Pani Popo is a Samoan sweet roll baked in a delicious coconut sauce. One of my favorite Pacific-Island dishes from my bakery days in Hawaii.
Oh how I love Pani Popo. Even though it is a Samoan dish, I was first introduced to it when I lived in Hawaii. As I mentioned before, I worked at a bakery when I lived in Hawaii and was introduced to SO MANY amazing treats and recipes– this being one of my-all time favorites. I loved waking up early in the morning and making these delicious rolls. The smell is intoxicating!
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Pani popo is such an easy dish to make and it is oh so tasty. If you have never had Pani popo before, it is basically a soft dinner roll baked with a sweet coconut sauce. It is soft and fluffy on the inside and the bottom is nice and gooey– like a gooey sweet roll should be (but gooier). I love that I am am able to make these at home for my family (and that they LOVE them as much as I do… seriously… my kids go nuts over these)!
You can serve this with pretty much any dish– you can serve it as a breakfast item, side dish or even dessert. With Thanksgiving coming up, this would be a great way to switch things up and try a new kind of dinner roll that the whole family will love! Try it! You are going to love it!
If you want to go traditional and make your own, made from scratch rolls, you can use the recipe HERE or if you want a quick and easy alternative, you can just use frozen rolls and thaw them (both taste great).
If you want to SEE how these are made, check out the video below! The video is less than one minute long and you will be able to see step-by-step how it’s done. Don’t forget to share with your friends 😉
Pani Popo (Samoan Coconut Rolls)
- 12-20 frozen dinner rolls depending on size (see note above for homemade rolls)
- 1 10 oz. can coconut milk
- 1 c. sugar
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Coat a 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray and arrange rolls evenly to thaw (if doing homemade rolls, roll dough into golf-ball size balls and arrange the same way).
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Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray (to keep dough from sticking to the plastic wrap).
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Allow to rise until doubled in size. This can take 4-5 hours. If you need the rolls to thaw quicker, follow the quick-rise instructions on the frozen roll packaging.
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Pre-heat oven to 350-degrees.
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In a bowl, combine coconut milk and sugar and whisk until sugar is dissolved.
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Pour about 2/3 of the coconut mixture over the rolls and bake for 20-30 minutes (or according to package/dough recipe instructions) or until golden brown and dough is baked through.
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Remove from oven and pour remaining coconut mixture evenly over the top of the rolls.
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The rolls should be sticky and gooey on the bottom (read notes above). Can be served upside down or right-side up.
More Yummy Hawaiian/Island Treats:
- Hawaiian Wedding Cake: Hawaiian Wedding Cake starts with a simple cake mix. Add a splash of coconut and pineapple and it becomes a refreshing cake that tastes like a piña colada.
- Coconut Cream Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting: This Coconut Cream Cake is a coconut lovers dream! It is a coconut infused cake, with a rich and creamy coconut cream cheese frosting, sprinkled with even more toasted coconut. You will be in coconut heaven with every bite.
- Caribbean Coconut Fudge Bars: These Caribbean Coconut Fudge Bars can’t be beat! A soft oatmeal cookie crust with chocolate fudge and gooey coconut topping- an instant favorite!
- Orange Pineapple Cake: Orange Pineapple cake is a light, fruity cake with an island flair. You will love the delicious whipped creamy topping! Perfect for potlucks and parties!
Maud says
Like belly stickers…sort of…
kt says
My friend makes these. They are so good!
pam says
My neighbor makes something like this only she leaves out the sugar and uses 2 T. Corn starch and 2 T. water to the coconut milk.
Toni-Sue Lua says
Sugar is relative. Some people use only 1/2 cup. Some use cornstarch and some do not. Corn starch makes the sauce a little thicker is all. Some even use half coconut milk and half water with the cornstarch.
Bruna says
What brand of frozen dinner rolls you like to use?
Erica says
Typically we will use Rhoades rolls.
Ashli Garris says
What grocery store do you find Rhoades rolls in typically. ..I have looked around my area aND can’t find them? Thanks
Erica says
We have found them at almost any grocery store in the U.S. Did you look in the frozen section?
Lady Paia says
I have not found frozen buns in my Safeway or Foodland in Hi. I have to make my own sweet bread
Erica says
Homemade is definitely the best. I bet your pani popo is amazing! 🙂
Victoria says
Walmart sells the Rhodes frozen dinner rolls
Toni-Sue Lua says
use whatever brand you have. They are in the freezer section
Victoria says
I was SUPER excited to try this :I LOVE anything coconut . What I ended up with were rolls where the tops were beautiful golden brown and the bottoms were very slimy and beyond soggy. The texture was SO disgusting I cannot see how anyone would like this. I must have done something wrong as the recipe was SUPER simple. What did I do wrong??
Erica says
The texture is supposed to be very wet.. the bottoms are supposed to be drenched in the coconut milk. That is how they are in Hawaii. Sorry it didn’t turn out the way you had expected!
Wenduy says
All your recipes you post look scrumptious. This one I could do looks pretty easy.
Echo says
Thank you so much! You will love the Pani Popo rolls. They are delicious!
Judie Hensel says
recipe for homemade rolls for the Pani Popo rolls are on a broken link. where to find it??
Echo says
Thank you for letting us know the link is broken! It is now fixed. You can find the recipe here:
https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/moms-homemade-rolls/
Cam says
How do you store these and for how long?
Erica says
They don’t stay great for way long– I would say a day or two at most. They will get too soggy. Definitely the best fresh.
Sherry says
Do you have a good recipe for peanut butter bars?
Erica says
You bet! https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/peanut-butter-bars/
Liza says
The one thing you don’t mention is the time it will take to thaw/double in size.
Can’t wait to try these…I hope I give them enough time to rise. The turkey does not wait for rolls.
Favorite Family Recipes says
Thank you for pointing this out. I made some adjustments to the recipe. It does take 4-5 hours for the rolls to thaw and rise. Most frozen rolls packaging gives instructions for speed-rising that takes about 2 hours. I hope you enjoy the rolls!
Kahikolu says
This is a Samoan Dish. It comes from Samoa.