This post featuring my crescent roll monkey bread recipe is inspired by my mom and was originally a sponsored post.
Now you may have noticed that I don’t post on Saturdays all that often. But every now and then, I whip up something that’s so good that I can’t wait to share it with you. This crescent roll monkey bread? This is one of those times, friends.
I may or may not be typing this up now in the hopes that I don’t keep going back to grab just one more piece because it’s so good. And so easy to grab just a little bit and pull it off.
Or – my favorite part – take a chunk of the crescent roll monkey bread and swipe is through the “extra” sauce that poo ls to the side of it after you turn it out on a plate.
Once upon a time, monkey bread was something my mom made for special occasions like Easter Brunch or Christmas Morning (yes, those special occasions get capitalized). She hasn’t made it in a few years, and I had a major craving for it today.
The problem? Back in the day, my mom used to use frozen bread dough to make her monkey bread. That means thawing it at least overnight if not two nights, and that’s just not going to happen. I was convinced I could do this quickly and easily without having to wait for bread dough to thaw.
Fortunately, I had a brainstorm. Crescent Rolls. They are ready in a snap and would have the perfect texture for a light and delicious loaf. Yup. Done. Sold. Crescent roll monkey bread was going to happen.
And not immediately grabbing a piece to taste test and burning my mouth. Except that part I actually failed at. Don’t be me. Wait for the bread to cool a couple minutes before taking a bite.
Seriously. Go pick up your own crescent roll dough at Walmart and make this. Because it’s so fast and fun to make..and to eat. And you certainly don’t have to wait for a Special Occasion to serve this!
In fact, pick up a bunch of crescent roll dough (or make your own homemade crescent roll dough – it’s pretty easy!) and try one of these more than 25 stuffed crescent roll recipes that includes ideas for both sweet and savory dishes.
How to Make Crescent Roll Monkey Bread
Make the sauce before you start with the rest of it. Over medium low heat, add the butter, sugar, cinnamon, pudding mix, and milk to a pan. Stir until melted and incorporated, then remove from the heat and set aside.
Open your crescent rolls one by one. Start with the first one and fold it in half. Use a bench scraper or a knife to cut it into six rows, then slice the rows into squares. Gently roll them.
Repeat with the remaining three tubes of crescent roll dough.
Place half the crescent roll dough balls into a greased bundt pan. Don’t worry about distributing them exactly evenly. Pour the entire sauce over the dough balls. It looks like too much. It’s not, I promise.
Place the remaining crescent dough balls over the sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let the crescent roll monkey bread cool for ten minutes.
You want it to firm up and finish baking just a touch, but you don’t want the sauce to cool before you remove it. Place a large plate upside down atop the bundt pain and quickly flip it over.
Lift the bundt pan to remove the crescent roll monkey bread.
Serve immediately. You can keep it in a tightly sealed container for up to two days if you have leftovers, but I’m betting you don’t.
This crescent roll monkey bread has quickly become a family favorite, but it’s not the only creative use of Pillsbury’s crescent rolls. Check out more ideas here.
Have you ever tried crescent roll monkey bread? What’s your most creative crescent roll recipe?
Crescent Roll Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 4 tubes Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 4.6 ounces box vanilla cook and serve pudding not instant
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a saucepan, add butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, and pudding mix. Turn heat to medium low and stir until butter melts. Remove from heat and set aside.1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 tablespoons milk, 4.6 ounces box vanilla cook and serve pudding
- Unroll crescent roll dough from one tube and cut into approximately 1 inch squares. Gently roll to form balls of dough. Repeat with remaining tubes.4 tubes Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
- Place half the balls into a greased bundt pan. Pour sauce over the dough balls and top with remaining dough balls.
- Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Flip onto a plate, then serve immediately.
Video
Equipment
Notes
- Make sure to use cook and serve pudding. If you use instant pudding mix, this recipe will not turn out properly!
- For more tips and tricks, be sure to read the full article above.
Nutrition
This site uses an online source to provide nutrition estimates as a courtesy. If you need exact values, please calculate yourself.
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This looks amazing
Thank you! It’s one of our favorites here. I usually make it with homemade white bread dough, but the crescent rolls makes it so much faster!
I really like this recipe but I use a shortcut with the same results; I open the tube and simply pinch off about a 2″ piece from the end of the roll(s) and roll it a little. I also add chopped pecans on the layers, ending on top then the sauce goes on.
We are not nut lovers in my family, so I’ve never added them, but I bet that would taste great. I’m so glad this recipe works well for you!
So amazing it didn’t last any time. Getting ready to make it and wait to bake it the next morning. I truly know this is the best monkey bread ever,never liked it before I got this recipe.
Thank you so much! It’s so fun and delicious, and I’m so glad you enjoy it.
I always made this with bread dough back in the day. Everybody loved it. Can I assemble all of this in the bundt pan and refrigerate over night so I can just put it in the oven in the morning?
That’s a really good question. I grew up with my mom (and me) making it with the bread dough which required waiting for it to rise, etc. I have never tried putting this together and refrigerating it to bake later. From what I’ve read, you should be able to do this overnight wrapped in plastic (which you wouldn’t do with traditional bread dough) and bake them just fine. I cannot guarantee that as I haven’t tried it before, but I would love to hear how it worked for you if you try it.