Thankful Thanksgiving Rolls are a delicious way to share your gratitude this holiday season! Here are 3 ways to make them!
Looking for a few more easy bread recipes? Here are some of our favorites – Lion House Rolls, Cake MIx Banana Bread, and Artisan Bread Recipe.
Thanksgiving Rolls + Activity
Homemade rolls are definitely my favorite thing to eat at Thanksgiving. These Thankful rolls are not only delicious, but they’re also a fun activity and a great way to create a meaningful discussion at your dinner table!
Our favorite way to make these are with our 30-Minute Dinner Roll recipe, but we’ll show you two other semi-homemade versions and let you pick your favorite. Either way, these rolls will be simple to make and totally delicious! Your family and friends will LOVE this idea – we pinky promise!
Homemade Thankful Rolls
The first option (our very favorite) involves making your bread dough from scratch. But don’t be intimidated – these rolls are simple to make and only take 30 minutes!
INGREDIENTS + SUPPLIES –
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp warm water
- 1/3 cup oil
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- strips of parchment paper (mine were about 3-4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide)
- Sharpie marker
DIRECTIONS –
Yeast Mixture – Add the yeast, warm water, oil, and sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer. Give it a good mix until everything has combined nicely, then let it rest for 15 minutes.
Dry Ingredients – Next, add the salt, egg, and 2 cups of flour to the mixing bowl. Mix everything together using the dough hook attachment.
More Flour – Continue mixing the dough while adding a 1/2 cup of the extra flour at a time. You may not use all of the remaining flour. Just use enough to make the dough pull away from the sides of the bowl without being sticky.
Roll It Out – Once everything has completely mixed together, form the dough out into 12 equal-sized balls.
Add the Paper – Have your guests write what they’re thankful for on the strips of wax paper. For a make-ahead version, write thankful prompts on each strip, like “I’m thankful for Susan because…” or “The best thing to happen to me this year was…”
Once you have your strips of paper, fold them and place them in the center of a flattened ball of dough, then roll the dough into smooth balls to lock the papers inside.
Rest – Place the balls into a 9×13 baking pan and then let them rest for 10 minutes.
Bake – Place the dinner rolls in the oven and bake them for about 10 minutes or until they’re golden brown.
Frozen Dough Thanksgiving Rolls
The second option is a semi-homemade version that involves using frozen bread dough, like Rhodes Rolls. There’s more rise time with these, but they still produce a delicious roll that is simple to create!
INGREDIENTS –
- 12 frozen rolls
- strips of parchment paper (mine were about 3-4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide)
- Sharpie marker
DIRECTIONS –
Place frozen rolls into a greased cupcake pan, then cut a slit into each roll using a sharp knife.
Once your strips of paper are written on, fold them up and place one in each slit.
Let your rolls rise in a warm place for 2 hours. Pinch the slits around the paper to close them up, then bake according to package directions.
Crescent Dough Thankful Rolls
The last option (the easiest!) involves using refrigerated crescent rolls. It’s a 15-minute option that tastes great! (Who doesn’t love crescent rolls?)
INGREDIENTS –
- 1 roll of refrigerated crescent dough
- strips of parchment paper (mine were about 3-4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide)
- Sharpie marker
DIRECTIONS –
Place each individual strip of paper flat across the center of an unrolled crescent dough piece. Roll up the dough, as usual, rolling the paper over the dough as you go. Bake as directed.
Thankful Variations
Here are a few ways to use this idea during other times of the year, not just at Thanksgiving –
- Casual Weeknights – Add some fun to a regular weeknight dinner by asking your family to write the best thing about their day, then guess who wrote it.
- Birthday – Make the birthday boy feel extra special on his birthday by having the rest of the family write reasons they love him.
- Service – Have everyone write an act of service they are willing to do for someone in the family (ie. make their bed for the week, rub their feet for 5 minutes, etc.) Then, pass out the rolls randomly and see who gets to serve who.
Do you have an idea of how to use these? Leave us a comment, we’d love to hear about it!
More Easy Dinner Roll Recipes
- Heart Shaped Dinner Rolls
- Famous Lion House Rolls
- Garlic Parmesan Dinner Rolls
- Pumpkin Crescent Rolls Recipe
- Thankful Thanksgiving Day Rolls
Thanksgiving Roll Recipe
Here’s a printable recipe card for your convenience –
Thankful Thanksgiving Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp warm water
- 1/3 cup oil
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- strips of parchment paper, mine were about 3-4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide
- Sharpie marker
Instructions
- Add the yeast, warm water, oil, and sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer. Give it a good mix until everything has combined nicely, then let it rest for 15 minutes.
- Add the salt, egg, and 2 cups of flour to the mixing bowl. Mix everything together using the dough hook attachment.
- Continue mixing the dough while adding a 1/2 cup of the extra flour at a time. You may not use all of the remaining flour. Just use enough to make the dough pull away from the sides of the bowl without being sticky.
- Once everything has completely mixed together, form the dough out into 12 equal-sized balls.
- Have your guests write what they’re thankful for on the strips of wax paper. For a make-ahead version, write thankful prompts on each strip, like “I’m thankful for Susan because…” or “The best thing to happen to me this year was…”
- Once you have your strips of paper, fold them and place them in the center of a flattened ball of dough, then roll the dough into smooth balls to lock the papers inside.
- Place the balls into a 9×13 baking pan and then let them rest for 10 minutes.
- Place the dinner rolls in the oven and bake them for about 10 minutes or until they’re golden brown.
I love this idea – what a fun and creative way to express gratitude! I also really like the birthday idea. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
What a charming idea! My family would love this. Thanks for the inspiration. Pinned!