Dinner Rolls Without Yeast
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There have been more Sunday dinners than I can count when I realized a little too late that I had forgotten to make rolls. One Sunday after church, with a roast already cooking and the nearest grocery store well behind us, I knew I had to figure something out. Around here, a Sunday roast just isn’t complete without warm bread to soak up all that delicious gravy.
After searching for a quick dinner rolls recipe that didn’t require yeast, I found the inspiration for these easy no yeast dinner rolls. Over the years, I’ve continued making them because they’re fast, dependable, and use just five simple pantry ingredients. They mix together in one bowl, bake in about 15 minutes, and have saved countless family dinners when I needed homemade rolls in a hurry.
One thing I always tell people before they make this recipe is that these aren’t traditional yeast rolls. Instead, they’re soft, tender, and have a delicious biscuit-like texture that my family loves. Slather them with butter, drizzle them with honey, or use them to scoop up gravy alongside your favorite comfort-food meal. When you need homemade dinner rolls without yeast, this is the recipe I reach for again and again.
Why I Keep Making These No Yeast Dinner Rolls
These no yeast dinner rolls have saved more Sunday dinners than I can count. They’re ready in about 20 minutes, made with just five pantry ingredients, and mix together in one bowl. Whenever I need homemade rolls in a hurry, this is the recipe I make.
- ✔ Ready in about 20 minutes
- ✔ No yeast and no waiting for dough to rise
- ✔ Five simple pantry ingredients
- ✔ Soft, biscuit-like texture that’s perfect with butter and gravy
- ✔ Great for Sunday dinners, holidays, or last-minute meals
Ingredients for No Yeast Dinner Rolls
There are not a whole lot of ingredients for you to pull together for these easy dinner rolls with no yeast. Only five in total. To me, that is a blessing. The fewer ingredients you need, the faster this recipe will come together.
Flour – all-purpose flour is what I used for this roll recipe. All-purpose flour is important in baking because it has gluten. Gluten helps the dough stretch and become elastic
Baking Powder – This is an important ingredient for getting the dough to rise. This roll rises just like a cupcake would in its cupcake tin.
Salt – usually salt is used as a flavor enhancer and it balances out any sugars in a bread recipe
Milk – milk is used for moisture. It gives the bread a soft crust and encourages a browning reaction. Milk also provides fat and sweetness to bread recipes
Mayonnaise – This ingredient is the secret weapon to this roll recipe. It will give the rolls their rich and moist texture. It is often used as a butter and oil substitute in baking.
Equipment Needed
You’ll need a cupcake liner or 2. This recipe should yield 10-12 biscuit-like rolls
You will only need one mixing bowl for this recipe. Yep, everything is mixed in one big mixing bowl. Yay! That’s fewer dishes to clean
How to Make These No Yeast Rolls
Step One
Preheat the oven and grease your muffin pans. You can use a spray of butter or spray oil to grease the muffin tins
Step Two
In a large bowl, stir the dry ingredients which are flour, baking powder, and salt. Make sure the baking soda is evenly distributed throughout the flour so the rolls will all rise
Step Three
Add the mayonnaise and milk. Whisk until combined but don’t overdo it. Just mix until the dough is formed
Spoon the batter into prepared muffin tins
Bake for 15 minutes
Melissa’s Best Tips
Don’t Overdo It – Try not to overmix the dough on these quick dinner rolls. Overmixed dough will make the texture dense and not fluffy. You want a light fluffy roll with air pockets that the butter just melts into. The overmixing dough will possibly take that delicious texture away
Use a Silicone Mold – No greasing necessary if you use a silicone mold – Easy-Peasy!
Grease your Muffin Tin – You can use butter, spray oil, or spray butter to grease your muffin tin
My Method for Greasing a Muffin Tin
If you want to use butter to grease your pans, take a paper towel, fold it, and dab it into softened butter so about 1 Tbsp. of butter is on the end of your paper towel. Use the paper towel to smear the butter around the muffin tins
Variation
For a cheddar bay biscuit, before cooking, add a dab of butter to the top of the biscuits. Sprinkle with cheddar and dried parsley
What to Serve with No Yeast Dinner Rolls
- Enjoy these biscuit-like rolls with a gravy and meat dinner like Mom’s Round Steak Recipe, Sunday roast with gravy, or turkey and gravy
- These rolls are the perfect complement to a homemade soup like this Cracker Barrel copycat Vegetable Soup and Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- These rolls are also perfect for spreading Homemade Apple Butter over the top of some melted butter or using this recipe for Honey Butter
FAQs about Quick No Yeast Rolls
More Bread Recipes You’ll Enjoy
I hate to admit it, but I am a little bit of a carb addict. I love bread recipes. Especially homemade rolls. One of my all-time favorite holiday dinner rolls is a make-ahead crescent roll that was passed down from my mom. Another type of bread that is absolutely amazing during the holiday season is a sweet nut roll that is perfect for snacking, breakfast, and dessert. If you like quick and simple bread recipes, you might want to try my easy pizza dough for your next pizza night
- Amish dinner rolls
- 60 Minute dinner rolls
- buttermilk biscuits
- cheesy garlic bread
- sweet cornbread muffins
- Spinach Dip in a Bread Bowl
Before you bake…Read this note about the texture and flavor of this roll
Before you make these, it’s important to know they aren’t meant to replace a traditional yeast dinner roll that rises for hours. Instead, they’re soft, tender, and slightly biscuit-like. If you’re looking for a quick homemade roll made with pantry ingredients, I think you’ll love them. If you’re expecting the texture of a classic yeast roll, this recipe may not be the best fit.
If you’re looking for a quick homemade roll made with pantry ingredients and no waiting for dough to rise, I think you’ll love them.
Watch My Quick Video to show you how I made these Quick Rolls…
Finally…Here’s the Printable Recipe
Easy Dinner Rolls No Yeast
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1&1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup of milk
- 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease your muffin pans
- In a large bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together
- Add the milk and mayonnaise and stir until mixed in with above ingredients
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins
- Bake for about 15 minutes
Notes
- Use about 2 Tbsp. of batter per roll for 10-12 rolls
- Now….after a few people have tried this recipe, I have come to the realization that it’s either a love them or hate them reaction. Those looking for the flavor and texture of an all-day yeast rising bread are very disappointed and have very strong feelings in their Pinterest comments. Those that are happy to have a more dense roll that is very similar to a homemade biscuit and only 20 minutes in the kitchen – have my reaction. They love them. If you are looking for a melt in your mouth, yeast roll flavor, then this is probably not the recipe for you. On the other hand, if you are excited about the bread and want to come back to leave the recipe a rating and a comment, then please, please do!
Nutrition
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Everytime that I share a new idea, recipe, or game to play with the family, I share it on my Pinterest page and on my Facebook Page called Cooking Up Fun. I would love to see you there.
~Melissa – KidFriendlyThingsToDo.com
Can I use a flat cookie sheet instead of muffin pan?
Yes, you can! I actually just tested it out for you. It worked perfectly, and the kids were thrilled to have warm biscuit like rolls for jelly! What a treat. The batter is a cookie dough consistency, so you’ll want to treat the rolls like cookies. Give some space between each spoonful of batter to allow for some spreading. Also, I would suggest using parchment paper, so they don’t stick. If you want the biscuit like rolls to have a uniform look, you’ll want to use a large cookie scoop (one that holds about 2 Tbsp.). If you do less than 2 Tbsp. you’ll want to adjust your baking time accordingly. Otherwise, your rolls will have a crunchy bottom.
I don’t see why not if it spreads out a bit though it’s going to make a mess or they going to be more like biscuits instead of rolls
Is it possible to use oat or almond milk. I can’t have dairy
Yes! Soy, Almond, Coconut, and Oat Milk are all suitable milk substitutes on a 1:1 ratio. Soy might give you the best match as it has the most protein. Hope this helps!
Can the dough be formed into rolls and then frozen? Then thawed and baked at a later date?
I don’t see why not. 🙂 Form it into rolls, like you mentioned. You can freeze the dough balls placing them a little ways away from each other on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Then, place the frozen dough balls into a freezer bag. You can freeze them for months this way. When you are ready, take the dough balls out and place them, while they are still frozen, into muffin tins. Let them thaw and warm up to room temperature before baking.
I was excited to find your recipe but I must have done something wrong. I followed the recipe and it is not cookie dough consistency. They are heavy and strong flour taste.
Do I just use all-purpose flour?
Yes. Use all-purpose flour. I will adjust the recipe to include that detail. Thank you!
5 Stars! I have made this recipe 2 times and it is very good! I have shared this website with some of my friends, also. This is a recipe every beginner baker should try, they would be pleased with the biscuits and continue to bake, for themselves or their family.
Oh my goodness…What an amazing comment to wake up to! I actually really needed that, today. Thank you so much for coming back to share your experience with the recipe. I’m so glad that you are enjoying it and that it’s been a success! Thank you so much for sharing the site, as well. I’m so incredibly grateful to you for sharing. Have a wonderful day.
Made the recipe and they turned out very dense, I feel like they dough would make excellent bread sticks. Not quite what I wanted for a dinner roll though
Yes…It is dense. It really reminds me of a biscuit. It’s a nice substitute when you have no time to let the yeast do its thing. If you are looking for a delicious, melt in your mouth, yeast type roll – then this is probably not the right recipe.
This recipe was amazing! I wanted to make a nice meal for my family and my littles love rolls! I have never attempted homemade rolls before and realized I had no yeast in the house. That is when I found this recipe and it did not disappoint! Adults and kids all enjoyed it and it paired wonderfully with the roast I made!The best part is how easy and quick it was! I will definitely be making this again.
Aww…You have no idea how much I love hearing this! I love that it turned out for you. Thank you so much for commenting and the 5 stars! Yay!
Tried this recipe and loved it. To me it was a cross between biscuit and roll. Will give recipe to my granddaughter.
Just finished a batch drizzled a touch of honey on the top & they are great! Might add raisins the next time but love the basic ‘re pie!. Thanks
Oh my goodness. This makes me so happy and hungry at the same time! I love biscuits and honey. Yum!
Reduced salt to 1/2 tsp, used self raising flour (because thats all I had) and still added baking powder. The biscuits turned out very light when compared to a regular biscuits.
Thank you for sharing the substitution. I’m sure most people, at this point, are running out of All-Purpose flour.
My 8 and 10 year old just made this for our family of 6. We are all in love! I’ve already sent the site to friends. Thanks so much for sharing!
Wow! You brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful compliment. I love that the kids are busy in the kitchen. Thank you so much for passing the word along about the site. I really, really appreciate it. 🙂
My Family Loves These! They go with everything cause they are so simple! Thank you!
Thank you for the review. I really appreciate it and I’m so glad that you are all enjoying them!
Not to be dramatic, but these rolls are one of the best things that ever happened to me. They are quick, easy, cheap, made with staple ingredients, and a DELICIOUS hit. They are amazing with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. What a win with the entire family. What more could anyone ask for?
YES!!!! To all of it! I completely agree. Thank you so much. 🙂
It’s quarantine time and I have limited items on hand. No yeast so I thought I would try these. We loved them! Yes they are biscuit like but still fluffy and slightly crispy on the outside. Will definitely make them again!
I’m so glad to hear they worked out for you, Caroline.
Hey?
Just a confirmation, is it 3Tbsps of Mayo?
Thanks 🙏🏽
Yes. I noticed that it wasn’t that clear, the other day. Thanks for reminding me. I’ll go to the recipe and adjust it to be a little more specific. 🙂
Just made these to go with homemade beef barley soup and I am VERY impressed and happy with the results! I thought the mayo would be weird but you can’t taste it at all!
What kind of milk did you use? I only have 1% at the moment. Will that work?
I used 2%. 1% should work just fine. 🙂
I made these in a pinch as I forgot to let my frozen dough balls rise today for Easter. These biscuits are okay as-is but really shine as a dipping vessel. I dipped these in gravy at dinner and they were very yummy that way. These would be super good for biscuits and gravy.
Forgetting about the bread…That sounds like a familiar experience. I’m so glad that the biscuits came through for you on Easter Sunday. I completely agree with you on the biscuits and gravy. Sausage Gravy would be delicious with this recipe. Yum!
Can you use low-fat milk or does it need to be whole milk?
You can definitely use low-fat milk. I actually used 2% milk in the recipe.
This was a perfect easy recipe! I added garlic powder and some grated cheddar cheese and these were delicious! Perfect for our Easter ham dinner. Thank you for such an easy delicious recipe for those of us who don’t want to take hours for to enjoy a good side of bread with their meal.
Garlic and Cheddar Biscuits – What a delicious sounding bread and a great compliment to ham. Yum! I am so happy that the biscuit rolls were a hit. Thank you so much for the wonderful comment.
My yeast refused to rise and was wondering what to do.Ir was my husband birthday,had made roast lamb and no buns. Tried out your recipe added an egg as had beaten them for the yeast buns. They turned out well ,a real life saver. Thank you
Phew! That was a close one. You definitely need bread with that delicious meal. I’m so glad that they turned out for you.
These were wonderful. I substituted 1/2 cup of flour with almond flour. Put honey and brushed tops with butter. Great job. thanks
Yum – What a delicious sounding combination. Thank you so much for coming back to let me know they turned out well for you. 🙂
These are so easy, delicious and definitely quarantine-friendly. I use unsweetened almond milk and they turn out great! However, I’m running out of mayo and wondered if olive oil would work as a substitute?
I’m so happy that the rolls have been working out for you. I’m always a big supporter of substituting ingredients to avoid trips to the grocery store. The mayonnaise in this recipe helps give the biscuits their moisture and fluffiness. You can try substituting oil for the mayonnaise. If they don’t maintain their fluffy texture, then next time try adding an oil and egg combination.
I’m so into these rolls! I had this idea to make biscuits and gravy for dinner (none of which I have made before- I’m Canadian haha) and I needed to make some biscuits FAST! I searched up a recipe, loved that it was on a kid friendly page, and got to work. I had to bake mine a bit longer but they turned out soooo yummy! PS I threw in about 1/4 c chi’s seeds to get a bit more nutrition in them and it worked out fine! Will make again!
You’re making me hungry. I love biscuits and gravy! 🙂 I’m so glad that the rolls came through for you and your idea about adding chi seeds is fantastic! Yum!
easy recipe for biscuits.i made 6 large biscuits had them with chicken soup on cold winter day!who needs yeast anyway
Biscuits and chicken soup sound heavenly! I’m so glad that you liked them.
Wow! I was nervous to make these with the mixed reviews but oh my goodness! I’m so thankful I did! Winner with the entire family! They were soft and fluffy on the inside and nice and smooth but crunchy on the outside. Didn’t even need the butter but obviously really delicious served with them. Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m so glad that you took a chance on the recipe, too! Thank you so much for coming back to share your experience. I’m so happy that the rolls were a big hit and I really appreciate the time you took to leave that wonderful comment.
Just made your biscuits! They’re beautiful and so easy to make! I haven’t baked homemade biscuits in years and these are perfect. Highly recommend!
Blessings to you and your family!
Blessings to you and your family, as well! Thank you for dropping back by to leave that amazing comment.
got them in the oven. im sure they will be good! i love bread
Me too! I love bread, but not the carbs. It’s kind of a love/hate relationship. 🙂
I’m a vegan, so I switched the mayo to Vegenaise. They were delicious! Thanks.
I’m so happy that you liked the rolls. That’s a great replacement and maybe a new recipe! 🙂
I don’t mean to be dramatic, but this recipe is the best thing ever. I made them in a pinch for the first time because I was down yeast and buttermilk…I don’t know I’ll ever go back. Made them a few times since. Usually a little bigger than it calls for, and my entire family is over the moon. Thank youuuuu!
Hilarious! I love this review. Thank youuuuu for making my day!
These are GREAT!! I can’t make a “biscuit” that a dog would eat….. These are simple and so good! I never remember to buy yeast, I’ll never remember it now. I’ve printed and added this recipe to my cookbook. They do remind me more of a biscuit tho, however that’s not a complaint! We loved them!
I always forget to buy yeast so I tried your recipe to have with the 15 bean soup I made tonight…..perfect!!! So simple and quick, thank you!! I can’t wait to try these for biscuits and sausage gravy…..yummm
Yay! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the rolls. I always thought these would be delicious with sausage gravy! Yum. 🙂
like yowee, so so fluffy, deliciously perfect,, easy rolls, made them on Christmas eve, and will have to make more for Christmas lol , i also added cheddar cheese on top, and instead of dropping them in to muffins pan, i scaled them out to 42 grams, and with wet hands rolled them up into balls, then added them tino greased pan. i will have to make them bigger next time, more to eat lol. I wished i could have sent a picture.
Cheddar cheese sounds like an amazing addition! Yum! Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me how you liked them. Happy Holidays!
Nice. Quick and easy. I even put chopped up jalapenos in half of the batch and it was delicious!
That sounds delicious! Cheddar cheese would go well with the jalapenos, too. yum!
I added 2 tbsp melted butter, a bit of garlic and onion powder and shredded cheese and they are better then the red lobster cheddar bay biscuits from the box!!
No way! That is awesome. Thank you so much for coming back to let me know that you liked the recipe. I am definitely trying this version. 🙂
Needed an extra 5 min, at least in my oven. A little too salty, I’ll cut down next time. Otherwise good for a quick, easy recipe.
Perfect 😃😃😃 I made this with some garlic butter and man it blew my mind. Definitely my favorite.My family loved it too💕💗💗
Oh yum! Definitely trying garlic butter the next time I make them! Thank you so much for the wonderful compliment. I know it took time from your day to come back and review the recipe. I really appreciate it.