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Nothing says “comfort food” like warm, buttery homemade bread — and this Buttermilk Dinner Rolls Recipe delivers bakery-quality softness in under an hour.
They rise beautifully, bake up golden brown, and have just the right balance of sweetness and tang from the buttermilk. Whether it’s a Sunday roast, weeknight soup, or holiday meals, these rolls will steal the show.
With a quick rise and no second rise required, these buttermilk rolls are perfect for when you want homemade rolls without the long wait. They’re light, fluffy, and go great with easy roasted chicken, honey-glazed turkey breast, or an orange-glazed turkey.
If you’ve tried my bread recipes for Oatmeal Dinner Rolls, Easy Yeast Rolls, or Irish Soda Bread, you’ll love how simple and reliable this recipe is.
Why You’ll Love Buttermilk Dinner Rolls
- Quick and easy: No second rise needed. You’ll have fresh rolls on your table in about an hour!
- Soft and flavorful: The buttermilk gives these tender buttermilk dinner rolls a soft crumb with just a hint of tang.
- Perfect for any meal: These pair beautifully with soups, casseroles, or holiday feasts.
Ingredients
Find the full list of ingredients, amounts, and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here are a few key ingredients you’ll need:
- Buttermilk: Adds moisture and that signature slight tang that makes the rolls soft and flavorful.
- Instant yeast: Ensures a fast, reliable rise so you can skip the extra proofing time.
- Butter: Gives richness to both the dough and the golden tops after baking.
- All-purpose flour: Provides the perfect texture — soft inside, lightly crisp outside.
- Sugar: Balances the tang of the buttermilk and feeds the yeast for a perfect rise.
How to Make This Buttermilk Dinner Rolls Recipe
Here are the step-by-step instructions for making these homemade buttermilk dinner rolls.
Step 1: Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray or grease with oil or butter.
Step 2: In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl) add the warm buttermilk, melted butter, yeast, sugar, and egg (Photo 1). Give the yeast mixture a quick mix with a fork (Photo 2). Attach a dough hook attachment and add 2 cups of the flour and ½ teaspoon salt (Photo 3). Mix on low until the flour is all mixed in. Add an additional 1/4-1/2 cup of flour at a time until the dough forms a ball that is still sticky but not so sticky you wouldn’t be able to handle it (Photo 4). Knead for at least 4-5 minutes. You will use about 3 ½- 4 cups of flour. Try not to over flour the dough or your rolls will be dense and not soft. *see note
Step 3: Tip the bread dough onto a lightly floured surface (Photo 5) and cut the rolls into 12 equal sized pieces (Photo 6). Flour your hands and roll each dough piece into a round dough ball (Photo 7). Place the rolls in a grid in the baking dish 3 wide on the short sides and 4 down on the long side (Photo 8).
Step 4: Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let dough rise in a warm spot for 20-30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400 F. The rolls will be visibly poofy but not doubled in size (Photo 9).
Step 5: Remove cover and bake for 15-19 minutes until the tops are light golden brown (Photo 10). Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter and a sprinkle of flakey salt, if desired (Photos 11 and 12).
This buttermilk dinner rolls recipe would be perfect with some homemade butter, slow cooker pumpkin butter, or slow cooker apple butter.
They would also be perfect for the holidays with my homemade cranberry sauce! Served with homemade green bean casserole, healthy sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin bars, these are wonderful for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- The amount of flour you need will depend on the humidity, weather, and temperature of your kitchen. Add flour until the dough is just slightly sticky.
- If you use unsalted butter, add an additional ¼ teaspoon salt to the recipe.
- Because these rolls don’t have a second rise, I do not recommend using active dry yeast.
- If you only have active dry yeast, you can still use it — just dissolve it in the warm buttermilk (100–110°F / 38–43°C), and expect the dough to take about 15–20 minutes longer to rise.
- Having the rolls rise in a warm place is ideal for these quick rolls. If your home is cold you should let them rise about 10 minutes longer.
How to Store
- Let rolls completely cool to room temperature before storing in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freeze completely cooled rolls in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
More Side Dish Recipes
- Cheesy Drop Biscuits
- Mashed Potato Casserole
- Easy Mashed Potatoes
- French Baguettes
- Cornbread Muffins
If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please leave a comment with a 5-star recipe rating and let me know! Thank you!
Buttermilk Dinner Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk, warm but not hot (About 105-110 F)
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 5 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 1/2- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted, optional
- sea salt, flaky (optional)
Instructions
- Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray or grease with butter or oil.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm buttermilk, melted butter, yeast, sugar, and egg. Give it a quick mix with a fork. Attach a dough hook attachment and add 2 cups of the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix on low until the flour is all mixed in. Add an additional 1/4-1/2 cup of flour at a time until the dough forms a ball that is still sticky but not so sticky you wouldn’t be able to handle it. Knead for at least 4-5 minutes. You will use about 3 1/2 to 4 cups of flour. Try not to over flour the dough or your rolls will be dense and not soft. *see note
- Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut the rolls into 12 equal-sized pieces. Flour your hands and roll each dough piece into a round ball. Place the rolls in a grid in the baking dish 3 wide on the short sides and 4 down on the long side.
- Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400 F. The rolls will be visibly poofy but not doubled in size.
- Remove cover and bake for 15-19 minutes until the tops are light golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter and a sprinkle of flaky salt, if desired.
Notes
- *The amount of flour you need will depend on the humidity, weather, and temperature of your kitchen. Add flour until the dough is just slightly sticky.
- If you use unsalted butter, add an additional ¼ teaspoon salt to the recipe.
- Because these rolls don’t have a second rise, I do not recommend using active dry yeast.
- If you only have active dry yeast, you can still use it — just dissolve it in the warm buttermilk (100–110°F / 38–43°C) first, and expect the dough to take about 15–20 minutes longer to rise.
- Having the rolls rise in a warm place (like on top of the stovetop or next to the oven) is ideal for these quick rolls. If your home is cold you should let them rise about 10 minutes longer.
- If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon and then knead in the flour by hand.
- Let rolls completely cool to room temperature before storing in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freeze completely cooled rolls in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
