Dorothy Kern
You can make Easy Monkey Bread with cinnamon rolls, did you know? This is the perfect fancy or holiday breakfast and using canned cinnamon rolls just makes them even better.
We’ve been making this recipe for Christmas morning breakfast for over 10 years and we look forward to every bite!
When Jordan was four I decided to make Monkey Bread for Christmas morning breakfast. I’d made pancakes the year before and spent an hour flipping while everyone else relaxed and drank coffee, so I wanted something I could make ahead of time and just pop in the oven.
After searching the internet, I discovered the original recipe for this on the Pillsbury website. It used canned biscuits (easy!) and could be partially assembled ahead of time. I made it for brunch and everyone loved it – especially Jordan.
Now, over 10 years later, she still requests monkey bread on Christmas morning. (She also requests it on other holidays and random Tuesdays, ha!) Even if I want to make cinnamon rolls, I have to make them alongside monkey bread.
I’ve adapted the recipe to fit our likes and tastes over the past decade and this is the BEST Monkey Bread Recipe you’ll ever make!
Table of Contents
Why is it called monkey bread?
This delicious breakfast pastry got its name because you can pick it apart with your fingers, like a monkey would. Most commonly associated with Pillsbury at this point, Monkey Bread is actually a descendant of a Hungarian dessert.
Monkey bread is a pastry that’s made with small balls of dough rolled in cinnamon sugar and piled in a bundt pan. It’s then topped with melted butter and brown sugar and baked until a flaky, doughy sweet pastry forms.
Pillsbury made this an easy recipe by using it’s canned biscuits for the dough, but you can make monkey bread from scratch (which I’ve done – it’s delicious). As much as I love the homemade version, I also love a semi-homemade easier version for holidays!
Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread
My Monkey Bread recipe is even better, because it’s easy and starts with CINNAMON ROLLS instead of biscuits. That’s right – I used a can of cinnamon rolls instead of regular old biscuits. It ups the amazingness of this brunch treat!
4 Ingredient Recipe
- Canned cinnamon rolls (I use the Grands! version, the larger rolls that come 5 to a can)
- Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Granulated Sugar
Simply cut each cinnamon roll into 4 pieces. They’ll fall apart a bit, but that’s ok. Toss them in cinnamon sugar and place them into your pan.
Do you have to make monkey bread in a bundt pan?
Nope! I did for this post but I’ve made monkey bread without a bundt pan so many times. You can use:
- A 9×13-inch pan
- Two loaf pans
- Cupcake pans
The bread bakes faster with each smaller pan, so if you’re trying to bake up breakfast quickly, use one of those three instead of the bundt pan.
How do you serve Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread?
I like to drizzle the icing that comes with the cinnamon rolls over the top for a nice added flavor and look. Monkey bread tastes best warm and gooey from the oven.
Remove the bread from the pan within 10 minutes of it coming out of the oven so it doesn’t stick to the pan!
PRO TIP
Monkey bread doesn’t have to be served warm, however. It tastes good room temperature too; that’s how we enjoy any leftovers!
Making my Monkey Bread recipe with cinnamon rolls instead of biscuits will make your family so happy at breakfast time!
If you’ve ever wondered how to make monkey bread from scratch, try my homemade recipe! Want to make it from scratch with cinnamon rolls? Use my favorite quick cinnamon roll recipe.
Other recipes using Pillsbury:
- Apple Fritter Cinnamon Roll Bake
- Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread
- Churro Crescent Rolls
- Chocolate Biscuit Bombs
We always serve this with fruit, bacon and an egg casserole:
Have you made this recipe?
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Easy Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cans Pillsbury Grands! Cinnamon Rolls
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Open each can of cinnamon rolls. Reserve the icing for later. Cut each roll into 4 pieces.
- Place the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a gallon size resealable bag. Add the cut up cinnamon rolls (the pieces will fall apart a little) to the bag. Seal and shake to coat the pieces with cinnamon sugar.
- Stir together the brown sugar and melted butter.
- Place rolls in pan and drizzle with melted butter mixture.
- Bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes or until the top is a dark golden brown and the rolls are cooked through.
- Cool 5 minutes then invert the monkey bread onto your serving plate. Do this carefully: the pan is hot! Drizzle cinnamon roll icing over the top of the monkey bread and serve warm.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- 9×13-inch: 30-40 minutes
- Loaf pan (9×5-inch): 30-40 minutes
- Muffin tin (regular size): 10-20 minutes
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Easy Monkey Bread with cinnamon rolls is my favorite way to make this classic recipe! Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls make this an easy semi-homemade recipe. You can make this with or without a bundt pan and it’s the perfect breakfast or brunch recipe.
Last Updated on April 25, 2022
All text and images © DOROTHY KERN for Crazy for Crust. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Published on: December 8, 2019
I like adding chopped pecans to my Monkey Bread!
These were so yummy and so much easier to make than my original recipe using butterscotch pudding and frozen dough balls. Took them to brunch on Mother’s Day and everyone loved them. Thank you!
I made this last year and the family loved it–thank you! I am wondering if I can make ahead (tonight) and then throw in oven in the morning. Would you recommend or not? Thanks!
Great idea using cinnamon rolls thanks
Gotta go get some sweet rolls
this Monkey Bread can also be made in a Instant Pot with a 6 cup Bundt Pan