Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls
Fluffy and buttery soft, these copycat Texas Roadhouse rolls are delicious and so easy to make. Serve with cinnamon butter for a divine combo!
You guys, these rolls. 😍 They are some of the best rolls to come out of my kitchen, and I have a feeling they’re going to become a fast favorite for you, too.
Texas Roadhouse Roll Dough
The dough for these famed copycat rolls comes together quickly and easily.
Here are a few quick tips for ultimate success:
- The recipe calls for scalded milk. This means heating the milk to just below a boil until the milk is steaming and small bubbles form around the edge. Don’t use skim milk. Two percent or whole milk works best.
- In addition to the milk, we’re also using water, too. Using both water and milk lends the perfect texture to the rolls. Not too dense. Not too airy. They are perfect.
- It’s important to add the yeast once the butter/honey/milk/water mixture cools to between 105-110 degrees F. An instant-read thermometer (I have this one and love it) can help here so that the yeast doesn’t end in a tragic demise thanks to lava-hot liquid. If you don’t have a thermometer, dip your finger in the mixture – it should feel like pleasantly warm (but not hot) bath water.
- These rolls are sweeter than most other “standard” dinner roll recipes. That’s because we’re going full-on Texas Roadhouse style, and we’re using honey as the sweetener. If you sub sugar for the honey, keep an eye on the flour amount – you’ll likely need a bit less flour.
Add the flour gradually and knead for a few minutes in the mixer.
Don’t over flour the dough. It should be soft and slightly sticky, not stiff. Add additional flour only if the dough is super sticky and clings to the sides, bottom, or center of the bowl.
The exact amount of flour will vary based on a variety of factors, but in my kitchen, I use right around 7 3/4 cups of flour. I employ the fluff-dip-sweep method for measuring.
Cover and let the dough rise until doubled.
How to Get Square Shaped Rolls
Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased or very lightly floured counter and press or roll into a rectangle about 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick.
Use a pizza wheel to cut the dough into 24 squares. It doesn’t have to be exact! These rolls are meant to be a bit rustic.
If you end up with some bigger squares (ahem, like my row on the far left), you can trim a strip from the larger rolls and press onto the side of the smaller rolls to even them out.
Or just leave them as they are. I promise they’ll get devoured either way.
I place the rolls 12 to a pan, spaced about an inch apart.
Let them rise until very puffy and doubled in height. It’s important to let them rise fully in this step for optimal fluffiness! (The rolls pictured below have not risen yet.)
Texas Roadhouse Effect
Bake the rolls until lightly golden on top and bottom.
Immediately out of the oven, brush the tops with a healthy amount of melted butter. Don’t skip – or skimp – this step!
With the buttered tops, the fluffy, lightly sweet rolls are incredible!
Because the Texas Roadhouse rolls are made from-scratch and fresh at each restaurant, they’re hard to beat in terms of homemade deliciousness, but this copycat recipe has done it.
My Aunt Marilyn and I have been sharing tips back and forth to get these rolls just right: soft and light while still holding on to just the right amount of fluffy heft.
They are perfect!
It is really satisfying knowing I can have this ultra-popular, ultra-delicious recipe any time I want without ever leaving my house. #dreamcometrue
These copycat Texas Roadhouse rolls are wonderful served alongside any number of meals. And they make tasty little sandwiches, too. I can’t wait for you to make them!
Don’t Forget the Cinnamon Honey Butter
These rolls are delicious no matter how you eat them, but they are DIVINE with a swirl of cinnamon honey butter.
I’m going to post a recipe for the cinnamon honey butter in a few days just so it can have a placeholder of its own, but if you can’t wait that long, here it is.
Mix all of these ingredients together until creamy and smooth:
- 1/2 cup butter (I use salted)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- splash of vanilla (about 1/4 teaspoon)
There are a lot of knockoff recipes for cinnamon honey butter online that call for powdered sugar, too, but I found it overpowered the honey flavor in a way I did not enjoy, so I stripped the honey butter down to just the basics, and the buttery, sweet, cinnamon flavor is so, so good.
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Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
- ½ cup honey
- 1 ½ cups 2% or whole milk, scalded (see note)
- 1 cup room temperature water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons instant or active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 7 ¾ to 8 cups all-purpose or bread flour
- Melted butter, for brushing
Instructions
- Add the butter and honey to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Pour in the scalded milk. Mix for a few seconds. Let the mixture rest until the butter is mostly melted.
- Add the water. Let the mixture cool until 105-110 degrees F (on an instant-read thermometer).
- Add the yeast and mix to combine. Let the mixture sit for 5-7 minutes until the yeast is bubbling and the top of the liquid looks foamy.
- Add the eggs, salt and 2-3 cups of the flour. With the mixer on medium-low speed, continue adding flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Don't over flour the dough. It should be soft and slightly sticky, not stiff.
- Knead on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, adding additional flour only if the dough clings to the sides of the bowl and is really sticky.
- Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
- Scrape the dough onto a lightly greased or very lightly floured counter and roll or pat into a thick rectangle, about 15X10-inches in size and 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick.
- Cut the dough into 24 square or rectangle shapes. The rolls are meant to be a bit rustic, so don't worry if they aren't all the exact same size or shape.
- Line two rimmed, half sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray. Place the rolls 1/2-inch apart on the baking sheets (I place them in four rows of three each).
- Cover and let rise until noticeably puffy or doubled in height, 60-90 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 18-22 minutes until lightly golden on top and bottom.
- Immediately out of the oven, brush the top of the rolls with melted butter.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (with lots of experimenting and ideas from my Aunt Marilyn)
71 Comments on “Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls”
This isn’t the recipe. I was a baker at Texas roadhouse, I made the bread and the butter. Definitely wrong, but close
Yum yummy yum yum!! We made these and they were huge little pillows of deliciousness!! I made them for thanksgiving but my family ate them all the night before so I will just have to make another batch in the morning!! Great recipe!!
We loved these! And I could eat the cinnamon honey butter on a spoon – it’s so good. Thank you, Mel!!
Yes! Yes! Yes! I have tried other recipes, and they all failed… if you follow these directions, you will get the desired result! I’m literally smiling and eating one as I write this! <3
Yay, Cristina!
Can I freeze half of the dough right before letting it rise, later thaw, rise and finish?
I haven’t tried freezing the dough for this recipe like that but I *think* it should work just fine.
Really good! Personally I don’t like the taste of honey that much so next time I make it I would do roughly 1/3 cup instead of 1/2 cup.
Mel! These are to DIE for! I made a double batch and after shaping/cutting them, I froze half of them. This morning we pulled them out and let them defrost on a cookie sheet in a warm kitchen and they baked up beautifully! You are the reason my kids think I can cook
You’re the best, Jess! That’s awesome these froze and defrosted well! Thanks for including that in your comment!
I made these for Sunday dinner and the family raved! They were possibly the best rolls I’ve ever made. It was surprising how easy they were to make, less time consuming than other shaped rolls I make. Thanks Mel for another super recipe!
I haven’t finished the rolls yet but I’m encouraged by the comments. I’m taking them to a family barbecue and the host is making brisket. Soooo because it’s the Texas Roadhouse recipe, I made the butter, put it into a piping bag, and made little STARS in a silicone mold. My husband is shaking his head and giggling at me because the stars are so cute and I’m getting sentimental for the Lone Star state. I wish I could post a photo!!
#BeFriendlyYall
I made these rolls and the cinnamon honey butter last weekend. The rolls were easier to make than most rolls and turned out so delicious and tender. The honey butter was so good, too.
Thanks for the great recipe!
So delicious! Made them as written with great success, only change I would make next time would be to cut rolled dough into 36 or even 48 rolls so when I snitch my 3rd one after dinner it is smaller
These were sooo yummy and it made a lot!
Made these today and they were sooo good. Everyone loved them. Also did the honey cinnamon butter. Divine! Thx Mel for another win in the kitchen!
Another terrific Mel recipe!
We love Texas Roadhouse (and their rolls) and these ones are the best copycat one we’ve made! They are especially fantastic buttered right out of the oven. We’ve made them twice, once as is, and the second time with the topping from Mel’s bubble Italian asiago roll recipe (double the topping amounts)– both turned out really well and we got compliments when we took the asiago ones to a fundraiser spaghetti dinner (people in the kitchen kept snitching them they loved them so much)!
I think these rolls might even replace Mel’s French bread rolls for our #1 place!
PS– Just a heads up for KitchenAid users: I find it’s quicker & easier to start bread dough recipes with a flat beater attachment. Then when everything is coming together, switch to the dough hook (the dough hook on the KitchenAid isn’t terrific for mixing ingredients).
I use my flat attachment to start the rolls too. Once I’ve added half the flour, I switch to the dough hook. Works so much better.
*Dairy Allergy*
As someone who is allergic to dairy I was excited to see if I could use this recipe to make dairy free Texas Roadhouse rolls! Mel never disappoints! I was worried (especially given the note about milk fat content) but they turned out delicious!
I used coconut milk. I didn’t scald the milk because coconut milk has no whey protein to break down. Instead I microwaved the milk for 1.5 minutes just to warm up my diary-free butter (I always use country crock plant butter with olive oil).
The only con with plant butter is that you don’t get the creamy cinnamon butter (it is a little lumpy). But if you get over how it looks it still tastes great!
Thank you Mel!
Made these with 4 cups of white wheat flour, 1 cup bread flour and the rest all purpose flour and they turned out fluffy and delicious. I’m at 6000 ft above sea level, so I reduced the yeast a bit and they still raised in half the time (less air pressure pressing on the dough at higher elevation). Baked for 15-16 min til golden. I love the simple method of patting out the dough and cuty it into sqares, it made huge yummy rolls!
My husband declared that these are his new favorite rolls last night! I am still a huge fan of the French bread rolls, but really enjoyed these as well. Huge and fluffy, great flavor, and absolutely must be paired with cinnamon honey butter 😉
These are delicious! Light and fluffy and perfect with the cinnamon honey butter!!
I’m looking forward to trying them for a picnic on Monday. Any suggestions for making them partially in advance and then baking on Monday?
Thanks!
Hi Laura, you could possibly make the dough, cut into squares, and then refrigerate the covered rolls overnight to bake Monday! (Sorry for the delay in responding, I was out of cell reception for several days).
Thanks Mel, I did an experiment and baked one of the pans the same day. The other, I put the covered pan in the fridge overnight, took them out the next day in time to rise and bake, as you mention. The first pan was awesome and, while the fridge batch was ok, they were “tougher” and not as soft. The soft ones are great even after freezing. Thanks for a great recipe!
How long would you say this recipe takes to make from start to finish? Would like to try making for dinner so they’re hot out of the oven, but not sure how far in advance to start. TIA!
Never mind… just saw on the recipe card it’s 3 hours, 13 mins 🙂
Salted or unsalted butter for the rolls? Please and thank you!
I always use salted butter.
Anybody know if it’s possible to make these without a mixer? I’m not a baker so I don’t have a mixer of any kind. Also what do you cover them with to let them rise twice?
Hi Rene, I definitely think you could make the dough by hand. The key will be not to overflour as that is easy to do when mixing by hand. I usually use a tea towel to cover.
I made these without a mixer. The dough is very sticky at the start, but keep working it without adding more flour. The more you knead it, the less sticky it will be. The rolls turned out light and fluffy and delicious.
So yummy! Like another commenter, I think I also overfloured when I saw it sticking to the bottom, but they were still really good! I’m having fun figuring out my brand new Mother’s Day Bosch mixer (!!!). Thank you for that idea as well, Mel— I’m in baking heaven.
I bet these rolls will be even better later when I make the cinnamon honey butter…
I’ll take out the part about clinging to the bottom of the bowl so it doesn’t cause over flouring – as long as the dough is clearing the sides of the bowl and isn’t super sticky, it should be good to go!
Made these yesterday for my birthday and YUM. They were a mega hit. My almost two year old DEVOURED two rolls and would have eaten the cinnamon honey butter from a spoon if we would have let her. She would take a bite, exclaim “yum!” and giggle with delight. I do think I added a bit too much flour even though it was still sticking to the bottom of my mixer bowl. Next time I’ll add less and see if that helps with the fluffy factor. I have no doubt this is the perfect copycat recipe, I just have to get a handle on the texture. Guess that means I’ll have to make them again. I don’t think anyone around here will be disappointed. Thanks, Mel!
Ok, your daughter is adorable! Also, I’ll take out that part in the recipe about sticking to the bottom of the bowl so that people don’t over flour. As long as the dough is clearing the sides and isn’t over sticky, it should be good to go!
One of the best rolls I’ve ever made. Seriously so good! Thank you!
Thanks, Jane!
I’ve been hoping for years that you would post a version of this recipe! I made them exactly as written and they are absolutely delicious. The honey cinnamon butter is spot-on too! Thanks Mel and Aunt Marilyn, I am so grateful.
Thank you so much, Summer! Really, really happy you liked this recipe!
These are incredible. Mel, you have given all of us another, super-delicious roll recipe. They are light and fluffy and that cinnamon honey butter…..sooooo good! Thank you so much for giving this to us.
Thank YOU, Alicia! So glad you made them and loved them!
I use my flat attachment to start the rolls too. Once I’ve added half the flour, I switch to the dough hook. Works so much better.
Rolls were delish, especially with the honey butter. The only suggestion I would make is to cut them smaller than 24 pieces. I measured the 15×10” rectangle and my squares ended up being big ol’ boys after they rose and baked. So if you want a roll the size you get at TRH cut them smaller. I would maybe try into 36 smaller rolls next time I make these.
You can definitely cut them smaller and get more rolls per batch!
Mel!!!!! These are so light and fluffy and I love that they make 2 dozen, right out the gate. Oh my goodness….they are heavenly. And that cinnamon honey butter…girl!! I am so grateful to you for giving us yet another incredible recipe. Love you.
I’m wondering if I place these closer together before baking…
if I can use a dozen as “Hawiian Rolls” for a 13″x 9″ pan slider recipe?
They are a sweet roll also.
Do you think this would work?
Hi Kelley, sure I think you could do that! I’d probably cut the rolls into smaller squares. While these rolls are on the sweeter side, they don’t taste much like Hawaiian rolls because they don’t have pineapple juice in the dough.
These were great! Ate them for afternoon snack, used them as buns for dinner, and now I am eating them for breakfast.
Rolls for breakfast is a great idea! Thanks for commenting to let me know you liked this recipe, Teresa!
Another roll recipe? YES Please! lol Not having to roll them? Even better! love it even more! Thanks for sharing another fantastic recipe and the cinnamon butter too. 😀 I’m adding this to my immediate list to make this weekend! 😀
Can this recipe be halved? As a single man, a recipe calling for eight cups of flour seems huge! Do I just halve everything or should I bump up, for e smoke, the butter from 4 to 6 tablespoons?
Yes, absolutely! I think you could halve the ingredients straight across.
What is an instant read thermomter? Can you put a picture of it with the directions. Thank Melva Eddington I love your recipes.
Hi Melva! Unfortunately I can’t include a picture in the comment thread, but here’s a link to a popular instant-read thermometer to give you an idea of what it is! https://amzn.to/3oBUMjc
These were a hit! Super yummy with just butter, even better with honey butter. Even used them as buns for sloppy joes and were great for that too!
Thanks for letting me know, Teresa! That’s awesome they worked well for sloppy joes!
I saw the post and couldn’t resist making them immediately!! It was easy and they turned out well despite my shortcomings in the bread/roll department. My 6 year old son was literally making small giggling noises of joy as he ate it. He said he wished it would rain these rolls. I agree. Mel never fails me.
Thanks for the swift review, and I love how your son shows his approval
I love this, Brina! Thanks for making them so fast and taking the time to check in and let me know! Your son is ADORABLE.
Amazing!! And easy! I usually fail somewhat in the bread/roll department but these looked too good to pass up so I made them immediately after she posted. My whole family loved them!!!
I’m rarely the first to make a recipe because I like to read all the reviews, but I’m at the point that I trust anything that comes from you! These turned out so yummy and fluffy. The honey butter took these over the top! Plus, they were so straight forward and easy. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Love, love, love hearing that! Thanks for letting me know!
I can’t wait to make these!! I think we also need a recipe for the whipped honey butter, that they serve these with!! Pretty please! 🙂
Hi Megan, I included a recipe for the cinnamon honey butter in the post – it’s yummy!
I came to your site this morning looking for a cheesecake recipe for my Book Club on Thursday…..now I’m planning how to make rolls today! 🙂 Love everything about this recipe. Thanks for all you do!
Hello Mel,
Can these TR rolls be made with wheat flour?
I think they would work well with whole wheat flour, but I’d suggest using white whole wheat flour or a softer variety like kamut or einkhorn. Hard red wheat flour usually produces a heavy, dense result. I think I’d also start with 50% whole wheat and 50% all-purpose flour and see how it goes and then increase from there!
Hi Mel!
Have you had a chance to try freezing these? I want to make them today and serve them on Friday. I know at TR they are right out of the oven, so I would want to warm them somehow too. Any thoughts, suggestions or experience with this? Thanks! Love your recipes!
Hi Patty, I haven’t frozen these yet, but they should freeze just fine. You could lightly warm them in a foil covered dish in a 250 degree oven for 5-10 minutes and see how that goes!
TRH sells frozen dough as a fundraiser. It is frozen after being cut into squares, but before the individual rolls rise. Not sure if you have any time to let them thaw/rise and bake them on the day you need to serve them, but thought I’d share.