Soft, fluffy and buttery, these Gluten-Free Rolls are EASY to make and perfect for any occasion! These dinner rolls are made with easy-to-find ingredients and bake up start to finish in less than 2 hours.
If you eat gluten-free there is no need to miss out of soft, yeasted dinner rolls. These gluten-free rolls are the perfect compliment to so many meals. Don’t be surprised if they outshine the main dish!
We love serving these rolls at Thanksgiving dinner every year. You can easily double (or triple!) the recipe to make enough rolls to feed a crowd. My family also loves these gluten-free dinner rolls for Sunday dinner with The Best Beef Stew or Slow-Cooker Pot Roast.
Whatever you serve them with, they will fill your home with the most delicious, bread-baking aroma!
What Flour to Use
Making gluten-free dinner rolls might sound tricky, but it’s actually even more simple than making traditional rolls. These rolls only need a single rise and bake up start-to-finish in less than 2 hours. You’ll just need to start with the right gluten-free ingredients.
- Use a high quality gluten-free flour blend. I like using a gluten-free measure-for-measure flour blend like King Arthur Flour when making these rolls. It works best to use a blend that contains xanthan gum in this recipe.
- I have many other recipes on my site that use this flour blend like these Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies so you can put the rest of the flour to good use!
- Add a little almond flour. Adding a little almond flour is one of my favorite tricks in gluten-free baking. The extra protein/fat in the almond flour these rolls great flavor and helps them to brown up nice and golden.
How to Make Them
These how-to numbered pictures match up with the instructions below.
- Mix together the dry ingredients.
- Mix together the wet ingredients.
- With the mixer running, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.
- Mix the dough for 6 minutes to incorporate air.
- The dough will resemble cookie dough once it’s mixed.
- Scoop the dough into balls using a large cookie scoop.
- Smooth the rolls with water.
- Let rise then bake.
Be sure to check out the video I’ve included in this post for a visual on the step-by-step instructions.
Egg-Free and Dairy-Free Rolls
You can easily make these gluten-free dinner rolls egg-free or dairy-free with some simple substitutions.
EGG-FREE ROLLS: Add 2 tablespoons golden flaxseed to the dry ingredients and increase the water by 2 tablespoons. The rolls might not rise quite as much as with the egg, but the yeast and baking powder/apple cider vinegar will still the dough a lift.
DAIRY-FREE ROLLS: Simply substitute the butter for dairy-free butter like Earth Balance Buttery Sticks. I prefer using a butter substitute here rather than something like coconut oil because it’s nice to have the buttery flavor in the rolls.
Tips for Gluten-Free Rolls
There are a few tips worth noting when it comes to making gluten-free dinner rolls. While you can use some substitutes to make these rolls egg-free or dairy-free, other ingredients can’t be swapped out as easily.
- Psyllium husk is important for the right texture. There is no substitute that works quite the same as psyllium husk powder in this recipe. It’s a great binder in gluten-free breads and adds structure. Psyllium husk helps these rolls turn out soft, but not crumbly. Be sure to buy psyllium husk powder rather than whole psyllium husks for best results.
- Use instant or highly active yeast. Unlike traditional bread recipes, gluten-free breads only require one rise, so it works great to use highly active yeast. One rise also makes this gluten-free roll recipe quick and easy!
- Baking Powder + Apple Cider Vinegar. These might seem like strange ingredients to have in a roll recipe! Using a combination of baking powder and apple cider vinegar is a great trick to giving gluten-free bread recipes a little extra rise.
- The dough will look like cookie dough. Don’t be alarmed if this gluten-free roll dough looks nothing like regular roll dough. It’s not supposed to, and rather the dough should have the consistency of thick cookie dough.
- Use a large cookie scoop to form the rolls. Speaking of cookie dough, a large scoop (#14 or a 4 tablespoon amount) works great to shape these rolls. You should have enough dough for 8 rolls. After scooping the rolls you can use wet fingers to smooth any imperfections.
If you’re looking for more gluten-free bread recipes check out my Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread. It’s delicious for toast, sandwiches or simply fresh out of the oven with honey.
Also try my long-time reader favorite Gluten-Free Pizza Crust. You can see my full collection of Gluten-Free Bread Recipes here.
More Gluten-Free Baking Recipes:
Gluten-Free Crescent Rolls delicious for any holiday!
Gluten-Free Sticky Buns Perfect for Christmas morning!
If you have any more questions about gluten-free baking or how to make these gluten-free rolls please leave me a comment below! Again I’ve also included a video in this post with step-by-step instructions to help you out.
If you make this recipe I’d love to hear how it turned out for you so please leave me a comment. Happy Baking!
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Gluten-Free Rolls
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cup gluten-free 1:1 baking flour
- 2/3 cup almond flour
- 3 tablespoons cane sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons psyllium husk powder
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant or highly active yeast
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup warm water, about 110F
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the dry ingredients. Mix on low until combined.
- In a measuring cup, mix together the wet ingredients.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high then mix for 6 minutes. This allows air to incorporate into the dough. The dough will have the consistency of cookie dough.
- Lightly spray a 9-inch pie or cake pan with cooking spray. Spray a #14 (4 tablespoon measure) cookie scoop with cooking spray. Scoop 8 balls of dough into the pan. You may need to spray the cookie scoop in-between each scoop.
- Use wet hands to smooth out the tops of the rolls. Let rise for 1 hour. During the last few minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 400F. Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes. The top should be golden brown. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving. Brush the rolls with melted butter. Serve and enjoy!
- Store leftover rolls in a bag at room temperature for up to 2 days. Reheat for 15-20 seconds in the microwave before serving.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Use a high-quality gluten-free 1:1 baking flour for best results.
- A large scoop (#14 or a 4 tablespoon amount) works great to shape these rolls
- There is no substitute that works quite the same as psyllium husk powder in this recipe. It’s a great binder in gluten-free breads and adds structure.
- MAKE IT EGG-FREE: Omit the egg, add 2 tablespoons ground golden flaxseed to the dry ingredients. Increase the water by 2 tablespoons.
- MAKE IT DAIRY-FREE: Use vegan butter instead of regular butter.
These look dang incredible!! I love having rolls at dinner but always end up with a stomach ache if i eat gluten-filled rolls and I’m usually too intimidated to make my own but these look so easy!! can’t wait to try them!! 🙂
I hope you like them! 🙂
They were delicious!! We didn’t get to eat them until they were cool (timing with dinner wasn’t too well haha) but they were still very good. A LITTLE bit crumbly but not much. Next time I will serve them hot. 🙂 Thanks!!
I’m so glad they turned out for you! Thanks for commenting with the results!
These look lovely….any suggestions for substituting the potato starch? I avoid potatoes (sensitivity). Thanks!
Hi Karen! Can you eat corn? I would say cornstarch is the most similar to potato starch! You could also try tapioca starch. I hope this helps!
Y-E-S! I can’t wait to make these. They looks so tender!
Thanks Leah!
Great recipe! Can I make it with coconut oil instead of butter?
Yes that would work great!
Yumm! Can’t wait to try these. Eating healthy and enjoying it.
These sound delicious. I am making these right now as a “test run” for Thanksgiving tomorrow and was wondering if I can prep ahead of time and just let the dough sit overnight? Then, tomorrow stick them in the oven?
This dough won’t work very well overnight! Unfortunately gluten-free dough doesn’t hold up very well. However, you can make these up to 4 hours in advance and refrigerate.
I understand about the need to ‘slow rise’ Gluten-Free bread dough, but I am unclear about rising, shaping, and then baking without even a brief rising time prior to baking!? The photos of the unbaked, but shaped, rolls do appear to have risen a bit. Can you clarify for someone with old (50+ years, lol), gluten derived expectations, who is also dealing with the challenges of G-F baking at high altitude ; ). Thanks in advance.
I am still learning about the challenges of high-altitude baking myself! We moved from San Diego to Utah last summer and it’s tricky sometimes! With gluten-free bread in general, you can expect that the dough will be a lot more wet. In my gluten-free breads I usually use quick yeast (also called highly active yeast) and just do a single rise, rather than a double-rise with traditional breads. You’re right that the rolls don’t rise as much, but they should rise a little. Feel free to email me with more questions if you need help!
Made these today. They are delicious but don’t look like yours. They really look like buckwheat rolls kind of dark.
Just thought that I used flax seeds instead of egg and didn’t have golden flax seeds so maybe the dark flax seeds darkened the rolls
Yes I would guess that would change the color for sure. I’m glad to know they turned out using a flax egg though!
They are so good I will make them again but use golden flax seeds
I also tried freezing them and 30 seconds in the microwave and they were perfect!
What flour can I USE FOR NUT ALLERGY FREE.
sunflower seed flour – you will have to grind your own sunflower as I have not seen sunflower seed flour in the stores.
These were delicious. I love this grain free mix. I use it for many things. I replace the almond flour with sunflower flour as I can not do the nut. Turned out great. Thanks for a great mix and recipe.
My husband can’t have apple cider vinegar. Could I use white vinegar?
Yes that should work!
these were so good! You can’t even tell they are GLUTEN-FREE. perfect for Sunday dinner.
Do you think I could substitute avocado oil for the butter and get similar results? Thanks!
Can you make the dough and let it rise over night in the fridge? And then bake in the morning
Yes that will work great! Just let them come to rise for 30 minutes or so after you take them out of the fridge before baking the next day.
Hi, Erin—
I can’t wait to make these! I am wondering if there is a difference between golden flaxseeds and ground flaxseeds. I just bought ground flaxseeds this week and can still exchange them, if I need. Thank you!
These are the perfect roll for Thanksgiving or really any time of year! So soft and not too tough to make either…thanks!
Hi. This looks very yummy.. What if you don’t have a stand mixer? Can it be done by hand (whisk) or with a hand mixer? I do miss a good dinner (or breakfast) roll. The commercial stuff is pretty awful.
A hand mixer should work great! And I totally understand – these are much better than store-bought rolls. I hope you like them!
These are delicious! In the 7 years I’ve made gluten free bread, these are the best. I do not tolerate psyllium seed, so substituted it for a teaspoon of xanthan gum and there is no problem with crumbling or texture in the least. Thanks for giving me a fun “company roll” to serve guests or treat myself with. I think I could thin the batter a bit and make hamburger buns!
Thank you for the comment! I’m so glad you like the rolls! 🙂
Hi Erin,
I’m guessing these rolls would be very difficult to make without a standing mixer.
Thanks,
Malia
I just saw the answer above, I apologize!
First time I’ve tried to make GF bread and it was super easy and delicious!!!!
I’m so glad the rolls turned out for you! Thanks for the comment!
Can these be made nut-free? We loved these until my daughter started reacting to almonds in addition to other tree nuts. I would love to be able to add these back to our lives!
Yes! To make these nut-free you can add an additional 1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour in place of the almond flour. The GF flour is more dense so you don’t need the full 2/3 cup. I hope this helps!
The rolls looked great when I placed them in the oven when I pulled them out they had fallen. Any ideas what went wrong?
With gluten-free dough make sure you don’t let it rise too long or it will fall flat in the oven.
I made these tonight. They were fantastic! Soft, chewy, delicious! Best gluten-free roll recipe I’ve found in the 8 years I’ve had to eat gluten-free. I followed the recipe exactly using Namaste all-purpose GF flour. I will definitely make them again.
I’m so glad to hear that! Glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for the comment!
I made these for Christmas dinner and even the kids loved them!!!!
I didn’t have any psyllium husk powder, so I put some collagen peptides in, since I had luck with that in baking in the past, and they turned out delicious with the best texture.
I just tried this today and I ended up with pancake batter. I added about 3/4 cup more flour to try and salvage it but even then it’s a pretty loose cookie dough. Not sure what I did wrong (double, triple checked my proportions) but looking at the recipe again – is there really supposed to be almost 1 1/2 cup liquid to under 3 cups of flour? That is about 1:2 ratio of liquid to flour