Cheesy Garlic Dinner Rolls Recipe

These cheesy garlic dinner rolls prove that great homemade bread doesn't need to be complicated to be delicious. The perfect rolls require just a bit of time, patience, and some simple ingredients to look — and taste — stunning.

According to developer Ksenia Prints of At the Immigrant's Table, our cheesy garlic dinner rolls start with a brioche-like yeasted dough. The main difference between this and a traditional brioche recipe is that we use bread flour, which contains more gluten content. This creates a sturdier crumb that will hold up better to the added cheese and garlic, giving you rolls with real texture and a satisfying chew.

The key to getting the flavor of these buns just right is to use a combination of fresh and dried garlic in the dough, topping, and accompanying compound butter, as well as generous amounts of butter and Parmesan cheese. The result is a savory bun that goes well with soup, a holiday meal, or as a great afternoon treat just dipped into warmed-up butter. 

For the dough of these cheesy garlic dinner rolls, you'll need warm whole milk, active dry yeast, butter, eggs, bread flour, salt, garlic, and grated Parmesan. The milk should be about 105 F, which is warm enough to the touch but certainly not scalding. If your milk is too warm, it will kill the yeast, and if it's too cold, it'll take too long to activate it.

For the topping, you'll need dried garlic, dried oregano, salt, grated Parmesan, and butter. And finally, for the garlic butter that goes along with the buns, you'll need more softened butter, minced garlic, salt, and black pepper.

Combine the warm milk in a bowl with active dry yeast. Let it sit for 5 minutes until it becomes foamy on top.

Pour the yeast mixture into your stand mixer bowl. Add 4 tablespoons of melted butter and 2 beaten eggs. Mix on low speed for about 1 minute until combined.

Add 3 cups bread flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix on low speed until the dough looks shaggy.

Switch the mixer to medium speed and knead the dough for 8 minutes. The dough should become smooth and slightly sticky.

On low speed, mix in 3 minced garlic cloves and ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese until evenly distributed (about 1 minute).

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let it sit in a warm spot for 1 hour until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough gently to release air.

Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.

Arrange the balls close together in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan.

Cover the pan loosely with a towel and let rise for 45 minutes until puffy and touching.

Mix together the dried garlic, dried oregano, ½ teaspoon salt, and 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan in a small bowl.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Brush the tops of rolls with 3 tablespoons melted butter, then sprinkle the garlic-herb-Parmesan mixture evenly over all the rolls.

Mix together ¼ cup softened butter, 2 minced garlic cloves, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Bake the rolls for 16-18 minutes until golden brown on top and serve them with garlic butter on the side for dipping or spreading on warm rolls.

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One of the fun things about dinner rolls is that you can pretty much make them look any way you want. If you're tired of the traditional round dinner rolls, you can have fun with their shape, starting with this basic recipe.

One of our favorite ways to shape rolls is into knots. Instead of forming them into balls, simply roll a portion of the dough into a thin sausage, tie it into a loose knot, and tuck the ends underneath. Braids are another elegant option. Divide each dough portion into three thin strands, braid them together, and tuck the ends under to give it some rise. You can also coil strands into a spiral before placing them in the pan.

But the most elegant way to shape rolls we've ever seen is to transform them into leaves. This works really well for fancy dinners like Thanksgiving or other holidays. This method is a bit fussy, and you'll likely need to practice it a few times, but it's definitely worth a try if you want your buns to look really special.

We hope that we've given you enough tips and tricks to make these cheesy garlic dinner rolls. Now, it's time to experiment with them. We love adding more herbs into the rolls themselves or into the butter that goes alongside them. Finely chopped fresh thyme, rosemary, and chives are all lovely additions. Adding a pinch of paprika — sweet or smoked — to the butter is always a good idea as well. To take this in a more Italian direction, add diced kalamata olives and sundried tomato pieces directly into the dough.

Another thing we really love doing is turning the compound butter into a filling. Chill the butter, and roll it into small balls, then chill them again. After you portion out the dough, place a ball of butter in the center of each bun, then roll it into a ball around it. Bake it, and after you cut into each warm bun, you'll end with a small river of garlic butter that pours out of each piece. It does leave a hollow when it comes out, but you can just stuff it with a cheese cube for an easy fix!

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