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The Best Dinner Rolls You Can Find In The Freezer Aisle

In the wise words of Ina Garten: store-bought is fine.

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preview for Why Haven't We Ever Thought Of Goat Cheese-Stuffed Dinner Rolls Before?

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We get it: the holidays are hectic. And as much as we love making everything on our holiday menus from scratch, Nara Smith style, it can be too much to juggle. No matter how much prep you do ahead of time, tackling the turkey, several sides, and dessert is a tall order. To save ourselves the stress, we love to delegate certain dishes to our guests or opt for store-bought.

While some dishes, like green bean casserole and gravy, always taste better homemade, you can reliably rely on frozen dinner rolls to taste just as good as if you made them in your own kitchen. Mixing, kneading, shaping, proofing, baking...it takes a lot of time that we just don't have. But when you need a vehicle for butter and soaking up all of the sauce at the bottom of your plate, frozen options are there for you.

Like with any frozen food, some brands are much better than others. So in the spirit of science, I scoured supermarkets all over to find as many frozen dinner rolls as possible. Then I put the seven brands head to head. Which one strikes the perfect balance of flaky and buttery? Which ones have a crispy golden crumb? Which roll can stand on its own as well as with every other component of your holiday meal?

After tasting each one, I narrowed it down to five favorites that are worth buying.

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1

La Brea Bakery Take & Bake French Dinner Rolls

La Brea Bakery Take & Bake French Dinner Rolls
Credit: Safeway

La Brea Bakery's's French dinner rolls immediately rose to the top of my list even before they made their way into the oven. Why was that? Well, even before popping them into the oven, these dinner rolls smelled incredible. My kitchen immediately smelled like I had lit a "freshly baked baguette" scented candle.

After a quick toast (they're fully baked), the actual taste of the rolls more than matched that bag opening moment and the closest to a roll you might grab at your local bakery. A crispy crust gives way to a fluffy interior with a slight sourdough tang that makes these a top contender for slathering with plenty of butter and pretending you got them straight from a French boulangerie. These were the best rolls I tasted.

2

Sister Schubert's Dinner Yeast Rolls

Sister Schubert's Dinner Yeast Rolls
Now 14% Off
Credit: Sam's Club

Yeast rolls are hard to beat, and it almost feels unfair to pin any other kind of roll against them, especially those made by Sister Schubert. If you're not familiar with the brand, you'll be surprised to know you've likely have eaten them before. In fact, Sister Schubert is the maker of the Parker House rolls used in Chik-fil-A's chicken minis, which are also worth picking up in the frozen aisle as well.

These rolls are notable for their caramelized sweetness that just makes you daydream how good these would be with a dollop of cranberry sauce, jam, or dunked into soup. Plus, they require no proofing or thawing, meaning you're only ever about 10 minutes away from a freshly baked roll.

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3

Udi's Gluten Free Classic French Dinner Rolls

Udi's Gluten Free Classic French Dinner Rolls
Now 50% Off
Credit: Udi's gluten free

It's not easy being gluten-free, but thankfully the gluten-free bread products out there have gotten way better. The best of which is Udi's Gluten Free Classic French dinner rolls.

Just because you're gluten-free doesn't mean you have to put up with dry, cardboard-y rolls. Udi's French-style rolls would satisfy even the gluten-eaters out there, with crispy crunch and a buttery soft interior that would make these an amazing option at the dinner table or for making sturdy sliders.

4

Rhodes Bake-N- Serv Dinner Rolls

Rhodes Bake-N- Serv Dinner Rolls
Credit: Target

If "flaky" is the non-negotiable feature you want in a roll, look no further than Rhodes Bake-N-Serv dinner roll dough. Though they do require a bit more patience than the other rolls (the dough isn't par-baked so they need 3 to 5 hours to thaw and rise), I promise it's worth it.

Once fully baked, these dinner rolls are reminiscent of the ones you might find in a bread basket of your favorite steakhouse. Do yourself a huge favor and top them with maple butter or go in a different direction by using them to make a stellar pizza crust.

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5

Bridgford Parker House Rolls

Bridgford Parker House Rolls
Now 22% Off
Credit: Instacart

If you've got some serious traditionalists coming to the table, it doesn't get any more classic than Bridgford's Parkerhouse style roll dough. Since this is a frozen dough, you will need to prepare these a bit on the earlier end (they need about an hour to thaw, then another two hours to rise), the possibilities for these rolls are pretty endless (our favorite of which being monkey bread).

As buttery as they are a beautiful golden brown right out of the oven, these rolls are the sort that tend to get eaten by kitchen helpers before they can make it to dinnertime, if you catch my drift.

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