Honey Butter Pumpkin Dinner Rolls — Big, soft pumpkin bread rolls brushed with honey butter are the best! Everyone loves them and they disappear so fast!
Perfect Thanksgiving Dinner Rolls
Other than warm, fresh chocolate chip cookies, very little can top warm, fresh, homemade rolls. And rolls made with pumpkin and honey butter are even better.
The pumpkin bread rolls are easy to make and are ready from start to finish in under 2 hours. Not bad at all for a yeast recipe.
They’re soft, slightly chewy, and the pumpkin keeps them moist and adds just enough tooth-sinking density.
The scents of pumpkin, spices, honey, and bread baking that waft thorough the house are positively intoxicating. Sure beats lighting a pumpkin-scented candle!
I purposely designed this easy dinner roll recipe for singles, smaller families, or for the average weeknight dinner when you don’t need dozens and dozens of rolls. I cringe when I see 4 to 7 cup of flour recipes.
This pumpkin dinner roll recipe has just over 2 cups and serves a family, not an army. Any extras freeze nicely. Not that I think you’ll have any.
I’m sure you can double the recipe if you need more, although I haven’t tried. The entire batch fits on the plates shown below.
Normally I don’t do step-by-step photos because frankly, they’re a pain. Stop, start, wash hands, pick up camera. Do the next step, get dirty, wash hands, pick up camera; repeat. Then edit all the photos.
But I was feeling generous and I want the photos to convince you that these pumpkin dinner rolls are do-able, even if you’ve never worked with yeast.
They’re soft, fluffy, and just chewy enough.
The pumpkin flavor, while present, is not overly strong. If you know someone who’s on the fence about pumpkin or have a family where some people love it, but others are just so-so, these are the perfect compromise.
They give the pumpkin lovers a taste of their favorite orange-colored food group, while not alienating those who don’t love in-your-face pumpkin flavor.
I’d like to call them ‘Honey Butter Gently-Flavored-With-Pumpkin Dinner Rolls’.
In the recipe section, I built in a make-ahead/overnight option. However, they’re so fast to make, I don’t know if you’ll need the make-ahead option, but it can save an hour on baking day.
I haven’t tried freezing unbaked dough, but most baked bread freezes beautifully.
I hope the recipe comes in handy for your fall baking, Thanksgiving dinner table, and holiday parties. Or for soft dinner rolls any old night of the week just because.
It’s my new go-to pumpkin dinner roll recipe after playing around with many others over the years. Enjoy.
What’s in the Pumpkin Dinner Rolls?
To make this easy dinner roll recipe, you’ll need:
- Milk
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- Pumpkin puree
- All-purpose flour
- Instant dry yeast
- Granulated sugar
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Ground nutmeg
- Salt
How to Make Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Add milk and 2 tablespoons of butter to a measuring cup. Zap it for about 45 seconds in the microwave and stir until the butter melts.
Top it off with pumpkin puree, 1 egg, and whisk together.
In muffin making, this would be the wet ingredients that you’d pour over the dry. Same concept here.
Heat it for another 15 seconds, just to get it nice and toasty. This doesn’t make the mixture hot, but ensures the mixture is warm enough to activate the yeast.
This is a rare yeast recipe that I never even took out my thermometer. In general with yeast and liquid, if it’s ever too hot that you can’t comfortably stick your finger in it, wait a minute or two until you can or you’ll kill the yeast.
Set mixture aside.
Get out your flour and yeast. I only bake with King Arthur All-Purpose and sometimes King Arthur Bread Flour. Bread flour will lend a chewier, thicker, denser result, more like a bagel. I wanted to keep these rolls softer and fluffier and opted for all-purpose.
I strongly recommend King Arthur flour because the protein levels are generally slightly higher than in other brands. In baking, this lends more structure, translating to puffier cookies, stronger cakes, and better rising bread.
Cheap flour is cheap flour. Spend an extra two bucks for good flour. The results are worth it.
I only bake with Red Star Platinum Yeast. It’s the best yeast I’ve ever tried and it never lets me down.
If you’re new to bread-making or working with yeast, consider this yeast your insurance against goofs because it’s very forgiving.
Since it’s an instant yeast, you don’t have to proof it (let it stand with warm liquids for 10 minutes or until foamy). You simply add it with the rest of your dry ingredients.
If you are an experienced bread maker, you’re going to love the extra puff and oven-spring you get with the Platinum. Your baked goods will rise higher and faster than you’re used to. So well worth the extra buck compared to other yeasts.
In a mixing bowl, add the flour, yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar (must-have, it’s the yeast’s food source), 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, and 1 teaspoon nutmeg. Sounds like a lot of spices, but it’s not.
Pumpkin puree and flour are both insanely bland and need to be jazzed up with spices.
I did not add salt because I am very sodium-sensitive but if you’d like to add a pinch, feel free.
Knead the dough for 5 to 8 minutes. I used my stand mixer, but you can do it by hand.
You really want to develop the gluten. Pumpkin is dense and heavy and will weigh down the dough and by kneading it thoroughly, you create gluten formation, which helps the bread rise better and not stay dense.
I could have gotten away with 2 cups flour, but I used 2 1/4 cups. Over-flouring the dough is a no-no because it creates dense, thick bread that’s not light and fluffy. But for the sake of knowing that without a doubt this recipe will work in other climates, I went up to 2 1/4 cups.
You can see this dough is not sticky or gloppy at all. It’s a dream dough to work with. Nice and smooth.
Put it in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm, draft-free place until it nearly doubles in size. For me, this is the inside of my oven (powered off) and took 45 minutes.
Do not go by the clock. Go by how your dough looks.
If it takes longer, it means your house is cold or the yeast is just being pokey. That’s life. Wait until your dough has nearly doubled before moving on.
45 minutes later, we’ve doubled in size.
Look at that big puffball. When I punched it down, it sounded like air being let out of a helium balloon. I love that sound. Means the yeast worked and the dough is alive.
Shape it into rolls. I made 8. I could have made 9 or 1o because 8 made very hearty-sized rolls.
Put them in a pan and wait until they’ve nearly doubled in size, likely about 30 to 45 minutes.
Before baking, brush them with equal parts melted butter and honey. Whatever is left over, reserve to brush on after baking. They’re little sponges and will happily absorb it.
Look at these big, golden, glistening buns.
Can The Rolls Be Made in Advance?
Yes! If you would like to use an overnight or make-ahead option, after you get the rolls into the pan and covered with foil, place the pan in the fridge.
When ready to bake, pick up with the next step below, making sure to allow the dough to come to room temp and rise nicely; it could take longer than the 45 minutes indicated below since dough is coming right out of a cold fridge.
Can Dinner Rolls Be Frozen?
Definitely! Let them cool completely, then seal in a freezer bag for up to three months.
When ready to enjoy, thaw them on your counter or gently reheat in the oven.
What to Serve with Soft Dinner Rolls
Since this recipe contains pumpkin, it’s the perfect Thanksgiving dinner roll recipe! Here are some holiday favorites to serve alongside the rolls:
- Honey Baked Ham
- Traditional Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Red Wine Cranberry Sauce
- Three Cheese Scalloped Potatoes
- Easy Foolproof Roasted Turkey
- Homemade Gravy
- The Best Classic Mashed Potatoes
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Honey Butter Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- â…“ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, bread flour may be substituted; rolls will be firmer and chewier rather than softer and fluffier; you may only need 2 cups bread flour
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce packet, I use Red Star Platinum
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt, optional and to taste
Honey Butter
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons honey
- Tip: Combine equal parts softened butter, not melted and honey, and whisk together until fluffy and combined for serving with the rolls
Instructions
Dough:
- Add milk to a 2-cup microwave-safe measuring cup, or microwave-safe bowl.
- Add butter and heat on high power to melt butter, about 45 seconds. Stir until butter has melted smoothly into the milk.
- Add the egg, pumpkin puree, and whisk to combine.
- Return measuring cup to microwave and heat for about 15 seconds to warm mixture up. This will help to activate the yeast; set aside briefly.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook or large mixing bowl for hand kneading, add the remaining dough ingredients, thorough optional salt.
- Pour wet pumpkin-milk mixture over the dry ingredients.
- Turn mixer to low speed, and knead for 5 to 8 minutes, or until dough is smooth and has come together. This is not a sticky dough and if your dough is sticky, tacky, or gloppy, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is no longer sticky. I doubt you will need to add any, because I could have made this recipe with 2 cups flour, but went up to 2 1/4. Don’t over-flour your dough because it creates rolls that are dense and heavy.
- Turn dough out into a mixing bowl that’s been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Flip dough over once so both sides are lightly greased, and cover bowl with plasticwrap.
- Place bowl in a warm, draft-free environment until dough has nearly doubled in bulk, about 45 to 60 minutes. Do not go by time elapsed on the clock. Wait until dough has nearly doubled in size, and if it takes longer than an hour, that’s fine.
- Punch dough down and turn it out onto a nonstick surface. I spray my counter with cooking spray and don’t even need to add flour.
- Divide dough into 8 to 12 equally-sized portions, rolling each portion into a ball. I made 8 rolls and they were very generously sized. I would aim for 9 to 10 rolls. They may look skimp now but don’t worry, they rise and swell very nicely.
- Place dough balls into a foil-lined and cooking sprayed 9-inch square pan. If you would like to use an overnight or make-ahead option, after you get the rolls into the pan and covered with foil, place pan in fridge. When ready to bake, pick up with the next step below, making sure to allow the dough to come to room temp and rise nicely; it could take longer than the 45 minutes indicated below since dough is coming right out of a cold fridge.
- Cover pan with a sheet of foil, place pan in a warm, draft-free environment until dough has nearly doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. In the last minutes of rising, preheat oven to 375F.
Honey Butter:
- Melt butter in small microwave-safe bowl, about 45 seconds on high power.
- Add the honey and stir to combine.
- Before baking, generously brush dough with honey butter; reserve any extra and brush it on after baking.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until puffed, golden, domed, cooked through, and when tapped, the rolls should sound hollow.
- Allow rolls to cool in pan until they’re cool enough to handle before serving.Â
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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These look delicious! Do you think I could sub margarine and almond milk to make them dairy-free? My family doesn’t mix milk and meat and I’d love to make these for thanksgiving!
Probably would be okay in this recipe, although I haven’t tried, so cannot say for sure. (Try a dry-run with it before the big day and event just so you know!)
Hi!
I tried out the recipe today & made them gluten free they were amazing! Thank you for the recipe! I used cup4cup gluten free flour & coconut almond milk.
They were not hollow but moist and fluffy!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! I am SUPER IMPRESSED that they worked with Cup4Cup and were still moist and fluffy! Great to know! And I bet the coconut almond milk is a nice touch with the honey butter!
Wonder if this dough would freeze well? Also, would doubling it mean also doubling the amount of yeast? These look yummy! Cannot wait to try!
I know that you can make the rolls from start to finish, THEN freeze them, and thaw the rolls as you need them; warm in a very low oven or a quick few seconds in the micro if you want them warm. But I haven’t tried freezing this dough in the unbaked state. LMK if you do!
Ooooo, found it!
Deborah
Is there a link where I can sign up to follow you by email? I am very hopeful about this possibility.
Thank you!
I made these with a roast chicken and they were OUTSTANDING! very good when also slathered with homemade apple butter for breakfast. I had a few leftover so I made them into croutons too! thank you for the wonderful recipe!
very good when also slathered with homemade apple butter for breakfast. <--- I think almost anything would be amazing with homemade apple butter on it! :) And glad you loved these rolls and that you even were able to use the leftovers for croutons!
i doubled the recipe and it was beautiful !!! Can’t hardly wait for dinner!!!
Glad to hear they came out great and glad you doubled it! Hope dinner was a great one!
Did you double the yeast, also? :)
If you’re doubling a recipe, you have to double every ingredient listed.
I plan to make these for Thanksgiving so I practiced last weekend. Always intimidated using yeast! Your step-by-step instructions were perfect. So easy. Surprisingly, I did have to use a bit more flour because my dough was tacky, but only 2T if I correctly recall. They came out so delicious. I know there won’t be leftovers at Thanksgiving, but we had a few left this weekend so I stored in an airtight container. When we went to eat them the next day, they were really damp/moist on top (presumably due to the honey/butter). I’m afraid had I let them go one more day they would’ve gotten moldy. Are you just using a regular airtight container and then letting the container sit on counter? Or do you store them in the fridge? Thanks again for the lovely recipe!
2 tbsp of extra flour is nothing in a big batch of rolls! Glad my step shots and details helped you get over your yeast fears! I don’t store them in the fridge (I never store bread in the fridge!) and possibly because of the honey butter they became extra moist for you on top…maybe scale it back slightly or after baking, just add it to the ones you know you’re having, then as you eat the rest over the next few days, apply it as necessary.
Hi Averie!
These are amazing. I love, love, love making bread of any kind and
this was easy and they are delicious. My daughter came home from school and asked ” How did you make these?!” Baking bread is kind of magical, in my opinion :)
Thanks for the recipe!
It’s totally magical, I agree! And I love baking bread too. I was on a rampage this weekend in fact :)
Glad you and your daughter loved the rolls!
I just wanted to say thank you for this recipe and all of the work you did to post step-by-step photos and instructions for these rolls. I made them today, and they turned out perfectly! I just can’t believe it. They look and taste amazing. I have always stayed away from recipes with yeast as it seemed like a lot of work with little chance of success. Your instructions gave me the courage to try making the rolls. I am just so happy right now! I already want to try making more things with yeast in them. Thank you so much for helping me to overcome my fear!:)
Oh wow, this is awesome. Love comments like these, love that my instructions and step shots helped you overcome your fear of yeast and that you want to make more stuff now! That is wonderful and makes all those pics and typing on my end worth it :) I am so glad you’re happy and you have a whole new baking world ahead of you now!
I was excited to find this recipe. My excitement turned to disappointment when tasting them. The rolls themselves don’t have a lot of sweetness. In fact, I thought they tasted pretty horrid if I didn’t get any honey butter in the bite. To infuse more flavor, I would have liked for the honey to be added into the dough rather than slathered on top.
No, these are not ‘sweet rolls’. They are dinner rolls with a hint of sweetness and pumpkin, and if you do brush on more honey-butter or just straight honey, you can of course make them sweeter. If you are looking for sweet pumpkin rolls, make these! https://www.averiecooks.com/2014/09/the-best-pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls.html
When working with yeast in general, if you add too much honey or sugar to dough, it will kill the yeast. They need some sugar to activate and therefore help the dough to rise, but too much and you kill the yeast. It can be a delicate balance. I found that this was the maximum amount of honey I could add into the dough before it became either too wet, too sloppy, or didn’t work.
To Erika and anyone else who wanted to try these gf: tried them today and they were a miserable fail! Didn’t rise at all and didn’t turn out fluffy. I’m sure with gluten they would have been delicious, but sadly not a recipe that translates well with gluten free flour.
There’s ZERO available gluten in GF flour and this recipe absolutely needs gluten to work. I would not have advised you even bothered trying with a GF flour blend. In order to bake yeast-based items using GF flours, you need to make tons of alterations and generally use all kinds of specialty flours and specialty ingredients. There are entire books, websites, etc. devoted to just this topic b/c it’s quite tricky. But simply swapping GF flour for regular in a recipe like this, nope, won’t ever work.
Love the step-by-step-photos!
My husband brought some beautiful pumpkin home from the farmer’s market so I roasted and pureed it for this. We loved these so much, we ate two rolls each with dinner tonight! I already told my mom about them because I want to add them to the Thanksgiving table this year. My husband is lactose intolerant so we drink almond milk instead of cow milk – it worked just fine in this recipe.
I was reading some other comments – I get frustrated with halving recipes for our small family, too. Sometimes I just make a big batch and freeze. Other times, when I really only want a small batch and it calls for an odd number of eggs (like 3), I’ll separate one egg and use only the white or only the yolk and save the other half of the egg for breakfast or another recipe. Hope that makes sense. It’s not a perfect solution, but it has worked ok for me.
Totally makes sense about the eggs and I do that too. Glad these rolls were a hit with you guys and you had a couple rolls each and are putting the recipe on your Thanksgiving menu – how wonderful to hear that! :)
I would love to make these. Can I use gluten free flour? I have Celiac disease. These look like they would be awesome any night of the week.
Since GF flour has no gluten, a key component in helping dough rise, this recipe would not likely work with GF flour. Now, there are GF flours and GF bread recipes that DO work, but I am not an expert on GF flour + yeasted bread baking. It’s very specialized and ‘picky’ and you have to get everything just right or recipes tend to fail, which is why most people complain about GF bread not tasting right. It’s hard to perfect!
These sound wonderful. I currently only have active dry yeast on hand. Do you know of any way to make that work for this? (I’d love to make them for dinner tomorrow!) if not, I’ll have to wait to make them til after the grocery trip. :)
I would say you could try proofing the yeast with the warmed milk and I’d toss 1 tsp sugar in that. Let it stand for 10 mins to get foamy and then carry on with the rest of the recipe. Haven’t tried but that’s probably how you could overcome it with decent luck. LMK how it goes!
That’s what I did! And it worked out so well! It was well liked by all. Thanks or the recipe and your advice! :)
Hello Averie! I made these today and they are delicious! I had to make my homemade pumpkin puree as you can’t find it tinned here in the UK, so I had to add more flour to the dough as my puree was probably more liquid than the tinned one. I love the smell they leave around the house and I love how soft they are!!! Thanks for the recipe! :)
Glad to hear they worked out well for you and yes, homemade puree is probably runnier than storebought so adding extra flour was probably necessary. Good job :) And they do make the house smell wonderfully, don’t they!