Instant Pot Monkey Bread from Scratch. Sticky, sweet, and cinnamony, what could be better than that!? Get ready for some seriously sweet vibes with this perfect brunch or dessert sweet, Monkey Bread!

What is Instant Pot Monkey Bread?

Imagine a perfectly shareable, sugary sweet, and lightly spiced treat that will make your stomach smile, and that’s monkey bread. Monkey bread is a tear-and-share style of bread where little balls of dough are rolled in butter and sugar and then squished together in a tube pan. The dough balls bake into one lumpy delicious bread that is easy to pull apart and split with others.

What You Will Love About Instant Pot Monkey Bread from Scratch

It is So Sweet to Share! This beautiful Monkey Bread has the perfect level of sweetness to warm cinnamon flavor. It will make you smile with every bite. The only thing better than that is the feeling of sharing this treat with others! This Monkey Bread was made to split and everyone is sure to fall for its sugary cinnamon flavor!

It’s Very Versatile! This is a delectable treat that works well as a sweet breakfast or as a comforting dessert. This recipe is the perfect take on a family favorite treat and it will impress at all times of day!

Instant Pot Baking Made Easy! Updating this generous dessert by baking in the Instant Pot is the perfect twist. The bread gets a beautiful crispness to its exterior and is sweet and gooey inside. All thanks to the wonderful Instant Pot Duo Crisp attachment! This is the perfect recipe for anyone who wants to experiment with Instant Pot bread.

Equipment You Will Need for Instant Pot Monkey Bread

Instant Pot Duo Crisp Plus Air Fryer Lid

This awesome attachment turns your Instant Pot into an Air Fryer. It is one of my favorite kitchen tools!

6-inch Round Tube Pan

The tube pan is the signature shape of monkey bread but choosing a 6-inch round ensures it will fit securely inside an 8-quart Instant Pot.

Dough Cutter

To make the balls of dough you will need to cut sections of the bulk dough. A bench scraper works well for this.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Monkey Bread

Ingredients for Yeast Mixture

Active Dry Yeast and Warm Water-Combining active dry yeast with warm water allows the yeast to bloom. The yeast needs to be bloomed to wake it from its dormant state.

Ingredients for Tangzhong Mixture

All-Purpose Flour, Milk, and Water-A Tangzhong is a traditional bread-making technique where a portion of the recipe’s flour and liquid are cooked. This helps to add body and mild toastiness to the finished bread.

Ingredients for Dough

Yeast Mixture (See Above)
Tangzhong Mixture (See Above)
All-Purpose Flour–This recipe uses A.P. Flour because it has the perfect protein content to make a nice workable dough for this recipe.
Salt-Balances the flavor of this bread.
Milk-This ingredient adds smoothness and richness to the bread. Any fat-content milk will work.
Egg-Helps to add some fat and leavening power to the recipe.
Butter-Unsalted butter is the best choice to add fat, creaminess, and richness to baked goods.

Ingredients for Monkey Bread Coating

Butter-Melted, unsalted butter helps the sweet cinnamon sugar stick to these airy dough balls.
Sugar and Cinnamon-White sugar and ground cinnamon mix to make a perfect coating sugar for the dough.

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Icing (Optional but it makes a great dip!)

Cream Cheese-If you are working with the brick form of cream cheese it helps to let it sit out and soften for a little while before mixing.
Powdered Sugar-Be sure to sift your powdered sugar to avoid getting lumps.
Milk-Milk helps smooth out the frosting, as needed.

How do you Make Instant Pot Monkey Bread from Scratch?

Make the Yeast Mixture:

Warm the water in the microwave for six seconds. The idea is not to overheat the water so that it will not kill the yeast. Mix and set aside until the yeast blooms. This takes about five to ten minutes.

Make the Tangzhong Mixture:

Turn on the heat to low. Place the Tangzhong ingredients into the small saucepan and mix them. Continually mix on low heat until the mixture becomes pasty, but not burnt. This process takes five to eight minutes.

Make the Dough Base:

Generously spray nonstick oil into the tube pan. Set aside. This is a must so that the dough will not stick once you release it.
Attach your hook attachment to the electric mixer. Place the flour, white granulated sugar, and salt. egg, yeast mixture, and Tangzhong mixture in the electric mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients to low speed until the mixture will look like wet sand.
Now you can add the softened butter. Mix to medium speed. The mixture will look really wet, but eventually, it will form into a dough. Mix until the flour is smooth, about seven minutes of mixing.
Remove the dough and form it into a ball. Brush the bowl you used with oil and return the dough to it. Turn the dough so that it will be coated with oil. Cover and place the dough in a warm place for one hour. Pro tip: What I do is turn my oven to its lowest setting for fifteen minutes and turn it off. This will be the warm place I use for proofing.
After an hour, sprinkle your working area with flour, and put your dough there. Cut the dough into small pieces, and form the dough into balls. The size should be a little bigger than that of marble. Pro tip: Making the dough bigger than mentioned will make it ooze out from the pan.
Dip the dough in melted butter and roll it into the prepared cinnamon sugar.
Arrange the dough pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan until it fills three-fourths of the pan. Cover and place the dough in a warm place for thirty minutes. This is the second proofing Pro tip: You don’t want to fill the dough as we still have to do the second proofing.
Mix the leftover melted butter with the leftover cinnamon sugar. Pour two tablespoons on top. Cover it tightly with tin foil. Pro tip: Tin foil will help limit the dough while baking, so it’s important to seal the pan tightly with the foil. If you have a leftover mixture, you can freeze it or refrigerate it for your next use.

Make the Monkey Bread Coating:

Melt the butter in the microwave. Make sure that the butter is melted, but not hot.
Mix the sugar and the ground cinnamon.
After using the butter and the cinnamon sugar separately to coat the dough, mix them and pour them on top of the bread.

Bake the Monkey Bread in the Instant Pot:

Place the trivet in the inner pot. Place the inner pot into the instant pot base. Place the trivet to hold the pan in place. Cover it with the air fryer lid. Push the bake setting button and set the temperature to 350 F. Set the timer to twenty-five minutes.
When done, let the pan cool to the touch before flipping the pan over. Pro tip: Very gently remove the pan from the bread to maintain its shape.
How to Bake in the oven
Place the oven rack in the middle layer. Do the steps mentioned and preheat the oven to 350 F. When the oven is ready, place the bread pan in the middle of the rack and bake for thirty to thirty-five minutes.

Make the Cream Cheese Icing (Optional):

Place the cream cheese into a medium-sized bowl and mix the cream cheese using an electric hand mixer. Add the powdered sugar in three intervals and add a small amount of milk in three intervals as well. Mix until the icing is smooth and liquid-y. Add more liquid as needed.

Expert Tips and Tricks

Be sure to have an area that is large enough to work the dough with flour nearby, in case you need extra while working the dough.
Turn your oven into a proofing box by heating it at its lowest setting, then turning it off. This creates just enough warmth to help your bread rise without overheating it.
The suggested size to cut the dough balls into is marble-sized. The balls will rise into large, yummy bites, so don’t panic if they seem a little small.
When filling the tube pan with dough balls, do not fill it higher than ¾ full. The dough will rise during the proof, so underfilling gives it room to do that.
Be sure to seal the pan properly with foil. This helps the bread bake evenly and avoid burnt edges.

What to Serve with Instant Pot Monkey Bread

I love to make cream cheese frosting with these and dip them. It is a totally indulgent sweet experience!
This gorgeous monkey bread is the perfect centerpiece for a holiday brunch. Make an impressive brunch table with bacon, eggs, potatoes, orange juice, and of course this beautiful bread! Your guests will be talking about this sweet Monkey Bread for weeks!
Serve Instant Pot Monkey Bread as a comforting dessert to share with people you love, or not! Go over the top with this sugary treat by pairing it with vanilla ice cream. No matter what you serve with this recipe the Monkey Bread will always be the sweetheart of the meal!

How to Store Instant Pot Monkey Bread

This treat is such a hit that you might not have leftovers, but if you do, don’t worry they can be saved! Place leftover Monkey Bread in an airtight container or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Store in a cool countertop spot for up to 2 days.

How to Reheat Instant Pot Monkey Bread

While this Monkey Bread is delicious at any temperature, it is best when it’s warm. To reheat leftover Monkey Bread use these simple steps:

In the Oven:

Set the oven to 175°F. Place leftover Monkey Bread on a baking sheet and cover with foil.
Bake for 15-25 minutes or until warm.

In the Microwave:

Place the monkey bread on a large microwave-safe plate.
Microwave in 30-second bursts checking for doneness at each interval.

More Recipes You’ll Love

If you can’t get enough sweets, try some of my other decadent dessert recipes, like these:

Instant Pot Monkey Bread from Scratch.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Author: Shobee

Equipment

1 Instant Pot Duo Crisp Plus Air fryer lid 8 quart
1 6-inch tube pan
1 Dough cutter

Ingredients

Yeast Mixture

1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
1/8 cup warm water

Tangzhong Mixture

2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Dough Ingredients

tangzhong mixture see above
yeast mixture see above
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
1 small egg
2 tbsp softened unsalted butter set the butter on the counter overnight until softened.Not melted.

Monkey Bread Coating

1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Icing (optional, but the bread is so good when dipped in it)

4 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk

Instructions

Yeast Mixture

Warm the water in the microwave for six seconds. The idea is not to overheat the water so that it will not kill the yeast. Mix and set aside until the yeast blooms. This takes about five to ten minutes.

Tangzhong Mixture

Turn on the heat to low. Place the Tangzhong ingredients into the small saucepan and mix them together. Continually mix on low heat until the mixture becomes pasty, but not burnt. This process takes five to eight minutes.

Dough Base

Generously spray nonstick oil into the tube pan. Set aside. This is a must so that the dough will not stick once you release it.
Attach your hook attachment to the electric mixer. Place the flour, white granulated sugar, and salt. egg, yeast mixture, and Tangzhong mixture in the electric mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients to low speed until the mixture will look like wet sand.
Now you can add the softened butter. Mix to medium speed. The mixture will look really wet, but eventually, it will form into a dough. Mix until the flour is smooth, about seven minutes of mixing.
Remove the dough and form it into a ball. Brush the bowl you used with oil and return the dough back into it. Turn the dough so that it will be coated with oil. Cover and place the dough in a warm place for one hour.
Pro tip: What I do is turn my oven to its lowest setting for fifteen minutes and turn it off. This will be the warm place I use for proofing.
After an hour, sprinkle your working area with flour, and put your dough there. Cut the dough into small pieces, and form the dough into balls. The size should be a little bigger than that of marble.
Pro tip: Making the dough bigger than mentioned will make it ooze out from the pan.
Dip the dough in melted butter and roll it into the prepared cinnamon sugar.
Arrange the dough pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan until it fills three-fourths of the pan. Cover and place the dough in a warm place for thirty minutes. This is the second proofing Pro tip: You don’t want to fill the dough as we still have to do the second proofing.
Mix the leftover melted butter with the leftover cinnamon sugar. Pour
two tablespoons on top. Cover it tightly with tin foil. Pro tip: Tin foil will help limit the dough while baking, so it’s important to seal the pan tightly with the foil. If you have a leftover mixture, you can freeze it or refrigerate it for your next use.

Baking the Monkey Bread in the Instant Pot

Place the trivet in the inner pot. Place the inner pot into the instant pot base. Place the trivet to hold the pan in place. Cover it with the air fryer lid. Push the bake setting button and set the temperature to 350 F. Set the timer to twenty-five minutes.
When done, let the pan cool to the touch before flipping the pan over. Pro tip: Very gently remove the pan from the bread to maintain its shape.

How to Bake in the oven

Place the oven rack in the middle layer. Do the steps mentioned and preheat the oven to 350 F. When the oven is ready, place the bread pan in the middle of the rack and bake for thirty to thirty-five minutes.

Cream Cheese Icing

Place the cream cheese into a medium-sized bowl and mix the cream cheese using an electric hand mixer. Add the powdered sugar in three intervals and add a small amount of milk in three intervals as well. Mix until the icing is smooth and liquid-y. Add more liquid as needed.

Monkey Bread Coating

Melt the butter in the microwave. Make sure that the butter is melted, but not hot
Mix the sugar and the ground cinnamon.
( When you are done coating the dough, mix them together and pour them on top of the bread)

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Hi, my name is Shobee. Welcome to The Skinny Pot, where we cook Easy Recipes from the available ingredients from our pantry and fridge! We’re your go-to source for simple and delicious recipes that make the most of what you already have at home. Talk about the pantry challenge. Read more...