Take your dinner rolls to the next level with some pumpkin puree. These soft and fluffy pumpkin dinner rolls have a delicious flavor and beautiful orange color your family will love!
These pumpkin dinner rolls are one of my husband’s favorites, so I decided to make them for Thanksgiving. And wouldn’t you know my family gobbled them up.
So I know this recipe is good because it has a thumbs up from both sides of our family!
And while these rolls are festive and fun for the holiday season, they are also perfect any time you want a break from the traditional dinner roll.
Step-by-step Instructions
DISSOLVE 1 teaspoon of sugar and 4 teaspoons of yeast in 1/4 cup warm water and set aside.
COMBINE 1 cup of hot milk, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 cup of canned pumpkin, and 2 1/2 tablespoons of oil (vegetable or canola) in a stand mixer bowl.
ADD the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and mix at a low speed with the dough hook attachment.
GRADUALLY add 5 cups of flour and continue mixing until the dough forms an elastic ball around the hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
COVER the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size (between 1-1.5 hours).
ONCE doubled, divided dough in half and roll each section into 12 balls of the same size.
PLACE the balls in two greased 9×13 cake pans and cover. Let the rolls rise for another 45-55 minutes until doubled in size.
BAKE the rolls at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.
LET cool for 10 minutes and then brush the rolls with 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
Your kitchen will need to be fairly warm for the dough to double in size in 1 hour, so if it’s cool in your house, you can either place the bowl near a warm oven while you’re cooking other food. Or you can turn your oven on to the lowest temperature and let it preheat. Once it’s reached the temperature turn the oven OFF, place the bowl on the top rack, and close the oven door while the dough rises.
One way to know if your dough is ready to roll is by poking the dough gently with your finger and the indentation stays.
If you don’t have rectangle cake pans, you could also use 9×13 glass pans (like Pyrex). Those pans don’t have the high sides like a cake pan, so the rolls make rise above the edges while baking.
These rolls are savory and delicious with just butter, but if you wanted to add some sweetness, try serving them with honey or cinnamon butter or one of these honey substitutes.
As mentioned above, you could use any squash puree in these rolls for a slightly different flavor.
More Like This
Looking for more roll recipes or those using pumpkin puree? You’ll love these!
- Pumpkin Pancakes with Pancake Mix
- Pumpkin Zucchini Bread
- Cheesy Drop Biscuits
- No-Knead Crescent Rolls
FAQs
Pumpkin puree is cooked pumpkin that has been mashed or blended into a smooth texture.
It’s the same thing as canned or packed pumpkin and very versatile!
A number of purees can be substituted for pumpkin puree:
-Sweet potato puree
-Acorn squash puree
-Butternut squash puree
If you’re making the puree from scratch, you’ll want to roast the fresh squash, drain the canned squash, or thaw frozen squash before pureeing it in a food processor.
You can use any of the substitute purees 1:1 in this pumpkin dinner roll recipe.
Bread is great with most dinners, but the best recipes for rolls are those with a sauce, like gravy, or soups so you can use the bread to soak up all of the liquid.
These pumpkin dinner rolls pair well with:
–Cheesy Vegetable Chowder
–Crock Pot Hamburger Stew
–Burger Bundles Recipe
–Spaghetti with Chili Sauce
You can store dinner rolls in resealable gallon food storage bags whether you’re eating the rolls in a few days or freezing them.
If you’re freezing the rolls, make sure you press out all of the air you can before you seal the bag. Frozen rolls will last for up to 3 months. To reheat, I like to pull the bag of rolls out a few hours before dinner and put them on the stove so they can warm while I cook.
I hope your family loves this recipe! If you make it, be sure to take a picture and tag me on Instagram with @ashcroftfamilytable and use the hashtag #ashcroftfamilytable!
And if you’d like to get a 4-week meal plan featuring my recipes, just enter your email in the form above and you’ll get it straight to your inbox!
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4 teaspoons active yeast, about 2 packets
- ¼ cup warm water
- 1 cup hot milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 2½ Tablespoons oil, vegetable or canola
- 5 cups flour
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast in warm water and set aside.
- Combine milk, salt, 1/2 cup sugar, canned pumpkin, and oil in a stand mixer bowl.
- Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and mix at a low speed with the dough hook attachment.
- Gradually add flour and continue mixing until the dough forms an elastic ball around the hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size (between 1-1.5 hours).
- Once doubled, divide dough in half and roll each section into 12 balls of the same size. There will be 24 balls in total.
- Place the balls in two greased 9×13 cake pans and cover. Let the rolls rise for another 45-55 minutes until doubled in size.
- Bake rolls at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.
- Let cool for 10 minutes and then brush the rolls with melted butter.