Garlic Herb Dinner Rolls are perfectly soft, buttery classic rolls with garlic powder, rosemary, oregano, and thyme for amazing flavor.
Whether it’s a holiday meal, a family get-together, or your favorite comforting meal, Fluffy Dinner Rolls make the ultimate Side Dish. This simple recipe adds a little bit of garlic herb flavor to the rolls and makes them even more delicious!
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Garlic Herb Dinner Rolls Recipe
If you’re a fan of Garlic Bread, then you’re sure to love these Fluffy Garlic Herb Dinner Rolls. While garlic bread is nice and crispy, these rolls give you that same garlic flavor with a fluffy, airy texture. Mixing garlic powder and fresh herbs into the dough gives them an extra bit of flavor to take any dinner to the next level. If you want even more garlic flavor, you can spread additional garlic butter over the inside of your warm roll.
My Garlic Herb Dinner Rolls are an amazing recipe if you’re new to bread making. Though the prep work does take some time, I used rapid-rise yeast so it’s faster than other recipes. Plus the step-by-step instructions are simple and easy to follow so it is one of those recipes that anyone can master. It’s sure to be a new favorite bread for holidays and special meals!
Ingredients
- ½ cup Whole Milk: Whole milk provides richness and moisture to the dinner rolls, resulting in a tender crumb and soft texture.
- ¼ cup Water: Water helps hydrate the dough and activates the yeast, allowing the rolls to rise properly. Ensure it’s at the right temperature (110-120 degrees Fahrenheit) to activate the yeast effectively.
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter: Butter adds flavor and richness to the rolls. You can use salted butter if that’s what you have on hand, just lower the amount of salt in the recipe.
- 2 cups Flour: All-purpose flour works well in this recipe, but you can any wheat-based flour if needed.
- 2 ¼ teaspoons Rapid Rise Yeast (1 packet): We used rapid rise yeast, which works great in this recipe. It acts faster than instant yeast, so you don’t need to give the Garlic & Herb Dinner Rolls as much time to rise.
- 1 ½ tablespoons Sugar: Sugar adds sweetness to the rolls and also feeds the yeast.
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt: You can use table salt if kosher salt is not available, but reduce the amount slightly.
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Thyme, minced: Fresh thyme adds a subtle herby flavor to the rolls.
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Rosemary, minced: Fresh rosemary adds a fragrant, earthy flavor to the rolls.
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Oregano, minced: Fresh oregano adds a slightly peppery and citrusy flavor to the rolls.
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder: Garlic powder gives a savory garlic flavor throughout the rolls.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Stand Mixer: A stand mixer is essential for kneading the dough efficiently and thoroughly. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can knead the dough by hand, but it may require more time.
- Saucepan: A saucepan is needed to heat the milk, water, and butter mixture to the correct temperature for activating the yeast.
- 8×8 inch Baking Pan: An 8×8 inch baking pan is used to shape and bake the dinner rolls. Make sure to grease the pan lightly to prevent the rolls from sticking during baking.
- Thermometer: A thermometer is crucial for accurately measuring the temperature of the milk, water, and butter mixture.
- Pastry Brush: A pastry brush is used to apply the egg wash evenly on top of the rolls before baking. This gives the rolls a shiny, golden crust. If you don’t have a pastry brush, you can use the back of a spoon or your fingers.
How to Make Dinner Rolls
Time needed: 1 hour and 5 minutes.
- Activate Yeast
Heat milk, water, and butter until warm. Add yeast to a stand mixer, then pour the warm milk mixture over it. Let it sit for 5 minutes to proof.
- Mix Dough
Combine flour, sugar, salt, herbs, and garlic powder in the stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until smooth and elastic, adding remaining flour gradually.
- Shape Dough
Roll the dough into balls and place in a greased baking pan. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, until doubled in size.
- Preheat Oven
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Apply Egg Wash
Whisk together egg and milk. Brush the rolls with the egg wash.
- Bake
Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving. Enjoy your delicious Garlic Herb Dinner Rolls!
Can These Be Made Ahead?
Yes, the dough for Garlic Herb Dinner Rolls can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated overnight. Shape the rolls and place them in the baking pan, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When ready to bake, remove from the refrigerator, let them come to room temperature, then bake as directed.
Nutritional Facts
How to Store Dinner Rolls
Storing
After baking homemade dinner rolls, give them a few minutes to cool before serving them. To store the Garlic & Herb Dinner Rolls put them in a Ziploc bag or another airtight container. Then they’ll stay good for 5-7 days. You can also put them in the fridge if the room temperature is too humid, but they’ll keep better outside of the fridge.
Reheating Tips
To reheat Garlic Herb Dinner Rolls, preheat the regular oven to 350 degrees. Place the rolls on a baking sheet and warm in the oven for 5-7 minutes until heated through. Avoid using the microwave to maintain the texture. Air fryer and toaster oven methods can be used for 2 minutes.
Freezing
Once baked and cooled, store the dinner rolls in an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. To thaw, leave them in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat as instructed.
Frequent Questions
Homemade bread has a quicker prep time if you use a stand mixer. However, if you don’t have one, you can knead the Garlic & Herb Dinner Rolls by hand.
One secret to making Garlic & Herb Dinner Rolls as soft as possible is to use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. Bread flour produces more gluten, which makes a lighter texture. It’s also important not to knead too much. Kneading the dough until it’s soft is important, but if you knead for too long, you’ll make the dough tough.
Yes, you can substitute active dry yeast for rapid-rise yeast in this recipe. Use the same amount, but proof it in warm water (110-120 degrees) with a pinch of sugar for 10 minutes before adding it to the dough.
The rolls should be golden brown on top when they are done baking. You can also insert a toothpick into the center of a roll; if it comes out clean or with only a few crumbs attached, the rolls are ready.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise yeast , 1 packet
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme , minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary , minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano , minced
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
To Finish:
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
Instructions
- Add the yeast to the stand mixer and in a saucepan heat the whole milk, water and butter until very warm it reaches between 110-120 degrees on a thermometer (you don't want it too hot or it will kill the yeast).
- Add the milk mixture to the stand mixer and let it sit for 5 minutes to proof the yeast (this ensures super fluffy rolls).
- Add 1 ½ cups flour, sugar, salt, thyme, rosemary, oregano and garlic powder to the stand mixer with the regular whisk attachment for 2 minutes on medium speed before adding remaining ½ cup of flour and changing to the dough hook and keeping it on medium speed for another 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- Roll the dough into 12 balls and place into 8×8 inch baking pan, covering with a dry, clean kitchen towel in a warm place for 30 minutes (you want the rolls to double in size).
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a small bowl whisk together egg and milk.
- Brush the rolls with egg wash and bake for 20 minutes.
Notes
- Click on the yield amount to slide and change the number of servings and the recipe will automatically update!
- Click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.
- To convert measurements to grams, click on the Metric option next to Ingredients in the recipe card.
Nutrition
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Variations on Dinner Rolls
- Herbs: You can experiment with adding other herbs to these Garlic & Herb Dinner Rolls. Additional parsley, sage, or dill are all excellent options.
- Fresh Garlic: If you have garlic cloves that you want to use instead of garlic powder, you’ll need to finely mince fresh garlic. Remember that 1 clove of garlic equals ½ teaspoon garlic powder, which will be perfect for these delicious rolls.
- Butter Topping: After cooking, you can brush melted butter over the top of the baked rolls. This is delicious if you use regular butter and sprinkle flaky sea salt on top. You can also brush with garlic herb butter for even more fantastic flavor.
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