Have you ever had dinner all planned out, and just as you begin to cook, you realize that you forgot something? Something really important like a crucial ingredient? Yeah, me too. This happened to me recently when I realized that I had no buns or rolls for the BBQ chicken sandwiches that I was preparing for dinner. It’s a good thing I had this recipe for Easy and Quick Hamburger Buns in my recipe box to save the day. (And if you’re looking for a bread recipe to go with your homemade soup or stew, try my Cheddar Onion Beer Bread recipe.)
These quick hamburger buns are so delicious and easy to make that they almost seem too good to be true. According to my husband, this recipe makes the very best hamburger bun. And yes, they do take a couple of minutes of kneading, but from start to finish, they can be ready in under an hour. Seriously, don’t wait for an impending dinner disaster to make these. The next time you’re in the mood for grilling a hamburger or having a really good sandwich, just go ahead and make these. You won’t be sorry!
(And if you’re not an experienced baker, don’t be intimidated because I’m going to walk you through how to make hamburger buns step-by-step!)
So let’s talk about some of the ingredients:
Active dry yeast – This type of yeast needs to be mixed with warm water and a little bit of sugar, and then allowed to sit for a few minutes before use. If the yeast becomes foamy, then you’ll know the yeast is alive and will make your bread rise (this is also called proofing the yeast.) If you only have instant or rapid-rise yeast, that will work, too, but you need to use a little bit less of it. So substitute 1 ½ tablespoons of instant yeast for 2 tablespoons of active dry yeast. Also, instant yeast does not need to sit and proof before using, so just go ahead and use it right away in the recipe
Canola oil – If you prefer not to use canola oil, you can whatever type of neutral-flavored oil you typically use in your kitchen. I find that sunflower oil is a good neutral oil to use in baking. If you prefer to skip the oil and use butter, you will need to use ¼ cup of melted butter in place of the 3 tablespoons of oil that the recipe calls for (the reason for this is that butter contains not only fat but also water.) If you want to use coconut oil, use 3 tablespoons of melted coconut oil but be aware that it is likely to give the finished buns a hint of coconut flavor.
Salt – Use fine salt like sea salt or table salt. For best results, I don’t recommend using coarse salt in this recipe.
Sugar – You may be tempted to skip the sugar in this recipe, but please don’t. Skipping the sugar will affect the rise of the dough and the flavor of the finished buns. I like to use natural cane sugar, but any granulated sugar will work fine.
Cook’s Tips:
- After removing the buns from the oven, place them on a wire rack and make sure they are fully cooled before slicing.
- Customize your buns by adding herbs or other seasonings. You can also top them with poppy seeds or sesame seeds just before baking.
- If you want a larger bun for your big, juicy burger, divide the dough into 8 pieces instead of 12 before baking.
- This recipe can also be used for dinner rolls or slider buns. Simply divide the dough into 16 pieces before baking.
If you try this recipe for Easy Hamburger Buns, I hope you love it. And follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram so you don’t miss a post.
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Quick and Easy Hamburger Buns
- Total Time: 47 minutes
- Yield: 12 buns 1x
Description
These quick hamburger buns are perfect for your favorite burgers or sandwiches. Skip the store-bought options and enjoy fresh, homemade buns straight from your kitchen.
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons canola oil (or substitute 1/4 cup melted butter)
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 –3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F
- In a mixing bowl, stir yeast, oil, and sugar into warm water, and allow to stand for 5 minutes, or until mixture is foamy. If the yeast mixture doesn’t look foamy after 10 minutes, the yeast is too old and the dough won’t rise. Discard and replace with fresh yeast.
- Whisk in egg and salt.
- Stir in flour, starting with 3 cups, adding a little more if necessary to form a soft dough.
- Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- When dough is elastic and no longer sticky, divide into 12 equal pieces and shape each into a slightly flattened ball.
- Place 3″ apart on greased baking sheets, and allow to rise for 15 minutes, or until the buns have nearly doubled in size.
- Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove buns from pan to wire rack. Brush with melted butter immediately after removing from oven. Allow to cool.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
151 Comments
Jacqui
April 28, 2023 at 10:20 pmI use this recipe for literally everything. Garlic knots, hamburger buns, fancy cast iron focaccia bread, breadsticks, garlic naan… any meal that I want bread for but I ran out of time and don’t have an hour to let it rise, I use this recipe. Always comes out fluffy and soft.
Emmy
April 1, 2023 at 11:51 pmDelicious! These buns were so easy and tasted great.
Ann McAdory
April 1, 2023 at 5:54 pmI made this recipe this morning and it is FABULOUS!!! The only thing I did different was replace 1 cup flour with 1 cup whole wheat and I did use rapid rise yeast. The next time I AM DOUBLING the recipe.
Melissa
April 2, 2023 at 6:04 pmI’m so happy you like the recipe!
Pauline Constantine
March 11, 2023 at 2:19 amHi. I just tried this and they cane out perfect! This recipe is a keeper! When I made the dough I thought they were going to turn out like sliders so I divided it into 6 pieces. I left them to rise for half an hour and they turned out quite huge… to the delight of my family! I brushed them with milk and baked them for 8 minutes. They browned quite nicely and were soft and delicious! Thanks so much for sharing!
Melissa
March 23, 2023 at 6:23 pmI’m so happy you (and your family) enjoyed the recipe!
A
February 26, 2023 at 1:20 pmGoing to try this recipe.. am I reading this correctly that you only need dough to rise in individual balls, or allow to rise as whole dough then as individual balls?
Thanks!
Melissa
March 3, 2023 at 7:47 pmThat’s correct. They only need to rise once, after shaping them into individual balls. (Sorry I didn’t reply sooner! Somehow I missed your comment)
A
March 4, 2023 at 2:07 pmThank you! Trying this weekend
The Best Soft Dinner Rolls - My Homemade Roots
February 15, 2023 at 7:11 pm[…] I don’t often call my recipes “the best” because there are so many delicious recipes out there for almost anything you can think of. But these dinner rolls are so light and pillowy-soft, I really do think they are one of the best. I make these rolls with a yeast dough enriched with milk, eggs, and butter. The result is a soft, fluffy roll with an unbeatable flavor and texture. And if you like this recipe for homemade dinner rolls, also check out my recipe for Quick and Easy Hamburger Buns. […]
Dale Morgan-Horner
January 15, 2023 at 3:26 pmThx for this fantastic recipe!
I made these faster than it would have taken me to drive to town to buy them!
Have made them twice and they are great!. Easy recipe to follow
Melissa
January 16, 2023 at 6:34 pmSame with me – it’s faster to make a batch of these than it is to run to the store! I’m glad you liked the recipe!
Sonia
December 31, 2022 at 12:27 amVery good recipe. Thank you so much for sharing. Everyone loved them and they were super simple to make. I didn’t have any bread or eggs on hand for burgers. So I found this recipe and made a flax egg in place of the egg. It turned out great. So great that I am making more tonight!! Thanks again for the great recipe.
Melissa
January 4, 2023 at 6:25 pmI’m glad you liked the recipe! And it’s good to know that it works well with a flax egg!
Alexis
November 24, 2022 at 12:33 amThese were great but they were very yeasty. I was wondering how they’d turn out when I read 2 whole tbs of yeast. The dough smelled like beer and so do the buns. I can’t really taste it in the buns but the smell does turn me away from making them again. Yes I did use the correct amount of yeast.
Melissa
November 24, 2022 at 2:29 amI’m sorry the buns didn’t work out for you. Unfortunately, you really can’t reduce the amount of yeast if you want them to rise in the allotted amount of time. I have never had it smell like beer, though. Is it possible you used instant yeast instead of active dry yeast? If using instant or rapid-rise yeast, you do need to reduce the amount of yeast in the recipe.
Debby
November 20, 2022 at 3:05 amThese are fast and wonderful! I also have made them as smaller dinner rolls with same great texture and softness.