These Buttery Sweet Potato rolls are perfect for your Thanksgiving table! Or make them after the holiday with your leftover sweet potatoes, and use the rolls for turkey sandwiches. Nothing beats fresh homemade dinner rolls! Originally published November 10, 2015.
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Last weekend I drove up to Chico for my friend Sarah’s baby shower, mostly because I knew there would be good food there. I mean, when a food blogger friend throws a party, you go. No question. (The fact that she is one of the coolest people I know is totally secondary.)
One of the gifts that Sarah got was a towel-apron that her mom sewed for her. It’s to wear when you are giving your kid a bath so you don’t get soaked. (Genius, right??) I was complimenting Sarah’s mom on the apron and asked her how she made it. “I didn’t even know they made towel fabric!” I said.
Sarah took pity on me. “Karen, she just…used a towel.”
You know those moments when you are in a big group and suddenly everyone’s side conversations all die at the exact same time? Why do I always manage to make towel-fabric comments exactly during these pauses?
Soft, fluffy, buttery sweet potato rolls
Well. At least I’m good at making rolls. Even if I’m not good at having common sense. Priorities, right? I would take these rolls over the smarts ANYWAY.
These rolls are great for Thanksgiving! They are perfectly festive for the holiday table itself, but also great for making the few days after Thanksgiving, when you have leftover sweet potatoes. You can use any kind of sweet potato casserole, mashed sweet potatoes, whatever. You can even use mashed/canned pumpkin, or mashed butternut. Any squash will do! I used a regular ol’ can of yams, which turned out to be exactly the amount the recipe called for.
Oh, and don’t tell me there’s too much butter on this roll. There’s not.
Key ingredients
- Good news, guys! You can use canned, fresh, or leftover sweet potatoes. Whatever you have on hand.
- Bread flour is the secret to rolls that are soft, fluffy, and perfectly chewy. It has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, which means it develops more gluten as you knead the dough. That stronger gluten network traps the gases produced by the yeast, helping the rolls rise higher and bake up with a light, airy texture. TLDR? Bread flour is what makes these rolls soft and fluffy.
How to make buttery sweet potato rolls
Ok guys. Buckle up. These rolls aren’t hard to make, there’s just a lot going on.
First we must activate the yeast. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl if you’re making these by hand), stir the yeast into a cup of warm milk. The milk should feel comfortably warm, like bath water, but not hot. Let it sit for a few minutes until it’s a little foamy. If nothing happens, your yeast may be dead, and it’s much better to find that out now than after waiting two hours for dough that refuses to rise.
Now let’s make the dough. Mix together the mashed sweet potato, butter, salt, and egg yolks.
Then add in the bread flour, a little bit at a time, mixing well after each addition. Keep kneading with the dough hook (or your own two hands) until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It should still feel slightly sticky. That tackiness is what gives you soft, fluffy rolls, so resist the urge to keep adding flour!
Coat a large bowl generously with cooking spray, shape the dough into a ball, and place it inside.
Turn it over once so every side gets lightly greased (this keeps it from drying out). Cover with a clean tea towel and let it rise in a warm spot until it’s doubled in size.
Now we’re ready to make the rolls. Gently punch down the dough to release the air, then let it rest while you line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces and roll each piece into a rope about 9 inches long, tie it into a simple knot, then tuck and pinch the ends underneath the roll.
Arrange the rolls on each baking sheet, leaving a little room between them. Cover with tea towels and let them rise again until they’re nice and puffy and have doubled in size.
Before you bake them, give the tops of the rolls a light spray with cooking spray (this helps them brown) and bake until the tops are golden and the bottoms are nicely browned. If you’re baking both pans at once, rotate them halfway through for even baking.
Don’t forget the butter! As soon as the rolls come out of the oven, brush them generously with melted butter. If you’re feeling fancy, finish them with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. It takes these rolls from “really good” to “where have you been all my life?”
Let the rolls cool on a wire rack…or don’t. They’re pretty irresistible warm from the oven.
How to tie dough in a knot for dinner rolls
I made you a little video so you know exactly how to tie a knot, because I’m sure you didn’t learn when you were five. I just got a tripod, so I thought I would try it out. Don’t hate me for my magenta hands, okay? Everyone told me after my TV appearance that I should do more video, but I have zero idea how to do them. It’s kind of like when I first started blogging and posted pictures like this on my blog. Just roll with me, okay people.
How to store leftover rolls
One of my favorite things about these rolls (besides eating them warm with way too much butter) is that they stay soft for days. The sweet potato helps keep them moist, so they don’t dry out nearly as quickly as your average dinner roll.
To store: Once the rolls have cooled completely, keep them in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 3 days. If your kitchen is especially warm or humid, they’ll also keep well in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, though they’re best enjoyed at room temperature or warmed up first.
How to reheat leftover rolls
You definitely want to rewarm these rolls. Pop the rolls into a 300°F oven for about 5 minutes until they’re warmed through. A quick 15–20 seconds in the microwave also works if you’re only reheating one or two, but the oven gives you the best texture.
Can I freeze these rolls?
You can also freeze these! You could totally make these rolls TODAY, freeze them in Ziploc bags, then bust them out on Thanksgiving morning, let them thaw on the counter, then warm them in the oven for a couple of minutes. Voila!
Buttery Sweet Potato Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon dry yeast
- 1 cup 2% or whole milk, warmed to 100 to 110 degrees F.
- 3/4 cup sweet potatoes, mashed*
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 2 & 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, **
- 2 large egg yolks
- 4 & 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more
- Cooking spray
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- In a large bowl or stand mixer combine yeast with 1 cup warm milk. (The milk should be just warm to the touch, not hot.)
- Let the yeast proof (let it sit for a couple minutes until you see bubbles. This is just to make sure you didn’t kill your yeast. Better to find out now than in 2 hours when your bread won’t rise.)
- Add sweet potatoes, 1 tablespoon butter, salt, and stir to combine. Add the 2 egg yolks and beat well until they are incorporated.
- Add the flour 1 cup at a time, kneading with the dough hook or by hand in between each addition. The dough should clean the sides of the bowl but should still be tacky to the touch.
- Grease a large bowl with plenty of cooking spray. Form the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl, then turn it so that all sides are greased.
- Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for at least an hour, until the dough has doubled in size. When you push your finger into the dough, it should not immediately bounce back at you.
- Punch down the dough and cover again to rest for 5 minutes while you prep your workspace.
- Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats. Turn the dough onto the baking sheets and divide into 24 pieces.
- Use your hands to roll each piece into a 9-inch snake. Tie the dough into a knot, then pinch the 2 ends together behind the top of the roll. (see photos)
- Place the roll on the baking sheet and continue with the remaining dough. There should be 12 rolls to a pan. Cover each pan with a tea towel.
- Let rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes, or until they have doubled in size. Remove the towel and spray each roll with cooking spray.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the bottoms are brown and the tops are golden. If you want to bake both pans at the same time, rotate them halfway through.
- Brush each roll with butter once you have removed them from the oven. Sprinkle with sea salt if you want, it tastes amazing! Let cool completely on wire racks.
- To reheat rolls, place on a pan in a 300 degree F oven for about 5 minutes. These rolls freeze beautifully if you have any leftovers.
Notes
Nutrition
More dinner roll recipes
Christmas Recipes
Aunt Shirley’s Famous Homemade Dinner Rolls
Breads, Muffins & Rolls
Soft and Fluffy Parker House Roll Recipe
Breads, Muffins & Rolls
Crescent Rolls Recipe
Christmas Recipes
BLESS your hands every time for wonderful and so tasty recipies Karen and your patience in showing us every step. Amazing !! Thank You.
Happy Birthday to your sweet little one. And Best to your nice family. 🎉👋😃🪁🧸🎁🎈💌💌
Love your dialogue almost as much as your recipes. So many smiles:)
One question – has anyone tried your rolls with other flours than wheat. I know the bread flour always works and I miss it since I found out about the celiacs. So if anyone has used another flour successfully I’d love to hear about it. Thanks!
Sharon, thank you so much for your sweet comment! You made my day :) I unfortunately have not tried this with anything but wheat flour. I’m really inexperienced with gluten free baking. I’m sorry I’m no help!
I’ve said weirder things in public :) !
Haha! Glad to know I’m not alone Laura!
These rolls look SO good Karen! My husband has been begging me to make potato rolls, but I bet he’d love these sweet potato rolls even more!
Bahaha you are funny my dear. And you can NEVER have too much butter. Never ever ever.
I love homemade rolls! The fact that they have sweet potatoes in them makes me even more intrigued. What a great recipe!
Oh dear, that towel moment happens to me more than I’d like. Buttery rolls are my jam. When I was a kid at Thanksgiving, buttery rolls were the only thing I ate willingly.
Now I just want a buttery roll with jam on it.
I’m so honored to be mentioned in your blog!! It was just wonderful meeting you, what a great day! And your story had me giggling (again)! These rolls look just amazing and there is no such thing as too much butter!
haha yup I’ve definitely had a few of those moments! You are not alone!!
And these rolls. Nothing, nothing beats homemade rolls!!
These rolls look so amazing! I’ve done pumpkin rolls before, but this year it’s gotta be sweet potato. You have me 100% convinced.