These Pumpkin Dinner Rolls are the perfect festive dinner roll during the Autumn months! I took a traditional sweet dinner roll recipe and incorporated pumpkin puree to make this family favorite recipe during the cooler Fall months!
PUMPKIN ALL THE THINGS!! That really is my motto in September, October and November friends! I’ve shared my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Gooey Cake, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Pumpkin Soup, Pumpkin Cheesecake Puffs and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread so far with you! And today I’m excited to share these Pumpkin Dinner Rolls!
The pumpkin taste is subtle enough that you can serve these with any meal during the Fall! And they add such a fun color to a your Fall tablescape! I even serve these for Thanksgiving when I am assigned the dinner rolls!
The recipe is pretty simple, but it does have a couple of rise times. I promise even if you have never used yeast before, you can still make these! They are not hard!
HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN DINNER ROLLS
INGREDIENTS:
- 5 cups Bread Flour
- 1 cup Milk (I prefer whole, but 2% or 1% will work too)
- 1 ½ cups Pumpkin Puree (not Pumpkin Pie Puree)
- ¼ cup Salted Butter, softened
- ½ cup Sugar
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Yeast
DIRECTIONS:
Warm the 1 cup Whole Milk in a saucepan or in the microwave, until heated through (about 105 degrees). Remove from heat and allow to cool until lukewarm if needed! Then add the 1 tablespoon yeast to it and cover, allowing it to proof for 5 minutes (until it’s foamy).
While you’re waiting for the yeast to proof, combine the pumpkin puree, softened butter, sugar, salt, and 3 cups of bread flour and mix it together in a large bowl or Kitchen Aid. Add the milk and yeast combination and combine. If using your Kitchen Aid, make sure you’re using your dough hook attachment. Then slowly add the rest of the bread flour ½ cup at a time. Once combined, knead for 5-7 minutes. If you’re kneading by hand, make sure to lightly flour your kneading surface. Knead until it has a slight elastic feel. The dough will be a little sticky, but not too sticky.
Place the dough in a bowl that has been oiled. Turn the dough over, so it is all lightly coated in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for approx 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
Remove the dough from the bowl and cut it into quarters using a pastry cutter. Take each quarter and cut into 4 pieces, making 16. Take each of the 16 pieces and cut them in half, making 32 dough balls in total. I like to use this kitchen scale to measure the sections as I divide them, so I keep them all comparable size.
Softly knead and roll each piece of dough into a ball and then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Cover them and allow them to rise again for 45 mins to an hour until they’ve doubled in size.
While the rolls are rising, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Once they have doubled in size, bake your rolls for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
ENJOY!
CAN YOU FREEZE PUMPKIN DINNER ROLLS?
YES, absolutely! My favorite way to freeze Pumpkin Dinner Rolls is after they have been baked. But, you can also freeze the dough.
To freeze the dough: follow the recipe all the way to where you’re raising the individual rolls. But, instead of allowing them to raise the whole 45 mins to an hour, only let them rise about 30 minutes. Where they’ve increased in size, but they aren’t puffy yet. Transfer the sheet pan directly into the freezer for a few hours while the rolls/dough balls become firm. Once they’ve frozen enough to be firm, you can transfer the rolls into a freezer-safe Gallon Ziploc bag. The frozen dough rolls can be frozen for up to 5 weeks. After that, the yeast can lose its ability to fully raise the rolls.
To freeze the cooked rolls: Follow the recipe all the way through cooking the rolls. Once cooled, wrap the rolls firmly tin foil and then place in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. The frozen cooked rolls can be frozen for 4-5 weeks. Keep an eye on them at that point to ensure they aren’t getting freezer burned.
HOW TO REHEAT PUMPKIN DINNER ROLLS
To cook the pumpkin rolls from dough state: Remove the rolls from the freezer and lay them out on a baking sheet. Cover and allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. When you’re ready to bake the rolls, remove them from the fridge and allow them to come close to room temperature, and finish proofing. This will take between 1-2 hours depending on the temperature in your house and the time of year. For example, in the summer this happens in an hour. However, in the middle of the winter, it can take closer to 2 hours. You will know when they’re ready because they have finished proofing and have a poof look to them. Cook them according to the recipe instructions.
To cook the cook pumpkin rolls from a thawed state: Remove the rolls from the freezer the day before. Remove the tin foil from the Ziploc bag and loose the foil to allow some airflow around the frozen rolls. When ready to eat, open the top of the tin foil and brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter and reheat the rolls in the tinfoil in your oven at 300 degrees for 10-12 minutes until heated through.
To cook the cooked pumpkin rolls from a frozen state: Remove the rolls from the freezer and remove the tin foil from the Ziploc bag. Loosen the tin foil from around the rolls and bake them in the tin foil at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes until they are heated through.
TOOLS USED TO MAKE PUMPKIN DINNER ROLLS
Below are my favorite tools when making homemade rolls or really any kind of bread, etc.
This recipe is a winner! My kids literally gobble them down like crazy! If you love recipes that incorporate pumpkin, then make sure and check this post with 60 of the best Pumpkin Flavored Recipes!
PUMPKIN ROLLS
Ingredients
- 5 cups Bread Flour
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- 1.5 cups Pumpkin Puree
- 4 tbsp Salted Butter softened
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Yeast
Instructions
- Warm the 1 cup Whole Milk in a saucepan or in the microwave, until heated through (about 105 degrees). Remove from heat and allow to cool until lukewarm if needed! Then add the 1 tablespoon yeast and allow it to activate for a few minutes until it's foamy.
- While you're waiting for the yeast, combine the pumpkin puree, softened butter, sugar, salt, and 3 cups of bread flour and mix it together in a large bowl. Add the milk and yeast combination and combine. Then slowly add the rest of the bread flour ½ cup at a time.
- Once combined, lightly flour a surface and knead your dough for 5-7 minutes until fully combined and the dough has an elastic feel. If you're using a Bosch or Kitchen Aid allow it to knead for 5 minutes on a low kneading setting. The dough will be sticky.
- Place the dough in a bowl that has been oiled (you can use cooking spray). Turn it over, so the dough is all lightly coated in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for approx 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and cut it into quarters using a pastry cutter. Take each quarter and cut into 4 pieces, making 16. Take each of the 16 pieces and cut them in half, making 32 dough balls in total. I like to use this kitchen scale to measure the sections as I divide them, so I keep them all comparable size.
- Softly knead and roll each piece of dough into a ball and then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Cover them and allow them to rise again for 45 mins to an hour until they've doubled in size.
- While the rolls are rising, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Bake your rolls for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Video
Notes
TOOLS USED TO MAKE PUMPKIN ROLLS
CAN YOU FREEZE PUMPKIN DINNER ROLLS?
YES, absolutely! My favorite way to freeze Pumpkin Dinner Rolls is after they have been baked. But, you can also freeze the dough. To freeze the dough: follow the recipe all the way to where you're raising the individual rolls. But, instead of allowing them to raise the whole 45 mins to an hour, only let them rise about 30 minutes. Where they've increased in size, but they aren't puffing yet. Transfer the sheet pan directly into the freezer for a few hours while the rolls/dough balls become firm. Once they've frozen enough to be firm, you can transfer the rolls into a freezer-safe Gallon Ziploc bag. The frozen dough rolls can be frozen for up to 5 weeks. After that, the yeast can lose its ability to fully raise the rolls. To freeze the cooked rolls: Follow the recipe all the way through cooking the rolls. Once cooled, wrap the rolls firmly tin foil and then place in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. The frozen cooked rolls can be frozen for 4-5 weeks. Keep an eye on them at that point to ensure they aren't getting freezer burned.Nutrition
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If you’ve tried this recipe, I’d love it if you’d comment and rate the recipe! I love to hear feedback and answer questions!
Make sure to pin this post for later too! Thanks, friends! Have a great day!
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Love the super soft texture of these! I’ve never thought of making pumpkin dinner rolls. But they look lovely. Now I’ve got to put this on my things to make!
8443696223
yes that is so good
Brittany
THANK YOU for posting this! I have made these rolls for years after finding the recipe on the Horizon website, but they’ve taken it down and I was bereft!
Pam Dana
Yay! I’m so glad you found me! Thanks for the nice comment!
Becky
Do you think I could make the dough in my bread maker? These sound amazing!!!!
Pam Dana
I’ve never tried it, so I don’t think I can say one way or the other. But, if you try it, I’d love for you to come back and report!! Good luck!
Christy C
Pumpkin dinner rolls!? My children will LOVE these!!! Thanks
Rachael Yerkes
Pumpkin season is my favorite and dinner rolls are always a must. Can’t even handle the combo, it’s just too good!
Tara Kuczykowski
Love the super soft texture of these!
Connie
Of all pumpkin things, I’ve never thought of making pumpkin dinner rolls. But they look lovely. Now I’ve got to put this on my things to make!
Emily
Okay, I’m totally pinning these. I’ve never made pumpkin dinner rolls but I’m so going to try them!
Kara
I’ve had pumpkin cinnamon rolls, but never pumpkin dinner rolls. They are so pretty, and I bet they are delicious! I have a feeling they’ll be making it onto my table sometime this fall. 🙂