These soft, homemade dinner rolls are a prefect addition to any dinner and they have an added bonus of gooey, cheesy center! Serve them with gravy, butter, or dip it into a bowl of soup – it will be tasty no matter what!
For more bread sides ideas, check out out honey lemon dinner rolls, honey biscuits, and the classic buttermilk biscuits.
Fun Homemade Dinner Rolls
It’s the holiday season, and you know what that means! It’s time to narrow down that long list of recipes you’ve been perusing and choose your favorites to serve on Thanksgiving and Christmas. While you definitely have many bread options to choose from, I can’t recommend these Cheesy Dinner Rolls enough.
They’re perfectly soft and fluffy and have a delicious center of gooey mozzarella cheese! Kids really tend to love that cheesy center the most. Even the pickiest eater at the table will gobble up probably more than one of these rolls, so you may want to consider making a double batch if you’re hosting a crowd!
No one can resist a homemade roll of any kind, especially not when they’re filled with a melted cheese center. And if you go all out and serve these rolls with gravy? Swoon! They’ll fly off the table faster than any other side dish.
But don’t just set this recipe aside for the holidays, they’re delicious all year round. I love serving them with so many various soups like Chicken Noodle, Tomato Soup, Cheddar Ale Soup any many more. They’re a step above your average dinner roll because of (you guessed it) that seriously satisfying cheesy middle. Whether you serve them with gravy or soup, on the holidays or in the heat of the summer, you’ll love making and eating these easy homemade dinner rolls!
Ingredients Notes:
This recipe calls for simple and inexpensive ingredients. I love making budget-friendly recipes around the holiday season!
- Flour – all-purpose flour is what you’ll need to give the rolls their structure.
- Sugar – touch of sweetness balances out the flavor and help with the natural yeast process.
- Salt – you can add more or less to taste.
- Rapid Rise Yeast -you will only need one envelope of this ingredient to make these dinner rolls.
- Whole Milk – whole milk is the best option and it will need to be warmed to 110°F-120°F.
- Water – this will also need to be warmed to 110°F-120°F.
- Butter – use unsalted and melted with milk.
- Eggs – you will need large eggs and it’s best when they are at room temperature, so pull it out about 30 minutes before starting.
- Mozzarella Cheese – you can swap this with white cheddar for a stronger flavor.
For the topping:
- Egg White – This will need to be lightly beaten.
- Salt – Use coarse (kosher) or flaky sea salt.
- Rosemary – if you wish to add some, it will be a pretty touch that’s also wonderfully aromatic.
Step-by Step Instructions:
First things first – prepare the dough.
Carefully measure all of your dry ingredients before combining them in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Heat the milk, water, and butter in a sauce pot over medium heat. Once it reaches 110°F-120°F, take the pot off of the heat.
Fit your dough hook attachment to the mixer. Mix on the stir setting. Slowly add the warm milk mixture to the bowl followed by the egg.
Continue to slowly mix everything together until a dough forms. Continue to mix until the dough is fully formed. Stop and scrape as needed.
Time to let the dough rise! Sprinkle a bowl with a little bit of flour then place the dough inside of it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and top it with a towel. Let the dough raise in a warm room for about an hour.
Prepare the rolls, then bake and enjoy!
Grease your 3 baking pans. You can use 8 or 9 inch pans, either will work.
Roll the dough into a long roll that’s around 3 inches thick. Cut it into about 18 even pieces.
Cut the mozzarella block into 18 cubes.
Press each piece of dough into a circle. Place a cheese cube in the center of the dough, then bring the edges together to seal it up.
Place the prepared rolls into the baking dishes. Cover with a paper towel and let them rise for about 45 minutes.
Whisk together the egg whites, then brush those egg whites onto the rolls. Sprinkle with salt.
Bake at 375°F for about 18-20 minutes.
Make Ahead Instructions:
If you’re making most of your dinner prep ahead of time, that’s great! You can make the dough and prepare the rolls with cheese ahead of time and then just bake the next day when you’re ready to serve them. There are a few things to consider if you go this route:
- The dough needs to rise before refrigerating. It’s best to let the dough rise and then shape the dinner rolls. Place them into the baking pans you plan to use and cover them tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to a day.
- The next day, you will need to give them a couple of hours to rise before baking. Take the rolls out and place them on the counter for an hour to warm them up to room temperature. Then, place them in a warm place to rise for an hour to an hour and a half. Finish and bake according to the recipe.
Freezing Instructions:
You can also freeze these dinner rolls!
- Follow the same recipe to the step of rolling the dinner rolls with cheese.
- Cover a cutting board with parchment paper and place the rolled dinner rolls onto it seam down. Place them then into the freezer and freeze for 2-3 hours. Remember to a timer!
- Once frozen, you can transfer the rolls into a large freezer friendly zip-top bag. Get as much air out as you can, label, and freeze for up to 2 months.
- To bake, make sure to thaw the rolls first and then give them a couple of hours to rise. You can place the dinner rolls into greased pans to thaw and rise. It will take 4-6 hours for the rolls to thaw and rise. Then, bake as instructed.
Cheesy Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt to taste
- 1/4 oz rapid rise (instant) yeast (1 envelope)
- 1 1/2 cups warm whole milk warmed to 110°-120°
- 1/4 cup water warmed to 110°-120°
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
- 5-6 oz Mozzarella cheese block
Topping:
- 1 egg white lightly beaten
- 1-2 tbsp coarse or sea salt
- 1-2 tbsp fresh minced rosemary optional
Instructions
Prepare the dough:
- Combine flour, sugar, salt, and instant yeast in the bowl if the stand up mixing bowl and whisk it together.
- Heat up milk, water, and butter in the small sauce pot over medium heat until it reaches 110°-120°. Take off heat once temperature is reached.
- Fit the dough hook attachment to the mixer and start mixing on stir. Slowly pour in the warm milk mixture into the bowl and then add the egg.
- Keep slowly mixing until the dough comes together completely. Stop and scrape the dough hook and the sides when needed.
- Sprinkle a large mixing bowl lightly with flour and transfer the dough into it. Cover it with plastic wrap and a clean towel and place into the warm place to raise for about an hour. Note: good temperature for the dough to rise is around 78° degrees. That is warmer than I like to keep my house so I usually find or create a warm place. I turn on the oven and place the bowl with the dough near it, that way it stays in the warmer ambient temperature.
Prepare the rolls:
- Grease three 8 or 9 inch round baking pans. (Either size pan should work.)
- Take out the dough and roll it in a long roll, about 3 inches thick. Cut it in about even 18 pieces.
- Cut the cheese block into 18 cubes.
- Gently press each dough piece into a circle and place the cheese cube in the center of the dough circle. Bring the edges together and seal it up. Place the roll in a greased baking pan, seam down. Repeat with the remaining dough and cheese.
- Cover the baking pans with rolls with a clean paper towel and let them rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place.
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Whisk the egg white in a small bowl and brush the rolls with egg white and sprinkle with some coarse salt.
- Bake rolls at 375° for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles March, 2013!
Anita Medford says
Can’t wait to try these recipes!!
Toodie says
Oh yummmmmmmm
Megan says
These are so good! I will definitely make them again! My whole family liked them.
lyuba says
I’m so happy to hear!!
Chelsea says
These look GREAT. Can’t wait to try them but what temperature do you cook them at?
lyuba says
Oh goodness, I missed it didn’t I? 🙂 Thanks for asking, it’s 375!
maggie says
Hi! I am Maggie over at The Love Nerds. I was one of Ginger Snap Crafts co-hosts last week. I just wanted to let you know that I have featured this recipe today on my blog and can’t wait to try it out myself! I would love if you came over and checked out the other recipes as well as my own projects. Thanks!
http://thelovenerds.com/2013/04/wow-me-wednesday-recipe-features.html
Elizabeth @ SugarHero.com says
These sound amazing! I love the combination of fresh homemade rolls and deliciously melty cheese.