BEST Ever Easy Vegan Monkey Bread Recipe

The most gooey and delicious vegan monkey bread made from scratch that tastes just like the classic! Super soft cinnamon roll bites baked in a gooey and sticky sweet caramel sauce for a dairy free vegan holiday breakfast!

What is monkey bread?

If you’ve never heard of monkey bread, then you’re in for a treat. Monkey bread is a combination of sweet dough, cinnamon, sugar, and melted butter baked into bite sized pieces in a bundt cake pan.

Once baked, the dough pieces become like a mix between a cinnamon roll and a soft baked donut. They’re bite sized pieces, so you can easily tear and share.

The vegan butter, sugar, and cinnamon caramelize together, creating this sticky mess that’s absolutely delicious. Basically, it’s the ultimate holiday brunch recipe.

Why you’ll love this easy vegan monkey bread:

If you’ve ever had monkey bread, then rest assured that this vegan monkey bread tastes identical to the classic recipe. It’s undetectably eggless, dairy free, and refined sugar free, yet it’s gooey, sticky, full of cinnamon and sweetness, and so soft and pillowy with every bite.

Some people prefer to make their monkey bread using biscuit dough from a can, but this recipe truly is from scratch. Trust me, it yields the best flavors and texture. And the dough is surprisingly simple!

My sister, brother, and I used to make monkey bread from scratch after every snow day. We never used the short cut route, which is using biscuit dough instead of making the dough. We actually didn’t know any other way, and it wasn’t until I got older that many just used biscuit dough!

This vegan monkey bread is undetectably vegan and dairy free with a homemade sweet dough that tastes almost like a brioche dough coated in cinnamon and coconut sugar (a must!). We then drizzle the dough in a sticky and deliciously sweet vegan butter and coconut sugar caramel sauce that’s just out of this world.

This easy vegan monkey bread is perfect for Christmas morning, Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving morning, or any holiday brunch!

The Ingredients You Need

For some reason, many people are under the assumption that making dough from scratch for homemade monkey bread is difficult, and purchasing biscuit dough is just easier.

Yes, vegan canned biscuits do exist (apparently some of Pillsbury’s biscuits are accidentally vegan). But making the dough from scratch not only tastes better, but is actually just as easy as going to the store and getting a can.

I’m going to show you that making homemade vegan cinnamon dough is actually not that complicated!

For this vegan monkey bread, you’ll need:

• All purpose flour: if you need gluten-free or Paleo, I actually already have a Paleo monkey bread recipe that’s vegan as well! Please see the notes section in the recipe card below 🙂
• Rapid rise or Activated yeast: you can use either- rapid rise will obviously be a quicker rise time and save you some time, but both work for this recipe.
• Coconut sugar: some will go in the dough, around the dough, and in the caramel sauce!
• Dairy free milk: I recommend coconut milk or oat milk, as this will give the dough more of that brioche texture.
• Applesauce: this replaces the eggs in normal homemade monkey bread.
• Cinnamon: this wouldn’t be monkey bread without it!
• Vegan butter/coconut oil: I’ve used both; the vegan butter definitely yields a flavor that’s closer to true monkey bread. If you’re nut-free, you can use coconut oil or a nut-free based vegan butter.
• Vanilla: this is a minimal yet highly necessary ingredient that will make your vegan monkey bread taste just like the classic.

Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, let’s make these cinnamon roll bites!

How to make monkey bread from scratch

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

Make the vegan dough

1. Activate the yeast: much like any other yeast-risen dough we’ve made on the Banana Diaries, you’ll activate the yeast with heated dairy free milk, coconut sugar, and a bit of flour. As I mentioned, you can use either rapid rise or activated yeast. The yeast should start to bubble, foam, and smell of yeast. If it hasn’t, then you’ll need to start over- this is crucial!
2. Make the dough: you can use a stand mixer or do this by hand (as I normally do!). Add in the applesauce, melted vegan butter or coconut oil, and vanilla extract, and stir until it’s combined (you can also use a stand mixer). Then you’ll dd in 1 cup of flour at a time as you continue to stir the mixture. Once all of the flour is added in, lightly flour a clean surface, and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until it’s no longer sticky to touch. 
3. Proof the dough. Once the dough is no longer sticky to touch, grease a clean bowl with coconut oil or olive oil, and place the dough ball in the bowl. Cover with a clean dish towel and place the dough in a warm area (at least 85F) to rise for at least 30 minutes (it will need more rise time if using activated yeast rather than rapid rise yeast). 

Making cinnamon roll dough bites

1. Make the assembly line: In one bowl, you’ll place the melted vegan butter or coconut oil and in another, the ground cinnamon and coconut sugar. As you’re making the cinnamon roll bites, you might need more coconut sugar towards the end, depending on how many cinnamon roll bites you make. Then grease a large bundt pan or fluted pan with olive oil and place next to the cinnamon sugar bowl.
2. Divide the dough: you’ll be making about 40-50 dough ball bites from the dough.
3. Make the vegan monkey bread dough bites: dip one ball into the vegan butter, then the cinnamon sugar mixture, and then place it into the bundt pan! Repeat for the remaining dough bites. As you’re arranging the dough balls, just place them around the bottom of the pan and build up. 
4. Make the vegan “caramel sauce”: You should have some leftovers, so combine the leftover cinnamon sugar with the vegan butter. Stir until it’s completely mixed and set aside. Pour the cinnamon sugar butter mixture over the the dough.

Bake the monkey bread!

1. Allow the monkey bread dough to rest a second time: once you’ve poured the vegan butter mixture over the dough, cover the bundt pan with a clean dish towel again and place near the oven to rest while the oven preheats to 350F, about 20 minutes.
2. Bake the monkey bread!
3. Make the glaze: Carefully flip the monkey bread onto a plate, and drizzle with a simple glaze if desired. Then enjoy!

How do you know when monkey bread is done?

Once you’re ready to bake the vegan monkey bread, you’ll place the monkey bread into the oven to cook for about 30-35 minutes.

The reason for the range in time is that ovens actually vary slightly in temperature, though they say 350F. That’s why it’s important to use an oven thermometer to make sure that your particular oven truly does read 350F, rather than 325F (a very big difference, especially if you’re baking a cake!).

To know when your monkey bread is done, I use a butter knife and stick it through the center of one of the sides of the monkey bread. If it comes out mostly clean, the monkey bread is ready to be removed! If it’s still a bit gooey, leave the monkey bread in for a few more minutes.

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Remember to check the monkey bread doneness near the end of the baking time. Checking it in the middle will affect the baking process.

When the monkey bread is done, the cinnamon dough balls will be puffed and crispy on the outside (thanks to the caramelization of the vegan butter and coconut sugar!).

Do you have to use a fluted pan?

If you don’t have a fluted pan or a bundt pan, you can actually use a large rectangular pan instead.

Of course, it won’t look like traditional monkey bread, but it will taste just as amazing, and might actually cook more evenly!

If you’re using a rectangular pan rather than a round bundt pan, the monkey bread will cook faster. Make sure to check the monkey bread after 20 minutes to see how much longer it has to go.

How long does vegan monkey bread last?

The lovely thing about this vegan monkey bread is that it’s entirely egg free and dairy free, so it actually can last a bit longer than traditional homemade monkey bread!

Refrigerator: This cinnamon pull-apart bread will last about 4 days wrapped tightly in the fridge.

Freezer: To freeze this vegan cinnamon bread, simply store the monkey bread in an airtight container or freezer bag and store for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, simply place the desired amount on a piece of tin foil on a baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes at 350F.

You are just going to absolutely love this vegan monkey bread! It’s just perfect for Christmas breakfast, or any holiday brunch. Even just to make with the kids on a snow day!

If you try this recipe, let me know down below in the comments section, as well as giving it a rating so that others may find it.

As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there.

Happy homemade monkey bread making!

More vegan holiday breakfast recipes:

Gooey Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

Easy Overnight Vegan French Toast Casserole

Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Fluffy Vegan Chocolate Pancakes

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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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