Gluten Free Dairy Free Soft Dinner Rolls Recipe
Updated Mar 30, 2026, Published Nov 18, 2011
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Soft, Fluffy, and Finally Worth the Effort
Let’s be honest, finding truly soft gluten-free dinner rolls can feel like chasing a unicorn. Too often, they’re dense, crumbly, or just not quite satisfying. That’s exactly why this recipe is such a game-changer.
These rolls are everything you’ve been missing: light, tender, slightly sweet, and perfectly fluffy—even without gluten or dairy. And yes, they actually taste like the classic dinner rolls you remember.
Table of Contents
- Soft, Fluffy, and Finally Worth the Effort
- Why These Gluten-Free Rolls Actually Work
- A Balanced, Tried-and-Tested Approach
- Why You’ll Love These Dinner Rolls
- What You’ll Need
- The Secret to Soft Gluten-Free Bread
- Tips for Perfect Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls
- Make-Ahead Friendly (A Holiday Lifesaver)
- When to Serve These Rolls
- The Last Bite
- Gluten Free Dairy Free Soft Dinner Rolls Recipe
Why These Gluten-Free Rolls Actually Work
The Texture Everyone Misses
Traditional rolls rely on gluten to create structure and softness. Without it, things can fall apart, literally. That’s why gluten-free baking requires a thoughtful combination of flours, starches, and binders to recreate that same soft, cohesive texture.
This recipe does exactly that, resulting in rolls that are:
- Soft and pillowy inside
- Lightly golden on the outside
- Sturdy enough to hold together beautifully
A Balanced, Tried-and-Tested Approach
Instead of relying on just one flour, this recipe uses a blend of rice flours and starches to mimic the structure gluten would normally provide. Combined with eggs for stability and yeast for lift, the result is a dough that behaves much more like traditional bread.
If you do not want to mix flours, you can substitute the flours and starches for THIS GLUTEN FREE FLOUR
Why You’ll Love These Dinner Rolls
Soft, Yeasty, and Comforting
These rolls bring back that classic “warm bread basket” experience, something many people miss when going gluten-free.
Dairy-Free Without Compromise
Even without butter or milk, these rolls are incredibly tender and flavorful. In fact, many testers found the dairy-free version actually let the natural sweetness shine through more clearly.
Perfect for Holidays or Everyday Meals
While they’re especially popular for holiday tables (hello, Thanksgiving!), they’re just as perfect alongside soups, salads, or weeknight dinners.
What You’ll Need
To make these soft gluten-free dinner rolls, you’ll need:
Active dry yeast
Sugar
Warm dairy-free milk (such as rice milk)
Gluten-free flours (white rice flour and sweet rice flour)
Potato starch and tapioca starch
Xanthan gum
Salt
Baking powder
Eggs
Dairy-free butter substitute
Honey
Apple cider vinegar
These ingredients work together to create the perfect balance of structure, softness, and flavor.
The Secret to Soft Gluten-Free Bread
Structure Without Gluten
Since gluten acts like a “glue” in traditional baking, gluten-free recipes rely on starches and gums to hold everything together.
Eggs for Stability and Lift
Eggs play a key role in giving these rolls structure and helping them rise properly, preventing that dense or gummy texture that can happen in gluten-free baking.
Yeast for That Classic Flavor
There’s nothing quite like the aroma of yeast baking in the oven. It gives these rolls that nostalgic, bakery-style flavor and airy texture.
Tips for Perfect Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls
Use Finely Milled Rice Flour
A smoother flour helps avoid the gritty texture sometimes associated with gluten-free baking.
Let the Yeast Fully Activate
If your yeast doesn’t foam during proofing, it won’t give you the rise you need, so don’t skip this step.
Bake in Muffin Tins for Best Shape
Gluten-free dough benefits from extra support while rising and baking, which helps create taller, more uniform rolls.
Make-Ahead Friendly (A Holiday Lifesaver)
One of the best things about this recipe? You can make the rolls ahead of time.
They can be:
- Baked in advance
- Stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days
- Reheated just before serving
And they still taste just as soft and delicious, maybe even better the next day.
When to Serve These Rolls
These soft gluten-free dinner rolls are perfect for:
- Holiday meals like Thanksgiving or Christmas
- Sunday dinners
- Pairing with soups and stews
- Making leftover sandwiches
They’re versatile, comforting, and always a welcome addition to the table.
The Last Bite
These Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Soft Dinner Rolls prove that you don’t have to settle when it comes to gluten-free baking. With the right combination of ingredients and a little know-how, you can recreate that soft, fluffy texture that makes dinner rolls so irresistible.
Whether you’re serving them for a holiday feast or a simple family dinner, these rolls bring back something many people miss, and they do it beautifully.
Gluten Free Dairy Free Soft Dinner Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons dry active yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 cups rice milk or milk, (warm but not hot)
- 1½ cups superfine or Asian White Rice Flour*
- ½ cup superfine or Asian Sweet Rice Flour, (also called glutinous rice flour)*
- ¾ cup potato starch, (not potato flour)*
- ½ cup tapioca starch*
- 3 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher or fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 large eggs, divided
- ¼ cup butter or non-dairy butter substitute (Earth Balance recommended), (plus more for brushing the pans)
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Combine the yeast, sugar and warmed milk in a small bowl and whisk to dissolve the sugar. Let sit for 6-8 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and has increased in volume.
- Combine the flours, starches (or all-purpose gluten free flour blend), xanthan gum, salt and baking powder in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix for 30 seconds on medium-low to combine and break up any lumps in the potato starch.
- Add the yeast mixture, 2 eggs, melted butter substitute (or butter), honey and vinegar. Mix on medium low until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, turn the mixer on high and mix for 3 minutes. You should have a very thick, smooth batter.
- Brush 2 standard muffin pans with melted butter (or butter substitute) or spray with gluten free, non-stick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling about ¾ full. Alternately, you can use a small (#60) ice cream scoop and place 3 scoops in each muffin tin (like a clover leaf). Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm, draft free place to rise. Let rise for 35 minutes or until the dough has almost doubled in size.
- Beat the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water very well with a fork. Gently brush the tops of each roll with the beaten egg.
- Bake for 17-18 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes.
- The rolls can be made ahead – bake them, let them cool in the pans, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Warm for a few minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yes, white sugar is ok. Not sure about coconut palm sugar, I will check.
OK, then you can just use white sugar. The honey just adds that flavor but sugar should work just fine. I would use the same amount of white sugar as honey.
These are fantastic and the kids love them! We are also failsafe and just substituted the honey with golden syrup and the vinegar for citric acid. Also I used extra tapioca instead of potato flour (I didn’t have any) and the still worked beautifully. Thank you!
The kids love them! We are also failsafe and just substituted the honey with golden syrup and the vinegar for citric acid. Also I used extra tapioca instead of potato flour (I didn’t have any) and the still worked beautifully. Thank you!
Yay and thanks for letting us know about the substitutions and how they worked!
These were the best!!! Totally amazing!!! I used half rice milk and half water and also I used plain gf flour instead of all the assorted flours!! Thank you so much – amazing!!
Thanks Lisa, so happy you liked them!
Oh mama, these are amazing, not to mention an exciting glimpse into buns like I used to eat! I can’t thank you enough. I subbed brown rice for the white rice (kept the sweet rice). They are just lovely and can’t wait to make a batch for an upcoming family luncheon. I am also going to experiment with sub buns.
Question: what is it about this recipe that makes them so soft and delicate? I may want my sub buns to stand up to a sandwich grill without squishing. Thanks!
Hi Joanna – good question. I was specifically going for soft buns so I kept tinkering. But having said that, I think they would work fine, if you have a pan that will hold the shape you want, you could make the sub rolls. I think if you bake them a few more minutes, it would work fine for grilling. If you try it out, report back!
I just had to tell you how very much I LOVE this recipe!!! My husband devoured the rolls the very first time I made them!! We attend an annual St. Patrick’s Day dinner party at a friend’s house and the first course is always tea & brown bread. Since my husband and I are both gluten sensitive, I decided to bake up this recipe at home to take along so that we could still have bread with our tea.
I decided, instead of using a muffin pan, to dump all of the dough into one large spring form pan and see what happened. I sprinkled some sesame seeds on top of the dough before baking and let her rip. What I wound up with was a beautiful large round loaf! While the water was boiling for the tea that evening, I brushed the entire loaf with a few tablespoons of melted butter, wrapped it in foil and stuck it into a 400 degree oven for about 5-7 minutes so it would be nice and warm for eating.
It was beautifully brown and toasty on the outside while retaining that lovely soft cloud-like interior! The sesame seeds gave it a great nutty flavor and everyone, gluten sensitive and not, RAVED about it. We hardly had room for the Corned Beef & Cabbage and Shepherd’s Pie course that followed because no one could get enough of my lovely loaf of bread.
So… Thank you! Thank you for providing a wonderful recipe that I use several times a week! I am now on the look out for pans of various shapes and sizes since this recipe is so versatile! My next experiment will be attempting to transform it into a sweet bread… cinnamon raisin anyone? :^)
Thank you Nicole! I am so happy you enjoy the recipe. Love the fact that you cooked it in a round pan!!! Let me know how the cinnamon raisin version comes out and how do I get an invite? LOL. Thanks again!
I started homeschooling my 10 & 7 year old this year, I also have a 3 year old that is home during the day with us. Our history curriculum has some projects in it and one of the ones for this unit was a Sebetu Roll based on a recipe from Ancient Mesopotamia, however, my 10 year old, my 3 year old and myself are Gluten Free (so our house is gluten free). I really wanted to be able to do a cooking project like the one in the book. I googled and found your recipe. I made it as stated (we are dairy free too) and used spectrum organic shortening instead of the butter or butter substitute (we are also soy free…so no margarines). To make it like the type of rolls in the book, I added minced scallions and a clove of minced garlic. They were soooo good. The entire family loved them and the boys are already asking to make them again. Thank you so much!!
Thank you Lisa for sharing this! What a great project to do with the children. Glad everyone enjoyed them!
Hi Carol! I’ve a question. Since my hubby and I can not eat grains (including rice) what would you suggest we substitute rice flour with? I’m so excited about this recipe. Can’t wait to try it. :-)
Hi Bea – I am at a bit of a lose as to how to answer beacuse I have never tried this recipe with no grains. Usually when I want to bake grain free I will use almond flour but that is a whole different technique. I feel bad – you are so excited! My suggestion is that you do search for grain free rolls. Good luck!
My daughter does not need gluten-free, but she is alergic to wheat. The upsurge of gluten-free products and recipes has been awesome for us. So my question is: What roll does the honey play in the recipe? I have not tried this recipe yet (buying supplies today), but I don’t really like “sweet” bread, so I’m wondering what it would do to leave the honey out of the mix. Thanks so much.
The honey adds flavor plus it “feeds the yeast”. You can use just a bit of sugar instead. These rolls aren’t really what I would call sweet but you can also just use less honey. For some reason the yeast like a but of sugar (or honey or agave) to really proof up well.
Hi Carol, I am not only dealing with gluten free but also egg white free. any ideas for substiutions in this recipe? Thankyou Marcia
I have heard it works well with egg substitute. Add just a touch more liquid.