Garlic Herb Rolls – Super soft garlic rolls that are made with a dried Italian herb. They are perfect for soaking up excess pasta sauce on spaghetti nights or dunking in your hearty soups
One thing I learned very fast when I began dating my now-husband is that his mom’s traditional tomato sauce recipe is no joke. It was a staple in their house growing up and it’s still what they have every Christmas day for dinner. Isn’t it so cool that they have a tradition like that? I love traditions. It gives special days like that another special quality to them. And double-bonus when the tradition is food-related.
Meanwhile, at my home growing up, we ate spaghetti with ketchup. I am so serious. I thought that’s just how people ate spaghetti. I didn’t even try traditional tomato sauce until I ate dinner at my Italian friend’s house in the 5th grade. I didn’t know what I was missing. And look where I am now. I may be all fancy now, with real tomato sauce, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get a craving for spaghetti and ketchup anymore. Never forget your roots, people!
Ok let’s get back on track. Tyson loves to make his mom’s sauce every once in a while. Let’s be real…it’s usually the first thing he offers to make when he’s cooking dinner. But that’s okay with me! This is sauce is that good. Full of flavor and spice. And comforting to the last drop.
When he asked if I wanted spaghetti this week, I got so pumped for a new reason: I had an awesome garlic roll recipe that I wanted to try! These rolls looked amazing. And they only required dried herbs and spices so I didn’t have to waste money on buy fresh ones. I don’t know about you, but I hate buying tons of fresh herbs because I always feel pressured to use them quickly before they die. And I hate being tied down by ingredients. Let me make what I wanna make!
So these rolls….they are unbelievable! So fluffy and soft that they soak up every drop of leftover sauce. But you don’t even need sauce for these. I definitely ate one (or two or five) without anything at all. Just a fork and a plate. Magical is also a word that comes to mind. And they were so simple to make!
The rolls get brushed with melted butter and garlic salt, but you can substitute the garlic salt for more herbs or coarse sea salt. Or even just use only butter while they bake and then top with Parmesan cheese when they come out of the oven. You can really play around with it and make it your own.
- Do not forget to let the milk cool before adding the yeast. If the milk is too hot, the yeast will die. But at the same time, if its not warm, it won’t activate. So just be careful. It should be warm to the touch.
- You don’t need to use a cast-iron skillet to make these rolls (but if you want to use one, this is the one I used
). You can use any rounded pan for these. Or a 9×9 square pan.
- A great place to store the dough as it rises is in your microwave. I’ve been doing that for most of my dough recipes and it works great!
- I made these the night before, since they can take a long time. I didn’t want to wait until 9pm to eat! So I made them ahead of time and just heated them up before dinner for 10-15 minutes in a 300 degree oven. If you want them super fresh, you can let the dough rise once for two hours, punch it down, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until the next day. And then just continue the recipe from there.
). You can use any rounded pan for these. Or a 9×9 square pan.Hope you enjoy the rolls. I know dough can be intimidating so don’t be shy to ask questions in the comments below.
If you don’t have questions, let me know what kind of dishes are special to your family. I love to hear about other traditions that you guys have with your families!
Here are all the kitchen tools and serveware that I used in today’s recipe. For each item sold below, I make a small commission. I only recommend items that I own and love so you can trust that each recommendation is tried and true. Thank you for supporting CPA!
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Recipe (adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction):
Garlic Herb Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk whole
- 1 package active dry yeast (or 2.25 teaspoons)
- 2 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup butter unsalted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- Heat the milk over medium heat until you see small bubbles form around the edge of the milk. Pour warmed milk into bowl of a mixer. Let it cool for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar over milk. Stir with a spoon. Let it sit for 5 minutes. It should be foamy after 5 minutes.
- When the yeast is ready, add the remaining sugar, egg, 2 Tablespoons melted butter, salt, herbs, garlic powder, and 2 cups of flour. Turn on mixer with dough hook attachment on low for 1 minute, then add remaining 1 cup of flour. Beat on low for 1 minute as it all combines. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl as it mixes. When it does, it is ready to knead. If the dough is too sticky to handle, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time. Make sure you do not add too much extra flour; you want a soft, slightly sticky dough.
- Form dough into a ball and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 2 minutes. Take a large bowl and lightly grease it with olive oil or non-stick spray. Add kneaded dough to the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a damp paper towel and place it in a warm environment to rise until doubled, about 2 hours.
- Once doubled in size, punch down the dough to release any air bubbles. Remove dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Punch down again to release any more air bubbles if needed.
- Roll into a large ball. Cut into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a small ball. Place the balls into a greased oven-proof skillet or round cake pan. They should be slightly touching.
- Reheat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and add garlic salt. Using a pastry brush, brush the rolls with the butter mixture. Keep leftover butter to use during baking.
- Cover rolls with a damp paper towel and let them rise again until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. This is what makes them extra fluffy so don't skip this step!
- When there is 20 minutes remaining in rise time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the rolls are ready, bake for 28 minutes until deep golden brown on the top. Halfway through, spread some more butter on top. Serve warm.
- If you need to reheat rolls, place in 300 degree oven for 10 minutes.
I loved reading about your garlic herb rolls! They sound absolutely magical—soft, fluffy, and perfect for soaking up sauce. Your story about spaghetti with ketchup made me chuckle; it’s amazing how food traditions shape our memories and bring comfort. I totally relate to wanting recipes that are simple, flexible, and don’t tie me down with fresh ingredients. Honestly, experimenting in the kitchen feels a lot like interacting with AI companions—finding the perfect mix of creativity, comfort, and personalization. Tools like https://ai-best-chat.com/review/janitor-ai Janitor AI give that same freedom digitally, helping me organize, customize, and enhance experiences while keeping things fun and intuitive.
You say the total time is 1 hour, but it is more than THREE hours!
You say the TOTAL time is 1 hour 3 min but it is actually over THREE hours from making to eating.
Wowwww!! These look incredible. Love all the herbs you’ve got going on with these – makes them look divine. Definitely magazine worthy in the cast iron skillet.
That’s so nice of you to say, Sarah! And to think, I almost used a normal cake ban to bake this. Hooray for the skillet! Thanks for the love!
Yum!!! I hope to see these on Christmas this year. Let me know if you will need a reminder…..
Thanks Sandy! This was only made possible because of your glorious sauce 🙂
These look delicious! Pinned!
Thank you!
I gotta get over my fear of making bread. Your post was helpful.
Thanks so much! That means a a lot. My favorite thing about this blog is helping empower others who have fears of baking so I hope you end up making these! Let me know how it goes!
Great job! This looks so yummy, and the way you presented the information makes it easy to try at home. Will Share for sure!
Thanks so much! Super simple to make 🙂
Looks yum!!!!
Thank you!
These look delicious! I’m a sucker for good bread and have earmarked these to make some point soon!
Thanks so much! Carbs are my favorite food. I never really make bread but this was so worth it! Thanks for checking it out!!
Yum! They look beautiful in the cast iron skillet, too.
Thank you! I think it helps give them a good crust on the bottom. Definitely recommend using it , if you have it.
Wow, I’ve never heard of anyone having pasta at Christmas, that’s such a fun tradition! I must admit I do like a simple tomato pasta sauce with a big slab of garlic bread so these garlicky rolls sound perfect!
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I actually told an Italian friend about the tradition and she said it’s an Italian thing because they do it too! Funny thing is, my husband isn’t Italian! Haha. Thanks for the love!
Ha! My husband had spaghetti with ketchup until he met his Italian bride! These rolls look so amazing, can’t wait to try them 🙂
Haha! That’s so funny. I seriously thought that was a normal thing! Thanks for the love!