We Taste-Tested 7 Brands of Dinner Rolls—These 2 Are Worth Serving at Thanksgiving Dinner

Dinner rolls are a popular fixture of holiday tables across North America. Though I didn’t grow up eating them, I have a soft spot for tender, fluffy rolls—and especially love tearing into a warm one to slather with salted butter. Nothing beats a homemade roll, but with so much to prep and cook for Thanksgiving, whipping up a batch of homemade bread is likely last on your list of priorities. That's where store-bought dinner rolls come in: All you have to do is warm them up. The question is: Which brand is worth buying?

To find the best dinner rolls, our editors taste-tested seven widely available brands. We sampled them plain and in random order, without knowing which was which. We then tabulated the results and crowned an overall winner, along with two worthy runners-up.

The Criteria

Dinner rolls are sold in various forms. Some, including challah, brioche, and Parker house rolls, are tender and fluffy. Others, such as European-style rolls, have a crusty exterior with an airy crumb. Because so many brands and grocery stores offer different kinds of rolls, it was hard to narrow down our taste test to one specific type of roll—for that reason, we tasted a variety. 

Though the criteria for each kind of roll differ slightly—what makes a good brioche roll isn't exactly the same as what makes a good crusty roll—our editors all agree that any good dinner roll should be moist, have a tender crumb, and a pleasant yeasted flavor. Though a touch of sweetness is welcome, dinner rolls shouldn't be overwhelmingly sweet. It should contain enough salt but have few other seasonings, so it's neutral enough to pair well with a wide range of dishes. Most importantly, a great dinner roll should not taste or feel stale—no dry bread, please!

Overall Winner

Whole Foods Market Brioche Rolls

"Good, yeasty brioche roll," our editorial director, Daniel, wrote in his tasting notes. He liked that it was "tender, not stale or dry," and had some substance. Our associate culinary editor, Laila, described these rolls as "solid and serviceable," and appreciated their "plush, slightly chewy, soft, and well-aerated" texture. Like Daniel, she liked that the roll had a pleasant, mild yeasted flavor. Our associate editorial director, Megan, and our visuals editor, Jessie, also thought these rolls were at the top of the store-bought heap.

Runners-Up

Trader Joe's Dinner Rolls

Our associate visuals director, Amanda, thought these chewy, crusty rolls were "substantive," with a "nice, buttery flavor." Multiple tasters described this offering as "fine." Daniel noted, "Nice chew, if you want to go in a dense, chewier direction," Laila thought these were "mildly sweet but not overly so," and Megan concluded they were "pretty good." Ultimately, we all agreed that these would be a good option for those who want something heftier than soft, fluffy roll.

Pepperidge Farms Farmhouse Hearty White Dinner Rolls

For those who like a softer roll, Pepperidge Farm is also a good option. "This one is decent," Megan wrote, noting that it's "better than it looks." Almost every single taster noted how soft these rolls were. Most of our editors found this option slightly dry, but that's nothing a little gravy or butter can't fix!

The Contenders

• Beigel's Dinner Rolls
• King's Hawaiian Savory Butter Rolls
• Martin's Sweet Dinner Potato Rolls
• Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Hearty White Dinner Rolls
• Stop & Shop The Bakery Snowflake Dinner Rolls
• Trader Joe's Dinner Rolls
• Whole Foods Market Brioche Dinner Rolls

Key Takeaways and Conclusion

All the dinner rolls we tasted are made with flour, water, sugar, yeast, salt, and some form of fat, such as oil and/or butter. Many of them contain wheat gluten, an ingredient used to help boost protein levels and improve structure in bread doughs, as well as DATEM (Diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides), an emulsifier that commercial bakeries often use to improve the texture and structure of breads. Other common ingredients include dough conditioners, anti-caking agents, stabilizers, and preservatives, as well as annatto, turmeric, and/or beta carotene for color. 

Our winner, Whole Foods Market Brioche Dinner Rolls, does not contain any preservatives or anti-caking agents. It is one of only two rolls we tasted that contains both oil and butter. It is also the only roll we sampled that is made with milk powder, which contains lactose, a sugar that helps baked goods brown, while also providing a rich, creamy flavor.

Trader Joe's Dinner Rolls, one of our runners-up, contains potato flour, an ingredient both home and commercial bakers often use to give their breads extra moisture and tenderness. While it does not contain milk powder, it does contain whey powder, which can boost the protein content of a loaf and keep breads softer for longer. Like our winner, it doesn't contain any preservatives or anti-caking agents.

Pepperidge Farm's Farmhouse Hearty White Dinner Rolls are nice and soft. Still, for many of our tasters, they came across as dry, despite containing preservatives and dough conditioners meant to maintain freshness and extend the bread's shelf life.

Generally, our editors preferred rolls that aren't excessively sweet. Our winner and runners-up are neutral enough to pair well with most appetizers, main courses, and side dishes. Ultimately, most of the rolls we sampled would be fine served alongside a Thanksgiving dinner, and would likely be even more delicious when warmed up and slathered with butter or gravy.

Our Testing Methodology

All taste tests are conducted with brands completely hidden and without discussion. Tasters taste samples in random order. For example, taster A may taste sample one first, while taster B will taste sample six first. This is to prevent palate fatigue from unfairly giving any one sample an advantage. Tasters are asked to fill out tasting sheets, ranking the samples according to various criteria. All data is tabulated, and results are calculated with no editorial input to provide the most impartial representation of actual results possible.