A super easy recipe for Apple Monkey Bread that’s made with store-bought biscuits in the crockpot!
Apple Monkey Bread
My family goes nuts for monkey bread or bubble rolls as we call them. Who doesn’t love gooey breakfast breads, especially when they’re spiced with cinnamon and studded with diced apples??? And what’s most amazing is that this Apple Monkey Bread is made in a slow cooker or crockpot. Two and a half hours of hands off cooking. Doesn’t that sound perfect?
Irresistible
These didn’t puff up as much as I expected, but for a minimal fuss recipe, made with canned biscuits, these were excellent. For all that I bake, I rarely eat more than a nibble. But see that plate up there? That was for quality control and I made every morsel disappear quickly.
Crocktoberfest
When my friends, Wendy of Around My Family Table, and Stephanie, of Eat Drink Love, invited me to participate in Crocktoberfest, I had to rack my brain for recipe ideas. I’ve only made a couple stews and pot roasts in my crock pot…never a breakfast or dessert. I thought it would be a good excuse to dust off my seldom used kitchen appliance.
I am participating today with a breakfast dish, but be sure to follow the hashtag “Crocktoberfest2013” on facebook, twitter, and instagram for all sorts of wonderful breakfast, main dish and dessert recipes this week. There are 10 recipes to check out today and I think you will love every one of them. My crockpot may find a permanent place on my kitchen counter after this massive influx of marvelous recipes!
- Overnight Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal from Around My Family Table
- Slow Cooker Breakfast Pumpkin Bread Pudding from Cook the Story
- Pumpkin Oatmeal in a Crockpot from Peanut Butter & Peppers
- Crockpot Breakfast Casserole from Eat Drink Love
- Crockpot Creamy& Savory Coconut Rice from Curry and Comfort
- Crockpot Southwest Breakfast Casserole from Cookie Monster Cooking
- Slow Cooker Ham & Swiss Fritata from 365 Days of Crockpot
- Sunday Slow Cooker Hashbrown, Ham, & Spinach Casserole from Slender Kitchen
- Overnight Pumpkin Pecan Steel Cut Oatmeal from Kitchen Treaty
Apple Monkey Bread
An easy, hands off monkey bread recipe filled with diced apples. Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- a few grates of fresh nutmeg or a pinch of ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 7 1/2 ounce cans refrigerated biscuits (40 biscuits total)
- 1 1/2 cups diced, peeled cooking apples
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1/3 cup apple cider
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Spray inside of a 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix together granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar mixture in the bottom of the prepared slow cooker. Set the remaining sugar mixture aside.
- Cut each biscuit into quarters. Add biscuits and apples to sugar mixture in the bowl, tossing to coat. Add mixture to slow cooker. Sprinkle with any remaining sugar mixture. In a small bowl stir together butter, apple cider, and vanilla; pour over biscuits.
- Cover and cook on high-heat setting for 2 to 2½ hours or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Turn off slow cooker. Carefully remove lid so that condensation does not drip onto bread. Cover opening of slow cooker with paper towels and place lid on top. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of slow cooker, then move bread to serving platter. Spoon any topping from the cooker onto bread; cool slightly. Serve warm.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | |
| Amount Per Serving | As Served |
| Calories 390kcal Calories from fat 142 | |
| % Daily Value | |
| Total Fat 16g | 25% |
| Saturated Fat 8g | 40% |
| Transfat 1g | |
| Cholesterol 20mg | 7% |
| Sodium 761mg | 32% |
| Carbohydrate 59g | 20% |
| Dietary Fiber 2g | 8% |
| Sugars 31g | |
| Protein 5g | |
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
| Calories | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | Less than | 65g |
| Sat Fat | Less than | 25g |
| Cholesterol | Less than | 300mg |
| Sodium | Less than | 2,400mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 300g | |
| Dietary Fiber | 25g | |
Liz, I am so coming to your house for breakfast!!! What a great combination of flavors. I can only imagine how wonderful the cinnamon and apple smell is in your home while cooking this. I know this is a big recipe, but I’ll admit, I’d probably eat just about all of it! Awesome recipe!!
Wow, how cool that you can make this in the crockpot Liz! I bet the aroma was amazing and how wonderful to have that kind of fragrance for two and a half hours! It’s so pretty too!
This apple monkey bread looks incredible Liz! I am using my crockpot more now too since the weather has gotten chillier so I love any new crockpot recipe! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Okay, I would have never thought to make monkey bread in my crockpot! Such an awesome idea! I usually just use mine for dinner type meals too – but I really need to start branching out!
I cannot believe these were made in the crockpot! Perfect for brunch, these would smell so good.
I adore this idea. I never would have thought of making monkey bread in a slow cooker. Love it!
Sounds gooey and good! Love that it has apple in it too:@)
This looks amazing! I can almost smell it through computer
Monkey bread is one of those things i”ve been wanting to make for a while. Love that you added apples to yours!
Baking in a crockpot- who knew!? I keep seeing all these great crockpot recipes lately and I think it means I finally have to bite the bullet and buy one already.
Why have I never thought to make monkey bread in my slow cooker! You have totally rocked my world today!
I love that you call them bubble rolls! This will be so fun to try, especially with the apple addition.
This looks insanely delicious Liz! I can eat this morning, noon and night with some coffee of course! 😉 YUM!
Never made or tried monkey bread before. We have heard its amazing! Need to try it soon. The addition of the apple makes it such a great fall treat
Liz, I can’t even tell you how much I love this! I love all of those apples and the fact that you can use pre-made biscuits!
I cannot believe you got such beautiful browning from the crockpot… looks amazing. I am definitely going to try this recipe in the crockpot because my family adores monkey bread too. 🙂
Great idea using the crockpot…
tempting to try this technique…..
Oh Liz this is my kind of bread. You know I love apple pie bread and this looks so similar. I’m drooling just thinking about it. I’ve just saved it and will probably make it over the weekend. Thanks for sharing this – I think! I’ll probably gain 5 pounds after eating it.
This looks amazing! Any way to make it gluten free?
I don’t know if there’s such a thing as gluten free biscuits in the refrigerator section…as I’ve never looked for them. I would guess it would be hard to make gluten free unless such a product exists…so sorry!
My kind of bread Liz. I am salivating just looking at that plate with slice of the bread. Amazing! 🙂
That looks too pretty to be easy. This really hits my hot button.
What a glorious monkey bread, I love that glistening top!
Oh this looks marvelous. I have never made anything sweet in my crock pot. This might be my first one.
We love monkey bread over here but have never made in the crock pot – how intriguing!!!! Love this idea.
Monkey bread in the Crock Pot – that is so brilliant! And all the better with apples. I can smell it now.
That was the SMALLEST quality control plate that I have ever seen! No wonder why That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!! 🙂
There are a lot of good reasons to dust off my crockpot! Looks delicious. 🙂
Well, your scrumptious breakfast bubble rolls have seriously motivated me to finally buy a slow cooker. And as soon as I get it you can bet your monkey bread will be one of the first things I make =)
Hi Liz! I had to read the title a few times to get the ‘crocktoberfest’ very clever and your dish the apple monkey bread would make you very popular with all those you shared it with….I think I need a monkey bread in my life, especially one with apples-wonderful;)
Can I confess that I love refrigerator biscuits especially in Monkey Bread????? Guess I just did, didn’t I? This looks so delicious.
I love the look of this breakfast bubble bread. I have never heard of it before and this is not something we typically eat for breakfast here in Oz. I’ll have to try this as I just know I’d love it. And Carl doesn’t know what half his keys are for either and I just hate it when we get to an event and he passes them to me and says, ‘Can I put these in your handbag?’ I have one shoulder lower than the other as a result of all that key-weight! xx
monkey bread is one of my favorites! I just love tearing off bite after bite! love that you made this in the crockpot! It is one of my absolute favorite appliances! Love finding new ways to use it!
I love the look of this, all dripping with sauce. I love the name too.
The idea of using a crock pot for making this awesome bread is really cool! The bread looks tempting and I too would go nuts for this monkey bread. 😛
I’ve never eaten this before but looking at your pictures I am so tempted. Absolutely gorgeous!
So rich and luscious! Can’t believe this is prepared in the slow cooker!
Yum, I love monkey bread and I can imagine how soft and warm and sticky this version would be.
Looks awesome! When do you put the apples in?
Hi, Leah, See step #2…you add the apples in with the biscuits. Hope you try them 🙂
This looks so mouthwatering good Liz! I can’t remember the last time I used my crockpot but it might be worth dusting off just to make monkey bread!
I LOVE Monkey Bread.
Pure comfort. This looks AMAZzzzing, Liz. x
Whoa! That looks positively sinful! Everybody seems to be just nuts over their slow cookers these days. What a great recipe!
And I am like you, one bite, one taste, and I’m good. 😉
I should have guess it was you, my dear Liz who came up with this sinfully delicious bread/dessert. Love love it. It’s everywhere on Pinterest. pinning of course.
Can you believe I’ve never made monkey bread! I know – what the heck is wrong with me??? I’m going to add this to my holiday making goody list.
Monkey bread cooked in a slowcooker? Really? Is that normal? I guess this is the first monkeybread recipe for which I read the instructions. Anyway, it looks awesome! It’s like an upside down apple pie bread pudding. Love it!
I think it’s so cool that you made monkey bread in a crock pot, Liz! If I had the space for it, I’d buy one (along with all the other items on my long list of wanted kitchen items). Apples and carbs are so delicious together, especially when it’s all sugary-cinnamony. Love this!
Crock pot monkey bread is a neat idea! I bet it smelled amazing those hours it was baking…looks so good. I will make it and hope mine comes out from the pot as nicely as yours did, Lizzy!
Could this recipe be adapted for the oven? I think I might give it a try. Looks delicous!
Yes, definitely, though it might take more than one pan…there are a LOT of rolls. I’ve seen one using 3 tubes of biscuits that you bake at 350º for about 35 minutes 🙂
Lizzy,
One more for my bucket list. Your sweets just make me drool.
Annamaria
This was delish, but my crockpot was going on 4 hours before I threw everything in the oven to finish it off. I think in the future, it could cook overnight on low and be done when everyone wakes. 🙂
Has anyone tried to make this overnight? I’d love to try this out for breakfast, but there is no way that I’d be up a few hours before we wanted to eat. But it looks amazing:)
Love the recipe! Thank so much for send it out again with the top 14. I made the biscuits from scratch too using this recipe
http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/06/30/homemade-monkey-bread-aka-cinnamon-roll-bites/
Then followed all the steps in your recipe except I did not cook the apples. It turned out great.
Wow, I bet these rolls were spectacular with homemade biscuits! Thanks so much for reporting back, Ban! Happy New Year!
When you say cans of biscuits, do you mean like Pillsbury??
Yes, exactly. The kind you find in the refrigerator section of your grocery store. Have a great weekend!
I dont want to make such a large portion (crazy i know!) Im curious about cutting the recipe in half…has anyone tried that?
Personally, I’ve only made the full batch, but I think it would work fine using half the ingredients. You’ll have a much flatter finished product, but it will still be yummy. I’d check it early to see if it’s done (maybe at the 90 minute mark). Let me know how it goes!