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Freshly baked sweet potato dinner rolls in a metal baking pan with glossy golden tops and one soft fluffy roll torn open to show the airy interior.
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Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls

Soft, fluffy, buttery Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls with a lightly sweet flavor, beautiful golden color, and tender pull-apart texture. These homemade rolls stay moist for days thanks to real sweet potato puree and are perfect for holiday dinners, soups, barbecue, or everyday comfort meals.
Course bread, Holiday Recipes, Side Dish, Thanksgiving Recipes
Cuisine American, Southern American
Keyword bread rolls recipe, buttery dinner rolls, enriched dough rolls, fluffy dinner rolls, fluffy yeast rolls, holiday bread rolls, holiday dinner rolls, homemade bread rolls, homemade dinner rolls, homemade yeast rolls, pull apart rolls, soft dinner rolls, soft pull apart rolls, southern dinner rolls, sweet potato bread recipe, sweet potato bread rolls, sweet potato dinner rolls, sweet potato rolls, thanksgiving rolls, thanksgiving side dishes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Rise Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 37 minutes
Servings 12 dinner rolls
Calories 220kcal
Cost $8 for entire recipe

Equipment

  • Stand mixer with dough hook attachment (optional)
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Measuring cups and measuring spoons
  • Kitchen scale (recommended)
  • Silicone spatula or wooden spoon
  • 9x13-inch metal baking pan
  • pastry brush
  • Plastic wrap or clean kitchen towel
  • wire cooling rack
  • Instant-read thermometer (recommended)

Ingredients

Dough

  • 3/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons whole milk 185g, warmed to 105°F–110°F
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons 7g active dry yeast
  • 3 tablespoons 38g granulated sugar
  • 1 cup 240g smooth mashed sweet potato puree, cooled completely
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 4 tablespoons 57g unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 3 1/4 to 3 1/3 cups bread flour 390g–400g

Optional Egg Wash

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon milk

Finishing

  • 2 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

Prepare the Sweet Potato

  • Bake or steam the sweet potato until fully tender. Mash until perfectly smooth and measure exactly 1 cup after mashing. Cool completely before using.

Activate the Yeast

  • In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl, combine the warm milk, yeast, and sugar. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy and bubbly.

Make the Dough

  • Add the sweet potato puree, egg, softened butter, and salt to the yeast mixture.
  • Mix until mostly combined.
  • Add the flour and knead for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth, elastic, and soft. The dough should feel tacky but not wet and should lightly cling to the bottom of the bowl.

First Rise

  • Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover.
  • Let rise in a warm draft-free place for 60 to 90 minutes until doubled in size.

Shape the Rolls

  • Gently deflate the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces.
  • Shape each piece into a smooth tight ball and arrange in a greased 9x13-inch metal baking pan with slight spacing between the rolls.

Second Rise

  • Cover loosely and let rise for 45 to 60 minutes until very puffy and lightly touching.

Add Egg Wash

  • Whisk together the egg and milk for the egg wash and lightly brush over the tops of the rolls.

Bake

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until evenly golden brown. Internal temperature should reach 186°F–188°F.
  • If the tops brown too quickly, loosely tent with foil during the final few minutes.
  • Immediately brush warm rolls with melted butter after baking.

Serve

  • Serve warm with butter, honey butter, cinnamon butter, or alongside soups and holiday dinners.

Notes

  • For the softest Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls, use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. Bread flour creates better gluten structure and gives the rolls a fluffier bakery-style texture.
  • Sweet potato puree should be thick, smooth, and fully cooled before mixing into the dough. Watery puree can make the dough overly sticky and difficult to shape.
  • Slightly tacky dough is ideal for soft homemade dinner rolls. Avoid adding too much extra flour or the rolls may turn out dense and dry instead of light and fluffy.
  • If possible, weigh the flour using a kitchen scale for the most accurate results. Too much flour is one of the most common causes of heavy dinner rolls.
  • A warm proofing environment around 75°F to 80°F helps the dough rise properly. Cooler kitchens may require longer rise times.
  • For shiny golden tops, brush the rolls with egg wash before baking and melted butter immediately after baking.
  • Metal baking pans create better browning and oven spring than glass baking dishes.
  • These Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls stay soft for several days and reheat beautifully, making them perfect for holiday meals, Thanksgiving dinner, meal prep, and leftovers.
  • For even more flavor, serve the warm rolls with honey butter, cinnamon butter, maple butter, or whipped salted butter.
  • The rolls are fully baked when the tops are golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 186°F to 188°F.