Homemade Hawaiian Rolls

Fluffy and slightly sweet, these Hawaiian rolls are made with pineapple juice and they are the softest and best rolls around!

They are great for sliders

Ingredients Needed for Hawaiian Rolls

These rolls may sound fancy, but they are made just like regular dinner rolls but with a couple of additions. Here is your grocery list:

Hawaiian Rolls

Yeast – instant
Milk
Water
Pineapple Juice
- PRO TIP: Use canned pineapple juice, fresh pineapple juice contains enzymes that will kill the gluten
Sugar
Honey
Butter – unsalted
Sea Salt – fine
Vegetable Oil
Evaporated Milk
Egg
Flour – all purpose

Honey Butter

Butter
Honey

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

What Can You Substitute for Evaporated Milk?

You can make your own by simmering 2 1/4 cups of regular milk down until it becomes 1 cup.

Or, you can use a combination of half and half and whole milk.

What is in a Hawaiian Roll?

I mentioned a few additions that make these rolls different than the average dinner roll. The slight sweetness in these rolls comes from the pineapple juice and honey in the dough. It’s subtle but oh so good! The pineapple juice also helps make the rolls super fluffy and moist.

How to Make Homemade Hawaiian Rolls

Hawaiian Rolls

Scald Milk – warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it foams around the edges. Add the butter, water, sugar, and honey in the pan and stir until the butter has melted. Allow it to cool to lukewarm.
Activate Yeast – sprinkle the yeast over the top of the milk mixture and stir to combine. Pour it all into a stand mixer. Let the mixture rest for a few minutes until it foams.
Wet Ingredients – pour the rest of the wet ingredients (including salt) into the mixer and stir to combine.
Create Dough – now we are going to add the flour to create the dough. Start by adding 8 cups and mix using the dough hook attachment. Add another cup of flour and mix until the dough forms a ball around the hook.
First Rise – remove the bowl from the mixer and cover. Allow the dough to rise for an hour or until it is doubled in size.
Shape Rolls – flour your work surface and turn the dough out. Pull chunks of dough out and form them into balls. Try to keep them uniform size.
Second Rise – place the dough balls onto a cookie sheet and cover with a cloth. Let them rise until doubled in size. While they rise, make the honey butter (see instructions below). Once they have risen, brush the tops with the honey butter.
Bake – bake the rolls until golden.
Butter – remove the rolls from the oven and brush the tops again with honey butter.

Honey Butter

Combine the butter and honey in a sauce pan over medium heat and warm until they have melted together.

All of these instructions in greater detail can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

What to Eat with Hawaiian Rolls?

This is my favorite meal ever with these rolls…slow cooker kalua pork with a side of tropical fruit salad and coconut rice.

But they would go great alongside almost any meal, especially some honey baked ham, prime rib, zuppa toscana, or grilled Hawaiian chicken.

How to Store Hawaiian Rolls

Store the rolls in plastic wrap or bread bags for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.

How Long Will Hawaiian Rolls Keep?

These rolls will keep for 5-7 days if stored in a plastic bag. They can also be frozen for up to 1 month.

Can You Freeze Bread Dough?

If you freeze the dough before baking, the dough will keep for up to 6 months. Form the dough into balls, place them on a baking sheet and stick them in the freezer for a couple of hours. Then wrap them in plastic wrap and then place the wrapped dough balls in a plastic bag.

When you’re ready to bake the bread, move the rolls to the fridge overnight and then set them on the counter to allow them to come to room temperature. Then let them rise the second time and proceed with the instructions as written.

Homemade Hawaiian rolls also make great rolls for sliders. Cheeseburger sliders or french dip sliders are two of my favorites. You can always get store bought, but these homemade rolls are divine if you want to go totally from scratch.

If you want soft, fluffy homemade rolls that are like pillows of carb lovin’ heaven, then these Hawaiian rolls need to be next on your baking list.

More Homemade Roll Recipes:

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