Garlic Butter and Parmesan Dinner Rolls

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dinner rolls in a round tin

Ready in just about an hour, Garlic Butter and Parmesan Dinner Rolls are wrapped in buttery garlic flavor and dusted with parmesan cheese. They have golden crusts, soft centers, and don’t take long to make. .

No celebratory meal is complete without soft, buttery dinner rolls. Even if you’ve never made homemade dinner rolls, you can make this recipe that is based on my favorite 1-Hour Light and Buttery Dinner Rolls. They’re fast, easy, and fail-proof. Brushing garlic butter over the cake pan and over the rolls during cooking infuses the dough with even more flavor while they bake. You’ll wonder what took you so long to make dinner rolls from scratch.

dinner roll dough on a countertop

How Long Can Yeast Be Stored?

Both Fast Acting and Active yeast can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. Yeast can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a year.

You’ll know the yeast is still active when it becomes foamy in the proofing process. If the proofed yeast is flat in the bowl, it’s gone bad.

How to Store and Reheat Leftover Rolls

To make the dinner rolls ahead, bake them as written and allow them to cool completely. Cover tightly and store at room temperature for up to 24 hours.

To Reheat: To reheat the rolls place a piece of foil on a sheet pan. Add the rolls and brush them with some extra melted butter. Enclose the rolls tightly with foil, sealing the edges. Warm the rolls in foil in a 350°F / 177°C oven for about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

HOW TO FREEZE AND REHEAT DINNER ROLLS AFTER BAKING

Prepare the rolls as directed, including placing them in the cake pans and allowing them to complete the second rise. After the second rise, transfer the pans to the freezer. Freeze for 4 to 6 months.

To bake, defrost at room temperature until they are fully defrosted and starting to rise again, 4 to 6 hours. Transfer to the oven and bake as directed (they may take an extra minute or two if still cold when baked).

cutting quarters into smaller quarters

INGREDIENTS

  • Warm Water – Keep an eye on the water temperature for this recipe. Instant and Fast Acting Yeast becomes inactive at temperatures over 130 degrees F / 54 degrees C.
  • Instant / Fast Acting Yeast – I recommend Instant / Fast Acting yeast for this recipe because these yeasts have more shelf-life stability compared to Active Yeast, which is notoriously unstable. The last thing you want when you’re in the middle of making these dinner rolls is to discover you have a dead yeast packet!  
  • Sugar – Helps the yeast work it’s magic to create a foolproof dough. 
  • All-Purpose Flour – No specialty flour is needed for these rolls. This pantry staple has you covered. 
  • Parmesan Cheese – This hard, dry Italian cheese adds just the right amount of salty texture to the top of the garlic butter dinner rolls.
  • Garlic Butter – Fragrant garlic and unsalted butter give these dinner rolls a flavor boost. Use unsalted butter to prevent the rolls from becoming too salty. 

POSSIBLE VARIATIONS

  • Add herbs – Mix dried rosemary or thyme into the dough for a unique flavor. (Last year I made these Pull-Apart Sour Cream and Chive Rolls by Claire Saffitz, and they were great – chives are a great addition!)
  • Try honey butter – Omit garlic and add honey to your melted butter for a salty, sweet dinner roll. 

More Recipes for Bread or Rolls

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4.75 from 8 votes

Garlic Butter and Parmesan Dinner Rolls

Light, fluffy, and flavored with garlic butter and parmesan cheese, these are a delicious addition to any dinner. They are simple enough to make in about an hour or can be formed and frozen to bake whenever you’re ready.
Prep: 1 hour
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 16

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer
  • Sauce Pan
  • 2 8" Cake Pans or 1 9" x 13" Baking Dish

Ingredients 

For the dough:

  • 1 1/2 cups Warm Water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  • 1 Tablespoon Instant or "Fast-Acting" Yeast
  • 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4 cups All-Purpose Flour, lightly spooned into measuring cup and leveled off (4 cups = 500g)
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt, plus more for sprinkling over top
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
  • 1 Tablespoon chopped Parsley (optional)

for Garlic Butter:

  • 6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
  • 3 cloves Garlic, grated

Instructions 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes.
  • To the yeast mixture, add 2 Tablespoon softened butter, flour, and salt. Mix on low until the ingredients begin to come together.
  • Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. (You will know it is ready when the dough starts to make a slapping sound as it hits the sides of the bowl.)
  • Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover it with a dish towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 20 to 30 minutes (if the kitchen is on the cooler side, use the higher end of the rise time).
  • While dough rises, combine 6 Tablespoons butter and garlic in a small saucepan over low-medium heat. Heat until butter is melted and garlic is fragrant.
  • Brush about half the garlic butter (reserve the second half) over the bottom and sides of 2 cake pans (alternatively, you can bake all of the rolls together in a 9x13 baking dish).
  • After the dough has completed its first rise, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and form it into an even ball.
  • Slice the dough into 16 even portions and gently form them into balls. Place the dough balls in prepared cake pans.
  • Preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C. Place cake pans near the warm oven and let dough rise for 15 minutes more.
  • Bake rolls until just starting to turn golden brown on top, 15 minutes.
  • Remove rolls from the oven and brush generously with remaining garlic butter. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
  • Return rolls to oven and continue baking just until cooked through and deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes more.
  • Sprinkle with chopped parsley if you’d like.
  • Let rolls cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out of the pan. Best served the same day they’re baked.

Notes

Kosher Salt - I use Morton’s Kosher Salt to test recipes. If using table salt, reduce by about half. If using Diamond Kosher Salt, increase by about 25%. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to salt, so be sure to taste and adjust as you go.
To Freeze: Prepare the rolls as directed, including placing them in the cake pans and allowing them to complete the second rise. After the second rise, transfer the pans to the freezer. Freeze for 4 to 6 months. To bake, defrost at room temperature until they are fully defrosted and starting to rise again, 4 to 6 hours (they will need the higher end of the rise time in a cool room / kitchen). Transfer to the oven and bake as directed (they may take an extra minute or two if still cold when baked). 
Print and attach the label below so cooking instructions are ready when you are!
garlic butter and parmesan dinner rolls freezer rolls

Nutrition

Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 172mg | Potassium: 43mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 210IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef
Cost: $4.00
Calories: 178
Keyword: 1 hour bread, Christmas, Dinner rolls, easy bread recipe, Thanksgiving
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About Jess Smith

Jess is the recipe creator and photographer at InquiringChef.com. She spent nearly a decade as the Chief Recipe Developer for the award-winning meal planning app Cook Smarts. Her colorful, healthyish recipes have been featured in popular online publications including Parade, Hallmark, and HuffPost.

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