5 Ingredient Caramel Monkey Bread

Making Caramel Monkey Bread with canned biscuits is an easy way to get incredibly gooey, flaky monkey bread on the table in under an hour. This breakfast will have the whole family running to the table for a piece!

A Breakfast Treat with 15 Minutes Prep

Overhead shot of monkey bread made in a bundt pan.

When it comes to hosting or holiday prep, the last thing any of us needs is another complicated, time-intensive recipe.

Sure, I occasionally (ie: once a year) love to invest in a batch of Overnight Cinnamon Rolls, but for most occasions, I’m looking for something quick and easy that will still delight a crowd.

This Caramel Monkey Bread requires little work and offers A LOT of sweet reward, so we can all focus our time and energy on more important things, like drinking our coffee in peace.

Hand pulling a flaky piece of caramel monkey bread.

Here’s why we love making Monkey Bread with Canned Biscuits:

  • It’s so fast. Popping open a can of biscuits takes just seconds, and you don’t have to mess with yeast! They’re a favorite short cut for Air Fryer Donuts as well!
  • It’s so flaky! We’re talking layers of caramely pull apart goodness here.
  • It’s got a homemade sauce. Rather than a cinnamon sugar coating, the biscuits are soaked in a delicious brown sugar caramel sauce you can make in five minutes.

For maybe 20 minutes worth of work, you’ll have gooey, sticky, caramelized dough that pulls apart effortlessly when you grab a piece. The nature of this dish lends itself to holiday eating. Place one or two of these in the center of the table and people can grab a hunk or two as they wake up or nibble on them throughout the morning.

5 Simple Ingredients

Ingredients for monkey bread with canned biscuits, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.
  • Grands flaky canned biscuits– you’ll need one 8 count can for this recipe. You can use the buttermilk or original variety, but definitely get the FLAKY kind, not the homestyle kind.
  • Brown sugar
  • Salted butter
  • Cinnamon
  • Vanilla extract

How to Make Caramel Monkey Bread with Canned Biscuits

  1. Prep for baking. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a bundt pan with cooking spray or butter.
  2. Cut biscuits into small pieces, at least 8 per biscuit.
  3. Make caramel sauce. Combine brown sugar, water, and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a full boil then immediately remove from heat and stir in the cinnamon and vanilla.
  4. Dip biscuits. Fold half the biscuits into the butter mixture, coating them completely. Remove biscuits from caramel mixture with a spoon and place in the prepared bundt pan. Add remaining biscuit pieces to the caramel mixture and coat, then add them to the pan. Pour any remaining caramel sauce on top.
  5. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Remove and invert onto a rimmed serving plate. Serve immediately.

Tips and FAQS for Caramel Monkey Bread

  • The bundt pan will be very hot, so you’ll need to use oven mitts to invert the caramel monkey bread. To invert, place your plate or tray on top of the bundt pan, then flip.
  • The caramel sauce can be a bit messy, so I recommend using a rounded or rimmed serving plate or even a large shallow bowl to catch any stray sauce.
  • This recipe doesn’t make a very “tall” bundt, but I prefer to only use one can of biscuits for a high biscuit-to-caramel-sauce ratio.

Can you make caramel monkey bread ahead of time?

Unfortunately, not really. This monkey bread is best served soon after being baked, but leftovers can be microwaved for 30 seconds.

How many people does this serve?

I suppose this dish should probably serve 8, but in our house it serves about 4. Am I embarrassed of that fact? No way. And you won’t be either once you get a taste of this for yourself. This fluffy golden mess of carbs is worth wearing your elastic waist pants for a few days.

Fingers pulling a piece of monkey bread off the loaf.

Can you double the recipe?

You can double it, but I would bake it in two different pans to ensure the center biscuits cook all the way through.

Does caramel monkey bread have to be made in a bundt pan?

No, you could also make this in a square casserole dish or deep dish pie dish.

Hand grabbing a piece of flaky caramel monkey bread.

More Sweet Breakfast Recipes

We love keeping this Sour Cream Banana Bread or this Lemon Zucchini Bread on hand for quick breakfast treats.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins are a great grab and go breakfast.

This Apple Cinnamon Roll Bake uses another favorite short cut (canned cinnamon rolls) to make a delightful fall breakfast.

Double Chocolate Waffles are about as decadent as it gets for breakfast.

Overhead shot of monkey bread made in a bundt pan.

Caramel Monkey Bread with Canned Biscuits

Yield: 4-6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Caramel Monkey Bread with Canned Biscuits is the easiest way to get gooey, flaky monkey bread on the table in less than an hour. The key to the delicious sauce is the quick homemade caramel!

Ingredients

  • 1 (8 count) can Grands flaky biscuits
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup salted butter
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a bundt pan with cooking spray or butter.
  2. Cut biscuits into small pieces, at least 8 per biscuit. I like to stack two biscuits at a time and use kitchen shears to cut them.
  3. Combine brown sugar, water, and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a full boil then immediately remove from heat and stir in the cinnamon and vanilla.
  4. Fold half the biscuits into the butter mixture, coating them completely. Remove biscuits from caramel mixture and place in the prepared bundt pan. Add remaining biscuit pieces to the caramel mixture and coat, then add them to the pan. Pour any remaining caramel sauce on top.
  5. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the tops of the biscuits are golden. Remove and invert onto a rimmed serving plate. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • You can use buttermilk or regular Grands biscuits, as long as itโ€™s the flaky Grands biscuit, not homestyle.
  • To invert, place your plate or tray on top of the bundt pan, then flip. Youโ€™ll need to use oven mitts, because the bundt pan will be very hot.
  • The caramel sauce can be a bit messy, so we recommend using a rounded or rimmed serving plate or even a large shallow bowl to catch any stray sauce.
  • Recommended Products

    As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Nutrition Information:
    Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
    Amount Per Serving: Calories: 319Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 283mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 0gSugar: 31gProtein: 2g

    Please note nutritional information for my recipes is calculated by a third party service and provided as a courtesy to my readers. For the most accurate calculation, I always recommend running the numbers yourself with the specific products you use.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Leave a review, or head over to Instagram and share a photo! Tag your projects with #neighborfoodies!

    45 Comments

    1. I made this recipe at midnight, was going to wait till morning but I couldn’t wait. Perfect like you said.
      I added caramel tidbits into each piece. I will make again.
      Thank you,

    2. Can I prepare all items and stick it in the fridge to bake the next morning? Hosting 7 boys for a birthday sleepover and I bet they would love this in the morning!

      1. I don’t recommend using the non-flaky layers, as it won’t puff up or have the same pull apart texture as the flaky kind.

    3. cut some pieces of cream cheese and stick in the middle of the cut up
      biscuit and wrap the biscuit around it.

      1. You could. You would want to make sure there is enough room in your bundt pan for the mixture to nearly double in size while baking. My guess is you would need to bake a little longer, but I’ve never tried it myself.

    4. I used to make monkey bread every Christmas morning…hoping my family doesn’t catch a glimpse of your gorgeous version or I’ll be making an early run to the market! Merry Christmas!!! xo

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.