Soft, fluffy, and just a little sweet, these Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls are nothing like the dry wheat bread you’re used to. A quick flour paste keeps them fluffy, honey adds warmth, and that golden honey-butter finish makes them just as good for weeknights as they are for holiday dinners.

A plate of golden brown whole wheat rolls sits on a white cloth, with a dish of honey and a honey dipper in the background.

Sweet and Nutty Honey Wheat Dinner Rolls

Whole Wheat Rolls can sometimes be a little dry and dense, the kind of roll you pass over at the dinner table. But these aren’t that. They’re soft, fluffy, a little nutty from the wheat, and just sweet enough from a drizzle of honey.

They’re the kind of roll that are not only light and fluffy right out of the oven, but they will stay that way for several days due to a technique that uses a flour paste.

I’ve made plenty of dinner roll recipes over the years, from homemade fluffy dinner rolls that practically melt in your mouth to those copycat Texas Roadhouse rolls that everyone fights over at the table.

This version is somewhere in between, more flavor from the whole wheat flour, but still light enough that you’ll reach for seconds. If you’re into baking breads and rolls, this one’s an easy add to your regular rotation.

A split whole wheat roll on a dark plate, each half topped with butter and drizzled honey. A honey dipper with honey rests nearby, and the background is a light, textured surface.

The secret here is a simple little flour paste. It takes a minute to cook in the microwave, but it’s adds so much to the texture of the dough. Honey brings a touch of sweetness, butter makes them rich, and a mix of whole wheat with all-purpose flour keeps them balanced.

They’re pretty versatile, perfect alongside soup, stacked with ham for sliders, or just warm from the pan with some extra honey butter. They’ve got that shiny golden top that makes them look like they belong on a holiday table. Keep a batch in the freezer and pull a few out to transform a weeknight dinner.

Pantry Staples for Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Assorted baking ingredients on a gray surface: bags of whole wheat and all-purpose flour, sticks of butter, yeast packets, a brown egg, a milk jug, jar of honey, and lactose-free milk—everything you need to bake delicious whole wheat rolls.

You only need a couple of key ingredients to pull this off. The full list is down in the recipe card.

Whole wheat + all-purpose flour: hearty but still soft.
Instant yeast: makes rising quick and easy.

The hardest part is not eating one straight off the pan.

Fluffy Roll Instructions, Made Simple

Step One: Make the Paste

A glass bowl containing milk and flour, perfect for making whole wheat rolls, sits on a gray countertop with a metal whisk placed nearby. — Add buttermilk, water, and flour in a bowl.

A glass bowl filled with creamy white batter is being whisked with a metal whisk on a textured, light gray surface, perfect for making soft whole wheat rolls. — Whisk together.

A glass bowl containing a creamy, mashed flour and buttermilk mixture—perfect for baking whole wheat rolls—is being stirred with a yellow silicone spatula on a light, textured surface. — Microwave until a smooth paste forms.

Step Two: Mix the Dough

Expert tip: Don’t rush the kneading. The dough should look silky and elastic before rising. You can use an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook or knead by hand.

A metal whisk rests in a glass measuring cup filled with a light yellow, slightly frothy liquid mixture on a gray countertop. — Whisk the milk, egg, melted butter, and cooled paste.

A glass mixing bowl contains a mound of flour and a pool of wet ingredients on a gray countertop, ready to be mixed together for homemade whole wheat rolls. — Mix the wet mixture with the dry ingredients.

Step Three: First Rise

A ball of dough for whole wheat rolls with a poke mark in the center sits in a clear glass bowl on a gray, textured surface. — Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let it double in size.

Step Four: Shape & Bake

A slab of whole wheat dough, destined to become delicious whole wheat rolls, is cut into nine rectangular pieces on a wooden cutting board, ready for baking. — Cut the dough into twelve pieces.

Twelve evenly spaced balls of whole wheat roll dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet, ready to be baked, rest on a textured gray surface. — Shape the pieces into balls.

Twelve round whole wheat rolls brushed with egg wash are arranged on a parchment-lined baking sheet, with a pink pastry brush and a small bowl next to them on a gray surface. — Let the dough rise again and brush with honey butter.

A baking tray lined with parchment paper holds twelve golden brown, freshly baked whole wheat rolls arranged in neat rows on a light gray surface. — Bake until golden.

If you loved this recipe, give it a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating! Also, snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #butterandbaggage and tagging me @butterandbaggage.

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Pantry Staples for Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls