Homemade Monkey Bread From Scratch — Soft, Gooey, and Made for Slow Weekend Mornings
Pillowy little dough balls rolled in cinnamon sugar and baked in a buttery brown sugar caramel. This easy monkey bread recipe has an overnight option, so holiday mornings basically make themselves.
There’s a specific smell that fills my house on the first really chilly Saturday of fall. Butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon all melting together in the oven while everyone’s still in pajamas. That’s homemade monkey bread, and honestly, it’s the reason my kids get out of bed without being asked twice.
If you’ve only ever made it with canned biscuits, I get it. That was me for years. But once I tried a scratch version, I couldn’t go back. The dough bakes up pillowy and soft, almost like a brioche, and every little piece gets coated in that sticky caramel that pools at the bottom of the pan.
It looks fancy when you flip it out of the bundt pan, but it’s really just rolling balls of dough in cinnamon sugar. My six-year-old helps with that part (and eats a fair amount of the sugar along the way).
This easy monkey bread recipe is the one I make for holiday mornings, birthday breakfasts, and any weekend that just needs something warm. There’s an overnight option too, so you can do all the work the night before. Trust me on this one.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Soft, fluffy, pull-apart texture — scratch dough gives you tender, bakery-style bites, not dense biscuit chunks
- Gooey caramel in every piece — the brown sugar butter sauce soaks right into the layers
- Simple pantry ingredients — flour, milk, yeast, butter, sugar, cinnamon. That’s really it
- Make-ahead friendly — assemble it the night before and bake it fresh in the morning
- Kids can help — rolling and dipping the dough balls is the most fun job in the kitchen
- A total crowd-pleaser — it disappears at every brunch, every single time
Step-by-Step Instructions
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1Wake up the yeast. Warm the milk until it feels like a warm bath, about 110°F. Stir in the ¼ cup sugar and the yeast, then let it sit for 5 minutes until it looks a little foamy on top.💡 If the milk is too hot, it kills the yeast. Warm to the touch is perfect.
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2Mix and knead the dough. Add the melted butter, eggs, and salt to the yeast mixture and whisk. Add the flour one cup at a time, stirring until a shaggy dough forms. Knead by hand for 6–8 minutes (or 5 minutes with a dough hook) until it’s smooth, soft, and just slightly tacky.💡 Add extra flour a tablespoon at a time. Too much makes the bread dry.
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3Let it rise. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a towel or plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.💡 A turned-off oven with just the light on makes a cozy rising spot.
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4Prep your pan and coating station. Generously grease a 10–12 cup bundt pan, getting into every ridge. Mix the 1 cup sugar and cinnamon in one bowl. Pour the ½ cup melted butter into a second bowl.
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5Shape the dough balls. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto the counter. Pat it into a rough 8-inch square, then cut it into an 8×8 grid to make about 64 pieces. Roll each piece into a loose ball. They don’t need to be perfect.💡 Keep the pieces similar in size so they bake evenly.
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6Dip, coat, and layer. Dip each ball in the melted butter, then roll it in the cinnamon sugar. Drop the balls into the bundt pan, layering them loosely and staggering them like bricks. Save any leftover cinnamon sugar.
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7Make the caramel and pour it over. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the ½ cup butter with the brown sugar and pinch of salt. Let it bubble for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until smooth. Take it off the heat, stir in the vanilla, and pour it evenly over the dough. Sprinkle any leftover cinnamon sugar on top.⚠️ Stir constantly so the sugar doesn’t scorch on the bottom of the pan.
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8Second rise. Cover the pan and let it rise for 30–45 minutes, until the dough balls look puffy and fill the pan about ¾ of the way. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) during the last 15 minutes.🌙 Overnight option: cover tightly and refrigerate for 8–16 hours instead. In the morning, let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.
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9Bake. Set the bundt pan on a sheet pan and bake for 30–35 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown. If it’s browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.💡 An instant-read thermometer should read 190°F in the center.
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10Cool briefly and flip. Let it cool in the pan for just 5 minutes, no longer. Place a large plate over the pan and carefully flip it over. Scrape any caramel left in the pan right over the top. Serve warm and pull apart with your fingers.⚠️ Wait too long and the caramel sets, so the bread sticks to the pan.
Homemade Monkey Bread From Scratch: Soft, Gooey, and Made for Slow Weekend Mornings
🧄 Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup whole milk
- 4 ¾ tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 ¾ packet instant or active dry yeast
- 4 ¾ tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 ¾ large eggs
- 1 ¾ tsp salt
- 4 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¾ tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ¾ stick unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ¾ stick unsalted butter
- 150 ¾ g light brown sugar, packed
- 1 ¾ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ pinch salt
- 1 ¾ tbsp softened butter or nonstick baking spray
📋 Instructions
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1
Warm the milk to about 110°F. Stir in the ¼ cup sugar and the yeast, then let it sit until foamy on top.
💡 Warm to the touch is perfect. Too hot will kill the yeast. -
2
Whisk in the melted butter, eggs, and salt. Add the flour one cup at a time until a shaggy dough forms, then knead until smooth, soft, and slightly tacky.
💡 Add extra flour a tablespoon at a time so the bread stays soft. -
3
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled in size.
💡 A turned-off oven with the light on makes a cozy rising spot. -
4
Generously grease a 10–12 cup bundt pan. Mix the 1 cup sugar and cinnamon in one bowl and pour the melted stick of butter into another.
💡 Get into every ridge of the pan so it releases cleanly. -
5
Punch down the dough, pat it into an 8-inch square, and cut it into an 8×8 grid for about 64 pieces. Roll each piece into a loose ball.
💡 Keep the pieces similar in size so they bake evenly. -
6
Dip each ball in melted butter, roll it in cinnamon sugar, and layer the balls loosely in the bundt pan. Save any leftover cinnamon sugar.
💡 Stagger the layers like bricks and don't pack them tight. -
7
Melt the second stick of butter with the brown sugar and a pinch of salt over medium heat. Let it bubble while stirring, then remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, and pour evenly over the dough. Sprinkle leftover cinnamon sugar on top.
💡 Stir constantly so the sugar doesn't scorch. -
8
Cover the pan and let the dough rise until puffy and about ¾ full. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) during the last 15 minutes.
💡 For overnight, refrigerate 8–16 hours, then rest 1 hour at room temperature before baking. -
9
Bake on a sheet pan until the top is deep golden brown and the center reaches 190°F.
💡 Tent with foil for the last 10 minutes if it browns too fast. -
10
Cool in the pan, then place a plate on top and carefully flip it over. Scrape any caramel left in the pan over the top and serve warm.
💡 Flip after 5 minutes, before the caramel sets.
Nutrition Per Serving
💡 Pro Tips
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. Loose layers give the dough room to rise and let caramel seep down between the pieces.
- Keep the dough balls similar in size. They’ll bake evenly, so you won’t get doughy middles and dry edges.
- Use a bundt pan for the classic look. A tube pan works too. A single loaf pan won’t bake through in the center.
- Bake it on a sheet pan. A bit of caramel sometimes bubbles over, and you’ll be glad you don’t have to scrub the oven.
- Check the center, not just the top. The outside browns before the inside is done, so a thermometer is worth it.
- Flip it while it’s hot. Five minutes is the sweet spot for a clean release.
Variations to Try
Add 1 tbsp cocoa powder and a pinch of cayenne to the cinnamon sugar. The gentle warmth at the end is so good with a cup of coffee.
Swap 1 cup of the flour for white whole wheat flour, reduce the coating sugar to ¾ cup, and cut the coating butter to 6 tbsp. Still sticky and sweet, just a little lighter.
Use two 16-oz cans of refrigerated biscuits, cut into quarters. Dip, coat, and layer the same way, skip both rises, and bake at 350°F for 30–35 minutes.
Tuck 1 diced apple and ½ cup chopped pecans between the layers of dough. It tastes like apple pie and cinnamon rolls had a very cozy baby.
Whisk 2 oz softened cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, and 2–3 tbsp milk until smooth. Drizzle over the warm bread for that cinnamon roll bites feeling.
Serving Ideas
- Holiday breakfast spread — next to a breakfast casserole, crispy bacon, and a bowl of fresh berries
- With a warm drink — coffee, chai latte, hot cocoa, or a mug of apple cider
- Brunch centerpiece — set it on a cake stand in the middle of the table and let everyone pull pieces off
- Easy dessert — serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
- Pinterest-pretty plating — a light dusting of powdered sugar, a few cinnamon sticks, and a little bowl of extra caramel on the side
Storage & Reheating
| Where | How long | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 🏠 Counter | 1 day | Cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap |
| ❄️ Fridge | Up to 3 days | Airtight container — it firms up a bit but reheats beautifully |
| 🧊 Freezer (baked) | Up to 2 months | Wrap well and thaw overnight in the fridge |
| 🔥 Reheat | 10–15 sec per serving | Microwave individual pieces, or warm the whole loaf at 300°F for 10 minutes covered in foil |
Frequently Asked Questions
If there’s one recipe I’d ask you to try this fall, it’s this homemade monkey bread. It takes a little patience while the dough rises, but the actual work is so simple. And that moment when you flip it out of the pan and the caramel slowly drips down the sides? Worth every minute.
Make it for a holiday morning, a lazy Sunday, or just because the weather turned cold. If you try it, come back and tell me how it went in the comments. I always love hearing which version your family liked best. 🤍
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