These buttery & soft Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls are completely irresistible when served warm with whipped cinnamon honey butter! The fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth tender rolls are casual enough and easy for family dinners on Sunday evenings, but they are also worthy of a spot on the table when it's holiday season and you're assigned to bring the rolls!
I confess that I will often skip dessert and go back for more rolls instead. They are that good! If you love rolls too, then you might also want to check out our Lion House Dinner Rolls or these Homemade Potato Rolls.
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There is nothing as good as freshly baked rolls right when they come out of the oven. When I was a kid, I always used to sneak through the kitchen when the rolls my mom and aunts had made where coming out of the oven so I could snatch one off the pan. They were so hot they would burn my fingers and I was always scolded and told it would spoil my dinner, but I didn't care. Those hot fresh rolls were always the best!
If you aren't familiar with Texas Roadhouse, the best thing there as far as I'm concerned, are the baskets of rolls they bring out with cinnamon honey butter. They serve them fresh, like Olive Garden does with their breadsticks and salad or Red Lobster does with it's biscuits. The rest of the food is decent, but the thing everybody always remembers and keeps coming back for more of are the rolls.
If you have been intimidated by working with yeast dough or shaping rolls, these are the rolls for you. They are super easy to make and shape and turn out fantastic every time. The square shape is fun and different, and super easy to achieve. The scalded milk and melted butter in the roll dough with the perfect balance of sugar and salt make these extra wonderful.
You will get about 2 dozen rolls from a batch, but you can easily double, or triple the batch if you are feeding a crowd! And for the record, I would plan on AT LEAST 2-3 rolls per person.
Ingredients in Texas Roadhouse Rolls
- Active dry yeast: This is the kind of yeast I use most often and is the type that you "proof" in warm water for a few minutes until foamy. But instant yeast will work as well (I'll include instructions for instant yeast in the recipe notes).
- Sugar: This ingredient adds a hint of sweetness to the rolls and also helps proof the yeast.
- Whole milk: Using whole milk makes the most tender, wonderful rolls, but 2% or even skim milk will work if that's all you have on hand.
- Butter: The added butter to the roll dough makes them wonderfully buttery and rich. Plus, you will brush some extra melted butter on top of the rolls right as they come out of the oven for a buttery taste to every bite.
- Flour: I think bread flour is best for these rolls since it makes them a bit chewier, but all-purpose will work just fine if that's what you have on hand. I've made it both ways and the difference is slight, so don't make an extra trip to the store if you don't have bread flour for this Texas Roadhouse rolls recipe.
- Eggs: Eggs enrich bread and roll dough so it's extra wonderful and has the best texture and flavor.
- Salt: Of course we need a little salt to add flavor and make sure the rolls aren't bland. I've forgotten this ingredient in bread and rolls before and it makes a big difference.
Let's make Texas Roadhouse Rolls!
- Scald the milk: Add the milk to a medium saucepan and heat over medium-high heat without stirring just until it comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the butter and salt, stirring until the butter is completely melted. Let the mixture cool until lukewarm. This can be sped up by rubbing ice cubes around the pot for a few minutes to help it cool down quickly.
- While the milk cools, "proof" the yeast: This term just means activating the yeast by stirring it together with some warm water and a little sugar to "feed" the yeast. The water shouldn't be too hot, which can kill the yeast, but just nice and warm at around 105 degrees F. I think of it as the temperature that you would use to wash a baby's hands with. Once it sits for about 5 minutes, it should start to look foamy, like in the pictures below.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and knead: Combine the remaining sugar, honey, cooled milk mixture and 3 cups of the flour with the proofed yeast, stirring well. Beat in the eggs using the paddle attachment, then switch to the dough hook of your electric stand mixer. Continue to add the remaining flour, about ½ cup at a time, until a soft dough forms that starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead on medium speed for 5 minutes or by hand for 7-8 minutes until soft and smooth. The dough should feel tacky, but not sticky.
- Let the dough rise until doubled in size: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning the ball of dough to coat. Cover the ball with plastic wrap and let the dough sit in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.
- Roll out the dough: When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a large rectangle, about ½-inch thick. Fold the dough over in half so it is about 1-inch thick. Roll the dough lightly to press the layers together a bit. It should end up being about ¾-inch thick.
- Cut the rolls into squares: Use a bench scraper or pizza cutter to cut the roll dough into 2-inch squares. Transfer them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Space the rolls out so they have room to rise without touching, then cover lightly with plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
- Bake: While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and rub the tops of the rolls with softened butter. Serve warm with cinnamon honey butter.
Tips & tricks for the best homemade dinner rolls
- Let the dough rise. If your house is cold, try placing them in a window that gets a lot of sun or on the counter next to your oven or stove.
- You can use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast, if that's what you have available to you. Instead of proofing the yeast, just go ahead and add the yeast and water with the flour and mix the ingredients without waiting for the yeast to proof.
Storage and freezing instructions
Leftover rolls can be kept in an airtight container on the counter for about 3-5 days before they start getting stale. Or you can freeze the cooled rolls in freezer-safe bags for 4-6 months. Just thaw and reheat wrapped in foil in the oven before serving.
More Bread Recipes
- Grilled Garlic Bread
- Easy Rosemary Focaccia Bread
- Homemade Flour Tortillas
- Garlic Naan
- Homemade Soft Pretzels
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter + 3 additional tablespoons for rubbing on top of the rolls
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
- ½ cup warm water
- ½ cup granulated sugar, divided
- ½ cup honey
- 2 large eggs
- 7 to 8 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
Instructions
- Scald the milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat by bringing to a boil, then removing from the heat. Add the butter and salt to the scalded milk. Stir until butter is melted. Cool until lukewarm.
- Combine the yeast, warm water, and 2 teaspoons of the sugar in a large bowl of a stand mixer. Stir together and let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. Once the yeast has proofed, add the remaining sugar, honey, the scalded milk and butter mixture, and 3 cups of the flour. Beat well to combine.
- Add the eggs and beat well.
- Add the flour 1 cup at a time, kneading until the dough is soft and starts to separate from the sides of the bowl. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes, then knead for 5 minutes on medium speed using a dough hook attachment or for 7-8 minutes by hand until a smooth, supple dough forms. It should be tacky, but not sticky.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes. Punch down the dough, then let rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to about ½-inch thick. Fold dough over in half so it is 1-inch thick. Roll again lightly to press both parts together. The dough will be about ¾-inch to 1-inch thick.
- Cut the dough into 2-inch squares using a bench scraper or pizza cutter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 30-60 minutes until puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F while the rolls are rising.
- Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Rub the tops of the hot rolls with the remaining butter.
Notes
- Leftover rolls can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for 3-5 days, or in the freezer for 4-6 months.
Nutrition
Recipe from LMLD.
Amy what would be the best method to make these ahead?
If you want to make these ahead of time, I would probably suggest making and freezing the dough all the way through cutting it out. Immediately place the cut rolls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze. Once they are frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer-safe airtight container like a ziploc bag. Then when you want to bake them you can pull them out, arrange on a baking sheet, then thaw and rise until puffy before baking. The other option would be to bake and freeze, then thaw and warm in the oven.