Follow this Easy Hawaiian Sweet Rolls Recipe to make your very own Homemade Hawaiian Sweet Rolls! This recipe is tried & true and yields soft, round, sweet rolls that are better than King’s and *so* easy to make! This Hawaiian sweet rolls recipe is 100% beginner-friendly & has tons of tips & tricks to help you succeed!
EASY HOMEMADE HAWAIIAN SWEET ROLLS
OH HELLO!! Today I’m *finally* sharing my homemade Hawaiian sweet rolls recipe with you!! Hawaiian sweet rolls are my favorite rolls ever. I just love how soft, sweet, and tropical they taste. I could totally make these (and eat these) every day!
The great thing about this recipe is that it’s EASY to follow. Anyone can make these rolls. I mean it. I’ve been making this recipe for years now and I just love it: no-fluff, simple, and it yields super soft Hawaiian rolls every single time.
If you ask me, these are great for any occasion: breakfast, game day, weeknight dinner, the Holidays. Seriously, one can never go wrong with these babies. I also made sure to include *allll* the tips & tricks so you can follow along & make the perfect Hawaiian sweet rolls!
SO. Get your flour out and let’s get started!!
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE HAWAIIAN SWEET ROLLS
- Make the dough. It’s really easy, you just throw all the ingredients into a bowl and mix – that’s it!
- Knead the dough until elastic. You can use a stand mixer or you can do it by hand using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, it’ll be a bit of a workout but it’s worth it lol.
- Let it rise. The dough rises in 1-2 hours in a warm environment!
- Shape into rolls.
- Let them rise until puffy. I usually let them rise for 40 minutes but anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour will work too.
- Bake until golden brown on top!
TIPS & TRICKS TO MAKE THE BEST HOMEMADE HAWAIIAN SWEET ROLLS
- Hawaiian rolls are meant to be sweet, that’s why you want to use pineapple juice and sugar. Substituting any of these ingredients will produce a different result.
- I recommend using room temperature CANNED pineapple juice! Regular pineapple juice contains enzymes that might affect the rising process.
- Weigh your flour if possible. PLEASE use a scale if you own one! When it comes to bread, getting the amount of flour right is crucial. Too much flour can cause your sweet rolls to be tough, and not enough flour will cause the dough to be sticky as hell (and you’ll get frustrated with it). Unfortunately, cup measurements aren’t reliable so please use a scale! If you don’t have one and you still want to make these sweet rolls, please spoon & level your flour!
- Use a scale to weigh the dough and get perfectly identical rolls. I like doing this because I like the look of a batch of perfect rolls but you can skip this step if you’re not striving for perfection :).
- Brush the top with melted butter right before baking. OMG. You *have* to do this. Your Hawaiian sweet rolls will be *so* soft and shiny. Instagram material.
HOW TO SHAPE SWEET ROLLS
You can technically shape this dough in many different ways but this is how you get perfectly round Hawaiian sweet rolls: take a piece of dough, stretch the top of the dough while pinching and sealing the bottom. You should have perfectly round and smooth sweet rolls!
Let them rise until puffy (anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, I usually do 40 minutes because I’m impatient lol).
CAN I MAKE HAWAIIAN SWEET ROLLS WITHOUT PINEAPPLE JUICE?
Yes. I’ve tried. However, you’re going to get a slightly different result. They’re still delicious, but you don’t get that fun tropical flavor that Hawaiian rolls usually have. If you’re okay with that, simply use 1 cup of warm water instead of 1 cup of canned pineapple juice.
The texture won’t be affected!
CAN I MAKE HAWAIIAN SWEET ROLLS AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes! Prepare the dough, let it rise, and shape it into rolls. Cover the shaped rolls with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The rolls can sit in the refrigerator for up to 15 hours.
The next day (about 3 hours before you need your rolls), take them out and allow them to rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours, then bake them!
HOW DO I STORE HAWAIIAN SWEET ROLLS?
Hawaiian sweet rolls are best eaten as they’re made but you can still store them in an air-tight container at room temperature for a day!
If you want to store them for longer than a day, I recommend freezing them instead. Thaw to room temperature then reheat in a 300F oven for 10 minutes!
Here are my Hawaiian sweet rolls at work! YUM!! These are my Turkey Mozzarella sliders (here‘s the recipe!).
HAPPY BAKING LOVES!! I hope you’ll love my copycat King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls recipe as much as I do!
Please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating if you make it! I LOVE hearing from you! 💘
OH! YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE MY:
- Cheesy Turkey Cheddar Sliders With Smoked Paprika Butter
- Cheesy Turkey Sliders with Dijon Butter
- Best Homemade Hamburger Buns Recipe
- Copycat Taco Bell Quesadilla

Easy Homemade Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned pineapple juice room temperature
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 and 1/4 tsp instant yeast
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup (127 g) bread flour
- 2 and 2/4 cups (314 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp milk for brushing
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter melted, for brushing
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with a dough hook) or a large bowl, add the pineapple juice and sugar, mix until the sugar has dissolved then add in the instant yeast, vegetable oil, and salt and mix again.
- Add in 1 cup of bread flour + 2 cups of all-purpose flour. Mix until just combined. Add in 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour and mix until just combined, then add in the remaining 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour and mix until fully combined. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl. Beat the dough for about 2 more minutes. By hand, it can take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes (make sure to flour your surface if kneading by hand)!
- Lightly grease a large bowl with vegetable oil and place the dough in the bowl turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size (about 1-2 hours).
- Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with butter. Divide the dough into 15 equal parts, I recommend using a scale for this step if you want your sweet rolls to be picture perfect. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and then shape by tucking under to create a perfectly smooth top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy (30 minutes to an hour, I usually do 40 minutes). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400F.
- Brush the rolls with milk and bake for 20-21 minutes or until golden brown on top. A toothpick inserted in the center of a sweet roll should come out clean. Remove from the oven and immediately brush with melted butter (optional but recommended). Serve!
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