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Home Muffins

Monkey Bread Muffins

24 minutes
Posted:1/29/21
Updated:2/4/21
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Easy to make Monkey Bread Muffins recipe made with refrigerated biscuits!  You only need 5 ingredients to make this simple alternative to Monkey Bread with no bundt pan needed!

monkey bread muffins in muffin pan

Monkey Bread Muffins Recipe

I was craving some sticky sweet Monkey Bread, but I didn’t have a bundt pan on hand so instead I made these Monkey Bread Muffins. This recipe is super easy to make, made with refrigerated biscuits and 4 other ingredients I know you have in your kitchen already.

Here’s a recipe video I made to show you easy these muffins are to make!

Facts about Monkey Bread

When I looked up the origin of the word “Monkey Bread”, Wikipedia told me: “The origin of the term “monkey bread” is uncertain.” Wow, that was helpful (not). So I did some deep searching and here are some facts I found:

  • Monkey bread is also called monkey puzzle bread, sticky bread, African coffee cake, golden crown, pinch-me cake, pluck-it cake, bubbleloaf and monkey brains. 
  • It first appeared in cookbooks in the 1950s.
  • It’s mostly popular in the United States.

Why do they call it Monkey Bread?

Ok what about the name?  Most of my results were helpless, but here’s what I could put together on where the title “Monkey Bread” comes from.

There is an African tree called the Monkey Bread tree that has an exceedingly thick trunk and an edible pulp.  Some people think that Monkey Bread is named after the tree as it slightly resembles it.

Alternatively, some people believe Monkey Bread gets its name from monkeys.  When eating monkey bread, people usually tear it apart with their fingers, much like how monkeys eat.  

What is monkey bread made of?

You only need 5 simple ingredients to make it: refrigerated biscuits, melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon. You probably already have these ingredients in your kitchen!

How to Make Monkey Bread Muffins

Spray your muffin pan with nonstick spray, bottoms and sides. Don’t skip this step as this will prevent the muffins from sticking when you slide them out.  Now pour the butter and brown sugar mixture into each muffin cup.

spoon pouring butter and brown sugar into muffin cups

Rip each biscuit into 6 pieces, you don’t have to be exact with sizes, just make them about even. I used Pillsbury biscuits, but any brand works.

refrigerated biscuits ripped up into pieces

Shake up white sugar and ground cinnamon in a plastic bag.  Then put the ripped up biscuits inside and shake to coat evenly.

bag of cinnamon sugar with biscuits in it

Fill each muffin cup up with about 8-10 pieces. Continue until all the muffin pieces are gone.

muffin pan filled with biscuits with cinnamon sugar mixture on it

Into the oven it goes, and in about 14 minutes this magic will emerge. By the way, your kitchen is going to smell amazing!

baked monkey bread muffins

Let sit for 1 minute before turning the pan upside down. Each muffin should easily slide out. These are best served warm so now go and eat them up! 🙂

monkey bread muffins on white plate on blue table

Does monkey bread have to be refrigerated?

Although Monkey Bread is best served warm, you do not need to refrigerate the muffins. Instead, store the leftover muffins in an airtight container on your kitchen counter.

More Muffin Recipes You’ll Love:

Mini Blueberry Muffins
Mini Coffee Cake Muffins Recipe
Mini and Moist Banana Muffins
Sprinkle Birthday Cake Muffins
Moist Banana Muffins Recipe Made With Yogurt

Pin for later:

Easy to make Monkey Bread Muffins recipe made with refrigerated biscuits!  You only need 5 ingredients to make this simple alternative to Monkey Bread with no bundt pan needed!


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4.71 from 17 votes

Monkey Bread Muffins

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Easy to make Monkey Bread Muffins recipe made with refrigerated biscuits!  You only need 5 ingredients to make this simple alternative to Monkey Bread with no bundt pan needed!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes
Total Time 24 minutes
serves 12

Ingredients

  • 2 7.5 oz cans refrigerated biscuits
  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a muffin sheet with nonstick spray, bottoms and sides.
  • Mix melted butter and brown sugar together in small bowl, spoon 1 tablespoon into each muffin cup.
  • Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Take each biscuit and rip it up into 6 pieces. Put the biscuit pieces in bag and shake to coat evenly.
  • Place 8-10 pieces of biscuits into each muffin cup to evenly fill them up. If you have any sugar left in the bag, sprinkle on top of the muffins.
  • Bake for 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for just 1 minute.
  • Turn upside down, the muffins should fall right out. Serve warm, enjoy!

Video:

Course:Dessert
Cuisine:American
Keyword:monkey bread muffins
Did you make this?I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @BrooklynFarmGirl and don’t forget to leave a comment & rating below.

Check out my Monkey Bread Muffins Web Story!

Similar Recipes

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  • Fluffy Chocolate Chip Muffins
  • Banana White Chocolate Chip Muffins
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  1. Lisa(G-ma in the kitchen) says

    March 6, 2022 at 8:42 pm

    Making this in Tuesday with my G-daughter let let u know after words . From G-Ma in the kitchen.

    Reply
  2. Mary says

    February 26, 2022 at 8:36 pm

    This or recipe is super delicious! I highly recommend!

    Reply
  3. Kate D says

    February 12, 2022 at 12:19 pm

    Yummy! I baked them in foil cupcake cups so I could share with a neighbor. Love your recipes! Can’t wait to try more.

    Reply
  4. elaine cowan says

    December 21, 2021 at 9:16 am

    Can I prepare these and refrigerate the night before, then bake in the morning? Would that work?

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      December 21, 2021 at 1:51 pm

      Hey Elaine, you sure can. I would remove from the refrigerator right when you preheat the oven, that way they have a few minutes to warm up to room temperature before baking. Enjoy the muffins!

      Reply
  5. Cathy 'Granny Grump' Smith says

    June 27, 2021 at 6:00 pm

    I did not make this specific one but I can tell at my age it’s a keeper,. I am 63 and you are such a baby, beautiful but still a baby to me. I remember my first ‘Monkey Bread” Recipe, as I recall, it was those Rhodes frozen bread things ya have to rise. Well this recipe called for dipping a raw one in butter then in butterscotch pudding mix, and layering in the pan, then you had to let it rise till the right size, then poured some warm cream and milk over them then baked them. I was so young and dumb, it made a holy terror of a mess. Lol. So glad someone did em right back then. Wishing ya lots of luck and dry apron tails.

    Reply
  6. Courtney says

    March 22, 2021 at 2:28 pm

    Omg these were amazing!! Such a simple recipe and crowd pleaser. One note I had is I made one pan using silicone bake ware and the other in a metal cupcake pan. The muffins fell right out of the silicone pan, not so much with the metal one. But maybe I’ll use more spray on the metal pan next time. I need to find an excuse to make them again….maybe just cause it’s Monday?!? 😉

    Reply
  7. Joyce says

    October 7, 2020 at 11:45 am

    Unlike some I did not change a thing and they turned out perfectly.

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      October 8, 2020 at 11:31 am

      So happy to hear you liked these muffins Joyce! Thanks for commenting!

      Reply
  8. Jean Wilder says

    August 30, 2020 at 4:55 pm

    So easy and so good. Made them for my neighbors this morning and they were a BIG hit!

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      September 1, 2020 at 12:56 pm

      So happy to hear everyoned liked these muffins! Thanks for commenting Jean! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Patty says

    June 13, 2020 at 10:24 am

    I will definitely make these again. Very easy and delicious!

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      June 14, 2020 at 1:15 pm

      I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe Patty, it’s one of my favs! Thanks for commenting!

      Reply
  10. Katrina says

    April 4, 2020 at 11:20 am

    Made this today during the great quarantine of 2020. Had made it maybe 40:years ago, but had forgotten about it. I wasn’t married then. My husband loved these this morning. A nice cheap, pantry friendly treat, with coffee. Grandkids would love making these. Will remember that when I can have them over again.

    Reply
  11. Anna Czarnomski says

    December 19, 2019 at 5:55 am

    I use premade pizza dough from the deli counter! Mmmm

    Reply
  12. Lisa says

    February 6, 2019 at 5:37 pm

    Hey there. Is there anyway I could use muffin liners instead of spraying muffin pan?

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      February 7, 2019 at 8:34 am

      Hey Lisa, you sure can. If you are using paper muffin lines, I’d still give them a little spray so the muffins don’t stick.

      Reply
    • Anna Czarnomski says

      December 19, 2019 at 5:54 am

      Yep. I do the bread first then the mixture atop. I use wrappers. Pro tip, freeze and pull out as needed.

      Reply
  13. Carol says

    November 20, 2017 at 9:13 am

    Just taking a bit of a break from a busy morning and came across a recipe for monkey bread. I have always thought monkey bread must contain banana???! Yeah, well I know a bit more now. Seems banana is not in any recipe I have come across. You have definitely given my day a bit of laughter. You write so well and I found your recipe is a keeper, too. I also really love your cat. How adorable is that. I can see who has the run of things in your house, LOL. That is quite normal for a cat owner. I wish I had one or two running around my house, as well. Cheer! Have the best holidays!

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      November 20, 2017 at 6:48 pm

      Hey Carol, your comment made my day! I’m so happy you found my monkey bread muffins, I can totally understand why you thought bananas must be a ingredient – that’s too funny! I hope you have a great holiday too!

      Reply
  14. Margaret says

    November 1, 2017 at 1:49 pm

    Loved them!!

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      November 1, 2017 at 2:50 pm

      Thanks Margaret, so happy to hear this! Thanks for commenting and letting me know!

      Reply
  15. Paul Tkach says

    September 17, 2017 at 5:49 pm

    Fantastic recipe!

    My wife and I do youth ministry on Sunday mornings and for a snack I usually try to bring some homemade baked treats for everyone. I made a batch using your recipe bit used a donut pan versus the muffin tin and they turned out great!

    Since my first attempt I have made them 3 additional times, but used different Pillsbury Biscuit dough each time. I have used the “Butter Tastin Flaky Layers” and the “Honey Butter Flaky Layers”, but my new favorite is the “Grands Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls w/ Extra Rich Butter Cream Icing”. All I can say is wow!!!! Shoot me an email and I can send you some pictures.

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      September 18, 2017 at 4:03 pm

      Hey Paul – my mouth is watering at the thought of using Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls! I’m so happy everyone loves these muffins! Keep on enjoying!

      Reply
  16. Becky says

    August 8, 2017 at 11:08 am

    Also adding a few pecan pieces into the mix makes them even better. I’ve done it this way each time and the pecans add so much!

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      August 8, 2017 at 11:33 am

      Yum, that sounds great Becky!

      Reply
  17. Jessica says

    August 4, 2016 at 7:42 pm

    I love the idea of this, but I just ruined two muffin tins and my house is filled with smoke! The butter and sugar ran off the dough, and onto the bottom of my oven. Ugh!! I’ll stick with the traditional recipe next time.

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      August 4, 2016 at 10:40 pm

      Hey Jessica, the butter and sugar get added to the muffin tin first, and then the biscuits so I’m not sure how the butter ran out. Did you possibly fill the tins up too high or not put the butter in first? Hope you give it another shot!

      Reply
  18. Ashley says

    February 18, 2016 at 3:18 pm

    I have made monkey bread many times in the Bundt pan and it never fails to come out uncooked in the center! No matter how long I cook it! I know I’m probably doing something obviously wrong but doing it in a muffin tin will allow me to keep baking this delicious treat! Thanks for the idea!

    Reply
  19. Danielle R says

    February 9, 2016 at 10:00 am

    This was so delicious! I halved the recipe since it was only for 2 people and it was to die for

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      February 9, 2016 at 10:02 am

      So happy you liked them Danielle! 🙂

      Reply
  20. Liv says

    November 24, 2015 at 6:50 am

    That looks so easy! Thanks!

    Reply
  21. Aarika says

    November 23, 2015 at 7:45 pm

    Holy monkey! These look amazing! I cannot wait to try this recipe over the holidays with fam. Wow! Thank you.

    Reply
  22. Kari says

    November 23, 2015 at 4:06 pm

    I love monkey bread! SO delicious and easy to make!
    Kari
    http://www.sweetteasweetie.com

    Reply
  23. AMANDA says

    November 21, 2015 at 10:07 am

    I just found your post and tried these this morning. Yum! Thanks for sharing, they turned out great! 🙂

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      November 21, 2015 at 8:19 pm

      That makes me so happy Amanda, they’re one of my favorite treats… even better on Saturday morning! 🙂

      Reply
  24. Jill says

    August 29, 2015 at 2:57 pm

    I Know this is an old post so not sure if you will see it…..I also have never made monkey bread cause I did not have the pan….made these today …wonderful…only problem i had is not all of them stayed together…

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      August 29, 2015 at 6:57 pm

      Hey Jill, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these today! Wish I could arrive at your house right now to steal one. 😉

      Reply
  25. Kyla Maeda says

    May 16, 2015 at 5:19 pm

    I know it’s easier to buy the roll of dough already but can I make the dough from scratch and still use the same recipe?

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      May 16, 2015 at 6:04 pm

      I don’t see why that wouldn’t work Kyla. Let me know how they turn out!

      Reply
      • Kyla Maeda says

        May 18, 2015 at 5:41 pm

        They were a success!! Came out delicious and my whole family loves them!

        Reply
        • Pamela says

          May 18, 2015 at 7:13 pm

          Awesome, glad they were a hit!

          Reply
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Hi! I'm Pamela, an artist Mom who shares family recipes. My farm is a 1,000 sq ft apartment in NYC. Let's make dinner together.

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