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!
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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!
- A healthier alternative to White Bread
- If you're wondering how to make these fluffy dinner rolls into a loaf of homemade bread instead, then check out 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 works 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.
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 for about 5 minutes to get foamy.
- Add the salt to the yeast mixture.
- Add room-temperature butter, honey, and wheat flour to the bowl.
- Add 1 ยฝ Cups of white flour.
- Mix well, at a low speed, until a soft dough forms.
- You may or may not need more white flour at this point.
- Pictures 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 was still on the sticky side instead of a smooth ball.
- Knead the dough at medium speed for 3 minutes.
- Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled.
- Dump the 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.
- 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 gives them a buttery flavor!
Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips
No, because you will end up with dense, heavy, rock-like rolls.ย You have to have the white flour to have the right amount of gluten so your rolls will rise.
Yes, just make sure they are completely cool before wrapping them tightly with saran wrap or putting them in a ziploc bag and freezing.ย Thaw them at room temperature.
Honestly, I have no idea. I've used a bread machine once in my life and hated the result so much that I never used one again.
My personal favorite dish to serve rolls of any kind with is soups.ย If you haven't checked out my Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup, you should!ย Broccoli Cheese Soup is another family favorite, as is my Potato Bacon Soup!
Related Recipes
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!
Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ยฝ Cups Warm Water
- 2 teaspoon Sugar
- 1 Tbs. Active Dry Yeast
- ยผ Cup Honey
- 1 ยฝ teaspoon Salt
- 4 Tbs. Butter room temp.
- 1 ยฝ Cups Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 ยฝ-2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water.
- Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
- Add the honey, salt, butter, and 1 ยฝ cups of wheat flour.ย Mix at a low speed.
- Add 1 ยฝ cups of all-purpose flour while the mixer is running.ย Mix until well combined.
- You may or may not need to add more flour at this point.ย 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.ย Add more flour a little at a time if you need to.ย Lean more towards a stickier dough than a stiff dough.
- Knead in your mixer for 3 minutes.ย
- Cover and let rise until doubled.ย ย This should take about an hour.
- Dump the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Divide into 15 equal-size pieces and shape them into balls.
- Place the dough balls in a 9x13 baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
- Cover and let rise until doubled (about a half hour).
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake risen rolls for 15-18 minutes.
- Run a cube of butter over the tops of the hot rolls.
- Cool and enjoy!
Notes
- Do not use all whole wheat flour.ย 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
Alison Pesavento
These rolls are so easy and so delicious! My family can't get enough of them. I love that they have whole wheat flour for added nutrition, but are still soft and light.
Aarti Gupta
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!
Mindee
You're welcome!
Maria
Can I use olive oil instead of butter?
Mindee
No, different fats do different things. Olive oil with cause these to be heavy and dense.
Max
First time bread maker here! Made these as they looked easy, and they turned out so well! So glad I finally have a use for my whole wheat flour ๐
Sally
I have NEVER had success baking hot rolls or bread until today. Success! So thrilled and they taste great! Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Mindee
I'm so excited for you!!!
U.T.
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.
L.S.
These are wonderful! Itโs a keeper recipe for our family.
Kelly | Foodtasia
Mindee, I'm loving these dinner rolls! Love the hearty texture of the whole wheat. The honey must give it wonderful flavor!
mindeescookingobsession
Thanks! The honey sweetens them just enough but not too much.
Martha Lopez
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.
Mindee
You're welcome!!!