A recipe for Pumpkin Yeast Rolls! These soft and pillowy dinner rolls are packed with pumpkin puree and baked until golden.
These Pumpkin Yeast Rolls are perfect for a fall dinner or holiday celebration. They are also a great way to use up leftover pumpkin puree.
Start by combining yeast with milk briefly to activate, then knead together with flour, sugar, salt, pumpkin puree, butter, and egg to form a smooth, soft dough.
After resting about an hour until doubled, divide the dough into individual rounds and arrange in a baking dish. Allow to rest again briefly before brushing with an egg wash and baking until golden.
Immediately after removing the baking dish from the oven, brush the tops of the rolls with butter. The result is a soft and fluffy texture with a thin crust and buttery finish.
These Pumpkin Yeast Rolls are best warm from the oven and especially within a few hours of baking.
A Few Pumpkin Yeast Roll Tips
When adding the yeast to the milk, make sure the milk isn’t too hot or it will damage the yeast. The temperature should be about 105˚F (40˚C)- just warm enough to activate. Allow to rest at room temperature until frothy, about 10 minutes.
Do not pack in the flour when measuring or you may end up with too much. To measure flour, gently spoon it into the measuring cup and level with a knife without pressing down. The most accurate way to measure is by weight.
This recipe uses pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin puree simply contains cooked and pureed pumpkin. If your pumpkin puree is watery, you may need to add about 1/4 cup more flour or so.
When mixing the dough, it will be a little sticky due to the pumpkin puree. Add just enough flour to make the dough workable and soft. Too much flour will cause the rolls to become tough.
In a warm kitchen, the first rise should take about 1-1 1/2 hours to double in size. During the winter with cooler temperatures, it sometimes takes closer to 2 hours.
Same goes for the second rise before baking. Warmer kitchens may only need 30 minutes while cooler temperatures will need closer to an hour.
Take care when brushing the egg yolk over the tops of the rolls to not pierce or deflate them.
Serving Ideas for Pumpkin Yeast Rolls
These Pumpkin Yeast Rolls are perfect alongside dinner while still warm simply on their own or with a bit of softened butter. They would also be delicious with a pumpkin butter or even cinnamon butter.
Chad likes to use them as the base for leftover turkey sandwiches.
Looking for something a little more intricate? Beyond Kimchee has a recipe for Pumpkin Dinner Rolls decorated into individual pumpkins!
Looking for more pumpkin recipes?
Try my:
This recipe was originally posted in November 2012 and updated in September 2025.
Pumpkin Yeast Rolls Recipe
Adapted from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
Pumpkin Yeast Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (7 grams) active dry yeast
- 1 cup (240 milliliters) lukewarm milk 105-115˚F, 40-46˚C
- 4 cups (500 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (67 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (125 grams) pumpkin puree
- 4 tablespoons (60 grams) unsalted butter softened at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
- 1 large egg
For topping:
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) milk
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk. Stir to combine and let sit until frothy, about 10 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Slowly mix in the frothy yeast with the milk, followed by the pumpkin puree, softened butter, and egg to form a soft, smooth, and slightly sticky dough.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and elastic, then transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a towel, and allow to rest at room temperature until doubled, 1-2 hours.
- Grease a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 centimeter) baking dish with butter.
- On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.
- Form each piece into a smooth ball, seam side down, and arrange in the greased baking dish about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) apart.
- Cover the baking dish with a towel and allow to rise at room temperature until puffed, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375˚F (190˚C) and place the oven rack in the center.
- In a small bowl, beat together the egg yolk and milk.
- Gently brush the egg wash over the risen rolls.
- Transfer the baking dish to the preheated oven and bake until the rolls are golden, 12-15 minutes.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven and brush with the melted butter.
- These Pumpkin Yeast Rolls are best served warm.
Toni
Thank you so much!