Julie Clark
Updated:
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
May contain affiliate links. Disclosure policy.
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls are egg free and filled with pumpkin spice flavor. This quick and easy pumpkin recipe makes the perfect bread for Thanksgiving dinner.
One of our most popular recipes are our buttery soft rolls, but today I’m sharing with you a pumpkin dinner rolls recipe that is giving that fluffy dinner roll a little competition!
Meet my favorite new recipe…Pumpkin Yeast Rolls that are egg free (like our pumpkin cookie cake!), soft, and have a lightly pumpkin spice flavor. If you’re hesitant to work with yeast, this is the recipe to start with. I promise they are easy!
About this Pumpkin Dinner Rolls Recipe:
- Flavor: Lightly sweet, filled with cinnamon and pumpkin flavor.
- Texture: The pumpkin bread rolls are soft and tender. The pumpkin purée keeps the rolls soft the next day, too.
- Method: Mix this dough in a stand mixer or by hand, but you can also make the dough in a bread machine, then shape and bake them in the oven.
Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- I use instant yeast, but active dry yeast will work as well. Either way, I activate the yeast in the warm milk before adding the other ingredients.
- Buy solid-pack pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which is already seasoned and sweetened. Or, you can use homemade pumpkin puree.
- I recommend bread flour for the pumpkin rolls. Bread flour gives the rolls more structure than all-purpose, which is important when they are no eggs in the recipe. All-purpose flour will work in a pinch.
3 Ways to Make Bread Dough
There are 3 ways to mix the dough.
- By hand: Mixing dough by hand in a large mixing bowl is the most traditional method and allows you to develop a feel for the dough’s texture as it comes together.
- With a stand mixer. A stand mixer, equipped with a dough hook attachment, is a popular choice for mixing bread dough, as it requires less manual effort and can be more consistent.
- Bread machine on dough setting. By far the easiest method (which means it is my favorite 😉 ) is using the bread machine’s dough setting. Add the ingredients to the machine’s bread pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer, typically starting with the wet ingredients followed by the dry ingredients and topped with yeast. The press the “dough” button.
Although the bread machine is the method I use the most for these homemade buns, the process I’m showing today is with using a stand mixer.
How to Make Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
- Proof the yeast. Warm the milk in a bowl in the microwave for just about 1 minute until it is reaches 115ºF. Pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and allow it to activate for 3-4 minutes.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Add in the sugar, pumpkin, softened butter, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and vanilla. Use the beater blade on low speed to mix this just until combined. About 30 seconds.
- Make the dough. Add in 2 cups of flour and the salt. Mix about 30 seconds until combined. Then add in the remaining 2 cups of flour. Mix just until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes.
- Knead the dough. Remove the beater blade and place the dough hook on the stand mixer. Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes on low speed. Add more flour a tablespoon at a time as needed during kneading. The dough should still feel sticky and tacky to the touch, but it should not be so wet that it sticks all over your hands. As the dough turns in the stand mixer bowl, it will pull away from the sides, but may stick to the bottom slightly. This is ok and shows the dough is not too dry.
- Let the dough rise. If the dough is in a warm place, it should only take 30 minutes or so for the first rise until nearly double. Is your house cold? Try one our tips for getting dough to rise.
- Shape the rolls. Once the dough has risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut the dough into 12 dough balls of the same size. Roll them into round balls and place them into a greased 9×13″ baking pan.
- Cover and rise in a warm place for 15-20 minutes while the oven is pre-heating to 375ºF. It’s ok if they don’t rise too much at this point. They’ll pop up during baking.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with butter when they come out of the oven. Even better yet? Brush with honey butter or cinnamon butter. 😋
How do you keep dinner rolls warm?
Keeping pumpkin dinner rolls warm is easy if you have some dry beans on hand. Here’s how to do it:
- Wrap dry beans in a cloth napkin and heat in the microwave until the beans are very warm.
- Place another large cloth napkin in a bread bowl and allow the edges to overhang the bowl.
- Place the wrapped beans on top of the napkin in the bowl.
- Pile the rolls in the bowl, then cover with the cloth napkin that is overhanging the bowl. This will keep your rolls warm without drying them out.
Storage Instructions
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The rolls also freeze well for up to 6 weeks.
How do you reheat dinner rolls?
To reheat dinner rolls, set the oven to 300ºF. Brush the top of the rolls with melted butter and place them on a baking sheet. Warm for 7-8 minutes or until the rolls are warm. The butter helps the tops from getting dried out.
Other Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes
Ways to Use Up Pumpkin
Have pumpkin puree leftover from this pumpkin dinner roll recipe? Try one of these recipes:
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls are egg free and filled with pumpkin spice flavor. This quick and easy pumpkin recipe makes the perfect bread for Thanksgiving dinner.
Servings 12
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Rise time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 23 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm milk 115ºF, 8 ounces
- 1 package instant yeast 7 grams
- 1/2 cup brown sugar 105 grams
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 119 grams, room temperature
- 1/2 cup salted butter softened, 4 ounces
- 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 5 grams
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon 4 grams
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 8 grams
- 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 grams
- 4 to 4 1/2 cups bread flour 520 grams + up to 65 grams more as needed
Instructions
- Warm the milk in a bowl in the microwave for just about 1 minute until it is reaches 115ºF. Pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and allow it to activate for 3-4 minutes. 1 cup warm milk, 1 package instant yeast
- Add in the sugar, pumpkin, softened butter, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and vanilla. Use the beater blade on low speed to mix this just until combined. About 30 seconds. ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup pumpkin puree, ½ cup salted butter, 2 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add in 2 cups of flour and the salt. Mix about 30 seconds until combined. Then add in the remaining 2 cups of flour. Mix just until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes. ½ teaspoon salt, 4 to 4 ½ cups bread flour
- Remove the beater blade and place the dough hook on the stand mixer. Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes on low speed. Add more flour a tablespoon at a time as needed during kneading. The dough should still feel sticky and tacky to the touch, but it should not be so wet that it sticks all over your hands. As the dough turns in the stand mixer bowl, it will pull away from the sides, but may stick to the bottom slightly. This is ok and shows the dough is not too dry.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until it has almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
- Split the dough into 12 balls. Shape them into smooth round balls.
- Place in a greased 9×13 pan glass pan. Cover and rise in a warm place for 15-20 minutes while the oven is heating. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with butter when they come out of the oven.
Video
Notes
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The rolls also freeze well for up to 6 weeks.
- Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
Nutrition
Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 170mg | Potassium: 124mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1861IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg
Hmmm mine don’t have any flavor at all! Was it supposed to be salted or unsalted butter? My first time baking bread not sure what I did wrong.
I noticed that the video and the instructions on the recipe are different… which should I follow?
Any thoughts on why my bread didn’t rise? I used a new package of instant yeast.
Hi! If I have Fleischmann’s quick rise instant yeast, how many teaspoons should I use in the recipe??
Can I use Kroger Active Dry Yeast? It does say to dissolve in water, I’m not sure if I should do that because your recipe doesn’t
I had left I’ve sweet potato, and used that in place of pumpkin- fingers crossed
Yeah i made it. It came out so good. I got 18 rolls. Very easy. Very tasty. Thanks for sharing. I am glad it does not contain eggs. I have photos. Will be making it again. Will use less sugar since my hubby wants it less sweet. Oh…i used organic fresh pumpkin not canned pumpkin. I puree it in the blender with little water. It was all good.
Sounds delicious, do you know if these can be frozen for a few weeks?
Made these the other day. Really great, soft rolls. Very good, easy to follow recipe. The pumpkin flavor is pretty light, so I recommend some extra spices if you really want that flavor to pop.
I amazed by these rolls! They are incredible! I will be making these regularly from now on. Everyone loved them! If I could give more than 5 stars I would!