This Sweet Potato Rolls Recipe is pillowy-soft, subtly sweet, and infused with the warm charm of mashed sweet potato in every bite. Perfect for dinner tables, holiday feasts, or simply to enjoy warm and fresh from the oven.
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Why This Recipe Works
- Moisture - The addition of sweet potato puree helps keep the dough soft and tender, preventing dryness.
- Flavor Depth - Brown sugar and butter enrich the rolls, while the sweet potato lends natural sweetness and earthiness.
- Structure - Yeast, eggs, and flour combine to give the rolls lift and a stable crumb.
- Versatility - These rolls pair beautifully with savory meals or sweet spreads, making them a flexible addition to your menu.
I love sweet potatoes- I've used them in sweet potato cupcakes, sweet potato pie, sweet potato biscuits, sweet potato pumpkin pie, and now these delicious rolls. I love the flavor it brings to so many of our favorite dishes.
What This Recipe Needs
- Unsalted Butter - Adds richness, flavor, and helps tenderize the dough.
- Milk (Whole or 2%) - Provides fat and liquid to balance texture and support yeast activity.
- Flour - Use All-Purpose or Bread Flour, which works great for giving structure and strength to each bite.
- Instant or Rapid-Rise Yeast - Leavens the dough efficiently for a light, airy roll.
- Brown Sugar - Sweetens gently and complements the sweet potato's flavor.
- Mashed Sweet Potato - The star ingredient; adds moisture, flavor, and a soft, tender crumb. This can be freshly cooked and mashed, from a can, or even from leftover sweet potato pudding or sweet potato soufflé.
Substitutions
- Use maple syrup or honey instead of brown sugar for a natural sweetener twist.
- Substitute oil or softened coconut oil for some or all of the butter if you want a lighter fat alternative.
How to Make Sweet Potato Rolls?
- Step 1: In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, yeast, and salt.
- Step 2: Microwave your butter, milk, and water. Heat for 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until your mixture is warm and the butter is melted. The temperature on an instant-read thermometer should be between 115°F and 130°F*. For a great thermometer, check out this one!
- Step 3: Mix the warm liquid, mashed sweet potatoes, and the eggs into the flour mixture until a dough forms.
- Step 4: Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, until it becomes sticky.
- Step 5: Transfer the dough to a clean bowl and lightly cover it with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm oven or in a warm spot in your house until it has doubled in size, ~45 minutes.
- Step 6: Once doubled, punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 15 equal pieces.
- Step 7: Roll each piece into a ball, then place them in a prepared dish-dust with a little more flour and cover. Return to the warm spot and rise for an additional 45 minutes.
- Step 8: Once doubled in size, remove from the warm oven (if that's where it was rising), and preheat the oven to bake.
- Step 9: Sweet potato rolls are done when they are baked through and golden on top.
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These rolls are perfect served alongside my herb butter turkey, sour cream mashed potatoes, Thanksgiving corn, and my favorite green bean casserole with cream cheese.
Expert Sweet Potato Roll Tips
- Use instant rise or rapid rise yeast for this recipe: 1 package or 2 ¼ tsps.
- Instant and Rapid Rise yeast can be mixed directly into the flour mixture. The liquid is typically hotter when using this type of yeast (120°F-130°F, compared to 100°F-110°F) because, once added to the flour mixture, it will cool to the correct temperature that helps the yeast grow.
- If you need a fantastic thermometer, I love this one!
- If your house is cold, heat your oven to its lowest temperature, then turn it OFF. Then you can just let your dough rise in there.
- After the second rise, the rolls should be touching in the dish. I prefer to use an aluminum baking dish, but glass or non-stick options will work just fine.
- Don't over-flour - the dough should be slightly tacky; too much flour makes rolls dense.
- For uniform rolls, use a kitchen scale to divide the dough evenly. However, this isn't necessary, and simply estimating even portions works out fine.
- Brush melted butter on top immediately after baking for a soft, golden crust.
- Overnight Instructions:
- Prepare the recipe through the second rise and roll shaping. Once you have shaped your rolls and placed them in the baking dish, cover them with plastic wrap (making sure to create a tight seal), and refrigerate overnight, for up to 15 hours.
- Refrigerating will slow the second rise, preventing the dough from overproofing. Three hours before you bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. Continue with the baking instructions.
- Dough Freezing Instructions:
- Prepare the recipe through the second rise and roll shaping. Once you have shaped your rolls and placed them in the baking dish, cover with plastic wrap (you want a tight seal), and freeze for up to 3 months.
- You can move the frozen balls of dough to a bag once they're frozen to save freezer space, as they won't be sticky anymore. Keep frozen for up to 3 months.
- When ready to bake, arrange the frozen dough balls in a greased baking dish, cover, and let them thaw for 4-5 hours. Then bake as directed in the instructions.
Variations
- Herb & Garlic Sweet Potato Rolls - Add finely minced herbs (rosemary, thyme) and garlic to the dough or brushed on top.
- Cinnamon Sugar Rolls - Roll the shaped dough in cinnamon sugar before baking for a sweet twist.
- Cheesy Sweet Potato Rolls - Fold bits of cheese (cheddar, gruyère) into the dough for a savory melt.
These rolls are delicious dipped in green chile stew, with chuck roast, or slathered with my delightful garlic herb butter. Use them for leftover Thanksgiving sandwiches, or an open-faced hot turkey sandwich with gravy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Oven: To make sweet potato puree, preheat the oven to 425°F. Wash and dry a medium to large sweet potato.
Using a fork, poke holes in it, then wrap in foil. Bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes, or until fully cooked and tender.
Let the sweet potato cool and then peel it. Put it in a food processor and blend until smooth, or mash with a potato masher.
Instant Pot: If you have an Instant Pot, place the sweet potato on the trivet with a cup of water. Poke holes in it, then pressure cook on high for 30 minutes, and allow for a natural release for 8 minutes.
Let the sweet potato cool and then peel it. Put it in a food processor and blend until smooth, or mash with a potato masher.
Each of the two rise stages takes about 45 minutes (or until doubled), depending on warm ambient temperature.
Yes - just be sure they're well mashed and free of excess liquid so the dough doesn't get too slack.
Absolutely - after shaping the dough into rolls, place them in a baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, and then refrigerate overnight. Allow the rolls to come to room temperature for 3 hours the next day before baking.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or freeze baked rolls (wrapped) for up to 2 months.
More Related Recipes
If you like this recipe, make sure to check out my no-knead bread and these soft dinner rolls. Serve these alongside all my delicious Thanksgiving recipes, such as Thanksgiving Chicken Recipes, Thanksgiving Dressing Recipe, Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip, and Smoked Spatchcock Turkey.
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Video
Sweet Potato Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 package instant or rapid rise yeast
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tbs unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup milk whole or 2%
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato* heaping
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to lowest setting- my oven goes down to 170°F, but yours might be 200°F. Either one works. Then turn the oven off. You want a warm environment to help the dough rise*. Butter a 9x13 pan, both the bottom and sides.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, yeast, and salt. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.4 ½ cups all purpose flour, 1 package instant or rapid rise yeast, ⅓ cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoon salt
- In a microwave-safe dish, heat your butter, milk, and water. Heat for 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until your mixture is warm and the butter is melted. The temperature on an instant-read thermometer should be between 115°F and 130°F*.6 tbs unsalted butter, ⅔ cup milk, ¼ cup water
- Mix the warm liquid, mashed sweet potatoes, and the eggs into the flour mixture until a dough forms. Then knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is sticky. If using a stand mixer, after the dough forms, switch to a dough hook attachment and knead for 5 minutes.1 cup mashed sweet potato*, 2 large eggs
- Transfer the dough to a clean bowl and lightly cover it with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm oven or spot in the kitchen until it has doubled in size, ~45 minutes.
- Once doubled, punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Cut into 15 pieces, and gently roll into circles. Place rolled dough into prepared baking dish, evenly spaced.
- Dust rolls with a little more flour, cover it again, and return to the warm spot to rise for 45 more minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Once doubled, (remove the dough from the oven if it was rising there), preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes.
- Allow rolls to cool for 10-15 minutes before eating. Then enjoy!
Notes
- *Mashed Sweet Potato- this is about one medium- large sweet potato skin removed and mashed, or you can use leftover sweet potato casserole, or candied sweet potato, or candied yams. Just make sure it is mashed.
- How to make homemade sweet potato puree?
If you are making your own sweet potato puree, plan ahead, as it takes approximately an hour to prepare using the oven. To make sweet potato puree, preheat the oven to 425°F. Wash and dry a medium- to large-sized sweet potato. Using a fork, poke holes in it, then wrap it in foil. Bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes, or until fully cooked and tender. Let the sweet potato cool and then peel it. Put it in a food processor and blend until smooth, or mash with a potato masher. If you have an Instant Pot, you can place the sweet potato in there, on the trivet, with a cup of water. Poke holes in it, then pressure cook on high for 30 minutes, followed by a natural release for 8 minutes. Put it in a food processor and blend until smooth, or mash with a potato masher. - *If you live in a warm area, or are making these during summer, you can just let the dough rise in a warm area.
- Temperature for yeast- Since we are using instant/rapid rise yeast, you can mix that into the flour mixture, and then the warm liquid will be cool enough when you mix it in. The temp should be between 115°F and 130°F. If you are using active dry yeast, you will need to proof/activate the yeast, and the liquid temperature will need to be between 105-110 °F.
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