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Overnight Monkey Bread Recipe

Overnight Monkey Bread is one of my favorite breakfast recipes when I need to feed a crowd, especially on a holiday morning. Sweet, pull-apart rolls that are coated in a delicious glaze and baked in a bundt pan for a beautiful presentation when served.

But what I like most about this recipe is that it is prepared the night before you want to serve it. The rolls then sit on the counter overnight to thaw, rise and blend with the other ingredients.

Then when you wake up in the morning the only thing left to do is to put it in the oven and bake it! And in about 30 minutes, you ready to sink your teeth into sweet rolls that are coated in a sticky and delicious glaze and topped with pecan pieces.

Monkey Bread on a cooling rack.
Overnight monkey bread served on a platter and ready to be eaten!

As much as my family loves my Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole, Cinnamon Roll Casserole and Breakfast Casserole Made With Biscuit Dough, these rolls are always the first to be gone from the breakfast table.

I mean who can resist a sweet pull-apart bread that is ready to eat without any work the morning that it is served? It’s a win-win recipe for both you and your family.

5 Ingredient Monkey Bread

This simple, crowd-favorite recipe requires only 5 easy to find ingredients.

  1. Frozen, Thaw, Rise & Bake Dinner Rolls*
  2. Chopped Pecans
  3. Box of Cook and Serve Butterscotch Pudding**
  4. Unsalted Butter
  5. Light Brown Sugar

*Frozen Dinner Rolls

The base of this recipe begins with a bag of frozen dinner rolls. Although they can sometimes be tricky to find at the grocery store, I most often find them in the freezer section by the frozen pizza dough.

However, sometimes you can find them near the garlic bread or frozen pie crusts instead. Just be sure that you are buying thaw, rise & bake dinner rolls and not heat-and-serve rolls.

frozen dinner rolls
Be sure to purchase Rise and Bake frozen dinner rolls for this recipe. They can found in the freezer section at most grocery stores.

**The Pudding

Although the base of this overnight monkey bread starts with the frozen dinner rolls, what makes these rolls so delicious is the sweet and sticky glaze.

It is a made by sprinkling cook and serve butterscotch pudding on top of the frozen rolls. Then a simple mixture of melted butter and brown sugar is drizzled on top of the dry pudding and rolls.

However, it is critical that you do not mistakenly use Instant Butterscotch Pudding. The pudding must be the ‘cook and serve’ type. It is easy to pick up the wrong box at the grocery so be sure to take a double, and maybe even a triple look when you are checking out.

And no, you don’t need the other ingredients listed on the box to actually make the pudding. You will need only the dry pudding powder. Simply open the packet and sprinkle the powder on top of the frozen rolls.

Then during the baking process, the other ingredients blend together and spread out and over top of the rolls.

butterscotch pudding box
Be sure to purchase the cook and serve type of pudding, not instant pudding!

What Type of Pan To Use

So what type of pan is best to use to make this overnight monkey bread? I prefer to make this recipe in a bundt pan. Not only because of the beautiful serving presentation, but it also allows the bread to be pull apart easily in all directions.

However, if you don’t have a bundt pan, you can also make this recipe in a deep dish 9 x 13 baking pan or two bread loaf pans.

Just remember when you are picking out the pan that you want to use a deep dish pan. That is because the bread will rise as it thaws overnight. Therefore, it is important to have a pan deep enough to allow for this expansion.

RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS

The first step in preparing the overnight monkey bread is to spray non-stick cooking spray in the bottom and up the sides of the dish or dishes that you picked out.

Then evenly sprinkle the chopped pecans in the bottom of the dish. Now open the package of the frozen dinner rolls and spread them out evenly throughout the pan.

You may or may not need the entire package of the frozen rolls. However they should be stacked on top of each other, in at least 2-3 layers.

*If you don’t have a full-size bundt pan, you will need to decrease the amount of frozen dinner rolls that you add to the dish. As a general guideline fill the baking dish no further than the half-way point.

Then sprinkle the tops of the frozen rolls with the dry, cook and serve, butterscotch pudding. Then set the pan aside while you prepare the other glaze ingredients.

frozen dinner rolls in bundt pan
The night before, prepare the ingredients and let the rolls sit overnight to rise.

In a small saucepan melt the butter and stir in the brown sugar until it melts. Pour this hot mixture over the top of the rolls and pudding.

The liquid will drizzle down between the frozen rolls to the bottom layer. After you have used all of the butter and sugar mixture cover the top of the dish with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

The spray is necessary because the rolls will thaw and rise overnight and touch the top of the plastic. The spray will make it easier to remove the plastic in the morning.

Baking Instructions

When you wake up, you will be shocked at how much that the rolls grew in size. The dough may even be slightly taller than the sides of your baking dish. No worries!

As long as they are not falling out of the pan, the overnight monkey bread is ready for the oven! If they are falling out, compress the rolls so that they deflate a bit.

Then place an oven rack in the lowest position and another one just below the middle slot of your oven. Then preheat the oven and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil. This is to help catch any drippings that may fall out of the pan and prevent the sugary substance from smoking on the bottom of the oven.

When the oven is hot and ready, place the prepared baking sheet on the bottom rack and then place the monkey bread on the rack placed right below the middle slot.

Bake Time

Bake for 30 minutes. Once the rolls are cooked through remove the monkey bread from oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. As the bread cools, it will deflate somewhat.

monkey bread pulling apart
To eat, simply pull a roll and the sweet bread will easily come apart.

To serve, place a large plate over the top of the baking dish and carefully flip it over. You will see that the bread comes out easily if the pan was well greased.

Be sure to remove any pecan pieces that may be on the bottom of the pan and place them on top of the rolls. Once it is cool enough to touch, pull the sticky rolls apart to eat.

Enjoy! Mary

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Overnight Monkey Bread

Monkey Bread on a cooling rack.

A delicious pull apart sweet roll recipe that is prepared the night before and baked in the morning.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Inactive Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup of chopped pecans
  • 24 frozen dinner rolls
  • 1 small box cook and serve butterscotch pudding
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle pecans in a greased bundt pan.
  2. Place frozen dinner rolls into pan.
  3. Sprinkle with butterscotch pudding.
  4. In a small saucepan melt the butter and stir in brown sugar. Pour over rolls.
  5. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit on counter overnight.
  6. In the morning, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a cookie sheet on the bottom rack and then bake the monkey bread on a lower rack for 30 minutes.
  7. Remove from oven and let it rest for 5 minutes.
  8. Place a large plate over the top of the monkey bread and flip over.
  9. Pull apart to eat.

Notes

  • If you don't have a full size bundt pan you can make monkey bread in any deep dish baking pan or two full size bread loaf pans. However, you may need to decrease the amount of rolls used. You don't want the frozen dough to go up past the half-way point of the baking dish or they will expand up and out of the pan. Be sure to check for doneness after 20 minutes of baking if using smaller pans.
  • If you do decrease the number of rolls used slightly it is okay to use the same amount of glaze.
  • Feel free to substitute the type of chopped nuts used or leave them out completely. Walnuts are also a great choice.
  • Monkey bread is best eaten right away, however you can store leftovers in a covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
  • Reheat a portion of the bread on a microwaveable plate for 15-25 seconds before serving.

Recipe provided by Make Your Meals

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1 grams

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 861Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 106mgSodium: 1956mgCarbohydrates: 107gFiber: 8gSugar: 39gProtein: 41g

Nutritional Information is to be used as a general guideline only . Nutritional calculations will vary from the types and brands of the products used.

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