If you’ve ever wanted that warm, buttery dinner roll moment but didn’t have the time or patience for proofing, kneading, and hoping it rises just right — this one’s for you. These buttery cloverleaf rolls start with pre-made bread dough and end up tasting like you baked from scratch. They’re soft and pull-apart in the middle, crisp and golden brown on the bottom, and full of garlic butter flavor in every bite. Perfect for pasta night, Sunday dinner, or any meal that deserves a little homemade bread on the table.
I’ve been on a pizza dough streak lately — making everything from quick pizzas to breadsticks — and I wanted to show another way to stretch that same dough into something new. Cloverleaf buns have always been one of my go-to comfort breads, and using pizza dough makes them ridiculously easy. If you’ve been following along, you’ve already seen how versatile pizza dough can be — from my Pizza Dough Garlic Pull-Apart Bread to those Mini Pizza Muffins (Perfect After School Snack) that disappear faster than you can bake them.
For about four dollars, you get a dozen fresh, baked rolls without breaking the budget or spending the whole afternoon in the kitchen.
That said, a quick note for my fellow Canadians. Butter prices have been all over the place lately. If you’re using half a cup here, the recipe might creep above that $4 mark. Keep an eye on your flyers — in Ontario, especially, butter still goes on sale pretty often. Sometimes it even dips back down to $2.99 around the holidays. When that happens, stock up and freeze it. Butter freezes beautifully and works perfectly in baking months later.
Why You Will Love These Shortcut Cloverleaf Buns
Minimal effort, big payoff. These shortcut cloverleaf buns are everything a busy cook wants — soft, buttery, and done in under 30 minutes.
Crispy edges + soft centers. The melted butter soaks in while the tops turn golden and pull apart easily.
Budget-friendly comfort. Pizza dough turns into bakery-style dinner rolls without any extra work.
“First bite, my partner said, ‘No flavor.’ Second bite — ‘Ah, there it is.’ The garlic butter sneaks up softly, not sharp or overpowering — just that warm flavor that makes you reach for another bun.”
A Little Canadian Breadmaking History
Breadmaking runs deep in Canadian kitchens — from bannock cooked over open fires to prairie loaves baked in woodstoves and East Coast brown bread sweetened with molasses. Every region has its own way of stretching simple ingredients into something hearty and worth sharing.
What makes that history special is Canadians’ adaptability. We bake with what’s on hand — sometimes yeast, sometimes baking powder, sometimes just leftover bread dough turned into something new. These shortcut cloverleaf buns fit right into that story. They’re thrifty, practical, and exactly the kind of recipe that could have lived in any Canadian kitchen through the decades — simple, resourceful, and built on what’s already in the fridge. This quick cloverleaf buns recipe is also a great way to use leftover pizza dough — nothing goes to waste, and you still get warm, buttery rolls on the table.
For a sweet twist on the same dough, try my Simple Fried Pizza Dough Balls with Chai Sugar — they’re an easy dessert spin that turns leftover dough into something totally different.
Let’s Whip These Cloverleaf Rolls Up In A Few Minutes
Start with 700 grams (1.5lbs) of pre-made pizza dough — that’s roughly a standard grocery store ball or enough for one large 12-inch pizza.
Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces, then roll each piece into 3 small balls. Aim for a smooth ball shape —but let’s face it pizza dough has elasticity so some room for odd shapes is fine. You’ll end up with 36 little balls of dough total.
In a small saucepan, melt ½ cup salted butter. If it starts to foam a little, don’t worry — that means it’s hot. Stir in ¼–½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley and 4–6 cloves of garlic, minced super fine. You don’t want big chunks here—just enough to spread the garlicky flavor evenly through the butter.
Shortcut option: if you don’t feel like dirtying a pan, nuke it in the microwave (in a microwave-safe bowl, please) until the butter’s melted, then stir in the parsley and garlic.
Using a spoon, dip each small ball of dough into the garlic butter mixture, coating it completely, and place three balls into each muffin cup of a 12-cup muffin pan. No need to grease the pan — the butter’s got that covered.
Bake the rolls in a 350°F oven for 25–30 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and the bottoms are crisp. As they bake, each dough ball fuses to the one next to it and fills the muffin cups into a beautifully risen bun.
Let them cool for a few minutes before lifting them out — they’ll slide right out and pull apart beautifully.
Serve warm alongside pasta, soup, or any dinner that needs a quick, buttery side for special occasions or busy weeknights.
Ingredients:
Note to my Canadian readers: You’re not alone if you’re sourcing these ingredients without relying on U.S.-based imports. Given our country’s current challenges, supporting Canadian-owned businesses and Canadian-made products matters more than ever. Every little bit helps keep our food systems strong, our neighbors employed, and our dollars in our communities.
You will now find more Canadian content on the blog as I continue to source Canadian food brands and products.
And to our American friends—we still love you! We always have and will. But when possible, we’re leaning toward local to keep our shelves stocked and our people supported.
Pre-made pizza dough — You’ll need about 700 grams of pizza dough for this recipe. That’s roughly the size of a standard grocery store ball. It’s soft, stretchy, and saves all the work of mixing and rising from scratch. I always go to our local independent Pinos Grocery (fully independent, not a chain — gasp, I know) for pizza dough. They have an in-store pizza shop that is amazing and offers both freshly made, ready-to-use, and frozen pizza dough. Most grocery store chains offer a frozen version in the frozen baking section, though.
Salted butter — It gives you that golden, crispy bottom and all the buttery flavor on top. Salted works better here because it seasons the dough as it bakes. I used Lactancia for this recipe. They have a great product, and it’s often on sale too.
Fresh parsley — It adds color, freshness, and that little restaurant-style touch that makes everything look better. I was smart this year and planted three big bunches of this in my planter. It’s October here, so we still have lovely green leaves, but it won’t be long before the frost hits. In fact, I woke up to some of this this morning. For those who live in zone 4 or higher, growing parsley during the growing season is one of the easiest ways to grow herbs.
Garlic —The garlic adds just a soft background flavor that blends evenly through the butter. My father-in-law plants a fantastic array of garlic every year, so I used some of his garden’s bounty for this recipe. However, any version of fresh garlic is good garlic in my books.
Substitutions, Add-Ins For These Soft Cloverleaf Buns
Pre-made pizza dough is obviously a must, but you can also use homemade dough if you don’t want to purchase a store-made version. Got a little dough left from your homemade pizza? You can even make a small batch in your air fryer — see recipe notes for timing and setup.
Salted butter —the price of butter is very high right now, so using margarine can work as well. If you want to make the buns plain rolls minus the garlic and parsley, spray the pan so they don’t stick, and brush the tops with milk or egg white for a nice gloss and to crisp them slightly.
Fresh parsley —the flat-leaf parsley — can be omitted in favor of dried parsley or your favorite Italian blend seasoning. Just go light on the Italian seasoning so the oregano, which predominates the blend, doesn’t overpower the lighter garlic flavor.
Garlic: While I used fresh, minced garlic for this recipe, you can easily use garlic powder. While fresh garlic has a nicer flavor than garlic powder, the powder is more economical. My recommendation as a home baker is to add a tablespoon to the melted grease you are using. Make sure to blend well to avoid any clumps of the powder.
If you want to make these buns to go with roast meat rather than pasta, try using rosemary with the butter. One to one and a half teaspoons will work well when chopped fine for fresh use. If you use dried rosemary instead, I would use about ½ teaspoon. Fresh rosemary gives a pleasant savory aroma without overpowering the dough — any more than that and it can turn bitter or resinous once baked. Think foccacia but in bun form.
Expert Tips, Serving And Storing Suggestions For The Shortcut Cloverleaf Buns
Tip #1: Count your dough balls first. Make sure you’ve got all 36 rolled before you start dipping. That way, every muffin tin gets filled evenly, and you don’t end up short on your last few cloverleaf buns.
Tip #2: Don’t skip the fine mince. Garlic that’s chopped too big can taste harsh after baking. A fine mince evenly distributes the flavor throughout the butter, giving you that perfect garlicky bite without overpowering.
Tip #3: Watch the bake time. Every oven runs a little differently, so start checking around the 25-minute mark. The tops should be golden and the bottoms crisp — that’s your cue, they’re ready.
These buttery cloverleaf rolls are best served warm, straight from the muffin pan, while the butter’s still glistening and the edges are crisp. They’re perfect with pasta night, soups, stews, or anything saucy that needs a bit of homemade bread on the side.
If you’ve got leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To reheat, wrap them loosely in foil and warm in a 325°F oven for about 10 minutes. You can also give them a quick 15-second zap in the microwave if you’re doing one or two — it softens them right up again.
These shortcut cloverleaf buns prove that pizza dough can do way more than pizza — it’s your new go-to trick for quick homemade bread.
Not a fan of commenting? You can also rate the recipe with stars or tag me on social — I’d love to see your buns!
Shortcut Cloverleaf Buns (Made with Pizza Dough)
Equipment
- Muffin Pan I used my large Wilton pan
- Microwavable Bowl or Saucepan
- knife
- spoon
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs Premade Pizza Dough (700 grams) One 12" Pizza Dough Ball- Divided into 36 small balls
- ½ Cup Salted Butter Melted
- ½ Cup Flat Leaf Parsley Chopped
- 6 Lrg Cloves Garlic Minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- Cut premade pizza dough into 36 small portions and roll into 'balls' little rough is fine.1.5 lbs Premade Pizza Dough
- Melt butter in small microwavable bowl or saucepan.½ Cup Salted Butter
- Chop parsley coarse add to butter.½ Cup Flat Leaf Parsley
- Mince garlic fine add to parsley and butter mixing well.6 Lrg Cloves Garlic
- Using a teaspoon dip each ball into the butter mixture be sure to lower it enough to pick up some of the parsley and bits of garlic. Then place in ungreased muffin tin.
- Once the pan is full bake in hot oven (350℉) for 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
- Remove pan from oven and allow to cool before lifting each cloverleaf bun from the pan.
