Look no further for the best gluten-free rolls recipe. These fluffy, airy, soft dinner rolls not only have a superior texture, but are easy to make, and ready to serve in one hour! Learn the secret trick to making the best gluten-free yeast rolls ever.

a gluten free roll with a bite out and melted butter.

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Best Recipe for Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls

Making soft gluten-free rolls has earned a special place in my GF bread Hall of Fame (right up there rivaling copycat Olive Garden gluten-free breadsticks). Not only were there delectable oohs and ahhs from me, enjoying these buttery, golden pillows, but my non-gluten-free family couldn’t stop singing the praises as well!

These easy gluten-free yeast rolls meet an unprecedented taste and texture standard, similar to this 5-Star viral gluten-free bread recipe. To meet that level, it had to incorporate all these criteria:

  • Easy to make! It mixes together in one bowl, has one short rise, and bake.
  • Simple ingredients I have stocked and ready at all times
  • Quick and effortless – No one wants to spend all day making yeast rolls. These are ready to enjoy in one hour.
  • Most important – Tastes BETTER than any gluten-free roll recipe out there. Seriously.

These homemade rolls have not only won me over, but have earned hundreds of raving reviews and testimonials across the website and Pinterest. They are going up there with one my proudest moments of creating gluten-free bread recipes that fool the toughest critic. 😎

My daughter was diagnosed with Celiac a year ago, and I have been attempting to make edible gluten-free bread for this entire year. As an experienced baker, it has been humbling to see (and taste…blech) the abject failures I have created during this time. Then I discovered this recipe, and EUREKA!!! Everyone at the table raved–even the gluten eaters! We couldn’t believe how spongy and delicious these rolls were! The texture was just like regular bread, and for the first time, there was no gritty aftermath. Just wonderful, comforting bread. 

—Kate

These were absolutely amazing. My little family loved them and they were super easy to make. I have tried tons of different recipes from lots of the other popular gluten free websites and these were by far the softest and fluffiest rolls I’ve made. 

—Lisa

Ingredient Tid Bits

  • Gluten-free flour – Using a good gluten free flour makes or breaks the quality of dinner rolls. Cup4Cup gluten-free flour is what I recommend in my GF cookbook and for for all my baking.
  • Potato Starch (not flour) – Secret ingredient to making rolls soft and fluffy. Instead of relying on additional flour to structure the dough, I substituted another gluten-free starch. Use for best results, but tapioca starch or additional GF flour may be substituted.
  • Psyllium Husk Powder – Helps maintain moisture and prevents the rolls from becoming crumbly. It also mimics gluten, allowing pull-apart rolls to be shaped. I recommended the linked brand because it will keep the rolls light colored instead of dark or even purple. Weird, I know…
  • Instant (Rapid Rise) Yeast – I would suggest buying this is bulk and storing in your refrigerator. It doesn’t require mixing with warm liquids to proof and can be mixed right into dry ingredients.
  • Butter – Melted butter flavors the dough and is brushed on before and after baking. I typically buy unsalted butter, so I add salt to the butter before brushing.
  • Milk – Used to elevate taste, especially when mixed with butter and salt. For dairy-free dinner rolls, substitute non-dairy milk, such as almond or soy milk.

Let’s Make This Together!

(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)

How a roux (AKA tangzhong) changes everything!

Since GF flours do not absorb liquids as well, the roux helps pre-saturate some of the flour, helping absorb more liquid. This makes the texture soft and fluffy, rather than dense and gummy.

Even though the word sounds fancy, it’s easy to make. Combine 2 tablespoons flour with milk and water in a small saucepan. Whisk constantly over medium heat, until a trail separation appears at the bottom of the pan. That’s it. It takes a minute of your life.

starting the GF rolls with a roux in a small saucepan.

Mixing the dough

Now we just dump everything in and mix. First, add the dry ingredients to the bowl. Use a paddle attachment to combine. Follow up with the wet ingredients – the slightly cooled roux, warm milk, egg, and melted butter. Mix on low speed to combine, then increase speed and beat for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl once or twice. The dough will be stiff, but still sticky.

the dough after everything has been mixed.

Time to shape the rolls

This is where rolls made with gluten-free flour have a massive advantage! They are really easy to shape. If you want to get technical about it, you could portion out the dough into 2 ounce portions using a food scale with a greased piece of plastic wrap on top. However, I just spray a 1/4 measuring cup with non-stick spray and scoop out slightly less than the cup size.

a measuring cup with the roll dough in it.

Quick shape and rise

Take the scooped dough and dump it out onto slightly greased hands. Smooth into a ball and then place in a greased 8X8-inch baking pan.

The rolls only need 30 minutes to rise because first they are placed in a slightly warmed oven for 10 minutes, then taken out to rise at room temp for 20 minutes while the oven preheats. Also, the baking powder in the recipe helps give them a nice loftiness while baking.

The pictures below show what they will look like before rising and after. Brush them with salted butter (Parker house rolls vibes!) and then more when they come out. Enjoy the most seriously heavenly GF recipe ever!

unbaked dinner rolls in a pan before rising.
unbaked dinner rolls in a pan after rising.

Trick To Shaping GF Yeast Rolls

When making gluten-free rolls, there is a balance between adding enough GF flour blend to make the dough elastic and easy to shape, yet still a yield fluffy, airy texture.

As to not toughen crumb, I add less flour than other gluten free dinner rolls recipe and rely on nonstick cooking spray and a measuring cup to shape the buns. This is similar to the technique used in some of my most popular recipes, like gluten-free hamburger buns and these soft gluten-free slider buns.

Spray a measuring cup liberally with cooking spray, along with your hands. Scoop out a little less than 1/4 cup, which yields about a 2 ounce dough portion. Dump the dough into greased hands and roll into a smooth ball.

Alternatively, use a greased silicone baking mat or parchment paper to dump the dough onto, flatten, then pinch up into a ball. Smooth the top and place pinched ends down in a greased baking pan.

a finger pressing into the top of a roll.

Which GF All Purpose Flour Works Best?

I had already rigorously tested the best-performing gluten-free flour blend through many baking and bread recipes. Therefore, when making dinner rolls I reached for my preferred brand, Cup4Cup.

As far as taste, Cup4Cup was the clear winner. There was nothing “gluten free” tasting about the bread. It was soft, squishy, and slightly sweet. (By the way, it works with their new formula too.)

Although a lot of gluten-free bakers work with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 GF Flour, I find it to have an unpleasing aftertaste and a denser crumb. If you are wondering about another brand, read through the comments below and see what others have used. This recipe has had success across a variety of brands!

a roll stacked on another with melted butter.

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a finger pressing into the top of a roll.
4.81 stars (102 ratings)

Squishy Soft Gluten-Free Rolls Recipe (1 Hour)

Melissa Erdelac of MamaGourmand headshot in patterned dress.Melissa Erdelac
Yield: 9
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Look no further for the best gluten-free rolls recipe. These fluffy, airy, soft dinner rolls not only have a superior texture, but are easy to make, and ready to serve in one hour!
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Ingredients
 

Roux

Rolls

Butter for tops

  • 2 tablespoons (28 g) butter
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • Before you begin making the roux, turn oven to 200ºF. Start to make the roux, but turn it off once it reaches temperature. This will serve as an extra warm place for the rolls to initially rise. Grease a 8X8-inch baking pan. Set aside.
    2 tablespoons gluten free all purpose flour, 3 tablespoons water, 3 tablespoons milk
  • As the oven is preheats, make the roux. Combine 2 tablespoons flour with milk and water in a small saucepan. Whisk constantly over medium heat, until a trail separation appears at the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, combine the GF flour, potato starch, sugar, psyllium, yeast, baking powder and salt using a paddle attachment on low speed.
    1 ½ cups gluten free all purpose flour, 3 tablespoons potato starch, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon psyllium husk powder, 1 packet (2 ¼ tsp) instant rapid rise yeast, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
  • Add the warm milk, egg, melted butter, and roux. Combine on low speed until well blended. Increase to high speed and beat for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl once or twice. The dough will be stiff, but still sticky.
    ¾ cup warm milk (110°F), 1 large egg, 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • Grease a silicone baking mat or parchment paper with cooking spray. Liberally spray ¼ measuring cup with cooking spray, along with your hands. Scoop out a little less than ¼ cup, which yields about a 2 ounce dough portion. Dump the dough onto greased hands and roll into a smooth ball. Alternatively, dump the dough onto the baking mat, flatten with fingers, then pinch up into a ball. Smooth the top and place pinched ends down in prepared baking pan.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and place in the warmed, turned off oven for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let sit at room temperature for 20 more minutes while the oven preheats to 350°F.
  • Melt the additional 2 tablespoons butter with salt. Remove the plastic and gently brush the tops with the salted butter mixture. Reserve the remaining butter for after baking.
    2 tablespoons butter, ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned and internal temp measured with an instant read thermometer reaches 195-200ºF. Immediately brush tops with remaining butter and serve warm.

Notes

Adding Milk Powder
This is a new addition to the recipe, so it’s completely optional, but adds moisture to the bread. Recently Cup4Cup removed milk powder from their formulation, so now I remove 1 ½ tablespoons GF flour and replace it with 1 ½ tablespoons gluten-free certified milk powder. You can do this with any GF flour blend, it doesn’t have to be C4C.
Important Note About Serving
If pulling from the freezer and serving at room temp, thoroughly defrost the rolls first. If they are chilled slightly they will become crumbly when eating. For best taste and texture, warm slightly in the microwave before enjoying again!
Using Active Dry Yeast
If you only have active dry yeast on hand, activate it by mixing in the warm milk (110ºF) and letting it sit for 5 minutes before adding to the dry ingredients.
Dairy-free modification
You will need to make substitutions for the milk and butter. Substitute non-dairy milk, such as almond or soy milk. For the butter, use plant-based vegan butter.
Since dairy-free butter contains more salt, cut the amount of salt in the dough and used for brushing in half. 
Expert tips to remember
  • If you forget to warm the eggs to room temperature, place the whole egg in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes.
  • To make a double recipe, double all the ingredients and place the dough balls in a 9X13-inch pan to rise.
  • An instant read thermometer is helpful for measuring the correct temp of the milk to activate yeast and take out the guesswork of when the rolls are done. The interior should ready 195-200ºF when ready to be pulled from the oven.
Serving, storing, and freezing tips
They may be wrapped tightly and left at room temperature up to 24 hours, but will lose optimal taste and texture quickly.
For best results, freeze rolls after they completely cooled (at least 2 hours). Pull from the freezer to defrost at room temperature.
 
Calories: 169kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 34mg, Sodium: 253mg, Potassium: 126mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 225IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 71mg, Iron: 1mg
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