Easy Homemade Hawaiian Dinner Rolls (Perfect for Holiday Meals!)
We’re drooling over these buttery Hawaiian rolls.
Who doesn’t love that perfect savory-sweet dinner roll just like the ones you’re served at a restaurant or those King’s Hawaiian rolls you buy at the store? 😋 Now you can make them at home and it’s actually easier than you’d think!
You may see the words “homemade dinner rolls” and think this recipe will be confusing and complicated but I have eliminated a lot of the typical steps. As long as you can mix and knead, you can make these delicious dinner rolls for your next gathering and wow your guests.
These dinner rolls are the perfect crowd-pleaser with the sweet pineapple taste topped with the warm melted honey butter. I’m sure you will be sneaking a roll for yourself before placing them on the dinner table.
Hip Recipe Tips:
- Make sure ALL ingredients are at room temperature! This helps avoid any curdling with the milk.
- Depending on the temperature of your house, your rolls might take longer than 1 hour to rise. If they have not doubled in size after an hour, follow these steps:
- Turn the oven to the lowest setting and shut it off once it’s preheated.
- Place dough in a warm oven and they will begin to rise.
- Make sure your dinner rolls are the same size as this will help the rolls bake evenly.
- Using instant rapid yeast cuts out the proofing step as then there’s no need to wake up the yeast with warm water.
Hawaiian Dinner Rolls
yield: 12 SERVINGS
prep time: 2 HOURS
cook time: 20 MINUTES
total time: 2 HOURS 20 MINUTES
Homemade sweet and savory dinner rolls get a touch of Hawaiian sweetness from pineapple juice.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup pineapple juice
- 1 pack instant yeast
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon honey
Directions
1
Make sure everything is at room temperature. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2
Using either a handheld mixer or standing mixer, mix together pineapple juice, milk, 2 eggs, 5 tablespoons of melted butter, salt, sugar, and a packet of yeast.
3
Slowly add in 1 cup of flour at a time to your liquid mixture. Mix on low until dough starts to form and pull from the sides.
4
Once the dough has reached a ball shape and is no longer sticking to the sides, you can start to knead the bread. You can do this by hand or by using a kneading attachment on your mixer. Knead the bread for 5 minutes.
5
Place the dough in a large bowl and cover with a lightly damp towel. Leave in a warm area for at least 1 hour. The dough should double in size. If not, see the hip tips above.
6
Divide dough into 12 equal rolls and place them in a baking dish or baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7
In a small bowl, add 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water and whisk. Brush egg wash on rolls and cover one more time. Let rise for 30 minutes.
8
Bake rolls in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
9
For the finishing touch, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and add in 1 tablespoon of honey. Brush finished rolls with honey butter and serve. YUM!
Hot buttery sweet rolls are the best—and these ones just smell of homemade goodness. You will have no complaints while serving these up at your next family gathering. Just make sure to make a big batch if you want any leftover for the next day!
Serve rolls with a warm bowl of slow cooker wild rice soup!
Not me! I ordered a thanksgiving meal from Cracker Barrel and I’m calling it good! I have declared this year Lazy Thanksgiving. I’m not traveling and I’m not cooking. Going to enjoy myself!
Hello! Thanks for the recipe…it sounds delicious! I was wondering if the rolls could be made in advance…like the day before?
You sure can! When making the rolls you will follow everything and let rise like normal. Shape dough into rolls and arrange them in their pain like as directed. Place rolls on a baking pan and place in the fridge COVERED so they do not dry out. Just remove rolls and set out on the counter for 30-60 minutes to come to room temperature before baking.
5 cups of flour for only 12 rolls seems crazy to me! The recipe looks good. However, I would need to at the very least double that for my group and that’s a TON of flour!
A 5 pound bag is about 18 cups so not as much as it seems.
Yes, I bake often. I have another recipe for rolls that takes 10 cups of flour and I make over 40 rolls with that one. That’s where I’m comparing from.
I agree. I have a similar recipe and can get 30 rolls from it. Maybe it depends on the size of the rolls being made?
We have 35-40 people at thanksgiving. I really wanna make these, but that’s a lot of rolls!!! At least two per person. Aldi does have flour for 99cents hmmm if I can make them the day before that would make it soooo much easier.
Sams club has the king Hawaiian rolls for 5.98 family size, save your self so time and buy them made.
You sure can! When making the rolls you will follow everything and let rise like normal. Shape dough into rolls and arrange them in their pain like as directed. Stick rolls on a baking sheet in the fridge COVERED so they do not dry out. Just remove rolls and set out on the counter for 30-60 minutes to come to room temperature before baking.
What attachment do you use to mix the ingredients before changing it out to the kneading attachment?
I use a flat beater before switching out to the kneading attachment.
Kitchenaid mixers come with a dough hook attachment. I use this all the time to make my bread. Save so much time kneading.
These look yummy! I just want to clarify that this recipe uses all-purpose flour and not self-rising. Thank you!
Can’t wait to make these!
These look really yummy can’t wait to make them. Thanks!
Ashley, can this dough be made in a breadmaker? And, can bread flour be utilized? I only ask about the breadmaker because I have “kneading” issues. 🙂 I typically put in 4 cups for my cinnamon roll dough, so would think 5 cups wouldn’t harm anything either.
Can you omit the pineapple juice and if so with what would you put in its place?
I wish there would have been an eggless version recipe for the rolls. Hubby can’t eat eggs.
For any of you that live near an O’Charleys-they will sell unproofed rolls at holiday times. I have used them for 10+ years and they are always a hit!
I couldn’t find packets of instant yeast. I had to buy a large container. How much is in a small packet that is used in this recipe?
I believe it is 2.5 tsp for each little packet. However, if you had to buy a bigger size of yeast, just freeze it. I buy the “brick” from Sam’s Club and keep a small jar of it in my frig. When I bake (which is like every few days), I just pull it out of the frig and replenish as needed from what I keep in the freezer. Buying the “brick” is soooo much cheaper.
Does anyone have a recipe for a small batch of Hawaiian dinner rolls, 4 – 6 rolls? Can’t find any recipe online for this size batch. Thanks.