Chocolate Monkey Bread

16 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Chocolate Monkey Bread is gooey, buttery, chocolatey, and sweet! Easy pull-apart bread with cocoa powder, sugar, and chocolate chips, smothered in caramel!

No matter the flavor, Gooey Monkey Bread is an easy, indulgent Breakfast or Dessert perfect for the holidays or whenever you need to serve a crowd fast!

cross-section of Chocolate Monkey Bread on cake stand

CHOCOLATE MONKEY BREAD

Warm, soft pull apart bread smothered in cinnamon sugar and caramel is always a good idea, but when you add chocolate to it? Pure genius! This gooey chocolate masterpiece is sure to be a new family favorite for holidays. While we can’t guarantee bringing Chocolate Monkey Bread to a work potluck will score a promotion, it will score big points with coworkers!

Chocolate Monkey Bread in bundt pan before and after baking

Chocolate Monkey Bread is just as easy to make as original Monkey Bread, with just two extra ingredients to turn it into a chocolate lover’s dream breakfast. Along with the cinnamon sugar mixture you normally toss the dough pieces in, you are going to add a little cocoa powder. A cup of chocolate chips mixed mixed in with the cocoa cinnamon covered dough pieces bake into melty chocolate bursts. 

Like every good easy holiday recipe, this Chocolate Monkey Bread starts with one of our favorite kitchen hacks – refrigerator biscuits! Refrigerator biscuit dough are the best you are craving Cinnamon Roll flavor but you don’t want to do any of the work. All you need to do is chop the pre-made biscuit dough into quarters, toss the pieces in the cinnamon sugar chocolate mixture, and bake for cinnamon buns on easy mode.

side view of Chocolate Monkey Bread on cake stand

Chocolate Monkey Bread has all the gooey, chocolatey melty goodness you love in every bite. This is an indulgent breakfast with a cup of coffee or as a special holiday dessert. For your chocolate fanatics, serve drizzled with Chocolate Ganache and a dollop of Whipped Cream. You can also serve Chocolate Monkey Bread warm with scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream. Add some Salted Caramel Sauce and nuts for another layer of sweet sundae goodness!

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VARIATIONS ON CHOCOLATE MONKEY BREAD

  • Nuts: Fold in ½ cup chopped, toasted pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, or peanuts for some salty crunch to balance the sweetness.
  • Chocolate: Instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips, try dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or mint chocolate chips. You could also use peppermint chips for a Peppermint Mocha Monkey Bread during Christmas.
  • Cinnamon Rolls: Swap the refrigerator biscuit dough for store bought cinnamon roll dough and alter the cinnamon sugar mixture. Reduce the sugar to ¼ cup sugar and leave out the ground cinnamon so the cocoa flavor isn’t overpowered with double cinnamon flavor.
  • Hot Chocolate Monkey Bread: Replace the unsweetened cocoa powder and ½ cup sugar with ½ cup hot chocolate mix. Finish the hot chocolate flavor by folding in ½ cup mini marshmallows or mallow bits. Top Hot Chocolate Monkey Bread with marshmallows after it has been removed from the pan.
  • Cream Cheese: Keep biscuit dough rounds whole and shape into flat circles. Cut 2 8-ounce blocks softened cream cheese into 24 pieces. Add one piece of cream cheese to the center of each flattened round and wrap dough around cheese. Toss stuffed dough pieces in cocoa mixture, cover with caramel, and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.

top-down view of Chocolate Monkey Bread on cake stand

Slow Cooker Chocolate Monkey Bread

  • Spray a slow cooker insert generously with baking spray.
  • Coat biscuit dough pieces and chocolate chips in cinnamon cocoa sugar mixture.
  • Prepare butter and brown sugar sauce.
  • Add half the coated dough and chocolate chips to slow cooker.
  • Pour half the butter brown sugar mixture over dough.
  • Add remaining dough pieces, chocolate chips, and cinnamon sugar. Top with the rest of the brown sugar butter sauce.
  • Cover insert with paper towels or linen kitchen towels (to absorb moisture).
  • Place lid over towels and cook on high for 3 hours.

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HOW TO STORE CHOCOLATE MONKEY BREAD

  • Serve: Allow Chocolate Monkey Bread to cool for 10-15 minutes before inverting onto a plate so it holds together. It will still be very hot once it comes out the bundt pan, so cool a little longer if serving little kids.
  • Store: Store Chocolate Monkey Bread in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap tightly. Keep Chocolate Monkey Bread at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerate for up to 1 week. Warm before serving.
  • Freeze: Once cooled, wrap Chocolate Monkey Bread, remove from bundt pan and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze monkey bread for up to 6 months and reheat from frozen. Place in a greased baking pan (or put back in bundt pan) and bake at 350 degrees until hot and sauce is bubbly.

cross-section of Chocolate Monkey Bread on cake stand

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Chocolate Monkey Bread

Chocolate Monkey Bread is gooey, buttery, chocolatey, and sweet! Easy pull-apart bread with cocoa powder, sugar, and chocolate chips, smothered in caramel!
Yield 16 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Breakfast and Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 3 packages refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough , 12 ounces, each cut into quarters
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar , packed

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a bundt pan with baking spray.
  • Add the sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, chocolate chips and biscuit quarters to a large bowl and toss well.
  • Add pieces to a bundt pan (do not press down).
  • Add the butter and brown sugar to a medium saucepan on medium heat and bring to a boil for one minute before pouring onto the bundt pan.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes, remove from oven, let cool for 10-15 minutes then place a plate over the bottom of the bundt pan and flip over to remove.

Nutrition

Calories: 451kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 607mg | Potassium: 233mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 185IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 3mg
Keyword: Chocolate Monkey Bread

Chocolate Monkey Bread collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

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