These easy pull-apart cheese bread rolls are filled with a tangy blend of three melty cheeses & baked in a baking dish for pillowy soft sides. And garlic powder + Italian seasoning mixed right into the dough add tons of flavor!
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The Best Pull-Apart Cheese Dinner Rolls!
Do you have those nostalgic foods from childhood that you still love, and search for ways to elevate them into adulthood? For me, it's grilled cheese. And I wanted to recreate the bready, gooey, cheesy, comforting flavors of grilled cheese in the form of a pillowy soft dinner roll. Thus, easy yeast rolls with cheese were born!
The Making of Simple + Savory Cheese Bread
Similar to my caramelized onion and cheese rolls, each bun is packed with flavor. I use a combination of rich Gruyere (or parmesan), tangy cheddar, and milky mozzarella for the perfect balance of flavors and melty cheese pull.
And by mixing garlic powder and dried herbs directly into the dough, we can enhance those cheesy flavors even more, like my herb & cheese Irish soda bread.
Finally, I like brushing an egg wash on top to create a beautiful, even-colored golden shine on the rolls that makes them look even more drool-worthy.
Ingredients You'll Need: Milk, active dry yeast, granulated sugar, eggs, all purpose flour, salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, Gruyere, mozzarella, and cheddar.
Let's Bake Garlic, Herb & Cheese Bread Rolls!
For the full step-by-step directions and ingredient quantities, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. Mix the yeast, warm milk, and sugar. Set aside until frothy.
2. Whisk the frothy yeast mixture and eggs together.
3. Mix in the flour, salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.
5. Place the dough back in the bowl & cover.
7. Combine the three cheeses in a bowl.
9. Roll out the dough to a flat disc, and sprinkle cheese on top.
11. Arrange the buns in a baking dish and brush with egg wash.
4. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.
6. Let the dough rise until it doubles in size.
8. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.
10. Pinch the edges of the dough to envelope the cheese.
12. Bake until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes & enjoy!
Carissa's Kitchen Tip
By baking our rolls in a baking dish, the sides become suuuper soft & fluffy. I recommend waiting to cut or pull them apart until serving, otherwise the sides can dry out.
Troubleshooting Your Homemade Rolls
- Dense or Heavy Rolls - Make sure you knead your dough until it's smooth and elastic so it can rise properly, for about 5 minutes by hand or 3 minutes in a stand mixer.
- Cheese Leaked Out - I tested these cheesy dinner rolls with different amounts of cheese, and the quantities in the recipe are juuust right to prevent overstuffing or empty rolls. The cheese might leak out a bit if your dough isn't 100% sealed on the bottom, but honestly I think a little extra melty cheese on the sides makes it taste even better!
- Dry Bread - Be careful not to overbake your rolls. The egg wash helps them develop a deep golden color, so if you skip that step, your rolls will be paler even when they're fully baked.
- Sad, Flat Rolls - Bread dough can flatten if it's been over-proofed. Just 20 to 30 minutes is plenty of time for these cheese buns to ensure a light, airy texture without weakening the dough's structure.
Simple Garlic 3 Cheese Bread Rolls
Equipment
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup milk
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt (use table salt or fine sea salt)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
Filling
- 6 ounces shredded Gruyere or parmesan cheese (1½ cups)
- 6 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (1½ cups)
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (2 cups)
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
Make the Bread Dough
- In a microwave-safe bowl, warm the milk in the microwave for 1 minute until it’s between 98°F to 105°F. Add the active dry yeast and sugar to the milk and stir. Set aside for 10 minutes, until it becomes frothy on top.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the frothy yeast mixture and eggs together.
- Add the flour, salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Mix until it forms a sticky dough.
- On a clean work surface, knead the dough by hand for 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.Place the dough ball back in the mixing bowl and cover it with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm spot until it has doubled in size, after about two hours.
Prepare the Filling
- Once the dough has risen, combine the three shredded cheeses in a bowl. Set aside.
Assemble and Bake the Rolls
- Grease a 9x13 baking dish. (Alternatively, you can line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake these on a baking sheet for firmer, defined edges on your rolls).
- Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, and keep them covered with a kitchen towel so the dough doesn’t dry out.Roll out one piece of dough into a flat circle with a rolling pin, then add a handful of shredded cheeses on top in the center. Fold the edges of the dough over the cheese and pinch the edges together, so the cheese is fully enveloped in the dough. Place the dough seam-side-down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with the remaining dough & cheese.
- Cover the baking dish with a kitchen towel. Set aside to proof for 30 minutes, until the dough balls have puffed up.Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Whisk the egg and water in a small ball to make an egg wash. Once the rolls are done proofing, brush the tops of each roll with the egg wash.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the rolls are golden on top. Enjoy!!
Notes
- Skip the Egg Wash: If you don’t want to brush your rolls with egg wash before baking, you can brush them with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven to still get a glossy shine on top.
- Shaping the Rolls: Make sure you pinch the dough together once you envelope the cheese, and place them so the pinched seam is facing down in your baking dish. This will help prevent cheese from leaking out as they bake.
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