These rolls turned out WAY better than I ever imagined. A friend actually said they were possibly the best dinner rolls he’s ever eaten. I’d say that’s a pretty incredibly review!
We had these rolls with a savory steak dinner and they were superb. But we also served them earlier in the day with my Whipped Cinnamon Pumpkin Butter and they were absolutely fabulous.
Since they go beautifully with both sweet and savory, they’re absolutely perfect for Thanksgiving!
Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls Recipe Tips
These rolls are super simple. No need to be intimidated by yeast baking! But I always like to include some extra tips and insights into the science of the recipe so you feel really confident walking into the kitchen.
The Sweet Potato
For this recipe, I simply use one medium-large sweet potato and microwave it until tender. The trick to ultra light and fluffy rolls is to mash the potato until it’s completely lump-free. I think this is best done in a potato ricer (which also makes the BEST mashed potatoes) or even with a blender or food processor. Just don’t over-process. If you have to mash by hand, just keep going until no lumps remain.
The Yeast
I always use instant yeast (also called rapid-rise or quick-rise) because it’s so incredibly easy as it doesn’t require any proofing. You can literally just throw it in with the rest of the ingredients. If you don’t have it, you can always use regular active dry yeast. You’ll need to combine the active dry yeast with the warm water for 5 minutes, or until frothy, before you can add proceed with the recipe.
The Honey
There’s two tablespoons of honey in this recipe to enhance the sweet potato flavor without making the rolls super sweet. However, if you like sweeter rolls feel free to double that amount (1/4 cup honey) and add in about another 2 tablespoons flour to compensate for the extra moisture.
The Buttermilk
This not only acts as a tenderizer, but it also gives a very slight tang to the rolls to balance out the flavor profile beautifully. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own (get the substitution directions in my FREE baking sub guide here) or simply use whole milk. Full fat works best in this recipe.
Eggs & Butter
The eggs and the melted butter called for in this recipe help to add flavor, richness, and a soft and tender texture. An egg wash is also brushed onto the unbaked rolls to encourage browning and a beautiful shiny crust. I also love to sprinkle the unbaked rolls with flaky salt to really enhance the flavor, I’d definitely recommend you do the same!
Do I have to use bread flour?
The bread flour in this recipe has a higher percentage of protein, which helps the dough to develop stronger strands of gluten. Basically, that means it helps to form rolls with a nice tall structure and slightly chewy texture. If you don’t have bread flour, you can use the same amount of all-purpose, they just might not be as chewy and tall.
Another note about flour. I develop my recipes in Phoenix where it’s extremely dry. If you live in a humid climate, you’ll likely need to add more flour to the dough. Start by adding just a tablespoon at a time until the dough isn’t unbearably sticky. It’s better to have a sticky dough and beautiful rolls because adding too much extra flour can cause the rolls to become dense instead of light and fluffy.
Make Ahead
I know this is important for holidays like Thanksgiving.
You can always let the dough rise for the first time overnight in the fridge. Simply refrigerate the dough after kneading in a container wrapped in plastic. Once you’re ready to proceed with the recipe, remove the dough from the fridge. Punch it down and allow it to rest and warm up to room temperature before shaping into balls, about 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. The final rise may take a bit longer since the dough might still be cool.
You can also refrigerate the shaped rolls ahead of time. Place the rolls in your baking dish, then spray a sheet of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray before using it to cover the rolls. Let them come to room temperature (should take about 30 minutes to 1 hour) before baking.
Although bread is always best eaten when it’s very fresh, you can also store the fully baked buns. Store rolls, well-wrapped, at room temperature for several days or in the freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost to room temperature then reheat in a 300°F oven until warmed through.
OMG — i have to try these… they sound awesome!!!
Can these be prepped the day before then refrigerated before the second rise? I do that with cinnamon rolls for holiday mornings. The rule at our house is whomever is up first is tasked with getting them out of the fridge so they can come to room temp then rise before baking. It’s always worked and am hoping you will say it will work here too. Thanksgiving is just a too labor intense holiday to add this to it.
Yes! I actually have a free make-ahead baking guide you might find helpful: https://handletheheat.com/make-ahead-baking-guide-facebook.html
Yummy! Does this same recipe work using regular potatoes?
I don’t see why not!
Can these be made using a bread machine? Love your ideas! Thanks for sharing!
How much is that amount of sweet potatoes in cups? Thank you and I love your recipes.
Is it weird that dinner rolls are one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner. They can be so underrated, but warm, fluffy dinner rolls are just SO GOOD. This recipe sounds incredible, and I can’t wait to give it a try!
xx Allison
alwayseatdessert.com
I feel the same way!! Carb lovers for life 😉
Could you give an estimate of how much the potato weighed or how much using a measuring cup.
I’ve corrected the recipe to include that now 🙂
These rolls look yummy! It has been a while since I have baked with yeast, so I want to give your recipe a try.
Oh my Word, these look incredible, swear the smell & taste jump right off the page! Since bread is the 1 thing I’ve never had any luck making but you mentioned no proofing & able to throw in the yeast – plan to try my hand at them. Thank you for sharing your recipe & making me hungry for hot rolls n’ butter.
Haha! Instant yeast makes everything easier. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Can you use GF flour in these?
Some of my family can’t tolerate gluten
I’ve never tried, Sandy. Since gluten is the backbone of any bread’s structure and shape, you might have better luck finding a recipe that was specifically developed to be gluten free :/
What should I do if I only have salted butter?
These were absolutely delicious!!! Mr. D brought them over for our fellowship group last night, and OH MY GOODNESS!!! I could not stay away from them!! If I could have eaten half a dozen of them or more, I would have!!!
OMG!! The best bread rolls – delish. Definitely keeping this recipe. Thank you for sharing!!
if I’m preparing these a couple days in advanced, when should I freeze them? before baking or after baking?
Is the sweet potato amount, in grams, supposed to be 230 after putting in microwave and potato ricer? I have 123 grams and want to make sure i am doing the recipe correctly.
Is there a missing step? Does the yeast get activated though it is not mixed with a warm liquid as a first step?
You mention in the ingredient list the sweet potato is 200g, but in the directions you say “You should have about 230 grams of sweet potato.” How much do I use, 200g or 230g?
Hi Tessa,
Thanks for sharing this! I’m totally going to make these for thanksgiving this year!!!
After baking, it looks like “special” butter! Did you make a cinnamon butter or other? If so, can you share the recipe??
Carb lovers unite!!!
Thanks!
Becky
How far ahead can you make the dough and keep it in the refrigerator?
What a great article. it was really valuable. thanks a lot
Garbage!
I am at 5400 ft up, do you have any hints for making these rolls at high altitude? I know to decrease the yeast & honey but anything else?
Thanx for your time
nita
How many rolls does this make again? 600g of bread flour is a TON of flour! My eyes popped out of my head when I saw that LOL. I have never seen any recipe call for that much flour and I want to avoid making military sized batches of these! Because you say to divide into 15 pieces – but with 600g of flour plus all the other ingredients they must be massive, no?
These rolls were unbelievably good, easy well written directions, smell great! Made for thanksgiving, making again for Christmas! Fluffy, pillowy, delicious!
These rolls are wonderful! They were great with Peruvian corn chowder for a Saturday night supper and also grandkid-tested and approved on Thanksgiving in a vegan version.
Hi, can I use sugar instead of honey? And how much sugar? Thank you.
These are delicious and love how well they came together! My entire family loves them!
Wonderful chewy bread rolls!!! Huge success
Yay! So glad to hear that.
Hi Tessa,
I love your recipe and would love to make it for thanksgiving this year, which is an adventure since I haven’t made dinner rolls before
I don’t have a stand mixer, how do I make it by hand ?
Advice sincerely appreciated!
Many thanks
Hey Luci, check out my post on How to Knead Dough without an electric mixer! Good luck with your rolls!
I made these yesterday for Thanksgiving, they were perfect! So delicious and soft. I didn’t measure/weigh my sweet potato but just held back on adding all the flour, I ended up needing less than the recipe called for so I assume my sweet potato was a bit too small. It worked out great though! Thanks for this recipe!
Hooray! So glad you tried these rolls out for Thanksgiving.
First off, these tasted amazing! Due to COVID, we had to forgo our large family celebration as many families had to do this year. So I needed to find a recipe for sweet potato rolls and wanted to do something a little different than the usual ones my aunt makes. These were fluffy and delicious and my nephew declared them his favorite part of the meal! When I baked them, they didn’t seem to want to bake where they joined each other in the pan and I ended up keeping them in the oven for longer than the recipe called for. I also ended up flipping them out of the pan and baking them upside down on foil to get the bottoms brown. It seems like they were a bit doughy. What did I do wrong? Any suggestions?
Absolutely love these, has anyone worked out the calories
These are one of my new favorite rolls. I have made them three times. They are extremely moist and because of this they are really great as leftovers, even a few days after making them. I mashed by sweet potatoes by hand the first time but then purchased a ricer (I also use it for mashed potatoes and apple sauce) which has made it easier.
So glad you tried these rolls out!
I am not a baker, however, I found this recipe right up my alley! I am going to post a picture later!
Hooray!
Your comments for active dry yeast say to combine with “the” warm water. The recipe never references warm water, and only includes a tablespoon for making the egg wash.
The warm water is only for if you are using the active dry yeast instead of instant yeast! There should be directions for how much water to use on the packet itself.