Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread is a pretty amazing breakfast treat to make this weekend!
You’ve probably made monkey bread before. This is a super easy version of making monkey bread using store-bought cinnamon rolls that are sold in the tubes. Guilty admission: we’ve always loved those little canned cinnamon rolls for a quickie treat on weekends. Don’t get me wrong, I love to bake homemade cinnamon rolls, and they are certainly a lot more delicious. But the canned cinnamon rolls are a good substitute to make once in a while. There’s no harm in that!
How to make Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread:
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First you’ll want to make the nut topping. This is a combination of pecans, brown sugar, butter and water. They are sprinkled into a bundt pan. If you don’t have a bundt pan, you can pick up this cheap bundt pan on Amazon. It’s perfect for monkey bread, but it’s also great for making pound cake and traditional bundt cakes. You’ll use it often.
Can you skip the nut topping:
Yes! If you’re not into nuts… or if someone has allergies, you can skip the nut topping entirely.
You will be using two cans of Pillsbury Grands Original Cinnamon Rolls with Icing for this recipe. Each cinnamon roll is quartered. You’ll need the icing from the cans too, so set those aside. You’ll take each cinnamon roll quarter and gently round it slightly in your hand, dip it in butter and cinnamon sugar and then place it into the pan on top of the pecan topping. Repeat with all of the cinnamon roll pieces and layer them into the pan.
The monkey bread syrup comes next. This is a simple combination of brown sugar and butter.
After baking for 30 minutes, your Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread will look like this.
You will turn the pan upside down onto your serving plate.
The final step is adding the icing. This is easy too. Just combine the two containers of frosting from the can with maple syrup and cinnamon, and drizzle over the monkey bread. If you don’t want that extra sweetness, it’s okay to skip the icing. But it’s extra good with the added icing!
The resulting Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread is easy to pull apart for serving. This is a decadent breakfast for sure. I think it’s a good one for making on the weekend for a very special treat. Enjoy!
Here are a few more cinnamon roll themed recipes you might like to try:
- Maple Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
- Cinnamon Roll Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Old Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls
- Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal
Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread
Ingredients
NUT TOPPING:
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon water
CINNAMON ROLLS:
- Two 17.5-ounce cans Pillsbury Grands Original Cinnamon Rolls with Icing
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
CINNAMON ROLL SYRUP:
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
ICING:
- 2 containers Cinnamon Roll Icing
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Spray a traditional 9½-inch bundt pan with nonstick spray.
PREPARE THE NUT TOPPING:
- In a small bowl, combine the pecans, butter, brown sugar and water. Spoon the nut mixture evenly into the bottom of the bundt pan.
PREPARE THE CINNAMON ROLLS:
- Take the cinnamon rolls out of the can and cut each cinnamon roll in half. Then cut them in half again (4 pieces). Combine the sugar and and butter in one bowl and put the melted butter in another bowl. Give a quartered cinnamon roll a squeeze in your hand to make it a little bit rounded, dip it in butter and roll it in the cinnamon sugar. Place it in the nut-lined bundt pan. Repeat with the remaining quartered cinnamon roll pieces, layering in the pan as you go (you should have two layers of the rolls in the pan).
ADD THE CINNAMON ROLL SYRUP AND BAKE:
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and butter. Pour it evenly over the rolls. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let the monkey bread sit in the pan for 10 minutes. Then turn it upside down onto a serving plate.
MAKE THE ICING:
- In a small bowl, combine the two containers of icing with maple syrup and cinnamon. Drizzle the icing over the monkey bread, and serve.
Notes
- Leave the syrup out of the icing if you'd like a thicker icing consistency.
- Pillsbury Grands Southern Homestyle Honey Butter Biscuits may be substituted for the cinnamon rolls. This will be a version without icing, unless you want to make your own.