Easy Monkey Bread with Canned Biscuits
Make easy small-batch monkey bread with one can of biscuits, cinnamon sugar, and buttery brown sugar sauce in a simple loaf pan.
If you’re looking for a quick and easy breakfast treat, this small-batch monkey bread is just the thing! Made with one can of refrigerated biscuits and baked in a loaf pan, it’s buttery, gooey, cinnamon-sweet, and just the right size for a family breakfast.
Most traditional monkey bread recipes call for several cans of biscuits and a large Bundt pan. This scaled-down version gives you all that warm cinnamon flavor without producing enough monkey bread to feed half the neighborhood—although it would be easy to double for a church breakfast or holiday gathering.
From Hollywood to the Family Breakfast Table
Monkey bread has a surprisingly glamorous history for something designed to be pulled apart with your fingers. Actress ZaSu Pitts included a version in her 1963 cookbook, and her friend Nancy Reagan later helped turn monkey bread into a White House holiday tradition.
Years later, supermodel Cindy Crawford shared her own family’s cinnamon-sugar monkey bread on Good Morning America. Crawford explained that her mother made it for Cindy and her sisters when they were children, and the sisters carried the tradition into their own homes.
My easy canned-biscuit version certainly isn’t White House fare—and I didn’t exactly look like a supermodel while shaking biscuit pieces in a plastic bag—but it carries the same appeal: warm cinnamon, buttery bread, and plenty of sticky pieces for everyone to pull apart.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This monkey bread comes together with simple ingredients and very little effort. Just cut the biscuits, coat them in cinnamon sugar, arrange them in a loaf pan, and pour a buttery brown sugar mixture over the top.
I added pecans because I love the flavor and crunch they bring, but they are completely optional. Leave them out for a classic version or replace them with walnuts, dried cranberries, or cinnamon baking chips.
Ingredients
You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here's a glance at what you're going to need to make this delicious monkey bread. These are simple ingredients you might already have in your pantry or refrigerator.
- 1 can (16 ounces) refrigerated flaky jumbo biscuits, 8-count
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup chopped pecans, optional
- ½ cup butter, melted
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
Instructions
Here's how you're going to make this delicious monkey bread.
Mix the white sugar together with the cinnamon and place in a large ziplock bag. Merge the brown sugar and melted butter in a microwave safe bowl, stir well, and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 × 5-inch loaf pan well with nonstick cooking spray. Separate the biscuits and cut each one into several bite-size pieces.
Place the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a large zip-top bag. Add the biscuit pieces, seal the bag, and shake until every piece is thoroughly coated.
Put half of the dough pieces into the prepared pan, sprinkle on some pecan, and pour about half of the the butter/brown sugar mixture evenly over the biscuit pieces.
Repeat that process until all of the dough, pecans, and liquid are in the pan.
Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.
Loosely cover the pan with foil and bake for an additional 3–5 minutes, or until the biscuit pieces in the center are fully baked and no longer gummy. My monkey bread took 28 minutes altogether.
Place the pan on a wire rack and allow the bread to rest for 5 minutes.
Run a thin knife around the edges. Place a rimmed serving plate over the loaf pan and carefully invert the monkey bread onto the plate. Take care—the buttery brown sugar syrup will still be very hot.
Serve warm and pull apart individual pieces with your fingers or a fork.
What to Expect from this Monkey Bread
Friends, let's start by talking about how simple this process is. I told a friend that if I had a big crowd to feed I'd give 'em this monkey bread and our simple funeral potatoes. Lots of carbs, sure, but they would leave full and happy.
These came together flawlessly and they baked up just right. I love the way the brown sugar and butter caramalize. That's the beauty of monkey bread, that caramelization process. They're rich, they're chewy, they're light, they're fluffy. . .they're all the things. And did I mention they're simple?
Variations
Feel free to customize this simple monkey bread with whatever you have on hand. Replace the pecans with chopped walnuts, add a handful of dried cranberries, or sprinkle cinnamon baking chips among the biscuit pieces. You can also omit the additions entirely and enjoy a classic cinnamon-sugar version.
For extra sweetness, drizzle the finished monkey bread with a simple powdered sugar glaze. It is plenty sweet and gooey without one, though!
Storage
Monkey bread is best served warm on the day it is baked. Cover leftovers tightly or place them in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to two days. Warm individual portions briefly in the microwave before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
You've got questions? We've got answers! Here are some of the things folks want to know about Monkey Bread:
Yes! One 16-ounce can of eight jumbo biscuits fits nicely in a 9 × 5-inch loaf pan. It makes a smaller batch than traditional Bundt-pan monkey bread and yields approximately six to eight servings.
Use a standard 9 × 5-inch loaf pan. A smaller 8½ × 4½-inch pan may become too crowded as the biscuit pieces expand.
The top should be golden brown and the brown sugar sauce should be bubbling. Check a biscuit piece near the center; it should be fluffy and baked through, not wet or gummy. If the top is brown but the center needs more time, cover the pan loosely with foil and continue baking for three to five minutes.
Absolutely. The pecans are completely optional. You can omit them or substitute chopped walnuts, dried cranberries, raisins, or cinnamon baking chips.
The brown sugar and butter form a sticky caramel sauce as the bread bakes. Grease the pan generously and invert the monkey bread after it has rested for about five minutes. If it cools too long in the pan, the caramel may harden and cause the bread to stick.
For the best texture, assemble and bake it shortly before serving. Refrigerated biscuit dough begins reacting once the can is opened, so an assembled loaf should not sit overnight. You can measure the cinnamon sugar, brown sugar, and pecans in advance to make morning preparation faster.
Place leftovers in an airtight container and keep them at room temperature for up to two days or refrigerate them for up to four days. Refrigeration can make the bread firmer, so warm individual portions briefly in the microwave before serving.
Yes. Once it has cooled completely, wrap it tightly and freeze it for up to two months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and reheat it gently before serving.
Yes. For a larger batch, double the ingredients and use a generously greased Bundt pan. Because the larger quantity will require a longer baking time, begin checking around 30 minutes and continue baking until the center pieces are fully cooked.
Thanks for Stopping By
If you make this simple and delicious monkey bread and love it please leave a comment or review. Before you go, please pin some photos to your Pinterest boards. (We love it when people share our recipes.)
About the Baker
Janice is part of the Backyard Texas Grill team. She loves all-things-baking and is always happy to contribute recipes to this fun Texas-themed site. (Hey, she's a Texan through and through.) Learn more about her recipes at Out of the Box Baking.
Easy Monkey Bread from Canned Biscuits
This easy small-batch monkey bread is made with one can of refrigerated biscuits, cinnamon sugar, and a buttery brown sugar sauce. Bake it in a loaf pan for a warm, gooey breakfast treat without making an oversized batch.
Ingredients
- 1 can (16 ounces) refrigerated flaky jumbo biscuits, 8-count
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup chopped pecans, optional
- ½ cup butter, melted
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 9 × 5-inch loaf pan.
- Separate the biscuits and cut each one into bite-sized pieces.
- Place the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a large zip-top bag. Add the biscuit pieces, seal the bag, and shake until thoroughly coated.
- Arrange the coated biscuit pieces in the prepared pan, scattering the pecans throughout.
- Stir the melted butter and brown sugar together. Pour evenly over the biscuit pieces.
- Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.
- Loosely cover with foil and bake for 3–5 more minutes, until the center biscuit pieces are fully baked and no longer gummy. Mine took 28 minutes total.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edges, then carefully invert onto a rimmed serving plate. Serve warm.
Notes
Pecans are optional. Substitute chopped walnuts, dried cranberries, or cinnamon baking chips, or leave the additions out completely. Don’t let the bread cool in the pan for longer than about 10 minutes before inverting, or the caramelized sauce may begin sticking.
