Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
These pumpkin dinner rolls, shaped like mini pumpkins, are soft, fluffy, and packed with pumpkin flavor. Easy and fun to make with the family, they’re the perfect addition to your Halloween party or Thanksgiving feast!
I’m bringing this beloved pumpkin dinner rolls recipe back just in time for Thanksgiving 2025 — it’s still the softest, most festive rolls you’ll ever bake.
Playing with food can be so much fun, and these Pumpkin Dinner Rolls were a joy to make! The best part? You get to enjoy them fresh from the oven.
Pumpkin makes the perfect addition to dinner rolls for the fall season. These rolls even look like little pumpkins, adding a festive touch to your Thanksgiving table.
The dough is a bit sticky, which helps create soft, fluffy rolls. Using canned pumpkin purée gives them a beautiful golden color and keeps things simple. To shape them like mini pumpkins, you just score the edges and use pecan halves for stems.
It’s easier than you might think, and it’s a fun activity to do with the family—kids will love helping out! Celebrate autumn with these adorable pumpkin dinner rolls, one of the most popular Western recipes on my site. Perfect for your Thanksgiving spread!
If you’ve got a fresh pumpkin and want a Korean twist, try my Korean pumpkin salad or creamy pumpkin porridge. Both make beautiful fall dishes—just like these dinner rolls
How to make Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Heat milk to scalding hot, add butter and let the butter melt. Add sugars, pumpkin and salt; stir everything well.
Combine yeast, 1 tsp sugar and warm water in another small bowl and let the yeast to proof (about 5 minutes). Add it to the pumpkin mixture with an egg; mix well.
Gradually add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon.
Time to knead! I used my mixer to do the job. Knead until the dough pull itself from the side of the bowl, about 5 minutes.
Dump the dough on the lightly floured surface and knead with your hand for 1 minute.
Form the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until they get double in volume.
Here is the beautifully risen dough. Love the deep yellow color!
Give it a punch to deflate. The moment I’ve been waiting for…
Divide the dough in half. Roll each half to make a log and cut each log in 15 pieces or more if you prefer smaller rolls.
Shaping into mini pumpkins
Form each piece into a ball by pulling it together…
Press down gently with your hand.
Using a knife, give 8 segments of cut on the edge but leave the center uncut.
Poke deeply on the center of pedal with your pinkie.
Let them rise again. The center indentation somehow disappeared but you can always poke them again. You gotta love poking!
Brush with egg wash to give a golden look.
Bake them in the preheated 350˚F oven for 9-12 minutes. Don’t over-bake.
Brush with melted butter for a little shine. And the final touch? Use a sliced pecan piece as a stem! Cute, aren’t they?
Imagine the turkey in all its glory, surrounded by delicious fall side dishes on the Thanksgiving table. Now picture these adorable mini pumpkin rolls being passed around, bringing smiles to everyone’s faces.
In this season of gratitude, there’s so much to be thankful for—family, friends, laughter, and even the challenges that life brings. I hope these mini pumpkin dinner rolls add a special touch to your next Thanksgiving feast!
Freezing Tip
Put leftover rolls in a zipper bag and freeze up to 3 months. To reheat, bring the rolls to a room temperature first. Then warm up in the preheated 350˚F oven for 4-5 minutes or until hot to touch.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- Using fresh pumpkin instead of canned purée: I recommend steaming the pumpkin rather than boiling it. Mash the steamed pumpkin and follow the recipe, adjusting the liquid to manage the dough’s moisture.
- Making the dough ahead: Let the dough rise in the fridge overnight. The next day, bring it to room temperature and continue with the recipe.
- Using instant yeast instead of active dry yeast: Instant yeast can be mixed directly with the flour—no proofing needed. Just ensure your liquid is lukewarm to avoid killing the yeast.
- Nut allergy? Use mini pretzel sticks, broken into small pieces, instead of pecan stems for a fun alternative.
Love this recipe? Rate it and share your experience in the comments below! On Instagram? Tag me to showcase your creation. For more delicious recipes, subscribe to our newsletter!
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup whole milk, scalded
- 6 tbsp butter, softened
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup lukewarm water
- 2 envelope (about 4 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1 egg
- 5 cup + a little extra all-purpose flour
- 10 pecan halves, sliced into 3 vertical sections
- 1/4 cup melted butter
Instructions
- Pour hot milk in a large mixing bowl, add butter and stir to melt. Add sugars, pumpkin puree, salt to the milk and butter mixture; mix well.
- In a small bowl, combine lukewarm water, yeast, and 1 tsp sugar. Wait 5- minute for yeast to proof. When it gets foamy, add it to the pumpkin mixture, and add the egg; mix well. Add the flour gradually and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. The dough will be sticky.
- Using electric mixer with a dough hook attached, beat the mixture on the low-speed setting until the dough itself pulls from the side of the bowl, about 5 minutes. You can add a little more flour if the dough seems too wet.
- Turn the dough out to a wooden board dusted with a little flour. Knead with hand for 1 minute. Form the dough into a ball shape, place in a greased bowl and cover with a cloth. Let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume, about 1 hr.
- Punch the dough to deflate. Knead the dough for a few seconds on a wooden board. Divide the dough into half and cut each dough half into 15 pieces, total of 30 pieces.
- Roll each dough piece into a ball shape with your hand. Flatten the piece with palm of your hand a little. Using a knife, give 8 cuts on the edge to mimic flower pedals but leave the center uncut.
- Poke the center with your finger to give a deep indentation. Repeat the same procedure to the remaining pieces.
- Place them, 2-inch apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or baking mat. Let them rise again until they become double in volume, about 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven 350ºF. If the center indentation doesn't look obvious on the rolls, poke them again with your finger. Brush with egg wash and bake for 9-12 minutes, until the top gets slightly golden.
- Brush the hot rolls with melted butter immediately. Insert the pecan slices on the center of the rolls to mimic the stem.
Thank you so much for this!!! I,ve made thse today, for the Thanksgiving dinner…they are delicious and look great!
I tried these today. Mine turned out just a little flatter than pictured, but still close enough to say they look pumpkin-like. I realized while they were baking that I forgot the salt, which may be why they didn’t rise as well? But the flavor was great – the family really enjoyed our taste-test tonight. I have to say – I made half of them the recommended size and half of them “mini”. So I cut half the dough into 32 pieces instead of 15. They baked just as well – just skimmed about 90 seconds off the baking time. They look just as adorable and they are the perfect size for tomorrow’s putluck event. I ended up sprinkling a little sea salt on top after brushing with butter. But salt IN the recipe would have been better! haha. I’ll double check everything next time. Making them again for a Halloween party…maybe again for Thanksgiving. This may be my go-to recipe for a number of events this year! Can’t thank you enough.
I MADE SOME AND THEY ARE GOOD I LOVE IT I WILL MAKE SOME
FOR THANKSGIVING . FOR SHEREING THIS RECIPE
I TRIED THIS RECIPE YESTERDAY,IT CAME OUT JUST AS I HAVE SEEN IT
AND IT TASTE AS GOOD AS IT LOOKS.
THNKS FOR SHEREING YOUR RECIPES.
This was an amazing recipe! I made it for a potluck and everyone loved it. The host of the party packed up and ate 6 of these the next day as she was traveling home for Thanksgiving!
I made this about 2 years ago and it was actually the first dish I made from your site. I’ve been hooked since 🙂
How neat! I am so happy to hear that people loved them. Ironically these roll recipe is one the most beloved recipes on my site. Funny, isn’t it?
i’m going to try for thanksgiving dinner, can’t wait to taste them.
I just bake for fun as a hobby.
I only have a hand mixer. How much time or by what measure do you adjust for kneading manually?
these look sooo cute, I always try to bring something different to the table at Thanksgiving! These are on the top of the list. Holly, I love your hair style. Thanks for recipe and will check out other recipes.
I can’t wait to make these for my church Life group. You are an amazing cook! Thank you for sharing with us!
I love these! I’m going to make them for my church Life group. Thank you!
I have to admit I turned these into Apple Cinnamon pumpkin rolls and everyone raved about them. I also did a batch of cranberry pumpkin rolls too. They were far more moist than typical cinnamon rolls
Hi Holly. Thanks for the fun recipe! They were adorable! I had an oven disaster that resulted in scrapping the first batch, but the second one turned out beautifully. I substituted coconut milk and it worked fine. I even ran out of flour for the second batch, and I substituted coconut flour. No problem. I don’t think they taste like pumpkin at all. Next time, I will actually measure my salt, though, because I think I could have used more.
My husband made these for this years thanksgiving dinner and I must say I’m certainly glad I stumbled upon the recipe because they were a huge hit with our family. The children asked for thirds 🙂
I tried making these but found the dough to be way to sticky even after adding about 4o more cups if flour. The only thing I can think is that I proofed the yeast accordimg to packet which called for 1/2 a cup of warm water where your recepie called for 1/4 cup of water per 1/2 oz…..
I made these last year and they were a big hit. they are fun to make and easy. making them again this year…thanks for the festive idea!
Made the dough today and it’s really beautiful and has risen perfectly. Turned the process over to my children, ages 9 and 12, to create the pumpkins. They are excited and will enjoy sharing them tomorrow. Thank you for the recipe- I can tell it’s a new tradition at our house!
These are amazing!!!! My kids are going to love them!
These were such a hit last year, I can’t wait to make them again!
Just the other day, a friend showed me a photo of these cute little pumpkin rolls she was making. She tried sending a link for the recipe, but it didn’t work. After a quick Google search, up came your site with gorgeous photographs and the recipe as well. These rolls will definitely be added to my family’s Thanksgiving feast this year!! Thank you for sharing such a great idea!
By the way ~ I’m also excited to peruse your other recipes; I was hooked at the mention of kimchee in your blog title. Happy Thanksgiving!
That’s great, chocolate lady! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family!
Can I use whole wheat and honey instead of sugar?
It should work.
Adorable! I made them yesterday and they were so much fun! Not to mention delicious 🙂
Thank you for sharing the recipe, Holly!
I wonder if this would work with a fermented sourdough to avoid the yeast?
I don’t think my family will like the pumpkin and I’m in a hurry during Thanksgiving.Do you think you could do this with the pillsbury rolls?
Sure. Just adapt the shaping method.
At one stage in the directions before baking, the direction is to brush with egg wash. What is an egg wash? Does that mean to brush w/egg whites? Thank you in advance.
Egg wash means 1 whole egg beaten with 1-2 teaspoon of water.
Thank you Holly! I plan on making them on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. 🙂
Can I use whole wheat flour and honey instead of sugar?