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These ridiculously soft and “buttery” sweet potato Parker house rolls are the best combination of potato dinner roll meets fancy, flaky croissant-like Parker house roll! Infused with a salted maple “butter,” these extra pillowy sweet potato dinner rolls are baked to golden perfection and beyond easy to make- you don’t even need any eggs nor dairy (so yeah, they’re vegan! 😉 ). The best side dinner roll for holiday meals and more!

stacked vegan sweet potato Parker house rolls

Parker House Rolls with an Upgrade:

There are not many things better than a Parker house roll- that iconic, soft, pillowy, almost croissant-like dinner roll that’s baked with loads of butter and a soft, pillowy texture. But this sweet potato version?! In a league of its own.

We’re taking the best of potato rolls- an already lovely and soft roll thanks to all the extra moisture and starch that potatoes lock in- using sweet potato (aka the highlight of fall produce), and adding salted maple butter as well?!

Honestly, I love my simple vegan dinner rolls, but these sweet potato ones? With the salted maple vegan butter baked in between?!

Here’s why you need these rolls in your life:

  • The SOFTEST, pillowy texture: And I haven’t even mentioned that these rolls are entirely plant based. Yep, these Parker house rolls are vegan, and you’d never know because we’re not using any funky swaps or hard-to-find ingredients. In fact, the egg is just sweet potato puree!
  • Absurdly easy: You can make these rolls by hand or in a stand mixer. And if you’ve ever made cinnamon rolls, then you’ll be a pro at its savory cousin in no time!
  • Make ahead option: You bet you can prove these overnight in the fridge. Which makes holidays even easier!
  • Freeze and serve later: I doubt you’ll have leftovers, but you can actually make these rolls a few days before, bake and freeze them then reheat them in the oven. How easy is that?!
pulled apart sweet potato Parker house roll

Here’s why you need to make these:

The ingredients are beyond simple, and really just pantry staples:

  • Sweet potato puree
  • Bread flour: I recommend this over all-purpose, as bread flour contains more gluten/protein, which gives the rolls more structure.
  • Active dry yeast: You can use instant yeast instead.
  • Maple syrup
  • Vegan butter: A high-quality vegan butter is key! I really like Miyoko’s here for the most depth in flavor that doesn’t taste processed.
  • Sea salt: For depth of flavor! I also use flaky salt to top because why not be fancy for these rolls?!

You’ll notice there are no vegan egg replacements here- that’s because you really don’t need them. Sweet potato puree will actually act as our “egg,” binding everything together, giving the bread some lovely structure, and keeping everything soft and moist.

buttered vegan Parker house roll on a plate

Canned vs. Fresh Sweet Potato:

You can use either here. For the recipe pictured, I used canned sweet potato, but I’ve also used fresh sweet potato.

The most important part is that it’s pureed. So if you’re going the fresh sweet potato route (which in the fall, we have ample amounts of!), you can either bake or steam the sweet potato, then remove the sweet potato skin and blend it until smooth.

Then use in the recipe! I do recommend that the sweet potato is room temperature instead of super hot out of the oven or freshly steamed, as this will hurt the yeast growth.

pulled apart Parker house rolls on parchment paper

Overview: How to make sweet potato Parker house rolls:

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

The dough can either be made by hand or in a stand mixer!
Once kneaded to be tacky and smooth, we’ll proof the dough until doubled in size. This will take about an hour in a proofing oven, but sometimes even longer if your kitchen is colder (especially in the winter months!).
Once doubled in size, we’ll turn the dough onto a clean, floured surface and divide the dough in two.
Take one half and roll it out to be 12×16.” We’ll spread that half with some of the prepared salted maple vegan butter.
Then much like cinnamon rolls, we’ll slice the dough into 8 strips, each measuring 2×12.” Roll each strip up tightly. Then repeat for the other half of the dough!
Place them into your prepared baking pan to rest for 30 minutes while the oven preheats.
Then bake until golden brown and brush with more vegan butter and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt!
You can prepare additional salted maple butter for more spreading afterwards 🙂 It’s a treat!

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

SOFT Sweet Potato Parker House Rolls with Salted Maple Butter - Dairy Free and Vegan! Pinterest pin

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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pulled apart sweet potato Parker house roll

SOFT Sweet Potato Parker House Rolls with Salted Maple Butter – Dairy Free and Vegan!

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4 from 1 review
  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 16 1x
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

These ridiculously soft and “buttery” sweet potato Parker house rolls are the best combination of potato dinner roll meets fancy, flaky croissant-like Parker house roll! Infused with a salted maple “butter,” these extra pillowy sweet potato dinner rolls are baked to golden perfection and beyond easy to make- you don’t even need any eggs nor dairy (so yeah, they’re vegan! 😉 ). The best side dinner roll for holiday meals and more!

Ingredients

Scale

Salted maple butter:

  • 1/2 cup (113 g) salted vegan butter, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt, 
  • Flaky sea salt, for topping when noted

Sweet potato Parker house rolls:

  • 3/4 cup (180 mL) dairy free milk, warmed to 110F
  • 1 packet (7 g) active dry yeast
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 cup (240 g) sweet potato puree (either from canned or freshly baked sweet potato)
  • 1/4 cup (60 mL) maple syrup
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 5 cups (625 g) bread flour
  • 7 tbsp salted vegan butter, room temperature 

Vegan “egg” wash:

  • 1 tbsp dairy free milk
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Prep: Read all instructions before beginning. Measure and weigh out all ingredients before beginning. Grease a large bowl with cooking or coconut oil and set aside (this bowl is for the rising and is different than the bowl you’ll use to mix the dough).  Heat the dairy-free milk to 110F. Use a food thermometer to ensure that it’s exactly 110F. 
  2. Activate the yeast: Once heated, add the yeast and sugar to the heated dairy-free milk. Stir with a wooden spoon and cover. Place the bowl in a warm area (75-80F) to activate for 10-12 minutes. Your yeast may bloom faster or slower depending on the warmth of the area. You’ll know it’s ready when it smells yeast-like and there is foam on the top of the dairy-free milk. If this hasn’t happened, you’ll need to start over. 
  3. Make the dough: Add the activated yeast mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer with dough paddle attachment or a large bowl. Then add in the sweet potato puree, maple syrup and sea salt. Turn the stand mixer on to medium-low speed and mix (or use a large spoon to mix if doing by hand). Mix until just combined. Then add in the flour, and mix on medium speed until the flour starts to incorporate into the wet mixture. Next, add in the room temperature vegan butter. Mix again and knead until the butter has been fully incorporated, and you achieve a smooth dough. you can add more flour if the dough is too sticky, but you shouldn’t need to.
  4. Proof the dough: Then place the dough ball into the greased bowl, and cover with a thin clean dish towel. Place the bowl in a warm area that’s at least 85F. If your oven has a proof setting, you can use that. You can also heat the oven to 100F, then turn it off and keep the oven light on. Proof the dough until it’s doubled in size, about an hour. If your area is cooler, it will take longer, if it’s warmer, it will be quicker.
  5. During the rise: While the dough is rising, you can grease a medium casserole dish with cooking oil. Set aside. Then make the salted maple butter by whisking together the room temperature vegan butter, maple syrup, and sea salt. Set aside. Prepare a large casserole dish (10×13″ general size) by greasing with oil or vegan butter and lining with parchment paper if desired for easy removal after baking.
  6. Shape the Parker house rolls:  Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down lightly and gently pull the dough from the bowl onto a clean surface. Use a pizza cutter or large kitchen knife to divide the dough in half. Roll one half out to be 16×12″. Spread 1/4 cup of the maple salted butter onto the dough. Then on either 16″ side of the dough rectangle, mark the dough in 2″ intervals. Use a pizza slicer or large kitchen knife to slice each mark into eight 2×12″ strips. Roll each strip like a cinnamon roll, and place seam-side down in the prepared baking tray. Repeat for the other dough half. You will yield 16 rolls.
  7. Second rise: cover the Parker house rolls with a thin clean dish towel again and place in a warm area (by the oven is fine) to nearly double in size again, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350F. 
  8. Make the “egg” wash: once the rolls have risen and the oven is preheated, mix together the dairy free milk and maple syrup for the bread wash. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the mixture over the tops of the rolls.
  9. Bake the dinner rolls: Place the dinner rolls into the oven to bake for 28-33 minutes, or until the tops of the rolls are golden brown. Remove the dinner rolls from the oven.
  10. Cool: Allow them to cool slightly before serving. You can prepare an additional batch of salted maple butter to serve with the warm rolls. Brush with either extra maple butter or melted plain vegan butter, then sprinkle the tops with flaky sea salt.
  11. Storage: Store any leftover rolls in an airtight container or baggy. They will last at room temperature for 1-2 days, in the fridge for 4-5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Equipment

Notes

See blog post for step-by-step images.

Flour: I recommend bread flour, but all-purpose flour will work too. It will just produce a slightly less risen roll, as bread flour contains more gluten/protein, which offers more structure.

Sweet potato: You can use canned sweet potato puree or fresh sweet potato puree, either baked or steamed. Just make sure to blend the sweet potato to a puree if using either fresh method, as you want it to integrate into the dough seamlessly.