Monkey Bread with Canned Biscuits

If you love a good cinnamon roll, one that’s gooey and sticky but light and fluffy at the same time. . .you’re definitely in the right place. This Monkey Bread recipe is rich with brown sugar and cinnamon and will leave you swooning! Best of all, it starts with canned biscuits. Talk about simple!

Baking with Biscuits

If you’ve been following me for any length of time you know that I was on a kick awhile back coming up with recipes that started with canned biscuits and crescent rolls. Maybe you saw my recipe for Easy Cinnamon Rolls from Canned Biscuits. Or maybe you enjoyed my Easy Apple Pie Monkey Bread Muffins. They’re yummy.

This time I wanted to make something grander, something that filled an entire bundt pan, (a new pan I just purchased in a terrific store called Euna Mae’s in Bentonville, Arkansas).

This time, I wanted Monkey Bread.

And I knew I could make it with canned biscuits. Over the past six months I’ve seen multiple recipes claiming as much. So, I purchased a couple of big containers of biscuits at the store, determined to give it a try.

Turns out, this was a really easy recipe, one I will use again and again! It comes together quickly and the pull apart texture at the end is amazing. You can bake it in a bundt pan or a tube pan. I suppose it would also work in a loaf pan, if that’s all you have.

This easy monkey bread recipe would be perfect for breakfast, especially Christmas morning. But don’t let its breakfast-like quality fool you. I nibbled on mine as an afternoon snack and I can also see this as a dessert, perhaps with a scoop of butter pecan ice cream.

Ingredients for Yummy Monkey Bread

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here’s a quick peek at what you’ll need to make this yummy treat. You’ve probably got most of these simple ingredients in your pantry or fridge right now.

• canned biscuits (Grands or brand of your choice)
• granulated sugar
• ground cinnamon
• butter
• brown sugar
• chopped pecans (optional)

How to make Brown Sugar Cinnamon Monkey Bread

This was truly one of the easiest things I’ve ever baked. No doubt you’ll whip it up in no time!

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next, spray the inside of your bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

After that, place butter in medium saucepan over low heat.

As soon as butter is melted, add the brown sugar. Continue to cook over low heat for one minute or until the brown sugar begins to dissolve. Set aside.

Cut biscuits into small pieces. (I cut each biscuit into six pieces using kitchen scissors but you could use a pizza cutter if you like.) I used buttermilk biscuits but you can use whatever you like.

Place white sugar and cinnamon in a gallon-sized baggie and gently shake biscuit pieces, a few at a time.

Place half of the coated biscuit pieces in the greased bundt pan. Spread evenly.

Sprinkle 1/2 of the chopped pecans on the biscuits.

Pour half of the brown sugar liquid over the biscuits.

Place the rest of the coated biscuits in the bundt cake pan and sprinkle some of the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture on top.

Cover with pecans and then pour the rest of the brown sugar liquid over the top.

This would be a good time to say, “Do as I say, not as I do!” My pretty bundt pan didn’t quite hold two full cans of biscuits but I squeezed ’em in, anyway. They puffed up over the top. Oops. Next time I’ll hold back on a couple of biscuits. You’ll have to eyeball yours, depending on your pan size.

Place in preheated oven on medium rack and back for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove and place pan on wire rack to cool. Don’t attempt to turn it over until a few minutes have passed.

Place wire rack on a cookie sheet and flip the pan. Allow Monkey Bread to release naturally.

Mine had a bit of breakage but I stuck a couple of toothpicks in it to hold it together. (Ha. I wasn’t going to confess that part but decided to come clean.)

To serve, break apart with your fingers. Check out that luscious interior!

Storing Traditional Monkey Bread: Place in airtight container or wrap in foil (or plastic wrap). Leave at room temperature for 2-3 days.

What to Expect from this Quick Monkey Bread

Who knew a simple can of biscuits could morph into something so incredible? This is a delicious treat!

After eating a much-larger-than-I-planned-to-eat-piece I came to the conclusion that I will never be thin. Items like this are my weakness. I can barely type this because I’m still hung over from the sugar.

Let’s start with the outside. It’s crisp and sweet, loaded gooey goodness. I was startled at how much I loved it. It was (honestly) every bit as good as any expensive cinnamon roll. Better, maybe.

Next, the inside. It’s light, fluffy, and loaded with cinnamon-sugar flavor. Adding the pecans and brown sugar liquid at the halfway point was just the ticket. That gave me another gooey layer in the middle. There’s a sweet stickiness holding it all together and that’s my favorite part of all.

I had a hard time stopping, which left me no choice. I had to give most of this away. . .immediately. I sent out an SOS text to my neighbor, who quickly wrote back to say, “Sure! Bring it over!”

Whew. That was a close one.

Variations on this Monkey Bread Recipe

I hate to brag, especially since I haven’t tried any other recipes for this tasty dish, but this has got to be the best Monkey Bread recipe out there, if I do say so myself.

I loved, loved, loved this yummy treat. I honestly can’t believe it took me this long to make Monkey Bread. I can see now why everyone is raving! My first instinct is to say that I wouldn’t change a thing, but I’m thinking there are endless variations that might be tasty.

Apple pie filling. Hear me out. Coat the biscuit pieces in cinnamon-sugar, then coat them once again, this time in apple pie filling. Leave the rest of the recipe the same.

Orange zest. I remember eating orange cinnamon rolls as a kid and I think it would be perfect here. Add orange zest to the recipe and add orange juice to the brown sugar glaze/filling.

Chocolate. I don’t know how it would bake up, but I’m thinking chocolate would be a nice addition, even if it’s just a glaze on top after the Monkey Bread bakes.

Caramel sauce. If you like, you could drizzle caramel sauce over the top. Sounds great, right?

Maple glaze. Add maple extract to the brown sugar mix, along with some pancake syrup or maple syrup. If you go this route you might choose walnuts in place of pecans. (Yum!)

Cream Cheese Drizzle. This would be luscious on top of this sweet treat! Soften cream cheese and whip, then add a bit of heavy cream and powdered sugar until it reaches the desired consistency. This would be perfect for a delicious breakfast treat.

Savory Monkey Bread. Hear me out. Add bacon, cheese, and chives in place of the sweet ingredients and use a cream cheese filling in place of the brown sugar liquid.

I’m sure there are a thousand other possibilities but nothing’s coming to me right now because I’m still hung over from the chunk of Monkey Bread I consumed while writing this. You’ll just have to trust me that it’s good.

Really, really good.

Other Good Recipes from Out of the Box Baking

If you love this simple Monkey Bread recipe, you’ll love some of these favorites:

• Cake Mix Cinnamon Roll Pastries. Y’all, these are my daughter’s favorite thing I’ve baked this year. They’re in my top ten, for sure.
• Bananas Foster Cinnamon Rolls. These easy cinnamon rolls start with crescent rolls and they’re stuffed with bananas foster. (Yum!)
• Cinnamon Sugar Pound Cake from Scratch. This cake is loaded with buttery goodness, along with a rich cinnamon-sugar flavor.
• Easy Raspberry Pinwheel Pastries. These pinwheel treats are so yummy and covered in a luscious raspberry glaze.
• Easy Apple Pie Monkey Bread Muffins. This is where my Monkey Bread journey began. . .in muffin form!

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That’s it for this recipe, friends. I hope you don’t make yourself sick eating too many of these. The struggle is real! Let me leave you with a verse on temptation, one I felt compelled to look up after over-indulging.

Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”

Matthew 26:41 NLT

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