Homemade Monkey Bread has bran cereal, dates and pecans with a drizzling of maple syrup all over the top. So friggin' good. This makes it the best breakfast recipe and its monkey bread from scratch in a bundt pan.
Homemade Monkey Bread is made in a bundt pan so that it is even prettier. And ... how can food be so entertaining. Even the name is fun.
Picking off one of those yummy little rolls with the anticipation of taking a sweet bite is wonderful. There is bran cereal, dates and pecans with a drizzling of maple syrup all over the top.
A 6-cup bundt pan is used instead of one of the large cake pans. There are narrow ones and wide ones. The photos below used the taller narrow one.
Either shape, the monkey bread is just as delicious and just as pretty.
I suppose you could call this breakfast monkey bread because it would go so well with your morning drink and it's healthy but it would be great as a snack too.
It's healthier because flaxseed meal is used as an egg substitute so that also makes it vegan. The sweetener is coconut sugar instead of refined sugar too.
The maple syrup soaks in the top so that adds even a little bit of extra sweetness.
📋 Monkey bread ingredients
- Bran cereal - buds/crumbles - adds so much nutrition and texture to the bread.
- Boiling water - is necessary for warming the yeast.
- Dairy-free butter - adds richness and moisture to the baked goods.
- Whole wheat flour - is the flour of choice for this healthy monkey bread from scratch.
- Yeast - makes the bread rise.
- Coconut sugar - adds just the right sweetness and depth of flavor.
- Salt - is just a little bit of seasoning that rounds out the mix.
- Flaxseed meal - is mixed with water and is the egg substitute.
- Dates - are another texture that also totes a lot of sweetness.
- Pecans - adds protein and just a little bit of crunch.
- Maple Syrup - is the added topping for the finishing touch.
💭 Baker's Tips
- Have a candy thermometer on hand. Grease a 6 Cup Bundt Pan.
- Mix the flax seed meal and water and set aside so that it can gel a bit.
- Boil the water and add the bran and mix. Set aside to let it settle to 125 degrees to 130 degrees.
- In a large bowl mix 2 cups of the flour with the yeast, sugar and salt. Mix in the warm bran and water mixture.
- Add the dates and enough flour to make a soft dough. You will probably use all the flour. Don't worry if you don't.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough until smooth and elastic.
- Add a little bit of flour as you roll and knead if it is sticky.
- You will see some date pieces all over the dough and that is fine.
- Make a ball with the dough, cover with a clean dish towel and let rest 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough in half and then half again. Make 5 balls out of each of the 4 divisions so that you have 20 balls.
- Dip each ball in the melted butter and place in the bundt pan. Place each ball around the bottom layer.
- Sprinkle half of the chopped pecans on the balls.
- Deliberately build the next layer around the edge of the pan. This will keep the shape of the bundt pan.
- Sprinkle the rest of the pecans.
- Cover the pan with a clean dishcloth and let rise in a warm area for 60 minutes. It will rise to fill the pan. Bake at 375° for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and slowly pour the maple syrup all over the cake while it is still in the pan. Cool on a wire rack 15 minutes. The syrup soaks in./li>
- Remove from pan and let cool completely on the wire rack. You can pour more maple syrup over the top of the Monkey Bread but it is not necessary. It all depends on your sweet tooth.
🥞 Breakfast Recipes
- You can make your own date sweetener breakfast with this Simple Homemade Granola Cereal recipe.
- Apple Turnovers with Puff Pastry and Cranberries is a really nice fruity breakfast treat.
- A really easy breakfast that's hot and ready is this Slow Cooker Irish Oatmeal.
🍞 Can You Freeze Monkey Bread
- Yes! Almost all baked goods freeze really well. It does keep in the fridge for about 5 days though.
- If you choose to freeze the monkey bread then make sure it's in an airtight freezer container or you can use freezer bags. I still double bag baked goods.
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If you take a photo of your fresh-baked monkey bread I would love to see it. Follow me over on Instagram and tag me on your photo @vegan_in_the_freezer.
Your opinion means a lot to me and if you'd like to leave a comment and possibly a star rating I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Just follow the steps in creating your Monkey Bread from scratch and it will become an occasion.
Homemade Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup bran cereal - buds/crumbles
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup dairy-free butter, melted
- 3 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 4 1/2 teaspoons baking yeast - 2 packages
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal mixed with 4 tablespoons water
- 1 cup dates, chopped small
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Have a candy thermometer on hand. Oil a 6 Cup bundt pan.
- Mix the flaxseed meal and water and set aside so that it can gel a bit.
- Boil the water and add the bran and mix. Set aside to let it settle to 125 degrees to 130 degrees.
- In a large bowl mix 2 cups of the flour with the yeast, sugar and salt. Mix in the warm bran and water mixture.
- Add the dates and enough flour to make a soft dough. You will probably use all the flour. Don't worry if you don't.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough until smooth and elastic.
- Add a little bit of flour as you roll and knead if it is sticky. You will see some date pieces all over the dough and that is fine.
- Make a ball with the dough, cover with a clean dish towel and let rest 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough in half and then half again. Make 5 balls out of each of the 4 divisions so that you have 20 balls.
- Dip each ball in the melted butter and place in the bundt pan. Place each ball around the bottom layer.
- Sprinkle half of the chopped pecans on the balls. Deliberately build the next layer around the edge of the pan. This will keep the shape of the bundt pan.
- Sprinkle the rest of the pecans. Cover the pan with a clean dish cloth and let rise in a warm area for 60 minutes.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and slowly pour the maple syrup all over the cake while it is still in the pan. Cool on a wire rack 15 minutes.
- Remove from pan and let cool completely on the wire rack. You can pour more maple syrup over the top of the Monkey Bread but it is not necessary. It all depends on your sweet tooth. The syrup soaks in.
Notes
Nutrition
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Ginny McMeans
No problem Suee33. Kellogg's All Bran Buds or Nature's Path organic Smart Bran are both pretty easy to find.
Suee33
Sorry can you share a brand of Crumbles /buds????
Ginny McMeans
I use the crumbles/buds Catherine. I'm so glad you love the recipe!
Anvita
I like the list of ingredients in this bread. Will try it sometime. Makes a perfect breakfast.
Catherine Brown
Mmmmm, love these ingredients! Kudos on the bran cereal in there too! Do you use the flakes or the crumbles? And of course dates are fabulous!
Lisa
Wow! I didn't think monkey bread could be healthy. This looks like a winner.
Jaclyn Anne
Monkey bread has always been one of my faves. I love that you have found a way to make it healthier so I can enjoy it guilt free now - yum!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
This looks so good. I am a big fan of dates and pecans so would eat this monkey bread right up!
Shashi at SavorySpin
This is one monkey bread recipe that's sure to be a favorite - love the healthy twist!
Danielle
I love any kind of dessert with dates and pecans, so this sounds perfect!
Sandhya Hariharan
This bread has an extra oomph, with the addition of bran and dates. Thank you for sharing an awesome recipe..
Serene @ House of Yumm
Love Monkey bread! And now there's a healthy version? The answers to all my hopes and dreams. Can't wait to give this a try Ginny!
Meg @ The Housewife in Training Files
What a fabulous cake for the holiday - looks and sounds so delicious yet is healthier! Win win in my book!
Andi @ The Weary Chef
Love the bran addition in this one. It looks so good you wouldn't know it's so healthy!
Melanie | Melanie Makes
You'd never know that this was a healthier version of a favorite recipe. Kudos to you!
Jen @ Yummy Healthy Easy
I have to tell you that I love monkey bread. It's one of my very fave breakfasts to make, but I've been wanting to make it healthier - and now I've got your recipe to try! So awesome!!
Nancy [email protected]
I grew up eating very tradition monkey bread, but I am so loving all the flavors you can make it into now. This looks delicious!
narf7
This bread looks everything a bread should be plus SO much more. Thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe. Its absolutely delicious looking and I can't wait to give it a go 🙂
Ginny McMeans
Thanks Lindsay! That is great that you mother in law treats you so well. 🙂
Ginny McMeans
That is fantastic Nancy. Yum, 5 pounds of dates. If you want to check out more of my date recipes go up to the top right corner near my menu bar and type 'date' into the search bar. I have at least 10 date recipes that will come up. Another fantastic one if the Decadent Chocolate Torte but date is not in the title so I don't think it will appear.
Nancy A.
This looks so yummy and I love dates! In fact, I made date paste the other day and wondered if I could use that in this recipe? I am so happy to see some date recipes, I bought 5 pounds of them and needed ideas!
Ginny McMeans
Thanks Joelen! I love them.
Joelen
What a great way to use dates!