Easy Monkey Bread (with Bread Dough)
Serve up this Easy Monkey Bread for a sweet and gooey treat – perfect for breakfast, brunches, holidays, and entertaining!
A SIMPLY SWEET FAMILY FAVORITE RECIPE
Taking a small shortcut in this monkey bread and using frozen bread dough is perfect to give that homemade taste without all the work! Then it’s all lathered in a gooey sauce that is overwhelmingly delicious. If you want a special treat for breakfast or brunch, then you have to make this Easy Monkey Bread recipe.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Monkey bread is made with portions of dough rolled and coated in butter and cinnamon and sugar. It’s placed in a pan and baked so the dough balls can be pulled apart with your fingers to eat. It’s called monkey bread because you pick at it to eat it – kind of like monkeys do!
Follow the directions on the frozen bread dough packaging as to the specifics of how to thaw it in the refrigerator. I placed mine in a glass dish that had been sprayed with Pam, and then covered it loosely with plastic wrap. It thawed beautifully overnight.
Yes! It is so handy to make this sweet treat ahead of time and bake it fresh the morning you want to serve it. Just assemble the recipe according to the directions, and then cover tightly with saran wrap and place in the refrigerator for 12-18 hours. When ready to bake, place in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours. Then, bake according to directions.
You will want to use a standard bundt pan for this which is usually a 10-12 cup pan.
This is a fun recipe to play around with. Try placing chopped pecans in the bottom of the bundt pan before adding the dough balls for a caramel nut topping. Let monkey bread cool slightly and then drizzle over a little vanilla icing. Want extra caramel? Drizzle your favorite caramel sauce over the top immediately after turning it out of the pan.
Yes that should be fine. You will just want to use the same amount of dough that this recipe calls for which is 16 ounces or 1 pound. If you want a fully homemade monkey bread recipe then I have a recipe for it here on my site.
This can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days and in the refrigerator for a week. This can also be frozen. Wrap cooled monkey bread in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer container and it will last for up to 3 months. Defrost monkey bread in the refrigerator overnight and then move to the countertop. You can reheat this in the microwave in 15 second intervals.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- frozen bread dough loaf that has been thawed
- salted butter
- light brown sugar
- ground cinnamon
- chopped pecans (optional topping)
HOW TO MAKE EASY MONKEY BREAD:
Thaw a loaf of frozen bread dough (just follow the back of the package for instructions on how best to do it). Once thawed, turn out bread onto a lightly greased cutting board and pat gently into an 8 inch square.
Using a large knife, cut it into 64 pieces. Roll them into balls, but don’t worry if they aren’t perfect or exactly the same size.
In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar and ground cinnamon.
Pour the melted butter into a dish with a low rim (like a pie pan.) Dip the dough balls into the butter, coating well, and then roll them into the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Place evenly in rows in a greased bundt pan. I like to spray the bundt pan with a nonstick spray that has flour in it.
Cover the pan with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours. It will rise almost to the top of the pan when ready.
Bake at 350F degrees for 20-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. (Note that dark coated baking pans will cook faster.)
Cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes (only) and then turn onto a serving platter. Serve warm with a sprinkle of chopped pecans (optional).
Enjoy!
WANT MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES?
- Pecan Pie Cinnamon Rolls
- Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
- Old Fashioned Bread Pudding
- No-Starter Amish Friendship Bread
- Cinnamon Roll Quick Bread
- Snickerdoodle Skillet Biscuits
Easy Monkey Bread (with Bread Dough)
Ingredients
- 16 ounce loaf frozen bread dough, thawed in the refrigerator overnight
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons chopped pecans, optional topping
Instructions
- Thaw a loaf of frozen bread dough (just follow the back of the package for instructions on how best to do it). Once thawed, turn out bread onto a lightly greased cutting board and pat gently into an 8 inch square.
- Using a large knife, cut it into 64 pieces. Roll them into balls, but don’t worry if they aren’t perfect or exactly the same size.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar and ground cinnamon.
- Pour the melted butter into a dish with a low rim (like a pie pan.) Dip the dough balls into the butter, coating well, and then roll into the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.
- Place evenly in rows in a greased bundt pan. I like to spray the bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour in it.
- Cover the pan with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours. It should rise to almost the rim of the pan.
- Bake at 350F degrees for 20-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. (Note that dark coated baking pans will cook faster.)
- Cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes (only) and then turn onto a serving platter. Serve warm with a sprinkle of chopped pecans (optional).
Notes
- You can make your own homemade bread dough as long as it is 16 ounces.
- Add some chopped pecans to this to give it a little crunch.
- This can be made ahead of time, see my tips above.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- I used Rhodes frozen bread dough which can be found in bags near where the frozen biscuits are located in the freezer section of your grocery store.
- To thaw the bread you can either thaw it in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter. Just follow the back of the package for the instructions and you can decide how you want to thaw.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
so easy and turned out great.