Sweet Potato Rolls
Soft and fluffy sweet potato rolls are just a tiny bit chewy and a little bit sweet. Our whole family gobbles them up!
My mom’s sweet potato rolls are kind of famous. They’re light and pillowy, and so dang good you can never eat just one!
Unfortunately, this is not a 30-minute recipe. However, these sweet potato rolls are totally worth the wait!
Typically my mom makes these for special occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas. They go great with a holiday ham. She also makes them whenever we get together for a big family meal like her equally famous chicken pot pie. They’re just so good.
🧂 Ingredients
- sweet potato
- brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- active dry yeast
- salt
- milk
- water
- butter
- eggs
- all purpose flour
This is meant to be a brief overview of this great recipe. For step-by-step instructions and a full printable recipe card with ingredients, please scroll down to the teal box below.
🥄Equipment
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Here is what you will need to make this easy recipe:
We make these by hand, but you could use a stand mixer with a hook attachment and paddle attachment if you like. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl often.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some questions (and answers!) readers often ask about this recipe.
While we love buttery mashed sweet potatoes, we don’t recommend you use them for this recipe because of the extra ingredients added to mashed sweet potatoes.
For the rolls to come out right, you’ll need to use pure sweet potato puree.
Pumpkin puree would also work in these dinner rolls, of course then they would be pumpkin rolls and not sweet potato rolls! Additionally, the flavor won’t be the same.
⭐ Ang’s Tips
✔️ Poke a few holes into a large sweet potato, then wrap it in a paper towel. Microwave it for 4-6 minutes, then remove it and let it cool before scooping out the flesh.
✔️ Double check all your measurements before you begin mixing the bread dough.
🍲 Storage
To Store: Rolls should be stored in an airtight container. They’ll keep well for 4-5 days, depending on humidity. (These are my favorite airtight containers.)
To Reheat: Microwave individual rolls for 15-20 seconds.
To Freeze: Once the sweet potato rolls have cooled completely, place them into a freezer-safe bag. They store well in the freezer for up to 2 months. (Be sure to label them!)
To Thaw: Remove from the freezer and thaw in the fridge overnight.
📖 Variations
The first time you try any new recipe we recommend that you make it just as it is written on the recipe card since that is how the recipe has been tested. However, the next time you make our recipe, you might want to try one of these ideas:
- For gluten free sweet potato rolls, use gluten free flour.
- Substitute half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour to make whole wheat sweet potato rolls.
- This dough is so soft and pillowy that you could even use it to make sweet potato cinnamon rolls!
- We use whole milk, but these can also be made with almond milk.
- Substitute maple syrup or honey for the brown sugar.
- For a more savory roll, omit the brown sugar, add 1 teaspoon garlic powders and 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme to the batter if you like.
- For breakfast, add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, or 1 teaspoon of apple pie spice mix, to the batter.
🍴 Serving Suggestions
While sweet potato rolls take a little time to make, they’re so worth it, especially around the holidays! I often serve mine with plain butter, but for holidays it’s fun to quickly make cranberry butter, cinnamon honey butter, or brown sugar butter.
These rolls are also great for sliders – don’t knock sweet potato burger buns until you’ve tried it! My mom uses them to make breakfast sandwiches, too.
Speaking of my mom, she always makes TONS of these rolls for Thanksgiving dinner and we all have leftover turkey sandwiches with them!
Her soft rolls are also great for dipping into potato soup or sweet potato soup, and I love them with chicken stuffing casserole and ham pot pie, too.
Related: 50+ Best Thanksgiving Recipes
😋 Similar Recipes
Buttery sweet potato rolls are the perfect addition to your holiday meal! Next time you’re looking for a similar side dish, try one of these delicious recipes:
- shortcut dinner rolls
- butter swim biscuits
- skillet cornbread
- rosemary focaccia bread
And if you love sweet potatoes, you have to try my famous brown sugar mashed sweet potatoes!
Sweet Potato Rolls
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweet potato cooked and mashed
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
- 2¼ teaspoons dry active yeast (or one packet)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3-4 cups all-purpose flour depending on the consistency of your dough
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup butter melted
Instructions
- Combine the sugars, salt, and yeast with 1 cup of flour.1/4 cup brown sugar, 3 tablespoons white sugar, 2¼ teaspoons dry active yeast (or one packet), 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3-4 cups all-purpose flour
- In a large measuring cup, heat the milk, water, and butter to about 110-115F.1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup butter
- Add the warm liquids to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Mix in the sweet potato and eggs.1 cup sweet potato, 2 eggs
- Gradually add more flour until the dough can be handled easily without being too sticky.3-4 cups all-purpose flour
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it into a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until it doubles in size.
- Once risen, punch down the dough and form it into rolls.
- Place the rolls into a greased 9×13 baking dish.
- Cover and let the rolls rise again.
- Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Nutrition
More Sweet Potato Recipes You’ll Love
These delicious rolls aren’t the only thing we like to make with sweet potatoes! We’ve got something for any time of day and many of these are perfect for your next holiday dinner.
