These Sweet Hawaiian Rolls took me to paradise ya'll! They are more than just bread; they're a celebration of warm, bundled sweetness that will leave you smiling. Whether you're an avid baker or simply seeking a taste of sweet Hawaiian bread, this recipe guarantees a soft, pillowy, and delicious experience.
I had never made Hawaiian rolls before, but this is now one of my favorite rolls to make. Get ready to knead, rise, and savor the irresistible allure of Sweet Hawaiian Rolls that bring a touch of extra warmth to your table.
If you're looking for another roll recipe, you can find my Homemade Sweet Southern Style Rolls recipe on my blog as well!
Homemade Sweet Hawaiian Rolls with Honey Butter Glaze
Ooooohhhh "Aloha" to my mouth after eating these delicious Sweet Hawaiian Rolls!
Equipment
- 1 Kitchen Aid Standing Mixer
- 1 Pyrex Baking Dish
- 1-3 small mixing bowls Make sure your bowl is microwave safe! You can use the same 1 small mixing bowl and wash between other uses or you can use separate small bowls if you don't wanna do any washing while baking!
Ingredients
Rolls
- ½ cup whole milk lukewarm temperature (98℉ - 105℉)
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- 1 tablespoon active yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoon salted butter softened, room temp
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Egg Wash
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg going to be using only the egg whites
Honey Butter Glaze
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon honey
- sprinkle salt
Instructions
Rolls
- In a small bowl, combine whole milk and pineapple juice. Heat the liquids by throwing the bowl in the microwave. Depending on your wattage, the time may vary per microwave, but I heated for around 1 minute or until the liquid was about 100℉. Strive for lukewarm. You don't want the liquids to get too hot otherwise you might kill your active yeast in the next step.
- Remove from microwave and add in active yeast and honey. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Get your Kitchen Aid mixing bowl and add in your all purpose flour, salt, and sugar. Then add in your eggs, butter, and contents of small bowl active yeast. Start mixing with your Kitchen Aid on low-medium speed.
- Occasionally scrape the dough off the edges of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are well mixed. If your dough is looking a bit too sticky, add in a little more flour to make it slightly less sticky and mix until you get a generally homogenous bowl of dough.
- Remove from Kitchen Aid bowl and place on floured, flat surface. Continually fold and roll the dough as you work to create a big ball of dough, gently incorporating the flour from your flat surface.
- Once you create your big ball of dough, try gently poking it to create a small dimple. See if the dough slightly bounces back. That's a good thing! See video at 1:34 for visual!
- Cover your dough ball with a cloth rag for about an hour to let the dough rise.
- After the hour, cut and section off your dough. You want to create 8 rolls, so divide dough into 8 blobs.
- Roll and fold the dough of each blob into itself until you get a nice hearty round ball.
- Butter your baking dish and insert the 8 dough balls side by side. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes. While the balls are rising, preheat your oven to 375℉ and prepare your egg wash.
Egg Wash
- Be sure to separate 1 large egg. You only need the egg whites. Place the egg whites in a small mixing bowl and then add the melted butter. Mix together.
- After the rolls have sit in the dish to rise for 30 minutes, uncover and brush your egg wash on the surface of the rolls.
- Place rolls in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until surface is golden brown.
Honey Butter Glaze
- While the rolls are baking, grab a small mixing bowl and combine melted butter and honey.
- Once rolls are done in the oven, remove and place of flat surface. Brush the honey butter glaze across surface. Then gently sprinkle a tiny bit of salt across the rolls.
Janet Montgomery
I can’t wait to make these Hawaiian rolls for my daughter! Those are her fav. She says Mom Mom’s cooking is the best. Thank you for sharing. ❤️
Lisa
I'm just now getting into baking and using my stand mixer. I'm 59 years old and didn't realize what I was missing? Made my first cake from scratch on 4/14
It was amazing. And I can promise. I'll be using many of your recipes especially this one.
Marilynn Martin
Thank you for this great recipe. My rolls turned out great! Since I use Hawaiian bread to make French toast( it makes the best) I tripled the recipe and made 3 loaves of bread and it turned out great.😊
Shelly Johnson
For me, it's the fact that I have been following your tiktok and writing down the recipes, and no I find out YOU HAVE A BLOG!!!!! This just made my whole year!!!b
Christian Winn
My thoughts exactly, Shelly!!!! Game changer!!!! 🙂
Lynn
What size pan do you use?
lilyloutay
I use a 10 x 15 pyrex baking dish but you can use any size - just might affect the baking time if you put in more/fewer rolls than I did so just keep an eye on em in the oven!
Stephanie Sherlock
What can I use in place of the honey?
lilyloutay
I've only ever used honey, but maybe try an agave? I'd love to hear how that tastes!
Mercedes Aguilera
Made these rolls for my husband and I to go with dinner and they turned out so perfect and delicious!!
Britney Thomas
The recipe says use melted butter but in the video it looks to be solid/ room temperature. Which is best for the recipe?
lilyloutay
Softened butter is the way to go. Doesn't need to be melted for the dough. For the honey butter glaze, it does.
Melinda
Just made these and they are beyond delicious 😘
Kay
Im pretty new to bread, do you think I could manage making these without a stand mixer?
lilyloutay
Yes just make sure to mix everything very well!
MJ
DELICIOUS. I had to add a more flour than I thought to get the dough to be less sticky but they turned out great!
Hannah Nelson
Just made these while snowed in!! I had some orange juice on hand and it worked great!
Liz
Do we think these will be ok without the kitchenaid stand mixer?
lilyloutay
Yes! Just make sure to mix everything really well!
Danielle
They tasted super good, loved the butter honey sauce on top, but are they suppose to be dense? I might be doing something wrong but both batches were heavy and dense even though they did rise?
lilyloutay
You may be kneading them too much. Usually too much kneading leads to dense or dry/hard bread.
Lauren
Can I use rapid yeast?
lilyloutay
yes you can! While you don't need to do the yeast activation in steps 1 & 2 with rapid yeast, I still suggest you do to make sure the yeast is doing what it's supposed to!
Krista
Would these be able to be made and then froze for later?
lilyloutay
Yes but the quality when reheating will decrease significantly. I suggest having these as fresh as possible or storing in the fridge only if you can.
Elle
I made this recipe tonight with beef stew. It was so good!! I had to add more flour to the dough in the mixer. But other than that. It was perfect!! It tastes so much better than store brought Hawaiian rolls! Much more fresh!
Robin Blackburn
I just made these for supper and they turned out fabulously!! This recipe is going into my hand-written recipe book (and it’s hard for a recipe to make it in there!). I love your videos, please keep on being you, don’t let fame change you at all!!
Olivia Kirsten
Is it possible to do this recipe by hand?
lilyloutay
Yes it is! Just make sure to mix everything real well!
Mary Beth
These rolls turned out amazing!! I don’t bake often and have never had much luck with bread, but these were pillowy soft and heavenly! Loved them so much! I appreciate you!!!
Elicia
these are an absolute favorite in my family now. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Kate
Love these and am about to make them again! Wondering if you've ever tried making 16 (or a dozen) smaller rolls instead of 8 big ones? I can keep an eye on baking time but would this work?
lilyloutay
yes it should!
Kat
I made this for the first time about 2 weeks ago and now I’m showing my girls! Thank you for such an amazing recipe! These are soooo amazing!
Sydney C
Can whole milk be substitute with either 2% or heavy cream?
lilyloutay
Yes, you can substitute whole milk with either 2% milk or heavy cream but keep in mind that there will be slight differences in the texture and richness of the rolls.
Using 2% milk will result in a slightly lower fat content compared to whole milk, which may affect the richness and tenderness of the rolls a little. But the difference should be minimal and the rolls should still turn out soft and delicious.
Substituting whole milk with heavy cream, you'll probably get slightly denser rolls due to the higher fat content.
Ultimately, both substitutions can work well depending on your personal preference and dietary considerations. Just be aware of the potential differences in texture and taste!
Bri
Phenomenal! I made three batches in three days. My family can’t stop eating them. The recipe is super easy and comes out perfect every time. Make this now.
Susanna
I’ve been making these and they’re so perfect! But the last two times I’ve made them they’re dense and like they didn’t rise properly. What happened??😩
lilyloutay
did you change anything from the first times you made 'em?
Susanna
No I haven’t changed anything. They rise sideways now. Not up like fluffy. I even went and bought new yeast thinking my yeast was just dead.
Courtney Scaggs
Your rolls were a hit by my family!!!