No Yeast Dinner Rolls
No yeast dinner rolls are the perfect solution when you need bread, but you don’t have time to make real dinner rolls. Skip the brown-and-serves and make a batch of these quick bread style rolls. You’ll love how easy they are to throw together.
Jump to Recipe
Sometimes you start dinner 30 minutes behind schedule. Sometimes, your husband is standing on your heels looking in all the pots and won’t go away and all you want to do is smack him.
You need dinner done before you lose your sanity, and you need it done now. These little rolls will help.
These rolls follow more of a quick bread style, and use so few ingredients, you’re bound to have most if not all of them on hand right now.
There’s no yeast to kill, no kneading to do–just mix and drop spoonfuls into greased muffin tins (I like this one to get just the right size). Bake ’em up, spread them with butter or jam and you’ve got a fast, easy option.
Why mayonnaise makes these rolls amazing
Mayo in bread dough? Yep! It’s a wonderful binder and, as such, does a great job of bringing all of the ingredients together into moist rolls with a nice, tender crumb.
Mayonnaise also adds a subtle tang to these rolls, making them wonderful accompaniments to rich, savory dishes.
Chemically speaking, in order for baking powder to activate effectively, it needs to come in contact with some acid.
Mayonnaise is quite acidic and activates the baking powder beautifully, allowing it to work effectively as a leavening agent.
How to Make Self Rising Flour at Home
If you can’t find self-rising flour, make it at home from all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
Sift together 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
Is your baking powder fresh? Are you sure?
If you want your rolls to rise properly, it is important to start out with fresh baking powder that is less than 6 months old.
Have a look at the expiration date and think back on whether or not the baking powder has been stored in a cool, dry place. If the expiration date hasn’t passed and the baking powder has been properly stored, you’re in the clear.
Still unsure? You can test it by mixing 1 teaspoon of baking powder with 1/3 cup of hot water. If the mixture bubbles vigorously, your baking powder good to go.
Tip: Make sure they rise
Rolls that don’t rise usually fail because the baking powder in your self rising flour is old. Even if you just bought the bag, it could have sat on the store shelf for a while and lost its mojo. You can always add a bit of fresh from your pantry to your self rising flour if you are unsure how long it’s been sitting around.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Dinner Rolls without Yeast
Combine self-rising flour and sugar in a medium bowl.
Mix the milk and mayonnaise in a second smaller bowl.
Add the milk/mayo mixture to the flour and sugar and stir until just blended.
Drop by spoonfuls into a greased muffin tin and bake.
Tips for success
Here come a few pearls of wisdom that will help you achieve the best no-yeast dinner rolls you’ve ever had.
- Don’t overmix. Overmixing can cause the glutens in the flour to overdevelop, ending you with tough, overly dense rolls.
- Handle gently. When working with the dough, use a light hand. Be careful not to press any air bubbles out of the dough as this can keep it from rising properly.
- Preheat all the way. Be sure that the oven is preheated all the way before baking. I like using an oven thermometer for good measure.
- Position matters. Position the rolls on the middle rack of the oven. They will bake more evenly, helping you avoid burnt bottoms or tops.
How to store and freeze leftover rolls
Make a double batch of these dinner rolls and store them for later. Allow them to cool completely before sealing them in an airtight container. You can keep them at room temperature for up to 3 days. Do not refrigerate them. They will dry out.
If you would like to freeze the dinner rolls, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap before sealing the wrapped rolls together in a freezer bag and popping them in the freezer. Freeze for up to 3 months. Allow the rolls to thaw at room temperature before unwrapping and reheating them in the oven at 350 degrees F for 5-10 minutes.
3 ways to add flavor variations to your bread
I love these dinner rolls as they are. They go with pretty much anything. That being said, you can easily add a pop of flavor to tailor them to your meal.
- Cheese. Add shredded cheddar or parmesan cheese to the dough. ⅓ cup will do.
- Herbs. I love adding rosemary or thyme to these rolls, especially during the holidays. Just mix your favorite into the dough and bake as usual.
- Make it sweet. Fold in a handful of raisins and a teaspoon of cinnamon for a sweet twist on the classic.
- Try a flavored butter. Brush garlic or honey butter over the top of the rolls the moment they come out of the oven.
What to serve with no yeast dinner rolls
You can’t have dinner rolls without dinner so here are a few of my favorite entrees to serve these warm, fluffy rolls with.
- Pot roast. I love dipping these rolls in the juices from my Dutch oven pot roast.
- Spaghetti and meatballs. Sop up the last of the sauce from my spaghetti and meatballs recipe with these dinner rolls.
- With breakfast. I usually serve my homemade breakfast sausages with biscuits but these rolls make a great substitution.
No Yeast Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup self rising flour see note below
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon sugar cane sugar or honey also works here
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Instructions
- Mix the flour and sugar together in a medium bowl.
- Add the mayonnaise and milk and stir to combine.
- Spray a 6-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or brush with oil of your choice. Spoon batter into the tin, filling 3/4 full.
- Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown on top–about 12 to 15 minutes.
- You can double the recipe to make a dozen.
Notes
Nutrition
I was wondering how this would work with almond milk?
Has anyone attempted it?
I think they may have as a matter of fact Lori. I think it would work just fine–you may want to use a tad less since almond milk is a bit thinner than regular milk. Try reducing the amount by a couple of tablespoons and only adding it in if the batter is too thick. –Rachel
So I mixed the batter as per the recipe – and then added three heaped table spoons of whole-kernel canned sweetcorn to it (not any liquid!). Now I’m here to share with you the accolades I received from my family. Thank you so much – I can see these delicious and easy-to-make bread rolls becoming a firm favourite in my home.
Corn sounds like a great addition Judith! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. –Rachel
My rolls did not get brown. Any idea why not?
Hey Margaret, you know it’s tricky because every oven can vary by up to 50 degrees hotter or cooler and that can make the final result vary. I use a separate thermometer in my oven when I test recipes to make sure they are actually cooking at 350 or 400 or whatever it needs to be. Unless you have a separate thermometer in your oven you could have yours set to 350 and it only be baking 300. When all else fails, watch the food and not the times and just bake them until they get brown. –Rachel
Can the dough be made ahead of time and refrigerated?
Hey Heather, nope. Because of the baking powder that’s in the flour, once it activates it will rise and then that’s all she wrote. And you want that to happen in your oven, not your fridge. These are so easy you should be able to make them fast enough–or better yet, you could bake them then freeze them or refrigerate them and then just rewarm them in the oven. That might work better! –Rachel
This bread is so yummy I may never go back to bothering with yeast bread! Honestly, this is so simple and quick! I cut the recipe in half and used a very small loaf pan, as I only cook for myself. 25 minutes at 350 degrees. The texture turned out so light and fluffy, puts any of my yeast bread efforts to shame. I made certain not to stir the batter much after it comes together. My new favorite bread recipe, thanks!
Oh Mike–don’t say that! Yeast bread is always worth making. 😉 But I know what you mean. They are easy and pretty good! I’m glad you enjoy them. –Rachel
Trying to make them with gluten free flour. Mmmm my mouth is watering. Have not had a roll in years. Wish me luck
I hope you enjoyed them Becke. Depending on your gluten free blend, you’d need xanthan gum, baking powder and salt to make an equivalent roll. Hopefully you adjusted for those things. –Rachel
Wanted a sweet breakfast combination. I had 2 veery ripe pears so I cubed one and mashed one. omitted the milk due to pear juice added 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1 tsp cinnamon. 1/2 tsp cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top before baking. Cook 18-22 min
That sounds really good Sarah! I bet some slightly cooked chopped apples would be good as well–and a little streusel topping maybe? 😉 –Rachel
I’m a novice in the kitchen so this recipe was just up my alley, simple. Needless to say I somehow messed it up. They were crumbly and fell apart before I could even get butter on them. I’m know it was something I did but with so few steps I’m not sure where I went wrong. I don’t like touching raw food with my hands so I just stirred it up, no real kneading so I didn’t overwork it. What other possibilities?
Hey Junebug, aw I’m sorry about that. 🙁 One thing I will tell you since you are new to cooking, don’t give up! Sometimes you just have to experiment and keep practicing. Some thoughts: did you use real mayonnaise? If not, you’d be missing out on the egg that is the binder for these and they would fall apart without it. If you used Miracle Whip or something else, that would be one possible cause. There wasn’t any reason to knead these–they don’t have yeast or need the gluten built up for structure so that wasn’t the problem. Go back and look at what ingredients you used again, maybe go watch the YouTube video that goes with it and see if you can identify any problems you had. And just try again when you can. 🙂 –Rachel
How do I change this up using all purpose flour? How much baking powder/salt/baking soda?
Katherine, for every one cup of all purpose flour you’ll need 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Can you freeze them?
I think you could do that just fine Sheri. Make sure to give them plenty of protection from the cold. Bread freezer burns in no time it seems like. –Rachel