Warning: This easy-to-make monkey bread is also very addictive. A cross between pizza and buttery garlic rolls, we couldn’t stop gobbling up bite after cheesy bite.
Every year we have a fun little family Super Bowl party. We’re huge Monkey Bread fans, so the Super Bowl seemed like the perfect time to try out a savory Monkey Bread. The Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread from Confections of a Foodie Bride and the Pizza Monkey Bread from What’s Gaby Cooking were my inspirations for this recipe.
To make this an easy Super Bowl recipe, I started with frozen roll dough. Of course you could make your own dough if you prefer. I have a Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe that makes a great pizza. The first time I made this I used low fat mozzarella sticks (string cheese), but they didn’t melt very well, so I recommend buying whole or part skim mozzarella and cutting it into squares.
We loved the bottom rolls because of the crispy edges. So, after you remove the pizza bread from the bundt pan, put it back in the oven for a few more minutes to crisp up the sides and bottom of the bread.
You can also bake it in a 9 x 13 pan instead of a bundt pan. Of course then I guess you’d have to call it Pizza Pull Apart Rolls.
Easy Pizza Monkey Bread
Ingredients
Dough
- 24 Frozen Dinner Rolls thawed but still cold*
- 48 slices of pepperoni
- 8 oz. mozzarella cheese cubed in to 48 pieces
- ½ cup Butter melted
- ⅔ cup Parmesan Romano cheese grated
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 5 cloves garlic finely minced or pressed
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Homemade Pizza Sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced or pressed
- 1 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
- 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes in rich puree
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.
Instructions
- Cut rolls in half and flatten each half. Top with one slice of pepperoni and one cube of mozzarella. Wrap the dough around the pepperoni and cheese to completely enclose and form a ball.
- In a small bowl combine melted butter, cheese, parsley, basil, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Roll dough to lightly coat with cheese mixture and place in a bundt pan coated with non-stick spray.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until almost to the top of the pan (about 45 minutes). Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350°F 30 - 35 minutes. Cover with foil if the top is getting too brown. (You might want to put a sheet pan on the rack under the bundt pan to catch any greasy drips.)
- Remove from oven and invert on to an oven safe serving tray, remove bundt pan. Put the serving tray back in to the oven for about 5 minutes more to crisp up the top and bottom rolls.
- Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.
- *I like to thaw the rolls in a single layer in a plastic bag overnight in the fridge.
- Homemade Pizza Sauce
- In a small saucepan, sauté garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until sauce reaches desired thickness. Sauce may be refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Notes
Also on the menu for our Super Bowl party:
Strawberry Mango Salsa and Cinnamon Tortilla Chips, Barbara Bakes
Individual Seven-Layer Dips, The Girl Who Ate Everything
Nutella Caramel Cookies, Barbara Bakes
Microwave Caramel Popcorn, Real Mom Kitchen
Marcelle/A Little Fish in the Kitchen
Yum, this looks heavenly!!
Lisa
Yes, you can make it ahead of time. I did just that. I took it out of the fridge and then let it rise and followed the instructions from there. Was delicious!!!
Lisa
I made your Pizza Gorilla Bread tonight for the Super Bowl. Absolutely the best!!! It will be made again.
Thank You!!!!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Lisa – it’s perfect for the Super Bowl. So glad you enjoyed it.
Rachel
Can I make ahead of time and refrigerate before allowing to rise?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Rachel – I haven’t tried it, but that should work well. Your rise time may be a little longer because the dough is cold or, it could rise in the fridge and it may not take as long. Enjoy!
Angela
Are the frozen dinner rolls raw or precooked?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Angela – it’s frozen roll dough, not precooked. Thanks for the question.
Ali @ Inspiralized
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this! I just posted up a football party recipe also, and then I found this one and I droooooled! Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to take a stab at it! I’m an awful baker, but your instructions and images are very easy to follow and straightforward.
Gina arndt
Barbara-do you have to use store rolls or can you make your own
Barbara Schieving
Hi Gina – You can make your own dough if you prefer.
Suzanne
This pizza bread was AMAZING!!!!
Barbara
Thanks Suzanne! I should make some again soon. 🙂
tina
If you wanted to still bake it in the bundt pan AND get more of the crispy ones why not try this: Take an aluminum foil pie plate ,or other foil bakeware you may have and dont care about, cut the bottom out so you have a circle-leave a small tab of the side piece as a handle for later– then cut the circle in half. Cut a half circle opening in the center of each half so the piece fits around the center post snuggly. Generously grease both sides of the foil insert and after you have 1 layer of bread balls in the bottom of the pan fit your inserts in before the next layer the add the second layer and continue with directiona as usual. When it comes out of the pan grab the tabs you left that laid flat up the side of your pan and pull the inserts out from inbetween the layers. TA-DA!!! You just DOUBLED the number of crispy edges! Plus you still have the spot for your sauce!
Barbara
That’s a fun idea. If you try it please let me know how it works. My husband also suggested unmolding it and then putting it back in the oven on a tray to crisp up.