Home > Breakfast > Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread June 29, 2019 | 48 Comments SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Jump to Recipe This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. This pull-apart Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread is sweet, perfectly cinnamon-spiced, and drizzled with a cream cheese glaze. Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread is the perfect breakfast for a fun occasion or can be served as a delicious dessert. With less than 15 minutes prep, you can have this treat on the table in no time. My oldest boy’s favorite treat is a homemade cinnamon roll. He actually doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but when it comes to cinnamon rolls, he can do some serious damage. While he prefers homemade, he’ll happily eat them from the can if that means he gets a cinnamon roll. The other day he had several friends over, so I thought it would be fun to make a twist on traditional monkey bread and make it with canned cinnamon rolls. Not only did this Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread get two thumbs up all around the table, but my son also requested it for his birthday cake in a couple of weeks. What cinnamon rolls to use: I recommend using Pillsbury Grands® Cinnabon cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing (not sponsored). Not only are they delicious, but they are the perfect size to use in this monkey bread recipe. If you aren’t a fan of the cream cheese icing, Pillsbury also makes one with original icing instead. Make sure to pick the Grands size for this recipe. Beyond getting the right cinnamon rolls, the most important tip for this cake: generously grease and flour the pan! Below is a quick break down. How to grease a Bundt pan First, make sure you’re using a high-quality Bundt pan: use a solid metal Bundt pan and NOT a springform pan or pan with a removable bottom because the sugar/sauce will leak through and ruin the cake/get messy. If you don’t have a Bundt pan, see below for baking this in a 9×13-inch pan. Spray the Bundt pan with cooking spray or brush an even layer of softened butter all over. Make sure every part of the inside of the pan is covered so nothing sticks while cooking. Loosely sprinkle flour over the cooking spray or butter and then tap and turn the pan to evenly coat with a light dusting of flour. Tap the pan upside down (over the sink) to remove any excess flour. Pan is ready for use now! Quick tips Remove monkey bread after 10-15 minutes: Give this Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread time to cool, but you don’t want to give it too much time. Remove the monkey bread from the pan after about 10-15 minutes of cooling. If it cools for too long, the sugar mixture will harden and become difficult to remove. Fix up any loose pieces: If a piece does stick to the pan after you’ve transferred the monkey bread to a plate, simply use the sugary glaze to place the pieces right back from where they fell. You can also use the glaze to cover up any small imperfections. Pretty drizzle: Transfer the icing from the can into a plastic bag. Snip off the tip with scissors and pipe it all over this cake for a picture-perfect iced cake! Does Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread need to be refrigerated? Monkey bread typically doesn’t need to be refrigerated, but if you use the cream cheese icing, it does. Storing monkey bread in the fridge will make the cake stale and hard, so I recommend avoiding leftovers altogether if possible. How to make it ahead of time Quarter the cinnamon rolls and arrange them in a well-greased Bundt pan Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake. When you are ready to bake the bread, remove the pan from the fridge and allow the cinnamon roll pieces to come to room temperature (this should take no more than 30 minutes). Stir together the brown sugar mixture, pour it over the dough in the Bundt pan and bake for 2o minutes at 400 degrees F. How to freeze Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread Package any leftover monkey bread, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and then in an airtight container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge. Freezing and thawing monkey bread will cause a loss in texture and flavor. Never freeze the uncooked monkey bread dough, as freezing will render the yeast inactive. Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread variations Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread from scratch: To make this from scratch, you’re going to want to make your own biscuits. I recommend Sally’s Baking Addiction for a from-scratch recipe! Add ins: You can add finely chopped apples, raisins, and/or nuts to this monkey bread. Add half the cinnamon roll pieces, sprinkle add-ins in the middle and a few more on top. For an apple add-in, peel and finely dice the apple; sprinkle throughout the cinnamon roll pieces. Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread casserole: This recipe works in a casserole or 9×13-inch dish. To do so, follow the same steps as we do below on this recipe (place cut up sugared cinnamon roll pieces in greased pan and drizzle sauce over top.) Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Make in a loaf pan: Make sure you grease 2 light-colored (don’t use dark coated) loaf pans well and follow the below directions. Divide cinnamon rolls evenly between the two pans and then bake at 400 degrees F for 19-25 minutes. Removal from the loaf pan will be just like removing the monkey bread from a Bundt pan. More details here. Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread muffins: Follow the ingredients in this recipe and then grease each individual muffin tin; add 4 cinnamon roll pieces to each muffin tin. Individually drizzle the brown sugar sauce on top of each muffin. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes. More details here. Add caramel: In place of the glaze, you can add caramel sauce instead! If you’re planning to make Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread for a holiday or special occasion breakfast, below are some great options to serve on the side. Savory side dishes: Quiche Lorraine Country Breakfast Egg Skillet Sausage and Veggie Hash Ham and Cheese Quiche One-Pan Breakfast Potatoes and Bacon FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content. Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread 4.84 from 18 votes - Review this recipe This pull-apart Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread is sweet, perfectly cinnamon spiced, and drizzled with a cream cheese glaze. SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread 4.84 from 18 votes - Review this recipe SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe This pull-apart Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread is sweet, perfectly cinnamon spiced, and drizzled with a cream cheese glaze. Course Breakfast, Dessert Cuisine American Keyword cinnamon roll monkey bread Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Resting Time 10 minutes Total Time 45 minutes Servings 4 - 6 servings (it's sweet, so a little goes a long way!) Calories 360kcal Author Chelsea Lords Ingredients▢ 2 cans (17.5 ounces each) Pillsbury Grands cinnamon rolls ▢ 1/2 cup white sugar▢ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon▢ 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted▢ 1/4 cup brown sugar▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extractUS - Metric USMetric InstructionsPreheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Generously grease (with cooking spray) and then lightly flour a large, 12-cup Bundt pan.Remove the cinnamon roll dough and cut each roll into quarters.In a medium bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar and then toss the cinnamon roll dough quarters in the bowl until well coated.Once coated with cinnamon sugar, add roll pieces to the prepared Bundt pan.Melt butter and stir in the brown sugar and vanilla; pour over the dough in the Bundt pan.Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until no longer gooey in the center. Remove and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Once it's still warm, but no longer hot, you can flip the Cinnamon Roll Monkey bread onto a plate.Transfer the icing from the can into a plastic bag. Snip off the tip with scissors and pipe it all over the cake. Nutrition FactsCalories: 360kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 18mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 709IU | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed. DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below.
I noticed it says in the body of your blog to spray or butter the pan. You might want to add that to the directions in case people miss that. Thanks for the recipe! Can’t wait to try it for guests! Reply
I’m making this tonight for “Card night with friends” but plan on adding chopped pecans.. thanks for the recipe. Reply
We have been making monkey bread since I was in hs, 25+ years now and this is BY FAR the best and easiest recipe to date. Everyone including myself LOVED it! Reply
This comment made my day!! So thrilled to hear this was the best and easiest 🙂 Happy holidays Amy!! Reply
I noticed when I took it out the outside was crispy but the inside was still doughy. How do I fix that? Reply
You can tent some foil over the top. Is your oven calibrated to the correct temperature? If the temperature is off, that might be why the outside is cooking quicker than the inside. Reply
After I took mine out I let it sit for 6-7 minutes. NOT long enough! It broke in a couple of pieces and some stuck to the bottom. Still edible just only for us. ???? Reply
I’d let it sit more like 10-15 minutes after removing from the oven so it stays together! Glad you enjoyed though 🙂 Reply
Hi! Would it be ok for it to sit overnight or will that mess up the monkey bread? Love your recipes by the way ???? Reply
Thank you so much Jessica, I appreciate that! 🙂 To be honest with you, I’ve never made it overnight, so I’m not sure. I think the cinnamon rolls could deflate or dry out a little, but it was covered carefully, maybe it would be okay. Sorry, just guessing here! Reply
SOOOOOOO delicious!! Made this for my son and his friends and they loved it! I ate what was left, and OMG! This is my go to monkey bread from now on! Reply
Great recipe for monkey bread! Made it a few times! 2 things you could do to change it up is add cookie dough the the bottom of the bunt pan. (I used chocolate chip and everyone loved it!) If you making it by the recipe I always add a teaspoon of nutmeg to the sugar and cinnamon mixture and it gives it such a nice flavor!! Reply
You might want to also add to the recipe to not let it cool more than about 5 mins. I let me sit while I did a few things and it was impossible to remove from the pan. Reply
Going to try this recipe tonight… does it matter if the dough is room temperature or chilled before cooking? Reply
We have made this 2x in the last month and we LOVE it. It’s yummy, looks gorgeous and is really easy. Definitely a keeper Reply
I only had one canned so I cut all the ingredients in half but what would be the cooking time. I know I can’t cut the cooking time and a half Reply
Thank you for the recipe it was great! Hubby said it’s a keeper. Added raisins and toasted pecans. Reply
Glad you enjoyed the flavor! Your oven may run a little hot, maybe try reducing temp 25 degrees next time? 🙂 Reply
I think 400 is too high 30 min and it was kinda burned and crunchy. We still ate it! Next time I’ll try 350. It was yummy all in all Reply
I made and it turned out great! I waited for about 20 minutes before flipping it over and it stayed together perfectly!! Reply
This was posted on MSN in an article titled Easy Crockpot Desserts that will free up your oven but the recipe clearly describes baking it . Huh???? Reply
My daughter has made this recipe several times. She does not keep track of her sugar consumption or her calorie consumption but I do. How many servings were the Calories and grams of added sugar calculated on. Thanks Reply
