These soft and fluffy homemade Potato Rolls are perfect for any occasion. They’re buttery, delicious, and can easily be made ahead of time.
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Easy Homemade Potato Rolls Recipe
If you’ve ever eaten Potato Rolls you know they are the softest, fluffiest, most buttery dinner rolls. Now, you can easily make them at home, whether or not you have experience making yeast bread. Do not be afraid - this Potato Roll recipe is super simple and very forgiving. You can serve these as dinner rolls, slider buns, or even use leftovers to make French toast or croutons.
Any kind of plain mashed potatoes will work as long as they aren’t full of additional butter, milk, and flavors. Have leftover mashed potatoes? Those will work great, too, along with instant mashed potato flakes.
Ingredients in Potato Rolls
- Water - you want this to be lukewarm, or around 110 degrees F, to help activate the yeast.
- Yeast - this recipe calls for active dry yeast which must be activated, or “proofed.”
- Sugar - we use white granulated sugar for the dough, or you could certainly use the same amount of honey instead.
- Milk - before adding the milk to the dough you’ll need to scald it. Just place into a small pot and bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.
- Mashed Potatoes - you can make your own mashed potatoes, or even use the dry boxed kind. Either one will make the softest, fluffiest rolls. If you do go with homemade, you’ll want to make sure they are plain and don’t have a lot of additional butter. You also don’t want to use leftover mashed potatoes straight from the fridge - make sure they are room temperature before adding to the dough.
- Butter - you want the butter to be room temperature so that it’s soft enough to mix into the dough.
- Salt - you can use regular sea salt or table salt.
- Eggs - any kind of large eggs will do. It helps if they have come to room temperature, but don’t worry if you forget. You can also run them under warm water while they are still in the shells. The eggs help with rising and the fats in the yolk help keep the dough tender and light.
- Flour - this recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but you can also substitute bread flour if you would like.
How to Make This Potato Rolls Recipe
- Proof the yeast. In a small bowl, add the warm water, yeast, and sugar and mix to combine. Let sit for about 5-10 minutes, or until the yeast mixture starts to get bubbly.
- Mix the dough. Meanwhile, add the milk to a small pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. In the bowl of a stand mixer add the scalded milk, mashed potatoes, soft butter, and salt and mix on low until combined using the dough hook. Let the mixture sit until it becomes lukewarm, then add the yeast mixture and eggs. Add half of the flour and mix on low until combined. Stir in the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl as it mixes. Allow the dough to mix on medium for about 3 minutes once the flour has been added.
- Let the dough double in size. Turn the mixer off, cover the bowl loosely with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rise until light and puffy, or about 30-45 minutes.
- Shape into balls. Once the dough has doubled in size, transfer to a lightly floured surface and divide into 24 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place into 1-2 greased baking pans or sheets, spacing them out evenly so that they are almost touching.
- Let the dough balls rise again. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Bake. Bake in your preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown on top.
- Serve. Remove from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes, then brush the tops with melted butter. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use either fresh or leftover mashed potatoes or instant mashed potatoes to make Potato Rolls. If you decide to use homemade mashed potatoes, make sure they don’t have any additional butter, milk, or flavoring because that can affect the recipe. You just want plain mashed potatoes. Or, you can use instant potato flakes that are as simple as adding water and mixing. Both will make super fluffy dinner rolls.
If you want your Potato Rolls to be really soft and fluffy, keep the dough balls very close together. I like to space them out so that they are either just barely touching or almost touching. This way only the tops of the rolls will get crusty and the sides will stay super soft. If you want all sides to have more of a crust, space them out a little further.
Yes! Store baked Potato Rolls in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months, then thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature. You can also freeze the unbaked rolls if you want. Prepare up until you would normally let the shaped dinner rolls double in size in the pan. Instead, wrap the baking dish well with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Once you are ready to serve, remove from the freezer for a couple hours before you want to bake. Once they have doubled in size, bake as directed and voila!
You sure can. You can prepare all the way until you would normally let the shaped rolls double in size in the pan. Instead of letting them rise again, cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight. The next day, pull the dish from the fridge and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, or about 1 hour. Then, bake as directed.
Storing and Reheating
- Room Temperature: transfer Potato Rolls to an airtight container or freezer bag and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerator: if you want them to last a bit longer, you can also store them in an airtight container or freezer bag in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: store baked rolls in freezer bags in the freezer for up to 2 months. To thaw, transfer to the fridge or countertop overnight. Or, you can freeze the unbaked rolls in the baking dish, wrapping well in plastic wrap, for up to 1 month. Once you are ready to serve, remove from the freezer for a couple of hours before you want to bake. Once they have doubled in size, you can bake as directed.
- To Reheat: for a single serving, you can reheat in the microwave until warm. Otherwise, add the entire pan of rolls back into the oven at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until warmed through.
Potato Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup Water warm, about 110 degrees F
- 1 Tablespoon Active Dry Yeast
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 cup Mashed Potatoes
- ½ cup Butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 large Eggs
- 5-6 cups All-Purpose Flour
- ¼ cup Butter melted for brushing over baked rolls
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, add the warm water, yeast, and sugar and mix to combine. Let sit for about 5-10 minutes, or until the yeast mixture starts to get bubbly.
- Meanwhile, add the milk to a small pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the scalded milk, mashed potatoes, soft butter, and salt and mix on low until combined using the dough hook. Let the mixture sit until it becomes lukewarm, then add the yeast mixture and eggs.
- Add half of the flour and mix on low until combined. Stir in the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl as it mixes. Allow the dough to mix on medium for about 3 minutes once the flour has been added.
- Turn the mixer off, cover the bowl loosely with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rise until light and puffy, or about 30-45 minutes.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, transfer to a lightly floured surface and divide into 24 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place into 1-2 greased baking dishes, spacing them out evenly so that they are almost touching.
- Cover loosely and let the rolls rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown on top.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes, then brush the tops with melted butter. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Of the Best Dinner Rolls Recipes
- Pull Apart Garlic Bread
- Crescent Rolls
- Wheat Rolls
- Parker House Rolls
- Quick Dinner Rolls
- Einkorn Dinner Rolls
- Garlic Knot Dinner Rolls
- More Bread Recipes
- More Holiday Recipes
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These Potato Rolls are soft and fluffy, buttery, and simple to make ahead of time. They're perfect for holiday menus, weeknight dinners, and any other occasion.
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