Monkey Bread: a fantastic easy recipe for a delicious pull-apart bread

With its irresistible buttery, sweet, and cinnamon flavor, monkey bread is always a hit. This fluffy, incredibly soft pull-apart bread has a sticky, finger-licking texture, and a fragrant cinnamon aroma and flavor that is perfect for any occasion – especially if you're hosting friends and family.

The best part is that it's super easy to make. No fussing around kneading dough or waiting hours for the dough to proof. All you need is a few tins of biscuit dough. Homemade monkey bread makes a fabulous dessert that can also be enjoyed with a cup of tea or coffee at breakfast time.

What is Monkey Bread?

Monkey bread is a tasty type of sweet or savory pull-apart bread. It gets its name due to the way it's eaten; monkey bread is picked apart piece by piece, not unlike how a monkey might eat. Just grab a chunk, pull it off, and eat!

Homemade Monkey Bread Ingredients

This amazing easy monkey bread recipe only calls for five ingredients.

You'll need biscuit dough, which you can pick up at your local supermarket, plus brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, and butter.

How to Make Monkey Bread

To make the best easy homemade monkey bread, start by greasing up a bundt pan with butter. Bundt pans are the top choice for making monkey bread, but you can use a casserole dish or loaf pan if you don't have a bundt pan. Preheat your oven to 350F.

Chop all the biscuits into bite-sized quarters. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a sealable bag. Place each piece of dough into the bag and shake to coat. Place the sugar-coated biscuit pieces into the bundt pan. Melt brown sugar and butter in a pot and stir in ½ cup of the cinnamon sugar.

As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, take the pot off the heat – you don't want to boil it. Whisk until the sugar dissolves. Pour the syrup over the dough. Bake your monkey bread for 30 minutes. Let the bread rest for 5 minutes in the pan. Invert the monkey bread onto a serving plate and enjoy!

How to Tell if Monkey Bread is Done

The exact cooking time might differ slightly depending on your oven. Monkey bread is done cooking when it reaches an internal temperature of 190F.

Tips for Easy Monkey Bread

Use either salted or unsalted butter to make your monkey bread. If you use unsalted, add a pinch of kosher salt when you're making the syrup.

If the bread is browning too quickly, you can cover the pan with foil.

Canned biscuits are the best option for this fast, no-fuss monkey bread,

Jazz up your monkey bread by adding nuts, butterscotch, or toffee to the recipe.

No bundt pan? Don't worry, you can make monkey bread in a loaf pan or casserole dish.

Try dusting your monkey bread with some powdered sugar or cocoa powder.

Can You Make Monkey Bread Ahead of Time?

Absolutely! You can prep the monkey bread, refrigerate it overnight, then pop it in the oven the day you want to serve it.

Monkey Bread Variations

There are loads of fantastic monkey bread variations to try.

Add pumpkin spice to make an even more fragrant, spiced bread. Mix some orange juice, almond, or vanilla extract into the glaze.

Try adding chocolate, caramel, candied nuts, or drizzling some icing over the top.

You can also make savory monkey bread with herbs, spices, and cheese.

How to Store Monkey Bread

Cover or wrap your monkey bread and keep it at room temperature for up to one day. For longer storage, it can be kept in the fridge for up to one week but may dry out slightly over time. Frozen monkey bread will stay fresh for 2 to 3 months.

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350F. Generously grease a bundt pan with butter or cooking spray.

Slice each biscuit into quarters until you get bite-sized pieces.

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Place each piece of dough into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and coat it.

Place the sugar-coated biscuit pieces into the bundt pan.

Arrange each piece evenly.

Place brown sugar and butter in a saucepan.

Melt.

Whisk in ½ cup of cinnamon sugar. As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, take the pot off the heat. Whisk until the sugar dissolves.

Pour the syrup over the dough.

Spread it evenly.

Bake for 30 minutes. Take the pan out and leave the bread to rest for 5 minutes in the pan.

Invert the monkey bread onto a platter. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Use a 12 cup bundt pan for your monkey bread.