Rhubarb Strawberry Sweet Rolls

Melt-in-your-mouth fluffy sweet rolls are stuffed with a sweet and tangy rhubarb strawberry filling for the ultimate twist on strawberry sweet rolls!

It’s officially brunch week on the blog! Mother’s Day is right around the corner and I’m locked and loaded over here with all your brunchy needs if you’re hosting Mother’s Day this year.

First up: we’ve got the dream team aka strawberries + rhubarb hanging out in sweet rolls form and transforming them into pretty much the picture-perfect spring pastry.

We’re talking soft-as-clouds roll texture swirled with a sweet and tangy strawberry rhubarb filling and a creamy vanilla glaze dripping down into every inch.

Suffice to say, I wouldn’t blame anyone if they wanted to live in that pan up there forever. I’m right there with ya.

These Sweet Rolls Feature…

• A soft and fluffy sweet roll dough
• A juicy fresh strawberry and tart rhubarb filling
• Puddles of sweet vanilla glaze drizzled on top

Making the Sweet Rolls

(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)

Ingredients You Will Need

• 2% or skim milk
• Active dry yeast
• Granulated sugar
• Eggs
• Kosher salt
• All-purpose flour
• Unsalted butter
• Rhubarb
• Strawberries
• Strawberry jam
• Cornstarch
• Lemon juice
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla extract

Stand Mixer vs. Hand Mixing

Both a stand mixer and a mixing bowl + wooden spoon will work for mixing this bread. Of course, by hand requires a little more physical labor, but it’s definitely doable.

Stand Mixer: make sure you use the dough hook for mixing and let the machine knead the dough on medium speed 5-7 minutes until the dough is stretchy and elastic.

By Hand:  use a large bowl and a wooden spoon for mixing the dough. For kneading, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead about 10 minutes or whenever the dough is stretchy and elastic.

Tips for Perfect Sweet Rolls

1. Heat milk to 110F degrees – I recommend temping the milk to ensure it’s not over 110F. If you use liquids that are too warm, it will kill the yeast and your dough will not rise.
2. 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.
3. Knead dough properly – this step is where you 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Roll dough out into a 12×16 inch circle – this gives you that perfect ratio of dough to fruit filling.
7. Roll dough tightly – rolling tightly will give you that signature tight swirl.
8. Cut rolls into 12 pieces – this part will be a bit messy with the fruit! If any fruit falls out, stuff it back into rolls once they’re in the pan.
9. Rise rolls a second time – once shaped, the dough will require a second rise for about 30 minutes until the dough is just slightly puffy.
10. Under-bake rolls – sweet rolls are best if you underbake them just a bit so they stay soft and gooey.
11. Allow rolls to cool slightly before frosting – allow the rolls to cool 20 minutes before frosting so the frosting doesn’t melt off.

Recipe Variations

Try these ideas for a different twist on these rolls.

• Use another berry – try blackberries or blueberries in place of the strawberries.
• Try a different glaze – a cream cheese glaze would be great in this recipe.

Overnight Option

Want to make these sweet rolls ahead of time for an easy breakfast the next day? You can mix up the dough and shape it the night before.

To prepare the rolls for chilling overnight, cut out rolls per recipe instructions, arrange them in the pan, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to chill in refrigerator 8 hours. The rolls keep well in the refrigerator up to 16 hours but after that I do recommend baking them for best rising results.

The next morning, remove the rolls from the refrigerator 1-1/2 hours before you are ready to bake them to allow them to come to room temperature.

Trust me, a pan of these pretty sweet rolls is going to go off VERY well for any Mother’s Day brunch plans you have upcoming!

Just be aware, an empty pan is always inevitable.

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 sweet rolls you’ll love!

• Raspberry Sweet Rolls
• Lemon Poppyseed Sweet Rolls
• Overnight Cinnamon Rolls