This savory pizza dough garlic monkey bread is a fun twist on a classic garlic bread. Packed with savoury, cheesy garlic butter and soft, pillowy dough bites, you will not be able to stop munching on this monkey bread! This garlic monkey bread is the perfect game day appetizer, or side to a classic baked pasta. Looking for more main dish ideas to go with this monkey bread? Check out this collection of delicious recipes that go perfectly with garlic bread!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This monkey bread requires minimal prep: Toss everything together, and bake! It requires little effort or preparation.
- It's a great way to use store-bought pizza dough: You do not need to make this dough from scratch - store bought works perfectly.
- It only takes 20 minutes in the oven: In 20 minutes you have perfectly buttery and soft garlic monkey bread! If you have some extra time, I recommend giving my skillet garlic parmesan dinner rolls a try!
Ingredients
- Store-bought pizza dough
- Salted butter: I recommend using salted butter, as pizza dough on its own can be a little bland. When using salted butter, you do not need to add any extra salt.
- Fresh garlic: Fresh garlic adds the bite of garlic that everyone knows and loves about garlic bread.
- Parmesan cheese: Parmesan cheese adds the right balance of cheesiness, without overpowering it as a cheese like mozzarella would. It also thickens the butter, which helps in sticking to the pizza dough.
- Spices: You will need garlic powder, and dried oregano.
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
Instructions
Start With...
- Collecting all your ingredients - This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby. Mince the fresh garlic, and grate the parmesan cheese.
- Preheat your oven - The dough balls do not take long to prepare - you want your oven waiting for you. Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Liberally flour your workspace - Store-bought pizza dough can get sticky. A well-floured workspace will make the pizza dough easier to work with!
On a well-floured surface, portion the pizza dough into small, bite-sized portions. Using your hands, smooth the portions into round balls.
Either on the stove in a sauce pan, or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, melt the butter. If melting the butter in the microwave, do so in 10 second increments to avoid burning or splattering in the microwave. It is sometimes helpful to melt the butter at 50% power. If your butter is room temperature, it should not take long to melt the butter completely.
To the melted butter in a mixing bowl, add the fresh minced garlic, garlic powder, dried oregano, and half of the parmesan cheese.
Add the pizza dough balls to the melted butter mixture. Toss them well, so they are all coated with garlic butter.
Transfer the dough balls to an oven-safe bundt pan, or an oven-safe skillet. Make sure to add the additional garlic butter in the bowl. Top with the remaining parmesan cheese, and bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes.
Expert Tip
If the dough is sticking to your hands spray your hands with some non-stick cooking spray. This will make rolling the dough balls a breeze!
Substitutions
- Pizza dough: Instead of using pizza dough, you can substitute canned biscuit dough. Cut each biscuit disc into quarters, and roll. You can also use frozen bread rolls. Let them thaw and rise before cutting them in half and rolling.
- Salted butter: If you do not have salted butter on hand, use unsalted butter and add a little of salt to the mix.
Variations
- Cheesy: Sprinkle in shredded mozzarella cheese to give this monkey bread a cheesy twist.
- Herbaceous: Add some basil pesto to the butter mixture, for an herby twist!
- Meaty: Add some cut up salami, or prosciutto to the bread. It will get nice and crispy while it bakes!
Equipment
This is what I used to make this recipe - Please be mindful that different equipment and cooking utensils may yield varying results. Most of my favourite equipment can be found on my storefront.
- Sauce pan
- Bundt pan
- Mixing bowl
Storage
To store, remove the monkey bread from the baking pan. Wrap in parchment paper, and transfer to a Ziploc bag. This will keep for up to 3 days.
To reheat, transfer to a baking sheet and heat covered in foil for 10-15 minutes, at 350°F.
Recipe FAQs
Monkey bread is best eaten fresh out of the oven. If you have leftovers, though, they will be fine to eat once you heat it up. The bread may crisp up as you heat it up, so I recommend covering it in foil.
It is best to leave leftover monkey bread at room temperature. The fridge will harden the dough, and reheating it will not make it as soft as it would be when fresh. Because leftovers are not kept in the fridge, the shelf life is not very long.
Monkey bread does not have to be made in a bundt pan. By rolling the pizza dough into balls, the bread will inherently be "pull-apart" when it bakes. Feel free to use an oven-safe skillet, or a baking dish.
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This recipe was originally published in August, 2021. It was updated in March, 2022 to include process shots, detailed instructions and tips for making the best savory monkey bread every single time!
Savory Pizza Dough Garlic Monkey Bread
Ingredients
- 1 lb ball Pizza dough store-bought
- 2 sticks Butter salted
- 3 cloves Garlic grated or finely minced
- 1 tablespoon Garlic powder
- ½ tablespoon Dried parsley
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat: Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Prep the pizza dough: On a well-floured surface, portion the pizza dough into small, bite-sized portions. Using your hands, smooth the portions into round balls.1 lb ball Pizza dough
- Melt the butter: Either on the stove in a sauce pan, or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, melt the butter.2 sticks Butter
- Add the seasonings: To the melted butter in a mixing bowl, add the fresh minced garlic, garlic powder, dried parsley, and half of the parmesan cheese.3 cloves Garlic, 1 tablespoon Garlic powder, ½ tablespoon Dried parsley, ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- Toss the dough balls: Add the pizza dough balls to the melted butter mixture. Toss them well, so they are all coated with garlic butter.
- Bake: Transfer the dough balls to an oven-safe skillet, I used a cast iron skillet. Make sure do add the additional garlic butter in the bowl. Top with the remaining parmesan cheese, and bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes.
Notes
- If the dough is sticking to your hands spray your hands with some non-stick cooking spray. This will make rolling the dough balls a breeze!
- Liberally flour your workspace - Store-bought pizza dough can get sticky. A well-floured workspace will make the pizza dough easier to work with!
Dawn
This was a hit with my kids!! So yummy.