The best ever Monkey Bread recipe is simply a bundt pan full of sweet, gooey, and cinnamon-coated bites that are made with pre-packaged canned biscuit dough (in a tube) and baked to perfection. Serve for breakfast, brunch, or dessert! This pull-apart style recipe is super easy to prepare and your guests will beg for the recipe.
What is Monkey Bread
First of all, it is a delicious dessert that is super easy to make. Second, it is refrigerated canned biscuits cut into pieces and coated with granulated sugar and cinnamon. Those pieces are placed in a bundt pan and covered in a delicious brown sugar and buttery sauce and baked until it is ooey-gooey amazing! It is served as a pull-apart bread typically for a dessert, breakfast or brunch.
Why We Love This Monkey Bread Recipe:
- Monkey Bread is a super easy recipe to make and is perfect for experienced and not-so experienced bakers! It is a fail-proof recipe! Almost impossible to mess up and not be delicious!
- Only required 4 ingredients and about 5-10 minutes of prep time.
- This is a great recipe to make with the kids!
- Easy to make-ahead. You can prepare this the night before and just put it in the refrigertor overnight. Just be sure to cover it with plastic wrap. When you are ready to bake it, just pop it in the oven.
- Uses canned biscuits. This is key to making it easy! Some recipes make the dough from scratch, but we love time savers and this one is a no-brainer!
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cans southern style buttermilk biscuits (16 biscuits in the can)
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How to Make Monkey Bread
- Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Pour cinnamon and sugar into a plastic storage bag.
- Cut each biscuit into 4ths (quartered).
- Place the biscuits pieces into the sugar mixture and shake until well coated.
TIP: This is a great step if you are cooking this with your kids. Let them shake the bag up (it really can’t go wrong, unless the ziplock isn’t totally zipped…then you may have a problem!) - Place dough ball pieces into bundt pan (fluted tube pan).
- Melt the butter in the microwave.
- Pour the remaining sugar mixture from the bag into the butter and stir with a whisk until the sugar starts to melt.
- Pour over the biscuits. Shake the pan to make sure the butter gets down in between all of the biscuits.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350°F.
TIP: You want the internal temperature to reach 190 degrees. You can use a digital thermometer to test it if you desire. Just be careful to watch it and don’t let it get to browned. If it is browning too quickly, just cover it with losely with foil.
- Let sit on the counter for a few minutes and flip over onto a serving platter.
TIP: Once it is done cooking, set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, place a plate on top of it and flip it over. The bread should slide right out.
TIP: I recommend eating the easy monkey bread hot out of the oven with a nice cup of coffee to go with it. The crunchy glaze on the outside and the warm, fluffy, melt in your mouth deliciousness on the inside will make your taste buds do a happy dance. However, it can be served warm or at room temperature as well.
Storage
Monkey bread is best served the same day. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Be sure to store covered. Reheat in the oven at 250 degrees for about 5 minutes.
Tips for THE BEST Monkey Bread
- The key to a good monkey bread recipe is the caramel sauce to biscuit to cinnamon sugar ratio. I think I found the perfect combination here (after many delicious attempts!)
- It is also really important to coat each piece of the biscuit completely with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. I have found the best (and fastest) way to do this is to put the biscuit and the cinnamon and sugar in a ziplock bag and shake it up until everything is coated.
- This is a great step if you are cooking this with your kids. Let them shake the bag up (it really can’t go wrong, unless the ziplock isn’t totally zipped…then you may have a problem!)
- You want to make sure you really properly prepare the bundt pan. Spray that baby up with your non-stick cooking spray! When you bake it, all ovens cook differently, so you want to make sure the bread is just starting to turn golden brown on top.
- Wait a few minutes before enjoying this finger food, because it will be hot! But don’t wait too long. It is best when it is warm and melty and gooey.
Frequently Asked Questions
The dessert is called monkey bread because you pull it apart with your fingers like a monkey eats their food! It is the ultimate in finger foods! Sometimes people will refer to monkey bread as “pull-apart bread”.
Get creative with your monkey bread recipe! You can use a cool bundt pan (aka fluted tube pan), a loaf pan, or even a baking dish if you are in a pinch. Want to go nutty… use a muffin pan and make mini monkey breads!
If you have leftovers, you can wrap up your monkey bread and put it in the refrigerator. When you are ready to eat it again, just pop it back in the oven and warm it up. Just heat your oven to about 250 degrees and warm for about 5 minutes. (You could also pop it in the microwave for a quick warm-up for about 5-10 seconds.)
This is an extremely versatile recipe and easy to change up with mix-ins. Some of our favorites are chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, nuts, raisins, sprinkles, marshmallows, chocolate, and caramel.
Unless you have a huge bundt pan, I wouldn’t recommend doubling the recipe.
More Ways to Make Monkey Bread
- Instant Pot Monkey Bread – did you know you could make it in the Instant Pot?!
- Chocolate-Filled Monkey Bread with Sprinkles – Even better filled with chocolate!
- Orange Monkey Bread – a little citrus flavor with chocolate!
More Cinnamon-Sugar Desserts
Cinnamon Sugar Cheesecake Bars | Cinnamon Roll Cookies | Cinnamon Roll Casserole (French Toast Bake) | Mini Cornbread Muffins with Cinnamon Butter | French Toast Mug Recipe | Nutella French Toast Roll-Ups | Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Easy Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon (heaping tablespoon)
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cans southern style buttermilk biscuits (16 biscuits)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a bundt pan with cooking spray really thoroughly.
- Pour cinnamon and sugar into a plastic storage bag.
- Remove biscuits from package cut each one into 4ths.
- Place the biscuits pieces, 6-7 at a time into the cinnamon and sugar and shake until well coated.
- Place biscuit pieces into a well greased bundt pan.
- In a large measuring cup, melt the butter in the microwave. Once melted and warm, pour the remainder of the sugar mixture into the butter and stir for 30 seconds until the sugar starts to melt.
- Pour over the biscuits. Shake the pan to make sure the butter gets down in between all of the biscuits.
- Bake for 35 minutes at 350°F.
- Let sit on the counter for 10 minutes before flipping over onto a serving plate.
Jenn’s Notes
- Spray your bundt pan really, really well! Get in the crevices too!
- Make sure you really coat the biscuit dough balls with the cinnamon-sugar. The more the better.
- Serve while warm – it just is the best when it is hot and gooey.
Video
Nutrition Info
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED June 2018
What size biscuits?
16.3 ounce / 8 count can (you will need 2 cans)
That dish looks very attractive.I will do it for my dinner