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Made with frozen dinner roll dough, Rhodes Rolls Monkey Bread really is the best. The fluffy chunks of bread are covered in cinnamon and sugar and baked in a gooey, butter sauce that makes this perfect for breakfast or dessert!
I made this Rhodes Rolls Monkey Bread for our Sunday school class. Because I was putting it together on a Sunday morning (easily the CRAZIEST day in our home) I didn’t have any plans to blog the recipe.
But as I was on my way to choir practice before church, I sent my husband a message asking him to snap a photo just in case.
I’m glad he did, because this turned out so well and several people asked for the recipe. But since it was just a cell phone picture and it’s now several years old, I decided to give this post little love with some updated pictures. 🙂
The thing that sets this recipe apart from all other Monkey Bread recipes is that it’s made with frozen yeast rolls, rather than refrigerated biscuit dough. There’s also NO butterscotch pudding required-just a buttery brown sugar mixture that caramelizes while baking. YUM.
I’ve tried other brands, but I get the best results with Rhodes dinner rolls from the freezer section. (And no, this isn’t a sponsored post.) 😉
The result is tender bites of bread, covered in cinnamon and sugar, rather than dry biscuits. I honestly don’t like Monkey Bread made any other way. Unless you are going to go with homemade dough like this Garlic Butter Pizza Monkey Bread. *chef’s kiss*
I got the idea from Elle’s Studio and even made it in a baking pan like hers the first time I tried this recipe, but I believe it cooks much more quickly and evenly in a Bundt cake pan. Besides, it looks prettier this way. 🙂
Stick with a good quality Nordic Ware Bundt pan like this one to get an even bake and make it easy to remove.
Most bags of Rhodes rolls (found in the freezer section) will come with 36 rolls in a bag. This recipe calls for just 24 rolls, though. The fuller the pan, the more likely you will get a sticky mess spilling over the sides, so stick with 24 if you’re making Rhodes Rolls Monkey Bread in a Bundt pan.
Start by cutting the rolls in fourths and then rolling them in a sugar and cinnamon mixture. This works best when the rolls are mostly thawed, but still partially frozen. It makes it easier to cut them up while still holding their shape.
Then toss the pieces of dough into a well greased pan and pour the butter and brown sugar mixture all over the dough. After that, all you have to do is bake and you’ve got a gorgeous pan of monkey bread that tastes so much better than the kind made with biscuit dough.
This monkey bread is a “special occasion” breakfast and always gets popular around Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who loves to bake for the holidays! If you want to really take it up a notch, try making Cream Cheese Stuffed Monkey Bread.
Can I make this into an overnight monkey bread recipe?
Yes! Prepare the recipe as directed, but then cover and refrigerate overnight. If you leave them out on the counter, the dough will rise way too much. In the morning when you’re ready to bake, pull it out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Then bake as directed.
Do I need to thaw the frozen rolls first?
Nope. Well, at least not all the way. I pull mine out and let them sit at room temperature for a little while so they start to get soft around the outside. But having them still partially frozen helps make it easier to cut them into fourths. By the time you have finished cutting them up and rolling them in the cinnamon and sugar, they should be thawed out.
Do I need to let the dough rise?
You can, but I don’t. 🙂 If you leave them in the refrigerator overnight, they will rise a bit even in the cold. This yields a slightly softer, fluffier bread after baking. If you go straight from prepping to baking, they will cook just fine. You’ll end up with nicely defined chunks of bread that are perfect for a “tear and share” loaf.
More “special occasion” breakfast ideas:
- Reindeer Pancakes for Christmas
- Overnight French Toast Bake (perfect for busy holiday mornings like Thanksgiving!)
- 17 Christmas Breakfast Ideas
Rhodes Rolls Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 24 Rhodes dinner rolls , almost thawed
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter (one stick)
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Mix sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
- Cut rolls into fourths.
- Coat each piece with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. (If you coat generously, you may need to mix a little more)
- Toss coated pieces into a greased bundt pan.
- Over low/medium heat, melt butter and stir in brown sugar until mixed well (about two minutes.)
- Pour over bread pieces as evenly as possible.
- Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.
- Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Place a plate or serving platter on top of the pan and then flip it over to turn out the ring. Tap gently to get it to release.
- Sprinkle the top with any leftover sugar and cinnamon mixture. Serve warm.
Nutrition
Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later! 
Post updated 8/2018
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jim anderson says
i put in a cup of vanilla ice cream cooking brown sugar and melting butter for caramel
Nicole Burkholder says
Oooooo…that sounds pretty good! Nothing like a few extra calories 😉
Jamie says
Wonderful recipe for Christmas morning! Thank you for this! My family and I really enjoyed it.
Christina Mickelson says
Nicole,
I’m going to make this for Christmas morning. I am wondering how much butter is needed for the recipe and if it needs to be melted butter when it is poured in. I’m a novice in this endevor!
Thanks!
Christina
Nicole Burkholder says
Scroll all the way down (past the step by step photos) and you’ll see a recipe card with all the information and steps you need. It’s 1/2 cup of butter (one stick) and yes, you do melt it-with the brown sugar. Follow the instructions in the recipe card for that. Enjoy!
Sarah says
I’m wondering how long the rolls should thaw before beginning? Trying to assess if I’ll have time to make these on a weekday morning
Nicole Burkholder says
It depends on how warm your house it 🙂 I will pull them out and leave them on the counter for 20 minutes (?) or so. If they are still partially frozen, it makes it easier to slice them into quarters. Then I mix the sugar/cinnamon and start rolling them. They are always fully thawed by the time I get through rolling all the pieces. I do one at a time, rather than tossing them all into a bowl. You get better coverage on each piece and it gives them time to thaw the rest of the way. It’s a little time consuming and tedious, so making this on a weekday morning might be a stretch unless you’re an early riser. You have the bake time and cool time to consider as well. MMMMmmmmm…but it is SO worth it. 🙂
Brigette Elliott says
Do the dough balls not need to rise at all before baking?
Nicole Burkholder says
Nope! They puff up nicely in the oven. They should be fully thawed by the time they get into the oven, though.
Joyce says
I want to make the day before and reheat when I serve it! Is this possible and if so what temperature and for how long! Could I take out of pan and wrap in aluminum foil?
Nicole Burkholder says
I have reheated small pieces in the microwave just to soften them up again, but I’ve never done the whole ring before. My suggestion would be to leave the bread in the pan. When you’re ready to reheat it, cover it in foil and bake until it the caramel sauce starts to get bubbly again. (Assuming it hasn’t all soaked up into the bread by that time.)
The other option would be to do all the prep (cutting, rolling in sugar, making the sauce, etc.) and then put it in the fridge overnight. Then the next day you can just bake it right from the refrigerator. The risk you take is that the rolls will still rise in the fridge and you might end up with overly “puffy” and airy monkey bread. But it would still taste good. I’d put a baking sheet under the Bundt pan to make sure you don’t spill over the sides at all. They really shouldn’t rise too much in the refrigerator, so it might just be a viable option for you!
Norma says
This is delicious! Everything is proportioned just right, but I use 1 full cup of brown sugar and scatter 1/2 c chopped walnuts and 1/2 c raisins throughout – put about 1/3 of them in first before layering the roll bits, and scatter some throughout. Reminds me of the tasty ‘cinnamon buns’ we’d buy by the dozen in Philadelphia in my youth. Can’t wait to make this again.
Nicole Burkholder says
My grandma ALWAYS included raisins in her homemade cinnamon buns! I think adding some nuts, too, is a great idea. They give it some texture and crunch. Sounds like a great variation 🙂
Myra says
I made this tonight turned out good. However, about half of the pieces that were at the bottom of the pan(top after it’s flipped) didn’t rise and were just tough dough pieces. How can that be avoided?
Nicole Burkholder says
Perhaps the pan was a little crowded? Did you use only the number of rolls listed in the recipe? I had a batch once that didn’t rise/cook properly, too. They were really old (I found them in the back of the freezer.) Was your dough quite old?
Jenn says
We use this recipe all the time! It’s delicious!! We use it frequently for a night time snack!
Anonymous says
So good! I added pecans as the last ingredient before putting in the oven. They dried out – they should be the first thing put in the pan, so after the rolls are cooked and turned out the pecans are on top! Love and learn! Delicious recipe!
Nicole Burkholder says
Adding pecans is a great idea! But you’re right, they need to be on the bottom with all the gooey sauce sinking down to cover them. Then they are top when you flip it over. 🙂 Next time!
Mattie says
My husband made these for me for Mother’s Day and they were DELICIOUS! Plus, I love that you don’t need butterscotch pudding, like many recipes call for.
Nicole Burkholder says
Quick, easy and so yummy, right? I’m glad you liked it. And kudos to your husband for conquering a homemade goody for Mother’s Day 🙂
Dee says
I made these on Christmas morning and they are fabulous. I’ve tried various recipes for monkey bread but I usually found them too sweet or just not that great. I love your recipe – it’s perfect.
Nicole Burkholder says
It’s a perfect Christmas morning treat! I’m so happy to hear you loved it.
Teresa says
Thank you! I had left over frozen rolls from the holidays so I made this for Valentines breakfast this morning! I halfed the recipe and it worked great! I have a small heart shaped Bundt pan so it was super cute!
Nicole Burkholder says
What a fun idea!I love doing themed things like that to make holidays special
Melissa says
I’m curious if you let the rolls rise before baking?
Nicole Burkholder says
No, I just let them thaw most of the way. (They are easy to slice if they are still partly frozen.) While you’re cutting and rolling them in the sugar mixture, they should finish thawing.
Milli Hutt says
I was wondering what a serving size would be?
Nicole Burkholder says
The whole thing serves 16, but figuring out 1/16th is a little tough 🙂 That would be about 6 pieces of the dough. But it’s very rich, so you don’t need too much. I would say it serves 12-16, but for the nutritional value to calculate, you have to pick a number and go with it.
Rona says
Good morning. This is my first time using this brand. I have to make monkey bread for our family Christmas gathering and I’ve made it before with the cinnamon and other sweet stuff, but they don’t want that (diabetics). They just want butter. Do I do the same thing but just omit all the other ingredients and just cut up and dip in butter and then put into Bundt cake mold?
Nicole Burkholder says
The “sweet stuff” is what holds it all together and actually makes it Monkey Bread. Without it, you’ll just be servings buttered dinner rolls for breakfast. 😀 I’d suggest going with a sugar alternative like splenda. It usually is 1:1 for granulated sugar and you’ll get a much better result than little balls of plain bread and butter 🙂
Stacy A. says
Absolutely delicious! This was so much better then making it with the Pilsbury biscuits. I let the rolls sit out for about a half hour first, cut and shook them in the cin/sugar, placed them in the Bundt pan in the fridge overnight. In the morning I put the Carmel sauce on and baked. Came out PERFECT!
LaCelle P Howard says
Really easy and great to eat! I added some chopped walnuts to the cinnamon/sugar mixture, but that’s the only thing differently that I did.
Nicole Burkholder says
That’s a nice way to add some texture and flavor!
Holly says
Do you have to serve this as soon as it’s done or can you leave it to cool in the bundt pan and then reheat and turn out the next day? I’m hoping to save some time by making it the day before but I still want it to have the nice shape when I serve it.
Nicole Burkholder says
We’ve had leftovers the next day, but I haven’t reheated them-we’ve just pulled it apart and nibbled. It’s *best* served hot and sticky and fresh from the oven, but I think it would be OK to make ahead and reheat. I think what I would do is make a little extra “sauce” to pour over when you reheat it. That way it won’t get too dried out with the second bake.
Sue E says
Absolute disaster. Don’t waste your time or money on this one.
Nicole Burkholder says
Oh no! What do you think happened? We make this recipe for just about every holiday breakfast and haven’t ever had issues with it.
Willo Fuhr says
Is it ok to use angel food cake pan and if so can I use the whole package of rolls.
Thanks
Nicole Burkholder says
If that’s all you have, it should be ok, but they don’t quite conduct heat and cook the same way. Make sure you have enough “sauce” to cover everything if you’re going to do more rolls. The cook time will probably need to be increased as well, since the pan stacks higher and you’re baking more rolls. Check it and then add time as needed 🙂
Kristin. Metz says
These are the best! Soooo much better than the biscuit ones I have made for years.
ELLEN TRUFANT says
Today is th2nd time I have tried to make these and both times the rolls didn’t rise at all and became hard small chunks of dough uncooked in the middle.
What might I be doing wrong?
Nicole Burkholder says
Did you thaw the rolls before cooking? They should be just slightly frozen while you’re cutting them up and then by the time you’re ready to bake after prepping, the dough is thawed. What kind of pan are you using?
Joy Smith says
Should they be allowed to rise before baking to fluff them up?
Nicole Burkholder says
I never have. You want the smaller dough “bites” rather than a big, airy dinner roll. The only thing I’ve ever done is thaw them enough to cut (just slightly frozen still) and then tossed them in the pan. By the time they are all caught and ready to go, I put it in the oven. I will say, I’ve never used another brand-only Rhodes brand frozen dinner rolls.
Joanne T Ferguson says
G’day! I have very fond memories of this bread since childhood!
Congrats on being chosen one of Tara’s #FeaturedFoodies
Cheers! Joanne