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This insanely delicious Monkey Bread is a sweet, gooey, sinful cinnamon sugar breakfast treat made with store-bought canned biscuit dough (in a tube) and lots of butter.
This recipe is incredibly easy to make and is seriously the best monkey bread recipe ever! Perfect for holiday mornings.
What Is Monkey Bread?
Although there are endless variations, monkey bread is basically bite-sized pieces of dough baked with other ingredients that tie all the flavors together. The most common variation is exactly what you see here, made with butter, sugar, and cinnamon.
It is believed that monkey bread got its name because it is eaten by people picking off pieces and putting them straight into their mouths. Much like you would picture how a monkey eats!
This delightful treat, also known as bubble bread or pull-apart bread, has been a staple in many households for generations.
Why I Love This Recipe
This is one of my most popular recipes and has been viewed more than 3 Million times! Homemade monkey bread has similar flavors to cinnamon rolls but is much easier to make. Here are just a few reasons why everyone loves this recipe.
Perfect for Holidays
We always looked forward to Granny making this monkey bread every summer when we had an extended family vacation. It was a highlight for everyone!
But it definitely makes a great treat on holiday mornings too. Especially on Christmas morning.
You can even make monkey bread in a Dutch Oven over a campfire.
Basically, I’m saying you should find any excuse to make it.
Make It Ahead of Time
This recipe can be prepared the night before so you can easily pop it in the oven in the morning. It’s an easy recipe that even the most novice bakers can master.
Canned Biscuit Dough
The heart of monkey bread lies in its dough. Using refrigerated biscuit dough, you’ll create small balls of dough that will transform into heavenly bites of goodness.
Not only does using canned biscuit dough make this recipe super quick and easy to make, but the butter in the dough melts during the baking process.
This is definitely a treat everyone should experience at least once. It is gooey, perfectly sweet, and everyone’s favorite.
Ingredients Needed:
- Canned biscuit dough
- Granulated sugar
- Golden brown sugar
- Melted butter
- Ground cinnamon
How To Make This Easy Monkey Bread Recipe
Step 1: Prepare the Dough
Separate the biscuits and cut each one into four equal bite-sized pieces. Clean kitchen scissors work better than a knife.
Combine the white sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl or plastic bag. Drop each of the dough pieces in the sugar-cinnamon mixture and shake it around to coat. Gently arrange the cinnamon-sugar biscuit pieces into a greased Bundt pan.
Step 2: Make the Brown Sugar Mixture
In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar and butter. Add 1/2 cup of the remaining sugar-cinnamon mixture to the butter mixture (you can discard the remaining sugar mixture or use it for another recipe).
Gently heat the mixture to melt the butter and bring it just to a boil. Then, immediately remove it from heat. Stir the mixture until the sugars have fully dissolved. Do not overcook the syrup; you simply want to help the sugar dissolve.
Step 3: Bake the Monkey Bread
Carefully drizzle the warm buttery brown sugar sauce over the rolled dough balls in the pan.
Arrange the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes. The cooking time may vary depending on the oven and the type of pan used.
Continue cooking until the tops are starting to crisp and turn golden brown.
Step 4: Serve
Once you take the monkey bread out of the oven, allow the pan to rest for about 5 minutes, then cover it with a large serving plate and invert.
To eat, pull the desired amount off with your fingers (like a monkey would) and enjoy the gooey sweet sinful treat.
Recipe Tip
To be entirely sure that the monkey bread is fully cooked and not doughy in the center, use a thermometer to verify that the middle has reached 190°F.
If the top is browning too much and the center is still not at 190°F, lower the monkey bread in your oven and/or cover it with foil to prevent over-browning.
FAQs
Yes, you can use homemade biscuit dough if you prefer. Ensure it’s cut into bite-sized pieces before proceeding with the recipe.
It is sometimes difficult to tell when the monkey bread has cooked through. Cooking times can always vary depending on the size of the pan, starting temperature of the dough, placement in the oven, etc.
For best results, place the pan in the center of the oven and cook roughly 30 minutes until the top is golden brown. Most importantly, ensure the internal temperature has reached 190°F by using a digital thermometer.
Yes, you can assemble it ahead, refrigerate overnight, and bake when ready. Adjust the baking time if the dough is cold.
This recipe really is easy enough to make the morning of, though.
This monkey bread recipe is best enjoyed in a Bundt pan or a fluted tube pan because of the round shape with an open center. You can also use other variations of deep baking dishes. Just be sure they are at least a 12-cup capacity and greased well for an easy release.
I get asked this question all the time. Unless you have a baking dish with a 24-cup capacity, you cannot double the recipe. You can, however, make two batches and use two separate pans.
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature. Reheat briefly in the microwave for that fresh-from-the-oven feel.
Certainly! Customize your monkey bread by adding chopped nuts or raisins to the sugar-cinnamon mixture before coating the dough.
My loyalty will always lie with Granny’s old-fashioned monkey bread because it is overflowing with buttery cinnamon-sugar goodness.
If you want to get creative, though, you can certainly add fresh fruit or pie filling, nuts, chocolate chips, caramel sauce, or even marshmallows!
You can also try my Pumpkin Spice Monkey Bread and Apple Fritter Monkey Bread which I made using homemade dough from scratch.
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Video
Equipment
- Instant-Read Thermometer to verify doneness
- kitchen scissors to cut dough pieces
Ingredients
- 24 ounces refrigerated biscuit dough I used 8-ounce packages of buttermilk biscuits
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon or you can use pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup butter salted or unsalted
- 1/2 cup golden brown sugar packed
Instructions
- Prepare the pan: Heavily grease a Bundt or fluted tube pan with butter (12-cup capacity). Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare the biscuit pieces: Separate biscuits and cut each one into four equal, bite-sized pieces. In a bowl or plastic bag, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice). Drop and roll each piece of dough in the sugar-cinnamon mixture, ensuring each piece is coated. Gently arrange the cinnamon-sugar biscuit pieces into the prepared pan.
- Create the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar and butter. Add 1/2 cup of the remaining sugar-cinnamon mixture (discard the rest or use for another recipe). Gently heat the mixture until the butter melts and the mixture just begins to boil. Immediately remove from heat. Stir until the sugars have fully dissolved. Be cautious not to overcook the syrup; the goal is to help the sugar dissolve. Carefully drizzle the warm mixture over the rolled dough balls in the pan.
- Bake to perfection: Arrange the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it as baking times may vary (see note below).
- Let it Rest: Allow the pan to rest for about 5 minutes.
- Invert and Serve: Cover the pan with a large plate and invert it to release the monkey bread. To eat, pull the desired amount off with your fingers (like a monkey would!) and enjoy the gooey, sweet, sinful treat.
Notes
- To prepare the night before, follow all steps except the baking part. Cover and refrigerate. Bake as directed in the morning (may need a few extra minutes if its cold).
- Use the kids! Although the heating and melting of the butter should be handled by the adults, let the little ones cut the dough with kitchen scissors or a butter knife and dip each dough ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture!
- Cooking time may vary depending on oven and pan used. Continue cooking until the top is starting to crisp and turn golden brown. To be entirely sure that the monkey bread is fully cooked and not doughy in the center, use an instant read thermometer to verify that the middle has reached 190°F. If the top is getting overly cooked and the center is still not at 190°F, lower the monkey bread in your oven and/or cover with foil to prevent over-browning.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe has been viewed over 3 million times since it was originally posted in September 2014 and has been updated with more helpful tips based on reader questions. Don’t worry – the recipe hasn’t changed!
Made this delicious recipe this morning. I bought Grands large biscuits by accident, but decided to use them anyway. I cut them into 6 pieces instead of 4. I baked it for 32 minutes just to make sure it was done. The top layer of biscuits came out a little crunchy, but that just added to the taste if you ask me. I will definitely make this again!
Hi Krissy,
I so badly want to make this for Christmas morning, but you do not get ready-made biscuits in South Africa (It’s completely unknown here).
I found a great online recipe, and want to make this with fresh dough.
Will it work? or would i have to do something different?
Thanks!
Maggie
Hi Maggie, Unfortunately I don’t think the premade tube biscuit dough is that similar to fresh, homemade biscuit dough. I think a homemade cinnamon roll dough would work better. Good luck! Krissy
Homemade dough works just after the first rise form them into balls and fill the pan half way up then let it rise one more time and bake. It’s pretty yummy with homemade bread dough. That’s how I learned to make monkey bread.
This sounds amazing!!! Too bad I can’t make this. I live in Australia and we don’t have the biscuit tubes. I’m so annoyed by that as there are so many recipes I wanna make that use them. You wouldn’t happen to have a recipe I can use to make them from scratch?
Hi Carin, It might be a good thing that you guys don’t have biscuit tubes. 🙂 Instead of from-scratch biscuit dough, I think homemade cinnamon roll dough might work best. Krissy
I didn’t have a problem with it overflowing but I agree with the others who found that 30 minutes was nowhere near long enough. The outer edges along the top were wonderful but the rest was very, very raw. I cooked it for around 50 minutes at 350 before I had to give up or I’d be late for work. Surely this isn’t a temp variation issue…did anyone else try it at a higher temperature? I used a silicone bundt pan. Anyone else use silicone? Is that a contributing factor?
I’m not sure, but I’ll make some this week using my silicone bundt pan to find out. Krissy
I’ve had a problem with the cooking temp too as well as the timing. I upped it to 375 and timing is closer to 50 minutes. We’ve been waiting, drooling, for an hour now. My mom made this every year for Christmas morning, but my 2.5 year old helped me make it for our blizzard day off! So excited to blow his tastebuds!
This looks DIVINE! I have a couple of questions though 🙂 I’m from Canada & have searched high & low for the skinny tube biscuits. No luck 🙁 I bought 2 big ones that equal to 24 oz (instead of three 8 oz ones), will that be ok? Also, I couldn’t find buttermilk ones so I did country style. Hope the outcome is as fab as yours.
Hi Amy, YES – all of that should work perfect. Hope you enjoy! Krissy
I just made this and cooked it as the recipe says and in a standard bundt pan. It has been in the oven for over an hour and is still not done. How long is the correct cook time??
Hi Lauren, Every oven is different. The Monkey Bread should be cooked all the way through and not doughy, but it will be very soft due to the large amounts of butter. I hope it ended up working out for you? Thanks! Krissy
I’ve made this twice and it’s delicious but I’ve used two different pans and had to cook it for an hour + each time. Looking on the comments I think it’s safe to say it needs more than 30 minutes to cook but it’s still a great dessert! My mom used to cook it all the time so I went online to find a recipe since I know they’re all pretty similar. Thanks!
I also had the issue of this over flowing in my oven and then not cooking all the way through. I had to cook it much longer than the recipe specified in order for the middle not to be doughy. I think I’ve figured out that I bought the large tubes of biscuits instead of the skinny ones. Might I suggest that you specify the correct size biscuit tube in the recipe? It tasted great in the end, but made a mess out of my oven and took twice as long to cook.
Oh dear, I’m sorry about that Michelle. Yes – we use the skinny biscuit tubes. I’ll update the recipe now. Thanks for letting me know and I’m glad it turned out in the end… despite the mess. -Krissy
I have made this recipe twice now and LOVED it both times. However, I have had a really big issue with it not coming close to cooking all the way within the 30 minutes. Both times were with different ovens so I know it wasn’t a slight variation in oven temps. Have you ever had an issue with this?
Hmmm, haven’t had an issue as far as timing, but like you said, oven temps are all over the place. Plus, I’m sure a lot has to do with the size of the pan, etc. We’ll be making it again this summer on our annual trip so I’ll see how it does in the oven at the rental house. Thanks! Krissy
I also found that 30 minutes is not nearly enough time.
Hi Heather, thank you for the comment. I just updated the recipe to state that it might take more time depending on oven temp and pan. Monkey bread should be crispy on top and a deep golden brown before removing from oven. -Krissy
Did anyone else have the issue of 3 biscuit containers being too many? My pan overflowed causing sugar and biscuits to overflow onto the bottom of my oven and then only the pieces on the bottom of the bundt pan were cooked. Are there types of biscuits to stay away from? (Expanding ones?) I bought the buttermilk ones. Just seeing if anyone else had this issue. I’m planning on making again with only 1 biscuit package. It was delicious but the numbers were off for me.
Hmmm, sorry to hear that Alison. This was one of my most popular posts (it went kind of viral) and I haven’t gotten any feedback from anyone that this has happened. You used a bundt pan with the skinnier biscuit tubes, right?
Made this today and it turned out perfect!!! Everyone loved it. I had to cook it about 5 min. longer but besides that followed the recipe as written.