Savory Monkey Bread (Easy to Make + Customize)
Savory Monkey Bread is quick and easy to make and totally customizable, thanks to refrigerated biscuits that are dipped in garlic butter and coated in herbs and cheese for a monkey bread that’s as festive as it is delicious!
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I first shared this gorgeous Savory Monkey Bread recipe back in 2013, inspired by a Food Network tweet that stopped me mid-scroll. Since then, this monkey bread recipe has become a holiday menu staple and a lovely option to jazz up dinner rolls for special dinners. And the best news is that, despite how fancy it looks, it's deceptively easy to make!
Ingredients
Most everyone already knows how to make sweet, gooey, traditional monkey bread. But what's required to make Savory Monkey Bread?
- Refrigerated biscuits. Flaky, homestyle, or regular buttermilk will all work, but this recipe was developed using jumbo sized biscuits. If I can find it, I prefer using an organic brand such as Annie's or Immaculate Baking Company for more natural/straightforward ingredients. You could also substitute refrigerated breadstick dough in lieu of biscuits.
- Butter. Melted. Either salted or unsalted are fine. Or you could substitute olive oil, if you wish.
- Garlic salt. To flavor the butter.
- Coatings. Feel free to get creative! You can use fresh herbs, grated or shredded cheeses, slivered or diced nuts, spices, and more! I recommend choosing about five different coatings to alternate on the rolls for a truly impressive presentation. And remember that you need to use some sort of cheese on about half of the pieces since that's what holds the monkey bread together once you unmold it!
What's especially great about this recipe is that it's so customizable. The Savory Monkey Bread photos in this post depict coatings of fresh chopped parsley, fresh chopped dill, chopped slivered almonds, grated Parmesan (mix with paprika for deeper color), and shredded cheddar. Keep in mind that very delicate herbs, such as basil, will likely darken over the baking time, so you may want to avoid using those.
How to Make Savory Monkey Bread
(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)
Making Savory Monkey Bread is fun and easy!
- Preheat the oven and generously grease a nonstick bundt pan.
- Cut each biscuit in half.
- Roll each biscuit half into a ball.
- Stir garlic salt into melted butter, drop in a biscuit ball, and roll around until coated.
- Roll each butter-coated biscuit ball in alternating coatings, pressing to adhere.
- Arrange and layer the biscuits in the bundt pan so that the various coatings are alternated.
- Bake monkey bread until biscuits are done and surface is golden, covering with a sheet of foil if the monkey bread starts getting too dark before it's done.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a thin, soft rubber spatula around the edges and down the sides of the pan to loosen any stuck cheese. Invert the pan onto a plate. The bread at the top/open side of the pan ends up being the prettiest part. So after you flip the bread out onto a plate, flip it one more time onto your serving platter.
This combo of herbs, cheeses, and nuts truly makes for a Savory Monkey Bread with great flavor and visual appeal!
Variations
If you're up for experimenting, I can think of a few yummy variations of this Savory Monkey Bread:
- A combo of oregano, parsley, and Parmesan would be yummy to accompany an Italian meal.
- A combo of cilantro, Monterrey jack, and taco seasoning would make for a nice a Mexican theme.
- Wrap each biscuit around a small cube of cream cheese (plain or seasoned), boursin cheese, or even mozzarella for pull-apart monkey bread with gooey centers.
Furthermore, you can choose to mix your cheese and herbs and then coat each biscuit ball with the same mixture...
...or you can keep all of the coatings separate and alternate your biscuits, like I did here today.
Do keep in mind that some herbs and spices are stronger than others. The dill I used in my monkey bread variation was a bit overpowering, but my family loves dill so it didn't bother us at all (in fact, my boys fought over the dill-covered rolls). But something like rosemary would fall under the umbrella of a little bit goes a long way.
Dried vs. Fresh Herbs
Dried herbs are about three times more potent than fresh. So I don't think I'd roll a ball of dough in straight dried herbs. However, I would consider stirring a sprinkle of dried herbs into grated Parmesan (for example) and then coating a dough ball in that.
Also, some fresh herbs -- such as basil -- are more delicate than others and may darken in the oven. This monkey bread recipe has been tested using fresh parsley and fresh dill, so exercise your own discretion when experimenting with other herbs. 🙂
There you have it...a fun, festive take on dinner rolls that will liven up your weeknight meals, dinner parties, or holiday tables, from Thanksgiving to Christmas to Easter!
This Savory Monkey Bread is sure to garner oohs and ahhs, and your dinner guests will never believe how quick and easy it is to make.
Meaning, of course, that you are under no obligation to tell them... 😉
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Savory Monkey Bread
Video
Ingredients
- 2 (16-ounce) cans jumbo refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
- ¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- 5 or so different fresh chopped herbs and/or grated cheeses (for coatings), RECOMMENDED: fresh chopped parsley, fresh chopped dill, chopped slivered almonds, grated Parmesan, and shredded cheddar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 9- to 10-inch Bundt pan with butter, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Stir garlic salt into melted butter. Cut each biscuit in half and roll into a ball. Dip each biscuit ball in butter, then roll in desired coating. Arrange biscuits in the pan so that the various coatings are alternated, making sure that cheese accounts for the coating on at least half of the biscuits so that the monkey bread holds together once it's baked.
- Bake for 25 to 35 minutes until biscuits are done and surface is golden. Start checking monkey bread at about 20 minutes, and if it's browning too quickly, lay a sheet of aluminum foil on top for the remainder of the baking time.
- Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Run a thin, soft rubber spatula around the edge and down the sides of the pan to loosen any stuck cheese. Invert onto a plate, then lay serving platter on top and flip bread over onto serving platter so that the attractive side is on top.
Notes
- This recipe has been tested with fresh chopped parsley and dill. If you choose to substitute the herbs, please be aware that more delicate herbs (such as basil) may darken in the oven.
- If you don't want to alternate your biscuit coatings, you can mix the cheese and herbs together and use the same coating for all of the biscuits. Whatever you decide, you need to use some sort of cheese on at least some of the pieces since that's what holds the monkey bread together once you unmold it.
- Dried herbs are three times more potent than fresh, so if using dried, you may want to mix with cheese to prevent an overpowering flavor.
- You may use just about any type of refrigerated biscuits or bread dough. You just want the total amount of dough used to be around 32 ounces.
- If you wish, this bread can be assembled ahead of time (although some delicate herbs may darken at the edges where they were chopped). Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours, up to overnight. Take the pan out of the refrigerator as you preheat the oven, and then bake as directed.
Nutrition
Adapted from Food Network.
Originally published November 11, 2013, and updated on April 1, 2020, November 28, 2020, and December 1, 2023.
Loved this savory monkey bread! It was beautiful and perfect for my party. Everyone loved it and said how delicious it was.
After a tough week, I decided to make this savory monkey bread as a special treat with dinner last night. My family couldn't get enough!
This was literally one of the easiest things I made for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit!
I usually don't comment on recipes, because I don't follow them very well and I don't feel that it's my place to talk about changes that I made to someone's recipe. I'm going to today though because I really liked your recipe and think somebody else might benefit from my tweaks. After cutting the biscuits, I flattened them and added some Boursin cheese to the middle (but cream cheese would work too) before making them into balls. I mixed my medium grated Parmesan with dried dill and dried chives to coat the balls and it worked really well. I was in a hurry and couldn't find my bundt pans, so I did it in a 9 x 13 glass pan. They covered the bottom and it was easy to take to a pot luck. Thank you very much for the recipe! I definitely be making these again and sharing it with others! 😊
The herbs dont burn?
Hi Kimberly! Some herbs (like basil) are more delicate than others. But using parsley and dill, my herbs have never burned...the photos show the bread straight out of the oven, with no extra herbs added after baking. If you're worried, however, you could position your oven rack slightly lower than center and watch the bread closely towards the end of the baking time. Lay a sheet of foil over the top if you feel like it's darkening too much or too quickly. Hope that helps! 🙂
hey Samantha:
I made these wholewheat and with some other changes. Thanks for a yum recipe 🙂 Shall link back to your post soon from my blog. You have a lovely space, here !
Cheers
Kalyani
Glad you enjoyed these, Kalyani! 🙂
Not only was this delicious, but it was gorgeous!
This is SO beautiful and looks even yummier than it's beauty!
I was curious - do you think they would bake in a mini bundt pan?
Obviously, it wouldn't have the neat wreath pull apart factor. But my Aunt gave me a mini bundt pan last year with autumnal shapes, I'd like to bring a savory quick bread.
Thoughts? Ideas? suggestions?
Hi Emily! I bet you could adapt this recipe to a mini bundt pan. I would just be prepared to watch it carefully and potentially reduce the baking time so that the bread doesn't overcook. Hope that helps...enjoy!
In Australia, we don't have any products that are the same as refrigerated biscuits. How would you make them from scratch?
Hi Jules! I know that sweet monkey bread can be made out of from-scratch yeast dough. So to make this without refrigerated biscuits, I would probably first Google a from-scratch monkey bread recipe. But instead of making a sweet, sticky, caramel sauce, I would roll the dough balls in herbs and cheese as directed in this recipe. I'd then bake according to the yeast dough monkey bread recipe that you find, watching the top carefully and coverint with foil if the herbs/cheese start to darken too much. Hope that helps and good luck! 🙂
I assume, in the UK, these are just a savoury scone mixture?
This monkey bread is amazing!
I certainly letting out a few ohs and ahs just reading the recipe and looking at all the lovely photos!!
Thanks so much, Riz! 🙂
Just found this and I needed a dish for a potluck. This looks so good and am going to make my favorite cream cheese spread for a dish in the middle. Can't wait, it looks so good.
I hope it is/was a hit at your potluck, Margi! The cream cheese spread sounds like a delicious addition. 🙂