on a baking sheet or large baking dish. Then, cover with plastic film and refrigerate for up to 20 hours. The day you plan to bake them, let them sit on the counter for about 2 hours before baking.
- Wrap each roll individually in plastic wrap. You can then keep them in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat, thaw on the counter for 2-3 hours and reheat in a 300°F (150°C) preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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These look delicious! How deep did you cut the rolls? Thanks!
Thanks Pamela,
About 5mm (1/4 inch) deep cuts are enough.
I love how soft and buttery these rolls are with all the flavorful ingredients in it. Plus, it’s easy to prepare. One more amazing recipe, Thomas!
Thanks Ethan!