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If you love rolls that are pillowy soft, then you will LOVE these Pumpkin Sage Dinner Rolls. Not only do they have such an incredible texture and they pull apart beautifully, but their flavor is so unique and fun too. I have lots of sage growing rampant in my garden, so I decided to start experimenting with new flavors! These Pumpkin Sage Dinner Rolls have the classic roll flavor with the perfect hint of pumpkin and sage – the flavors aren’t overwhelming but add dimension to the rolls and makes them such a hit for the fall season (and Thanksgiving!).
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Nutritional benefits of this recipe
- I’m a big believer in high-quality flour. I use Sunrise Flour Mill for all my baking because it’s non-GMO, unbleached, properly grown, properly milled, and organic. Wheat products in America are highly sprayed with Glyphosate which is shown to wreak havoc on our gut microbiome. Properly grown and prepped wheat products are not inflammatory, are easier to digest, and are actually nutrient-dense.
- Pumpkin is rich in polyphenols and antioxidants. It’s great for our digestive health, blood sugar, cholesterol, eyesight, and more.
- I used coconut sugar as the sweetener (which is necessary for the yeast). Coconut sugar is natural, lower glycemic, and unrefined. It’s just the dehydrated sap from coconut trees!
Ingredients for soft and pillowy Pumpkin Sage Dinner Rolls
Bread flour – I use Sunrise Flour Mill‘s Heritage Bread Blend.
Pumpkin puree – for the pumpkin flavor. This is 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
Avocado oil – for extra moisture. Avocado oil is a healthy oil that has a neutral flavor which helps the pumpkin and the sage flavors shine through. You can also try melted butter or olive oil, but the flavor will be different.
Coconut sugar – I love using coconut sugar as a sweetener for my recipes because it’s just the dehydrated sap from coconut trees – it’s less process and lower glycemic than refined sugars like white sugar or brown sugar.
Dry active yeast – this is active yeast not instant yeast.
Fresh sage leaves – you will very finely mince the fresh sage leaves so that it’s dispersed throughout the rolls. Then you will chop some extra to sprinkle on top of the rolls.
Pumpkin pie spice – to add a little bit more pumpkin flavor. It’s not so much that it takes like pumpkin pie though – it’s just enough to enhance the pumpkin without being overpowering.
Salt
How to make soft Pumpkin Sage Dinner rolls
- Warm the water (or milk) in a small pot until it reaches about 110-115ºF (warm to the touch, not hot).
- Put the dry active yeast and the coconut sugar into a large bowl. Pour the warm water (or milk) on top and gently whisk it together. Let it sit for about 5-7 minutes until the top is covered in foam.
- Prep the finely minced sage leaves while waiting for the yeast to activate, and set it aside.
- Add in the pumpkin puree and the avocado oil into the yeast mixture and mix together with a whisk.
- Add in 300 grams of bread flour, 1 tsp salt, 3-4 Tbsp finely minced sage leaves, and 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. Mix with a dough whisk or a spatula until mostly combined, then add in another 200 grams of bread flour. Mix until it’s a shaggy dough, then start using a floured hand to knead it for about 5 minutes. The dough will be tacky and very soft, so add a sprinkle of flour to your hand and the bottom of the bowl as you go if needed. During this kneading process, I usually incorporate about another 15-25 grams of flour, but avoid doing so much that it becomes dense. Keeping it slightly tacky but flouring your hand as you knead is the best way to do this so that you end up with soft rolls that aren’t dense.
- Cover the dough ball and let rise for 30 minutes.
- After the 30 minute rise, lightly punch the dough ball down to release air. Transfer it to a floured surface and divide into 12 equal portions (I used a food scale to make sure mine were equal so they bake at the same rate; mine were 86 grams each).
- Grease a 9×13″ baking dish with olive oil or butter. Evenly space the rolls in the baking dish. Cover and let them rise for 30 minutes. After the first 10 minutes of rising, go ahead and start preheating the oven while you wait for the rolls to continue rising.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and the center of a roll is 180ºF. Remove from the oven, brush with 2 Tbsp of melted butter using a pastry brush (or use a butter knife to gently rub unmelted butter over them), and sprinkle with chopped sage leaves and flaky sea salt. Serve warm and enjoy!
Modifications and variations
- I personally find that the sage is very mild in this recipe – if you want a stronger flavor of sage to shine through, then feel free to carefully toast the diced sage in the avocado oil in a pan (then let it fully cool down before adding to the recipe) to bring out more of the flavor.
- Omit the sage for just a pumpkin dinner roll, or use another herb in place of it such as rosemary or thyme (if using rosemary, then decrease the amount to 2 teaspoons finely minced because it’s much stronger in flavor).
- For a strong pumpkin flavor (this recipe is fairly mild), then increase the pumpkin spice substantially, to maybe about 2 teaspoons or so.
- For a sweet pumpkin dinner roll, then omit the sage, increase the coconut sugar to 1/3-1/2 cup, increase the pumpkin spice to 2 teaspoons, and add 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon. Still top with melted butter, and maybe sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture (using coconut sugar!).
Other pumpkin recipes you’ll love
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes (with oat flour)
I hope you love these Pumpkin Sage Dinner Rolls! Please be sure to leave a comment and a rating if you give this recipe a try. I would love to know how it turns out for you!
PrintPumpkin Sage Dinner Rolls (Pillowy soft!)
These Pumpkin Sage Dinner Rolls have the classic roll flavor with the perfect addition of pumpkin and sage – the flavors aren’t overwhelming but add dimension to the rolls and makes them such a hit for the fall season (and Thanksgiving!).
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 rolls 1x
- Category: rolls, side, thanksgiving
- Method: oven
Ingredients
1 cup water or milk (8oz), gently warmed to 115ºF
1 1/2 Tbsp dry active yeast (18g)
3 Tbsp coconut sugar (35g)
2/3 cup pumpkin puree (176g)
1/4 cup avocado oil (56g)
500g bread flour, plus more for kneading (I use this Heritage Bread Blend)
2–4 Tbsp minced fresh sage leaves (4-8g)
1 tsp salt (4g)
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (1g)
For after baking:
2 Tbsp grass-fed butter (28g)
Chopped sage leaves
Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Warm the water (or milk) in a small pot until it reaches about 110-115ºF (warm to the touch, not hot).
- Put the dry active yeast and the coconut sugar into a large bowl. Pour the warm water (or milk) on top and gently whisk it together. Let it sit for about 5-7 minutes until the top is covered in foam.
- Prep the minced sage leaves while waiting for the yeast to activate, and set it aside.
- Add in the pumpkin puree and the avocado oil into the yeast mixture and mix together with a whisk.
- Add in 300 grams of bread flour, 1 tsp salt, 3-4 Tbsp finely minced sage leaves, and 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. Mix with a dough whisk or a spatula until mostly combined, then add in another 200 grams of bread flour. Mix until it’s a shaggy dough, then start using a floured hand to knead it for about 5 minutes. The dough will be tacky and very soft, so add a sprinkle of flour to your hand and the bottom of the bowl as you go if needed. During this kneading process, I usually incorporate about another 20-25 grams of flour, but avoid doing so much that it becomes dense. Keeping it slightly tacky but flouring your hand as you knead is the best way to do this so that you end up with soft rolls that aren’t dense.
- Cover the dough ball and let rise for 30 minutes.
- After the 30 minute rise, lightly punch the dough ball down to release air. Transfer it to a floured surface and divide into 12 equal portions (I used a food scale to make sure mine were equal so they bake at the same rate; mine were 86 grams each).
- Grease a 9×13″ baking dish with olive oil or butter. Evenly space the rolls in the baking dish. Cover and let them rise for 30 minutes. After the first 10 minutes of rising, go ahead and start preheating the oven while you wait for the rolls to continue rising.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and the center of a roll is 180ºF. Remove from the oven, brush with 2 Tbsp of melted butter using a pastry brush (or use a butter knife to gently rub unmelted butter over them), and sprinkle with lots of chopped sage leaves and some flaky sea salt. Serve warm and enjoy!
Modifications and variations:
- I personally find that the sage is very mild in this recipe – if you want a stronger flavor of sage to shine through, then feel free to carefully toast the diced sage in the avocado oil in a pan (then let it fully cool down before adding to the recipe) to bring out more of the flavor.
- Omit the sage for just a pumpkin dinner roll, or use another herb in place of it such as rosemary or thyme (if using rosemary or thyme, then decrease the amount substantially, to maybe 2 teaspoons finely minced, because it’s much stronger in flavor than sage).
- For a sweet pumpkin roll, then omit the sage, increase the coconut sugar to 1/3-1/2 cup, increase the pumpkin spice to 2 teaspoons, and add 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon. Still top with melted butter, and maybe sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture (using coconut sugar!).
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It was the bestiest I’ve ever had, fluffy like pillows and so yummy.
Yay, so glad you loved them!! Thanks for leaving a review 🙂