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Potato rolls are pillowy soft, chewy, and buttery, with mashed potatoes adding a melt-in-your-mouth flavor to every bite.
Yes – Made with Mashed Potatoes!
If you are anything like our family, you rarely have leftover Best Mashed Potatoes. But trust me, scooping out ½ a cup to make these potato rolls is worth it!
If you’ve never made them before, potato rolls are a new twist on a favorite Yeast Dinner Roll. These fluffy rolls are incredible delicious and flavorful because they have mashed potatoes as one of the ingredients. Sounds weird, but we promise it’s AMAZING!
These potato rolls are the perfect soft dinner roll for a Sunday dinner idea, holidays, or any time (and especially perfect on the off chance you have leftover mashed potatoes). 😉
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- Fluffy perfection. Potato rolls boast an irresistibly soft and fluffy texture that melts in your mouth.
- Holiday staple. Rolls and biscuits are a beloved tradition for gatherings and celebrations, adding a touch of comfort and warmth.
- Freezable. Enjoy fresh-baked taste anytime by freezing the dough or leftover rolls to heat later.
Ingredients
- PREP TIME: 20 minutes
- RISE TIME: 2 hours
- COOK TIME: 10 minutes
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ¼ cup warm water – for the yeast to activate the water should be between 105-110°F
- 1 cup milk – room temperature milk helps keep the dough warm for the yeast the grow.
- ½ cup prepared mashed potatoes – you can use plain homemade mashed potatoes or instant potatoes. Do not use mashed potatoes that have been seasoned or buttered.
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 large egg – room temperature eggs incorporate better than a cold egg as well as keep the dough warmer.
- 4-5 cups all-purpose flour – How to Measure Flour. Should you like to use wheat flour, I suggest replacing half of the all-purpose flour with an equal amount of white wheat flour.
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted – I like using salted butter, but unsalted butter works well too.
How to Make Potato Rolls
- YEAST. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast in ¼ cup warm water.
- WET INGREDIENTS. In a small microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup, add 1 cup milk,½ cup mashed potatoes, and 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter.
- Heat on high for one minute, stir, then heat for an additional 30-60 seconds, until the butter is melted and the milk is warm but not hot.
- Add the milk mixture, ¼ cup sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and 1 egg to the yeast mixture.
- DRY INGREDIENTS. Add 2 cups of flour, and mix to combine. Mix in 2-3 cups flour, ¼ cup at a time, to form a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- KNEAD, SHAPE, & RISE. On a lightly floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise for about one hour, until doubled.
- DIVIDE. After one hour, gently punch the dough down. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Divide the dough into 24 pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Place the balls of dough with the smoothest side up, on a greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- SECOND RISE. Cover and let rise for 30-60 minutes, until the dough springs back when touched lightly.
- BAKE. Bake 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
- SERVE warm with Strawberry Jam and Honey Butter or for Ham and Cheese Sliders. Enjoy!
Complete The Meal
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Potato Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ¼ cup warm water
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup prepared plain and unseasoned mashed potatoes
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 egg
- 4-5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in warm water.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup, add the milk, mashed potatoes, and 4 tablespoons of butter.
- Heat on high for one minute, stir, then heat for an additional 30-60 seconds, until the butter is melted and the milk is warm but not hot.
- Add the milk mixture, sugar, salt, and egg to the yeast mixture.
- Add two cups of flour, and mix to combine. Mix in additional flour, ¼ cup at a time, to form a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for about one hour, until doubled.
- After one hour, gently punch the dough down. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Divide the dough into 24 pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Place the balls of dough on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Cover and let rise for 30-60 minutes, until the dough springs back when touched lightly.
- Bake 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.
- Serve warm with Strawberry Jam and Honey Butter or for Ham and Cheese Sliders. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Mix up the dough in steps 1 and 2, but instead of letting it rise for an hour on the counter, cover the bowl and stick it in the fridge to rise overnight. The colder environment will make the yeast rise much more slowly.
- The next day, shape the dough into balls and let them rise again.
- Because the dough is chilled, the rise time may take almost twice as long.
- Bake according to the recipe.
- Refrigerator. Place shaped rolls on a baking tray, cover them with plastic wrap, and keep them in the fridge for about 12 hours. Allow them to finish rising at room temperature before baking.
- Freezer. Follow the recipe but instead of placing the dough balls on a pan to be baked, place the pan into the freezer. Once the dough balls are solid, transfer them to a freezer-safe container for up to 6 months.
- To bake. Place frozen dough balls on a baking pan. Cover the pan with a greased piece of plastic wrap (the cooking spray helps keep the plastic from sticking to the dough). Allow them to rise for about 4 hours before baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Potato dinner rolls are simple Yeast Dinner Rolls but they also have mashed potatoes inside. Mashed potatoes give it a soft and sweeter taste and texture than normal white rolls.
No, not at all! They just taste like any other delicious dinner roll but with a soft texture from the added potatoes.
For a pull-apart bread with softer sides, space the dough balls closer together. For rounded, brown all-over, crustier rolls, add more space in between each dough ball. This way they don’t touch when they’re baking.
Mix up the dough in steps 1 and 2, but instead of letting it rise for an hour on the counter, cover the bowl and stick it in the fridge to rise overnight. The colder environment will make the yeast rise much more slowly.
The next day, shape the dough into balls and let them rise again. Because the dough is chilled, the rise time may take almost twice as long.
Bake according to the recipe.
Refrigerator. Place shaped rolls on a baking tray, cover them with plastic wrap, and keep them in the fridge for about 12 hours. Allow them to finish rising at room temperature before baking.
Freezer. Follow the recipe but instead of placing the dough balls on a pan to be baked, place the pan into the freezer. Once the dough balls are solid, transfer. To bake, place frozen dough balls on a baking pan. Cover the pan with a greased piece of plastic wrap (the cooking spray helps keep the plastic from sticking to the dough). Allow them to rise for about 4 hours before baking.
Store leftover Potato Rolls in a Ziploc bag on the counter for 2-3 days.
Wrap the leftovers in plastic wrap, then again with foil, and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
What kind of potatoes should I use to make the mashed potatoes?
I use russet potatoes for the mashed potatoes 🙂
Could these be frozen before the second rise and baked later?
Absolutely!!
Hi, is there a small typo about mixing just the water and yeast together? Shouldn’t we measure out the full 1/4 cup of sugar and from that, take about 1 Tbsp of said sugar and add it to the yeast and water to help the yeast bubble faster?
Other than that, I’m so excited to try these! I’ve got the 1st half of a batch just about ready to go in the oven (it’s actually an air fryer so I only have room for 9 rolls at a time) so in the next half hour, they’re going to be ready to eat!
The recipe should turn out as the direction state or by adding a little sugar to the yeast/water. I hope that you enjoy the rolls. You’ll have to let us know how the rolls turn out being baked in the air fryer!
I made these the first time for an early Xmas meal & they were a big hit. I love their texture & they might be my new favorite dinner roll!
Hi, if I use instant yeast, how does that change the recipe?
These sounds great – if I wanted to make larger rolls (lets say 12 rolls instead of 24 – i want to use them for sandwiches/buns) – would the cook timing be the same 10 -12 min @ 400 degrees?!
You would probably need to bake a little longer. I’d suggest keeping an eye on them until they are a nice golden brown on top and the bottoms are light brown too.
Love the recipe but hard to read when you can’t x out of the ads that cover half the page.
The ads allow us to be able to continue to deliver free recipes & content to our readers. Thanks for understanding. 🙂
These sound amazing! I’m wondering if I could just make loaves of bread like this instead of rolls?
You know, I haven’t tried that before! You’ll have to let us know how it turns out if you give it a try.
If I want to double the recipe would I just double all the ingredients? Or do I need to make additional changes to amounts? Also would you say these are about 2 ounce rolls? Thanks in advance.
No, if you double the ingredients, that should be just right. No extra steps required if doubling. Other than you’ll need another pan for baking. If you have a big mixer like a Bosch or something, you can probably just double everything in the bowl. Otherwise, you may need to do two separate batches. As far as the size, you can totally make them however big or small you want. If you want them two ounces, you can just measure the dough on a kitchen scale when you are shaping them. Hope these tips are helpful!
Made this recipe twice. Love it! Easy, moist and addictive…My neighbours like them too!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear the rolls are a hit!
These are the absolute BEST rolls EVER! I just got mine from the oven & cannot STOP eating them! These are now my go to rolls and everybody LUV’D them they will NOT last until tomorrow’s Christmas meal!
Yay!! I am so happy you think so 🙂 Thank you so much!
Absolutely delicious, as it’s Christmas used garlic butter at the end & were lovely. Thank you.
Made these for Thanksgiving turned out perfect.
These are exactly what I’ve been looking for! Made a batch to test before thanksgiving and these are perfect!! Thank you so much!
Yay!! Glad you found them 🙂 Thank you for sharing that!
My mom used to make these. They are so yummy! I’m going to pin this to make for my kids.
ARE THE MASHED POTATOES JUST COOKED AND MASHED ONLY NOTHING ADDED THEN U ADD THE INGREDIENTS LISTED IN THE RECIPE
Correct 🙂 Hope you like them!
These look so delicious and yummy! My husband and daughter are going to love these! I can’t wait to give these a try!
I am bread obsessed and love it with all of my meals so i can’t wait to try these. They look so perfect and fluffy.
My grandma taught me to make rolls with leftover mashed potatoes. They really do make the softest and yummiest dinner rolls!
A soft yummy tasting roll that you will love with your food.
We use this recipe for so many things! The rolls are so soft!! Rolls couldn’t be any easier to make!
These Potato Rolls really do melt in your mouth! SO GOOD!!!
The softest rolls ever!! These are always requested at the holidays!
Hi you say in the instructions to put the oven on 400 before the rolls do the final rise is this correct? Just thinking it would be on for an hour empty.
Regards
Carol
Yes, I stick them on top of the oven & that helps them to rise.