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4.8 from 41 reviews

Monkey Bread Muffins

24 minutes
By: Pamela Reed
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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

Craving something sticky-sweet and easy to make? These Monkey Bread Muffins are the perfect answer when you’re short on time or don’t have a bundt pan handy. Made with just five simple ingredients—refrigerated biscuits, melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon—this quick recipe transforms pantry staples into individual pull-apart treats that are ooey-gooey in all the right ways. If you love warm, cinnamon sugar flavors and that classic sticky texture, you’re going to be obsessed with these muffin-sized bites of monkey bread.

Did you know Monkey Bread goes by many names like monkey puzzle bread, sticky bread, African coffee cake, and even pluck-it cake? Popularized in American kitchens in the 1950s, it’s traditionally made as one large loaf, but these mini muffins are a fun and easy twist. If you’re into small, shareable bakes, you’ll also love these Mini Blueberry Muffins, this cozy Mini Coffee Cake Muffins recipe, or our ultra-moist Mini and Moist Banana Muffins—perfect for breakfast, snacks, or sweet cravings anytime.

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.  

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

How to Store

The best way to store Monkey Bread Muffins is to let them cool completely, then place them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. If you want to keep them fresh longer, you can refrigerate them for up to 5 days—just warm them in the microwave for 10–15 seconds before serving to bring back that gooey, sticky texture.

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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!


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4.81 from 41 reviews

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!
By: Pamela Reed
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.

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4.81 from 41 votes (35 ratings without comment)

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  1. Jill says

    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

      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

  2. Kyla Maeda says

    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

  3. JaiDee says

    What a great idea! With cold & flu season here I would like to make these for a large group so folks can just grab one and go and keep their germs to themselves but I need to feed a large group of 15 to 20 people. Does this only make a pan of 12? And do you think they’d stick together if I don’t fill up each cup so full? Thanks in advance! These are going to be a hit!

    Reply

    • Pamela says

      What a nice and yummy gesture! Yes, this recipe makes 12 muffins. If you need 24 or 36 muffins, just multiple the recipe by 2 or 3. If you fill up each cup once they bake they will stick to each other. I don’t think this is a disaster though as you can easily just cut them apart when they come out of the oven, the only thing is they might not be as formed (“pretty”). Enjoy!

      Reply

  4. Vanessa says

    Thanks for posting this! I had a large-group potluck and wanted to use mini-muffin tins instead, so I thought I’d share the modified recipe in case anyone else wanted to do so: I used 1.5x recipe (3 biscuit cans, etc), used 4 of the 24-muffin mini-muffin trays, cut each biscuit into 8 pieces, put ~1/2 teaspoon of butter/brown sugar mix into each mini-muffin form, put 2 sugar-cinnamon-coated biscuit pieces in each form, and baked them for 10-12 minutes. I let them cool and left everything in the muffin tins for easy transport. Once I got to the party, I stuck them back in the oven at 350F for 5-7 minutes to warm them up before dumping them out on a serving platter. Worked great, was a total hit at the party! The guys especially liked what they lovingly called “monkey balls.”

    Reply

  5. Teenie says

    Rarely do i IMMEDIATELY make a recipe i see on Pinterest. However, since I was aching for something sweet on this cold Saturday morning (plus it was that time of the month, lol) I made these. Imagine my surprise when they came out looking the same as yours! That’s always a good sign for me 😉 If hear about a woman in Georgia who cant stop eating monkey bread and blasting Aaliyah in her apartment…….that’s me!
    Can’t wait to try another from your site.

    Reply

    • Pamela says

      Your comment made my Saturday morning Teenie! That sounds like the greatest breakfast (along with music!), enjoy! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and letting me know!

      Reply

  6. Sally HAUSER says

    I think these sound wonderful but what about adding some toasted pecan pieces before putting the dough in ?

    Reply

  7. Gretchen @ Two Healthy Kitchens says

    I seriously look forward to your posts. Thank you for making me laugh (your writing is fantastic!), thank you for an awesome new way to make monkey bread, thank you for the history lesson (I’d be lying if I said I had never wondered where the term ‘Monkey Bread’ came from!), and most importantly – thank you for the Aalyiah reference. That one took me way back! Good times! 🙂

    Reply

  8. Jocelyn @ BruCrew Life says

    The picture of the monkey made me laugh out loud for real!! 🙂 And I could totally go for some of these monkey bread muffins!!

    Reply

  10. Kelly says

    Hehe, thanks for the history behind monkey bread. Looks amazing! I have yet to try making it but your post is so inspiring. Pinning for sure 🙂

    Reply

  11. Kim Osburn says

    Stopping by from the Weekend Potluck Party. Thank YOU I don’t have a Bundt pan either and I’ve been looking for a way to make Monkey Bread. I tried it in the Crock Pot. The kids ate it but it was really not so good. I will definitely give this a try. Thanks for sharing.
    . Love <3 Kim

    Reply

  12. Peggy Kays says

    I am going to try this and maybe add some finely chopped apple. I also made this type of yeast pull apart back in the 50″s and 60″s but I called it Pluck Its.

    Reply

  13. hani/hanielas says

    I’ve heard of monkey bread but never made it. It looks amazingly addictive. I can see myself eating 12 of these with no stopping.

    Reply

  14. Tina @ Tina's Chic Corner says

    Lol! That monkey pic is hysterical. All I know is I love this stuff, whatever we call it. 😉 I love how you made it into mini versions via muffins!

    Reply

  16. Cate @ Chez CateyLou says

    These look amazing! So impressive – and then I realized they were made with biscuit dough – I think I love them even more knowing that they are easy! Can’t wait to try this out, pinning your gorgeous muffins now!

    Reply

  20. Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel says

    What a cute post! I like hearing the origin of names. And while I could tooootally do without calling this monkey bread (you KNOOOOW how I feel about monkeys–GAH!!!), I totally love monkey bread regardless of the name! These muffins look like something I need every AM.

    Reply

  21. ATasteOfMadness says

    I also thought that monkey bread got it’s name from the tree. Wherever it came from, I’m glad it’s in the world. I have never made monkey bread, but I think I want to make this. YUM!!

    Reply

  22. Monet says

    These are just brilliant! I love monkey bread but I’ve never thought to do them in muffin tins. Love it! Thank you for sharing Pamela!

    Reply

  24. Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe says

    These monkey bread muffins are absolute perfection! Much easier to eat too. My family calls monkey bread “pull-apart bread” for obvious reasons. It always makes an appearance at our family brunches and it’s one of my favorite things.

    Reply

  27. Nik@ABrownTable says

    I love the photograph of the monkey. I have a friend who recently asked me to make him some for his birthday and I think I have a good recipe here to use!

    Reply

  28. Ashley says

    I’ve had monkey bread before but have never made my own… I love the idea of making it as a muffin instead (you know, to ahem possibly help with portion control). Although I’d probably eat way too many in one sitting anyway, who are we kidding : )

    Reply

  29. Koko says

    Monkey Bread is SO good! I think baking them as muffins is a really good idea- being able to break your own piece off a cake-sized monkey bread leads to eating 3/4 of it in one sitting 😉

    Reply

  30. Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes says

    I remember looking up once where the name came from and I got the same results – nothing! haha. Just that people normally eat monkey bread with their hands like monkeys do. This looks yummy!!

    Reply