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Warm, gooey monkey bread dressed up for the holidays with eggnog! Make this easy cinnamon roll Eggnog Monkey Bread and serve warm for either a dessert, breakfast or brunch.

If you have a little eggnog left in your fridge after your Christmas party, make this easy eggnog monkey bread. It’s a more simple flavor than our sweet strawberry monkey bread, but is so comforting for the holiday season.

Monkey bread is one of those recipes that is just dangerous to have around. In less than an hour from start to finish you can be enjoying warm, caramelized cinnamon bread that is perfectly acceptable to eat with your fingers. This easy recipe is a great way to use up a little leftover eggnog. And after this, try our coffee monkey bread!

Why do they call it monkey bread?

So where in the world did monkey bread get its name? The idea behind the name is that you pick the bread apart and eat it with your fingers. Just like a monkey would do! 🙂 No need to use a plate or fork with this one.

What are the ingredients for monkey bread?

You’ll find monkey bread using store bought bread dough, homemade bread dough, biscuits or even cinnamon rolls. Because cinnamon pairs so well with eggnog, we decided to use Pillsbury refrigerated cinnamon rolls as a base to this bread.

The second part of monkey bread is the sugary sauce that helps to hold the bread together. For this you’ll need brown sugar, white sugar, butter, allspice, vanilla and of course eggnog.

How do you make monkey bread?

Let’s walk through the steps on how to make an easy monkey bread.

Open the cinnamon rolls and use kitchen scissors or a knife to cut them into quarters.
Get a gallon size zippered bag and the white sugar, ½ cup of brown sugar (watch the recipe and don’t add the full amount here!), and allspice. If you’d like a little more “spice” to your monkey bread can you up the allspice to 1 teaspoon. It just depends on what you like!
Divide the cinnamon roll pieces into three piles and add 1 pile at a time to the bag to toss them in the sugar. After you’ve tossed one batch, add them to a well-greased bundt cake pan and then do the remaining 2 sets of biscuits.
Next, make the sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add in remaining 1 cup of brown sugar and vanilla. Allow this to cook while you stir it often. The mixture will start to become lighter and almost frothy like. This should take about 10 minutes. See the picture below to see what it should look like.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the eggnog and a pinch of salt. (The salt helps cut down on the sweetness.)
Pour this mixture over the cinnamon rolls that you have in the pan. Don’t wait to do this! The sugary mixture will start to harden, so pour it immediately over the cinnamon rolls.
Bake for 35 minutes in 350º F oven.
Allow the bread to cool for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a plate to cool completely.

collage of glaze being poured over monkey bread in a bundt pan

To know that monkey bread is done, the bread should be slightly puffed and golden brown. Tap the top of the bread. If it sounds hollow, the bread is cooked through.

Can you make this in advance?

This recipe is best when made right before baking. The store bought cinnamon roll pieces may become flat and not bake up well if you put this together the night before. To shorten prep time in the morning, have sugar mixed together and other ingredients measured and ready to go for a quick breakfast.

Storage Instructions

Monkey bread is best stored at room temperature in a well sealed container. If you refrigerate it, it will get hard and not be that gooey, soft monkey bread that you know and love.

overhead shot of eggnog monkey bread on a plate

Reheating Instructions

We normally just reheat monkey bread on a plate in the microwave. That is the quick & easy way. If for some reason you have a lot of leftovers, you can preheat an oven to 250º Fahrenheit. Grease a pan that is large enough to hold the monkey bread leftovers. Place the bread in the pan and reheat for about 5 minutes to start. Add a few more minutes if needed until the bread is as warm as you’d like it.

What can I make with leftover eggnog?

Eggnog is great for baking and can be used in place of milk in many recipes. Because eggnog is already sweetened, you may want to slightly reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe. Here are a few of our favorites: