Crock Pot Monkey Bread with Cinnamon Rolls

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Crock pot monkey bread is the one I make when I want warm, pull-apart cinnamon bread and I do not want to turn on the oven. Every piece comes out soft and doughy, coated in buttery brown sugar, and it tears apart into sticky, sweet chunks you eat with your fingers.

Slow cooker monkey bread topped with vanilla glaze and chopped pecans on a serving plate.

I keep this recipe in my back pocket for cool fall mornings when the kitchen is already busy. The slow cooker does the work, so I am not standing over a hot oven or greasing a bundt pan while everything else is going on.

I use refrigerated cinnamon roll dough instead of the canned biscuits most crock pot versions call for. It bakes up softer, and the icing that comes in the can gives every piece a head start on flavor before the brown sugar and pumpkin spice even hit it.

Fall Favorite

The Cozy Fall Morning Breakfast I Keep Coming Back To

This is the one my kids reached for first on slow weekend mornings, back when a warm pan of something sweet was the fastest way to get everyone to the table.

I still set it up before a holiday brunch so it is warm and ready when people start coming downstairs. Half the fun is watching everyone pull their own pieces off the plate.

The One Thing I Always Tell People

A slow cooker cooks from the outside in, so the middle of the monkey bread is the last part to finish. Two things keep that center from turning out gummy.

Roll the dough into small, even balls so they all cook at the same rate. Then set a small mason jar in the middle of the crock before you add anything else. The hole it leaves lets the center cook through and gives you the classic ring shape.

If you would rather skip the jar, keep the balls small and check the middle before you call it done.

What You’ll Need

Refrigerated cinnamon roll dough: This is the base, not canned biscuits. The dough bakes up softer in the slow cooker, and the icing that comes in the can becomes the glaze on top so nothing goes to waste.
Pumpkin pie spice: This is what makes it taste like fall. If you are making it outside the season, plain cinnamon works well too.
Brown sugar and butter: Melted together and poured over the dough, this turns into the sticky coating as it cooks. Grease the crock well first or it will hold onto every bit of it.
Walnuts: They add a little crunch against the soft dough. Pecans work too, and you can leave them out for a nut allergy.

How to Make Crock Pot Monkey Bread

Step 1: Coat the Dough Balls Stir the pumpkin spice into the cane sugar. Cut each cinnamon roll into pieces, roll them into small balls with your hands, and toss them in the sugar until coated. Cinnamon sugar biscuit dough pieces coated before assembling slow cooker monkey bread.

Step 2: Make the Butter Sauce Melt the butter in the microwave, then stir in the brown sugar until it is smooth.

Step 3: Fill the Slow Cooker Spray the crock generously with cooking spray and set the mason jar in the center. Arrange the dough balls and walnuts around the jar, then pour the butter mixture over the top. Layer coated biscuit dough and chopped walnuts in the slow cooker before pouring over the brown sugar butter sauce.

Step 4: Cook and Glaze Cook on high for 2 hours. Lift the monkey bread out carefully onto a serving plate and drizzle the reserved icing over the top. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cook until the biscuit dough is puffed and cooked through, with the cinnamon sugar caramelizing around the edges.

Storage

Store leftover monkey bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

To freeze, seal it in an airtight container and keep it in the freezer for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

To reheat, warm it in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until heated through.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use biscuits instead of cinnamon rolls?

Refrigerated biscuits will cook in the slow cooker, but you lose the icing that comes with the cinnamon rolls, so you would need your own glaze for the top. If you want a classic biscuit version, I bake the best monkey bread in the oven.

What size slow cooker works best?

I use a standard 6 quart. If yours runs larger, the dough spreads thinner and the edges cook faster, so check it a little earlier so nothing overbrowns.

Can I make it ahead of time?

Monkey bread is best cooked and served the same day. The coated dough starts to break down if it sits too long, so I set it up right before I turn the slow cooker on rather than the night before.

Why is it called monkey bread?

You pull it apart with your fingers and eat it piece by piece, the way a monkey might. You will also see it called pull-apart bread or bubble bread.

Close-up of slow cooker monkey bread drizzled with vanilla glaze and topped with pecans.

More Crock Pot Recipes

Once you have the slow cooker out, it earns its keep. Here are a few more easy crock pot recipes my family keeps on repeat.

Want another gooey pull-apart option? My instant pot monkey bread is ready even faster, and it is delicious served warm with a spoonful of homemade whipped cream.

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