Monkey Bread might not be the first thing that comes to mind for an Italian dinner, but we had company over for lasagna and I wanted something a little more memorable than regular garlic bread. I decided on a savory garlic monkey bread -- the kind of pull-apart "bubble bread" that's usually baked in a Bundt pan. A ceramic pie dish also works well.

Monkey Bread Goes Italian! Steps For Making
And garlic flavored Monkey Bread is so easy to make. Here's a quick rundown of the steps.
First, spread flavored butter all over the pie dish.

Next, dip thawed frozen dinner roll dough balls into butter and arrange them in the pie plate.

If the dough balls are frozen, it should take about 4 hours for them to rise. If they are thawed and cold, they'll rise in 1 ½ to 2 hours.

And of course they'll rise even more in the oven, so it's a good thing I left some gaps.
Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes.
Now I have a second pack of thawed bread dough in the refrigerator and will probably try a small batch version of the traditional caramel flavored monkey bread made with pudding mix.
Recipe

Monkey Bread with Garlic
Ingredients
- 1 pound 12 count frozen dinner rolls, thawed (I used Rhodes brand)
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- A little garlic salt optional
- Some sesame seeds optional
Instructions
- Combine the melted butter, parsley flakes, garlic powder and salt in a bowl.
- Pour just enough of the melted butter mixture into a 9 inch deep dish pie plate to coat the bottom. Brush a little bit on the sides as well.
- Dip thawed dough pieces in remaining butter mixture and arrange them dipped side up in the plate. Brush any remaining butter over the top.
- Cover with an overturned mixing bowl and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk -- about 1 ½ to 2 hours depending on how cold the dough is.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.





Anna says
Hi Kathy,
I hope the recipe worked out well for you. Happy New Year!
Kathy says
I'm so happy I stumbled upon this recipe as this morning I had taken my last 8 Rhodes dough balls out of my freezer to raise. I wasn't sure what I was going to make with them then I found this savory recipe.
Thanks for sharing it.
Kathy
Anna says
Christine, thanks for asking! I'll go back and add the brand as a note in the recipe. The brand I used was Rhodes.
Christine says
Hi Anna (and Todd!)
I can't wait to make this, especially since this recipe uses pre-made dough. Would you kindly point me to the kind or brand you used? I don't think I've ever come across them before. Thank you!
Anna says
Sue, it was!
Mary, I don't know what took me so long to try it. At first I felt a little guilty using frozen dough rather than scratch, but nobody in the group seemed to care whether the dough was scratch or frozen. Also, I left off Parmesan because Todd doesn't like it, but I'm sure it would make the rolls even better.
Mary says
We have been making this for many years. We also between the layers put Parmesan cheese on it also. it is so good. Hot bread of any kind is good in my opinion!!
Sue says
That sounds really tasty!
Todd says
We had this last night when company came over. Just a note that if anybody makes this, you'll probably want to make two as it goes fast! The presentation is great, as well as the taste. Not a heavy bread, it's nice and light.