Apple Monkey Bread: Pull Apart Goodness with a Surprise Inside

Apple monkey bread is all the goodness of Cinnamon Apple Pie Rolls, but even easier to make with pieces of overnight roll dough wrapped around Make Ahead Apple Pie Filling in delectable buttery cinnamon sugar appley pull apart goodness. This is a Fall breakfast that’s as fun to make as it is to eat!

Taste	Texture
Cinnamon rolls + apple pie	Soft bread, tender apples

Active time	Total time	Yield	Difficulty
20 minutes	5 hours, 40 minutes	12 servings	Easy

this …

I love making monkey bread, and this one is extra fun because every piece of dough is filled with a spoonful of apple pie filling. From Lemon Monkey Bread Muffins and Pesto Monkey Bread to the ultra savory Bacon Monkey Bread, I’m always thinking up new flavors for this easy breakfast or appetizer bread.

Apple Monkey Bread is:

Ingredients for Cinnamon Apple Monkey Bread

Can You Use Canned or Jarred Apple Pie Filling for Apple Monkey Bread?

Yes, I suppose you could, but it won’t be as good as Make-Ahead Apple Pie Filling. This filling is the base for my Apple Strudel and it makes so-so apples taste absolutely incredible. If you have apples from a farmer’s market or a u-pick orchard–well, this filling will blow your mind.

Keys to Making the Best Apple Monkey Bread

1. Breadcrumbs for No-Sticking: It’s kind of a grandma technique, but if you butter the bundt pan

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   and then flour it not with flour but breadcrumbs, the monkey bread should fall straight out of the pan after baking. Best yet–the breadcrumbs kind of melt into the surface of the dough instead of leaving that kind of film you can get on the surface from butter and flour.
2. Don’t Overfill Pieces: You want each piece of bread to have a good bit of filling, but be careful not to add so much filling that you can’t seal the dough around the apples. This way you’ll be able to pull off a piece without the apples falling out everywhere.

Can You Make Apple Monkey Bread Ahead of Time?

Yes, the filling and the dough can be made ahead. Actually, the dough is BETTER if you make it ahead of time since the cold dough is easy to shape and work with almost no extra flour, giving you the moistest, softest dough ever. Make the dough the night before you want to bake.

The filling can be made up to 3 months ahead of time and frozen. Make up the filling, add it to a ziploc freezer bag, and then press out all of the air from the bag. It will be a gift to your future self! If you don’t want to freeze the filling, you can keep it in the fridge for up to a week.

How to Make Apple Monkey Bread

1. Make the Applesauce Roll Dough: Sprinkle the yeast on the warm water in a small bowl with a pinch of the sugar. Set aside for about 5 minutes until the yeast is foamy. Melt the butter in a small pan. Crack the eggs and use a fork to whip them into the butter.  Once the eggs are smooth, add in the applesauce, sugar, salt, and vanilla stirring to combine. Check the temperature with your finger (the milk/egg mixture should be just warm to the touch.). Put the flour into a large bowl or your stand mixer bowl. Make a well in the center with your hands, and then pour in the applesauce mixture and the foamy yeast. Stir with a wooden spoon to make a rough dough.
2. Knead the Dough: Fit your mixer with a dough hook.  Knead the dough for about 7 minutes on low speed (2 on a Kitchen Aid

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   ) until you get an elastic sticky dough that forms into a ball around the hook.
3. Chill the Dough: Cover the dough with plastic wrap and set the dough to rise in the fridge overnight, or at least 4 hours.  When you’re ready to make the monkey bread, the cold dough will be visibly puffed into a nice dome.
4. Make the Apple Pie Filling: Make 1 recipe of Apple Pie Filling. You’ll only need about half the recipe, so you can make some mini apple pies or have some super luxe oatmeal with apples on top! Let the filling cool to room temperature before using it, or use it straight from the fridge.
5. Form the Monkey Bread Pieces: Lightly flour a work surface. Scrape out the cold dough and divide the dough into 24 pieces with your bench scraper

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   . Flatten each piece of dough into a round in the palm of your hand. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of each piece of dough. Fold the dough around the filling, pinching it to seal everything together. Continue filling the dough pieces, leaving them on the counter until you’re ready to assemble.
6. Dip the Monkey Bread: Melt the butter in a small pan. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon (or better, apple pie spice) in a small bowl. Brush the bundt pan

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   with butter. Dust the sides of the pan with breadcrumbs, knocking out the excess breadcrumbs. Scatter about 1/2 cup of the apple filling on the bottom of the pan along with about 1/4 cup of the cinnamon sugar. Quickly dip each piece of monkey bread in the butter and then roll it in the cinnamon sugar. Add the apple filled rolls to the pan. When you’ve added about half of the dough balls, scatter over another 1/2 cup of apple filling. Finish filling the pan with the rest of the dough balls.
7. Rise: Cover the bundt pan and let the dough rise for about 30 minutes. Towards the end of the 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).
8. Bake: Bake the monkey bread for 25-30 minutes, until the bread is set, and the cinnamon sugar is golden brown and a little crunchy. Let the pan cool for about 5 minutes and then flip it out onto a serving plate.

Storing Apple Monkey Bread

Monkey bread is best eaten warm, but this bread will keep at room temperature, covered with foil or kept in a cake dome for up to 3 days.

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