Cheese Stuffed Dinner Rolls

Name: Cheese Stuffed Dinner Rolls
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 150 min
Ingredients: 1 cup 2% milk; 3 tbsp unsalted butter; 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast; 1 tbsp granulated sugar; 1 large egg; 1/2 tsp salt; 3 cup bread flour (more if needed); 4 oz mozzarella block (cut into ~1/2 inch cubes; should have 12 cubes); 1/4 cup salted butter (melted); 4-5 cloves garlic (minced); 1/2 tsp salt

Jump to Recipe

Cheese Stuffed Dinner Rolls are old fashion yeast dinner rolls with a twist! These stuffed rolls are soft and fluffy on the outside, filled with a gooey cheesy surprise on the inside, and topped with a garlic butter compound.

These stuffed bread rolls are so yummy…great for holiday dinners, dinner parties or whenever you feel like jazzing up a simple dinner roll recipe!

Cheese inside a cheese stuffed dinner roll

We have a variety of dinner rolls on the blog! What can I say, we love out carbs. Check out these Honey Butter Rolls and Cheesy Garlic Rolls – two of my other favorite dinner roll recipes.

Table of Contents

Stuffed Yeast Bread Rolls

There’s nothing quite like high quality and fresh homemade rolls, for special occasion or holiday dinners, or just as a side to everyday dinners or your favorite soups (here are mine: Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Mashed Potato Soup).

These cheese stuffed dinner rolls are some of my favorite yeast bread rolls to make when I want something slightly different yet reminds me of an old fashion dinner rolls.

There’s something about stuffing rolls with gooey cheese makes the bread making process so fun and satisfying as well.

If you are intimidated about making yeast breads and also trying to get cheese inside, please please don’t be. I’m here to tell you cheese stuffed rolls are much easier than what meets the eye.

If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, it really makes the whole process much easier. But if you don’t, you can still make cheese stuffed dinner rolls and use your hands to knead the dough – you will just need a little arm muscle work.

I will also be walking you through it step-by-step with detailed pictures for each of the process.

I’ve been on a mission to dismiss the myth that yeast breads are intimidating to make, and the mission continues today.

At the end of this, you’ll be making cheese stuffed dinner rolls like a boss!

Cheese stuffed rolls stacked as a pyramid

Ingredients

What you will need to make cheese stuffed dinner rolls:

milk – 2% or whole milk works well for this stuffed bread rolls recipe. Milk will be warmed to 100-110℉ to activate the yeast.
Instant yeast – Warming up the yeast in warm milk and adding sugar activates yeast to give the dough the rise it needs. Dry active yeast can be used as well – be sure to follow the instructions and let yeast sit in the warm liquid longer if using dry active yeast to fully activate yeast.
Unsalted butter – using unsalted butter helps to better control the amount of salt in the dough. If you do not have unsalted butter, you can use salted butter and reduce the amount of added salt.
Sugar – as stated above, sugar plays a role in activating the yeast and helps give cheese stuffed dinner rolls a touch of sweetness.
Egg – eggs help make the dough light and fluffy.
Bread flour – all-purpose flour can be used instead; however, using bread flour will give the rolls a softer texture.
Mozzarella block cheese – mozzarella can be purchase in a soft ball or a hard block. Either works with these cheese stuffed rolls.
Salt – used for the dough and for the garlic butter topping.
Salted butter – this is for the top of the rolls. Salted butter helps to enhance the overall flavor. If you do not have salted butter, you can use unsalted butter and an additional pinch of salt.
Garlic – garlic brings yummy flavors to these cheese stuffed rolls. Fresh minced garlic is best, but garlic powder works in a pinch as well.

How to Make It

These cheese stuffed rolls are fairly easy to make, however, it does take time for the dough to rise. So be sure to build in a few hours of time for the dough to rest and rise.

Make yeast dough/ first rise

Soft and fluffy stuffed rolls freshly baked in a rectangular baking dish

First, we are going to make the yeast dough for our cheese stuffed dinner rolls.

Start by warming milk and butter in microwave until temperature reached ~100-110ºF – this is the liquid used to activate the yeast.

Do not let temperature rise much higher 110ºF as that will kill the yeast.

If you have a stand mixer, bring together warm milk and butter into the large bowl attached to it. Add instant yeast. Stir to combine, then add sugar, egg, and salt. Whisk to combine.

If you do not have a stand mixer, use a large mixing bowl instead.

Add bread flour. Using either your hands or a dough hook on a stand mixer, knead dough until bread flour is completely incorporated. The dough should be slightly sticky.

If dough for yeast bread is too wet, add flour 1 tbsp at a time.

Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover with a towel.

Let dough rise in a warm spot for 1 hour until it is about double in size.

Before and after bread dough rises in a bowl

Stuffing cheese into dough balls

Punch the dough to let out the air, then transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface.

Divide dough into 12 equal parts, this will make up 12 cheese stuffed dinner rolls later on.

Knead the small dough ball a few times, then bring a small cube of mozzarella cheese into the middle. Wrap dough around the cheese cube, then pinch to close.

Use both palms to roll dough until it is round.

Rolling dough around a cube of cheese and making dough into a ball

Place dough ball onto a grease 9′ x 13′ baking dish.

Repeat the process for the rest of the 11 parts of dough.

Second rise

When all the dough for yeast rolls are placed onto the rectangular baking dish, cover and let it rise again for another 1 hour.

When it is done, each roll should rise to 1 1/2 of its original size.

Before and after 12 cheese stuffed dinner rolls rises in a rectangular baking dish

Brush with garlic butter compound

In a small bowl mixed together melted butter, minced garlic and salt.

Brush the tops of the cheese stuff dinner rolls with garlic butter mixture.

Bake

Send cheese stuffed dinner rolls into the oven to bake for 20 minutes at 350ºF.

Serve these delicious stuffed rolls warm! They should be soft and fluffy, and when tore into two, cheese should ooze out and be all melty and gooey.

YUM!!!

Tearing apart a dinner roll filled with melted cheese on the inside

These cheese stuffed dinner rolls do take some time to make. If you want a yeast roll recipe that is quicker to make, try these Cheesy Garlic Rolls that use my favorite frozen rolls instead. No kneading required!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make ahead and store dough?

To make ahead, make and knead the dough, let it rise, cut into 12 parts, stuff with cheese cube, pinch and roll into balls, then freeze in an airtight bag or container. Make sure they freeze separately without touching each other.
When ready to bake, place frozen rolls on greased rectangular baking dish, cover, and let it rise for ~4 hours until they are bigger and touching each other, then bake!

How do I make this using active dry yeast instead of instant yeast?

Use the same amount as you would for instant yeast. However, let active dry yeast rest and activate in warm milk and melted butter (100-110℉) along with sugar for 10 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients and kneading the dough. Active yeast requires some activating time in warm liquid while instant yeast do not.

What is the best way to store cheese stuffed rolls?

Keep rolls in a sealed container or zip lock bag to prevent from drying out. Because there is cheese in the rolls, it should be stored in the fridge, and not in room temperature. It can be stored for up to a week.

More Bread Recipes