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Close-up of homemade monkey bread on a white plate, covered in gooey cinnamon-caramel sauce, with soft pull-apart dough pieces glistening.

Monkey Bread Using Frozen Dinner Roll Dough

This gooey, pull-apart Monkey Bread is made using my homemade dinner roll dough — the same dough from my viral roll recipe! You can use fresh dough or thaw frozen dough, making this the perfect make-ahead sweet treat. Each bite is coated in cinnamon-sugar and drenched in buttery caramel goodness. Cozy, sticky, and irresistible for holidays, brunch, or an easy weekend dessert. Serve warm and watch it disappear!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
if thawing frozen dough: 4 hours
Course: Bread, Dessert
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Monkey Bread:
  • 30 oz thawed dinner roll dough or biscuit dough
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup butter
  • ½ cup brown sugar
For the dinner rolls dough:
  • 2 ½ cups warm water
  • 2 Tbsp active dry yeast
  • ½ cup salted butter melted (1 stick)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 7 cups all-purpose flour

Equipment

  • Bundt Pan

Method
 

For the monkey bread:
  1. Prep: Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan and preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Cut & Coat: Cut dough into bite-size pieces. Toss in a mixture of 1 cup sugar + 2 tsp cinnamon. Place coated dough pieces into the Bundt pan.
  3. Make Syrup: In a saucepan, melt 1 cup butter with ½ cup brown sugar and ½ cup leftover cinnamon-sugar mixture. Stir until smooth — do not boil.
  4. Bake: Pour mixture over dough. Bake 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.
  5. Serve: Let cool 5 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate. Serve warm and enjoy every sticky, gooey bite!
For the dinner rolls dough:
  1. Combine warm water and yeast; rest 2–3 minutes.
  2. Add melted butter, salt, sugar, egg, and flour. Mix until combined; knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
  3. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and rise 40 minutes.
  4. Punch down and shape into rolls — or into dough balls for freezing or monkey bread.
  5. To freeze: Place dough balls on a tray and freeze solid (about 3 hours). Transfer to a freezer bag.
  6. To bake later: Thaw 4 hours until soft and puffy, then bake like fresh.

Notes

 For monkey bread, let frozen dough balls thaw and rise before assembling.
  • Add chopped pecans for a caramel-pecan twist
  • Drizzle with vanilla glaze after baking
  • Use brown sugar + cinnamon only for a deeper caramel flavor
  • Make ahead: assemble the night before and bake in the morning