Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

Sweet potato dinner rolls are soft, pillowy, and slightly sweet. Perfect for Thanksgiving dinner or alongside any cold weather comfort food!

Sweet Potato Rolls

A fall twist on classic dinner rolls, these sweet potato dinner rolls are here just in time for Thanksgiving! They are pillowy soft, unique yet familiar, and such a treat. Top with rosemary garlic butter to really impress your guests!

Why This Recipe WORKS

• Mashed sweet potatoes make the rolls super tender, moist, and slightly sweet–almost like brioche or classic potato buns.
• Can be baked the same day, the next day, or frozen for baking in the future. I include instructions for refrigerating the dough overnight or freezing for later, if you like to prep things in advance!
• You can add a savory twist with the optional garlic rosemary butter, or keep things on the sweeter side with some honey butter. Serving plain (or with regular salted butter) is always an option too; they are flavorful enough on their own!
• Pairs equally well with Thanksgiving dinner as it does leftovers; we love these with turkey pot pie, turkey chowder, and turkey chili! I include a few more serving suggestions outside of Thanksgiving dinner below.

What You Need

I won’t go over every ingredient here, but let’s chat about a few essential things to know.

• Mashed sweet potato. Make sure you are using pure sweet potato–do not use leftover mashed potatoes with butter, salt, etc. added. I haven’t tried this recipe with purple or white sweet potatoes, but they tend to be a bit drier, so the results might not be quite the same. If you do try it, I’d love to know how it goes for you!
• Bread flour. Bread flour yields the best texture here as it makes the rolls chewier. We’ll start with 4 cups of flour and add more as needed; this is common with yeast breads like dinner rolls or cinnamon rolls. You’ll know you’ve added enough flour when your dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and is tacky, but not sticky.
• Active dry yeast. Make sure your yeast is fresh and that you are using active dry (not instant!) yeast. If your yeast doesn’t foam after 5-10 minutes in the warm water/milk/sugar mixture, you will need to start over with fresh yeast.
• Sugar. A bit of light brown sugar adds a nice depth of flavor. We’ll add some granulated sugar too to make these rolls slightly sweet (not not as sweet as a pumpkin cinnamon roll or sweet bread though!).
• Garlic + rosemary. These are optional, but if you really want to take your rolls to the next level, brush them with some garlic rosemary butter after baking (I include instructions for this in the recipe!).

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

SAM’S TIP: My honey butter is also delicious with these rolls if you want to skip the rosemary garlic butter topping.

How to Make Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

1. Step 1: Make the dough. After activating your yeast, add the sugars, mashed potatoes, eggs, salt, and half the flour until the dough is combined but sticky. Begin adding the butter a tablespoon at a time until each piece is incorporated.

2. Step 2: Knead. Add additional flour until your dough starts to cling to itself and pull away from the bowl (you may not need all four cups, or you may need more!). Once the dough reaches this stage, begin kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. You can use a dough hook or your hands for this step.

3. Step 3: First rise. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, then cover and let it rise until doubled in size.

4. Step 4: Second rise. Deflate the dough and divide into either 15 or 24 pieces depending on the size rolls you’d like. Place your rolls in a buttered baking dish, cover, and let rise again for another 30-45 minutes while your oven preheats.

5. Step 5: Bake & top. Bake the rolls at 375F until the tops are golden and the centers are cooked through. Brush with garlic rosemary butter if desired.

6. Step 6: Serve & enjoy! Serve the rolls while they are still warm. If you’d like to freeze them after baking, check the recipe notes below for instructions.

SAM’S TIP: To get perfectly rounded and smooth rolls, you need to create some surface tension when rolling them. I do this by first rolling into a ball, then pulling the sides down and tucking them underneath.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Sweet Potato Recipes

If you try these rolls, I’d love to know how you like them! Please leave me a review in the comment section below.

Enjoy!

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Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

Sweet potato dinner rolls are soft, pillowy, and slightly sweet. Perfect for Thanksgiving dinner or alongside any cold weather comfort food!

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Course: Bread, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 23 minutes minutes

Rising Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 53 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 dinner rolls

Calories: 139kcal

Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup (120 ml) water
• ▢ ¼ cup (60 ml) whole milk
• ▢ 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar plus a pinch for activating yeast
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar firmly packed
• ▢ 1 cup (230 g) mashed sweet potatoes slightly warm or room temperature
• ▢ 4 cups (500 g) bread flour plus additional as needed, divided
• ▢ 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk room temperature preferred
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
• ▢ 6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter cut into 6 pieces and softened

For preparing the pan and topping the rolls

• ▢ 2 Tablespoons salted butter (for greasing the pan)
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons salted butter
• ▢ 2 large garlic cloves peeled and smashed
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

Recommended Equipment

• ▢
  Stand mixer (optional)
• ▢
  13×9 glass or ceramic baking dish
• ▢
  Instant read thermometer
• ▢
  Small saucepan

Instructions

• Activate the yeast: Combine the water and milk and heat (either in the microwave or in a saucepan) to 115F (45C). Pour into the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl and add yeast and a generous pinch (about a teaspoon) of granulated sugar. Stir and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, until yeast is foamy and active.
  ½ cup (120 ml) water, ¼ cup (60 ml) whole milk, 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
• Mix the dough: Add the remaining sugar, brown sugar, mashed sweet potato, about half of the flour (2 cups/250g), egg, egg yolk, and salt (don’t add the butter yet) and stir until well-combined – will be quite sticky!
  2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, 1 cup (230 g) mashed sweet potatoes, 4 cups (500 g) bread flour, 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
• Incorporate the butter: With mixer on low-speed (or stirring by hand with a wooden spoon), gradually add the softened butter, a tablespoon at a time, allowing each piece to incorporate before adding the next.
  6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter
• Add remaining flour: Gradually add the remaining flour until the dough clings to itself and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It should be soft and slightly tacky, not wet or very sticky. You may not need all the flour called for, or you may find you need a bit more in order to reach the proper consistency.
• Knead: Knead the dough with the dough hook attachment of your stand mixer (or by hand on a clean, lightly floured surface) until smooth and elastic, about 5-8 minutes with mixer or 8-10 minutes by hand.
• First rise: Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, turn to coat all sides with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (typically 1-2 hours).
• Shape the rolls: Generously grease a 9×13” (23x33cm) glass or ceramic baking dish with butter. Punch down the dough and divide into 24 equal pieces (alternatively you can divide into 15 pieces for larger rolls). Shape each dough portion into a smooth ball by pulling the dough down and tucking the edges underneath to create slight tension on the surface. Arrange rolls in the pan so they are evenly spaced/just touching.
  2 Tablespoons salted butter
• Second rise: Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again in a warm place until they’ve puffed about 50% (about 30-45 minutes). Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375F (190C).
• Bake: Uncover rolls and transfer to center rack of 375F (190C) preheated oven. Bake for 22-24 minutes, until rolls are light golden on top and the centers reach 190F (88C) internally (I use an instant-read thermometer to check the center temperature). While the rolls are baking, prepare the garlic rosemary butter.
• Make the garlic rosemary butter: While the rolls bake, melt 3 Tablespoons salted butter over low heat. Once butter is melted, add the garlic cloves and rosemary. Let the butter infuse over low heat, stirring occasionally, for at least 20 minutes, then remove from the heat.
  3 Tablespoons salted butter, 2 large garlic cloves, 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
• Finish: Brush the warm rolls generously with the garlic rosemary butter. Serve warm.

Notes

Sweet potato:

Roasting or steaming the sweet potatoes work, or even cooking them in the microwave. You will need plain mashed sweet potatoes, with no milk, butter, or seasoning added.

Make ahead option:

After shaping the rolls, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. The next day, let the rolls come to room temperature (set them on your counter) and rise as indicated (about 50% puffed) before baking as indicated.

Flavor variation:

For a sweeter variation, skip the rosemary and add a drizzle of honey to the melted butter before brushing.

Storing:

Allow the rolls to cool then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, they can be frozen (baked or unbaked, instructions below).

To freeze baked rolls: Allow the rolls to cool completely then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then foil, then place in an airtight container or zipper bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat in a 300F (150C) oven until heated through.

To freeze unbaked rolls: After shaping, place the rolls on a parchment lined tray and freeze until firm, then transfer to a Ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 1 month. When ready to bake, thaw overnight in the refrigerator in a generously greased baking pan (as indicated in the recipe), thaw (covered) overnight in the fridge, then let them rise at room temperature until puffy and bake as indicated.

Nutrition

Serving: 1dinner roll | Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 170mg | Potassium: 52mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 964IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

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