Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread is a fun, simple twist on a classic holiday breakfast! Made with fluffy cinnamon roll dough, creamy butter, and lots of warm sugar and spice, this ooey-gooey, sticky-sweet treat is perfect for brunches, lunches, and dessert!

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A close up of a delicious cinnamon roll monkey bread with fresh berries in the background

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Monkey Bread is one of the first things I tried to make on my own! Up until that point, I’d baked a ton with my Big Mama but the idea of being in the kitchen alone was intimidating. So, I picked a recipe that I knew I could handle: monkey bread.

Made with 6 simple ingredients, this recipe is one of the easiest things you can make! There are lots of changes you can make to monkey bread to make it new and different. Swapping out the biscuit dough for cinnamon rolls is a very delicious one!

Pieces of dough from a cinnamon roll monkey bread missing after being eaten

Table of Contents

What Is Monkey Bread?

There are countless variations of this recipe, but Monkey Bread is basically bite-sized pieces of dough baked in a sticky-sweet, butter-based sauce. The small bites of dough are enjoyed by ripping them right off the mound and popping them straight in your mouth! Be careful, once you start it’s hard to stop!

How To Make Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread

Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread made from scratch is so easy to make! This family favorite recipe is very popular for the holidays because of how simple it is, and how fun it looks when it comes out of the oven.

Ingredients

PILLSBURY GRANDS CINNAMON ROLLS– you can totally swap this one out for your own favorite brand of cinnamon rolls! If you can’t get your hands on a larger (grand-sized) variety, use 3 cans of regular-sized rolls instead.

Granulated Sugar- rolling the dough in sugar helps to form a sticky, caramelized glaze on each individual piece.

Cinnamon- this warm, fragrant spice is already in each cinnamon roll, but by adding more we ensure that the outer buttery glaze is chock-full of it too.

Salted Butter- if you’d prefer to use unsalted butter, that’s ok. I chose to use salted butter because it enhances flavor and balances out sweetness.

Dark Brown Butter- light brown sugar is great too! I love the deep molasses flavor dark brown sugar has to offer.

Vanilla Extract- I’m all about big, bold flavors! A couple dashes of pure vanilla really packs a punch and makes for a full-bodied, well-rounded monkey bread.

Instructions

CUT DOUGH- The cinnamon roll dough will need to be cut into small bite-sized pieces. Clean kitchen scissors work better than a knife.

Pieces of cinnamon roll dough in a bowl filled with cinnamon sugar

TOSS DOUGH – You’ll toss these dough pieces in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

Cinnamon roll dough pieced together in a greased bundt pan

ASSEMBLE – Set them into a well-greased bundt pan.

Melted butter being poured over cinnamon roll dough in a bundt pan

DISSOLVE SUGAR IN BUTTER- The butter-based syrup is made by melting the butter (just until melted, not hot) and whisking in the brown sugar and vanilla. This mixture gets drizzled over the dough in the pan.

Baked cinnamon roll pieces in a bundt pan

BAKE + INVERT- Pop the pan in the oven and start checking for doneness after about 20 minutes. You’ll need to let the bread rest for at least 10 minutes. When it’s still warm, you’ll cover the pan with a plate and invert it. Spread the leftover icing (from the cinnamon roll cans) over the top of the monkey bread and serve!

How Do I Know When it is Done?

It can be difficult to tell when monkey bread has cooked through. For best results, place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for roughly 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Most importantly, ensure the internal temperature has reached 190°F by using a digital thermometer.

What Can I Add To Monkey Bread?

Monkey Bread is super versatile! Add chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans for a great crunchy topping or sprinkle in some chocolate chips for a delicious chocolatey addition.

If you want to use a different sauce than the packet that comes with your cinnamon rolls (or in addition to), try this easy caramel sauce or chocolate ganache.

How To Store It

Monkey bread doesn’t usually need to be refrigerated, but if you use cream cheese icing, it does. Storing monkey bread in the fridge will make the cake stale and hard, so I’d avoid leftovers altogether if possible.

Cinnamon roll monkey bread ready to serve on a white plate with fresh berries and orange juice

Can I Freeze Monkey Bread?

No, I wouldn’t recommend freezing homemade monkey bread. The sugar gets extremely hard and when you thaw it out it turns into a soggy mess.

Greatest Grandbaby Cakes Cinnamon Roll Recipes

If you’re feeling this buttery, cinnamon-spiced monkey bread, try a few more of Grandbaby Cakes’ BEST cinnamon roll recipes: