Monkey Bread

Monkey bread is a sweet and ooey breakfast or dessert made from tiny dough balls rolled in cinnamon sugar, drenched in brown sugar sauce, and baked in a Bundt pan. Every bite tastes like the warm, gooey middle of a fresh cinnamon roll!

Easy Homemade Monkey Bread

Monkey bread is made up of fluffy dough balls bursting with cinnamon sugar, baked in a Bundt pan (yes, it’s as irresistible as it sounds). Every bite tastes like the soft center of a gooey homemade cinnamon roll. Serve monkey bread pull-apart style topped with a drizzle of vanilla glaze and watch it disappear from the plate. This sweet breakfast or dessert is the best excuse for sticky fingers!

Why You’ll Love This Monkey Bread Recipe

• Sweet and gooey. Monkey bread is the shareable version of a sticky cinnamon roll. Each piece is warm, spiced, and oozing with melted sugar.
• Easy to assemble. The homemade dough takes a bit of rising time, and after that, the monkey bread comes together in a snap. Add your cinnamon roll bites to a Bundt pan, and drench them in buttery sugar sauce before baking. 
• Made for sharing. Bake this easy monkey bread recipe for a special occasion, or serve it at your next weekend breakfast or brunch. It’s the perfect sharing-style treat!

What Is It Called Monkey Bread?

Monkey bread is a type of sweet Bundt cake made from small balls of dough coated in cinnamon sugar. It’s served pull-apart style, where everyone uses their hands to tear off a piece, just like monkeys pick at their food!

Ingredient Notes

Here you’ll find some quick notes on some of the ingredients you’ll need to make this classic homemade monkey bread. You’ll find a printable ingredients list in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

• Milk – Whole milk is best, but you can use 2% milk also.
• Instant Yeast – Unlike active dry yeast, instant yeast doesn’t need to be activated in water water beforehand. This is a quick-rise recipe, so active yeast cannot be used.
• Cinnamon – You’ll toss the dough balls in cinnamon sugar before adding them to the pan. It’s easy to make with ground cinnamon and granulated sugar. Other spice options are nutmeg or pumpkin spice. 
• Brown Sugar – Combined with butter and vanilla extract for the sugar sauce. You can use dark or light brown sugar. Granulated sugar won’t work in the sauce.
• Powdered Sugar – You’ll use powdered sugar (also called confectioner’s sugar), milk, and vanilla to make a simple vanilla glaze to drizzle over the finished monkey bread.
• Pecans – Optional, but I love garnishing my monkey bread with a sprinkle of chopped pecans, walnuts, or slivered almonds.

How to Make Monkey Bread

Homemade monkey bread starts with a quick rich dough, prepared with milk, eggs, and butter, similar to my 1-hour cinnamon rolls recipe. Below is a step-by-step overview of what you can expect. Scroll down to the recipe card for printable instructions.

Homemade Monkey Bread Dough

• Prepare the milk and butter. First, heat the milk in the microwave to (110°F-120°F) and dissolve sugar in warm milk. Then melt the butter in the microwave.
• Combine the dough ingredients. Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer, yeast included. Add the melted butter, egg, and milk to the dry mixture, beating on low speed until combined.

• Prepare the dough. Up the speed on your mixer and beat for about 5 minutes, until the dough comes together. It may stick to the sides of the bowl a little, and that’s fine.

• Rest. Next, turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead it by hand into a soft, pliable ball. Let the dough rest somewhere warm for 15-20 minutes.
• Portion the dough. Once the dough has rested, divide it into 40-50 small balls. I like to cut it into strips, then cut it into smaller pieces and roll together.

• Coat with cinnamon sugar. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a large Ziploc bag. Working in batches, add the balls to the bag and toss to coat.
• Assemble and rise. Arrange the coated dough balls inside a well-greased 10-cup Bundt pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and return it to a warm spot to rise. After about an hour, the dough should have doubled in size.

Brown Sugar Sauce and Glaze

• Make the sugar sauce. Melt butter and brown sugar together in a saucepan and bring to boul. Stir in vanilla once it boils. Pour the hot sugar sauce over the risen dough balls.

• Bake. Place the Bundt pan on a lined baking sheet to catch any overflow. Bake at 350ºF for 35-40 minutes.
• Flip. Let the bread rest for 5 minutes once it’s out of the oven, then invert it onto a large plate. Don’t wait too long, otherwise it might get stuck in the pan.

• Finish with glaze. Whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. After the monkey bread has cooled a little, drizzle over the glaze. Garnish with pecans if you’d like, and serve while it’s still warm and gooey!

Common Questions

How do I know when monkey bread is done?

It can be tricky to know what’s going on inside that Bundt pan, but there are ways to tell when your monkey bread is done. Most monkey bread is done baking when the outside of the dough is puffed and deep golden brown, and the sugar sauce is bubbling at the edges. 

My monkey bread is stuck in the pan, what do I do? 

Don’t panic! First, try lifting just one side of the inverted Bundt pan, and give the top a firm thump with your hand. The monkey bread should pop right out. If it’s still stuck, pop the bread back in the oven for 5 minutes. This will help soften the caramel on the outside of the pan, enough so that the bread releases.

What can I use if I don’t have a bundt pan? 

If you don’t have a bundt pan, you can still enjoy a delicious batch of pull-apart monkey bread. Instead, divide the dough between 2 round cake pans and bake at 350ºF. The baking time will be shorter, so check the bread at 20 minutes. 

Recipe Variations

What other flavors go well with monkey bread? So many! Feel free to play around with different spices and add-ins. Try these ideas:

• Spice. Swap out the ground cinnamon for cardamom, nutmeg, or all-spice.
• Citrus zest. Orange zest makes for a delicious twist (add it in with the cinnamon sugar). You can also try lemon zest.
• Nuts. Chopped pecans or walnuts are a great add-in to this bread. Just sprinkle them in as you add the sugar-coated dough balls to the Bundt pan. As mentioned before, you can also sprinkle the top of the bread with chopped nuts as a garnish. 
• Apple pie filling. Looking for a breakfast treat that’s perfect for fall? Try my apple pie monkey bread. The maple glaze is to die for, and you can use it for this recipe, too!

How to Store Leftovers

• To Store. Monkey bread is best enjoyed fresh from the oven on the day it’s made. It dries out quickly when stored. However, if you need to store leftovers, keep them covered in plastic wrap at room temperature for 2 days. 
• Reheat. Heat individual portions in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, until softened. 

Can I Freeze Monkey Bread?

Yes. Baked monkey bread can be frozen for up to one month. Wrap it tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap or store it airtight for freezing. Defrost the bread at room temperature before warming and serving.

More Sweet Breakfast Recipes

• Cinnamon Sugar Bread
• Orange Rolls
• Orange Cranberry Bread
• Chocolate Banana Bread
• Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Print