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These moist and fluffy garlic herb parker house rolls are a perfect side dish. They’re rich and buttery, but packed with fresh flavors from all the herbs. Plus, they’re easy to make! 

A plate with a pile of garlic herb parker house rolls, next to some fresh herbs, with more rolls in the foreground and background.
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I’m a big fan of rolls, and these garlic herb parker house rolls are one of my favorite recipes. To me, nothing’s better than a warm, tender roll to go with your main course. These rolls are flavorful enough to be eaten on their own, but they also work perfectly as a sponge to soak up all the flavors from your dinner plate. 

I make these fluffy rolls all year round, but they’re especially popular in the fall and winter. Something about the smell of butter cooking with fresh herbs makes me feel comfortable and cozy when it’s cold out. They’re also one of my go-to side dishes for Thanksgiving and Christmas! 

Why You’ll Love These Easy Parker House Rolls

The best thing about these garlic herb rolls is the flavor. They’re packed with lots of butter, a healthy dose of garlic, and tons of herbs. The key is that the recipe uses butter, garlic, and herbs in the dough for the parker house rolls, and also on top of them. That’s twice the flavor! 

It’s also an easy and straightforward recipe to make, and it doesn’t require many ingredients. These rolls take a while to make, just because they need time to rise, but the actual cooking time is minimal. 

Recipe Ingredients

Here’s everything you need to make garlic herb parker house rolls. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the article for the exact quantities of each ingredient. 

For the Dough: 

  • Milk – I prefer whole milk for this recipe, but you can use a low-fat version if you prefer. 
  • Butter – Make sure to use unsalted butter.
  • Active dry yeast
  • All-purpose flour
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Herbs – You can use any herbs you like. I enjoy thyme, rosemary, parsley, oregano, and sage in these rolls. 
  • Garlic 

For the Topping: 

  • Butter – Be sure to use unsalted butter, which should be melted. 
  • Garlic
  • Herbs
  • Flakey salt – This is an optional ingredient, but adds both flavor and texture to the rolls. 

How to Make Garlic Herb Parker House Rolls

This is a fun and easy recipe to make. Here’s how to do it. 

  • Warm the wet ingredients. Heat the milk and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Remove the mixture from the heat, and let it cool to 110F. 
  • Add the yeast. Pour the yeast into the mixture and stir it until it’s dissolved. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes so the yeast can activate. 
  • Mix the dry ingredients. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir with the dough hook attachment until the ingredients are mixed together. 
  • Add the wet ingredients. Pour the milk, butter, and yeast mixture into the bowl, and add the garlic and herbs. Mix on a low speed until the dough starts to come together. 
  • Finish the dough. Increase the stand mixer speed to medium, and mix the dough until it is smooth and elastic, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This should take 4-5 minutes. 
  • Let rise. Remove the dough from the stand mixer, and lightly oil the stand mixer bowl. Place the dough back in the bowl, and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let it sit in a warm place until it doubles in size, which should take about an hour. 
  • Prepare a pan. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. 
  • Portion the dough. Cut the garlic herb parker house roll dough into two equal pieces. Working on a floured surface, roll each piece into a 12-inch log, then cut each log into 12 pieces.
  • Shape the dough. Roll the 24 pieces into tight balls. 
  • Rise again. Put the balls in the greased baking pan and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let the parker house rolls rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. 
  • Heat the oven. Set your oven to 375F. 
  • Add the topping. Stir the melted butter, herbs, and garlic together in a bowl, then brush the mixture over the top of the rolls.
  • Bake. Put the garlic herb rolls in the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes. They should be golden brown when they’re done. Remove from the oven and eat warm. 

Tips for Success

Here are some tricks and tips for making the best possible garlic herb parker house rolls. 

  • Use fresh herbs. You can use dried herbs for this recipe, but you’ll get the best flavors from fresh herbs. Dried herbs can be a little floral and bitter, while fresh herbs have a taste that’s … well … fresher! 
  • Don’t over-knead. When making the dough, be careful not to over-knead it. If you leave it in the stand mixer for too long, you’ll begin to damage the gluten in the dough. This will make the parker house rolls dense instead of fluffy.
  • Tent if necessary. These garlic herb rolls should be nice and golden brown when they’re done baking. However, keep an eye on them when they’re in the oven, so that they don’t brown too quickly. If you find that the rolls are golden brown but not baked all the way through, cover them with aluminum foil to keep them from burning. 
The end of a baking tray with garlic herb parker house rolls, with a few rolls removed

Common Questions 

Here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about these garlic herb parker house rolls. 

Why are they called parker house rolls?
Parker house rolls were invented at the Parker House Hotel in Boston. They’ve been around for about 150 years, so they’re a little bit different now than when they were first created! 

Can you use instant yeast? 
Yes, you can absolutely use instant yeast in this recipe instead of active dry yeast. For instant yeast, use the exact same recipe, except you can skip the 10 minutes of letting the yeast sit in the wet mixture. 

How many herbs should you use? 
You can use as many herbs as you like in this recipe. However, to make sure that all of the flavors stand out, I like to use just two or three different herbs. 

Close up of a plate with garlic herb parker house rolls, topped with garlic and herbs, next to some fresh herbs.

Serving Suggestions

My favorite way to serve garlic herb parker house rolls is next to a saucy entree. That way I have something to soak up with rolls. Here are some of my favorite foods to serve with this recipe. 

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

You can store these garlic herb parker house rolls in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for up to 3 days. To reheat, cook in the microwave on high for about 20 seconds, or toast in the toaster oven on medium heat. 

These rolls can also be stored in an airtight plastic bag in the freezer for up to 4 months. To reheat, wrap the frozen rolls in aluminum foil, and cook in a 350F oven for 10 minutes. Or you can thaw the rolls, and reheat them in the microwave or toaster oven.

Close up of garlic herb parker house rolls in a pan, topped with garlic and herbs

More Bread Recipes 

I hope you enjoyed these moist garlic herb parker house rolls. If you did, then check out some of my other favorite bread recipes.

4.67 from 3 votes

Garlic Herb Parker House Rolls

These buttery and moist garlic herb parker house rolls are the perfect side dish. They're easy to make, packed with flavor, and can soak up any leftover sauce on your plate.
Prep Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 2 minutes
Servings: 24 rolls

Ingredients 

For the Rolls:

  • 1 ½ cups (355 ml) whole milk
  • ½ cup (114 g) unsalted butter
  • 4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 4 cups (500 g) all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons (4 g) chopped herbs of choice, (thyme, rosemary, parsley, oregano, sage)
  • 4 large cloves of minced garlic

For the Topping:

  • 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped herbs
  • Flakey salt, (optional)
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Instructions 

  • Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat and let cool to 110 °F (43 °C) (this is important, otherwise the yeast will not properly activate). Add the yeast and stir until dissolved. Let stand for 10 minutes.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, beat the flour, sugar and salt until just combined. Add the milk/butter mixture, garlic and herbs and mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 4 to 5 minutes. If the dough is too wet, add more flour (1 tbsp at a time) until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Remove the dough from the bowl, oil the inside of the bowl and return the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
  • Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each piece of dough into a log 12 inches long. Divide each log into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece tightly into a ball.
  • Transfer the dough balls to the prepared baking pan (6 rows with 4 rolls in each row = 24 total). Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 375 °F (191 °C)
  • In a small bowl, stir together melted butter, herbs and garlic. Brush the tops of the rolls with garlic herb butter and bake for 20-22 minutes, until golden brown.

Notes

Store in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for 3 days, or in the freezer for 4 days. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1roll, Calories: 139kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 15mg, Sodium: 299mg, Potassium: 70mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

The default measuring system for this website is US Customary. Unit conversions are provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. While we strive to provide accurate unit conversions, please be aware that there may be some discrepancies.

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6 Comments

  1. Carrie Landino says:

    My husband loved these rolls but I found them to be a bit salty. I was really unsure about the 1 tablespoonful of salt. Is that correct? The Instant Pot Pork chops we made with the rolls were terrific. Thanks!

    1. Julie Chiou says:

      Hi Carrie! Thanks for writing. Yes, it is 1 tablespoon of salt. May I ask what kind of salt you are using? Salt has different density levels (which in turn can make a huge difference in salinity). Did you use table salt or kosher salt? And if you don’t mind me asking, what brand?

  2. Sarah says:

    I am wondering if I could pre-make these for Thanksgiving? When they are put in the 9×13 for the second rise could I put them in the fridge and then the day of let them come to room temp and rise before baking?

    1. Julie Chiou says:

      yup, that would be a great way to prep. they’ll still rise in the fridge (cold rise) a bit and while the oven is preheating, set them out on the counter to get to room temperature.

  3. Tanya says:

    Hi Julie, how many cups of flour did you add? I donโ€™t see it in the recipe. Thank you!

    1. Julie Chiou says:

      so sorry about that, lol – flour would def help in the recipe. i just added it!