Easy Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread

This cinnamon roll monkey bread recipe is a sweet, easy pull=apart bread to make -- and uses store bought cinnamon rolls.

Cinnamon rolls in a bundt pan??! You read that right. Sure, you could make your typical cinnamon rolls in a pan but what if I told you the cinnamon rolls could be made into a pull-apart monkey bread that's gooey and sweet and only takes you about 5 minutes longer than just throwing them in a pan and baking?

I don't think my son loves any breakfast food more than cinnamon rolls -- and I was a little nervous he wouldn't appreciate me messing with a good thing, but he's a fan. I know you will be, too.

Why is Monkey Bread Called Monkey Bread?

I definitely was one of the people who Googled this. According to Wikipedia, the most trusted name for news, the answer is quite unsatisfying.

Monkey bread is called monkey bread because it's a pull-apart bread meant to be eaten as a finger food like monkeys would consume it. By that logic, we could really name it probably anything. Squirrel bread? Gopher bread?

Want another interesting tidbit? There's a million different names for monkey bread: Christmas morning delights, monkey puzzle bread, monkey brains, sticky bread, Hungarian coffee cake, golden dumpling coffee cake, pinch-me cake, pluck-it cake, bubble loaf and funky bread. I feel like some of those are made up, but whatever you call it, it's just plain delicious.

What Kind of Cinnamon Rolls Should I Use?

You can use any kind of pre-made refrigerated cinnamon rolls. I had a roll of Pillsbury Grand rolls and another tube of their regular-sized cinnamon rolls -- so that's what I used most recently, but it doesn't really matter. Use whatever you have on hand.

The Grand rolls are a bit larger, and I liked having some smaller pieces with some larger ones by doing a combo, so I'll probably keep doing that.

How to Make Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread (or Monkey Bread)

Step 1: Cut your cinnamon rolls into quarters.

These are much easier to cut when they are fresh out of the refrigerator (the colder the better). If some of the pieces fall apart, no problem. Include them anyway.

Step 2: Roll each quarter in sugar and cinnamon and place in greased bundt pan.

Yep, more sugar.

Step 3: Pour butter and brown sugar mixture over top and bake.

Even more sugar. The butter/brown sugar mixture acts as the glue to bind the pieces of cinnamon rolls into the bundt pan. You'll bake at 400˚F for about 20 minutes. Drizzle the icing that comes with the cinnamon rolls on top. I put the icing into a small plastic bag and cut the tip off one of the corners and "pipe" it on that way. You can easily use a spoon if you don't want to bother.

Turning The Monkey Bread Over

I promise you -- 10 minutes is the perfect amount of time for the monkey bread to set but not too much time that the cake starts to stick to the sides, which is obviously not ideal.

So set your timer for 10 minutes and flip your monkey bread onto a platter when the alarm goes off. You'll thank me later!

Other Sweet Breakfast Recipes

• Baked Blueberry Donuts
• Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Maple Glaze
• No Bake Homemade Cereal Bars
• Blueberry Muffins with Pecan Streusel
• Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Donuts
• Classic French Toast with Nutella Whipped Cream
• Cinnamon Apple Muffins

xox,

kathryn

As always, if you make anything from the blog, be sure to let me know! I love hearing from you in the comments on this post below or find Worn Slap Out on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Cinnamon Monkey Bread

This cinnamon roll monkey bread recipe is a sweet, easy pull=apart bread to make -- and uses store bought cinnamon rolls.

4 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: breakfast, cinnamon pull apart bread, monkey bread, quick bread

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 people

1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 2 cans cinnamon rolls (17.5 oz cans) Grands or regular
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a bundt pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
• Cut individual cinnamon rolls in quarters. In a small bowl, mix cinnamon and granulated sugar and roll each quarter in the sugar mixture until well coated. Place in bundt pan.
• Melt butter and stir in the brown sugar and vanilla in separate bowl. Pour this mixture over your cinnamon roll dough in bundt pan.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until dough is set in the center. Let the monkey bread rest for exactly 10 minutes before flipping bundt pan over onto serving platter. Place icing in plastic bag with tip snipped off. Drizzle all over.

Notes

This monkey bread is best enjoyed as soon as it comes out of the oven!  The cinnamon rolls dry out quickly. 

If you want to make in advance, cut cinnamon rolls and roll in cinnamon and sugar. Save the rest until just before you're ready to bake.