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Easy Homemade Monkey Bread

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By Pillsbury Kitchens
Updated Jul 25, 2024
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Craving something sweet? This easy monkey bread recipe is sure to satisfy! Classic, comforting and ultra-craveable, monkey bread is a delightful dessert and beloved breakfast pastry in one.

Monkey bread is known for the bite-sized pieces of dough that make it easy to pull apart and enjoy piece by delicious piece. Whether you’re looking to serve up an eye-catching dessert or sweeten your usual breakfast fare, you’re in the right place. This is one of our best monkey bread recipes because it’s wonderfully simple—and the results are extra yummy.

Our old-fashioned monkey bread recipe creates a stunning treat that’s perfect for breakfast or any time of day. Quartered biscuit dough cuts down on prep time while bringing all the flaky, buttery goodness this pastry needs. That dough gets tossed with cinnamon sugar, covered in a brown sugar-butter mixture and baked alongside raisins and walnuts for a pull-apart monkey bread dessert that’s easy to master but truly impressive on a plate! It’s definitely up there with our favorite breakfast and brunch recipes.

How to Make Monkey Bread

You’ll love how simple it is to bake up a yummy breakfast treat with this easy monkey bread recipe. Because who said a great treat needs to be overly complicated? Let’s take a quick look at how to make monkey bread. Then, find our full homemade monkey bread recipe below!

Prep the Dough

Cut up pieces of biscuit dough and shake them in a food storage bag filled with sugar and cinnamon until coated. Arrange pieces in a fluted tube pan, adding walnuts and raisins throughout.

Make a Butter and Brown Sugar Mixture

Mix brown sugar and melted butter or margarine. Pour your mixture over the biscuit pieces to create that ooey-gooey monkey bread texture when baked.

Bake and Enjoy

Pop your pan into the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. When cool, turn your pan upside down onto a serving plate and pull apart pieces of your homemade monkey bread to enjoy!

Can You Make Monkey Bread Ahead of Time?

Prepping for a party or hosting brunch? Avoid last-minute rushing in the kitchen by getting a head start on this monkey bread recipe. It can be readied and refrigerated for up to 1 hour before baking. Coat your biscuit pieces in the cinnamon-sugar mixture as directed, then arrange them in the pan without adding walnuts or raisins. Tightly cover the pan with foil and refrigerate for up to 1 hour. When you’re ready to bake, remove the foil and sprinkle your walnuts and raisins over the dish. Pour your butter-brown sugar mixture evenly over the biscuits and bake as directed in our homemade monkey bread recipe steps below.

If you need more ideas for tasty treats to serve up to guests or bring along to a holiday celebration, we’ve got you covered. Betty has delicious options for everything from eye-catching Thanksgiving desserts to hearty Christmas breakfast recipes and delicate Christmas desserts. Let your inner baker out, and enjoy!

How to Store Monkey Bread

If you end up with leftover monkey bread, save it! Future you will thank you when that sweet tooth kicks in. To reheat your pastry, place an individual portion on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on 50% power for 20-30 seconds, adding additional time as needed. Microwave ovens vary, so times and temperatures may vary. Here are a few options for saving your homemade monkey bread leftovers. If you plan on enjoying it in the next day or two, keeping this treat at room temperature is your best bet!

On the Counter: Store your homemade monkey bread, tightly covered, on the counter for 1-2 days.

In the Fridge: Alternatively, you can refrigerate your monkey bread for 3-4 days.

In the Freezer Looking even further into the future? It’s always a good idea to have a yummy treat on hand. You can freeze monkey bread for up to 2 months.

Try Variations of This Monkey Bread Recipe

If you want to switch up the flavors of this monkey bread recipe, we’ve got ideas! Try out the recipes below or browse our bread recipes for more tasty treats that pair perfectly with other breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread: Hone in on that cinnamon-sugar goodness with a pull-apart loaf that’s easy enough for kids to help make!

Monkey Bread with Caramel: Not a fan of walnuts or raisins? This monkey bread recipe leaves them out while keeping all the decadent sweetness and gooeyness.

Monkey Bread Minis: Homemade monkey bread…but make it mini! This easy recipe makes plenty of individual servings, perfect for feeding a crowd or serving as part of a brunch spread.

Savory Monkey Bread: Delight the cheese lovers in your life with a savory, herby monkey bread that’s great for sharing.

More About This Recipe

  • To make it even better, we’ve cut the monkey business down by using just a few simple ingredients and completing the recipe in four easy-to-follow steps. Combining the comfort food taste of Pillsbury™ biscuits with the sweet taste of warm caramel and cinnamon, this no-fail monkey bread recipe makes 12 servings. Add a glass of milk or serve with coffee and chances of any leftovers are significantly low. Once you’ve mastered this monkey bread, we’ve got more flavors for you to try out, from sweet s’mores to savory buffalo chicken.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Monkey Bread?

Besides being absolutely delicious, what is monkey bread? The popular pastry has been around for decades, and for good reason. It’s a go-to for breakfast, brunch, dessert and good old snack time. In fact, it’s one of our favorite dessert recipes. Known for being fun to eat and easy to share, monkey bread is a gooey, pull-apart bread made from pieces of dough coated in butter, sugar and cinnamon. Some recipes (like our homemade monkey bread recipe) add raisins and walnuts or other nuts.

When the treat is baked, the dough cooks and the coating caramelizes to form a sticky, sweet glaze. Monkey bread is typically served warm and is eaten by pulling off individual pieces. Soft and gooey on the inside, just a tad crunchy on the outside—what’s not to love?

What Kind of Pan Do You Bake Monkey Bread In?

What pan should you use to make homemade monkey bread? Our monkey bread recipe calls for a 12-cup fluted tube pan. This style comes in many designs, the most classic being the Bundt® pan. That’s our personal pick! The rounded sides of this pan make it the ideal choice for shaping monkey bread, while the hollow center ensures the dough bakes evenly. Use it to make a pastry that pulls apart perfectly and looks just as great as it tastes!

Can you freeze monkey bread?

Whether you end up with leftovers after brunch or you’re making monkey bread ahead of time, you may want to save it for a sweet treat down the road. Freezing monkey bread is a good long-term storage option. Just imagine how impressed impromptu guests will be when you pull out a homemade dessert! Or picture how happy future you will be when that sweet tooth hits and all you have to do is microwave your monkey bread. That’s a win in our book!

Frozen homemade monkey bread will last for up to 2 months when properly stored in a covered container in the freezer. See our storage tips up above for instructions on how to reheat your pastry to fully enjoy that ooey-gooey texture.

Why Is It Called Monkey Bread?

Ever wonder how monkey bread got its name? There are several popular theories based on the pastry’s shape and how it’s eaten. For example, monkey bread is said to resemble the monkey puzzle tree, a relative of the Norfolk Island pine. The name could also refer to how the pastry is eaten by picking it apart like a monkey might. In 1982, former First Lady Nancy Reagan commented to White House staff that monkey bread was named as such, “because when you make it, you have to monkey around with it.” Whatever the real story, we couldn’t be happier that this gooey treat exists—and that we get to enjoy it!

Easy Homemade Monkey Bread

  • Prep Time 25 min
  • Total 1 hr 5 min
  • Ingredients 7
  • Servings 12
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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Step 
    1
    Heat oven to 350°F. Generously grease 12-cup fluted tube pan with shortening or cooking spray. In large 1-gallon plastic food storage bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.
  • Step 
    2
    Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan, adding walnuts and raisins among the biscuit pieces. Sprinkle any remaining sugar over biscuits.
  • Step 
    3
    In small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.
  • Step 
    4
    Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Loosen edges of pan with metal spatula. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; replacing any biscuit pieces and caramel from pan. Pull apart to serve. Serve warm.

Nutrition

440 Calories
20g Total Fat
5g Protein
61g Total Carbohydrate
33g Sugars

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving
Calories
440
Calories from Fat
180
Total Fat
20g
30%
Saturated Fat
11g
53%
Trans Fat
0g
Cholesterol
30mg
10%
Sodium
700mg
29%
Potassium
30mg
1%
Total Carbohydrate
61g
20%
Dietary Fiber
0g
0%
Sugars
33g
Protein
5g
% Daily Value*:
Vitamin A
8%
8%
Vitamin C
0%
0%
Calcium
2%
2%
Iron
8%
8%
Exchanges:
1 1/2 Starch; 0 Fruit; 2 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 4 Fat;
Carbohydrate Choice
4
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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