These melt-in-your-mouth fluffy pumpkin dinner rolls get an extra boost of moistness and flavor from pumpkin puree. Serve them warm with salted butter alongside any fall dinner.
I’m about to ruin your life with these dinner rolls but in the very best way, of course.
Picture for a moment, if you will, the most melt-in-your-mouth soft texture with the subtle taste of hearty pumpkin schmeared with lots of creamy butter. That’s the heaven you’re about to get with these dinner rolls.
You’ll be hard pressed to find a dinner occasion this fall these rolls don’t go with and trust me, that’s a great problem to have.
No prior experience with yeast baking needed to pull off these dinner rolls! This dough is simple enough for beginners and you don’t even need a stand mixer either.
Ready to make all your fall carb dreams come true??
These Dinner Rolls feature…
- A super soft and fluffy texture
- A beautiful orange tint from pumpkin puree
- An easy dough that comes together in minutes
- Options to make ahead for freezing
Making the Dinner Rolls
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Water
- Active dry yeast
- Pumpkin puree
- Honey
- Vegetable oil
- Kosher salt
- Bread flour
- Egg white
- Unsalted butter
Tips for Perfect Dinner Rolls
- Use water at 110F degrees – I recommend temping the water to ensure it’s not over 110F. If you use water that is too warm, it will kill the yeast and your dough will not rise.
- Measure flour correctly – I use the spoon-and-level technique for measuring flour as this will prevent over-measuring your flour. Use a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife.
- Knead dough properly – this step is where you will develop the gluten in the dough which is crucial for forming the structure of the rolls. You can knead by hand or use your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.
- Allow dough to rise until doubled – turn the dough into a clean greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
- Let dough rise in a warm place – yeast dough loves warm environments for rising. I recommend 75F-80F for a rising environment in your kitchen.
- Brush rolls with egg wash – an egg wash will give your rolls a golden sheen during baking.
- Let rolls rise a second time before baking – depending on the temperature of your kitchen, this could take 30-45 minutes.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on these rolls.
- Add herbs – fold 1-2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary or thyme into the bread dough.
- Top rolls with cheese – top rolls with grated Parmesan or asiago cheese before baking.
- Use butternut squash puree – butternut squash works great in place of the pumpkin. Make sure you are using a completely smooth puree.
Storing and Freezing Rolls
These rolls store well in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days. For best results, I recommend reheating them in a 350F oven 8-10 minutes or individually in microwave before serving.
To freeze rolls, allow to cool completely, wrap well, and freeze up to 2 months. You can heat them straight from the freezer in a 350F oven 15-20 minutes or defrost on the counter first and then reheat.
Crack these melt-in-your-mouth rolls open warm from the oven and enjoy them with ALL the salty butter schmears and watch your life become instantly complete.
Fall carbs > anything else.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More yeast rolls to bake up next!
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
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Ingredients
- 3/4 cup warm water (110F)
- 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 to 3-1/2 cups bread flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 large egg white, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
Instructions
- Place warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook OR a large bowl. Dissolve yeast in water and let stand 5 minutes until foamy.
- Mix pumpkin, honey, and oil into yeast mixture until smooth. Add salt and 3 cups flour to bowl and mix on low speed OR with a wooden spoon if making dough by hand until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 2 minutes of mixing (if dough seems a bit wet, add additional flour by the tablespoon until dough pulls away from sides of bowl)
- If making dough in stand mixer, knead dough in mixer on low speed 5-7 minutes until dough is stretchy and elastic. If making dough by hand, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until dough is stretchy and elastic, about 10 minutes of kneading.
- Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place at room temperature 1 to 1-1/2 hours until dough is doubled in size.
- Once dough has doubled in size, preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish. Set aside.
- Punch risen dough down and divide into 12 even portions. Roll each dough portion out into a smooth ball and arrange in greased pan. Allow dinner rolls to rise in a warm place 30-45 minutes until doubled in size.
- Bake dinner rolls at 350F 25-30 minutes until rolls are a deep golden brown and register 190F on a kitchen thermometer. Brush rolls with softened butter and allow to cool slightly before breaking rolls apart for serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe adjustments and photos on 9/26/24.
Renew Your Space says
Wow – these look A-Mazing!!! My mouth is watering 🙂 I will try to make them for Thanksgiving! Never heard of them… ~Renee
Sarah says
Thanks so much, Renee! I have a feeling these rolls would be perfect for Thanksgiving. Let me know how they turn out!
Regina Partain says
Wow. These look amazing. I may just have to try them this holiday season. My daughter would love them, I am sure
Thanks for sharing..
Sarah says
I hope you enjoy them, Regina. Thank you!
Lisa Barton @ Vintage Celebrations says
Your pumpkin recipes look divine Sarah! Over here in England we generally only have pumpkins to decorate at Halloween rather than as part of our staple diet – I very much envy your white pumpkins/squashes that I’ve seen a lot of lately in fall porch/mantle tours! I too love anything made with yeast/dough – wouldnt be a happy bunny without my bread fix!
Sarah says
Thanks, Lisa! I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have pumpkin! 😀
Kimberly says
These look awesome, and I really would like to make these for Thanksgiving. QUESTION! Would another oil besides safflower oil work? I only have olive oil (extra virgin), coconut oil, and vegetable oil. Thanks!
Sarah says
Hi Kimberly! Yes, you can substitute vegetable oil or olive oil for safflower oil—let me know how your rolls turn out!