Easy Pumpkin Dinner Rolls — 🎃🙌🧡 Big, soft pumpkin bread rolls brushed with honey butter are the best! Everyone loves them and they disappear so fast!
Table of Contents
Easy Dinner Rolls … with Pumpkin!
These 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 roll 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!
This pumpkin dinner roll recipe has just over 2 cups and serves a family, not an army. Any extras freeze nicely.
They’re soft, fluffy, and just chewy enough.
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.
Ingredients in Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
To make this easy dinner roll recipe, you’ll need:
- Milk
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- Pumpkin puree
- All-purpose flour – I always use the King Arthur brand
- Instant dry yeast – I only bake with Red Star Platinum Yeast
- Granulated sugar
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Ground nutmeg
- Salt
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
- Combine the wet ingredients: Add milk and 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. Set aside.
- Combine the dry ingredients: In another 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.)
- Knead the dough for 5 to 8 minutes. I used my stand mixer, but you can do it by hand.
- Cover and let rise: 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.
- Shape and let rise again: I made 8 hearty rolls. Put them in a pan and wait until they’ve nearly doubled in size, likely about 30 to 45 minutes.
- Bake: Before baking, brush them with equal parts melted butter and honey.
Recipe FAQs
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.
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 cCold fridge.
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’.
Most likely, but homemade pumpkin puree often contains more moisture than canned pumpkin puree. Try to drain off as much excess moisture as possible; you might also have to add more flour than the recipe calls for.
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.
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Honey Butter Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose 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
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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made these rolls tonight. I only have one word to say “divine”! I made them to have with our homemade chicken soup. Well, the Hubby and I ate hardly any of the soup (which was super yummy btw) because we each had two of these lovelies slathered with butter. Then we uttered in unison “let’s have these with our coffee in the morning!” These were truly wonderful. I wanted to give them a trial run before Thanksgiving. They would be perfect on Turkey day with all of the other sweet/savory foods on the table. Thanks for a great recipe.
I am so glad you tried them (always good to do a trial run of any recipe before an event – love the stories I get with people who try cakes the day before they’re bringing a cake to their mother in law’s 75th bday party and they’ve never made the cake or things like that..ha!) but anyway, glad you loved them. Two each, plus a couple for breakfast, and batch is about done. Thanks so much for the high praise – calling them divine. Thank you :) If you serve them at Thanksgiving, LMK what others say!
Very helpful step by step photos – thank you! Maybe I can reintroduce myself to yeast after all…
Smaller yield amount too, that’s’ awesome!!
I know we both cringe at the 4+ cups flour recipes!
Oh man, I’d be all over these!! They look incredibly delicious!!
Wow, these look good. Especially with the honey butter. I could see myself eating these with a big bowl of hot turkey chili!
I want your milkshake. I just saw it on the top row of FG. Beautiful image and just want to reach thru the screen and guzzle!
Does anyone know how the dough recipe would translate in a bread machine? I know to use your machines usual order of ingredients (mine is liquids, flour them yeast) but has anyone attempted it in theirs?
Just make it by hand/as written. It’s so easy!! You don’t need a bread machine for this one! I promise :) Everyone’s who’s made them is so pleased with the recipe and I know you’ll love them too!
This is the first time I’ve heard about pumpkin rolls. This is just a perfect timing recipe, since our groceries are overflowing with pumpkin. Thanks for sharing.
Wow! These rolls look perfect :) the flavors sound wonderful, I bet they taste fantastic!!
Averie- I’m sure these rolls will be served at a lot of dinner tables this fall! Love all the photos of the rolls, and also ones showing the process. Very helpful to those who are new to baking.
So happy you like these! That means a ton and glad the commenting glitch was resolved. Sorry about that, Linda! I hope that newer bakers, like you said, like the step shots – and thanks so much for liking the rolls!
Love the idea of the pumpkin dinner roll, such a unique and tasty idea!
Wonderful! I love the color of the rolls :)
And I even had to tone them down – they are a crazy shade of orange! So pretty in person…on camera, meh, well :)
These rolls are absolutely delicious. I will be keeping this recipe and definitely be making them again!
Thanks for trying them Debbie, and glad they will be made again!
You’re welcome Averie. Thank you for posting them. I have made them again since I posted the first time. I will definitely be making these for the holiday’s.
These look heavenly.
Love these. Had some extra pumpkin to use. Thank you for step by step photos. These are sweet and super yummy rolls. Used K. A. Bread flour and they are still light and fluffy.
Thanks for trying them, Shannon! Glad to know you made them and that the KA Bread Flour worked out well for you. Thanks for the field report!
I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now and have loved every recipe/photo you’ve shared!
This recipe really caught my eye, in the UK its quite taboo to pair dinner rolls with sweetness unless its a mildly sweet brioche burger bun.
Anyway I have a tin of pumpkin in the back of my draw since last autumn and nothing has inspired me to wipe the dust off that one until now. Thank you!
I would love to know which camera lens you use, all of your pictures are so flawless :)
Thanks for the compliments and for following me! I have a photography page here https://www.averiecooks.com/photography
I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark III body and either a 24-70mm lens or the 50mm 1.2
And these rolls aren’t really sweet per se…they are sweet-ish? I would put them on par with the mildly sweet brioche burger bun you describe but softer and fluffier :)
I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now and have loved every recipe/photo you’ve shared!
This recipe really caught my eye, in the UK its quite taboo to pair dinner rolls with sweetness unless its a mildly sweet brioche burger bun.
Anyway I have a tin of pumpkin in the back of my draw since last autumn and nothing has inspired me to wipe the dust off that one until now. Thank you!
I would love to know which camera lens you use, all of your pictures are so flawless :)
I couldn’t agree more with your first sentence – homemade chocolate chip cookies and warm, soft dinner rolls are just about as delicious and comforting as food can get. I love all things pumpkin and can never say no to honey butter, so these are right up my alley!
Thanks Alexandra and I seem to recall you have some sweet potato rolls I remember seeing last year? Need to check your archives!