Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls With Cinnamon Butter Recipe

There's something so fun about dining at Texas Roadhouse, and it all starts with their iconic rolls. Warm, fluffy, and brushed with just the right amount of butter, these golden beauties are the perfect prelude to a great meal. And, let's not forget the cinnamon butter — it's sweet, creamy, and has just enough cinnamon to make every bite unforgettable. The way the butter melts into the pillowy rolls is pure comfort food perfection.

But, as great as it is to sit down to a basket (or two) at the restaurant, there's something special about recreating these rolls at home. Making them from scratch means you can enjoy that same warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven goodness whenever you want without needing to leave the kitchen. Plus, baking these rolls at home fills the house with the most amazing smell. This copycat recipe from developer Jessica Morone brings all the Texas Roadhouse joy right to your table, and they're complete with that irresistible cinnamon butter to spread on top. This is comfort food at its finest!

Before you start to make this recipe. you will want to gather up all of the ingredients for it. Luckily, you may already have everything you need for this recipe in your kitchen. For the rolls, you will need all-purpose flour, instant yeast, granulated sugar, salt, milk, unsalted butter, an egg, and honey. For the cinnamon butter, you'll need to grab more butter, salt, powdered sugar, honey, and cinnamon. 

Place 2 cups flour, the yeast, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix until combined.

Add in the warm milk, room temperature butter, egg, and honey and mix until the batter is smooth.

Gradually add the remaining flour and continue mixing until a dough forms and no longer sticks to the side of the bowl.

Place the dough ball in a large, lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 60 minutes.

Lightly grease 2 baking sheets; set aside.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll the dough out into a rectangle about ½-inch thick.

Cut the dough into 24 equal pieces.

Place the cut rolls on the prepared baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap or a dish towel.

Let the rolls rise in a warm place for another 45–60 minutes, until they double in size.

About 10 minutes before the rolls are done rising, preheat the oven to 350 F.

Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for 12–15 minutes, until they are golden brown.

Remove the pans from the oven and brush the rolls with the melted butter.

While the rolls cool a bit, make the cinnamon butter: Add the butter, salt, powdered sugar, honey, and cinnamon to a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the butter is creamy and fluffy.

Serve the rolls warm with cinnamon butter spread on them.

There are a few different types of yeast out there, with the most common being instant yeast and active dry yeast. These are both leavening agents derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and they're used to make dough rise by producing carbon dioxide. While they serve the same purpose, they differ slightly in form and usage. Instant yeast has finer granules, dissolves quickly, and can be mixed directly with dry ingredients, making it ideal for faster recipes. Active dry yeast, with larger granules, requires proofing in warm liquid to activate and results in slower rise times, which can enhance flavor. 

Morone used instant yeast in this recipe, saying, "I prefer instant yeast because I love that you can mix it in with everything without having the extra step of activating it first. It also makes the dough rise faster." But, if you don't want to use instant yeast or only have active dry yeast, thats not a problem. Morone says, "To use active dry yeast in this recipe, combine the warm milk, sugar and yeast together and wait about five minutes until the mixture is foamy, then continue with the recipe." 

To get the classic flavor of the Texas Roadhouse rolls, you will want to stick as close to this recipe as possible. You could, of course, change these up for dietary restrictions. For example, you could swap out the milk, butter, and egg for plant-based replacements and make these vegan. Or, you could change out the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free flour to make these gluten-free. As previously mentioned, you can also change out the instant yeast for active dry yeast as long as you activate it first. 

There are also some ways you can use this as a base recipe to change up the flavors completely. The butter is an easy way to make changes to the flavors, and there are lots of different flavored butters you could whip up. You could consider garlic herb for something more savory or a maple butter for a sweet option. The rolls themselves could also be made more savory by adding fresh or dried herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, garlic, or parsley, to the dough. Or, you could try introducing some cheese.