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Refrigerator Mashed Potato Rolls (3 ways!)

These refrigerator mashed potato rolls are extra fluffy and moist thanks to the addition of freshly mashed potatoes. You can keep the dough in your refrigerator for up to a week, which makes it easy to have warm rolls for dinner any night!

Three different shaped mashed potato rolls on green plate next to pan and bowl of rolls.

This recipe for refrigerator mashed potato rolls is another one of my husband’s childhood favorites.

His mom always creates a clover shape with the roll dough, which makes these rolls extra fun to eat!

This recipe works because it:

  • Can be kept in the refrigerator. Most roll dough requires you to make it right away. The potatoes add a longer shelf life to the dough so you can pull it out any night for up to a week.
  • Creates a fluffy, delicious roll. The potatoes are the culprit again here. These rolls are extra fluffy and scrumptious.
  • Is a great use of leftover mashed potatoes. Have leftovers that you don’t know what to do with? Make some rolls!
  • Can be shaped however you’d like. The fun is in the shaping. Choose one or all 3 different shapes!

Step-by-Step Instructions

Bowls of potato roll ingredients including butter, sugar, and flour on white table.

Combine 1½ cups water, 2/3 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2/3 cup melted, but cooled butter, 2 eggs, and 1 cup plain mashed potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Stir well.

Egg, butter, and sugar mixture in large metal mixing bowl on white table.

Add 2¼ teaspoons of instant yeast to 6½ cups of flour and stir to combine.

Flour and instant yeast in medium mixing bowl on white table.

Slowly add the flour to the wet ingredients until combined.

Using a dough hook or your hands, knead the dough until smooth and elastic (about 5-10 minutes).

Potato roll dough in metal mixing bowl with dough hook attachment in dough.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for up to a week.

About 2 hours before baking, pull out the dough.

Potato roll dough in metal mixing bowl with dough hook attachment in dough.

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Once preheated, turn the oven off.

Divide the dough into 3 equal sections. Shape the dough into desired shape and place in pan. You may need to add additional flour to the dough if it is sticky.

Place the pans in the warm oven, cover, and allow to rise until doubled in size (about 2-3 hours depending on how cold the dough is).

Three pans of unbaked potato rolls, all shaped differently.

Remove the rolls from the oven and preheat it to 375 degrees.

Bake the rolls one pan at a time for 14-16 minutes, or until golden brown.

Once baked, brush the rolls with additional butter if desired.

Pan of potato rolls and bowl of potato rolls all shaped differently on white table.

Recipe Tips and Substitutions

Three different shaped refrigerator potato rolls on green plate with gold knife resting on plate.

There are lots of ways to customize this recipe:

  • If you’re not making a batch of mashed potatoes, you can bake a potato in the microwave for 7 minutes, mash it, and use a cup of that in the dough.
  • If you have leftover mashed potatoes, you can use those in the dough.
  • If you’d like to use instant mashed potatoes, you can substitute those for homemade mashed potatoes 1:1.
  • Try instant mashed potatoes with herbs and spices for an extra level of flavor in these rolls.

The nice thing about this dough is that it keeps in the refrigerator for so long. However, if you want to make the rolls right away, you’ll follow the same directions, but after kneading the dough, you would put it in a warm oven to double in size for about 45 minutes. Then shape the dough and return it to the warm oven for another 45 minutes. Then bake for the same amount of time.

There are 3 ways to shape the rolls. You can do a traditional roll shape in a 9×13 cake pan. You can do a crescent shape and bake them on a sheet pan. Or you can roll three small balls and place them in a muffin tin to create a clover shape.

Serve These With

We love to pair these rolls with:

FAQs

Close up of pan of potato rolls next to bowl of butter.
Can I use potato flakes in this recipe?

Yes!

A similar recipe calls for 1 cup of potato flakes.

My mashed potato is chunky. Is that a problem?


If you cook 1 potato for this recipe, a few chunks are fine, but you’ll want to mash it as smooth as you can.

Why isn’t there milk in this recipe?


This budget-friendly and time-saving recipe calls for water instead of milk. However, you can substitute milk if you’d like!

Milk will make rolls sweeter, browner, and often times softer. However, if you’d like to add milk to the recipe, you’ll need to scald it first.

Scalding milk helps to break down the whey which can interfere with the gluten causing dense rolls that take a long time to proof.

What does mashed potato do for rolls?


Adding mashed potatoes to your roll dough will do several things:

1. It causes the yeast to rise faster.
2. It creates a light crumb, for a fluffy roll.
3. It creates a moister roll because the potato absorbs more water than wheat.
4. It creates a roll with a longer shelf-life.

I hope your family loves these refrigerator mashed potato rolls! If you make them, 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!

Three different shaped mashed potato rolls on green plate next to pan and bowl of rolls.

Refrigerator Mashed Potato Rolls

The Ashcroft Family Table
These Refrigerator Mashed Potato rolls are extra fluffy and moist thanks to the addition of freshly mashed potatoes. You can keep the dough in your refrigerator for up to a week, which makes it easy to have warm rolls for dinner any night!
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Proofing Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 24 minutes
Course Bread
Cuisine American
Servings 36 rolls
Calories 137 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • cups warm water
  • teaspoons active dry yeast, (1 package) *see note
  • 2 eggs
  • cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • cup butter, melted, but cooled
  • 1 cup plain mashed potatoes
  • cups flour, may need more during kneading and shaping

Instructions
 

  • Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients except the flour to the water and stir well.
  • Slowly add the flour to the wet ingredients while stirring until combined.
  • Using a dough hook or your hands, knead the dough until smooth and elastic (about 5-10 minutes).
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for up to a week. (You may have to occasionally punch it down.)
  • About 2 hours before baking, pull out the dough.
  • Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Once preheated, turn the oven off.
  • Divide the dough into 3 equal sections. Shape* the dough into desired shape and place in pan. You may need to add additional flour to the dough if it is sticky.
  • Place the pans in the warm oven, cover, and allow to rise until doubled in size (about 2-3 hours depending on how cold the dough is).
  • Remove the rolls from the oven and preheat it to 375 degrees.
  • Bake the rolls one pan at a time for 14-16 minutes, or until golden brown.
  • Once baked, brush the rolls with additional butter if desired.

Notes

*To make this using instant yeast, combine the water, sugar, salt, melted butter, eggs, and mashed potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Then, add the instant yeast to the flour and stir to combine. Slowly add the flour to the wet ingredients until combined. Proceed with recipe as written.
If you’re not making a batch of mashed potatoes, you can bake a potato in the microwave for 7 minutes, mash it, and use a cup of that in the dough.
If you’d like to use instant mashed potatoes, you can substitute those for homemade mashed potatoes 1:1.
If you want to make the rolls right away, you’ll follow the same directions through step 4. Then, warm the oven, turn it off, and put the bowl of dough in the warm oven to double in size for about 45 minutes. Shape the dough and return it to the warm oven for another 45 minutes. Bake for the same amount of time.
There are 3 ways to shape the rolls. You can do a traditional roll shape in a 9×13 cake pan. You can do a crescent shape and bake them on a sheet pan. Or you can roll three small balls and place them in a muffin tin to create a clover shape.

Nutrition

Serving: 1roll | Calories: 137kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 163mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 118IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg
Keyword mashed potato rolls, refrigerator rolls
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5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)
Recipe Rating




Jessica

Wednesday 1st of November 2023

Thank you for the recipe, it was wonderful. I could be mistaken, but I think you are missing 2 eggs in the ingredient list, they are mentioned elsewhere in the post. Thanks again!

Jessica Ashcroft

Thursday 2nd of November 2023

Oh my goodness! Thank you for catching that! Just updated the recipe. So glad you enjoyed it :)

Millie

Tuesday 8th of November 2022

Do you use all purpose flour in this recipe

Jessica Ashcroft

Tuesday 8th of November 2022

Yes I do!