Easy Monkey Bread + Video
This easy monkey bread recipe is made with only 5 ingredients! Rhodes rolls, cinnamon, sugar, butter and brown sugar. You’ll love this sweet and sticky, soft and gooey pull-apart bread. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, dessert, and holidays.
*This post is brought to you by Rhodes Bake-N-Serv. Thanks for supporting the brands that make Dessert Now Dinner Later possible.
If you like this classic cinnamon monkey bread, you might also like to try my apple monkey bread or Oreo monkey bread. I even have a recipe for ranch bread if you want a savory appetizer or snack.
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Why do they call it monkey bread?
Monkey bread might sound like a funny name for a pull-apart bread, but it gets its name by how it is eaten. Picking off pieces of dough with your fingers like when monkeys pick things off of each other.
Regardless of how silly or un-appetizing the name may be, monkey bread is a great loaf for sharing. Think weekends or Christmas breakfast. It’s one of those treats that feels special, but is so easy to make.
Do I have to use a Bundt pan for monkey bread?
Although monkey bread is typically made in a bundt pan, you don’t have to use one to make monkey bread. You can use two loaf/bread pans, a 9×13-inch pan, or make 12 mini bunches in a muffin pan instead.
NOTE: Depending on the type of pan you use it may be more difficult to turn out the bread onto a serving platter. You can alternately slice and/or scoop the bread out of the pan for individual servings.
How do you know when monkey bread is done?
Depending on which pan you choose, the baking time will vary. If using anything besides a bundt pan, start checking the bread after 20 minutes. If using a bundt pan, the monkey bread will be done closer to 30 minutes.
The bread should be puffy and golden brown on top. Carefully lift a piece of dough in the thickest or most center location to see if the bread looks cooked through. If the bread is still doughy where the pieces touch together, then bake it longer. You can also insert a skewer to see if it comes out clean (done) or with dough on it (needs more time).
Another great way to tell if monkey bread is done is to use a food thermometer. Bread is done baking when it reaches between 190-200˚F.
Easy Monkey Bread Recipe
For this easy monkey bread recipe you will need only five ingredients:
- Rhodes Rolls – Rhodes yeast dinner rolls taste just like homemade bread. They’re way better than canned biscuits and all you have to do is thaw them. Thaw the rolls until soft but still cold, about 1-2 hours at room temperature. Or you can thaw them in the refrigerator overnight.
- Granulated Sugar – To mix with the cinnamon and coat the dough with.
- Ground Cinnamon – To flavor the bread with warm spice.
- Butter – Unsalted or salted. For the caramel sauce.
- Brown Sugar – Combines with the butter and some of the cinnamon-sugar to create a sticky sauce that coats the monkey bread.
For the Dough
To make monkey bread:
- Cut the thawed rolls into fourths.
- Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Coat the dough pieces in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Stagger coated pieces of dough inside of a heavily greased bundt pan.
For the Caramel Syrup
- Combine 1/2 cup of the remaining cinnamon-sugar with the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture starts to boil. Remove from heat immediately and stir until sugars have dissolved.
- Allow caramel mixture to cool slightly for 3 minutes. Then stir it once more and pour the sauce over the top of the monkey bread.
- Cover the pan with greased plastic wrap (using cooking spray) and let the bread rise for 20-30 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size and is about 1.5 to 2-inches away from the top of the pan.
Baking, Serving, and Storing Monkey Bread
- Bake the monkey bread at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-35 minutes, or until baked through. If it starts to get too brown, cover the pan with foil the last 10 minutes. (Refer to tips above for how to tell when it’s done baking.)
TIP: Place a baking sheet with foil on the rack below the bundt pan to catch any syrup that bubbles over.
- While still hot, carefully cover the pan with a large plate and invert the monkey bread. Be sure to flip the pan away from you, as the hot caramel syrup may splatter.
- Enjoy warm! Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3-5 days. Nuke small portions in the microwave for 10-20 seconds to freshen up leftovers.
More Monkey Bread Recipes + Pull-Apart Breads
- Strawberry Monkey Bread
- Apple Fritter Monkey Bread
- Cookies and Cream Monkey Bread
- Pina Colada Bread
- Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread
Easy Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 18 Rhodes Yeast Dinner Rolls, thawed and still cold*
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (226 g) butter, (2 sticks) salted or unsalted
- ½ cup (100 g) brown sugar, lightly packed
Equipment
Instructions
- *THAW Rhodes Yeast Dinner Rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet covered with sprayed plastic wrap for 1-2 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator. Rolls should be thawed, but cold, and barely risen.
- Cut the thawed rolls into fourths.
- Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Coat the dough pieces in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Stagger coated pieces of dough inside of a heavily greased bundt pan.
- Combine 1/2 cup of the remaining cinnamon sugar with the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan. (Discard leftovers or save for another recipe.) Cook over medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture starts to boil. Remove from heat immediately and stir until sugars have dissolved.
- Allow caramel mixture to cool slightly for 3 minutes. Then stir it once more and pour the sauce over the top of the monkey bread. Cover the pan with greased plastic wrap (using cooking spray) and let the bread rise for 20-30 minutes, until the dough doubles in size and is about 1.5 to 2-inches away from the top of the pan.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove plastic wrap from pan and bake monkey bread at 350˚F for 30-35 minutes, until baked through. Dough will look cooked where pieces touch and have an internal temperature of 190-200˚F. If it starts to get too brown, cover the pan with foil the last 10 minutes.
- Immediately, and carefully, invert the monkey bread onto a large plate. Be sure to flip the pan away from you, as the hot caramel syrup may splatter. Enjoy warm.
Video
Notes
- TIP: Place a baking sheet with foil on the rack below the bundt pan to catch any syrup that bubbles over.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3-5 days. Nuke small portions in the microwave for 10-20 seconds to freshen up leftovers.
- To Make-Ahead: Follow all steps except for baking, waiting longer for the caramel sauce to cool to lukewarm before pouring over the rolls. (So they don't rise too quickly.) After adding the caramel sauce, cover and refrigerate overnight. Then bake in the morning. May need a few extra minutes if baking from cold.
Nutrition
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Can you use Pillsbury biscuit?
Canned biscuits are not the same as yeast bread and only use baking powder for leavening. Using biscuits won’t be as light and fluffy as using the Rhodes yeast bread. It will still “work,” but it won’t have the same texture or qualities of a yeast bread, which is far superior, in my opinion. (Also, if you still decide to go with biscuits, you don’t need to let it rise before baking, because biscuits need to be baked immediately or they lose their leavening.)
Looks Delicious !!!!!!!!!!!!!!