I’m so excited to be sharing with you one of my favorite sweet breakfasts ever: monkey bread! If you’ve never had monkey bread before, it’s basically a sticky, gooey pull-apart bread coated in cinnamon sugar and rich caramel. It all started when I made soft baked pretzel bites that tasted like Auntie Anne’s, which I shared on Instagram and had so many requests for the recipe that I knew I needed to share it here. They’re completely vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and oil-free. These pretzel bites taste delicious on their own, but I wanted to go one step further and turn them into something. I was having trouble deciding between sweet or savory. Not surprisingly, I finally settled on sweet with this vegan monkey bread!
We used to have monkey bread for breakfast on special occasions, like holidays or birthdays since it’s a pull-apart bread meaning it’s easy to share. Also, it’s on the sweeter end of the spectrum, so it’s definitely a special treat. This monkey bread oozes with a warm almond butter date caramel and cinnamon sugar just like the traditional version, except it’s free of refined sugar and dairy.
Cinnamon sugar
I have to admit, once you make the pretzel bites it’s smooth sailing from there. The pretzel bites themselves are a little more involved, but if you’re patient it’s totally worth it! After that, you just have to coat them in an easy, 3-ingredient vegan caramel and roll them in a mixture of cinnamon and coconut sugar. Throw the pretzel bites back in the oven and they carmelize, turning them into a sticky monkey bread!
As a kid, I’d pick up Auntie Anne’s pretzel nuggets as a snack whenever we went to the mall.
I grew up in the 90’s, when Nutrigrain bars and SunChips were considered “healthy” snacks. Looking back at it, we’ve come such a long way since then. I’ve said bye bye to packaged & processed foods for the most part, now opting for nutritious whole foods instead. But just because they’re better for you doesn’t mean they’re lacking in flavor or taste!
I love recreating healthier versions of my childhood favorites.
I’ve made blueberry pop-tarts, almond butter stuffed Oreos, and peanut butter rice krispie treat balls. Monkey bread was another to add to the list, making me one happy camper. I’ve been baking up a storm lately, probably because I’ve found myself with more downtime. I find baking to be a good stress reliever. When the finished product turns out the way I wanted, it’s so rewarding. I was definitely nervous about these pretzel bites, but they came out of the oven looking super tasty!
I hope you enjoy this monkey bread recipe. Please message me on Instagram if you do try it. Also, I’m open to recipe requests since I don’t have anything big planned for the next couple of weeks. I hope everyone’s having a lovely end of the summer and start to the school year.
Vegan Monkey Bread
Ingredients
For the pretzel bites
- 2 tsp dried yeast
- 2 tbsp warm water
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 1 tbsp psyllium husk powder
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
- 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3 cups boiling water + 1 tbsp baking soda
For the almond butter caramel
- 2 tbsp oat milk or other non-dairy milk
- 1 tsp almond butter
- 1/2 cup Medjool dates pitted
For the cinnamon sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
For the pretzel bites
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
- In a small bowl, mix together yeast and 2 tbsp warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix together ground flaxseed, psyllium husk, warm water, and pumpkin puree until smooth.
- Once the yeast/water mixture starts to bubble, add it to the rest of the wet ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Add in the flour, coconut sugar, and baking powder and mix with a spoon until crumbly.
- Knead the dough together with your hands for 3 minutes until smooth and stretchy.
- Scoop out bite-sized pieces with a spoon and roll into balls between your hands. You may need to wet your hands so the dough doesn’t stick to them. You should have about 2 dozen pretzel bites.
- Place pretzel bites on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Boil water and 1 tbsp baking soda in a medium pan over high heat.
- Once the water is boiling, add in half of the pretzel bites and leave them in there for 1 minute. They will grow in size at this point.
- Remove pretzel bites from the boiling water with a slotted spoon so they drain and place them back on the baking sheet.
- Repeat with the other half of the pretzel bites.
- Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. The longer you bake the pretzel bites, the crispier they will be.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
For the almond butter caramel
- Process all ingredients in a small blender or food processor until smooth.
- Transfer to a small bowl.
- For the cinnamon sugar
- Mix the coconut sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
For the monkey bread
- Reduce heat of the oven to 100 degrees Celcius.
- One by one, roll each pretzel bite in the almond butter caramel until evenly coated.
- Then, roll it in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Don’t be shy with the cinnamon sugar!
- Layer the coated pretzel bites in a small loaf pan.
- Sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar, if any, on top.
- Place back in the oven for 10 minutes to allow it to carmelize.
- Remove from the oven and enjoy immediately!
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