Air Fryer Monkey Bread is a delicious, sweet breakfast recipe that is so easy to make and uses canned refrigerated biscuit dough. Perfect for a weekend family breakfast or holiday morning. Sticky and crunchy on the outside, super soft on the inside, and drizzled with an easy 2-ingredient icing.
Ingredients for the Easy Biscuit Monkey Bread:
- Canned Refrigerated Biscuit Dough
- Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Pecans
- White Granulated Sugar
- Ground Cinnamon
- Easy Icing: Powdered sugar and Milk
How to Make Monkey Bread in the Air Fryer
This monkey bread recipe is so easy! I love using biscuits for monkey bread to cut down on prep time. Add this to the list of best air fryer recipes!
- Prep Biscuit Pieces. Cut the biscuits into pieces and toss with the cinnamon sugar. Mix up the melted butter and brown sugar.
- Layer Monkey Bread. Grease a cake pan and layer half of the chopped pecans along the bottom. Add the cinnamon sugar biscuit pieces, drizzle over the butter-brown sugar mixture, and top with remaining pecans.
- Air Fryer. Cover with foil halfway through.
- Serve and Add Icing. Allow to cool for a few minutes then carefully invert upside down onto a plate. Gently break apart pieces and drizzle over the icing.
What is an Air Fryer?
An air fryer is essentially a compact countertop convection oven. A fan circulates the hot air at a quick speed which creates a crispy layer on foods without needing to fry in oil.
Why do they call it Monkey Bread?
Monkey bread is a sweet breakfast item or dessert that is made of individual pieces of soft dough and cinnamon sugar. The name comes from it being a finger food that you have to pick apart to eat like a monkey would.
Looking for a savory variation? I love this Mini Cheesy Monkey Bread that is baked in a muffin pan in the oven.
Do you have to use a bundt pan?
Nope! Many traditional monkey bread recipes do call for using a bundt pan, but you don't need to. This recipe just uses a regular cake pan. You just need to make sure the biscuits in the center are fully cooked.
How do you know when Monkey Bread is done?
Depending on your pan size, the exact bake time will vary. The monkey bread is done when it is puffed up, golden and crisp on top, and when a toothpick inserted in the thickest part comes out clean.
What pan should be used?
Pictured is a 6-inch round cake pan. This is the smallest that I recommend using. The biscuit pieces just fit but it did rise up above the sides and bubble over.
You can also use a 7-inch round cake pan, or even a square pan. The key is it needs to fit in your air fryer basket your air fryer basket needs to be deep enough to leave room for rising. If your pan is smaller, you can also skip a few of the biscuit pieces.
Leftovers, Storage, and Reheating
Monkey bread is best served after making. This is when it is the softest and stickiest.
Leftovers and Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days. If you drizzled icing on top, it needs to be stored in the fridge.
Reheating: Monkey bread can be reheated in the microwave, in the oven at 350 degrees F, or in the air fryer at 325 degrees F. I recommend covering with foil while reheating in the oven or air fryer so the top doesn't get overly brown.
Recipe Notes and Tips:
- It can be tricky to get the hot pan out of the air fryer after it's done baking. I like to use two tongs to pinch the sides and slowly lift it out of the air fryer.
- Make individual monkey breads! You could bake this recipe in smaller baking dishes - such as ramekins. The cook time will be much less, and you may need to cook in two batches if they dishes don't all fit in the air fryer basket
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PrintRecipe
Air Fryer Monkey Bread
Air Fryer Monkey Bread is a delicious, sweet breakfast recipe that is so easy to make and uses canned refrigerated biscuit dough. Perfect for a weekend family breakfast or holiday morning. Sticky and crunchy on the outside, super soft on the inside, and drizzled with an easy 2-ingredient icing.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Breakfast, Air Fryer
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Monkey Bread
- 1 16oz can Refrigerated Biscuits
- ¼ cup White Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ cup Salted Butter, melted
- ¼ cup packed Brown Sugar, light or dark
- ½ cup chopped Pecans
- Cooking Spray or Oil, to grease pan
Icing
- ½ cup Powdered Sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons Milk
Instructions
- Prep Biscuits. Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. You can leave them as is, or roll into balls. Add to a bowl and toss with the granulated sugar and cinnamon until evenly coated. In a separate small bowl, mix together the melted butter and brown sugar, set aside.
- Layer Monkey Bread. Spray a small cake pan (that fits in your air fryer, see note) with cooking spray or grease with oil. Layer half of the pecans on the bottom. Top with the biscuit pieces, pressing into an even layer. Be aware that the biscuits will rise and almost double in size when baking. Evenly drizzle over the butter/brown sugar mixture and sprinkle the remaining pecans on top.
- Air Fryer. Air Fry at 325 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes (depending on pan size). I recommend carefully, loosely tenting with foil after 15 minutes to avoid excess browning. When done the monkey bread will be browned on top and feel set when gently pressed or the pan is given a jiggle. A toothpick inserted in the center should not feel 'doughy' when inserted and come out clean. come out
- Cool and Flip. Carefully lift pan out of air fryer and allow to cool for 5 minutes before carefully inverting upside down onto a plate. The Monkey Bread should easily slide out since the pan was greased, if not you can give the bottom a tap or run a butter knife around the sides to loosen.
- Icing. In a small bowl, mix up the powdered sugar with the milk. Slowly adding milk until the right consistency is formed. Drizzle icing over monkey bread and serve.
Notes
Cake Pan Size: Pictured is a 6-inch round cake pan. This is the smallest that I recommend using. The biscuit pieces just fit but it did rise up above the sides and bubble over. You can also use a 7-inch round cake pan, or even a square pan. The key is it needs to fit in your air fryer basket your air fryer basket needs to be deep enough to leave room for rising. If your pan is smaller, you can also skip a few of the biscuit pieces.
Keywords: Monkey Bread Recipe, Biscuit Monkey Bread, Air Fryer Monkey Bread, Air Fryer Biscuit Monkey Bread
Katie says
Monkey Bread was a childhood favorite! I love that it can be made in the air fryer vs heating up the oven.
★★★★★