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This is the easiest Monkey Bread recipe ever! You don’t have to make the dough or deal with frozen bread dough – instead, you use Hawaiian rolls, and the whole thing is ready for the oven in 15 minutes.
It’s ooey-gooey with chopped nuts and cinnamon and delicious warm from the oven. You will want to make this easy monkey bread for every holiday breakfast or special weekend breakfast!
I love a special baked treat for breakfast, especially holiday breakfasts, but I hate having to deal with a complicated recipe first thing in the morning!
Monkey bread is one of those recipes that can get real complicated real fast – some recipes you have to prep the night before, some require homemade dough… no thanks. So, I came up with the easiest monkey bread ever and, spoiler alert, it’s made with King’s Hawaiian Rolls.
Table of Contents
Easy Monkey Bread with Dinner Rolls
Yes, you can use baked rolls to make monkey bread! It’s the best shortcut ever – you can have it prepped and in the oven in 15 minutes. It has all the same gooey wonderfulness as the other ones made with frozen or homemade dough, but so much easier.
Plus, you get to use Hawaiian rolls which are sweet, soft, and pretty much my favorite dinner roll ever. They work so well in this recipe you won’t go back to the old way of making monkey bread again.
By the time the coffee’s made, you’ll be pulling it out of the oven! And once everyone catches a whiff of cinnamon, they’ll be out of bed and around the table for breakfast.
Don’t have a bundt pan? No problem! I’m showing you how to make King’s Hawaiian monkey bread without a bundt pan.
Ingredients
- Dinner Rolls: I love using King’s Hawaiian Rolls but you can use any pre-made dinner roll that’s about the same size
- Egg, Granulated sugar and Cinnamon: for coating the bread
- Nuts: Chopped walnuts are my favorite but I also like using pecans. You can skip the nuts if you want/need!
- Melted butter and Brown sugar: these combine for that gooey topping
How to Make Monkey Bread
Prepare the rolls: Cut each dinner roll into four to six pieces and place them in a large bowl.
Toss in Cinnamon Sugar: Beat the egg in a bowl and pour it over the dinner roll pieces. Toss the pieces in the egg, so they are evenly coated. Mix the cinnamon and granulated sugar together and then pour them over the bread pieces. Toss again until the bread pieces are coated.
Best Pan for Monkey Bread: Spray a 9×13” (or 9×9”) baking dish with cooking spray.
Assemble and Bake: Pour the coated bread pieces into the pan. Combine the melted butter with the brown sugar and pour it over the bread in the pan. Bake the monkey bread for 15 minutes at 350°F.
After Baking: When it comes out of the oven, there will be a buttery-sugary mixture at the bottom. You can either stir the bread to incorporate it or invert the baking dish over a serving platter to serve the rolls (all of the ooey-gooeyness from the bottom will be like a topping).
FAQs
Why is it called monkey bread?
Traditionally, you bake monkey bread in a bundt pan, and pieces of dough are stacked inside so, once it’s baked, it’s easy to pull parts off with your hands as monkeys would.
What can I use if I don’t have a bundt pan for monkey bread?
No problem! You can bake monkey bread in a 9×13” pan, and it’s just as good!
Does monkey bread have to be made in a bundt pan?
Nope! You can use a variety of pans, including a 9×13 or 9×9” baking pan.
How long do leftovers keep?
You can store the leftovers at room temperature for up to two days. Just keep the baking dish covered with plastic wrap or a lid.
Have you added a package of King’s Hawaiian Rolls to your grocery list yet? You are going to want to try this easy monkey bread recipe this weekend! It’s so buttery, sweet, and delicious – I know you will love it.
Have you made this recipe?
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Easy Monkey Bread
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 package of 12 King’s Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet Dinner Rolls or other simila dinner roll
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×9 or 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray.
- Mix cinnamon and granulated sugar in a small bowl. Cut each dinner roll into 4-6 pieces. Place in a large bowl. Pour egg over the bread and toss with your hands. Pour cinnamon sugar over egg/bread mixture and toss with your hands. Place bread mixture in the prepared pan.
- Sprinkle the chopped walnuts over the bread mixture.
- Stir melted butter and brown sugar together and pour evenly over the mixture in the pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool slightly in pan.
- When it comes out of the oven, there will be a buttery-sugary mixture at the bottom. You can either stir the bread to incorporate it or invert the baking dish over a serving platter to serve the rolls (all of the ooey-gooeyness from the bottom will be like a topping).
Recipe Notes
Recipe Nutrition
Learn how I make EASY Monkey Bread in less than 30 minutes – this breakfast or brunch recipe is made with King’s Hawaiian Dinner Rolls but you can use any kind of dinner roll – this is the easiest and most delicious monkey bread ever.
Do you think I could use some leftover brioche bread instead of rolls for this recipe?
Yes I think any sort of bread will work
I loved this recipe but made a few modifications. I added 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla to egg mixture. I cut back butter and brown sugar. I used 1/4 cup melted butter that has salt and 1/2 cup dark brown sugar microwaved together for about 20 seconds before pouring on the top. Baked 25 minutes at 350. Caramelized beautifully! Slightly gooey in the middle and mildly toasted on top.
This was pretty good! Made a couple adaptations based on some of the comments and what I had on hand. I didn’t have the Hawaiian rolls, but had soft white bread, which I tore in half and then squished into a ball with my hands (did this with regular white bread and I made a small batch using gluten free white bread and both worked great). I added a bit of heavy cream and vanilla to the beaten egg to help with moisture and offset some sweetness. Also used salted butter and melted that with the brown sugar in a saucepan to get the caramelization process started. Then I just put a few slivers of butter on top of the sauce right before putting it in the oven. I cooked mine about 20min to get a little crunch to the outside. Overall, pretty good, especially when you’re in a pinch and get that random craving!
Very good, if I were to make it again I would do 20 to 25 minutes. Also adding a sprinkle of coarse or flake salt as soon as you take it out is a huge improvement.
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