Buttery, Flaky Make-Ahead Overnight Crescent Dinner Rolls {No Kneading/No Stand Mixer}
These make-ahead overnight dinner rolls are just might be the crescent roll to end all crescent rolls. Butter, flaky, and SO delicious, they are easy as can be – no kneading or stand mixer required!
I know I sound a little redundant lately.
But seriously, you guys, I am so ridiculously excited about this recipe today!
I guess it’s safe to give the disclaimer, better late than never, that I’m probably going to be annoyingly excited about every recipe I post on this blog.
Because as you know by now, I don’t post filler recipes, and I most definitely don’t post just for the sake of cranking out content to please the search engine and imaginary food blogger gods.
Ain’t nobody got time for that.
But what I DO have time for is finally sharing with you this incredible, and yes, life-changing, roll recipe.
It is make-aheadable. It is easy (no stand mixer or kneading required). And the cute, little crescent rolls are buttery, flaky, tender and PERFECT.
Yes, perfect.
My sweet (made via blogging) friend, Jolie, sent me this recipe months ago. It’s her mom’s crescent roll recipe.
And I was intrigued from the start!
The dough is definitely not your traditional yeast dinner roll dough.
First and foremost, as I already mentioned, you don’t need a stand mixer or dough hook or special kneading equipment for this recipe.
Just a good, old-fashioned bowl and fork. Or maybe a spatula or spoon if you want to get all crazy.
It reminds me a little of the dough in these overnight cinnamon and sugar twists. The ingredients are different, but the method is a lot the same.
You mix up a rather unusual (ok, let’s call it what it is: lumpy) dough and refrigerate it for at least four hours, but up to four days (believe it)!
Magic happens while that dough rests. Lovely, lovely crescent roll magic.
The chilled dough rolls out like a dream.
And before you know it, you’ll have buttery crescent rolls rising on a baking sheet just biding their time until they are baked to flaky, golden perfection.
Even though the recipe is simple as can be, I’ve included a quick-glance picture tutorial below.
Just to take some of the guesswork out of the dough mixing, in particular, since it doesn’t exactly follow textbook yeast dough rules.
Honestly, these are one of my family’s favorite, new roll recipes.
And even though I am right there with them (snagging one or five straight off the baking sheet), I can’t help but love them because they are so simple.
The overnight factor is huge when you need a delicious, warm dinner roll without going to hardly any work the day of (details in the recipe and notes section how to make this happen).
Looking for the perfect roll recipe for Thanksgiving?
Or maybe another upcoming holiday menu?
Or just because you need overnight dinner rolls in your life? A very valid reason, in my book.
I hope these buttery, flaky, crescent numbers make the cut.
One Year Ago: Skillet Honey Garlic Chicken {20-Minute Meal}
Two Years Ago: Chocolate Cream Pudding Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Three Years Ago: Warm Russian Tea
Four Years Ago: Healthy Applesauce Carrot Muffins {a.k.a. Carrot Cake Muffins}
Five Years Ago: Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes
Make-Ahead Buttery, Flaky Overnight Crescent Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant or active dry yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup + 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (57 g) salted butter, melted
- ½ cup (113 g) salted butter, chilled
- Melted butter for brushing dough and baked rolls
Instructions
- In a medium bowl or 4-cup liquid measuring cup, whisk together the water, evaporated milk, sugar, yeast, salt, egg, and 1 cup of the flour. Add the melted butter and mix until a smooth batter forms. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the remaining 4 cups flour. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the 1/2 cup chilled butter into the flour. Toss the flour and butter together until evenly combined. Alternately, you can cut the butter into cubes and cut it into the flour using a pastry blender or two butter knives (or forks) until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.
- Pour the yeast mixture over the flour/butter and use a fork or spatula to mix until the dough starts to come together. Mix just until the dough forms a rough, lumpy ball and the flour is evenly moistened (see tutorial above).
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours and up to 3-4 days.
- When ready to make rolls, divide the chilled dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece (or one at a time, depending on how many rolls you want to make – the remaining dough can go back in the fridge) into an 11- or 12-inch circle about 1/4-inch thick or slightly less than. It should be fairly thin. Brush the dough circle with a tablespoon or two of melted butter.
- Cut the circle into 8 equal pieces. Roll each wedge into a crescent shape starting at the wide end. Place the rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet a few inches apart. Cover lightly with a towel or greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 12-15 minutes until golden and baked through. Out of the oven, brush the tops with melted butter, if desired.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (adapted slightly from Jolie, a cute MKC reader, who sent me her mom’s crescent roll recipe – I reduced the butter in the dough by half, grated butter into the flour, rolled them slightly different)
I’ve made these numerous times. They are convenient, easy, and delicious. I’ve used this dough recipe to make kolaches and they are always a hit. Thank you for sharing!
These are the BEST I ever made. My granddaughters 8 & 9 love to make these. They are so easy and so delicious.
Hi Mel! Wondering if these could be made using natural yeast (sourdough) instead of commercial.
I haven’t tried them with sourdough so I’m not sure. Sorry I’m not more help!
Hi Mel! Made these tonight as practice for thanksgiving. They were delicious! However, they didn’t hold their shape very well. They got too puffy while baking and started unrolling. I’m new to homemade crescent rolls… what did I do wrong?
Hi Chaylyn, try rolling them up a bit tighter and tucking the point underneath so it doesn’t pop up while baking.
I’ve made these for years. The only difference is I do a 1/2 c melted butter. They can stay in the fridge for up to 7 days. In fact they have so much more flavor if you do that. Plus I roll them out the night before and just keep them in a cool place – fridge or garage in the winter
Hey Mel! Do you think this recipe would work to use with your chicken pillows recipe? Making those for a friend with a new baby & would love to be able to have the rolls done in advance.
Thank you for all your recipes!!
Yes! I use this recipe for those chicken pillows a lot!
My family liked these. I thought it was an easy recipe to follow and the dough was easy to work with.
Mel thank you for this recipe! These turned out delicious even though they weren’t as pretty as yours. I wondered if you have any advice for me though – the dough was very sticky to work with when I was rolling them out and I did not want to add more flour and ruin them at that point. Any suggestions? Is there something I should have done at that point to make it less painful? End result was still amazing! Thanks again!
Hey Ambreen – you can add a bit more flour when rolling, I think, and they’ll still turn out great!
Thank you!
Mel, hi! I really wanted to make these for Thanksgiving. I just read your page on active vs instant yeast. I have dry active- do I need to subtract 1/4 cup of water initially as I’ll be adding the proofed yeast with 1/4 cup water to the mix? Thanks a million for always saving my food life! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!
Hey Christina, yes, you can subtract the water at the beginning if proofing the yeast in water.
Really love this recipe illustration great job
These crescent rolls are so tasty and fluffy! My mom loves them and they look amazing when they came right out from the oven!
Mel’s recipe is so easy to follow and the result always turn out great!
Oh My!!!! I’m a bit late to this recipe (since it’s not Thanksgiving 2017 or Easter or any fancy date – just a “Covid-19
Looking for a new Mel Recipe ” day!)…..wow, wow, wow! I just shared it with my colleagues and told them they do NOT need to be a yeast expert for this recipe! I encouraged every one of them to make them because a) they are so simple to make and b) I can’t be the only one from the office who ate 5 in one sitting! It will be my new Go To and I’ll definitely be trying them as a cinnamon roll. If you have or will be trying them out please put up a note on proportions for butter, brown sugar, cinnamon….I’m not that great at wingin’ it!
I made this recipe before Easter but I only had regular yeast It didn’t work magic or raise. Do I need the instant yeast or just proof the yeast. I absolutely love the recipes you share with us. Thank you. You are amazing.
Hi Carole – if you are subbing active dry yeast for instant yeast, then yes, the yeast needs to be proofed first. Here’s a post that should help! https://www.melskitchencafe.com/guide-to-baking-with-yeast/
I made these for thanksgiving and someone asked me if these were Pillsbury! They honestly couldn’t believe they were homemade. They were that good! I will be making these from now on!!
Haha, that’s amazing praise! Thanks, Megan!
Do you think this dough would work with resurrection rolls? Thanks so much. Love all these yummy recipes.
I was wondering the same thing! Wanted to try those this year but I’m not sure I’ll be able to get the canned crescent rolls (and would rather use homemade if possible!). Mel’s bread recipes are always my go-to!
Yes, I think they would be super yummy!!
I am going to try these for resurrection rolls!
Do you think I could replace the sugar with honey?
(I already made homemade marshmallows with honey and maple syrup instead of corn syrup and refined sugar.)
I don’t know about the honey since I haven’t tried it, but it’s certainly worth a try.
These were amazing!
These are maybe my new favorite roll of yours, I made them for our “family Thanksgiving dinner” because I always need leftovers to snack on…so a few days after the big day I make a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls and usually another side or two. These were new to me this year, and they do not disappoint! They are buttery, soft, and bake up like a dream. Also, to be able to make the dough before church and then pop it in the fridge for later, was easy and a win. I baked half of the batch and now have the other half to make up later this week. Yummy!! Thanks!!
We’ve made this recipe several times for family gatherings, always with rave reviews and recipe requests. Thank you!
Made these for Thanksgiving. Perfect! And rolling was a breeze!
These were voted “the roll” for Thanksgiving by my household 🙂
I make my own evaporated milk for this recipe like this:
1 .Place 3 1/2 cups of milk in a heavy bottom sauce pan.
2. Bring to a low simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
3. Continue to simmer and stir until milk reduces by at least half. I usually simmer it down to 1 cup of liquid.
4. This can take between 25-45 minutes, depending on your kitchen and stove temperature.
5. Store in a glass container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Here is the link if you would like more detailed instructions:
https://www.amodernhomestead.com/diy-evaporated-milk-substitute/
Thanks, Kari!
Have you ever made these then shaped into traditional roll shape? Into a ball?
I haven’t, sorry!
So good! I wanted to trial a new roll recipe before Thanksgiving. The make-ahead factor was a huge selling point for this recipe. It turned out SO good! Thank you, thank you! Made the dough two nights ago and then shaped, rose, and baked them for dinner today. We’re so pleased with the results! Definitely on next week’s Thanksgiving menu! And I can’t tell you how nice it’ll be to have the dough done in advanced! Thanks Mel, you always come through with awesome recipes (and awesome instructions too).
So happy to hear this, Kim! I agree, the make-ahead factor for these rolls is a treasure (and they are so buttery and yummy).
Can they be baked a day ahead and then reheated? I’m have to drive 6 hours to get to our family get-together and would like to make them to bring.
Yes, they can – I think they are best fresh, but that should work in a pinch!
Made these crescent rolls and used for crust of a breakfast pizza. AMAZING!
After they are baked, do they freeze well?
Yes, they do!
I ve made this yesterday. It was ok but it’s not they same taste as croissants.
Hi Mel! I am wanting to make these into little breakfast sandwiches with a sausage link, some scrambled eggs and cheese. Do you think it is possible to do the last rise for less than 2 hours? I worried about eggs, cheese and sausage sitting out that long before baking them. I wondering how you did it with your chicken pillows. Thanks!! I love all your recipes. I feel like we are BFFs and you just don’t know it.
Haha, thanks Tara! 🙂 For the chicken pillows, I just let them rest about 10-15 minutes before baking and it’s ok because the dough is just encasing the filling. For your idea, I’d probably let the dough sit out of the fridge until it is room temperature before rolling out (usually I roll it out when it is slightly cold after it has been in the fridge overnight), and then after wrapping the filling inside the rolls, I’d let them sit another 20-30 minutes before baking. Does that help?? Sounds delicious!
Is it possible to make these dairy free? (ie. using water and margarine)
I don’t think the texture and flavor will be the same, but good luck if you experiment!
These are so wonderful! I have frozen them after shaping and they worked great! I also tried using 1/2 fresh ground whole white wheat with great results. The 1/2 wheat needed to sit on counter a little after being in the frig to roll out, but tasted great. I filled some with sausage, eggs, and cheese and it made a great breakfast too. I’m an experienced baker, but have recommended this recipe to new bakers because it is so easy and almost impossible to mess up.
Thanks, Tammy – love the idea of making a breakfast egg sandwich out of them!
Whoever, awesome! I did additional flour, dough was a little to sticky, omg, they came out amazing !!! Happy Thanksgiving <3
I LOVED these rolls. I was hesitant to make them because of the “bother” of cutting in the cold butter. But it was totally easy. I didn’t grate it in, because that scared me, lol; I used my pastry cutter and it was totally easy. I’m so glad I made these. They were light, super flaky and buttery. I made the dough the night before and rolled out 2 hours before eating. I only used half the dough so we can have the other part with our Thanksgiving leftovers. I love the option of having fresh rolls whenever. I have a question about the evaporated milk- is a small can enough for the recipe? I was going to try it but opened up a large can instead and had to use the rest for something else.
Of course my evaporated milk is expired! Any thoughts on subbing in half & half for the evaporated milk?
Hey Julie – sorry for the late response. What did you end up doing? If I were subbing another kind of milk, I’d probably scald it and let it cool slightly before using.
Hi! I ended up using 1/2 & 1/2. I should have scalded it, but didn’t think to that. They weren’t particularly flakey, but had good flavor and rose pretty well. The kids gobbled them up, and a friend of ours texted the next day to report that he loved the rolls and was eating them for breakfast.
These are amazing!!!! Thank you for sharing!!! 🙂
Making these rolls this year. I am mixing dough tonight, shaping tomorrow and baking Thursday morning! Looking forward to it!
Question: Can I bake two baking sheets at the same time on different shelves or should I bake them separately?
If you have a convection oven, baking two sheet pans works quite well. Otherwise, it can be a little spotty.
Where was the “double the amount” of butter put in the original recipe and was anything else in the procedures changed to account for the extra butter? I would like to see what those rolls look and taste like. I am going to make these for TG day this year.
I don’t have the original recipe, but I think the amount of butter in the recipe (both grated and melted) was doubled.
How many rolls does this make?
32 rolls.
Hi Mel, Do you use salted or unsalted butter when making these rolls? Thank you
I use salted butter
Hi Mel,
I want to make these for Thanksgiving! Just for clarification on your make ahead note above, I can make the dough on Tuesday and leave in the bowl until Wednesday evening and then form into crescents and refrigerate until Thanksgiving? Thank you!
Yes! You’ll just want to take the pans of shaped rolls out of the fridge in time to rise and get puffy before baking (this will take several hours).
Today when I made these, I had finished mixing the dough, but it seemed dry. Then I realized I hadn’t added the melted butter! Ahh! So I poured it on to the dough, and kneaded it in. I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out, but I threw it in the fridge anyway. I pulled them out, shaped, and baked like normal. They turned out delicious! They were still light and flaky, buttery and yummy. Glad to know they aren’t easy to ruin! Love these rolls <3
This is my second comment on this recipe. I love how low maintenance the dough is. I’ve made the rolls several times and today used this recipe for cinnamon rolls. It made making cinnamon rolls way too easy…so dangerous!
Oh wow, never used this for cinnamon rolls, but I bet they were yummy!
I love this recipe the rolls are light and tender. I used bread flour because I couldn’t find my bag of all purpose flour. And I made pigs in a blanket!
Can I freeze these? I don’t have a large family.
Yes!
These are so fantastic! They are flakey, buttery, and fool proof. Another great recipe!!! PS do you know how to keep the little points down? About half of mine came up while rising and baking.
I just turned the roll until the point part was slightly under the rest of the roll. Some I missed a bit so after raising I just turned them a bit more before putting them in the oven. Worked great!
Question on the rolls. Took them out of frig and they seem hard and skittle heavy. What up
Are you talking about the dough or shaped rolls? The dough should soften as it sits at room temperature (and as you knead it a bit).
Thank you for this recipe. My grandma would always make homemade buns for the holidays, but she passed away this year. So I decided to take up the family tradition and picked this recipe. I hate to say this, but these were even better than my grandma’s! It was a great way to remember her with a twist on old traditions.
Hi Mel, I have a question – after the first rise in the fridge, is it possible to add more flour to the dough without ruining it?
I made a single recipe and these turned out fantastic!
I then made a triple recipe of the dough to make ahead for a big family gathering. As I started rolling them out, I realized there was not enough flour. They were a little sticky. During rising time, they looked pretty flat and didn’t hold their shape well. I stopped rolling and baking and put the rest of the dough back in the fridge for now. Is there a way to save the rest of the dough? Could I add more flour to the whole batch after letting the dough come to room temperature, and then put back in the fridge to rise again?
I did try to use extra flour when rolling out the first batch but it wasn’t enough to help them keep their shape.
I welcome your suggestions!
(PS – I enjoy your recipes so much – when I serve a meal, my family usually asks, “Is this a Mel recipe?” It’s usually a “YES!” since I rarely make any other recipes but yours anymore! Thank you, thank you!)
Hey Jill! So yes, I think you could knead in a bit more flour to the sticky batch of dough and then let it refrigerate for another couple of hours. Hope it works out! Let me know if you have other questions!
Wonderful recipe! Delicious and light rolls. My Husband keeps asking me to make more!
I made these last night (light and flakey, melt in your mouth goodness). But the best part is I made half into cinnamon rolls and almost died when I took a bite. I guess I was expecting less for the little effort I had to put into making them. I will definitely be making these again!
I can’t wait to try these as cinnamon rolls!
I love these rolls just as they are but my husband prefers a Parker house shape because they are easier to butter, just wondering if you have ever tried it.
I haven’t tried it, but I think it should work pretty well!
We made these sort of Parker House style because we used them to make little sandwiches. I just buttered my dough, cut it into rectangles, folded each one in half, and put them on the tray (close, but not overlapping) to let rise. Super easy. They were perfect for our sandwiches. Just grab a roll, pop it open, fill as desired (egg salad in our case!) and eat. Delicious buttery flakey rolls and no cutting (yay for kids!). We were in heaven.
I made these for Thanksgiving and they were AMAZING!!!! Not only were they easy (making up to 4 days in advance is just brilliant), but they were also delicious. And – something that didn’t occur to me until the big day when I was planning what/when to bake things, but pretty much everything ELSE has to be baked at 350 degrees, except a lot of bread things need to bake at a higher temp, which makes it more challenging to just pop them in the oven with the other baking items! PERFECT.
Oh, and they made pretty special little turkey sandwiches for leftovers, too…
Glad you loved them, Amy!
These are divine. They are the closest homemade thing to a true croissant I’ve had (besides that time I took 3 days to laminate and age dough and make actual bakery croissant … ain’t no one got time for that anymore!). So flaky and tender. I love the simple and unique method of making the dough. And anything that can be started the night before or early that morning is a lifesaver. I’m in love with these rolls!
Haha, I laughed out loud at your comment. I, too, have done the whole 3-day homemade croissant process, and I agree, ain’t nobody got time for that!
Thanks so much, Mel, for all your help with my Thanksgiving meal this year. I used your recipes for the turkey, gravy, Instant Pot mashed potatoes & cranberry sauce, crescent rolls, and pumpkin pie. Everything was delicious! My family raved about the food!
Sounds like a delicious meal, Kim! Thank you!
Oh my goodness these rolls were outstanding! Thankyou so much for all the last minute Thanksgiving recipes. I actually ended up making the stuffing mashed potatoes and these rolls. Everything turned out great! I also made your raspberry ribbon salad which by the way i make for almost every holiday meal. Love it!! I have froze fresh rasberries every summer since I first made it in anticipation for special meals. Mel you Rock! Back to these rolls though. I just finshed 2nd batch tonight. Made the first half on Thanksgiving.. i love having dough like this on hand. Thankyou for making my thanksgiving a lil easier and very special. I hope you and your beautiful family have a wonderful holiday season!!
I’m so happy you loved these rolls, Stacy! (And the other recipes, too!) Thanks so much for letting me know. 🙂