Soft and fluffy, these homemade Sweet Hawaiian Bread Rolls are going to be your family’s favorite. Served up as a side dish, for sandwiches, or just to snack on on their own, you’ll love how sweet and delicious these are, especially fresh from the oven. It need very minimal ingredients to put together these delicious, fluffy bread rolls.

If you’ve ever had store bought King’s Hawaiian Bread Rolls before, then you’ll know that they’re absolutely pillowy, soft and fluffy with a lightly sweet taste to it. Whenever these sweet bread rolls are in the oven and the kid’s can smell it baking, they are excited for dinner time. While the flavor is subtle, these Hawaiian rolls are sweeter than regular dinner rolls but making them is just as easy as a regular roll.
Want more bread recipes to serve up as a side for the family? Try my some of my Bread Recipes. I am sure your family will enjoy every one of them.
Why You’ll Love These King’s Hawaiian Rolls
- They’re easy. Making these Hawaiian sweet rolls for dinner has never been easier! Everything goes into the mixing bowl and there’s no fancy or difficult technique to follow.
- They’re fast. Unlike baking regular bread, these Hawaiian sweet rolls can be made in an afternoon without any prior work and long wait.
- They’re tasty. Thanks to the pineapple juice and honey, they give these dinner rolls the perfect texture and the right amount of sweetness.
Hawaiian Sweet Rolls Ingredients

- Bread flour– I love using bread flower for this recipe because it give the right texture needed for the recipe.
- Yeast– used to make bread recipes.
- Unsalted butter — melted, but not hot. Use unsalted so it does not affect the sweetness of the recipe. Butter makes the dough rich.
- Eggs — room temperature, plus an extra egg as an egg wash for your rolls
- Lukewarm water– warm water activates the yeast faster. Cold water slows down the rising process.
- Pineapple juice– to add flavor and sweetness to the recipe.
- Whole milk– makes the bread taste rich.
- Honey– add sweetness to the recipe, instead of using sugar.
- Salt-just a pinch to balance out the flavor.
How to Make Hawaiian Sweet Rolls Recipe
- Bloom your yeast: In a small bowl, bloom the instant yeast with warm water. Set aside until it’s foamy
- Combine the wet ingredients: In a mixing bowl with a dough hook attachment, add in butter, egg, milk, pineapple juice, honey, salt and give it a quick mix. Then add in the yeast mixture and mix it on low speed until well combined.
- Mix the flour: At the lowest speed of the mixture, gradually add in the bread flour. Once all flour has been incorporated, increase the speed to the medium speed and continue kneading until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes. Keep in mind that it is a very wet dough.
- Let the dough rise: Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a tea towel and place it in a warm place and let it rise until it’s double in size, about 1 hour.
- Divide up the dough: After first rise, place the dough on a floured surface and divide the dough into 9 equal sizes. Shape the dough into individual balls. Line a 8×8 pan with parchment paper, place the individual rolls into the pan. Cover it with a tea towel and let them rise again at a warm place for about 45 minutes.
- Prepare the oven and egg wash: Preheat the oven to 350F. Brush the rolls with some egg wash and bake for about 20-22 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Bake: Remove the Hawaiian sweet rolls from the oven and let the rolls cool down for about 10 minutes before serving.

Tips to make the Best Homemade Hawaiian Bread Rolls
- You can turn these Hawaiian rolls into hamburger buns and give them extra space between them while baking. Just like that, you’ll have some sweet and tangy burger buns!
- Use room temperature pineapple juice for the best results.
- You can knead the dough by hand if you do not have a stand mixer. It can take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to knead the dough by hand.
- Be sure to check the expiry date of your yeast. Whenever there is an issue with the dough rising, it’s usually an issue with the yeast.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lukewarm water to between 110F and 115F. If the water is too hot it will kill the yeast, and if the water is too cold, it will not activate it.
The main difference between bread flour and all purpose flour is the amount of protein that the flour contains. Bread flour has a higher amount of protein to help it form gluten.
Yes, prepare the recipe as directed the day before. Store at room temperature on your counter in an air tight container. The next day you can warm them up in the oven before serving.
Yes you can freeze these rolls! You can freeze fully baked dinner rolls in an airtight container for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw the Hawaiian rolls at room temperature before warming them in the oven.
If you want to freeze them raw, you can freeze the rolls 10 minutes after shaping them into balls. When ready to eat, thaw them in the fridge over night. Then allow them to sit on your kitchen counter for 1-1½ hours until their size has doubled. Then follow baking instructions.
These delicious fluffy bread rolls can be served with almost anything. Here are some of my favorite dishes to serve it with:
Creamy Tomato Soup
Easy Au Gratin Potatoes with Oven Baked Roasted Chicken
Roasted Turkey Breast with Homemade Mashed Potatoes
Easy Chicken Stew
Baked Mediterranean Chicken

More Easy Bread Recipe to Try
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Homemade Sweet Hawaiian Rolls recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it and share it with your friends and family!
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Sweet Hawaiian Bread Rolls
Ingredients
- 2½ cups bread flour
- 2 tsp active yeast
- 3 tbsp melted unsalted butter
- 2 whole eggs
- ¼ cup lukewarm water
- ⅓ cup pineapple juice
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1½ tbsp honey
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg for egg wash
Instructions
- In a small bowl, bloom the instant yeast with warm water. Set aside until it’s foamy
- In a mixing bowl with a dough hook attachment, add in butter, egg, milk, pineapple juice, honey, salt and give it a quick mix. Then add in the yeast mixture and mix it on low speed until well combined.
- At the lowest speed of the mixture, gradually add in the bread flour. Once all flour has been incorporated, increase the speed to the medium speed and continue kneading until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes. Keep in mind that it is a very wet dough.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a tea towel and place it in a warm place and let it rise until it’s double in size, about 1 hour.
- After first rise, place the dough on a floured surface and divide the dough into 9 equal sizes. Shape the dough into individual balls.
- Line a 8×8 pan with parchment paper, place the individual rolls into the pan. Cover it with a tea towel and let them rise again at a warm place for about 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Brush the rolls with some egg wash and bake for about 20-22 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let the rolls cool down for about 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- You can turn these Hawaiian rolls into hamburger buns and give them extra space between them while baking. Just like that, you’ll have some sweet and tangy burger buns!
- Use room temperature pineapple juice for the best results.
- You can knead the dough by hand if you do not have a stand mixer. It can take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to knead the dough by hand.
- Be sure to check the expiry date of your yeast. Whenever there is an issue with the dough rising, it’s usually an issue with the yeast.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. They were large, perfect baked goods texture and flavorful. They are still wonderful the day after baking. Nice!!
Thanks for the review Teresa! Glad you enjoyed it.
I should have known better but am so bummed!!
These looked so good, and I wanted just a small batch. Made the dough as directed in my Kitchenaid mixer, and proofed the yeast, which was new and perfectly foamy, however–normally you do not proof instant yeast!! Dough has been in a warm place, covered and is hardly rising at all. Looked it up again, and this is what is says about proofing instant yeast on Google.. What a bummer!
“You shouldn’t proof rapid-rise yeast, instant yeast, or bread machine yeast. Those will lose their fast-rising ability if you dissolve them in liquid” Hope this helps somebody!
Sorry about that. I believe it was a typo when we inputted the recipe.