I’m having way too much fun experimenting with new (to me) grain-free flours.
These rolls get their crisp and chewy texture from tapioca starch, a grain-free “flour” derived from the cassava root. Tapioca starch (also known as tapioca flour) is a little tricky to work with, as it can be sticky, gluey, and can’t stand alone in baked goods, but it works well when mixed with another flour. In this case, I mixed it with coconut flour to keep the overall recipe nut-free.
Using tapioca starch also provides enough of a sticky, doughy texture that eggs aren’t necessary. That’s a rare feat when working with coconut flour!
Though these grain-free dinner rolls don’t have the exact same taste and texture as traditional dinner rolls, but they are the closest thing I’ve come to making a truly bread-like recipe without the use of eggs or grains. Think of them as a slightly more dense dinner roll, with a crusty outside and a chewy, doughy inside. I added some garlic and herbs to give them a flavorful Italian flare, but feel free to season them however you like!
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Paleo Dinner Rolls (Vegan)
Makes 12 small rolls
Adapted from A Girl Worth Saving
Ingredients:
1 chia egg (1 T. ground chia seeds + 3 T. water)
3/4 cup tapioca starch (I used this brand)
1/2 cup coconut flour (I used this brand)
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine the ground chia seeds and water to make the chia “egg” and stir well until the mixture thickens and becomes gel-like. Pour the chia egg into a large mixing bowl and add in the rest of the ingredients, stirring well until a moist and thick dough is formed. Be sure to stir very well, practically kneading the dough with a spoon or spatula until no clumps remain.
Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons, then use your hands to roll them into balls. These dinner rolls will be smaller than traditional rolls, but if you make them much larger they will not cook thoroughly. Bake at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes, until the rolls feel dry on the outside and the bottoms are lightly golden. Allow the rolls to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving, as the centers will continue to cook a bit after the pan is removed from the oven.
These rolls will dry out if left out on the counter for too long, so be sure to store any leftovers in a sealed container to retain their soft and chewy texture.
Paleo Dinner Rolls (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 chia egg (1 T. ground chia seeds + 3 T. water)
- 3/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1-2 cloves garlic , minced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the ground chia seeds and water to make the chia "egg" and stir well until the mixture thickens and becomes gel-like. Pour the chia egg into a large mixing bowl and add in the rest of the ingredients, stirring well until a moist and thick dough is formed. Be sure to stir very well, practically kneading the dough with a spoon or spatula until no clumps remain.
- Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons, then use your hands to roll them into balls. These dinner rolls will be smaller than traditional rolls, but if you make them much larger they will not cook thoroughly. Bake at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes, until the rolls feel dry on the outside and the bottoms are lightly golden. Allow the rolls to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving, as the centers will continue to cook a bit after the pan is removed from the oven.
- These rolls will dry out if left out for too long, so be sure to store any leftovers in a sealed container to retain their texture.
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 90, Fat: 5g, Carbohydrates: 9g, Fiber: 2g
Notes:
Since working with tapioca flour is new to me, I’m not familiar with how most substitutions will work. My best guess is that you can replace the chia egg with a chicken egg, and you can probably replace the coconut oil with butter or olive oil, but you won’t know for sure until you try it for yourself. (It took me seven attempts to get these rolls just right.) Be sure to leave a comment below to let us know what else has worked for you!
I hope you enjoy them!
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Reader Feedback: Have you ever worked with tapioca flour/starch before? What other bread-like items would you like to see me recreate?
They are absolutely delicious 😋
Thanks for sharing this gorgeous recipe.
I noticed that a lot of comments were about substitutions so I wanted to add that I subbed the tapioca starch for corn starch and I thought they turned out really well! Although, I added 6 tablespoons of the corn starch because I read online that you should cut the amount in half of whatever the recipe called for when using corned starch instead of tapioca starch. Anyway, this is a delicious recipe with the garlic and herbs. Can’t wait to make it again!
How come it is always watery for me??? not dough like at alll!!
I made the recipe as per instructions except I used a flaxseed egg. Their was super watery so I added more coconut flour and tapioca plus ground almond and more ground flax. I added till I got a good dough consistency and they turned out great!! Really good rolls and my son loves them too 😊
Want to make a roll for the Carolina Barbecued Chicken from the Fresh and Healthy Instant Pot Cookbook…wondering if this recipe will work if I omit the garlic and oregano?
I think it will turn out fine without the herbs, just keep in mind that these will have a very gummy texture in the middle if you make them too large. Keeping these small (like a 2-3 bite size) gives a better texture, so think of them like mini BBQ sliders.
These are definitely not much like “the real thing” and I would say are their own thing, but that’s not a bad thing at all. It’s like a different take on the dinner roll, and it’s awesome. Although they do have one thing in common with normal dinner rolls – it can be hard to stop eating them…
I LOVE THIS RECIPE! Been playing with it for over a year now. Most recently I made a big batch to freeze, and I’ve been really happy with the results!
I do a few variations off the recipe. In one I add nutritional yeast and extra minced garlic to make a “cheesy” garlic rolls.
Today I made a sweet variety with cinnamon, honey and a little monkfruit sweetened maple syrup. IN HEAVEN!!
Thank you for the deliciousness!
The recipe seems solid and the smell is great but mine looked more like cookies or biscuits than rolls! Perhaps in my ratio, I had too much water? But regardless I appreciated the recipe! Thank you!
These are quite yummy. The recipe made 14 bread rolls for me so I’m not sure if I rolled them a bit small, but I did still need to cook them for 20 minutes before there was the merest hint of golden tone to the bottoms. Definitely will be making again. They’re brilliant with soup!
Hi Megan ,it turned out great. Thanks a ton ! Btw are the given nutrition details for a piece or 12 pieces ?
Do you think this would also make a bread loaf? Or do you happen to have a grain free nut free egg free bread loaf recipe? You would think with very similar, if not exact same ingredients, a loaf could work! I sure miss sandwich bread. Thank you so much for this recipe it’s wonderful:)
I don’t have a bread loaf recipe yet, and I don’t think this one would work as a loaf. This bread gets very doughy/gummy in the middle if you even make the rolls too big, so I imagine it would be a big mess in the middle of a loaf. I’ll be sure to post any good bread recipes here on my website, though, once I figure it out!
Thanks so much Megan:)
These were great! I just ate 3 at one time! To cut down on the saturated fat, I am going to try olive oil next time. I have loved every recipe that I have made of yours thus far! I just order 3 of your books, hoping to get even more good recipes!
Love these little mini buns! I was doing an elimination diet, and these buns saved me! There are barely any “bread” type recipes I could eat, but these fit with the ingredients. The nice part is, these are so good and easy to make I still make them after the elimination diet was done. So good!!