amazing easy cheesy garlic rolls

It’s no secret I love bread. Some of you must have a similar love for that divine food, since the bread recipes on my site are WAY more popular than any other recipes. I made these easy cheesy garlic rolls to serve with tomato soup a few days ago as a quick dinner, and the kids and I thought we had died and gone to heaven. They’re made cinnamon roll style but filled with butter, cheese, and garlic instead of cinnamon. Yep. And if you aren’t sure whether you’re up to kneading dough and all that whatnot, you’re in luck, because I made these rolls using a loaf of frozen bread dough, which makes them incredible easy.

Funny story: my kids came home and saw the package of frozen dough on the counter and one of them said, “is something wrong with mom?” They’re not used to anything other than from-scratch rolls because I’m kind of a bread snob, so I think they thought I was having a midlife crisis or something. But hey, the frozen dough works beautifully in this recipe and it saves time and mess (although if you want to use a from-scratch dough it will work perfectly as well! I recommend this dough, halved. Freeze the other half for later.)

Served warm, these rolls are an absolutely amazing addition to any meal. In fact, they really make the meal. Do a little prep work an hour and a half before serving, pop them in the oven half an hour before serving, then just heat up some soup or throw together a salad and you’re good to go at dinnertime.

Here’s a video that shows how easy these are to put together:

And here are more details on the process:

Start with 1 log of Rhodes frozen white bread dough, and let it thaw. To do this either: 1) place 1 loaf in a plastic bag and put it in the fridge early in the morning, 2) place 1 loaf in a plastic bag and set it out on the counter at lunchtime, or 3) place 1 loaf on a plate and microwave defrost it about an hour and a half before you want to serve. Use the defrost setting in the microwave for about 6 minutes, stopping to check and rotate it every 2 minutes. You just want the dough thawed enough to be able to spread it out. It doesn’t need to have risen any (although it’s just fine if it does). If you want to use homemade dough, you’ll need to mix it up and let it go through a first rise. (You can use half of this recipe and freeze the rest to use later.)

Flour your work surface and roll the dough into a rectangle shape. It will take a little coaxing; that’s ok. Just roll and stretch it until it’s rectangular. Then spread 2 tablespoons of melted butter across the dough, sprinkle with garlic salt, and top with about a cup of shredded cheese. I used a mix of mozzerella and cheddar, and perhaps used a bit more than a cup, which made very cheesy rolls.

At this point, roll the rectangle up into a tight log and pinch to keep it closed. Use a sharp knife to cut it into 8 pieces, and place them in greased a 8 or 9 inch circle cake pan.

Cover with a towel and let rise at room temperature for 45 minutes. (If you’re really in a rush, you can pop them in a warm oven for half that time.) They should be getting friendly at this point.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes, until they have some nice browning on top. You want them AT LEAST as brown as you see in these photos, otherwise the inside will not be fully cooked. I like to let them rest just a few minutes before serving so they don’t squish when you pull them out of the pan, but definitely serve them while they are still warm for the best melty cheese experience.