You can make frozen dinner rolls that are light, fluffy, and the perfect make-ahead side!
Frozen dinner rolls are easy to make, and are much less expensive than store-bought rolls! Nothing beats homemade bread, and this is a simple make-ahead recipe that will save you time and money!
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One of my great-grandma’s specialties was her homemade dinner rolls. These were a staple at every family holiday dinner, and they disappeared fast.
After she passed away, my mom typically made the dinner rolls for our gatherings, using Rhodes frozen dinner rolls. This was a great shortcut for her, and they are delicious.
But now that I’m feeding my own family, I realize how expensive store-bought frozen rolls can be!
I make a lot of homemade bread these days, including homemade dinner rolls, which are one of my kids’ favorites. They will gobble up a pan or two in no time flat!
You can make dinner rolls by hand, use a bread machine, or you can also proof dough in the Instant Pot, which is a great way to help the dough rise!
I even use the Instant Pot method of proofing dough when I make this super easy french bread and homemade soft pretzels!
Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls Recipe
Many people don’t know that you can actually freeze dinner rolls before baking, which is a great way to “make once, eat twice.”
It’s also a great way to simplify holiday meal prep, by making the rolls ahead of time and popping them in the freezer until needed!
One of the most common questions I get about my homemade yeast rolls recipe is, “Can you freeze these dinner rolls?”
So I thought I’d provide a guide for exactly how to freeze them!
How to Make Frozen Dinner Rolls
The process is actually super simple! I’ll walk you through it step by step.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
- Additional butter for spreading on top (approx 1-2 Tablespoons)
How to Make and Freeze Dinner Rolls:
(Full printable recipe is available below)
Activate the yeast. Add the warm water to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Then, you’ll sprinkle some yeast, salt, and sugar into the warm water, stirring gently. Let it set for a few minutes until it’s nice and foamy.
Create the dough. Next you’ll add in the butter and egg, mixing at low speed. Gradually, add in the flour. Use the lowest speed to knead the dough for about ten minutes (you can also do this by hand).
Let the dough rise. Now it’s time to let the dough rise. You’ll want to lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to it, turning the ball once or twice to coat it well with oil. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set it in a warm place to rise.
This is the point where I use the Instant Pot to proof the dough. In this case, you can oil the insert pot of the Instant Pot, and transfer the dough there, turning to coat with oil. You’ll close the lid and use the Yogurt function at “normal” to provide the perfect environment for the yeast to thrive.
You’ll want to let the dough rise until it’s roughly doubled in size, or about an hour.
Shape the rolls. Punch down the dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 18 pieces. I use a pizza cutter to do this!
Roll each piece of dough into a ball and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
If your freezer is too narrow to fit a cookie sheet in, you can also freeze these in a muffin tin–just be sure to grease the tin first or the frozen dough balls will be really hard to remove!
Freeze the rolls. Pop the cookie sheet in the freezer for an hour, “flash freezing” the dough. This will freeze them enough that they won’t stick together during storage.
Transfer the frozen rolls to a zip-top bag or other freezer-safe container and keep in the freezer.
How to Thaw Frozen Dinner Rolls for Baking
On baking day, pull out the amount of rolls that you want to bake. Grease the pan you’ll be baking them in, then put the frozen rolls in the pan.
I typically use round cake pans, but you can also use muffin tins or a sheet pan.
Spray some plastic wrap with cooking spray and lightly cover the rolls (sprayed side down) while they thaw and rise, doubling in size.
Depending on how warm your house is, this can take between 4-6 hours. You can see the progression below!
You can also proof frozen rolls in the Instant Pot! The method uses the Yogurt setting and works quite well and is much faster, taking less than an hour and a half usually.
Baking Frozen Dinner Rolls
After the rolls have doubled in size, they’re ready to be baked! Preheat the oven to 375F. Bake the rolls for about 12-15 minutes, or until they’re golden-brown on top.
Remove the pans from the oven and brush the tops of the hot rolls with melted butter (or just rub a stick of butter on top while they’re hot!).
Serve and enjoy!
More Delicious Recipes:
Recommended Equipment:
- Cookie Sheet for freezing
- Cake Pans for baking
- Instant Pot for proofing dough (optional)
- Stand Mixer for preparing dough
Frozen Dinner Rolls
This easy recipe for make-ahead frozen dinner rolls is a simple way to stock up on fluffy homemade dinner rolls so you can enjoy them whenever you want!
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
- Additional butter for spreading on top (approx 1-2 Tablespoons)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine warm water, yeast, salt, and sugar. Stir gently to combine. Let stand for 3-5 minutes while the yeast softens and foams.
- With the mixer on the lowest speed, add in butter and egg. Gradually add in flour, mixing until a soft dough forms.
- Keep the mixer on the lowest setting, allowing it to knead the dough for about 10 minutes (you can also do this by hand if you don't have a stand mixer).
- Oil a bowl or the insert pot of an Instant Pot, then transfer dough to the greased bowl/insert pot, turning the dough once or twice to coat with oil.
- Cover the bowl and set in a warm place, or place the lid on the Instant Pot and use the Yogurt setting at "normal" to allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, about an hour.
- Punch down the dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Use a pizza cutter to divide the dough into 18 pieces.
- Roll each piece into a ball and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer for an hour.
- Transfer the frozen dinner rolls to a zip-top bag or other freezer-safe container and return to the freezer until needed.
- On baking day, remove the dinner rolls and place in greased pans.
- Spray plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the pans with the sprayed side down (against the rolls).
- Place pans in a warm location and let the rolls thaw and rise for about 4-5 hours, until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 375F. Remove plastic wrap and transfer pans to the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until tops are golden brown.
- Remove from oven and brush tops lightly with melted butter.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
18Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 116Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 138mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 3g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is not guaranteed for accuracy.
Stock Your Freezer!
2. No need to thaw before cooking in the Instant Pot--meals can cook from frozen!
3. Easy-to-use plan includes shopping lists, labels, recipes, and instructions!
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