Delicious homemade Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. They’re soft, fluffy and fresh from the oven! These Hawaiian sweet rolls have a tropical flavor perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
These Hawaiian sweet rolls are one of my favorite rolls. It’s an old recipe I’ve shared with you back in 2014 and wanted to share it with you again with some new pictures, a video and a bit more explanation regarding the dough. You’ll find that this recipe has some unusual ingredients for dinner rolls, namely ginger, pineapple, and coconut – but that’s what makes them so special!
What Are Hawaiian Sweet Rolls?
These delicious dinner rolls originated on the Big Island, originally sold in supermarkets. They’ve got a sweet tropical kick thanks to some pineapple juice, a little bit of ginger, and a concentrated dose of coconut extract. These sweet rolls are far from typical but give them a shot, I promise they’ll be your new favorite accompaniment.
Ingredients
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Butter – Unsalted as we want to control the sodium in our rolls.
- Pineapple juice – This sweet tangy addition is a key flavor profile to our Hawaiian Sweet Rolls so don’t skip on it!
- Buttermilk – Buttermilk is really key for achieving fluffy, tender rolls. Check out my Buttermilk Dinner Rolls recipe for more info.
- Sugar – We want to use packed brown sugar as it’ll create a great depth of flavor as our rolls bake.
- Coconut – We’re using coconut extract today for that concentrated coconut flavor, you can find it at your grocery store in the baking aisle.
- Vanilla – Again we’re using extract, vanilla is like a flavor secret weapon for baked goods.
- Flour – I just used all purpose today.
- Yeast – I’m using instant yeast today so that we can incorporate it right in the dough without priming it in water first.
- Ginger – Just a bit of ground ginger to add complexity and depth to our rolls.
- Eggs – 2 large eggs kept at room temperature.
- Salt – Salt is important in any baked good, it ensures that all those flavors we’ve incorporated above really shine.
How To Make Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
Dough
- Preheat oven: To 200 F degrees.
- Combine the wet ingredients: In a medium size bowl, combine the melted butter, buttermilk, pineapple juice and brown sugar. Slightly whisk so that it’s all combined. Wait a bit until mixture cools a bit (if it’s too warm from the melted butter) then add the extracts.
- Combine the dry ingredients: Meanwhile, in the bowl of your mixer, combine 3 3/4 cups of flour, yeast, salt and ground ginger. Using the paddle attachment, turn the mixing speed on low and slowly pour in the wet ingredients. Continue mixing while adding the 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk.
- Knead the dough: A sticky dough will begin to form. Switch to the hook attachment and knead the dough for 7-8 minutes, adding 1/4 cup more of flour if necessary. Do note that this is a very sticky dough, so don’t add any more than 4 cups of flour total!
- Allow the dough to rise: Once the dough has been kneaded, form into a ball and place in a large metal or glass bowl that has been lightly greased. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap, turn your oven OFF, place inside and allow to rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. I use this trick all the time to speed up the rising time. Most of the time in half hour the dough has risen nicely, so try it out.
Assembly
- Divide the dough: Once the dough has doubled, remove and gently deflate then divide into 15 equal pieces. Roll into circles and place in a parchment lined 9×13 pan and heat oven to 200 degrees. Generously butter the tops and sides of each roll and place a clean kitchen towel over top. Turn OFF your oven and place the covered rolls inside to rise until doubled in size. Again, we’re only turning the oven to preheat it, then turn it off. This is only to allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft free environment. Yeast thrives in a warm environment.
- Prepare the rolls for baking: Remove the rolls from the oven and turn on your oven to 350 degrees. Brush the rolls with egg. Once heated, bake the rolls for 22-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown in color.
- Finish the rolls: Remove from the oven. Another option is to skip brushing them with the egg wash and bake them, then brush them with melted butter once out of the oven..
What To Pair Hawaiian Sweet Rolls With
These tropical rolls go so well with many different dishes, be it meats or salads, slow cooker creations or even just slathered with butter all on their own.
- Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
- Beef Brisket Gyros
- Roast Chicken
- Perfect Pulled Pork
- Porcupine Meatballs
- Easy Meatloaf
- Crockpot Honey Mustard Glazed Ham
You can put nearly anything into these rolls and it will taste simply magical. Feel free to experiment with what tastes best for you and your family. I like to pair them with some ham and Swiss cheese and place in the oven to allow the cheese to melt a bit, so delicious!
The Oven Is The Best Place For Dough To Rise
Your oven is a great tool for baking recipes like these that require allowing the dough to double in size. Preheating your oven to 200 F degrees will ensure that your oven is nice and warm at a good consistent temperature for your little rolls in the making. It will also protect it from any breezes floating through the kitchen and will ensure your rolls turn out just like mine!
Issues With Your Dough?
If you have any issues with your rolls not rising this almost always has to do with your yeast. In this recipe I’m using instant yeast and not active dry yeast though you could use either. The difference is that instant yeast does not have to be activated, just add it to your dry ingredients, where as with active dry yeast you have to dissolve it in a bit of warm water and sugar first.
Some Tips
- This is a very soft and somewhat sticky dough. Keep mixing/kneading the dough until it comes clean from the sides of the bowl, but you should not have to add more flour than the 4 cups.
- If you want a less sweet dough feel free to reduce the sugar.
- Be sure your pineapple juice is at room temperature.
- Check the expiry date on your yeast! If it’s no longer good to use your rolls will not turn out.
- Once your yeast package or jar has been opened, you must refrigerate the yeast or freeze it in an airtight container.
Storing Leftovers
These rolls can be stored right on the counter covered in either tin foil or plastic wrap for 3 – 4 days.
Can I freeze this recipe?
Yes you can! You can freeze these rolls in an airtight container for up to 3 months, just thaw at room temperature overnight before warming back up in the oven at 300 F degrees for 10 minutes.
Craving More Rolls? Try These Delicious Recipes:
- Classic Dinner Rolls
- Parker House Rolls
- Soft Buttermilk Dinner Rolls
- Cheesy Chicken Meatball Rolls
- Texas Roadhouse Rolls
- Jelly Filled Rolls
- Finnish Cardamom Rolls
- Honey Rolls
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Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoon butter unsalted and melted (1 stick)
- 3/4 cup pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 egg for egg wash
Instructions
- Heat oven to 200 F degrees.
- In a medium size bowl, combine the melted butter, buttermilk, pineapple juice and brown sugar. Slightly whisk so that it’s all combined. Wait a bit until mixture cools a bit (if it’s too warm from the melted butter) then add the extracts.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of your mixer, combine 3 3/4 cups of flour, yeast, salt and ground ginger. Using the paddle attachment, turn the mixing speed on low and slowly pour in the wet ingredients. Continue mixing while adding the 2 eggs and egg yolk. A sticky dough will begin to form. Switch to the hook attachment and knead the dough for 7-8 minutes, adding 1/4 cup more of flour if necessary. Do note that this is a very sticky dough, so don’t add any more than 4 cups of flour total!
- Once the dough has been kneaded, form into a ball and place in a large metal or glass bowl that has been lightly greased. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap, turn OFF your oven, place inside and allow to rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. I use this trick all the time to speed up the rising time.
- Once the dough has doubled, remove and gently deflate. Divide into 15 equal pieces. Roll into circles and place in a parchment lined 9×13 pan. Heat oven to 200 degrees. Generously butter the tops and sides of each roll. Place a clean kitchen towel over top. Turn OFF your oven and place the covered rolls inside to rise until doubled in size.
- Remove the rolls from the oven and turn on your oven to 350 degrees.
- Brush the rolls with egg. Once heated, bake the rolls for 22-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown in color.
- Remove from the oven. Another option is to skip brushing them with the egg wash and bake them, then brush them with melted butter once out of the oven.
Video
Recipe Notes
- This is a very soft and somewhat sticky dough. Keep mixing/kneading the dough until it comes clean from the sides of the bowl, but you should not have to add more flour than the 4 cups.
- If using active dry yeast, please make sure you activate it first by dissolving it in a bit of warm water. If it does not begin to froth up, do not continue with the recipe.
- Always check the expiration date on your yeast and make sure it hasn’t expired. All your yeast products whether it’s in a jar or a package should be stamped with a “Best if Used by” date. Always make sure you check this date, even when you purchase the yeast, who knows it could have been on the shelf past its expiry date.
- To keep your yeast fresh and longer lasting, unopened yeast packages or jars should be stored in a cool or dry place such as your cupboard. However, you can also store your yeast in the fridge or freezer. If you do store it in the freezer and need to use yeast for your baking, make sure you take out the amount you need and let it sit at room temperature for at least half hour before using.
- Once your yeast package or jar has been opened, you must refrigerate the yeast or freeze it in an airtight container.
- One thing to remember about your yeast, is that it is a living organism and over time it will lose activity, even if you’ve never opened the jar or package. So if you don’t bake often, buy the smaller yeast packages rather than a big jar of yeast.
- These rolls can be stored right on the counter covered in either tin foil or plastic wrap for 3 – 4 days.
- You can freeze these rolls in an airtight container for up to 3 months, just thaw at room temperature overnight before warming back up in the oven at 300 F degrees for 10 minutes.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
has anyone tried this in a bread machine? any instructions for that? thanks so much
I, too, had to add flour (a cup) because when I kneaded the dough in my Kitchenaid, it resembled soup. I live in humid Illinois (84% today), so am sure that is why but you might want to add a note in the recipe for those of us who do live in such areas. You were so emphatic in the recipe that we should never add more than 4 cups that I would have been reticent to add it had I not read the reviews. A beautiful recipe nevertheless.
Hi! Can I use light lychee syrup instead of pineapple juice and bread flour instead of all purpose ?
The syrup will likely have more sugar content so I’m not sure how that will turn out, but yes you can use bread flour!
Did you use dark brown sugar or light brown sugar?
Either will work! We used demerera.
These rolls taste great! The process to make though can be messy. The dough is very sticky but worth the clean up.
I cannot find coconut flavoring , do you think it would be fine to leave it out?
Thanks 🥰
Yes you can! They will still be delicious.
Things being what they are, no quick trip to the store…I didn’t have buttermilk or coconut flavoring so I’v improvised with 1/4 cup of coconut Oui Yoplait yogurt.
Hope they turn out as good as yours look 🤞.
Let us know what happened!! 🙂
So looking forward to making ham sandwiches tonite for dinner with these rolls. They are rising as I write this…. making crock pot mac and cheese, a salad and I am set.
Yum! That sounds like an amazing dinner 🙂
I’m not sure how you can only add 4 cups. Mine was not coming clean. I had to add about a whole extra cup but it turned out beautifully. It was still very sticky and rose and was not dense. Any idea as to why mine was not coming off the bowl with the knead function on my kitchenaid mixer? I feel like I am always having to add more flour than bread recipes suggest.
We live in a very dry part of the world so if you live somewhere with lots of humidity that can make a big difference. Feel free to add more flour until you doughs look right!
Baked it today 10/24/19 – came out incredible!
I found it…never mind. Sorry
What are the amount of ingredients? I don’t see how much of each ingredient to add. Can’t make it without knowing how much of each to add
This recipe is delicious, and I’m glad I tried it last night. Four stars because I think it’s a bit too sweet as written. Next time, I’ll use 150g of sugar instead of 200g. (I do all my cooking by weight.)
Instead of wheat flour, I used gluten free and added 2 tsp of xanthan gum to give it a chewier texture. I also made a tangzhong to make the buns fluffier, which worked beautifully. The dough is so sticky I can’t actually knead it, but it still worked well!
I plan to make this again soon, possibly with some desiccated coconut and/or coconut milk powder. I’ll also keep an eye out for natural coconut extract rather than imitation.
Thanks so much, Jo! My wife and I love these.
Glad to hear it, Susan!
Can you make the dough in advance and let it ride in the fridge overnight? Made some today and want to get a head start for more tomorrow. Very good btw.
Yeah you can cover it with plastic wrap, maybe spray it with some cooking spray first so the dough doesn’t dry out, then cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight. You’ll see that the dough will continue to rise in the fridge but at a slower pace.
I don’t have a mixer or bread machine. I have a regular old fashion hand mixer (no paddles). Can I use that or just mix by hand?
You’ll have to knead by hand! Knead everything together until the dough is nice, soft, and elastic.