This sweet and fluffy Vegan Monkey Bread has everything you love from classic cinnamon rolls: a brown sugar coating, sweet vanilla glaze, and soft and fluffy dough. The only difference? Balls of sticky cinnamon dough are baked together in one pan to create a super fun treat that’s perfect for a crowd. Making pull apart bread from scratch does take a little bit of effort but I promise it’s worth it. It goes a little something like this: I think you’re really going to love this! For an extra special brunch, serve this cinnamon pull apart bread along with a second batch of my Caramel Monkey Bread. The only thing better than one treat is two, right?
Why is it called monkey bread?
Balls of bread dough are all pressed together in one pan when making monkey bread. When it’s done, the sticky loaf is flipped out of the pan and served to a crowd. Everyone uses their hands to pick the gooey balls of dough right from the loaf, just like how a monkey picks its at its food!
How to make monkey bread from scratch
Mix the milk, yeast, sugar, butter, flour, and salt together using a stand mixer with a dough hook. Continue adding flour until the dough is slightly sticky. Knead the finished dough on a floured surface. Let the dough rise until it’s doubled in size. Prepare the sugar coating by mixing the melted butter together with the sugars and cinnamon. Form the dough into a square and cut it into about 50-60 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, dip in melted butter, then the sugar mixture, and place into your greased bundt pan. Keep building layers until you run out of pieces. Bake until it’s bubbling around the edges. Let it cool for a few minutes before flipping the pan over onto a platter. After 10 minutes, drizzle the vanilla icing on top and start picking away!
Make ahead instructions
You can start this recipe the night before and finish baking it the next morning. Just follow the instrutions until the coated balls of dough are in the pan. Cover the top with plastic and leave the pan in the fridge overnight. Take the bread out of the fridge at least 1 hour before baking so the dough has time to come down to room temperature (this helps it bake evenly). Then bake, drizzle with icing, and enjoy!
Tips and substitutions
Baking with yeast – I like using instant yeast because it makes the recipe faster. Regular yeast works just as well, but you’ll need to let the dough rise for about two hours instead of one.Vegan butter – Coconut oil should work in place of the vegan butter in the brown sugar coating.Dairy free milk – Any dairy free milk works in this recipe!If you don’t have a stand mixer, mix the dough by hand using a wooden spoon.Don’t let the bread sit in the pan for longer than 5 minutes or else some of the pieces will stick to the sides.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to use a bundt pan? Nope! You can make monkey bread in a regular pie pan or a large rectangular pan instead.Can it be made gluten free? I haven’t tested this recipe with a gluten free flour. You can try a 1:1 gluten free flour instead of the all purpose flour but the results may vary.Can I freeze it? You can freeze uncoated monkey bread balls for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the refrigerator before baking, then coat and bake as directed.How long does it last? The baked bread lasts for 4 days in the fridge when covered well. Warm it in the oven before serving.
More soft and sweet vegan treats
Vegan Cinnamon RollsVegan Boston Cream DonutsStrawberry RollsApple FrittersCinnamon Sugar Donuts
