Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread is a pull-apart treat that is sweet, perfectly cinnamon-spiced, and drizzled with a cream cheese glaze.
The Best Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread
My oldest boy’s favorite treat is a homemade cinnamon roll. 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 my traditional monkey bread and make it with canned cinnamon rolls. Not only did this dessert get two thumbs up all around the table, but my son also requested it for his birthday cake in a couple of weeks.
Ingredients
- Canned Cinnamon Rolls: I love using Pillsbury Grands for this recipe, but any brand will do as long as they’re 17.5 oz each.
- Sugar & Cinnamon: Coats the dough for added sweetness and spice.
- Butter, Brown Sugar, & Vanilla: Gives that cinnamon roll filling flavor.
- Cooking Spray & Flour: Prevents sticking in the Bundt pan.
- Icing: Use the pre-made icing from the cinnamon roll package to save time.
How To Make Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread
- Preheat & Prep: Heat oven to 400°F. Grease and flour a Bundt pan.
- Cut Dough: Quarter the cinnamon rolls.
- Sugar Coat: Toss dough pieces in a mix of white sugar and cinnamon.
- Layer in Pan: Place coated pieces in the pan.
- Pour Sauce: Mix melted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla, and pour over dough.
- Bake: Bake 25-35 minutes until set.
- Cool & Flip: Let it cool, then flip onto a plate.
- Add Icing: Drizzle with cinnamon roll icing.
Storage
Leftover Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread?
- Refrigeration: Only refrigerate cinnamon roll monkey bread if using cream cheese icing. Otherwise, it’s best covered, at room temperature to avoid hardening.
- Make Ahead: Assemble in a greased Bundt pan, cover, and refrigerate. Before baking, let it reach room temperature (30 minutes), add the brown sugar mixture, and bake at 400°F for 20 minutes.
- Freezing: Wrap leftovers tightly and store in an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge. Note: Freezing affects texture and flavor. Don’t freeze uncooked dough.
Savory Side Dishes
- Quiche Lorraine
- Country Breakfast Egg Skillet
- Sausage and Veggie Hash
- Ham and Cheese Quiche
- One-Pan Breakfast Potatoes and Bacon
Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread
This pull-apart Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread is sweet, perfectly cinnamon spiced, and drizzled with a cream cheese glaze.
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 extract
Instructions
- Preheat 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
Calories: 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Going to try this recipe tonight… does it matter if the dough is room temperature or chilled before cooking?
I use the dough straight from the fridge 🙂
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.
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!!
I’m so happy you love this recipe! Those tips sound amazing, thank so much for sharing! 🙂
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!
So thrilled this breakfast was a hit! Thanks for the comment 🙂
How would I make this in a 9×13 pan
I loved this recipe this was my first time making monkey bread and it was SO easy!!!
I’m so happy to hear this Chrissy! Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂
Hi! Would it be ok for it to sit overnight or will that mess up the monkey bread? Love your recipes by the way ????
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!
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. ????
I’d let it sit more like 10-15 minutes after removing from the oven so it stays together! Glad you enjoyed though 🙂
I noticed when I took it out the outside was crispy but the inside was still doughy. How do I fix that?
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.
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!
This comment made my day!! So thrilled to hear this was the best and easiest 🙂 Happy holidays Amy!!
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!
Thanks for pointing that out Linde 🙂 I’ve updated! 🙂
I’m making this tonight for “Card night with friends” but plan on adding chopped pecans.. thanks for the recipe.
Hope you enjoy! 🙂