This gluten-free monkey bread is made from the same EASY dough I use to make gluten-free cinnamon rolls.
It features fluffy dough balls layered with a gooey caramel sauce and chopped pecans. This is the perfect holiday or special occasion breakfast!
This gluten-free monkey bread features my new favorite gluten-free bread dough made with King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Bread Flour.
I tested and re-tested the dough recipe to get it just right. It works amazing in monkey bread!
Why I Love This Recipe
- Gooey and decadent: Monkey bread is made by rolling balls of dough in a cinnamon sugar mixture, then drizzling them with caramel sauce. The whole thing is baked in a bundt pan or loaf pan until golden brown, then it’s drizzled with more caramel and toasted pecans (if you’d like).
- Perfect for breakfast and brunch: I love making this decadent, ooey-gooey treat for Christmas morning, holiday brunch, or any other special occasion.
- Can be made ahead: This recipe includes an option for an overnight rise. Be sure to check the recipe notes!
- Can be made dairy-free: You can even make this recipe dairy-free by using dairy-free milk and vegan butter! See the recipe note for my dairy-free recommendations.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make this gluten-free monkey bread.
- Gluten-free bread flour: I’ve been loving using this gluten-free bread flour that contains gluten-free wheat starch and xanthan gum. It makes dough that is very easy to work with and gives the taste and texture of traditional baked goods!
- Instant yeast: Be sure to use instant yeast for this gluten free monkey bread recipe, which can be mixed right into the ingredients. (Active dry yeast must be mixed in water before adding to the dry ingredients.)
- Butter: I like using salted butter rather than unsalted butter. It has more depth of flavor!
- Pecans: Chopped pecans are optional, but I like the nutty, crisp texture they add to the gluten-free monkey bread. You also might like this gluten-free pecan pie or gluten-free granola with pecans.
Dairy-Free Options
To make this gluten-free monkey bread dairy-free, use cashew milk, almond milk, or another dairy-free milk in place of the whole milk in the dough. I like to use Elmhurst Unsweetened Cashew milk, which has a similar fat content to whole milk. Elmhurst doesn’t have any added gums or stabilizers that might interfere with the rise/crumb of the rolls. Use dairy-free butter in place of the butter and dairy-free heavy cream (I like Silk) instead of heavy cream in the caramel sauce.
How to Make Gluten-Free Monkey Bread
- MAKE THE DOUGH: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the gluten-free flour, granulated sugar, instant yeast, baking powder and salt. Mix to evenly combine.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add the water, milk, eggs and melted butter. Turn the speed up to medium and mix for 3 minutes until very smooth. The dough will resemble thick cookie dough. This is normal!
- Use an oiled spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 45-60 minutes, until doubled in size.
- MAKE THE CARAMEL: Melt the butter, heavy cream, and brown sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and heat for five minutes. Remove from heat.
- PREP THE WORKSTATION: Melt the butter in a small bowl. In another small bowl, mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Spray a 10-12 cup Bundt pan generously with cooking spray.
- Pour ¼ cup of caramel sauce into the bottom of the greased bundt pan. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of pecans, if using.
- ASSEMBLE THE MONKEY BREAD: Once the dough has risen, pull small dough chunks and roll into 1-inch balls. You may want to use wet hands to get the dough balls as smooth as possible.
- Dip each ball, one by one, in the melted butter and then generously roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat them well. You may not use all of the cinnamon-sugar depending how heavy you coat each ball.
- Arrange ½ of the dough balls in the pan (about 20 dough balls – you’ll make 40-45 dough balls total), then pour over another ¼ cup caramel sauce and sprinkle ¼ cup chopped pecans.
- Repeat with the remaining dough, finishing with another ¼ cup caramel sauce and ¼ cup chopped pecans. (Save the rest of the caramel sauce for serving.) Let the monkey bread sit for a bit while the oven preheats.
Caramel Should be Pourable
NOTE: If the caramel sauce cools and is too thick at any point, reheat it for 30 seconds or so in the microwave so it’s pourable.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes. Cover loosely with foil for the last 20 minutes of cooking if the top starts to brown too quickly.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes, then invert onto a large serving plate. Warm up the caramel sauce again and drizzle over the bread before serving. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Storage Instructions
This gluten-free monkey bread is best when served immediately after baking. If you have leftovers, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. Reheat the microwave for 10-15 seconds before serving.
Recipe Tips
- GLUTEN-FREE BREAD FLOUR: This gluten-free bread flour is key for these gluten-free cinnamon rolls to turn out correctly. Other gluten-free flour blends will not work in it’s place.
- MIXING THE DOUGH: I prefer using a paddle attachment on my stand mixer when making this gluten-free monkey bread, rather than the dough hook attachment. I find kneads the dough more effectively!
- OVERNIGHT RISE: This gluten-free monkey bread can be assembled the day before and baked the following morning. For an overnight rise, follow the recipe up until the “Assemble the Monkey Bread” section. Then cover the pan tightly and refrigerate for 8–12 hours. (16 hours max. 8–12 hours is best, but 16 hours is OK if absolutely needed. Do not exceed 16 hours.) The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise on the counter for 30-45 minutes before baking. Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes. Cover loosely with foil for the last 20 minutes of cooking if the top starts to brown too quickly.
More Gluten-Free Bread Recipes
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you try this gluten-free monkey bread, be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!
The Best Gluten-Free Monkey Bread
This gluten-free monkey bread is made from the same EASY dough I use to make gluten-free cinnamon rolls. It features fluffy dough balls layered with a gooey caramel sauce and chopped pecans. This is the perfect holiday or special occasion breakfast!
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 4 ½ cups (680g) King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour
- ⅓ cup (65g) granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons 1 packet instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 cup (236ml) water, warm
- 1 cup (236ml) whole milk, warm
- 2 large eggs
- 6 tablespoons (85g) butter, melted
Caramel Sauce
- 8 tablespoons (113g) butter
- 1 1/2 cups (320g) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
- large pinch of salt
Cinnamon-Sugar Topping
- 12 tablespoons (170g) butter
- 1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans optional
Instructions
Make the Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the gluten-free flour, granulated sugar, instant yeast, baking powder and salt. Mix to evenly combine.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly add the water, milk, eggs and melted butter. Turn the speed up to medium and mix for 3 minutes until very smooth. The dough will resemble thick cookie dough. This is normal!
- Use an oiled spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 45-60 minutes, until doubled in size.
Make the Caramel Sauce
- Melt the butter, brown sugar, heavy cream and sauce in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and heat for exactly five minutes. Remove from heat.
Prep the Filling Workstation
- Melt the butter in a small bowl. In another small bowl, mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Spray a 10-12 cup Bundt pan generously with cooking spray.
- Pour ¼ cup of caramel sauce into the bottom of the greased bundt pan. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of pecans, if using.
- NOTE: If the caramel sauce cools and is too thick at any point, reheat it for 30 seconds or so in the microwave so it’s pourable.
Assemble the Monkey Bread
- Once the dough has risen, pull small dough chunks and roll into 1-inch balls. You may want to use wet hands to get the dough balls as smooth as possible.
- Dip each ball, one by one, in the melted butter and then generously roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat them well. You may not use all of the cinnamon-sugar depending how heavy you coat each ball.
- Arrange ½ of the dough balls in the pan (about 20 dough balls – you’ll make 40-45 dough balls total), then pour over another ¼ cup caramel sauce and sprinkle ¼ cup chopped pecans.
- Repeat with the remaining dough, finishing with another ¼ cup caramel sauce and ¼ cup chopped pecans. (Save the rest of the caramel sauce for serving.) Let the monkey bread sit for a bit while the oven preheats.
Bake the Monkey Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Cover loosely with foil for the last 20 minutes of cooking if the top starts to brown too quickly.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes, then invert onto a large serving plate. Warm up the caramel sauce again and drizzle over the bread before serving. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
GLUTEN-FREE BREAD FLOUR: This gluten-free bread flour is key for these gluten-free cinnamon rolls to turn out correctly. Other gluten-free flour blends will not work in it’s place.
MIXING THE DOUGH: I prefer using a paddle attachment on my stand mixer when making this gluten-free monkey bread, rather than the dough hook attachment. I find kneads the dough more effectively!
OVERNIGHT RISE: This gluten-free monkey bread can be assembled the day before and baked the following morning. For an overnight rise, follow the recipe up through the “Assemble the Monkey Bread” section. Then cover the pan tightly and refrigerate for 8–12 hours. (16 hours max. 8–12 hours is best, but 16 hours is OK if absolutely needed. Do not exceed 16 hours.) The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise on the counter for 30-45 minutes before baking. Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes. Cover loosely with foil for the last 20 minutes of cooking if the top starts to brown too quickly.
DAIRY-FREE: To make this gluten-free monkey bread dairy-free, use cashew milk, almond milk, or another dairy-free milk in place of the whole milk in the dough. I like to use Elmhurst Unsweetened Cashew milk, which has a similar fat content to whole milk. Elmhurst doesn’t have any added gums or stabilizers that might interfere with the rise/crumb of the rolls. Use dairy-free butter in place of the butter and dairy-free heavy cream (I like Silk) instead of heavy cream in the caramel sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 594kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 438mg | Potassium: 146mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 47g | Vitamin A: 880IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 1mg
Oh my goodness these were heaven!!! Like could have eaten the whole Bundt pan and not even felt guilty about it. I didn’t do the caramel sauce bc of time but even sitting in the fridge all night these came out all light and airy. Everyone in my family loved them, including harsh critics of gf items. These will definitely be on repeat and become a new Christmas Eve tradition.
Hi Melissa, that’s the best compliment! Thanks so much for leaving a great review and glad you loved them!
I wanted to comment because I got excited and bought the wrong flour. I bought the King Arthur measure for measure instead of the bread flour. I realized after I had already mixed the dough. It did turn out just fine! Took a solid hour to rise and I could not shape it into balls. I just plopped the dough into the pan and did layers of the cinnamon sugar/butter/caramel/nuts. It turned out fine! It’s a fragile crumb on the inside, but puffed up nicely when cooking and tastes amazing. So while not the ideal product the recipe intended…. Was still yummy!
Hi Kristen, thanks so much for sharing! Glad it worked out for you with the measure for measure flour!
Thanks! I’m excited to try out with the correct flour. While the recipe worked and tastes good overall, I would not make it with this flour again, since it’s crumbly without the needed structure. However, for realizing this AFTER I had mixed it all up, it worked well enough, lol.
Hi, just curious, could I assemble to monkey bread and then put it in the fridge for the second rise?
Or do I need to let in have the first rise in the fridge?
Hi Tabitha, yes! You can do an overnight rise, as described at the bottom of the recipe card: “This gluten-free monkey bread can be assembled the day before and baked the following morning. For an overnight rise, follow the recipe through the “Assemble the Monkey Bread” section. Then cover the pan tightly and refrigerate for 8–12 hours. (16 hours max. 8–12 hours is best, but 16 hours is OK if absolutely needed. Do not exceed 16 hours.) The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise on the counter for 30-45 minutes before baking. Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes. Cover loosely with foil for the last 20 minutes of cooking if the top starts to brown too quickly.”
We absolutely LOVE this recipe and it’s a Christmas tradition my kids look forward to all year, so zero critique on that.
BUT I did want to comment that how this section about refrigerating overnight is worded is odd and confusing. It says to go “until” Assemble the Monkey Bread. But if you only go until there, there’s nothing in the pan to cover! You need to go THROUGH the step of Assemble the Monkey Bread. I’ve always assumed this and just done it that way, but It might clear up some questions in the comments if that is clarified.
Hi Samantha, thanks for the feedback! Editing for clarity now.
Hi! I am looking to make this for 2 different occasions – Christmas Eve and Christmas. I would like to make the dough ahead in bulk. I saw the 16 hours max refrigerated. Have you even frozen the dough and pulled it out to thaw? Wondering if I can make it all tomorrow for easy use 24th/25th.
Thank you!!
Hi Rylee, we haven’t tried that but it’s probably the best solution! Would love to hear how it turns out for you if you try it!
I was also confused by the assembling the night before, the wording specifically states the option to “assemble the night before”, which sounds wonderful and practical, but then proceeds to the notes where it is implied you do not actually “assemble” the night before but in fact must still assemble in the morning. Samantha Nelson’s comment said she still assembled the night before and it still worked fine. Can there be any clarification on how it might be assembled the night before? Maybe assemble before the dough rises before refrigerating thru the night?
Hi Stacey, sorry for the confusion! Yes, it can be assembled completely the night before. The confusion must be at the words “until the Assembly” step vs. “through the assembly” step. We have changed the wording in the recipe notes. Hope this helps!
I don’t have a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. What can I use instead?
Hi Jean, if you don’t have a stand mixer, it’s probably best to knead the dough with your hands on a cutting board.
I can only find King arthur 1:1 measure flour. Can I add to it to make it useable as “bread flour”? I know you can with wheat flour but I wasn’t sure here. I haven’t ever tried it with GF flour Thanks!
Hi Marilee, the gluten-free bread flour is really key here! You can follow the recipe link to purchase on Amazon or click here!
For the make ahead your recipe says up until the assembly part but then next day let rise for 30 minutes shows that it is already assembled.
Hi Lisa, sorry for the confusion! If you make it ahead, you will make everything up until the assembly step, then refrigerate. Then let it rise the next morning on the counter. Then follow the rest of the steps in the “Assemble the Monkey Bread” section.
Oh gosh, I was confused by this too bc the directions made it sound like you take it out of the fridge for 45 mins and then bake it in the morning. It also said to put it in the fridge in the pan. So currently mine is sitting in the fridge assembled. Wish I read this comment earlier. Please tell me I didn’t ruin the monkey bread I spent si much time making.
Hi Ashley, how did they turn out for you? Hope you could still enjoy them!
Is there a way to freeze this?
Hi Amy, we haven’t tried freezing the monkey bread. We would try wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and foil or storing it in an airtight container. Thaw in the fridge overnight then warm in oven at 300°F covered lightly in foil to keep it from drying out. The caramel’s texture may be slightly impacted from the freezing and thawing. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
My husband couldn’t believe he got to eat this! He has a gluten and a dairy allergy so I made this dairy free as well.
My kids gobbled it up! It was so fun to see my husband enjoy this treat! Thank you so much!
Yay! It’s great to hear the recipe was such a hit with the whole family! Thank you for taking the time to share your positive experience with us, Sarah!