Our Homemade Hawaiian Sweet Rolls Recipe is light, fluffy, soft, and super delicious. The store-made brand of these rolls is tasty but once you make this from scratch version, you will be blown away by the flavors.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Homemade Hawaiian Rolls have a hint of sweetness from pineapple juice and they make the most amazing rolls and sliders.
- These are not complicated and worth the time as the end results, mouthwatering.
- Copycat Hawaiian Sweet Rolls are fresh, light, and fluffy. They taste so much better than store-bought too.
🧾 Ingredients
- all-purpose flour
- buttermilk
- pineapple juice
- unsalted butter
- light brown sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- yeast
- water
- salt
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🍲 Equipment
- 9x13 inch casserole dish
- 8" x 8" square baking pan
- Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls
- Measuring Spoons and Cups
- Pastry Brush
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the recipe. The full instructions are below in the recipe card.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, on low speed, combine 3 cups of flour, brown sugar, salt, and instant yeast. Stir well to combine the dry ingredients and make a well in the center.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the pineapple juice, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Whisk in 2 of the eggs plus 1 egg yolk and the butter.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the liquid mix into the center of the well. Knead the dough by hand or with the dough hook attachment to the stand mixer until the dough appears elastic and forms a soft smooth ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl, adding up to one cup more flour as needed. Using a stand mixer, kneading takes about 5 minutes. If kneading by hand, it will be more like 8-9 minutes. This is a stickier dough - it will not form the same cohesive ball as a harder, proofed dough.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel and place it in a warm area of your kitchen to rise and double in size for about 2 hours.
- Once the dough rises, punch down the dough and divide it into 20 equal, smooth balls of dough. Grease a 9” x 13” casserole dish AND an 8” x 8” casserole dish and place the dough balls in the prepared casserole dishes.
- Place the plastic wrap and kitchen towel back over the casserole dish and allow dough to rise again for 1 ½ hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Brush the risen rolls with the egg white.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes, until rolls are golden brown on top and cooked through.
- Allow rolls to cool for 2 minutes in the casserole dish before attempting to remove them from the casserole dish.
Make-ahead, storage, and freezer tips
Leftover rolls can be kept on the counter or in a bread drawer in a covered airtight container for up to 3 days.
Prep ahead instructions: You can prepare the rolls up to the proofing step and store them in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, let them come to room temperature before continuing with the recipe.
The rolls can be baked and frozen. Place baked sweet rolls in freezer-safe bags or use a FoodSaver, my favorite, for freezing them without the worry of freezer burn.
Eileen's Tips for Success
- Use room temperature ingredients for the eggs and butter.
- We use instant yeast in the recipe. If using active dry yeast, let the yeast sit in the liquid ingredients for about 5-6 minutes. (This is explained under Instant Yeast)
- Be precise when measuring the ingredients, as baking is not as forgiving as cooking.
- Be sure to give yourself enough time to knead the dough by hand or in a stand mixer, which activates glutens for soft and fluffy rolls.
- Be sure to let the dough rise before punching down. This will give height to the bread
- This recipe uses a stand mixer but you can mix by hand and we have included the instructions.
Variations
Sprinkle the top of the rolls with poppy seeds or everything but the bagel seasoning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hawaiian rolls have pineapple juice added which makes them sweeter than the average roll.
Yes, just reduce the amount of salt in the recipe to ½ teaspoon.
Serving Suggestions
Hawaiian Sweet Rolls would be perfect along with any Holiday menu. We make these whenever we make our Bourbon Maple Glazed Turkey.
Having a holiday party, our Watergate Salad would be a delicious side dish!
Serve alongside this tasty Slow Cooker Turkey recipe and dip the bread into the yummy gravy.
Make yummy Pork and Sun-Dried Sandwiches on these Hawaiian sliders.
Enjoy a big pot of Slow Cooker Manhattan Clam Chowder with these rolls for a cozy meal and a great dipper for the chowder.
Cheeseburger Sliders will be amazing on these buns.
Enchilada Chicken Sliders are another delicious recipe that can be made with this bread recipe.
Similar recipes
Air Fryer Biscuits are another quick and easy roll to make any time.
Instant Pot French Bread is another easy and tasty bread recipe that we love to make.
Easy Dinner Rolls are another easy and tasty recipe you will enjoy. They are super light and fluffy.
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Thank you for your continued support. I am forever grateful.
Eileen xo
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Originally published on November 16, 2020, updated for reader experience.
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Homemade Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl using a whisk or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine 3 cups of all-purpose flour (note 1), ½ cup dark brown sugar1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast Whisk well to combine the dry ingredients.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- Pour ¾ cup pineapple juice, ¼ cup buttermilk, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract into the center of the dry ingredients. Add 2 large eggs, 1 egg yolk (whisked), and ½ cup unsalted butter (cubed and softened) (note 4).
- Use a large wooden spoon to mix ingredients to form a soft dough.
- Use the dough hook attachment on the stand mixer and knead the dough until the mixture appears elastic and forms a soft, smooth ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add up to one cup more flour if needed. It usually takes about 4 minutes. Or use your clean hands to knead the dough for about 7-8 minutes until the dough is smooth.(This is a stickier dough - it will not form the same cohesive ball as a harder, proofed dough.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, place in a warm area of your kitchen to rise for 2 hours.
- Once risen, punch down the dough and divide into 20 equal balls of dough.
- Grease a 9” x 13” casserole dish AND a 8” x 8” casserole dish and place the balls of dough equal distance apart in each.
- Place the plastic wrap or kitchen towel back over the casserole dish and allow to rise again for 1 ½ hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Brush the risen rolls with 1 egg white (whisked).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-24 minutes, until rolls are golden brown on top and cooked through. Allow the rolls to cool for 2 minutes before attempting to remove from the pans.
- Serve as rolls or makes the best slider rolls.
