Dozens of people agree, these are hands down the best vegan homemade dinner rolls recipe. Just 7 Ingredients and one bowl, this simple recipe will give you baked dinner rolls to soft and fluffy perfection every single time!
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Yeasted dough can be intimidating, but these vegan rolls are not. We worked for years to create a simplistic recipe that needs just a few ingredients and is pretty foolproof.
The key is warmed vegan milk and sugar to create a soft and fluffy texture with steps that when followed are easy to have weekly! Truly, they aren’t just for the holidays.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Barbara says : These rolls deserve the title of best rolls! This has become my go-to recipe for rolls and they are throughly enjoyed by the vegans and omnivores in my life. 💞
I remember these giant rolls a friend of the family used to make every holiday season. Everyone couldn’t get over how soft and fluffy they were.
When I was in my 20s, I started trying to replicate them and after (*ahem*) a few decades, I did, when we became vegan 8 years ago, I wanted to make sure that we made equally as delicious rolls, because if you ask me it’s not a holiday gathering unless there’s dinner rolls and the results are nothing less than perfect.
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Why these are the perfect Vegan Rolls
Texture
These come out so soft and fluffy! You will shock yourself and others that you made these and didn’t get them from the bakery. Just sit back and laugh as they search for the roll packaging that they’ll never be able to find.
Easy
Dinner rolls aren’t supposed to be complicated. In fact, you only need 7 total ingredients to make these and they are so quick to assemble in just one bowl.
Prep Ahead
We know, especially at holiday times, that life can feel overwhelming, even more so if you’re hosting or in charge of multiple things. The great news is these dinner rolls can be prepped a day or two ahead of time and still have a deliciously fluffy texture for your gathering.
Just want to make ahead in general, they are freezer safe too!
Vegan Dinner Rolls Ingredients
Flour
You can use bread flour (recommended) or all-purpose flour for this recipe. We do not recommend gluten free flour for this; however, you can use our gluten free vegan dinner roll recipe instead.
Yeast
We are using an instant yeast because we find that it’s easier to use for the everyday home cook; however, you can also use active dry yeast if you are more familiar with that instead with no other changes made.
Sugar
We are using vegan cane sugar. This adds some sweetness to our recipe; however, you can omit, reduce, or replace with something like agave, maple syrup, or coconut sugar if you’d prefer. For liquid sugar, add when add the other liquids.
Salt
Salt not only helps with the flavor but also with the gluten structure of the rolls.
Non-Dairy Milk
We prefer using a higher protein non-dairy milk with recipes, like soy. However, any non-dairy milk will work with this recipe. Alternatively, you can also use water.
Non-Dairy Butter
We’re using this in the recipe for the fat. It helps the softness of the rolls when finished and adds moisture to the recipe for the perfect texture.
Maple Syrup
This is adding some sweetness to the tops of the dinner rolls, but more importantly, this is giving us a perfect golden brown hue to the tops of our rolls.
How to make vegan dinner rolls
1. In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Whisk the ingredients together. Make a small well (just indent the middle of the flour with the back of a spoon) in the flour mixture and then pour in warmed milk and melted butter.
2. Use a rubber scraper to slowly mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Run the scraper around the bottom and edges of the bowl to pull the dry ingredients into the wet. Continue mixing until a cohesive dough forms.
- Note: dough will be sticky but together.
3. Next, knead the dough for five minutes. You can do this by repeatedly, folding your dough in the bowl using your spatula or turn the dough out onto a floured surface to do it by hand. Kneading this by hand, may require a little bit more flour added to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.
After needing for five minutes, shape the dough into a ball and place it into a lightly greased bowl. The cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Tip: For taller, tastier, lighter, softer and chewier dough, let the rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until doubled in size.
4. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. We like to use a scale for accuracy by taking the total number of grams and dividing it by 12. Shape into round balls. Add into a greased 9×13 baking pan, seam side down. Cover and let rise in a warm location for 35-40 minutes or until doubled in size. While waiting for the rise, preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C).
- Tip: Doubling in size here is more important than the time. Take note of what the rolls looked like when adding the to the dish and allow them to sit until they are double that. Depending on the temperature in your home, it may be less or more that 35 minutes.
5. While rising, in a small bowl, combine the non-dairy milk and maple syrup for the topping. When doubled in size, use half of the milk mixture and brush each roll. Set the remaining half of the mixture aside. Place rolls in oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Remove from oven. Brush with remaining half of the mixture. Serve warm.
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Soft and Fluffy Vegan Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
For the dough
- 4 cups all purpose flour flour (480g)
- 4 tablespoon cane sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast (or 1 packet)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups warmed unsweetened dairy free milk, (temp should be 110˚F/43˚C) (360g)
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter, melted, but not hot
For the vegan egg wash topping
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add 4 cups flour, 4 tablespoon sugar, 2 ¼ teaspoon yeast and 1 teaspoon salt. Whisk the ingredients together. Make a well in the flour mix and then pour in 1 ½ cups warmed milk and 2 tablespoon melted butter. Use a rubber scraper to slowly mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Run the scraper around the bottom and edges of the bowl to pull the dry ingredients into the wet. Continue mixing until a cohesive dough forms. Note: dough will be sticky
- Next, knead the dough for five minutes. You can do this by repeatedly, folding your dough in the bowl using your spatula or turn the dough out onto a floured surface to do it by hand. Kneading this by hand, may require a little bit more flour added to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.
- After needing for five minutes, shape the dough into a ball and place it into a lightly greased bowl. The cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Tip: For taller, tastier, lighter, softer and chewier dough, let the rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (use a scale for accuracy). Shape into dough balls. Add into a greased 9×13 baking pan, seam side down. Cover and let rise in a warm location for 35-40 minutes or until doubled in size. While waiting for the rise, preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C).
- Meanwhile, In a small bowl, combine the non-dairy milk and maple syrup for the topping. Brush each roll with half this mixture after the rise. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven. Brush with remaining half of the mixture. Serve warm.
Notes
For the dough
- 4-5 cups flour
- 2 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast (or 1 packet)
- ⅓ cup cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups non dairy milk
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
For the topping
- ⅔ cup vegan butter, melted, divided
Video
Nutrition
Vegan Rolls FAQs
You can use what you prefer. If you can’t or don’t like to knead by hand, a stand mixer is a great option to use.
Clearly, these are best warm out of the oven the same day; however, these vegan dinner rolls are also great stored in an air tight container for up to 5 days. Warm before serving.
Make sure to use a safe for your allergies non-dairy milk and butter.
If you need to have a gluten free dinner roll, you can use our gluten free vegan dinner roll recipe instead.
Yes! Let cool completely and then store in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
This post was originally written on 11/18/2019, update on 11/14/23 and again on 11/17/2024.
Do you prepare the yeast with warm water and milk before mixing the wet and the dry ingredients. Also could I omit the sugar in the recipe. Thank you !
Yes you can omit the sugar. Warm wet ingredients is added into the dry
Easy to make and a big hit!
Glad to hear that!
yall… I was feeling adventurous and decided to make these with my toddler. knowing that it would be a lot longer than the stated time to make these.. I took a breath and we started our journey. let me tell you… my toddler was not only super ecstatic through the whole process… the rolls turned out amazing! it was our first time making rolls and I literally had a blast and was so proud of ourselves! my husband said they taste like texas roadhouse rolls for reference. thanks for this awesome recipe!
OMG, I love this so so so much
These are bomb. I don’t eat oil so I used a couple tbs coconut milk in the dough and left them plain on top. My whole family loves them. They are best when they are fresh and warm still but still pretty good a few days later. My partner said they taste like they are from the bakery!
So happy to hear that you enjoyed it
I am in ❤ with this recipe! TY so much for sharing. I have made this every 2 nights for the last 2 weeks. My family and friends cannot get enough of these rolls. You rock!
HAHA, We love that!
I love these. I made them with two tablespoons canned coconut milk instead of butter, and I didn’t put any butter on top either. They turned out so warm, soft and fluffy! And they didn’t make be puke like the first batch I made with butter (I don’t do oil, but my family loved those ones too)! Will make again the second way!!! Ty!
Glad you found a way that works for you
I tried the recipe with almond flour for gluten free and they didn’t turn out eatable to me lol too thick and heavy, but I tried. I will attempt again with different flour. Have you used quinoa flour for this recipe?
We don’t recommend using GF flours, especially ones that aren’t a blended combination with this recipe
Can I use all purpose flour in this recipe?
Yes
Can these be made without salt?
You can, it will lack flavor, but the recipe will work
I just made these and this is one of the best recipes I’ve followed this year! Wow wow wow. They are so soft and fluffy. I actually made them twice (first time was a fail- my mistake of not activating the yeast properly). I will be making them for my family this Christmas as Canada’s Thanksgiving was over a month ago lol. Here are my suggestions:
1. Put the instant yeast directly into the warmed milk, stir, and wait 5 to 10 minutes until it is foamy. This way you know it is active before putting into dry ingredients.
2. Be patient with the rising times. If your house is colder like mine was it will take more time to rise.
3. This one is personal preference, but the maple syrup topping was too sweet for me on the first batch. Second batch I washed with nondairy milk before baking and then vegan butter right after baking. Perfection!
Thank you so much! 🙂
Thanks for your feedback, glad you enjoyed these!
I have made these as dinner rolls and they are fantastic! I’m wondering if you think I could use this recipe and just make a loaf (or two) of bread from it. I don’t see why not.
Yes you could