Rosemary Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
These pumpkin dinner rolls are infused with rosemary for a flavorful addition to your Thanksgiving feast. Even if you’ve never worked with yeast before these dinner rolls are easy to make and are sure to impress your guests.
What I love about rosemary pumpkin dinner rolls
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! I know not all of your are celebrating (in fact, most of you probably aren’t), but being married to a Canadian allows you to celebrate Thanksgiving twice a year. Could anything be better than that? Not much. Since Marc’s mom was visiting last week for Ellie’s birthday, we celebrated with a big dinner on Thursday.
We had sage butter rubbed turkey breast with apple cider gravy, stuffing, sautéed green beans, and these pumpkin dinner rolls. These amazing little balls of rosemary pumpkin goodness.
Now this isn’t the easiest recipe to make, but it’s not the hardest either. It just takes a little set up, and some time. If you’ve never worked with yeast before, these would be a great starter choice. I don’t have much experience with yeast myself. I had only baked something with yeast one time before – sweet almond baby buns – and it wasn’t too bad, but these were definitely easier.
The recipe I followed for these pumpkin rolls was actually for a sweet potato roll, but I find that the two are pretty interchangeable. And, it’s a lot easier to open a can of pumpkin that it is to baked and mash sweet potato. Of course, you can use either, but that’s what I decided to do. I also added rosemary, because I find that it’s so savory and perfect for a meal like Thanksgiving.
If you like this recipe, you have to try these cheddar bay biscuits, and this butternut squash bread and this easy vegan cornbread.
Searching for more holiday recipes? Italian porchetta roast / bacon wrapped water chestnuts / easy peel and eat shrimp / vegan scalloped potatoes
Ingredients & substitutions
- Active dry yeast – This is the leavening agent for the bread. If you haven’t worked with yeast before – this recipe is a good beginner recipe.
- Warm water – Read the instructions on your yeast to get more information, but the yeast will need some warm water to do its job.
- Honey – Agave nectar will work just as well for this recipe. It adds a sweetness to the dinner rolls that is delicious.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make rosemary pumpkin dinner rolls
Activate the yeast. In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together yeast, water, and 1/2 cup flour. Let yeast activate for 15 minutes (should be bubbly/foamy when ready).
Make the dough. Add 2 – 3 cups of flour and remaining ingredients to bowl and mix with dough hook, mixing until combined and dough no longer sticks to sides of bowl. Add remaining flour if necessary.
Allow dough to rise. Shape dough into a ball and place in a large bowl coated in cooking spray. Roll dough to thinly coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Allow dough to rise for 2 hours, or until doubled in size (keep bowl away from cool areas or drafts during this process).
Punch dough down in bowl, and transfer to a large cutting surface. Shape into a rectangle and cut into 16 squares. Roll each square into a ball and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise for another 45 minutes.
Bake the rolls. Preheat oven to 400˚F (200˚C). When dough has risen, bake for 15 minutes (rolls should be soft but browned on the top).
Make ahead tips for holidays
These rolls would be great if you’re bring a dish to a Thanksgiving dinner or if you’re hosting. I’d just suggest making them a day or two ahead of time if you’re hosting, that way you don’t have to overwhelm yourself the day of your dinner. You can store them in a airtight container or a zip bag until you’re ready to serve them. Just pop them into the oven after you take the turkey out of the oven to heat them up – maybe about 10 minutes at 325 or 350.
They’re also really good toasted and used for a hot turkey sandwich if you have leftovers.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 teaspoons 1 package active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water about 100°F
- 4 cups all-purpose flour divided
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1 egg
- 2 fresh rosemary sprigs stems removed and finely chopped
- Cooking spray or extra oil for bowl
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together yeast, water, and 1/2 cup flour. Let yeast activate for 15 minutes (should be bubbly/foamy when ready).
- Add 2 – 3 cups of flour and remaining ingredients to bowl and mix with dough hook, mixing until combined and dough no longer sticks to sides of bowl. Add remaining flour if necessary.
- Shape dough into a ball and place in a large bowl coated in cooking spray. Roll dough to thinly coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Allow dough to rise for 2 hours, or until doubled in size (keep bowl away from cool areas or drafts during this process).
- Punch dough down in bowl, and transfer to a large cutting surface. Shape into a rectangle and cut into 16 squares. Roll each square into a ball and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise for another 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400˚F (200˚C). When dough has risen, bake for 15 minutes (rolls should be soft but browned on the top).
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Use Real Butter.
