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{This post is sponsored by AncestryDNA. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!!}

Buttery Pull Apart Whole Wheat Potato Rolls. Is there anything better?! These rolls are easy, extra soft, buttery, doughy, and perfect. Made using a mix of whole wheat flour, mashed potatoes, salted butter, and eggs, this recipe takes the classic dinner roll and kicks it up a notch –  you will LOVE them!

overhead photo of Buttery Pull Apart Whole Wheat Potato Rolls with butter on roll

I have such a fun Tuesday post to share with you guys today!

If you’ve been following along on Instagram, than you know I recently took an AncestryDNA test to learn a little more about my ancestry and discover the regions from which my family has come. Before taking my test, I knew that I had some Irish in me and possibly some roots from elsewhere  in Europe, but that’s pretty much it…

dna test

Well, I received my results last week and found out I’m about 45% Irish! The rest is a mix of Eastern European, Scandinavian, and a little British. So…am I shocked by my results? No, not really, but it was still really fun. I was a little surprised that I do indeed have so much Irish in me, since my dad is only partly Irish….but his grandmother did come over from Ireland at 17, and he has a great grandparent that came over when they were young as well.

I’ve had a lot of fun looking through my results and seeing all the regions my ancestors have come from! Of course it’s also brought up a lot more questions. Which is good because these are questions we need to ask before my grandparents pass away. So we will, as it would be nice to pinpoint exactly who it was that came from each region. My parents even decided to have their DNA tested. Maybe my mother has some Irish in her as well.

Buttery Pull Apart Whole Wheat Potato Roll dough

After reaffirming that I’m mostly Irish, I became inspired to share an Irish influenced recipe. I did lots of searching around over the internet, and while I found a lot of Irish stews, soda bread, and stout cupcakes, I really wanted to share a recipe that’s great for every day.

Enter these pull-apart potato rolls that can be made any day of the week, and any time of the year.

Buttery Pull Apart Whole Wheat Potato Rolls before baking

The details.

It’s no secret that the Irish are known for their potatoes, so incorporating them into dinner rolls is an obvious must. A lot of true Irish potato roll recipes include cheddar cheese, but I actually wanted a simpler roll, so I chose to omit the cheese and keep these rolls soft and buttery.

These rolls are a simple mix of water, yeast, eggs, flour, mashed potatoes, and butter. Simply mix up the dough, let it rise, and then form the dough into rolls. Then let the dough rise one more time, and bake until they are golden and perfect.

Tip: As soon as the rolls come out of the oven, I like to brush them with a little browned rosemary butter.

SO GOOD, and best eaten warm, fresh out of the oven. Trust me, soft doughy perfection!

side angle photo of Buttery Pull Apart Whole Wheat Potato Rolls with butter on roll

These are so simple to make, but yet still so delicious. Perfect for everything from Sunday night dinner, to a small dinner party. And yes, they’d be great for Thanksgiving too…

Also! if you happen to have leftover mashed potatoes lying around, this is definitely a recipe you need to be making.

I had so much fun creating these easy rolls and learning more about my heritage.

If you too are interested in finding out more about your ancestry, I loved my experience with AncestryDNA . The test is easy, quick, and totally painless. Plus, they share lots of fun data about your ethnicity and even how far your DNA dates back too. For example, I discovered that my family settled in the northeastern states all the way back in the 1700’s.

Kind of cool right?!

overhead photo of Buttery Pull Apart Whole Wheat Potato Rolls

And with that, I think I am heading back to the kitchen to bake more dinner rolls, because this is one of those recipes that just becomes a staple in the kitchen.

These are rolls addictingly good. Just warning you now, stopping with just one roll is very, very hard and takes serious self-control.

overhead close up photo of Buttery Pull Apart Whole Wheat Potato Rolls

If you make these pull apart whole wheat potato rolls, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Buttery Pull Apart Whole Wheat Potato Rolls

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
2 hours
Servings: 12
Calories Per Serving: 856 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, honey, eggs, potatoes, flour, whole wheat flour, salt, and butter. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated, about 4-5 minutes. 
    2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
    3. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with butter.
    4. Punch the dough down and divide into 12 equal size dough balls. Arrange in the prepared baking dish. Cover the pan, and let the rolls rise for about 30-45 minutes, until they're puffy. Alternately, you can place the pan in the fridge to rise overnight.
    5. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, until they're golden brown on top.
    6. Meanwhile, melt together the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the rosemary until the butter is lightly browned. 
    7. Remove the rolls from the oven, and brush with the melted rosemary butter, sprinkle with salt, if desired. Pull them apart to serve warm.

Notes

*to make one cup of mashed potatoes, boil 2 cups of peeled, cubed potatoes until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and mash. 
Calories based on one serving size
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horizontal photo of Buttery Pull Apart Whole Wheat Potato Rolls

{This post is sponsored by AncestryDNA . Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!!}

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Comments

  1. 3 stars
    I made these rolls yesterday. They are relatively easy to make and they baked well. The texture is good. I would have preferred having grams or ounces instead of cups, as weight is much more accurate when it comes to something like baking bread and most of the recipes I bake bread from have weights. The one flaw of the recipe was the salt. I’m not a fan of using salted butter, and I don’t often use salted butter in baking, it’s recognized to give less control than unsalted butter and salt. This recipe calls for both, and since I don’t often use salted butter I didn’t want to alter it before trying the recipe as is. For any other recipe, I’d recognize the amount of salt compared to flour as inadequate. Sure enough, the resulted bread was wonderful, and lacked salt, despite the salted butter and fleur de sel I sprinkled on top. While salt can be a personal preference, everyone who ate these said they needed more salt in the bread. I will make these again, using unsalted butter and with a proper amount of salt. A recipe worth making again, with alterations.

  2. 5 stars
    These were awesome. I changed a few things, of course. Used unsalted butter (no big deal) and I used 2 T molasses instead of honey and I omitted the rosemary and garlic, as I’m not a fan. But these were fantastically soft and cushy. I’ve been making a potato roll, with things added like hemp and chia when I want to up the nutrition, But this is my new go-to; more potato and 2 eggs instead of one sets this recipe apart. It was very easy to make; I also mixed and kneaded by hand, and still very easy and forgiving. I’ll make again with the honey and the above-mentioned seeds. Thanks!

  3. 5 stars
    I made these for our Thanksgiving feast, and my family gobbled them up! I had tested the recipe out as written first (and they were amazing). To make the smaller and easier to transport for Thanksgiving, I put the chopped rosemary in the dough (and doubled the amount, highly recommend) and made 15 rolls instead of 12. It fit great in my 9×13 pan to have five rolls down the long side and three on the short side. I don’t have a stand mixer, but stirring and kneading by hand was no problem. I’m terrible at making things evenly sized, so I used my kitchen scale to weigh the total dough and then each roll. I know I’ll make these again!

  4. Hey Tieghan, love your recipes! I’m gearing up for Thanksgiving 🙂 Have you ever made these with mashed sweet potato instead of regular potato? Thanks!

    1. Hey Colleen! I have not made these with sweet potato, but that sounds like a delicious twist! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan

  5. 5 stars
    I bookmarked this in August and finally found time to make it! I didn’t have rosemary on hand, but the plain version came out delicious! It’ the first time I’ve made bread before, and this recipe was easy to follow. I also super appreciated that their was only two tablespoons of honey instead of sugar. Thanks for all the work you put in Tieghan!

  6. 5 stars
    Hey, I was wondering if it was possible to use a food processor instead of a stand mixer (which I don’t have), and if so how would I.. go about that ?
    Thanks in advance ?

    1. HI! I don’t recommend using a food processor. I would just mix the dough in a bowl with a wooden spoon and your hands for kneading. That will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

  7. These look delicious and I can’t wait to try them! Just one question: does ‘overnight’ mean they can they sit in the fridge for up to 24 hours? or only 12? That is, can I prepare the rolls this evening to bake tomorrow evening for dinner? Thanks so much!

    1. Hey Stacey, these can sit in the fridge for 24 hours. That is just fine! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

    1. Hi! Yes, that works great! Freeze them in the baking just dish just before the final rise. Then let them rise before baking. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

  8. Hi! Just wondering would adding mashed potatoes that have some butter and milk in it effect the outcome? It’s all I have right now and would really like some rolls tonight!

    1. Hey Gina! I think that should work just fine. Might even be more delicious! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

  9. 5 stars
    These were very good! The pillowy texture and savory rosemary butter was wonderful. For the warm water, I followed what Bernard Clayton said, between 110 and 120 F. Anything warmer can hurt the yeast. Because of this recipe, my wife is getting me your book for Christmas.This is the third recipe I have done from you and she loves it. She thinks there is more we can learn from you.

    For those who thought of soaking up with gravy it sounds great. However, if you don’t want to wait for a decadent treat, slice open and pan fry them in butter until toasted and then cover each side with a fried egg. It was 2 slices of gooey heaven.

  10. 5 stars
    I made these yesterday, and the dough was a dream to work with! I consider yeast bread baking to be one of my specialities, and this recipe is a winner!

  11. So interesting about your ancestry! Also, I LOVE potato bread/rolls so I’m drooling over here! Love that you used whole wheat flour, too.

  12. 5 stars
    These look absolutely fantastic! Have you tried doubling the recipe? Or would you recommend just making two batches?

    1. You can double, that will be great, but be sure to use a large stand mixer. If you have a normal stand mixer, make two batches. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! x Tieghan

  13. 5 stars
    I saw this posted yesterday, made them last night, and let me tell you, they are amazing! Thank you so much for all of your ridiculously good recipes! Keep them coming!