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Home » Bread Recipes

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Published: Apr 13, 2022 · Modified: Oct 17, 2022 by Mindee · This post contains affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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These eggless dinner rolls are light, fluffy and easy to make! With a hint of sweetness from honey this healthier whole wheat alternative is a delicious addition to any meal!

Fresh whole wheat dinner rolls ready to eat.
Delicious whole wheat rolls!
Jump to:
  • Why Choose This Recipe
  • Ingredient Notes
  • Step by Step Instructions
  • Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips
  • Related Recipes
  • Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls Recipe

Why Choose This Recipe

  • Light, fluffy, soft dinner rolls that are egg free!
  • Easy as traditional Dinner Rolls!
  • Sugar is lessened with the use of honey!
  • Healthier alternative to White Breads
  • If you're wondering how to make these fluffy dinner rolls into a loaf of homemade bread instead then check our my Whole Wheat Bread recipe!

Ingredient Notes

  • White Flour - all purpose flour, never self rising and not bread flour.
  • Whole Wheat Flour - Any brand is fine.
  • Butter - unsalted butter or salted butter work just fine.
  • Honey - use regular honey not creamed honey.
  • Yeast - active dry yeast is the same as rapid rise yeast. Instant yeast can also be used.
Ingredient for Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
Everything you need to make these soft whole wheat dinner rolls.

Step by Step Instructions

  • While I prefer to use my stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, you can make this homemade roll recipe by hand as well.
  • Add sugar, yeast and warm water to a mixing bowl or to the bowl of a stand mixer, and let stand about 5 minutes to get foamy.
  • Add the salt to the yeast mixture.
Sugar, yeast, and warm water added to a mixing bowl.
Activate yeast with sugar and warm water!
  • Add room temperature butter, honey, and the wheat flour to the bowl.
  • Add 1 ½ Cups of white flour.
  • Mix well, at a low speed until a soft dough forms.
Butter, honey and flour added to the mixing bowl.
Add butter, honey, white flour and whole-wheat flour.
  • You may or may not need more white flour at this point.
  • Picture 9 and 10 show what my dough looked like when there was enough flour. Note that the sides of the bowl were not cleaned and the dough is still on the sticky side instead of a smooth ball.
  • Knead the dough at medium speed for 3 minutes.
  • Cover bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled.
  • Dump risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 15 equal pieces.
  • Shape the pieces into balls.
  • Place dough balls in a 9x13 pan that's been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Cover to let rise until doubled while you preheat your oven.
  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Dough kneaded, left to raise, dumped out divided into pieces and shaped.
This is more of a sticky dough at first. Let rise, divide dough and shape into balls to bake.
  • Bake rolls at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
  • The tops should be golden brown.
  • Run a butter cube over the tops of the hot rolls. This is optional. That little bit of melted butter on the tops give them a buttery flavor!
Butter cube being run over the top of the hot rolls.
Hot and fluffy whole wheat dinner rolls!

Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips

Can I use all whole wheat flour?

No, because you will end up with dense, heavy, rock-like rolls.  You have to have the white flour to have the right amount of gluten so your rolls will rise.

Can I freeze these rolls?

Yes, just make sure they are completely cool before wrapping them tightly with saran wrap or putting them in a ziploc bag and freezing.  Thaw them at room temperature.

Can these homemade rolls be made in a bread machine?

Honestly, I have no idea. I've used a bread machine once in my life and hated the result so much I never used one again.

What do these dinner rolls go well with?

My personal favorite dishes to serve rolls of any kind with is soups.  If you haven't checked out my Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup you should!  Broccoli Cheese Soup is another family favorite as is my Potato Bacon Soup!

Related Recipes

  • Homemade Cinnamon Butter
  • Maple Bacon Butter
  • Honey Butter
  • Cranberry Orange Butter

Have you tried this recipe? If so, leave me a rating and a comment below! And don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter to get my latest recipes sent right to your email! You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram!

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Fresh Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls Recipe

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Mindee
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus 90 minutes rise time)
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 15 Rolls 1x
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

These eggless dinner rolls are light, fluffy and easy to make!  With a hint of sweetness from honey this healthier whole wheat alternative is a delicious addition to any meal!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 ½ cups Warm Water
  • 2 tsp Sugar
  • 1 Tbs. Active Dry Yeast
  • ¼ cup Honey
  • 1 ½ tsp Salt
  • 4 Tbs. Butter, room temp.
  • 1 ½ cups Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1 ½-2 cups All Purpose Flour

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water.
  2. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
  3. Add the honey, salt, butter, and 1 ½ cups of wheat flour.  Mix at a low speed.
  4. Add 1 ½ cups of all purpose flour while the mixer is running.  Mix until well combined.
  5. You may or may not need to add more flour at this point.  You want the dough to come together in a sticky ball that mostly cleans the sides of the bowl, but still sticks to the bottom.  Add more flour a little at a time if you need to.  Lean more towards a stickier dough than a stiff dough.
  6. Knead in your mixer for 3 minutes. 
  7. Cover and let rise until doubled.   This should take about an hour.
  8. Dump risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
  9. Divide into 15 equal size pieces and shape them into balls.
  10. Place the dough balls in a 9x13 baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
  11. Cover and let rise until doubled (about a half hour).
  12. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees  Bake risen rolls for 15-18 minutes.
  13. Run a cube of butter over the tops of the hot rolls.
  14. Cool and enjoy!

Notes

  • Do not use all whole wheat flour.  Half white flour is necessary.
  • See my Whole Wheat Bread recipe for instructions on how to make this into a loaf of bread instead.
  • Nutritional Disclaimer

Keywords: whole wheat rolls, whole wheat bread

Did you make this recipe?

Tag me on Instagram @mindeescooking and hashtag it #mindeescookingobsession

Mindee's Cooking Obsession is a positive place and I love to hear your success stories! Remember to keep comments or questions respectful and kind. I reserve the right to delete or reject any comments that are deemed not helpful to other readers or are offensive in nature.

Comments suggesting substitutions of multiple ingredients or rewrites of the above recipe to promote different dietary preferences will not be published as they are not tested for accuracy and may inhibit the success of other readers. Thanks!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Aarti Gupta

    May 04, 2021 at 2:14 pm

    Hey Mindee, I cannot thank you enough for this wonderful recipe. I've been looking for the perfect recipe for dinner rolls and my search has finally ended. Thank you so much. They turned out amazing!

    Reply
    • Mindee

      May 04, 2021 at 2:34 pm

      You're welcome!

      Reply
  2. Maria

    March 09, 2021 at 1:43 pm

    Can I use olive oil instead of butter?

    Reply
    • Mindee

      March 10, 2021 at 6:19 am

      No, different fats do different things. Olive oil with cause these to be heavy and dense.

      Reply
  3. Sally

    February 13, 2021 at 8:07 pm

    I have NEVER had success baking hot rolls or bread until today. Success! So thrilled and they taste great! Thanks for the awesome recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Mindee

      February 15, 2021 at 5:31 am

      I'm so excited for you!!!

      Reply
      • U.T.

        March 04, 2021 at 11:35 am

        I halved the recipe to make 6 buns. I used 2.25 tsp of vital wheat gluten with 1.5 cups white whole wheat flour. I know..I know...not everyone has VWG...but if someone wanted to make them from all whole wheat, just wanted to post another option. They rose beautifully and are soft and delicious.

        ★★★★★

        Reply
  4. L.S.

    November 27, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    These are wonderful! It’s a keeper recipe for our family.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  5. Kelly | Foodtasia

    March 26, 2019 at 10:02 am

    Mindee, I'm loving these dinner rolls! Love the hearty texture of the whole wheat. The honey must give it wonderful flavor!

    Reply
    • mindeescookingobsession

      March 26, 2019 at 2:42 pm

      Thanks! The honey sweetens them just enough but not too much.

      Reply
    • Martha Lopez

      November 22, 2021 at 3:46 pm

      Thank you for sharing your recipe. This Thanksgiving I've been looking for wheat dinner rolls and no where could I find them. So I decided to try to making some I never made them before .So I found your recipe and tried it. They came out so fluffy and soft and.taste so good Thank you again.

      Reply
      • Mindee

        November 22, 2021 at 3:50 pm

        You're welcome!!!

        Reply

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