Grandma’s Homemade Dinner Rolls

Homemade Dinner Rolls, straight from Grandma’s recipe box. So delicious, easy to make, and a family favorite, both for dinner and as a holiday side.

Homemade Dinner Rolls are a staple for special occasions and holiday dinners in my family. My grandma made these rolls every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.

Just baking up a batch of these beauties brings back so many memories. I learned to make this recipe from my mom, just like she learned from her mom.

I’m not going to say this is a quick recipe because it’s definitely not, but I will say it’s easy. While the recipe is a bit time-consuming, and you do have the added time of waiting for the dough to rise, it’s still an easy recipe to make and a great recipe to use for learning purposes.

It’s definitely a recipe I cherish and one I’m in the process of passing down to my own boys, so that Grandma’s legacy lives on. Jacob can pretty much already make these rolls even better than I can. In fact, he actually baked this batch just because he wanted to, and they turned out so light and fluffy.

We make these rolls every Thanksgiving and Christmas and sometimes in between. We have to pace ourselves, because some of us will eat rolls with every meal when we have them around.

Tips for how to make Grandma’s Homemade Dinner Rolls

• Stir the yeast, sugar, and warm water in a glass measuring cup or small bowl. Set aside in a warm place to rise. It will bubble and rise up.
• While waiting for the yeast mixture to rise, cream (or mix) the sugar and unsalted butter in a large mixing bowl. Note: Grandma used shortening in her rolls; I use butter instead.
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
• Add the yeast mixture to the butter mixture, along with an additional 1 1/2 cups warm water.
• Sift the flour and salt together in a large bowl.
• Gradually, add the flour in, and mix well. For this step, I like to use the dough hook on my stand mixer.
• Turn the dough into a large greased bowl or stockpot, and let it rise to the top or almost to the top (it can take 2 to 3 hours). Keep the bowl or pan covered.

• Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface. Coat generously with flour by turning and shaping. No kneading is necessary, though I still like to knead it a bit just for fun.
• To make rolls, roll the dough out to about a 1 to 2 inch thickness. Then cut round rolls with a cup, glass, or biscuit cutter.
• Place the rolls in greased baking pans, and let them rise (this will probably take another 2 to 3 hours).
• Once the rolls have risen well, bake them for about 20 minutes (maybe a little longer) at 350°. Halfway through baking, you may need to cover the rolls with foil, so they don’t brown too much before they bake through.
• When they’re done baking, remove the rolls from the oven and allow to cool. Of course, I usually can’t resist enjoying a hot roll with warm melty butter. They’re so delicious!

Looking for more bread recipes?

• Cinnamon Rolls (also made using this dinner roll recipe)
• Easy Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls
• Easy Homemade Biscuits from Scratch
• Irish Soda Bread Cinnamon Scones
• Carrot Bread
• Banana Bread from Miss Esther’s Kitchen
• Zucchini Bread with a Healthy Twist

Looking for more side dish recipes to pair with dinner?

• Homemade Cranberry Sauce
• Instant Pot Southern Green Beans
• Creamy Bacon Corn Casserole
• Easy Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Cauliflower
• Honey Glazed Carrots with Rosemary

And I’m definitely adding this recipe to my list of The Best Thanksgiving Recipes for Your Holiday Menu, as well as my list of The Best Christmas Recipes for Your Holiday Celebrations, where you’ll find plenty more recipes for your holiday dinner.

Tools you may need to make Homemade Dinner Rolls

Glass Measuring Cup – You can use this to mix up the yeast mixture.
Large Mixing Bowl – You’ll need a large bowl to mix up the bread dough. I prefer to use my stand mixer.
Sifter – You’ll need to sift the flour and salt together.
Rolling Pin – to roll out the dough for cutting.
Stockpot – Works so well for putting dough in to rise.
Biscuit Cutter – Handy for cutting rolls.
Baking Pans – for baking the rolls.
Aluminum Foil – You’ll likely need to cover the rolls halfway through baking so they don’t brown too much.

Print the recipe for Grandma’s Homemade Dinner Rolls

0 from 0 votes

Print

Grandma's Homemade Dinner Rolls

Homemade Dinner Rolls, straight from Grandma's recipe box. So delicious, easy to make, and a family favorite, both for dinner and as a holiday side.

Cuisine Side Dish

Prep Time 6 hours 45 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 7 hours 5 minutes

Servings 15 to 20

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon active yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups additional water
• 6 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons salt

Instructions

1. Stir the yeast, sugar, and warm water in a glass measuring cup or small bowl. Set aside in a warm place to rise. It will bubble and rise up.
2. While waiting for the yeast mixture to rise, cream (or mix) the sugar and unsalted butter in a large mixing bowl. Note: Grandma used shortening in her rolls; I use butter instead.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
4. Add the yeast mixture to the butter mixture, along with an additional 1 1/2 cups warm water.
5. Sift the flour and salt together in a large bowl.
6. Gradually, add the flour in, and mix well. For this step, I like to use the dough hook on my stand mixer.
7. Turn the dough into a large greased bowl or stockpot, and let it rise to the top or almost to the top (it can take 2 to 3 hours). Keep the bowl or pan covered.
8. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface. Coat generously with flour by turning and shaping. No kneading is necessary, though I still like to knead it a bit just for fun.
9. To make rolls, roll the dough out to about a 1 to 2 inch thickness. Then cut round rolls with a cup, glass, or biscuit cutter.
10. Place the rolls in greased baking pans, and let them rise (this will probably take another 2 to 3 hours).
11. Once the rolls have risen well, bake them for about 20 minutes (maybe a little longer) at 350°. Halfway through baking, you may need to cover the rolls with foil, so they don't brown too much before they bake through.
12. When they're done baking, remove the rolls from the oven and allow to cool. Of course, I usually can't resist enjoying a hot roll with warm melty butter. They're so delicious!

Recipe Notes

Pin this recipe for later!