This easy Grands monkey bread recipe can be totally customized with your family’s favorite chopped nuts and dried fruits! Or just leave it plain, it’s delicious either way…
Doesn’t this Grands monkey bread just scream special occasion?!? It looks like you slaved for hours making it, but since it starts with Pillsbury Grands Homestyle Biscuits, it’s so easy to make. We’ll be making it again for Christmas morning tomorrow, alongside a big tray of baked bacon!
But how does it taste? Well, my almost 13-year-old is the breakfast connoisseur around here… His all-time favorite breakfast is my French toast casserole. I know this because, not only does he rave about it every time I make it, but he also posts a picture of it to his Instagram feed to brag about it (as he did on Thanksgiving morning).
So when I saw this pop up in my feed, I knew this easy monkey bread recipe was a winner!
You might be wondering where monkey bread got its name from — I know my kids were all curious. After a little googling, I discovered that there are lots of theories, but the one that makes the most sense to me is that, rather than slicing monkey bread, you pull and pick off little chunks, much like the way monkeys eat. Pretty fitting since I’m always calling my kids monkeys!
You’ll need a tube pan for this monkey bread recipe. I picked up one similar to this Nordic Ware Cast Bundt Pan at Walmart for $21.97. I believe it’s a slightly larger 14.5-cup capacity, and it’s really heavy duty with a non-stick finish, so I’m sure to get years of use out of it.
Note that you absolutely DO NOT want to use a tube pan that has a removable bottom! The hot sugar syrup can leak out of removable bottom pans, so be sure to use a one-piece pan.
This Grands monkey bread can be customized to your family’s tastes. The original recipe called for optional chopped walnuts and raisins, but I opted to use chopped pecans and dried cranberries because it seemed to fit the holiday season. I’m dying to try some shredded coconut and macadamia nuts, though!
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PinIngredients
- 2 cans ( 16.3-oz.) Pillsbury Grands Homestyle Buttermilk Biscuits
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
- 1/2 cup dried fruit (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a one-piece 12-cup or larger tube pan.
- In a large plastic food storage bag, mix together granulated sugar and cinnamon. Separate the biscuit dough into 16 biscuits, and cut each biscuit into 4 pieces.
- Shake the biscuit pieces up in the bag to coat with the cinnamon-sugar mixture, and layer in the greased pan. If you’re adding chopped nuts and/or dried fruit, sprinkle them among the pieces as you layer. Note that the pan will not be filled to the top, but the biscuits will expand while baking, almost doubling in size.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Remove from heat. Whisk in the brown sugar and vanilla, and then pour over top of the biscuit pieces in the tube pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 32-35 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn upside down on to serving plate, and serve warm.
One last note, don’t let your monkey bread cool all the way in the pan — 10 minutes is just right. That way when you turn it over, it pops out easily and the extra sugar syrup drizzles its way down through the bread. Enjoy!
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