You know the ones. Squishy, a little bit sweet, shiny with butter on top, and that cinnamon honey butter you keep asking the server for more of. Texas Roadhouse rolls are yeast rolls, nothing magic. Milk, butter, an egg, sugar, yeast, flour. Let it rise twice, bake it for a quarter of an hour, and whip up the butter in about two minutes flat. Start to finish it’s roughly 2 1/2 hours, but you’re mostly just waiting around while the dough does its thing.
People go to the restaurant for the steak and leave talking about the bread. Fair enough. These come out pillowy and pull apart in that same stringy, fluffy way, and making a pan of them is way less fiddly than most bread.
Texas Roadhouse Rolls at a Glance
- Makes: 24 small square rolls (one 9×13 pan plus a few, or two pans)
- Hands-on: about 25 minutes
- Rising: an hour and a half, could be two
- Oven: 350°F (175°C), give or take 15 minutes
- Freezer friendly: yes, baked or as shaped dough
- Butter: salted butter, honey, powdered sugar, cinnamon
Jump to: Why they’re so soft · Ingredients · Step by step · Cinnamon honey butter · Timeline · Troubleshooting · Leftovers · FAQ
Why Texas Roadhouse Rolls Are So Soft
It comes down to what’s in the dough. Plain bread is flour, water, yeast and salt. These are “enriched”. That means milk, butter, an egg and a good bit of sugar go in too, and fat and sugar keep the crumb tender instead of chewy. The milk also helps them brown.
Then there’s the pan. Packed in tight like that, the rolls kind of steam each other at the sides (soft!) and only brown up top. And the shine? That’s just melted butter slapped on the second they leave the oven.
Ingredients for Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls
For the rolls
- Active dry yeast, 1 packet (2 1/4 tsp, 7 g). Instant yeast works too, just skip the foaming step.
- Warm water, 1/4 cup (60 ml), around 105 to 110°F (40 to 43°C). Warm like a bath, not hot.
- Milk, 1 cup (240 ml), warmed. Whole milk is best.
- Sugar, 1/4 cup (50 g). That’s what gives them their slight sweetness. Go to 1/3 cup if you like them sweeter.
- Unsalted butter, 1/4 cup (57 g), melted and cooled a bit, plus 2 tbsp more for brushing.
- Egg, 1 large, at room temperature.
- Salt, 1 tsp.
- Bread flour, 3 1/2 to 4 cups (440 to 500 g). All-purpose works, the rolls are just a tiny bit less tall.
For the cinnamon honey butter
- Salted butter, 1/2 cup (113 g), very soft.
- Honey, 3 tbsp.
- Powdered sugar, 3 tbsp.
- Ground cinnamon, 1 tsp.
Honey lover? We have a whole page of honey recipes, including a whipped honey butter with cream cheese that also goes great on these.
How to Make Texas Roadhouse Rolls, Step by Step
1. Wake up the yeast
The yeast goes into the warm water with a pinch of the sugar, gets a stir, and then you leave it be for 5 or 10 minutes. What you’re hoping to come back to is a foamy layer that smells a bit like a pub. If it’s just sitting there flat, either the yeast was past it or the water was too hot and finished it off, and it’s better to lose one packet of yeast now than a whole bowl of flour later.
2. Mix the dough
Warm milk, the rest of the sugar, the melted butter, the egg and the salt all go in the big bowl together, with the yeast poured in after. Then 3 cups of flour, stirred in till it looks shaggy and a bit of a mess. The last half cup or so is where people go wrong, so I’d add it a spoonful or two at a time and quit as soon as the dough comes off the sides of the bowl, even if it still sticks to your fingers a little. That slight stickiness is what you want. Dry dough makes heavy rolls.
3. Knead
With a dough hook that’s 6 to 8 minutes, by hand closer to 10 (put some music on). It’s ready when it’s gone smooth and springy, and a finger poke fills itself back in, slowly.
4. First rise
Into a greased bowl, cover it, somewhere warm. 1 hour, maybe a bit more if your kitchen’s cold. It should double.
5. Shape the squares
Squares are the whole Texas Roadhouse thing, so don’t bother rolling balls. After the dough’s deflated, it gets rolled out on a floured counter to about 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick, folded over, and rolled to the same thickness again, which is the little trick behind those soft layers you can peel apart. Then a pizza wheel, or any sharp knife, cuts it up into 2 inch (5 cm) squares, and you’ll have something like two dozen.
6. Second rise
They go into a buttered 9×13 pan pretty much touching, with any extras in a small pan on the side, and get covered again. Half an hour to 45 minutes later they’ll have puffed up into each other, which is the moment to have the oven ready at 350°F (175°C), so switch it on near the start of this rise.
7. Bake and brush
In they go for 15 minutes or so, maybe 18. You’re after pale gold on top, and a hollow knock if you tap one. Out of the oven, butter on. Right away, while they’re steaming. Five minutes’ rest, then tear in.
That Cinnamon Honey Butter (Texas Roadhouse Copycat)
The butter has to be properly soft for this, the kind you can push a finger into with no effort, so leave it out for an hour or so before. Whip it on its own for a minute (a hand mixer is easiest, a fork is fine if you’ve got time), and it’ll turn paler and fluffier. Honey, powdered sugar and cinnamon go in after, and then another good whip till there aren’t any streaks. Taste and fiddle with it. Some people like it much more cinnamony than the restaurant does.
Leftovers keep for a couple of weeks in a jar in the fridge, though cold honey butter is a pain to spread, so give it some time on the counter before you put it out.
Rolls Timeline (So They’re Hot at Dinner)
| Time before dinner | What you’re doing |
|---|---|
| 2 hr 45 min | Butter out of the fridge, yeast foaming, dough mixed and kneaded |
| 2 hr 15 min | Dough’s rising, roughly an hour |
| 1 hr 15 min | Rolling, folding, cutting, into the pan |
| 1 hr | Second rise, oven heating, honey butter whipped |
| 25 min | In the oven |
| 5 min | Buttered, resting, nearly there |
Thanksgiving tip, and it’s a big one: cut the squares the night before, wrap the pan really well, fridge. The next day they want about an hour out on the counter to wake up and puff, then straight in the oven. Serve them with our dry brine turkey, or on a cold night with a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup.
Troubleshooting: Dense, Flat or Dry Rolls
- Dense and heavy? Nine times out of ten, too much flour. Scooping the cup straight into the bag packs it in. Spoon it in and scrape the top flat, or just use a scale. And stop adding flour while the dough’s still a little tacky.
- Didn’t rise? Yeast was old, or the liquid was too hot. Over 120°F (49°C) or so and it starts killing the yeast. A cold kitchen just means more time.
- Dry? Baked too long. Pull them when they’re just golden. Remember they keep cooking a little in the hot pan.
- Too brown on top? Probably an oven that runs hot, lots do. A loose bit of foil over the pan for the last 5 minutes sorts it.
Bread always comes out heavy? Have a read of King Arthur’s recipe success guide, the flour-measuring part especially. Too much flour is behind most brick-like rolls.
Leftover Rolls (If You Have Any)
Bag them up and they’re fine on the counter for two, three days, just a little firmer each morning. Ten minutes in foil in a low oven (300°F, 150°C) brings them back to life, and for a lone roll the microwave works, 10 to 15 seconds with a wet paper towel draped over it. They freeze really well too, baked or not. Unbaked squares need a night in the fridge to thaw and then a good hour and a half on the counter so they rise before baking.
Texas Roadhouse Rolls FAQ
Why are they so sweet?
Way more sugar than a normal dinner roll. Then honey butter on top, obviously. We use 1/4 cup in the dough, but sweet-tooth households can sneak in a bit more and nobody gets hurt.
Bread flour or all-purpose?
Whichever’s in your cupboard. Bread flour = a touch taller and chewier. All-purpose = a touch softer and squatter. Your guests won’t be running a lab test.
Can I get them ready the night before?
That’s what I’d do for a holiday. Cut the squares, pan, wrap it tight, fridge. Next day it needs an hour-ish on the counter to puff up, then bake.
So why squares and not round rolls?
Rolling out a sheet and slicing it is faster than shaping two dozen balls, for one. And the fold you did gives that layered, pull-apart inside.
What’s actually in the honey butter?
Salted butter, honey, cinnamon and a spoonful or so of powdered sugar, which is the bit that makes it go light and fluffy. Whip, whip, done.
Texas Roadhouse Rolls Recipe
Texas Roadhouse Rolls with Cinnamon Honey Butter
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet, 7 g)
- 1/4 cup warm water (60 ml), 105-110°F / 40-43°C
- 1 cup whole milk (240 ml), warmed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50 g)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (57 g), melted and slightly cooled
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour (440-500 g), or all-purpose
- 2 tbsp butter melted, for brushing
- 1/2 cup salted butter (113 g), very soft
- 3 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook (optional)
- 9×13-inch baking pan
- Rolling Pin
- Pizza cutter or sharp knife
- Hand mixer
Method
- Stir the yeast and a pinch of the sugar into the warm water. Let it stand 5 to 10 minutes until foamy.
- In a large bowl, mix the warm milk, remaining sugar, melted butter, egg and salt. Add the yeast mixture and 3 cups of flour and stir until shaggy.
- Add the remaining flour a little at a time until the dough pulls away from the bowl but is still slightly tacky. Knead 6 to 8 minutes with a dough hook (or 10 minutes by hand) until smooth and springy.
- Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour, until doubled.
- Punch down the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick. Fold in half, roll out again to the same thickness, then cut into 2 inch (5 cm) squares.
- Arrange the squares just touching in a greased 9×13 inch pan (and a small pan for extras). Cover and let rise 30 to 45 minutes until puffy. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Bake 15 to 18 minutes until light golden on top. Brush with melted butter immediately and rest 5 minutes.
- For the honey butter, beat the soft salted butter until fluffy, then beat in the honey, powdered sugar and cinnamon until smooth. Serve with the warm rolls.
Nutrition
Notes
- Make ahead: shape the rolls, cover the pan and refrigerate overnight. Let them sit at room temperature about 1 hour before baking.
- Store rolls in a sealed bag for 2 to 3 days. Reheat wrapped in foil at 300°F (150°C) for about 10 minutes.
- Freeze baked rolls up to 3 months.
- Honey butter keeps about 2 weeks in the fridge; soften before serving.
- Nutrition is per roll, without the honey butter.
