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. 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.
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
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 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.
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!
- 24 Rhodes dinner rolls , almost thawed
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter (one stick)
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 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.
- Sprinkle the top with any leftover sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later! 
Post updated 8/2018
These are the best! Soooo much better than the biscuit ones I have made for years.
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?
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?
Should they be allowed to rise before baking to fluff them up?
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.
G’day! I have very fond memories of this bread since childhood!
Congrats on being chosen one of Tara’s #FeaturedFoodies
Cheers! Joanne