This ooey gooey Praline-Pecan Monkey Bread is a Southern spin off of a pull apart bread classic. Rounds of dough, quartered then coated in melted butter, cinnamon and sugar are then soaked in a buttery praline sauce laced with toasted pecans. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind sensation. For the lovers of all things gooey these sweet roils never disappoint.
Praline Pecan Monkey Bread
I can still remember my first ooey gooey taste of monkey bread. It tasted like a bite of heaven, I thought to myself. Today, I still have the same reaction. After all, small bites of dough rolled in cinnamon and sugar, and smothered with a buttery caramel sauce couldn’t possibly be called anything else. This variation is unapologetically indulgent and makes the perfect sweet ending to a casual pizza party or a fancy smancy brunch.
Skip the Canned Biscuits and Use Dinner Rolls
Traditionally, monkey bread would begin with quartered refrigerated biscuit dough. Just like my savory version of pull apart rolls Garlic-Parmesan Pull Apart Bread, I begin this recipe with rounds of frozen yeast rolls thawed so, they’re easier to quarter. I’ve found that dinner rolls give a more bread-like texture and take this dish to another level. Smothered with a decadent praline sauce and filled with plenty of toasted pecans….and voila this praline pecan variation was are born. The rest, as they say, is history. For more snacking inspiration, checkout my Parade article featuring 12 Creative Takes On Monkey Bread.
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![Praline-Pecan Monkey Bread [Using Rhodes Frozen Yeast Rolls]](https://i2.wp.com/www.melissassouthernstylekitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/edited1Caramel-PecanMonkeyBread-029.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Praline Pecan Monkey Bread
Servings: 16 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup pecan pieces toasted & divided
- 20 frozen yeast rolls thawed & quartered [I used Rhodes]
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp pure vanilla or rum extract
- sea salt optional
Instructions
- Prior to preparing: Place the frozen yeast rolls in a single layer on a platter, and thaw on the counter for 30 minutes. If the rolls are slightly frozen in the middle, they're much easier to quarter. Use a sharp knife and quarter each roll.
- Toast the pecans: Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Spread the pecan pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for 6-8 minutes. Cool completely
- To assemble: Spritz a tube pan with cooking spray. [The rolls will rise while baking. A Bundt pan is not quite deep enough for this monkey bread]
- Mix together 2/3 cup of granulated sugar and 1 Tbsp of ground cinnamon.
- Toss with the quartered rolls in a large plastic storage bag until evenly coated.
- Sprinkle 1/3 of the toasted pecans on the bottom of the tube pan.
- Layer half of the quartered rolls on top of the pecans in the pan.
- Sprinkle the first layer of rolls with 1/3 of the remaining pecan pieces.
- Layer the remaining quartered rolls on top.
- Sprinkle any leftover cinnamon and sugar over all.
- Top with the last 1/3 cup of toasted pecan pieces.
- On the stove top, melt the brown sugar, butter and heavy cream together over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla or rum extract. The mixture will be hot, handle carefully.
- Pour evenly over the rolls in the pan. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise for 45 minutes.
- Bake at 350 °F for 35-40 minutes until golden. Rest for 5-10 minutes before carefully inverting onto a platter.
- All of the gooey praline sauce will drizzle down the sides. Sprinkle the top with sea salt.
- Pull apart and enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Mention @melissassk or tag #melissassk!
Hi, thanks for stopping by to visit my website My name is Melissa, I’m a busy Mom, author, recipe developer, photographer, food writer and blogger. I’m passionate about creating delicious dishes to share with family and friends!
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Melissa says
Hi Donna, so happy you enjoyed this. Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know.
Donna Tuttle says
Hands down the BEST Monkey Bread I’ve ever had! Thanx sooo much for sharing. (Hubby thanx you as well!)
Donna
Litchfield Park, AZ
Melissa says
My pleasure, hope he loves it!
Kari La Mee says
OHHH THANK YOU Melissa, my man is gonna love this. There’s a bakery that’s 3 hours from us that makes the best monkey bread. We HAVE to stop every time we go that way(which hasn’t been in a long time). We just got a new bundt cake pan also, this will be a great first recipe to bake in it.
Have a GREAT Memorial Day Weekend.
Kari
Rhodes says
Just revisiting this delicious monkey bread post. YUM YUM!
Melissa says
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Denise says
Can the praline monkey bread be assembled the night before and baked the next morning?
Melissa says
I don’t see why not. I usually make it and bake it but go for it!
Melissa says
Do you put it in the refrigerator if you have it all ready to go in the oven,but want to cook in the morning?
Melissa says
That’s such a great question but, I’m not sure I have a definitive answer. Yeast type rolls and bread will continue to rise in the fridge. I’ve never tried it with these but, my thought is they likely would do OK, I just can’t tell you from personal experience. If you try it, let me know how it goes.
Ellen says
Could you bake in a bunt pan if you use less amount of rolls? I don’t have a tube pan.
Melissa says
You can sure!
Patti Mann Mitchell says
Bundt pans also come in different…I have a large one. I use it when I make it with two cans of Grans Biscuits/if in a hurry LOL Going to do the yeast rolls now.
Linda Blanton says
Delicious
Melissa says
Thanks Linda!
Misty says
If using a tube pan is there a need for doubling the sauce? And if using a bundt pan, about how many less rolls would you use?
Melissa says
There’s no need to double the sauce unless you’re doubling the recipe. I made this in a bundt pan so follow the recipe and you should be good to go.
Jennifer Berr says
Can you make this using canned biscuits instead of the frozen rolls??
Melissa says
You probably could but, I make this just as written.
Karen says
Is this only served warm? Can it be served the next day at room temperature? Does it stay moist and soft, or does it harden because the sauce (sounds like a caramel sauce?) the next day? Thank you.
Melissa says
This should be served warm. Leftovers can be reheated but, this isn’t a make-ahead dessert.
Lois says
I made this, this afternoon. It is wonderful. Thanks so much.
Melissa says
Glad you enjoyed this one!
Michele L Davis says
did you ever use pudding in your recipe
Melissa says
Yes, I have but not this one.
Michele L Davis says
thanks for an absolutely fabulous recipe. It took less that 20 minutes after I took it out of the oven and half of it was gone. I did the praline sauce adding the cooked pudding mix with the brown sugar, butter and cooked it using your directions. I should have taken a picture. Thanks again. M L Davis.
Mandy says
Did u use Rhodes RAW dough yeast dinner rolls…. https://www.rhodesbread.com/products/view/dinner-rolls
Or
The warm and serve cooked soft yeast rolls. https://www.rhodesbread.com/products/view/soft-dinner-rolls
?????? Help asap please!
Was just confused cause the raw ones usually raise for a few hours and the warm and serve are precooked. Please let me know thanks. Want to make for party this weekend.
Melissa says
The UNcooked dough rounds as you see in the pictures.
Mandy says
Awesome thanks. Of course I quickly scanned the recipe and bought the wrong ones. Oh well, extra buns for me! Back to the store, bound and determined to make this.
Melissa says
You won’t be sorry both rolls are delicious but, definitely the dough rounds for this recipe.
Jess says
Hey, I was planning on making this the night before for Easter service this year and I was wondering what the best way to you think to reheat it would be? There is no way around reheating it, I wish there was. Lol.
Melissa says
I’m not sure i have a definite answer as I usually bake and serve this bread. However, any way you feel comfortable gently reheating bread, be it in the microwave or oven should work for this as well.
morven.m says
I’m from Scotland and we don’t have Rhodes frozen yeast rolls, so could you tell me how much 20 rolls worth of dough weighs so I can make it from scratch myself? it would be a huge help! 🙂
Melissa says
You could adapt this recipe using homemade dough, sure. Here are a couple of rolls recipes from the MSSK archives. No Knead Yeast Rolls. Honey Yeast Rolls.
Erin Kap says
Hey! I see a lot of people asking about making this ahead, so I thought I would share what I did.
I followed the recipe as is up until the sauce step. Once I had the rolls cut, covered in cinnamon and sugar and placed in the pan with the pecans I covered it with plastic wrap and placed in the fridge overnight. When I was ready to bake I pulled the rolls out and continued with the sauce portion of the recipe. They turned out great! Thanks for the recipe I will make this again and again!
Nancy says
Thanks for trying the night ahead method-I was hoping someone had done it. Did you still let it rise for the 45 minutes after you put the sauce on? If it rose all night I would think you wouldn’t need as much rising time.
Rebecca Hathaway says
I made this exactly as its written except I added 1 cup of raisins in with the pecans. I also let the sauce cool down to 130 degrees before pouring over the dough so it didn’t ruin the yeast in the bread. It was amazing!!!!!! Oh my gosh my husband and I ate half in one sitting. LOL. Don’t add up the calories though if you are on a diet.
Joell says
I cannot get this recipe to come up all I get is the pictures.
Melissa says
Try again, sounds like an internet glitch.
Rhonda says
This was absolutely delicious! Easy to make. I am a Rhodes rolls fanatic so I love recipes using them.
Melissa says
I’m glad you enjoyed these, thanks!
Lisa says
This was delicious! I made it for Easter dinner. We used two bread pans and sampled some the night before. It was a hit for sure!! Love it and sharing the recipe with my sister.
Melissa says
Thanks so much!
Jess says
If I dont have enough pecans do you think adding some walnuts would mess up the taste?!
Melissa says
I would use one or the other but, it’s totally up to you.
Sherry Peterson says
Best monkey bread recipe ever!! You could cut down on the rolls and bake in a bundt pan, which is what I did. I think I will cut down on the topping next time. Maybe it was to much since I only use 14 rolls instead of 20. We just don’t need that much sugar. It did get eaten though! These are just amazing!! Thanks for sharing!