Kids and adults can’t resist doughy, sweet, pull-apart monkey bread! This easy monkey bread recipe is one you’ll want to make over and over. It’s made using biscuit dough, rolled into tiny balls, and dipped in butter, cinnamon, and sugar. It’s like gooey, delicious cinnamon roll bread. It’s really the best monkey bread recipe!
Also, check out our favorite super moist banana bread, the easiest pumpkin bread, the best blueberry muffins ever, and our very popular coconut loaf. They’re all amazing and perfect recipes for brunch. Serve it with one of our brunch cocktails for the ultimate brunch!
We’ve been making this easy monkey bread recipe for years. Homemade monkey bread can be a pain to make and to be honest, not worth the trouble. This easy recipe tastes just as good it’s a fun recipe to make. It’s a sweet treat the entire family will enjoy.
To get the maximum of both worlds you want to turn to easy monkey bread. It’s a cinch to make and its pull-apart design makes it not only hand-friendly but almost mandatory.
What is Monkey Bread?
Table of Contents
What is monkey bread? It’s a gooey and sweet pull-apart bread that’s made with dough, butter, cinnamon, and sugar. It can be baked in a bundt pan or a loaf pan and is baked until the dough is golden and perfect. Once the bread is done, a glaze is drizzled over the top. It’s one of the easiest desserts to make and SO incredibly tasty.
How to Make Monkey Bread
Everything about this monkey bread is easy. It stores well, it’s customizable, you can prep it in advance, and it lasts long enough that you can get away with big batches.
It doesn’t even require plates to enjoy, though you’ll want to stay on top of who’s touching what in between bites.
Ingredients
This recipe is so easy, it’s made with just 5 simple ingredients! Full recipe in the recipe card below.
Canned Biscuits – A can of biscuits works perfectly to make gooey, delicious monkey bread. We used Immaculate organic flaky biscuits. Pillsbury biscuits will work too. You’ll need two cans of biscuits.
Dark Brown Sugar – This sugar is added to each layer of the dough pieces. Once a layer is placed, brown sugar is sprinkled over the top.
Cinnamon – Ground cinnamon is used in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Each ball of dough is rolled into the cinnamon and sugar. There is nothing better than the taste of cinnamon for brunch. Yum!
Granulated Sugar – White sugar is mixed in with the cinnamon to add even more sweetness.
Butter – The butter is melted to create a melted butter mixture. The balls of dough are rolled into the butter before the cinnamon sugar mixture. It gives the monkey bread an irresistible butter flavor.
We also make a glaze for this recipe using a little confectioner’s sugar and milk. This is totally optional but we love the added flavor.
Directions
Pull the biscuits apart in small pieces and roll the dough into small balls. About 3 tablespoons per ball.
Grease an entire deep-dish loaf pan with butter. You can also use a bundt pan for this recipe. Cooking spray is another option for greasing the bottom and sides of the pan.
In a medium bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar and stir.
Roll each ball of dough in the cinnamon and sugar mixture and then place it in an even layer at the bottom of a greased loaf pan.
Sprinkle brown sugar over the dough balls.
Continue creating another layer over the first layer.
Depending on the size of the pan, you should have 2 layers of dough balls in the pan. You might have extra dough, but you don’t need it. The dough rise will happen when it’s baking in the oven.
Melt the butter and pour it over the top of the dough before baking.
Sprinkle on some of the leftover cinnamon and sugar.
Bake the bread in a 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes. Depending on what biscuits you’re using, the bake time will vary. Check the directions on the biscuits to see how long to cook. It can take longer. You will know when it’s done when the top of the biscuits are a deep golden brown and have doubled in size.
A Few Tips for Making Monkey Bread
Depending on the size of the pan, you should have 2 layers of dough balls in the pan. You might have extra dough, but you don’t need it.
Melt the butter and pour it over the top of the dough before baking.
Sprinkle on some of the leftover cinnamon and sugar mixtures.
The monkey bread will be golden brown on the top and that’s what you want. It’s important to cook all the way through so you don’t have a doughy inside.
Easy Glaze Recipe
To make the glaze, add 1/4 cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon milk and mix until smooth.
Pour over the monkey bread before serving.
Another option is to drizzle caramel sauce over the top as a glaze. It becomes like a sticky bread and full of buttery, caramel flavor!
Storing
Most bread products dry up and get tough to chew over time. Monkey bread, given its high surface area, allows some bits to stay moist longer than you’d think.
You can safely leave monkey bread on the counter for a few days. The surface sugars will harden if you let them stay in contact with air, so covering is ideal.
Can I Freeze It?
Freezing monkey bread lets you keep it fresh to use for weeks. Keep it airtight and tightly wrapped before storage. Freezing is the best way to keep the freshness and longevity of the monkey bread.
Can you refreeze monkey bread?
No, you only want to freeze monkey bread one time. Once it’s removed and thawed, it should not be frozen again.
More Tips for Making this Monkey Bread with Biscuits Recipe
- You can bake this in a bundt pan or a loaf pan. We used a loaf pan made from clay, which absorbs, distributes and retains heat evenly, so breads bake and to perfection.
- Only fit as many dough balls as you can. No need to use them all if it doesn’t fit into the pan you’re baking the bread in. This is an easy recipe to alter as you go.
- If the bread isn’t fully cooked through, give it some more time in the oven. True oven temperature varies and can alter the baking time.
- This is monkey bread with biscuits, however you can try pizza dough to make money bread as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Do They Call it Monkey Bread?
The name’s a bit of a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the way it is eaten. If you’ve ever watched monkeys pick apart some fruit a the zoo, you’ll spot the resemblance.
What’s monkey bread made of?
Monkey bread is a sweet, gooey cinnamon roll-like bread that is made from balls of dough rolled in cinnamon sugar. It’s made with biscuit dough, cinnamon, white sugar, and butter and is baked together to create an amazing sticky, cinnamon bread that is perfect for brunch.
How long does monkey bread last?
This bread is best right out of the oven when it’s fresh, warm, and gooey. If there are leftovers, they can be stored in an airtight container, covered tightly in the refrigerator for one week.
How Do You know When Monkey Bread is Done?
While the combination of sugar and toppings (especially caramel) leaves the overall texture on the gooey side, the bread shouldn’t be. While you want the middle soft, you don’t want it to have that near custard texture of a French toast puff.
Internal temps won’t give you a good enough indicator of doneness, nor will check in one spot.
Use a long toothpick or fork to poke in a variety of places. You want to aim for the thicker parts. A clean fork means done, a sticky fork needs another minute.
Remember to plate monkey bread quickly after it leaves the oven. That will keep it from hardening onto your cooking surfaces.
Does Monkey Bread Require a Bundt Pan?
Though you’ve probably seen many store-bought versions come in the traditional Bundt shape, it’s not a necessity. Monkey bread cooks up in a bread pan, a cookie sheet, ramekins, or loaf pan. If you prefer to use a tube pan, that is fine. Just make sure the sides are really greased if you’re going to release it from the bundt pan.
You want to be careful to balance the thickness to avoid uneven cooking.
Do you have to refrigerate leftover monkey bread?
If you plan on eating and serving money bread the same day, it does not need to be stored in the refrigerator. However, it is bread and bread becomes dry quickly. It’s best to keep it covered so it won’t dry out. If there are leftovers after the first day, they should be stored in the refrigerator.
How Do You Reheat Monkey Bread?
Reheat monkey bread at 140 F to melt the sugars and rehydrate the bread.
If you leave it on the counter, no need to reheat it’s perfectly wonderful at room temp.
When to Serve Monkey Bread
This recipe is perfect for a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning. It’s also great for any of these occasions:
More Brunch Recipes You’ll Love
There are a lot of benefits to making easy monkey bread and it works for any season. Here are some more ideas and recipes you’ll love!
Easy Semi-Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Traditional New Orleans Beignets
Chocolate Chip Biscuit S’mores
How to Make You’re Own Yogurt Bowl
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Easy Monkey Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Monkey Bread Recipe
- 2 cans biscuit dough
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/8 cup ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup butter
Simple Glaze
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Open each package of canned biscuits.
- Roll the dough into small balls. Pull off about 3 tablespoons per ball.
- Generously, grease a deep dish loaf pan with butter. Grease the bottom and the sides.
- In a medium bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar and stir.
- Roll each ball of dough in the cinnamon and sugar mixture and then place it in the loaf pan.
- Coat the bottom of the pan and then sprinkle 1/8 cup brown sugar over the layer.
- Continue creating another layer over the first layer and again, sprinkle brown sugar over the top before starting another layer.
- Depending on the size of the pan, you should have 2 layers of dough balls in the pan. You might have extra dough, but you don’t need it.
- Melt the butter and pour it over the top of the dough before baking.
- Sprinkle on some of the leftover cinnamon and sugar mixture.
- Then, bake the bread in a 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes. Depending on what biscuits you’re using, check the directions to see how long to cook.
- The monkey bread will be golden brown on the top and that’s what you want. It’s important to cook all the way through so you don’t have a doughy inside.
- To make the glaze, add 1/4 cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon milk and mix until smooth.
- Pour over the monkey bread before serving.
Zan says
I love making this with the boys. Always fun and always good!
Sue Tassoni says
Hi. I have a loaf of bread dough that I thawed. Can I use that instead of the biscuits???
Jen says
In the “how long will is last” section, it should say not long once your family gets their hands on it, haha! I’m making it again this afternoon because it’s already gone.
Betsy says
I love this monkey bread! So glad I have monkeys of my own to share it with, this is too big of a temptation to have on my own!
Rachael Yerkes says
We are obsessed with monkey bread over here. So yummy! the perfect treat for chilly nights
Laura Reese says
This recipe was so easy and totally delicious. Perfect treat!!
Eden says
Thank you, Laura!
Lisalia says
This was SO delicious! What a fun breakfast bread. Easier than cinnamon rolls and JUST as yummy! We’ll definitely make this one again!
Eden says
Glad you liked it Lisalia!!
Trang says
This is actually something really fun to prep with my son and it’s nice that it doesn’t have to turn out “pretty”. Definitely kid friendly and approved!
Matt Taylor says
I LOVE monkey bread, it is so fun to pull apart and it is super easy to make. 🙂 🙂