This apple monkey bread is my family’s ultimate fall breakfast! It’s a festive, easy spin on a classic pull-apart bread recipe with refrigerated biscuit dough and gooey homemade apple pie filling. Add a drizzle of creamy vanilla glaze and dig in!

Glazed apple monkey bread on a cake stand next to whole red apples.

Festive Apple Monkey Bread (Pull-Apart Bread)

Sticky, gooey monkey bread is the ultimate feel-good breakfast, especially in the fall and wintertime. This apple monkey bread has all of my seasonal favorites: juicy apple pie filling, cozy cinnamon spice, and real maple syrup. Everything gets layered into a bundt pan with fluffy biscuit dough and baked, for a festive spin of one of my family’s favorite holiday breakfasts.

Why I Love This Monkey Bread Recipe

Cozy flavors. I’ll make this apple monkey bread in the fall and right into the holiday season. It’s filled with all the sweetness and spice of a homemade apple pie, baked in a bundt pan.
Family-friendly. Monkey bread is such a crowd-pleaser, and this recipe makes the perfect shareable brunch dish or family breakfast. It’s one of our favorite Christmas breakfasts!
Easy to assemble. Refrigerated biscuit dough makes this monkey bread quick to assemble, although there’s still some work involved to make the sauce, glaze and apple filling. I love making the apple filling from scratch, but if you’re really short on time, you could make this breakfast even quicker with store-bought apple pie filling, too.

Why Is It Called Monkey Bread?

Monkey bread (pull-apart bread) is a classic breakfast, named after the way it’s eaten: everyone picks away at the bread pieces the same way monkeys pick at their food. Monkey bread is delightfully messy to eat with your hands, but no one would blame you if you decide to use a fork instead!

A hand picking a piece of dough from the rest of the apple monkey bread on a plate.

Ingredient Notes

I keep this recipe simple with store-bought refrigerated biscuit dough, but there’s the option to use homemade dough if you’d like (see below). For now, here are some quick ingredient notes. Scroll down to the recipe card after the post for a printable list with the full amounts.

For the Apple Filling

Apples – Any baking apple that you’d use for apple pie works well in this pull-apart bread. My favorites are Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples. You’ll need to peel and dice the apples up small before you start.
Flour – You can substitute ½ the amount of cornstarch for flour if needed. Both act as a thickener for the filling.
Cinnamon – Or apple pie spice.
Maple Syrup – Make sure to use the real thing and not artificial pancake syrup.

For the Monkey Bread

Biscuit Dough – Pick up two cans of home-style biscuit dough from your grocery store’s refrigerated section. I like the Pillsbury Grands Southern Style Biscuits. Alternatively, you can make this recipe with homemade dough (see below) or try it with Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls which is what I used for this Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread.
Cinnamon Sugar – Made by combining brown or granulated sugar with ground cinnamon.
Brown Sugar – While you can substitute granulated sugar for brown sugar in the cinnamon sugar (above), I recommend sticking with brown sugar to make the sugar sauce.

Can I Use Homemade Dough?

Sure! I love making this apple monkey bread with the easy dough base from my original homemade monkey bread when time allows. I often need to reduce the amount of dough when combining it with the apple filling. In this case, I’ll roll the extra dough balls in cinnamon and bake them separately, like little donut holes!

Ingredients for apple monkey bread with text labels overlaying each ingredient.

How to Make Apple Monkey Bread

This apple-filled monkey bread is assembled just like the classic recipe, the only difference here is that juicy pie filling gets baked between the bread pieces. Here are the easy steps to make it. Scroll to the recipe card for the printable instructions.

Make the apple filling. This is as easy as simmering the diced apples with the rest of the filling ingredients until they’re softened, about 10-15 minutes. Add a spoonful of water as needed to keep the apples from sticking.

Ingredients for the apple filling combined in a saucepan. — Combine the filling ingredients.

Apple pie filling in a saucepan. — Combine the filling ingredients.

Prepare the dough. Meanwhile, pop open the canned biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters. Dip the dough pieces in melted butter before adding them to a bag with cinnamon sugar. Give that a shake to coat.
Assemble. Next, get out a large bundt pan and give it a good greasing. Layer the coated dough pieces into the pan, alternating with the apple filling.

Biscuit dough pieces inside a Ziploc bag with cinnamon sugar. — Toss the biscuit dough with cinnamon sugar.

Biscuit dough and apple pie filling layered in the bottom of a bundt pan. — Toss the biscuit dough with cinnamon sugar.

Make the sauce. Lastly, melt butter with brown sugar in a saucepan and let that come to a boil. Stir in vanilla once the pan is off the heat and pour the sugar sauce all over the dough inside the bundt pan.

Apple monkey bread dough assembled in a bundt pan. — Fill the bundt pan.

Sugar sauce being poured over the apple monkey bread dough in a bundt pan. — Fill the bundt pan.

Baking Tip

Bake the filled bundt pan on top of a cookie sheet to catch any sugar sauce that may bubble over while the monkey bread is in the oven. For even easier clean-up, line the pan with parchment paper.

Bake. Bake the monkey bread in a 350ºF oven for 40-50 minutes, until the sauce bubbles at the edges.
Flip and glaze. Finally, let the monkey bread rest in the pan for a few minutes, then invert it onto a plate. Let it cool a bit, whisk up the glaze, and drizzle that over top. Serve right away while the bread is still warm and gooey.

Glaze being drizzled from a jug over apple monkey bread on a plate.

Recipe Tips and Variations

Grease the pan very well. Bundt pans are beautiful but they’re notorious for sticking! I’ve found that Crisco shortening works best to ensure the monkey bread is released easily from the pan.
Don’t let the monkey bread cool in the pan. The second key to avoiding sticking is to let the monkey bread cool for only 5 minutes before you invert it. If you wait until the monkey bread has cooled completely, it’ll get stuck in the bundt pan.
How to tell when monkey bread is done: Most monkey bread is finished baking when it’s puffed and golden outside, and the sugar sauce is bubbling around the edges of the pan.
Add crunch. Layer toasted pecans or walnuts with the apple pie filling, or sprinkle them over the glaze as a garnish.
Adjust the consistency of the glaze. For a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar, and to thin it out, add more milk. Either way, add a little at a time until you get the right consistency.

Overhead view of glazed apple monkey bread on a cake stand next to a portion of monkey bread on a plate.

Serving Suggestions

Apple monkey bread is the perfect treat served with hot chocolate on Christmas morning! It’s also a great addition to a breakfast or brunch spread with buttermilk pancakes, a festive fruit tart, and savory dishes like crispy roasted potatoes or quiche florentine. Just like apple pie, this apple monkey bread also makes an easy fall dessert topped with whipped cream or scoops of vanilla ice cream!

A serving of apple monkey bread on a white plate next to a fork.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

Refrigerate. Like most monkey bread recipes, this is best enjoyed while it’s still warm from the oven. If you have leftovers, store them airtight in the fridge for up to 3 days. Unfortunately, monkey bread isn’t suitable for freezing.
Reheat. Monkey bread tends to harden a bit in the fridge, so I like to warm it in the microwave to help it soften again before serving.

Apple Monkey Bread