These soft and fluffy sweet potato dinner rolls are lightly sweetened and enriched with mashed sweet potato and honey. With their golden color and tender crumb, they’re perfect for everyday dinners or holiday gatherings.
A sweet Potato Twist on a Classic!
My classic dinner rolls are perfection: tall, buttery, and wonderfully soft. For a change, I wanted to create a slightly sweeter version that included a holiday staple, and I’ve succeeded with these easy Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls!
This recipe makes a big batch of twenty sweet potato rolls, so it will be a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner menu. Leftovers also store well, so they’re great to make on a Saturday to enjoy all weekend long.
Ingredient Notes
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Flour: I’ve tested this recipe with all-purpose flour and bread flour, and have found that both options work very well. There is a slight difference in that the rolls made with bread flour have a bit more structure and rise a little bit higher.
- Sweet Potato: Roast a couple of sweet potatoes and then mash them up to use in this recipe. I haven’t made this with canned sweet potatoes, and I don’t think I would because the canned yams are usually packed with excess sugar.
- Milk: Warm your whole milk up to a temperature around 110°F / 43°C. This will help to activate the yeast.
- Eggs: Let the eggs come to room temperature as well. If they are cold, they won’t mix in as well.
- Honey: I love the earthy, sweet flavor of honey with sweet potatoes! You could also use maple syrup or agave for a similar outcome.
- Yeast: Use a standard packet of instant yeast. That’s 7 grams or 2¼ tablespoons. I have not tested this recipe with active dry yeast, but I think you could use it. Just note that the rise time may be longer.
Dinner Roll Recipe Tips
- Mixing the Dough: This dough should be soft but not overly sticky. Since sweet potatoes can vary in the amount of moisture they have, you may need to add a little bit of extra flour. You can also rest the dough for an additional 15 minutes and then knead again to build up gluten and strengthen the dough.
- Proofing the Dough: The dough should appear to have doubled in size. You can also gently press it with your fingertip. The dough should spring back slowly and leave a slight indentation.
- Spacing: Allowing the rolls to touch will result in baked rolls that are connected and soft around the edges when pulled apart. For crusty rolls, space them out on a sheet pan so that they aren’t touching.
- Milk or Egg Wash can be brushed over the rolls before baking. Either option will help the rolls to brown more.
- Finishing: When the rolls come out of the oven, brush the tops with butter while they are still warm. This helps to keep the crust soft and adds flavor.
- Storage: Once baked and cooled, place the rolls in an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for up to 24 hours and can be frozen for up to 2 months.
More Dinner Roll Recipes
Add these tasty sweet potato dinner rolls to your menu for the holidays, or bake them this weekend as a side dish for family dinner! Try them slathered with my cinnamon honey butter for a real treat.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls
Sweet potato dinner rolls are lightly sweetened and enriched with mashed sweet potato and honey. These soft and fluffy rolls bake up golden brown with a tender crumb.
Rolls
Sweet potato dinner rolls are lightly sweetened and enriched with mashed sweet potato and honey. These soft and fluffy rolls bake up golden brown with a tender crumb.
Recipe Video
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Dough scraper or silicone spatula
- Kitchen scale
- 9×13-inch (23×33 cm) baking dish or sheet pan
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (180 ml) whole milk warm (about 110°F / 43°C)
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled, plus extra for finishing
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup (245 g) mashed sweet potato at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups (600 g) all-purpose flour or bread flour (see notes)
- 1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) (7 g) instant yeast
- milk or egg wash optional, for browning
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the warm milk, melted butter, eggs, mashed sweet potato, honey, and salt.
- Add the flour and yeast. Using the dough hook attachment, knead on medium speed for 10 minutes until a soft and slightly tacky dough forms.
- If the dough is too sticky, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time, just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl but remains soft.
- Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 to 1½ hours.
- Punch down the dough and divide into 20 equal portions, about 60 g each. Shape each into a tight ball by tucking the edges underneath and rolling on the counter.
- Arrange the rolls in a greased 9×13-inch (23×33 cm) baking dish or on a sheet pan. Cover and let rise for 30–45 minutes until puffy and touching.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Brush the tops of the rolls with milk or egg wash if desired. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 190°F (88°C).
- Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter while warm. Let cool slightly before serving.
Notes:
- To get 1 cup of mashed sweet potato, roast 2 medium sweet potatoes until soft. Remove the skin, mash until smooth, then let cool to room temperature.
- You can use either bread flour or all-purpose flour in this recipe. Both work great, although the rolls made with bread flour have more structure and will rise a bit higher.
- The dough should be soft but not overly sticky. Add flour 1 tablespoon at a time if needed, but resist adding too much flour. You can always cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes; this helps the gluten form, and then come back to it and knead for longer.
- To check if the dough is fully proofed, gently press it with your fingertip. It should spring back slowly and leave a slight indentation.
- For crustier edges, spread the rolls out on a parchment-lined baking pan rather than letting them touch.
- Storage: Once baked and cooled, place the rolls in an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for up to 24 hours and can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1roll, Calories: 159kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 26mg, Sodium: 132mg, Potassium: 79mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 1055IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 22mg, Iron: 2mg
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
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