“Cheesy” Vegan Garlic Dinner Rolls with Herbed Dairy Free Butter

These plush and pillowy garlic dinner rolls need only 8 simple ingredients to make and are filled with a gooey dairy free cheesy!! Baked until golden and brushed with a herbed dairy free butter, these unbelievably vegan garlic dinner rolls are the perfect side dish to any holiday meal!

Why you need to try these garlic dinner rolls:

Bread is always a must at any Thanksgiving or holiday table, and these unbelievably soft and plush garlic dinner rolls won’t disappoint.

Don’t get me wrong, I love mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole as much as the next gal, but a good dinner roll? You can’t beat it.

Filled with a gooey dairy free cheese that pulls and stretches when you tear and share these rolls, these easy garlic dinner rolls are infused with garlic, rosemary, thyme, and sage. Then we brush with a simple herbed vegan butter for the perfect shiny and pillowy dinner roll.

It’s like my classic (and all time favorite) vegan dinner rolls recipe meets my garlic & herb cheesy pull apart bread, and trust me, you’ll be obsessed.

We’re only using 8 simple ingredients (no need for any eggs nor dairy here!), and there’s even an option to prep them overnight and bake right before you serve!

And of course, you don’t have to make them “cheesy” garlic dinner rolls- they’re unbelievably delicious with just as garlic dinner rolls without the vegan cheese!

These garlic dinner rolls perfect for any dinner party or for the holidays, like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, more. 

Are dinner rolls vegan?

Dinner rolls are not typically vegan, as they usually contain butter and milk, both of which contain dairy. However, these vegan dinner rolls are so flavorful, rich, soft, and tender, you’d honestly never know they’re vegan.

Even I was in disbelief when I tried them for the first time!

Garlic dinner roll ingredients

Here’s all that you need to make these amazing and secretly vegan easy dinner rolls, with some substitutions as needed:

• Bread flour: You can use all purpose flour as well, but the best results will be with using bread flour. This is because bread flour contains more protein than all purpose flour, which adds to the stretch and pull of the bread. For gluten free, you can use this gluten free dinner rolls recipe as the base dough.
• Activated dry yeast: I’ve tested these garlic dinner rolls with both active dry yeast and instant/quick rise yeast. Both will work! Instant obviously is quicker, BUT you won’t be able to do the overnight option, as they’ll rise too fast.
• Maple syrup or sugar: You can use either here.
• Dairy free milk: You can use soy milk, oat milk, almond milk, or coconut milk here. Just make sure it’s not the vanilla flavored one! I prefer to use unsweetened dairy free milk here. 
• Vegan butter: Some people call for melted butter, but I actually think that the best results come from room temperature butter. That way it’s more easily kneaded into the dough and yields a super smooth and soft texture. I opt for vegan butter containing salt. This means we don’t have to add it in later on.
• Rosemary, parsley, & thyme: This herb combination is perfect for these garlic and herb dinner rolls. The flavor is vibrant, fresh, and lively.
• Garlic: We’re using freshly minced garlic rather than garlic powder. This will infuse way more flavor!

You can use a rectangular or a square baking dish here. Either will work! This dinner rolls recipe will yield 12-16 rolls, and generously sized rolls too. 

What is an enriched dough?

There are two types of doughs we typically work with: lean dough and enriched dough. Lean dough is typically just flour, water, yeast, and salt. It’s lean before there is no fat to it.

Enriched dough, like cinnamon rolls or brioche, use milk, butter, and occasionally eggs to yield a more plush and soft texture. It also means that the dough will need to rise longer than a lean dough, which rises quite fast. The result? Super soft, fluffy, and melt in your mouth texture that you know as dinner rolls!

However, we can (and always do!) make enriched doughs naturally vegan. How? By swapping in our favorite dairy free milks, vegan butter, and the occasional applesauce or dairy free yogurt or even flax egg replacement. 

Overview: how to make vegan garlic dinner rolls:

The full instructions for this dinner roll recipe is found down below in the recipe card. However, let’s go over a brief overview!

Beginner’s tip: How to tell when your dough is done being kneaded:

The window pane test is a crucial test to ensure that your dough has been kneaded properly. It’s the best way to determine that you can move onto the first proof.

You’ll pinch the dough between two fingers and pull. If the dough stretches and doesn’t break, and almost looks like a window pane, then your dough has been kneaded enough and you can move onto the first proof. If it breaks, the dough still needs more time kneading.

Can I make these vegan dinner rolls ahead of time?

You can absolutely make these garlic dinner rolls ahead of time! Prep the dough to rise the day before.

Once you’ve made the dough, the first dough rise will be in the fridge rather than in a warm area. You can rise the dough overnight in the fridge for a slow fermented rise.

The next day, shape the dinner rolls, and allow them to rest and come to room temperature again as the oven is preheating. 

Do I have to make these garlic dinner rolls with vegan cheese?

If you want to skip the cheese part, no problem- just omit that step in the baking process! You’ll still be left with the most “buttery” soft garlic dinner rolls that absolutely no one will be able to tell are vegan and dairy free 😉

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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