Sour Cream and Chive Potato Dinner Rolls

Introducing our new family favorite — Sour Cream & Chive Potato Rolls. These soft, flavorful rolls make outstanding sandwiches and elevate a simple cheeseburger.

The secret is real mashed potatoes in the dough. I love these rolls so much I’ll sometimes plan a meal around making mashed potatoes just so I have enough left over to make a batch of sour cream & chive potato rolls the next day.

Ingredients for Sour Cream & Chive Potato Rolls

sour cream & chive potato rolls

  • Flour – Unbleached all-purpose flour (organic/non-GMO preferred).
  • Granulated sugar – Adds a touch of sweetness and helps activate the yeast.
  • Salt – Finely ground table salt works fine.
  • Instant yeast – Whisked into the dry ingredients; ensure it is fresh and not expired.
  • Full or low-fat sour cream – Or plain Greek yogurt for similar tang and richness.
  • Prepared mashed potatoes – Use real mashed potatoes for best texture.
  • Butter – Room temperature, preferably salted.
  • Fresh chopped chives – Dried chives or finely chopped scallion tops may be substituted if needed.

No mashed potatoes?

If you don’t have mashed potatoes, replace the heaping 1/2 cup of prepared mashed potatoes with 1/4 cup potato flour plus 1/4 cup water. Add the potato flour with the dry ingredients and the water with the wet ingredients.

sour cream & chive potato rollssour cream & chive potato rolls

  • Weigh your flour – Use a digital scale for accuracy. If measuring by volume, spoon the flour into the cup and level it off gently.
  • Add sugar, salt, and instant yeast and whisk to combine with the flour.
  • Add sour cream, mashed potatoes, butter, and chopped chives and mix until cohesive.

sour cream & chive potato rolls

  • Knead the dough — In a stand mixer with a dough hook, knead until smooth, about 5–10 minutes. By hand, knead about 10 minutes. The dough will be elastic but still soft and slightly sticky.

sour cream & chive potato rolls

  • First rise: Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover, and let rise at room temperature for 60–90 minutes until puffy and nearly doubled.

sour cream & chive potato rollssour cream & chive potato rolls

To make six large Sour Cream & Chive Potato Rolls

  • Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces, about 133 grams each.
  • Shape each piece into a smooth ball, then flatten each to about 4″ in diameter using your fingers or a rolling pin.
  • Place on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing rolls about 1″ apart.

sour cream & chive potato rolls

Make-ahead and freezing options

You can prepare the dough and refrigerate the shaped rolls overnight and bake the next day. For freeze-and-bake, shape the rolls, place them on a tray lined with parchment, cover, and freeze. Once solid, transfer to a bag, date it, and store up to two weeks.

  • To bake from frozen, place rolls in a greased pan, cover, and let rise in a warm spot 5–6 hours until fully risen, then bake as directed.

sour cream & chive potato rollssour cream & chive potato rolls

Baking the freshly prepared rolls

sour cream & chive potato rolls

  • Cover the shaped rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise 45–60 minutes until noticeably puffy.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F while the rolls are rising.
  • Just before baking, dust the tops lightly with flour and bake 22–27 minutes until a light golden brown.

sour cream & chive potato rolls

  • Cool on a rack after removing from the oven.
  • Store cooled rolls tightly wrapped at room temperature for several days or freeze for longer storage.

sour cream & chive potato rolls

Sour Cream & Chive Potato Rolls

Adapted from King Arthur Baking

Perfect for your next sandwich or burger

Ingredients

  • 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (360 grams)
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar (47 grams)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt (7 grams)
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast (7 grams)
  • 1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (227 grams)
  • heaping 1/2 cup prepared mashed potatoes (135 grams)
  • 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature (28 grams)
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives or scallion tops (or more if desired)
  • sprinkling of unbleached all-purpose flour, for finishing

Instructions

  1. Weigh or measure the flour, add sugar, salt, and instant yeast, and whisk to combine. Add sour cream, mashed potatoes, butter, and chopped chives. Mix until ingredients come together.

  2. Knead the dough in a stand mixer with a dough hook for 5–10 minutes, or by hand for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic but still slightly sticky.

  3. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise 60–90 minutes at room temperature until puffy and nearly doubled.

  4. Large sandwich rolls: Divide into 6 pieces (~133 g each), shape into balls, and flatten to about 4″ diameter. Place on a parchment-lined sheet, cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let rise 45–60 minutes until puffy.

    Medium sandwich rolls: Divide into 8 pieces (~100 g each) and follow the same shaping and rising directions.

  5. Dinner rolls: Divide into 24 pieces (~33 g each), shape into balls, place in greased pans, cover, and let rise until touching and puffy, about 60 minutes.

  6. Preheat the oven to 350°F while the rolls are rising.

  7. Lightly dust the tops with flour just before baking. Bake 22–27 minutes until light golden brown. Cool on a rack, then store tightly wrapped at room temperature for several days or freeze for longer storage.

Recipe Notes

To make a loaf: Shape the dough into a log and place in a greased 9″ x 5″ loaf pan. Cover and let rise 45–60 minutes until crowned about 1″ over the rim. Bake at 350°F for 35–40 minutes, tenting with foil for the last 10 minutes; the center should read about 190°F. Brush with melted butter if desired, cool on a rack, and store wrapped.

Don’t have mashed potatoes? Substitute 1/4 cup potato flour and 1/4 cup water, added as described above.

Sour Cream & Chive Potato Rolls

Disclosure: Some links in the original post may have been affiliate links. Recommendations are based on personal experience.

More delicious homemade bread and rolls…

Quick & Easy Deli-Style Rye BreadScaccia Sicilian Pizza BreadAwesome No-Knead Overnight Pumpkin Rolls