Monkey Bread is warm, gooey sweet cinnamon breakfast rolls made with brown sugar, butterscotch pudding, butter and frozen rolls. Learning How to make Monkey Bread is easy- and it can be done the night before!
My husband’s family is crazy about Monkey Bread. I’d honestly never even heard of it until shortly after meeting them all. Now it’s become a staple at holiday breakfasts. I make them at night and bake them in the morning so that they’re warm and deliciously gooey when we’re ready to eat them. They’re so much easier to eat and I have to say, because the sweet butterscotch mixture is able to spread more efficiently, they even taste better too!
What is monkey bread?
Monkey bread is a pan of sweet breakfast rolls made with dry butterscotch pudding mix, butter and brown sugar. You add cinnamon and pour the mixture over soft bread dough. Together it’s like eating a cinnamon roll that was broken into easy pull-apart bites for sharing with others. This recipe uses butterscotch pudding to help pull even more flavorful goodness into the dish.
Monkey Bread Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need:
-Frozen dinner rolls: 20 Small frozen dinner rolls like Rhodes rolls are perfect for this recipe!
-Butterscotch pudding: Instant or Cook & Serve is fine- we just need the dry mix, don’t actually make the pudding! You’ll need 1/3 cup total.
-Cinnamon: Adding 1 Tablespoon spice to the rolls is a must!
-Butter: This helps make the thick syrup/ paste that coats the rolls. Once baked, it’s more runny and coats the rolls. You’ll need 1 stick, or 1/2 cup and I prefer to use salted butter.
-Brown sugar: Adding 1/2 cup brown sugar aids in the caramelization and sweetness.You can use light or dark brown sugar.
How to Make Monkey Bread
Spray a bundt cake pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
Set the bread rolls on a plate & let them thaw for about 45 minutes.
Melt the butter in a 2-cup measuring cup and then add in the brown sugar. Stir to combine and set aside.
Cut the bread rolls in half using kitchen shears. Place rolls in a large mixing bowl sprayed with non-stick spray.
Sprinkle the butterscotch pudding mixture over the halved rolls.
Pour the butter/sugar mixture over the top of the bread rolls and using a rubber scraper, stir it all around to coat each roll.
Transfer the rolls to your bundt pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
You can prep the rolls the night before and store covered in the fridge overnight. Remove the pan from the fridge in the morning and proceed with letting them rise, if needed.
Preheat your oven to 325F degrees. Bake for 30 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
Cool for about 10 minutes and then invert the pan onto a plate.
Use a rubber scraper to scrape any of the remaining syrup from the pan and drizzle it over the rolls.
How to make Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 20 frozen dough rolls {Rhodes rolls}
- 1/3 cup Butterscotch dry pudding mix Instant or Cook & Serve
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Spray a bundt cake pan with non-stick spray and set aside. Set the bread rolls on a plate & let them thaw for about 45 minutes
- Melt the butter in a 2-cup measuring cup and then add in the brown sugar. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Cut the bread rolls in half using kitchen shears. Place rolls in a large mixing bowl sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle the butterscotch pudding mixture over the halved rolls.
- Pour the butter/sugar mixture over the top of the bread rolls and using a rubber scraper, stir it all around to coat each roll.
- Transfer the rolls to your bundt pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- You can prep the rolls the night before and store covered in the fridge overnight. Remove the pan from the fridge in the morning and proceed with letting them rise, if needed. (often they've risen enough overnight that you can just immediately bake them!)
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
- Cool for about 10 minutes and then invert the pan onto a plate.
- Use a rubber scraper to scrape any of the remaining syrup from the pan and drizzle it over the rolls.
Nutrition
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Can I make overnight monkey bread?
You can make this monkey bread recipe overnight and then bake in the oven the morning the following day. This is a great way way to enjoy gooey monkey bread with frozen bread dough. If you’re baking them the next morning: Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Bake rolls for 15 minutes. Increase temperature to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes.
What pans can I make this monkey bread recipe in?
If you don’t have a bundt pan to use, you can make this recipe in (2) 9×13 pans.
How long is monkey bread good for?
This breakfast treat is good for up to 3 days if kept covered on the countertop but it really tastes best when it’s gooey and warm from the oven. It never lasts long around here and I’m sure you’ll notice the same trend in your house too.
More Sweet Breakfast recipes:
- Monkey Bread Muffins
- Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
- Butterscotch Rice Krispie Treats
- Mini 15 Minute Cinnamon Rolls
- Butterscotch Peanut Bars
- Breakfast Rolls
- One Hour Orange Rolls
- No Yeast Dinner Rolls
- Monkey Bars
- Banana Cinnamon Breakfast Cake
- Butterscotch Pumpkin Pudding Cookies
- Easy Parmesan Garlic Dinner Rolls
- Butterscotch Apple Cookies
- Cinnamon Rolls Without Yeast
- Soft and Buttery Potato Bread
Monkey Bread is warm, gooey sweet cinnamon breakfast rolls made with brown sugar, butterscotch pudding, butter and frozen rolls. Learning How to make Monkey Bread is easy- and it can be done the night before!
Kitty Maas says
Hello. You have cinnamon in the recipe ingredients, and then don’t ever mention it again. What to do with the cinnamon?
Jessica says
Sprinkle the cinnamon on top of the bread dough just before rising!