Overnight Monkey Bread is a kid favorite for breakfast on holidays or at sleepovers. It is easy to prepare the night before using frozen bread dough. Simply pop it in the oven in the morning and let the magic happen!
Many of my Christmas mornings include this Monkey Bread recipe. My mom would assemble the bread in the Bundt pan late on Christmas Eve, and then do the final rise and bake on Christmas morning while we opened our gifts.
This sweet breakfast bread is perfect for any special occasion brunch, whether it's Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day, or just the morning after a sleepover.
As expected, my girls love this bread! They now look forward to Cranberry Christmas Cake on Christmas morning, but they love this bread on Easter.
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Thaw the Dough
To thaw the frozen bread dough, place the bag in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
You want the dough to be thawed but still cold.
Cut the Dough
If using loaves of dough, cut each loaf into 8 slices, for a total of 16 slices.
If using rolls, you may keep them intact, of you can cut them into halves or quarters if you prefer smaller segments.
If you use rolls, especially if you cut them into smaller pieces, you will likely need more melted butter and cinnamon sugar mixture to dip.
Assemble the Bread
Spray the Bundt pan with non-stick baking spray.
Melt the butter in a dish.
In a small bowl, mix together the pecans, if using, the sugar and the cinnamon.
Dip each slice of dough into the melted butter, then into the sugar mixture.
Stand the slices of dough upright in the Bundt pan until all of the slices have been placed.
If you are using rolls, just stack them on top of each other evenly around the pan. Alternatively, you can use a standard size loaf pan.
Sprinkle any remaining nut/sugar mixture over the dough, then sprinkle the pudding mix over the dough.
Stir the brown sugar into the remaining melted butter and drizzle over the dough.
Cover the pan lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight.
Room Temperature Rise
After the dough has risen overnight, remove the pan from the refrigerator and take off the plastic wrap. Allow it to rise at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F.
Bake and Serve
Bake the bread for 35-40 minutes, until the bread is cooked through.
Invert the pan onto a serving platter.
Serve warm.
Gluten Free Option
I find gluten free yeast bread to be the most challenging. Without gluten, yeast breads tend to be dense. If you are able to find gluten free bread dough, or have a good recipe, you can certainly follow this recipe using it. With all this butter and sugar, I can't see it tasting bad!
📖 Recipe
Monkey Bread
Equipment
- 12-cup Bundt pan
Ingredients
- baking spray
- 2 loaves frozen bread dough (thawed but still cold, 1 pound each, see note)
- ¾ cup chopped pecans (optional)
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ cup butter (melted, 1 stick)
- 1 package butterscotch pudding and pie filling mix (3 ⅝ ounces)
- ½ cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
Instructions
- Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan or spray it with flour-containing baking spray. Set aside.baking spray
- Cut each loaf into 8 slices, for a total of 16 slices.2 loaves frozen bread dough
- In a small bowl, combine nuts (if using), sugar and cinnamon.¾ cup chopped pecans, ½ cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- Dip each slice of dough into the melted butter, then coat it with the nut/sugar mixture.½ cup butter
- Stand the slices upright in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with any remaining nut mixture. Sprinkle with the dry pudding mix.1 package butterscotch pudding and pie filling mix
- Stir the brown sugar into the remaining melted butter; drizzle it over the dough.½ cup brown sugar
- Cover the pan lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours, preferably overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Remove the plastic wrap and let the bread stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the bread slices are completely cooked through.
- Remove the pan from the oven and invert onto a serving dish. Serve warm.
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