THE BEST dinner rolls you’ll ever sink your teeth into! These soft and fluffy Potato Rolls are made with leftover mashed potatoes and they’re everything you want from a perfect and fluffy dinner roll slathered with salted butter. Mmm!!! 

Do you ever have leftover mashed potatoes hanging out in the back of your fridge that you don’t know what to do with, yet you don’t want to waste them and throw them out? Me too. Use up those leftover taters and try this recipe for perfectly soft and chewy rolls. A couple of my boys are carb lovers and I lose track of how many they immediately devour after I pull the rolls fresh out of the oven. 

The first time I ever tried a potato roll (before I even knew it was a thing to use mashed potatoes in rolls!) was on one of our trips to my husband’s small hometown in Michigan. It’s very common to see the Amish selling their utterly delicious baked goods at the town’s farmers’ market or out in the countryside along the road at the end of their drive. My mother-in-law always spoils me on our visits because we both equally have a sweet tooth for fresh baking. One of my favorites is their potato rolls and potato cinnamon rolls. SO GOOD!! Ever since I first tried them, I knew I had to start making my own. This is a tried and true recipe that I’ve been making for years! 

They pair wonderfully with any dinner that you serve, like my favorites – Slow Cooker Chicken And Gravy and Classic Homemade Beef Stew. Use them to soak up all that delicious gravy in both of these dishes. I also use them for sandwich sliders, regular or baked! 

You just cannot beat the taste and texture of these pillowy and tender homemade dinner rolls! Basically the best rolls ever. Aside from the yeast and the mashed potatoes, the other ingredients are very simple. You’re likely to have all of them already on hand in your pantry.

Storage

COUNTERTOP: Allow the potato dinner rolls to cool completely and store them in a ziplock freezer bag or air tight container. Try to get as much of the air out of the bag as possible. The rolls will stay fresh for 2-3 days at room temperature. 

FREEZER: Cool potato rolls completely, place them in an air tight container and wrap a layer of plastic wrap over top before placing the lid on. The rolls will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Yield: 24 small rolls

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry or instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon plus 1/3 cup sugar, divided
• 1 cup mashed potatoes, warmed
• 1/4 cup milk, warmed
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 1/2-5 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons butter melted

Topping

• 1/4 cup salted butter, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons honey, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add warm water and sprinkle yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar onto water. Let it stand for about 5-7 minutes, or until the mixture looks bubbly. If the mixture doesn’t start to bubble, then your yeast has likely expired.
2. Add the 1/3 cup of sugar, mashed potatoes, milk, butter, eggs, and salt to the bowl with the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.
3. Attach the dough hook and add 4 1/2 cups of the flour to the mixing bowl and knead on medium-low for 5 to 7 minutes until the dough is smooth, forms a ball around the dough hook, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It’s fine if the dough sticks to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is still sticking to the sides after a few minutes of kneading, add in a little more flour 2 tablespoons at a time. 
4. Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover and let the dough rise, preferably in a warm area, until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
5. Punch down dough and divide into 24 equal pieces. Roll into small balls and place into a greased baking pan. Cover rolls with a clean towel and let them rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter and honey, if using. Remove rolls to wire racks to cool completely.
7. Store in air tight containers.